Fantasy The Guildstone Chronicles ((Main Hall))

[Gaius Danius Griinia]

The Wizard
Location: Guild Hall -> Guild Barn
Mentions: Sylph Key of Stars Uasal RatKing

The Wizard couldn't help but feel the cold gaze of Kathlyn bearing into his back from her spot behind the counter. Cylia had agreed to take him under her instruction. Although he would need to pick out a weapon to use. While he had forgone weapon training due to his his weak physique before. His current body was at least average parameter wise. So it would make sense to pick something easy for a beginner to use. Scratching his chin whilst thinking on the topic. He raised his head at Ymir's comment about Milby. "Milby is a Chinchilla, they are closer to porcupine or guinea pigs than rats. Though they aren't endemic to this region" replied the caster while making his little statues. He'd give one to Kathlyn but they'd eventually melt so they mad for a poor gift. As for his sudden knowledge on Chinchillas. The Wizard refused to tell Ymr that it was because he'd had no idea what Milby even was.

The Wizard noticed two additional presences approach their table. Eiru and Ruvo had joined them. Apparently Eiru could understand the nature spirits given her comment about the weather. The air between the pair had changed somehow. There was a feeling there that The Wizard just couldn't quite place. Perhaps they had formed an exclusive club of some sorts. Although a club with two people didn't sound like much fun. When it came time to follow the group out into the rain. The Wizard didn't even bother to cover up much. Sure his weighted clothes made getting there an exercise in itself. However he also created an aura of intense heat with which to burn up the raindrops. Twofold training was how he'd start things off. That was just how it had to be if he wanted to get stronger.

Finally arriving at the old and bare looking barn. The Wizard still hadn't picked a weapon yet. He'd need something versatile that he could find anywhere. Seeing a rake in the corner. He picked it up and popped off the head. Now left with a stick in his hands. The Wizard realized that the answer had been pretty obvious this whole time. A wizard was nothing without their wizardly staff. So this would be the weapon he would personally train with. Showing Cylia his stick triumphantly. He gave it a few twirls that displayed his confidence with such a weapon before tapping the butt of the stick against the ground.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Gion Stickman
Location: Cliffside home -> Guild Hall

"Countless people pass, each faces blurred into the mass~
When the others fails you. Remember my gift for you~
Ooo, goodbye hom-"

"CHIIIRP!!!!" Gion stopped his singing once the small turkey chick jumped onto his lap and snatched his index finger, rendering himself unable to play his guitar further. The chick then retreated back into the pocket where she was sleeping before.

"Sorry, Angel. It must sounds really terrible, eh. Sometimes I forget I can't actually sing. Probably because I have no soul? hehe. Or maybe because I can't sing my heart out? Hehehhe."

After the storm started three days ago, the skeleton and his turkey chick were forced to move from their home as the flood crashed into the farmland and drowned almost half of it. Mr. Kato and his families had been working hard saving as much crops as possible from the flood so the skeleton didn't think it would be a good time to pester him for new location. He then decided to look for a new location. He still didn't want to move into the city though and so he ended up living in a shallow cavern on the side of a cliff. Not the most accessible place but it looks safe and the occasional bats entering the cavern became Angel's favorite food.

"The sun had rise. Come on, Angel. We should go to the guild."

------------

Gion was really thankful for the invisible mask he got from the store. With this item he managed to sneak into the city without freaking anyone on the way, that and the gloomy weather probably also discourage people from going out. For the last three days Gion hadn't spent much time in the guild, a lot of the members seemed to be recovering from their injuries and Gion tried to help discreetly with the disaster relief.

"Hello, buddies! Good morning! What a great day we have today..." Gion slammed the guild's door open while doing his usual loud greeting, though his voice trailed off as he noticed that there's barely anyone inside. Making his way towards the receptionist, he asked at Azalea with worried tone.

"Hello, Ma'am Azalea. Did the others haven't recovered from their injuries? S-should I bring them fruits?"

Sylph

 

[Key of Stars]

Cylia Hower
Location: Guild Hall > Barn
Mentions: Uasal Sylph RatKing Gaius Danius Griinia ​

"And I guess the rest of the plan is up to the no-show's sister." She ignored the comment about her brother, she knew he wouldn't be showing up, he had much to work on in his swordplay but training together with his friends who had barely touched weapons before would hardly be beneficial to him, she had told him as much and he himself was fully aware of it. She had no doubt he would be training on his own, repeating their father's lessons in his head a million times over in the rain if that is what it would take.

"I'll take an old and leaky barn over training in the cold rain and muddy training grounds any day" She nodded. "I will agree, though you'll do well to keep in mind that weather conditions out in a real battle will not always be favorable. Do not always let rain hold you back from training." She warned, following the others to the barn, changing the temperature around her to a toasty warmth as soon as she stepped foot inside to dry off.

She watched with a mix of interest and resignation as the young man calling himself the wizard picked up a broom and popped off the head, twirling it around a few times before looking at her triumphantly. She heaved a deep sigh, she supposed the stick was close enough to a quarterstaff to allow him to practice with it. "You," She pointed at the feathered bard. "You don't seem to have chosen a weapon yet. Do you mind if I make a suggestion?" She didn't wait for an answer, unsheathing the blade at her hip in a single fluid movement, twirling it around a few times for no other reason than to show off the weapon's excellent balance before holding it out to him. "Take care of it, I will be needing it back."

"So how do you plan to do this? Given we have different weapons and all, instructing us as a group might be somewhat difficult." Cylia nodded, unbuttoning the buttons on the sleeve of her blouse and shaking her hands a little to loosen them. "I'm glad you asked. All of you have used and relied on magic for combat up until now and, from the way you are holding your weapons, I wager most of you have scarcely ever used a weapon. That being the case, let me set some ground rules." She slightly adjusted the grip of the whip hanging at her hip before continuing. "First, you are to rely on your weapons for the duration of my training, that means no magic, offensive or supportive. Second, you are to be mindful of those around you with every strike you make, you all are likely to fight again as a team in the future so you'll have to learn to work together."

"Well then," She grabbed the whip from her hip, wrapping it around her arm in a peculiar stance. "Come at me, all four of you at once."

 

[Uasal]

Eiru Eagna
Gold II

Eiru looked to her practice spear when Cylia made mention of it, the woman had suggested using a real spear and such a suggestion was rather sound in logic. But as the instructor would soon come to find, the use of a practice spear was not for the safety of others but instead for Eiru herself. Eiru was still recovering from her ability potion and the sudden boost to her strength it had provided. Not to mention the danger Eiru herself was prone to invoking just simply through existing. "I'll keep that in mind."

Once inside the barn though things very quickly began to pick up the pace. Magic and support magics were immediately out ruled and of course, the aspect of safety and cooperation was broached. But most shockingly to Eiru, Cylia moved to grab a whip from her hip. Not a sword, not a spear, not a maul or bat, a whip. Eyes gleaming Eiru was forced to call upon all mental fortitude she could muster in order to avoid speaking on the subject. Stopping herself from making a snide joke then nearly broke her, but she managed to push through. After all, such a joke would only result in increased physical trauma.

Readying her spear Eiru launched into action, one step, two steps. Yet just before she could thrust her spear forward as intended she came to a sudden halt, tripping forward and proceeding to fall flat on her face with a dull thud "Gack!". Her spear bounced and then rolled some distance away.

RatKing Key of Stars Gaius Danius Griinia Sylph​

 

[RatKing]

Ruvo Steelfeather
Location: Barn
Mentions: Key of Stars Uasal
​

"You," "Y-yes?" he questioned. "You don't seem to have chosen a weapon yet. Do you mind if I make a suggestion?" "I--" but before he could say anything more Cylia was already flourishing their sword before presenting it to him to grab. He wasn't sure how she knew he wanted to train with a blade, perhaps it was intuition or just something about bards that made them a good candidate for sword training. "Take care of it, I will be needing it back." The bard nodded before taking up the weapon. He knew little of swords, but even he could tell that the blade lent to him was finely crafted and likely quite expensive. Not something he should be careless with to say the least. So no pressure right?

The rules set for their training session made sense to him. Magic was not to be used in either an offensive or supportive manner. Given that his magic wasn't well suited for weapon training anyways this was no issue. Besides they were here to focus on bettering their martial prowess not to learn how to interweave it with magic. As for the comment about working as a team and being mindful of others he supposed that was just to remind them to be careful where they are swinging their weapons and to encourage team work. "Well then, come at me, all four of you at once."

Ruvo looked to the others caught off guard by the challenge. He had expected for them to get a preliminary guide on how to hold and swing their respective weapons properly first, not to jump straight to fighting someone far and away more experienced than the four of them combined. There was no doubt in his mind that they stood little to no chance at actually doing much to Cylia, but they had to try right? If they were lucky one of them would land a single blow. To his surprise Eiru was the first to act, charging in with their spear pointing forward. Figuring it was best not to go in one by one he raised his borrowed blade following the witch's lead. Unfortunately, it was only a moment later that Eiru tripped causing Ruvo to stumble over her and forcing him to awkwardly pivot suddenly making his sword swing go wide.

 

[Sylph]

Azalea Gibraltar
Location: Guild Hall
Mentions: Spoiled Bread ​

The sound of rain pattering off the roof of the hall was a balm to all of Azalea's troubles. The soothing ambiance of it had wildflowers growing where thorny spines would usually dominate. Sitting at her desk, enjoying the rain-cooled air, she almost looked friendly enough to be a receptionist.

"Hello, buddies! Good morning! What a great day we have today..." The now-disguised skeleton trailed off, looking around the hall, but Azalea couldn't agree more. People made such fuss and misery out of rain. But there was nothing better to bring life to a forest.

"Hello, Ma'am Azalea." Gion seemed unsure as he approached. Azalea looked over, not smiling exactly, but more peaceful and serene than she normally did at the prospect of someone bringing her another issue. "Did the others haven't recovered from their injuries? S-should I bring them fruits?"

'Recovered' was a difficult state to define for adventurers. It varied depending who one asked. Most of them decided that as soon as they were back on their feet they were ready for the field again. To Kathlyn's dismay, since the chance of a reoccurring injury or illness was much higher without ample time to rest. "I would argue they have not, in fact, recovered. Nonetheless, they are out the back for training. Do you wish to join them, or see about finding someone for a quest?"

Ymir
Location: Guild Barn --> Training Fields
Mentions: Key of Stars Uasal RatKing Gaius Danius Griinia ​

In the aftermath of Eiru's monumental defeat and Ruvo's missed attack--plus whatever else Wizard had done--Ymir sighed, still in the exact spot she'd started. She leaned against her weapon, looking pained with the whole matter. She wasn't about to go on the attack. As if blindly charging in with weapons they didn't know how to use would help--they'd have picked a quest and done that instead.

"...this isn't going to work," she muttered.

Closing her eyes, she realised Leo wasn't in his room as she first expected. There was, however, a lone figure out in the field, practicing with a sword. Is he trying to give himself pneumonia?

"I'll return in a moment," Ymir said, setting her elongated staff against the wall on her way out. The guild didn't have much variety in the way of spare equipment. They were mostly sticks of varying lengths depending whether you wanted a spear or a sword, since most adventurers bought their own weapons. Pulling out her already soaked glider to fend off the rain, she circle around until she reached the training fields, the rain pattering off the sturdy leather that made up the wings.

"Oi," she said, disgruntled at being forced to step into the watery weather once more. "Quit giving yourself a cold and come train Ruvo for us. Eiru's going to knock someone out if Cylia doesn't teach us stances."

 

[Gaius Danius Griinia]

The Wizard
Location: Guild Barn
Mentions: Key of Stars Uasal RatKing Sylph

When Cylia had declared their training exercise would begin with their simultaneous attack on her. The Wizard knew this was going far past the realm of DOABLE and more into the realm of NIGH-IMPOSSIBLE. They weren't armed with real weapons and were going against someone who was at the level of a Gold Rank. Someone whose physical and magical abilities were equally unreal. Gripping his quarterstaff and trying to come up with some kind of strategy. He witnessed Eiru trip and faceplant. Then Ruvo whiffed his swing with the sword he'd been given. Turning to Ymir for some kind of assistance. The Wizard watched her leave to presumably get outside help. Left alone with an icy beauty with her hand on a whip. Gritting his teeth and tightening his grip on the stick in his hands. The Wizard stepped over Eiru while she unhelpfully ate dirt. His body was different than before, so he may have at least a sliver of chance to not get introduced to the same dirt as the witch.

Spinning his stick from his left side to his right. The Wizard began with a left rib-strike before moving into right shoulder strike. Gripping the base of the staff. He tried to go for the classic leg sweep. Although he highly doubted a fighter like Cylia would fall prey to such a simple tactic. Keeping himself in front of Eiru and Ruvo. The Wizard followed up the leg-sweep with a series of rapid thrusts with the oaken end of his staff directed to the chest. Fighting without his magic was incredibly difficult. All he could do was hope that he could get a few hits in on Cylia before she wiped the floor with him.

 

[Key of Stars]

Leonidas Hood
Location: Guild field > Guild barn
Mentions: Sylph
​

"Oi," Leonidas stopped himself in the middle of a swing, spinning around on his heel to face Ymir. "Why are you here?" He pushed a strand of soaked hair out of his face. "Quit giving yourself a cold and come train Ruvo for us. Eiru's going to knock someone out if Cylia doesn't teach us stances." He spun the thin silver blade around, finishing his swing before sheathing the weapon with a fluid motion. "My sister's training methods are... well... let's say unorthodox. Still, you have nothing to worry about it, she's the best instructor Hower Academy has to offer, just go along with her crazy ideas and you'll realize she's teaching you more than it seems."

He stared Ymir in the eyes for a moment before sighing, she clearly wasn't going to accept that as an answer. "Fine then, I'll help you out." He relented, setting out in the direction of the barn. "Also," He turned back to Ymir. "I'd like to talk when we're done."

Cylia Hower
Location: Guild barn
Mentions: Sylph RatKing Gaius Danius Griinia Uasal​

She been expecting to fight four people at once, honestly, she had been looking forward to fighting four people at once, instead, one of them had tripped, taking the feathered bard's attempt at a sword swing down with her. The third had set her weapon to the side and walked off which left her face to face with only one of the four people she had expected to be facing. She allowed herself a small smile as she stepped back to avoid attempt to sweep her leg, using her heel to add a little extra momentum to the staff flying past her ankles. She'd expected that to ruin his balance entirely but to her pleasant surprise the man managed to keep it rather well, launching a series of thrusts at her chest.

She turned her body to dodge the first few thrusts, tossing the grip of her whip over to the other hand and unwrapping it from her arm slightly as she did so, keeping a small part of the whip taut between her two hands. As the wizard launched another thrust she took a small step back, bringing her hands down over the staff, spinning her right hand around the staff quickly, getting it wrapped in her whip before she yanked it back, ripping the weapon out of his hands. She quickly let go of the grip of the whip, freeing the staff from it and wrapping it back around her arm with a quick circular movement before catching the spinning staff and executing a quick thrust at the Wizard's chest.

The sound of wood on metal echoed through the barn. "Oh? So you decided to show up after all, you look like a drowned rat." She said, quickly spinning the staff around in her hand, lifting it just above the blade of her brother's weapon and striking him in the chest quickly, she spun around on her heel after that, lightly tossing the wizard's staff back to him. "Not bad, sloppy and untrained, but not bad, keep your hands further apart from now on. As for you," She pointed at Ymir. "Getting back-up, not a terrible idea, provided your back-up would be someone able to actually beat me. Not to mention, it seems you lack more than a little faith in my teaching ability, which, I have to say, is a little hurtful."

"On to you two," She continued, pointing at Eiru and Ruvo respectively. "Well, I will comment once you both have actually managed to make an attempt at hitting me." She quickly unwrapped the whip from her arm and cracked it against the floor of the barn. "Now then, on your feet, we're doing this again. Except, you..." She pointed at Ymir yet again. "You'll be training with my brother, as for your stance, keep your hands apart and your elbows straight. I trust you won't have an issue with that either?" She added, glancing at her brother who had only just recovered from the strike to his chest. She didn't wait for an answer, turning back to the other three. "Well then you three, let's try this whole thing again, shall we?"

 

[RatKing]

Ruvo Steelfeather
Location: Barn
Mentions: Gaius Danius Griinia Key of Stars Uasal
​

Wizard followed up with a sweeping maneuver and a flurry of jabs, however, Cylia was clearly adept at reading body movements and was evading everything the mage was throwing at her. Being down a person with Ymir stepping away made trying to press their numbers advantage in the hope of landing a blow by catching or forcing a mistake all the less likely in their first attempt. With a quick and intricate maneuver the avian bard watched as their instructor disarmed the Wizard and attempted to strike him with his own weapon. But then just in time Leo was there to intercept the oncoming staff. Though his dramatic entrance was quickly cut down as his sister swiftly readjusted and continued their strike onto the poet instead.

Then came the criticisms. Each of them got one with the exception of Eiru and himself due to not making a proper enough attempt at hitting their instructor. In addition Ymir was being paired with Leo for training. He had feeling there were some ulterior motives with that matchup but that wasn't something he needed to preoccupy his mind with at the moment. "Well then you three, let's try this whole thing again, shall we?" "I agree" he said while offering Eiru a hand back up to her feet. "Together this time" he said raising the borrowed sword once more as he got into his best estimation of a proper stance. It was now a three on one with a more experienced opponent and if they wanted to stand any chance they would probably have to attack at once and from different points. He was wielding a sword and had the least amount of reach at least compared to a spear or quarterstaff so ideally he would take the lead with the other two attacking from the sides or behind him. But engaging first was certainly an intimidating task, nevertheless, one of them had to act.

With a deep breath Ruvo would try and close the gap between himself and Cylia before attempting a diagonal slash aimed at the torso of their instructor followed up by a horizontal slash. Given he was wielding an actual sword he figured Cylia would just dodge out of the way or strike him when there was an opening to avoid being cut, but that was fine so long as could keep as much attention on him as possible so that the others would have it easier.

 

[Uasal]

Eiru Eagna
Gold II

Eiru was quick to dust herself off, despite the obvious bruising to her forehead. Taking Ruvo's hand the Witch got to her feet and quickly went about recovering her wooden spear. Examining it thoughtfully before swishing it around a few times. "hmm, no. this isn't right... was it like this?" Swishing it again Eiru nearly fell over herself yet again, catching herself this time. "Nope. Not like that either...". Flicking and swishing her staff around Eiru repeatedly went through the motion of almost falling and catching herself many a time. After numerous attempts, the witch took a step forward, turned around, hopped back the way she had come and then finished by waltzing her spearhead back around until she was facing forward again. Shoving it forward with the waltzing momentum to deliver a solid blow to the air afront herself. "Huh, that felt a bit better than before... but it still feels off."

Turning back to face Cylia Eiru repeated the motion and thrust her spear forward with swift and nimble footwork. Ready to pivot and weave herself out of harm's way should she need to. Her movements were like a dance in which her spear was her partner. Still rough around the edges but elegant in its own way and a huge improvement from just prior. "Was it like this?"

RatKing Gaius Danius Griinia Key of Stars​

 

[Gaius Danius Griinia]

The Wizard
Location: Guild Barn
Mentions: Key of Stars RatKing Uasal

The Wizard was able to get his hands back on his new staff. Cylia's teachings was clear and precise. He just needed to take them to heart and assimilate them with his plan of action. Ruvo seemed to make the first move with two consecutive strikes which could form an acute angle if they managed to hit. Eiru had regained her footing thanks to their fine feathered friend. Her new plan seemed to involve some decently fluid movement. A careful dance of pierce and weave. The Wizard had doubts he could do something like that. Honestly he wasn't sure what he should do. Then he realized he was taking this far too seriously. He chose to train and his teacher was the type to respond to her students. So he nodded his head and tightened his grip on the wooden staff. Cylia's attention appeared to occupied with Ruvo's crude strikes and Eiru's fluid footwork. Therefore he only needed to create a chance. He was the Wizard, Future Grand Archmage of this world.

Quickly dragging his staff along the ground. The Wizard dug into the soft earth and tossed a heap of dirt at Cylia's face. Diversionary tactic underway, he . found a sandbag dangling from a rotting rope above the azure haired headmistress. Striking the rope against a rusty nail jutting out from what remained from the rafters. He assumed she'd repel it the instant its presence was noticed. Moving into a series of diagonal strikes to press her attempts to sweep them aside. He'd drop the mana supply to certain parts of his weighted robes so his final strike would begin at an expected speed before moving much quicker.

"Crybaby Headmistress... The Wizard will overcome you"

 

[Sylph]

Ymir
Location: Guild Barn
Mentions: Key of Stars ​

Spoiler: Training Bonus

Wizard [Agility +20]: 30 --> 50 Gaius Danius Griinia
Ruvo [Agility +10]: 50 --> 60 RatKing
Eiru [Agility +10]: 70 --> 80 Uasal
Leo [Constitution +10]: 20 --> 30
Ymir [Agility +10]: 330 --> 340

"...just go along with her crazy ideas and you'll realize she's teaching you more than it seems."

"I only go along with crazy ideas of people I trust," she muttered, glaring at him until he finally acquiesced. Unless his plan was to train endurance, he wasn't about to get any better going over drills he'd done a hundred times before.

"Oh? So you decided to show up after all, you look like a drowned rat." Ymir snapped her glider shut as they reentered the barn, shaking off the excess water before dropping it lengthways into her bag. She was inclined to agree with Cylia on her words. Leo's hair and clothes looked like that of a soggy cat. He probably felt as miserable as the sky did, given he didn't bother to respond. "Getting back-up, not a terrible idea," Cylia continued, addressing Ymir this time. "Provided your back-up would be someone able to actually beat me. Not to mention, it seems you lack more than a little faith in my teaching ability, which, I have to say, is a little hurtful."

"Whoops," Ymir said, shrugging. "In my defence, you did call us too weak to accomplish anything on our own."

She was told to train with Leo after that.

"Seems like we'll be able to talk." she said, grabbing her practice staff off the wall as they retreated out of Eiru's disaster range. Beating each other up seemed to work for Leo and Cylia, so maybe it was worth a shot. The staff spun once in her hands as she settled into a loose stance--a traditional one used by the Lantana guard. He wasn't the only one in the guild who'd attended a militant-focused academy prior to joining. Her family just hadn't happened to own the damn thing as well. "I'll admit I was tired and angry before. So I can't really blame you for avoiding me after I lashed out."

She tested the distance with a light jab. She undoubtedly had the advantage with range, but she'd never gone much beyond the fundamentals of striking and guarding. "If you're leaving, you're leaving. It was nice hanging out-" She wasn't an offensive fighter to begin with--the main advantage of longer weapons was they played into her style of dodging and maintaining distance.

"If you're not leaving-" and it was pretty obvious Cylia had no intentions of giving up the Academy. Ymir respected her in that regard, even if she would never train at said Academy. "Then let's leave things as they are." If Leo went on the offensive he'd find Ymir a notoriously difficult target. Even without her wind magic she was light on her feet. And if he chose to stay still, she'd sidestep, swinging wide for a feint and following with a jab with the butt end of the stuff. Out of habit she never went for more that three strikes in a set before retreating a safe distance--if she couldn't catch them off-guard then there was no point staying in a range where she was at a disadvantage.

"I'm not looking for anything until I'd finished my map of the continent anyway," she said once she was out of range. She'd had time to calm down and think over the past three days. As embarrassing as it was to admit, she'd overreacted. Too tired and cross and out-of-sorts to realise Leo probably didn't want to leave with regrets. "I'd like to to explore it with you, mind. But it's too dangerous to be distracted by anything with teammates. And with the chances of one of us dying not being insignificant..." Leo was most likely aware of the grief that could bring already, even if things had turned out for the better.

"For now, how about we focus on getting stronger?" She swung the staff down overhead, retracting if blocked to throw a jab at his chest. "And don't think you can go about avoiding me for another three days." Her eyes flashed a brief gold, grinning. "You'll need to be an ocean away before you can think about hiding."

 

[Key of Stars]

Cylia Hower
Location: Guild barn
Mentions: RatKing Uasal Gaius Danius Griinia ​

Cylia dropped back into a loose combat stance, with her whip no longer wrapped around her arm, she had the clear range advantage over her opponents. Still, she didn't move, allowing the three adventurers she was facing to make the first move. In the end, it was the feathered bard who moved first, she took a calculated step backward, barely avoiding the sword being swung at her. Without her shield she wasn't able to actually block the weapon, still, while the bard's strikes were well thought out, they were also untrained and somewhat sloppy, she stepped in after dodging another strike, getting close enough to launch a sharp punch at the bard's stomach, only to jump back moments later to barely avoid a spear thrust aimed at her.

"Oh?" She grinned, cracking her whip in a wide arc to create some distance between herself and the duo, eyes settling on the red-eyed witch. "That's some fancy footwork you're displaying, can't say I've seen that before, not bad. But..." She swung her whip at Ruvo as she advanced, throwing herself back into the fight with the two adventurers. "It feels like you're copying someone rather than truly making those steps your own." She ducked to avoid a thrust from Eiru's spear before stepping forward under one of Ruvo's strikes, grabbing hold of the man's arm and using his own momentum to send him hurling at Eiru.

"Sorry, I have something else I need to focus on." She said, spinning on her heel to face the wizard. She swatted the dirt away, following his gaze to the sandbag above her. Normally, she would have simply used her magic to send the sandbag flying away from her or even used her shield to block it, but with those two options unavailable she was forced to dodge out of the way instead, placing the sandbag in between herself and the wizard through a strong kick with the heel of her boot, interrupting his attempts at striking her.

"Crybaby Headmistress... The Wizard will overcome you" Her eyes narrowed, blocking a final strike from the man's improvised staff before she started moving, circling back to where she'd left Ruvo and Eiru. "Sword." She held out her hand to the bard, receiving her sword back and giving it a single warm-up swing before launching into a flurry of attacks at the wizard. She purposefully avoided actually hitting the man, she was more than a little pissed but the last thing she wanted was to maim or kill the man. After launching attack after attack for a while she turned her sword sideways for her final swing, hitting the man in the side with the flat end of her weapon. "I've never cried, understood?"

Leonidas Hood
Location: Guild barn
Mentions: Sylph ​

"Seems like we'll be able to talk." He rubbed the part of his chest where Cylia had struck him before nodding. "Not exactly the type of setting I had in mind but it'll do I suppose." "I'll admit I was tired and angry before. So I can't really blame you for avoiding me after I lashed out." He adjusted his grip on his weapon, shaking his head. "It wasn't anything like that, I just had... things to think about."

"If you're leaving, you're leaving. It was nice hanging out-" He blocked her jab lightly. "Ouch, you could at least pretend to be a little sadder about it." He joked. He let her talk after that not going on the offensive himself once, he was supposed to be training her, not sparring with her, even so, he didn't know the first thing about glaives, how was he supposed to teach her anything? Cylia had been annoyed, that's why she thrown the responsibility to train Ymir onto him, knowing full well he hadn't even held a glaive in his life.

"I'd like to to explore it with you, mind. But it's too dangerous to be distracted by anything with teammates. And with the chances of one of us dying not being insignificant..." He slowly nodded, keeping his guard up. "If that's what you want, though, personally, I don't think I can agree." He took a step forward, tightening the grip on his weapon. "If I were to die in some god forsaken uncharted hole on the continent I'd rather be able to say I spent the time I had left living my life to the fullest rather than holding back. Well, that's just what I think."

"For now, how about we focus on getting stronger?" He moved his sword up to block the strike that followed, only to get hit in the chest in the exact same spot Cylia had hit him earlier by her feint. "And don't think you can go about avoiding me for another three days. You'll need to be an ocean away before you can think about hiding." He coughed a few times, rubbing his chest before smiling back. "I wouldn't dare."

 

[RatKing]

Ruvo Steelfeather
Location: Barn
Mentions: Key of Stars Uasal Gaius Danius Griinia
​

Just as he had expected their opponent was able to expertly dodge each of his strikes while getting in close to deliver a retaliating punch straight to his gut before he could sidestep out of the way. The blow forced him to swiftly grip his stomach in pain and momentarily halted his attack. Despite the pain Ruvo did his best to push past it to avoid having the three ending up beaten one by one again. Only having partially recovered his breath he quickly stumbled backwards upon seeing Cylia unfurl the whip barely avoiding the weapon's tip as it was swung in a wide arc to create space between her and the duo. Catching his balance he charged forward again to close the gap only to be met with the sharp stinging pain of the whip striking him in his arm knocking some feathers off of him. The three clashed once again, however, despite their coordinated effort Cylia slipped past spear thrust and sword swing alike, grabbing his arm to redirect his forward momentum so that he would collide with Eiru.

With himself and the witch bested for the moment it was up to the Wizard once again to continue the bout while they collected themselves. Though he too had his strikes with the makeshift quarterstaff avoided even with underhanded and creative tactics alike being used. The back and forth continued until their fellow training partner touched upon a sensitive subject with a taunt.

"Sword." It wasn't request. This was a demand and not one he was going to deny. Handing over the blade he could only hope that she went easy on Wizard. What followed was a flurry of carefully placed sword swings meant not to harm but likely to push the mage back showing power and control before finishing the assault with a strike to the man's torso with the flat side of the blade. The swordsmanship had a frightening grace that put his clumsy and untrained swings to shame. He clearly had a long way to go to be even partially as skilled.

 

[Sylph]

Ymir
Location: Guild Barn
Mentions: Key of Stars​

Spoiler: Rewards

Ruvo [Agility +10]: 60 --> 70 RatKing
Leo [Agility +10]: 70 --> 80

Ymir grew more and more irked as Leo continued to defend. She was not in her element attacking, though it satisfied her to land a hit. "I wouldn't dare."

"You seem like you're done running away from things anyway," Ymir said, readjusting her grip on the weapon. Her gaze narrowed when Leo remained where he was. "Now, care to explain why you're not attacking? I find static drills terribly boring you know."

Out the corner of her eye she watched Cylia launch at the Wizard boy in a flurry of attacks. He might slightly win out over the headmistress in height and reach, but Ymir wondered whether his lanky arms would be able to fend off such precise strikes, or if the sleeves of his robe wouldn't get in the way. Ruvo stood off to the side, having been deprived of his weapon. Ymir only kept track of Eiru enough to keep the most distance possible between them. The witch's margin of error could be far-reaching indeed.

Returning her attention to Leo, Ymir wasn't moving until he attacked. There was a sidestep counter she'd been keen to try out on someone with the skill and reflexes to react.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Gion Stickman
Location: Guild Hall

"Ahh... I see. What a lively bunch. I'm glad they are in good enough condition." Gion let out an obviously conscious attempt at making a relieved sigh.

"I may take a peek at their training later, but uhh... can I ask you a question, miss Azalea?" Gion suddenly lowered his volume, as if trying to make his next words more secretive.

"Is it actually okay for me to work in the guild? I'm really thankful that i'm allowed to work here, but my first mission almost put my fellow guildmate in problem." He of course referred to his and wizard's encounter with the soldiers from the house of Dawn. The skeleton looked at his skeletal hands as he continues his contemplative rambling.

"Back before I joined this guild, things like that is a normal occurence for me. It is what will happen whenever I stroll into a settlement so I got used to it, but here I realized that I'm carrying more than just my name. What I do, and what I am will paint the picture of what I represent. Do you think there's a way for me to be normally accepted in society? Or at least something I can do so the people here wouldn't get into trouble because of me?"

"Oh, wait. That's three questions." Gion slapped his own forehead.

Sylph

 

[Uasal]

Eiru Eagna
Gold II


Eiru twirled the spear in her hand a few times while thinking about the words Cylia had presented. Make the moves her own? Wasn't that a bit advanced? Eiru could hardly remember her basic training from when she was a little girl. Heck, the moves she was mimicking were moves that just seemed right in her mind. She had displayed great mastery of the spear in her fight with the undead pirate but right now all she could remember was this footwork and. "Oh, it was like this!" Taking a step back Eiru would pirouette and then repeat the same movements as before, this time generating quite a gust of force upon striking the air. "No... still not quite right".

With the wizard on the defensive once again, Eiru decided to strike when the iron was hot, or temper in this case. Repeating her motions Eiru would thrust her spear toward the woman's centre of mass, only before she'd make contact, another pirouette would allow her to feint and attack the woman from the side. That was if she didn't see it coming of course.​

 

[Gaius Danius Griinia]

The Wizard
Location: Guild Barn
Mentions: Key of Stars

The Wizard could tell that he had struck a nerve within the Crybaby Cylia. Naturally her response was to attempt to discipline him via a series of well timed strikes. It was obvious that she was making sure he wouldn't be harmed by these attacks. That didn't mean The Wizard wasn't analyzing each swing, thrust and pommel-bash that came his way. The way she was so vehemently denying the tears he saw he shed was going to hold her back in the future. Crybaby Cylia could only overcome her sorrow with her own efforts. Such efforts could only begin by accepting the sorrow existed in the first place. "Crying because you were abandoned, alone. No Leo...no parents.... just an icy lady alone in her office grading papers" uttered The Wizard, running his mouth since he knew she knew that he knew that she knew what he was doing. He saw her coming at his side with the flat of her blade. A decent amount of strength behind that blow would no doubt hurt a lot. However The Wizard knew pain all too well. Pain was as familiar to him as breathing. His body would break, his mind overwhelmed and his heart shattered. The Wizard would endure this pain because he was due for even more pain in his future. A blow hit his ribs and caused great agony to surge up the side of his body. Gritting his teeth and forcing himself to stay standing. A spray of blood shot out from the Wizards mouth as he aimed for Crybaby Cylia's eyes.