Fantasy Project Anima

[Srion Receno]

Crimson shrugged. "use a stick, improvise" she pulled Arty's dagger out and balanced it on her finger by the tip. "we haven't had it sharpened yet so you should be fine" saying this she pushed it up then caught it by the hilt. "this is not a real fight" she looked around then found one the size of Artys dagger. "here" she said this as she went and picked it up. "use this I'm sure you can make it last" as she said this she smiled at Riz and tossed the stick to her. "ill sit right here and watch to see what you are good at and what you need to work on" she smiled at Arty then sat down and looked at them.

 

[From Darkness]

Riz took the stick then swung it around in her hand. Too light...but she kind of expected that from a tree branch. She sighed again. Oh well. "Fine...come," she turned to Arty, standing without stance to let her decide what kind of attack she want to use.


Gripping on the dagger's hilt gave the princess a weird sensation. She wasn't used to holding a weapon directly, which was a bit ironic as she was the summoner of the Dragon of Blades. Nevertheless, seems that Crimson was dead set on making her practice, so there's nothing she could do. Let's see...how did Crimson do it before? She held the dagger on her right hand, the blade facing up, suited for either slashing or slashing. And then, the first step was left, then she leaped forward. Her hand was crossed to her left, then she swung it rightward, aiming at Riz's sides.


"Slow..." the bodyguard muttered. She swung the stick upward at the moment Arty made her strike. The princess felt a sting on her hand, and found the dagger was not there anymore. Riz had parried it up to the sky, and there it goes rolling down until it dropped down with a loud clang.

 

[Srion Receno]

"Find a stance you are comfortable with don't use others." she leaned back as she spoke. Crimson had seen her use a stance like hers but that was her own made for her body. "pick up your blade and stand there for a moment with your eyes closed...feel the blade and let your body move" she looked over at Riz then at Arty. "there are many ways you can stand for many different weapons but they are all different to each person" she need to get this down first be for anything.

 

[From Darkness]

"Y-yes..." Arty picked the dagger once more. But even if she said that...it's not like she can just made it up on the fly. She wasn't trained in battle like Crimson, nor did she have the natural talent like her brother. Still, she followed Crimson's advice and closed her eyes. Her fingers gripped the dagger tighter. The blade was short, more likely used for self-defense and stealth assault. As such, she shouldn't let the enemy know her intention beforehand.


Already forming a mental image, she rushed forth again toward the waiting Riz, but this time she stopped right in front of the bodyguard with one leg, her eyes concentrating on her enemies' and the branch. This time she wouldn't let the enemy know where the attack was coming from. Now she made a quick jab toward Riz's left side.


"Better, but still, slow," the silver-haired girl had read the attack and pushed down the branch toward Arty's wrist, sending her hand away and made her stumbled forward right unto Riz's chest. "Now, you're, open," she quickly stabbed the branch toward Arty's back, but stopping right before the end touched her skin. If that was a real battle, she would've been dead.

 

[Srion Receno]

She watched each movement it was clear to see were she was going, and she needed to learn to speed up. Crimson sighed, all in do time she will get the hang of it." that was good!" Crimson clapped her hands together as she smiled at Arty. "a few more times and maybe you'll get her" she gave her a thumbs up before leaning back again. "now again" she was not worried right now if it took a bit for her to get it, she just wanted her to get it before she left. she smiled slightly to her self, she needed a blood bath or two.

 

[From Darkness]

Riz sighed. How much longer does she need to be a scarecrow for this girl? She seemed to be the type who can think rationally, though. Not one who could suddenly grasp the way of the fight just by purely fighting, but surely she would get the hang of it with more practice. She freed her stance again to ease it up.


Arty took a few steps back once more. One more time. This time she would try another feign, that last one seems to be good enough. She leaped forward to not let Riz formulate any plan, the stopped right in front of her again, this time to try a slice attack...


"Argentum...Magicae...Lamina," Riz let go of the branch, and instead on her hand appeared a bright, blade-shaped light. She proceeded to swing it down toward Arty's neck. At that point the princess had the feeling; if that thing connected, she would be...


...Dead...


In that brief moment, a black steel sword jutted out of thin air right between the silver blade and her, stopping it right on its track. Riz jumped back immediately upon seeing it. She could feel the unnatural distortion that sword made to the world, how the space around it warped and churned. The sword dissipated away as fast as it appeared, leaving only Arty standing there, gasping for air.

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson seen the movement in Riz and stood ready to move when the blade showed up. she shook her head trying to rid her self of the feeling on her skin and mind. "alright that is enough..." she said moving between the two. she gave Riz a small glare, but said nothing. even if she meant to stop it, it was to much right now. "now do you see why I want you to work on defending your self. that blade takes a lot out of you and now an enemy knows you have it" she shook her head then looked back at Riz. "thank you for your help" she gave her a small smile then took Artys shoulder and had her start to walk back to town. She was not like them, learning like that. She was different. Crimson looked at Arty for a moment. "Are you alright?"

 

[From Darkness]

The princess was clutching her chest, trying to suppress the sudden surge of emotion. It wasn't the coming blade that she feared. At that moment survival instinct kicked in and made her let go. A bit further and Steel would've taken control, and she didn't want that to happen. Ever. She felt better when Crimson's hand touched her shoulder, knowing the assassin was there helped soothing her soul.


"I'm okay," she replied. Crimson was the anchor helping her consciousness staying away from the Dragon. For now, as long as she and her brother was there, she should be fine.


Riz, on the other hand, was stunned upon seeing the blade. "It's, true..." she muttered. Cruz had given her a mission along with her free time, and that was one of it. Just now, she had confirmed his suspicion. "Wait," she ran toward Arty and Crimson who was going back to the town. "Riz, coming too..."

 

[Srion Receno]

Hearing Riz running to them she lightly pushed Artys shoulder to keep going then quickly turned to Riz. Crimson looked down at her irritated. "what was that Riz?" she asked at she stood in front of the girl. she was angry that she had dared to try and actually attack her.

 

[From Darkness]

The bodyguard stopped in front of Crimson, her eyes still as expressionless as always. "Order, from my liege...investigate, the girl..." she looked at Arty, who was still going toward the town like what Crimson had told her to do. "I'm, coming with you..."

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson growled a bit then sighed, she knew that she should of seen this coming. "fine...but pull a stunt like that again and ill rip you apart" she said this in her old blood chilling angry voice with the death look that went with it. "you would of found out anyway" she turned and looked at Arty. "for that I want to see your liege" she glanced back at her then started to walk.


she caught up with Arty quickly and put her hand back on her shoulder to stop her. "I need you to calm down we cant have your brother freaking out" Crimson said this as she looked at Arty calmly. "she wont do anything again you can relax" she sighed. "I'm sorry I had you do this, I just don't want you to fall to that thing. practice with the dagger will help, but if you don't feel like you can do this it is fine" she gave Arty a small smile as she lightly patted her shoulder.

 

[From Darkness]

The princess nodded at her words. "Hmmhm, I'm fine now. I know that you're just trying to help me, miss Crimson," she gave the assassin a kind smile. "It's also exciting for me, since this is the first time you've ever did this. I'm having fun, really. I'm sure I'll get better at this soon. Let's go back to see brother and Sir Norman."


After the whole shopping and training, the day had turned late, with the sun starting to shy away toward the west. Perhaps it would be best to retire for the night.

 

[Srion Receno]

Looking at Arty she sighed then nodded. "ya lets go meet up with them I'm starting to get hungry anyway, maybe they know were to get something to eat" she gave her a small smile then started to walk to ware they were to meet up with them. Crimson was still a little worried about her and the body guard behind them, but shook it off trying to look normal as they walked up to the inn.

 

[From Darkness]

Brotherby's is a quaint inn serving adventurers and tourists not affiliated with the Tower of Magic. As such, there were lots of diverse characters there, not just the local mages and peasants roaming around the other inns and taverns. When the ladies finally arrived, the sun had moved farther down the horizon. Gills and Norman was waiting for them in the lobby-turned-tavern, with the former sitting with a bored look while the latter was of course drinking. The prince stood up upon seeing them and quickly approached.


"You're finally here, what took you so long...and what's she doing here?" He pointed at Rizeluke. The petite girl was still following the two from behind, like a little ghost.

 

[Srion Receno]

Seeing the prince coming to them Crimson sighed waiting for him to complain about something. hearing his words she looked at Riz. "If you have a problem with her just ignore her" she shrugged then went an leaned on Norman. "how is the drinks here?" she asked smiling at him. "oh little Arty probably should go to bed" she glanced at Gills and the girls beside him.

 

[From Darkness]

Arty pouted at Crimson. "I'm already seventeen, miss Crimson," the princess strode through them and sat beside Norman, who was still drinking without paying attention to the group. But of course he responded when Crimson asked about the drink. His face was a one of disappointment though.


"Been drinking three mugs and I wasn't even able to feel a bit tipsy. The drink is too weak, I dare say. I'd rather stop than risking alcohol poisoning," he put down the drink. Arty eyed it with curiosity, but Norman stopped her. "No more drinking for you, at least not here, missy."


"...Well, whatever," Gills sighed and joined them as well. The table was picked deliberately because it can house four people, so there was no seat for Riz to join them. The bodyguard didn't seem to care and just decided to stand there, staring. Just...staring. Gills got a goosebumps feeling her glare on his back.


"Oi, are you sure we can..." he looked at Arty, who gave her nod. "Fine. So, we're delaying too much, but let's cut to the chase. Tomorrow we're going to...err," he looked again at Arty. She nodded again. He really didn't want Cruz to find out about this, but if Arty said yes, then he will follow. He lowered his voice so that other people around them could hear, although it wasn't much needed given the level of noise going on at the moment. It was safer to talk here rather than in their room, where people would know they were talking important stuff. Here it would just be taken as a drunkard's rambling.


"We'll infiltrate the Tower of Magic. Red Fang, you're the professional here. Any advice on how to do that?"

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson sighed hearing his response to the drinks. "well then I guess there is no point to me drinking" she sighed again then moved to the chair on the other side of him. She was ignoring Riz as Gills started to talk. she was still a bit ticked about what happened, but she could do nothing about it since she did ask her to help.


Crimson thought for a moment then shrugged. "I don't know were the target is or even were they could be, nor the layout of the tower. you get me that info and ill have a plan of getting in" she sighed then leaned her head back letting her hair fall behind the chair. "I need a good drink" she mumbled then looked at Gills. "ill figure something out...probably tonight or early in the morning"

 

[From Darkness]

Norman gave Crimson a big grin. "Sure glad you guys take me with you eh?" He pulled out a keg from beneath the table, which he brought with him after depositing the horses. There was a faint sweet scent from within. When he poured out the inside, it was his famous brew of Serion beer. He filled a mug for Crimson, then for himself. "There's not much but it should be enough for the night! And as for the other problem..."


He pulled out a few pages of drawings. One of them was the town map, showing a big circle at the center with uneven drawings of protruding constructs around its rim. "This is the tower," he pointed at the circle, "and this is where we are," he pointed at the northwestern part of the protruding constructs.


"The map we get easily, while the other things aren't that much," Gills remarked. "Thankfully this guy here said he knows about the tower from thirty years ago..."


"Ahem, let me continue!" Norman interrupted, gulped down his mug, then proceeded. "So, remember about my adventure in Zebeth? I was actually hired by the King himself to stop a rebellion in the Tower of Magic. Oh you know how the shady dealing like that go for. Big money, but we are in no way affiliated with the King. We are to act as pseudo-plunderers to create opening for the big army. But Norman doesn't operate like that, no. I am there to save the day, and save the day I did!"


He patted his chest proudly.


"So, this rebellion actually started by attacking several noble houses, and one of the reason the King can't mobilize his troops was because an important noble's daughter was taken captive by those rebels. The mages took refugee in the Tower of Magic. I don't take those things lightly, oh no. You don't kidnap women in my watch. And so I rushed into the Tower, graciously evading their attacks, and managed to save the girl from their clutches...!"


"You're getting sidetracked," Gills complained.


"...Ahem! Anyway, so I got some knowledge about the Tower, and I don't think they changed much even after thirty years. It's a construct from the old age. All they did was getting some decoration to liven up the mood. The interior itself couldn't be altered. So if you want to know about the inside, I'm your man."

 

[Srion Receno]

Seeing Norman pull out a keg of something he had brought, she sighed happily. "Norman your an amazing man you know that" she smiled at him, then took a drink as she listened to him talk. As he talked she would sip on her drink wile she looked through the papers he had placed on the table. when he had finished talking she looked at him. "do you think you can draw out what each floor looks like so I can figure out were the target could be?" she asked as she leaned on the table.

 

[From Darkness]

Norman pulled out a few pages of scrap paper, and then began scribbling down on them. Each pages was filled with identical drawings of a large circle with a smaller circle inside it. The area between the small and the big circles were segmented, and he labeled each of them with things like "library" or "guest room".

"This is thirty-ish years ago, so don't expect it to be very accurate," Norman murmured. "They might switch around the room. The first twenty floors are general purpose stuff for people living there. The rest are research floors with a lot of magical experiments taking place. The highest floor is where the Grand Magus, the head of the Tower. Oh boy did I have fun breaking into that place back then-"

Arty sneaked a glance toward her brother, which the latter answered with a nod. He interrupted Norman's speech with his hand.

"Problem is...we don't know the exact location of the Dragon Princess. Not even Arty could tell. It could be in the basement, in one of those floors, or even the topmost floor."

 

[Srion Receno]

Seeing the scraps of paper that Norman pulled out Crimson leaned in to look at them. Her drink in her hand as she went to take a drink her eyes still on it, studying the lay out of it. Hearing the prince talk her eyes turned to him as she brought the cup down from taking a large drink from it. Not knowing where the woman is located was definitely a problem. "We should start from the bottom down. No one would see it coming..." take a lot of energy, not to mention a lot of pain from her still soar ribs, but she could make it with her shadows. "Or two of us could go from the top and the other two can start from the bottom" she looked to the two men as she pointed to each spot on the map.

 

[From Darkness]

Gils shook his head. The proposed solution didn't satisfy him.

"And how would we perform a thorough search in a place we don't have authorization to enter? It's not like all of us are assassins who can just slip in without being noti-"

He paused. On his left was a seasoned bandit, across of him was a famous assassin, and the white-haired child hovering behind her was his brother's secret operative agent. Actually this might work out...

"Nevermind. Let's do as you say. How should we split up the team though.."

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson raised her brow with a slight frown. Was he really going to shoot down her idea? She has done more missions like this then he ever would in his life. The assassin was about to voice her opinion again, but more on him then the plan, before he spoke again. Hearing he would go with the plan she nodded. "In thinking you boys work on going up, we will go down. It would be the easiest to use my shadows with her, then on ether of you two" after saying this she took another long drink of her alcohol as she waited for them to decide if that was the right action.

 

[From Darkness]

Gil sighed. "I will go with your suggestion. It's already too late to doubt your abilities at this point. What do you say?" He turned to Norman. The big guy nodded.

"You're the expert," he said with an amused tone.

"So it will be Norman, me, and Arty going up..."

The princess interrupted her brother, shaking her head. "I'll go with miss Crimson."

"But-" he started, but ended up not arguing any further. There was a determined look on his sister's face, which stopped him from trying to change her decision. "-take care of her, you hear?" he huffed, turning his frustration to Crimson instead.

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson listened as Gil tried to put her alone at top. Really she already knew that Arty would go with her even if the assassin wouldn't of been willing to take her and Crimson was definitely willing. With the prince's words she looked over with a frown. "I have been protecting her from the beginning, why would I stop now?" She glared over at him annoyed he would even think that she wouldn't after coming so far. It was her job to do so, so she will.