2nd Adventure: Proxy War (Archive)

Mihai wakes up next to Fredrick, who is sitting besides a pile of small rocks he collected to throw them into the water.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," he says. "...We are alive, right?"

There's no one else but the two of them. Noticing the absence of Fedler, Mihai immediately mentally shouts "SNICKER!!".

The ensuing silence does nothing to improve his mood.

He gets back up to his feet, only to stumble in sharp pain that cuts from his wound all the way to his spine. He glares down with gritted teeth at his injury as he realizes the implication.

Speaking to Fredrick, he does his best to hide the anger and sound neutral "Where are we?"

Fredrick's mouth is hanging open. He's uncertain on how best to react to the mercenary's shout, then visibly relieved to hear his companion act normally again by asking a question, to which he happily gives him an answer.

"No idea. I'm guessing that's Nomad's Cove though."

He points at the bay.

Mihai sees nothing of interest to him along the shoreline, and turns away from the water.

"The forest. Maybe there'll be something we can use." - he says, as he starts limping toward it - "I'll slow you down." - he mutters.

"Sure, you'll slow me down," admits Fredrick. "But it's not like we're in any kind of hurry, are we?"

Mihai holds back a flare of anger at the "not in a hurry" part. Fredrick seems to be alright, if part of Zelk's crew. Not that he trusts himself a good judge of character anymore.

Fredrick looks at the forest, then back at the beach. "Why don't we follow the water first? Might find a port, if we're lucky."

"You're right." - he goes along the shoreline - "If the driftwood's over that way, the current must flow south. Should be the most sheltered spot in the cove. If anyone's gonna store a boat for the crossing, they might do it there."

Mihai heads southwest, using Waterglass in it's sheath as a walking stick.

ooc:

While Mihai walks on the shoreline, using his sword as a cane, he suddenly hears a familiar voice. "I'm curious. Why her?"

Fredrick doesn't seem to hear the voice. He keeps following Mihai in silence.

Mihai thinks, "Can we talk like this or are you gonna force me to do this aloud?"

"I cannot force you to do anything. Wouldn't be fun otherwise. Just think your replies."

Mihai sighs. "I... had left the syndicate feeling like the only person I’d ever trusted had betrayed me. Joined the Coins just for a buck. Didn't think about it too much. Was spending the night with some guys I’d never met before, and didn't much care to. Until she walked in. I don't know... but the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew I could. Heh... still checked the surroundings when we went outside though, but that was just discipline. Something about her face... when I said I had to talk it over with Konrad and Steve. For just a moment that it lost strength and dropped, I knew I had to help her. I didn't know what it was then, mind you. Then the Wolf happened, then the night at the Festival. Up until she kissed me, I didn't allow myself to think it was what it was. I was scared to make a move on her. I guess... I don't know, I was never too good with people. Maybe it was what I did for a living, but I never felt too right around a lot of them, and never up close. Even one night stands, when girls came to me, were distant. But with her... from minute one, it was just... perfect. Does that make sense?"

"Of course not. It chuckles. "So she's the one thing you care about, above anything else. Right?"

"Yeah. Please... just tell me where I can find her."

"What if she's dead already?"

Mihai stops walking at the thought, then recovers. "You wouldn't have done that."

Fredrick appears worried when his mercenary colleague stopped walking, and almost voices his concern, but stops himself from doing so when Mihai starts moving again.

"Of course not," admits Snicker. "But I'm not who you should be worried about."

"So, who?"

"You know who." It snickers. "Fedler isn't with your friends, or anyone friendly."

"Kira Paddle?"

"I could guide you to Fedler. But my help isn't free."

"What do you want?"

"Five minutes," says Snicker. "You let me feel the wonders of this world through you for five minutes, and I will guide you to Fedler."

"I’ve got some broken ribs. You might not like it right now. But if you still want it, then yes Just... can you not do anything embarrassing?"

"Is this the extent of your resolve? You're worried I might do something embarrassing? Maybe I should let you find her by yourself."

It waits.

"No. Do it." Mihai is resolute.

"Then swear it. At a moment of my choosing, you will give me five minutes in your body."

"I swear. Do I have to keep silent about it?"

Mihai suddenly feels a chill go through his back, but it lasts only for a second.

"This is between us only."

He instantly feels Fedler's presence. She's in the forest, northeast of him. He remembers something horrible and has to ask. "Snicker... It's only five minutes, right?"

"Yes,"replies the voice. "Once the five minutes are over, I'm out."

"Ok... sorry. I just got really afraid of something for a second there, and had to make sure."

"I cannot force you to do anything you don't want to."

"Even when you're in my body?"

"When that happens, it won't be you."

"Ok." He speaks aloud, "Fredrick, we're going northeast."

"Uh? Why?" asks the soldier. "Did you see something?"

"I know where Fedler is."

"Really? You saw her footprints or something like that?" He examines his surroundings.

"Something like that. And I got a feeling we'll find Kira Paddle there too. We don't have time to waste. Let's go."

"Okay then." He unsheathes his sword.

Mihai unsheathes Waterglass, and proceeds Northeast. Both men walk in the direction Snicker provided them with; this forest is rife with life, and the trees fight each other for any ray of sunshine they can get. They must have walked at least one kilometer, and Fredrick is visibly astonished by Mihai's "tracking" method, but doesn't make any comment about it.

Then, they stumble onto a clearing with a small waterfall. Fedler is leaning on the trunk of a big tree, just right in front of the pond. She's unconscious. Standing up beside her is the man in rags.

"Well. I was wrong."

Mihai sheathes his sword.

Fredrick cannot help but ask, "Uh, should we really walk up to him, unarmed?"

The man in rags doesn't even bother to say anything, and just walks away from your group, deeper in the forest.

"You saw how he handled himself,” Mihai points out. “If he wanted us dead, we would be."

Mihai then approaches Fedler, but also mentally asks, "Snicker...? I'll keep my word, no matter your answer, but could you please do me a favor? If you take over me in front of her, later I’d have to make up some excuse. I... just don't ever want to have to lie to her. About anything."

"Five more minutes," replies the voice, "and I promise I won't do anything to her, or anything that would require you to make up any excuses."

"Ten minutes, then... Ok, deal."

"Remember." It snickers. "You have to swear."

Mihai sighs. "I swear."

He feels a stronger chill course through his back that lasts for a second, same as the first. He reaches Fedler, and checks her condition, and he can tell that she's breathing normally and doesn't appear injured.

"The bow lady seems okay," comments Fredrick, reassured. "That's one good news."

Mihai softly calls for her, "Fedler..." but she remains unconscious. He picks her up and begins carrying her in his arms.

"Right,” says Mihai. “Fredrick. Sorry, but... when she wakes up, I’ll have to tell her about Konrad. I don't have the facts. I know you do, but I won't ask you to share them. But I can't keep it from her. It's too in front of my face now."

Fredrick seems confused. "What about Konrad?"

"I know he was the one needed for this job. The perfect cover; doesn't make sense for any other of us. He was the one propped up in the captain's chair. Adding to that how once we boarded he went right up to Kira Paddle, he put his sword in her mouth... There's only one reason i can think for that. There must have been a grudge. Even if I’m off, i don't want this to catch Fedler completely off-guard when she finds out. I did confront Zelk about it. She stonewalled and dismissed me. I should have known better."

The young redhead starts to wake up.

"Fedler...!"

"Hmm...? What the...?" She opens her eyes, and looks around. It takes a few seconds for her to process what is happening. "Uh, Mihai? What..." Her cheeks turn red when she realizes he's carrying her.

"How are you feeling?"

"...Fine, I think?" She looks at Fredrick, who smiles and waves at her. "Uh, can you put me down?"

"Uh, sure."

He winces in pain a bit as he does. Fedler immediately notices it, and approaches him to examine his injury. "Don't worry, I'll take care of that." She casts a spell on him, and the broken ribs fix themselves.

"Thanks We're near Nomad's cove. Don't know what happened to the ship yet. Seems like the guy in rags saved you."

"Still not sure how he blocked that tentacle," adds Fredrick. "For now, I really don't want to antagonize him, not with just the three of us. We should find the others, if they're here."

"Fredrick, you didn't know the artifact was a man, did you?"

"Nope."

"Do you think it's still the same mission? Forget about how strong he is, this would now become something like kidnapping or human trafficking."

Soldier Drei stays silent for a few moments. "We're not sure he's human either," he says.

Fedler chimes in. "Did he say anything to you?"

"Nope."

"He looks human," Mihai adds. "He saved you, and didn't attack us. Just left. Whatever a lab might determine, I’m pretty sure it was a person I just saw. I just can't raise my blade at him after that."

"Well, he's not our concern for now," points out Fedler. "I'm more worried about the others."

"About that, Fedler... There's something I’ve stared suspecting since just before we assaulted Paddle's ship. I don't have any proof, so don't take this at face value, but if I’m right, I don't want you caught off-guard, ok?"

She's concerned. "About what?"

"I.... think the whole reason we were picked as the perfect cover for this mission was Konrad."

"Oh," she realizes. "Yeah, I've started thinking about it after our first meeting with the rest of Zelk's squad."

"It's just... if he happens to have had a connection to Paddle... and if you found out about it at a critical time, well..."

She raises an eyebrow. "Zelk herself said there were two ex-criminals in our adjunct. I just put two and two together, and... well. You remember when we talked after that, right?" She's embarrassed. "Let's just not dwell on it. I don't really want to think too much about what Konrad might have done. He's with us for now."

"Sure. I'm sorry, it never occurred to me. You... had a lot more on your mind than I imagined."

"Yeah, don't worry about it," she says, uncomfortable to talk about this subject in front of someone she knows almost nothing about. "Come on, let's go."

“Yeah."

Fedler backtracks to retrieve her her bow, which was lying on the ground besides the spot where she was unconscious, then catches up with Mihai and Fredrick, who were waiting.

"We were going to try and find a boat, to get to the cove,” Mihai informs her. “I figured South was the best way."

"South it is," she says.

Konrad wakes up next to Naomi and Adam; the young woman is already awake, but not her companion.

She greets him with a short, "Hey".

Konrad reflexively says "Hello" back, and sits up. The bandana tied around his face has fallen around his neck, and his mascara has washed off - some of it remains in a smear across his right eye. He takes a moment to reflect on the events of the storm, his eyes seething with frustration as he looks out over the ocean.

His hat is gone.

It was just a hat. He wore it for his disguise. But it was a damn fine hat. He can scarcely believe it now. "A bloody kraken." He picks up a handful of sand, and lets it gradually fall, like the sands in an hourglass. "Was it there the whole time, stirred from the deep by some twist of fate? Or birthed into existence by some echo of the Flood, like the fairies?"

He squeezes the remaining sand in his hand. Harder. He can feel the grains getting underneath his fingernails as he digs into his palm. "Everything was going so well. And then it showed up, and the bitch who swaggered in and ruined my life gets to swim out of my reach, thanks to that glorified watery eyesore of a squid." He almost looks like a different person now.

Naomi seems to share Konrad's bemusement, until he mentions the "bitch" that ruined his life. "Wait," interjects Naomi. "Who are you talking about?"

"My payload. The reason I took part in your mission for free. Kira Paddle. Hmm...she might still have the artifact. And if she washed ashore with us, we might still have a chance to take it."

She still seems confused, but doesn't push for an answer. "It appears the artifact is a 'he'."

The boy they released did stop a tentacle from crushing him with merely one hand...

"Indeed,” he says. “I don't think any mere man is capable of feats of strength like the one he performed on Kira's ship. Well, we are alive at least, and Kira's still out there. We still have a shot at getting some answers out of her."

He begins to wake Adam. He grabs a waterskin and empties it all over Adam's face. Once the water splahes on his face, the Free soldier wakes up immediately. He brings a hand on the handle of his sword by instinct.

"Wait, what!? What happened!?"

Konrad says to Adam, "At ease, mate. We've washed ashore and we're separated from the others. Our mission priority may have washed ashore as well. We think it might be the young man who was inside that coffin. We need to move on and try to find him, or Kira."

Adam turns his head to the left, then to the right. "...We need to find Lieutenant Zelk first; and your companions."

Konrad considers the possibility that the enigma they were sent to retrieve may not be friendly. And he doesn't want to fail the Coins, not for selfish reasons anyway.

"Fine." He realizes he's stull clinging to the sand in his hand, and lets it go, wiping his fingernails on his damp leather trousers. "Are either of you very good at tracking people down in the wild?"

Adam gestures at Naomi. The young woman rolls her eyes, and retorts, "My cousin. And only the two times he got lost.”

"Still, you found him," adds the male soldier.

The red mage sighs. Wherever Kira is, he’s not going to get to her in time. "Let's just walk together. They're likely to be on the beach, if they're on this island."

"Okay then," agrees Naomi. She helps Adam get on his feet. "Come on big guy." She turns to Konrad, and asks, "Where to? West or East? I like East."

"I like West," replies Adam.

Well, between the guy who has no faith in his own ability to track, and a woman who has a better track record (and probably has a higher wisdom score), the red mage raises an eyebrow at Adam, and says, "East it is."

"Good idea.”

Steve wakes up next to Zelk, who is still unconscious. She is still breathing though. A bunch of miscellaneous items (sheets of paper, quill, book, map, etc.) are threatening to fall off her bag. He gives her a little shake to see if she wakes up. At first, the Ice Queen doesn't react at all to Steve's attempt to wake her up, but with a little more effort, she slowly opens her eyes.

"...What?"

"Just making sure you are okay and I didn't think you'd appreciate me checking myself. We seem to have ended up on a beach somehow and I don't see any of the ships anywhere." He gives her some space so she can get up while taking stock of his own pack.

"You are okay, right?" The worry is clear in his tone.

Zelk doesn't get up. "I'll be fine," she announces with a mechanical tone, and then she sighs. "The mission is a complete failure."

"That isn't true. Well, not totally. We just haven't completed the objective yet is all. I still have my gear and you look like you have yours and I'm sure the others are somewhere around here. Once we hook back up with the team we can see about Rags McStrong-guy and Kira. Jerky?" He pulls some jerky out of his bag and takes a bite before offering her some. "I have six days of trail rations and can make all the water we need with my element. A bit of shelter and a logical search plan and we'll be back on track."

With a look of defeat on her face, Zelk nevertheless listens to Steve's encouragement, but whether it has an effect on her mood or not isn't clear. She absentmindedly takes a piece of jerky from him, and starts to chew on it

"...I never imagined I would see anything like this in my life," she states. "It was difficult enough to accept that fairies do exist, but a giant squid? There could be other creatures as dangerous as this one, roaming the world; perhaps even more deadly."

"Don't forget the man who can punch his way out of a magically sealed coffin, throw a woman 30 feet, and then casually block a giant squid tentacle with a punch. That was pretty cool." He sits down next to her. "It could be worse though,  I ran into a fire creature back in Waterglass while on a job. That was pretty scary. It was using a Green Mage as a meat puppet I think so it could recover some artifact or something. I don't know. It made threats and then ran away after we blasted it a bit. Something about killing us later." He snorts. "Get in line, fire creature. Am I right?"

He laughs at the idea of the various creatures lining up to fight them.

"Look at that view Zelk. Isn't it gorgeous?" He smells the sea air mixed with the smells of the forest behind them. "If you'd sit up you could see it."

It is apparent that Zelk is dubious about this whole theory of a creature of fire who controlled someone else's body, but after some consideration, her facial features soften, as if she thought it sounded less and less ridiculous the more he talked about it. Now sitting up on the beach besides Steve, she looks for the first time at the horizon, and the island on the other side of the bay.

"Yes, it's quite a sight." admits Zelk, who still appears drained of her resolve. "You don't get that kind of view from the Citadel."

"Yeah. Nothing like this."

They both sit there for a few minutes, quietly munching on jerky.

"Want to go swimming?"

She extends her hand in front of him for another piece. "You better have more of these."

"Enjoy the meat sticks, eh? Should have known." He hands her two more.

She takes the jerky, and goes back to munching again, her eyes fixed on the horizon. "We shouldn't stay here too long. We need to find the others." She doesn't get up.

"Let's go swimming,” suggests Steve.

She turns her head toward him and blinks a few times. "...Haven't we done enough of that already?"

"No, I don't think we ever hit the water and that's different anyway. Close your eyes."

The young woman is unsure. "Close my eyes?"

"Come on. Don't you trust me?"

"I shouldn't." She falls quiet, and does as he asks.

He sidles up to her and begins speaking in her ear, just so she can hear. "You say 'yes' and gift me with one of those smiles you do. The genuine one, the one from deep within your soul, the one you've only given me three times before. I always come back hoping to see that again. It will take my breath away as it always does, and I make a dumb joke to cover it up so you won't think I'm a dork for staring at you. Probably something like 'Here I go. Don't peak. Too much.' I laugh nervously as I start stripping down to my skivvies. I'll try to take to alleviate the tension by doing a dumb little dance, anything to make you smile. Do you see it Zelk?"

"...Yes, I do see this little fantasy of yours." She pauses. "And you are a dork."

"Heh. Perhaps, but I'm your dork. And I think you know that. You'd make me look away while you stripped down you know. Not because you don't want me to see, but because you want me to see when you are ready. I'd tease you about looking, but I wouldn't want to spoil it, so I wouldn't look. You'd push me into the ocean for that."

"Yes, I would," she confirms, a little smirk on her face. "...And I suppose this all ends with the both of us splashing water at each other, until we finally fall into a tight embrace? Or did you imagine something akin to those poems you wrote for me?"

"Eh, I was hoping you'd do the rest someday. And besides, I know you liked it. Your nipples are hard."

He tweaks one and rolls away laughing, before jumping to his feet and running up the beach. Zelk gets up and immediately engages Steve in pursuit, shouting, "Get back here, you... twerp! We'll see how much you like the sea when I'm done drowning you in it!"

"Your breasts are magnificent. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"

"You're dead! Dead!"

"Lies! You just like watching my butt while I run for my life!"

"How about I put your staff in it!?" They keep running for quite a while, as Steve keeps provoking Zelk, who then finds a new way to make him suffer. It only takes a minute before she slows down, out of stamina, and then comes to a dead halt, breathing heavily.

Steve will stop as well, trying to catch his breath. "Hey," he pants heavily, "You okay?!"

"You..." she stops to breathe again, and just puts her hands on her knees. "Asshole."

"Got you moving again, right? You're welcome! We can make out later if you want to thank me properly!"

Suddenly, the young woman launches herself at Steve, and makes him fall on the ground. She's now sitting on him, a smile on her face. "Did you really think I was that out of shape!?" She tries to immobilize Steve's hands, which is quite easy since he doesn’t fight her.

"What?” she asks. “Already giving up? You used to put up more of a fight."

"Why would I fight? I've had erotic dreams that start this way. You always win in those too."

She stops herself, and as she realizes their fight is over, her smile recedes a little. She can't think of a clever comeback.

"Just kiss me already,” continues Steve.

There's a pause, during which she only stares at Steve, immobile. She lets go of his hands and stands up. "That's not how it's going to happen." She offers her hand.

He takes it. "You'll need to tell me that one someday; preferably before a kraken eats one or both of us."

"Maybe. But right now, your mouth stinks of jerky. Cheap one too." She slaps him on the face with just enough force for it to be painful. "That's for touching me without my permission."

"Does anyone have your permission?" He asks, rubbing his cheek.

She nonchalantly ignores the question, swiftly approaches him, and puts a peck on his lips. It lasts only for a second, after which she steps away, and says, "Come on, let's find the others."

Surprise gives way to pleasure as a smile grows on Steve's face. "Yeah, let's do that. I'm thinking we should keep heading up the beach for now. I've never been a particularly great outdoorsman, so leaving the forest for later would probably be a good idea. Unless you have some training?"

"I don't remember any survival training class back at the Citadel. Do you?" She starts walking up the beach.

"Well, you're an officer in the military now. I thought maybe you'd taken a course or two in survival. Don't they do that at shoe camp or whatever it's called?" He follows her with a noticeable spring in his step.

"Well, we should look for the others on the shoreline, and then find out if anybody lives on this island. If so, there should be a dock from which we could go back to the Free Feathers."

"Sounds like a plan."

"And hands off, " she warns him.

"Ecto gammat. Got it."

They both walk eastward. After twenty minutes of walking, they see footprints on the ground; by examining them, it becomes obvious that three people were washed ashore here, got up, then walked eastward.

"I recognize these two sets of footprints," points out Zelk. "It's Adam and Naomi. They were here not too long ago."

She picks up the pace.

"See. I told you they were around."

"Come on, we might be able to catch up." She's now sprinting.