Not until we are lost... do we find ourselves again(Open)

[AevumEternity]

Staring down the man, she beckoned the guards, one of whom approached with an incredulous look," General Kilandre?! What are you doing here-?"

Raising her hand for silence as she kept the blade beneath the hatted man's chin," Do not lecture me on propriety, Private. Explain to me what happened here." She commands in a quiet voice, her eyes narrowed into slits as the man explains what he had observed. Thankfully, Ostwin was painted as a savior and slowly she lowered the viciously curved blade, sheathing it with a sigh before nodding," That is all Private, clean up this mess. I want a full report delivered directly to my desk at Ansgar's Hand as soon as possible, is this understood?" Hazel-grey eyes flashed to the man with such sharp ferocity that he seemed briefly caught off guard but flashes a salute, snapping off a quick 'Yes ma'am' before being dismissed with a wave of her hand.


Turning back to Ostwin, she offers a hand,"... It's never wise to draw a weapon in such a manner, I must say, my friend- if we were outside the city your head would be rolling off in that direction." She chuckles dryly, the alcohol helping her relax more easily as she gestured idly to the street," I do apologize, Purgatorio gets rather excited."

[Elector Count of WAAAGH!]

"If I were outside the city we won't be having this conversation." Ostwin murmured, instead of grabbing the hand he pushed himself up.

Looking around, he spotted the shattered remnants of his bottle, a pity. Looking to his other side, he saw his crossbow lying on the ground.

He picked it up, brushing it off a bit, before hoisting it onto his shoulder again. He took a glance around the place before turning to look at the general.

"I see nothings changed since the last time I was here..." it was then he noticed somthing out was missing. "There was a girl in the cart not to long ago... I do not see her corpse..."

That being said, someone else was missing too.

The former sergeant looked up at the roof tops as if he was trying to spot somthing.

[Valtxr]

   Nisreen caught Aven's covert signal from the corner of her eye. Don't attract attention. Right. She could do that. She had been doing that for a good long while in Arca. Her efforts only failed most of the time. Which was a certain step up from all of the time. A good record, for someone like her.
   She crouched down, using the height and defilade of the rooftop to hopefully obscure her position from the General and the mercenary down below. Slowly and carefully, she crouch-walked over to Aven and the chimney. She had no idea what kind of—how did he put it?—"deep shit" Aven would be in if the General found him, but, judging from the phrase he used, it sounded awful.
   "Okay," she whispered. "What do we do n—oh. Um..."
   Aven had sat down. Started asking her questions. This couldn't be a normal thing, to have a conversation on a rooftop in the dead of night. Well, perhaps she was letting her assumptions get ahead of her. Maybe all of the members of this "Ansgar's Hand" could leap from rooftop to rooftop. It made sense. Aven did say she was a "hop, skip, and a jump" away from Serendipity; such parlance would be commonplace among rooftop jumpers, wouldn't it? So maybe that was how they got around the city and enforced the doctrine of the Church on unsuspecting dissidents. Maybe this is how they met and strategized. Who would expect to find people on top of a roof, after all? Especially in the night. What an excellent place to lay in wait and strike against the enemies of the Church. Perhaps she would also have to find such an enemy or dissident. Interview them. See what counter-strategies they had come up with to combat these rooftop extraordinaires.
   But then, if all that were true, that meant the General could easily jump up here. Catch them. And then they'd both probably be in "deep shit". And that wouldn't really do.
   Nisreen glanced around, searching for the best avenue of escape. Then she leaned toward Aven. Whispered conspiratorially, "I'd love to answer your questions, Aven, but perhaps we should leave this place? Get some distance from the scene and the General? Do you know of a good place where we could talk?"


(((Aven and Nisreen might go into a separate thread if they get away successfully [and un-lectured by Hakon :D]. Depends on what happens with Hakon and Ostwin.)))

[Wycliff]

Aven scratched his head in thought. She had a point, he'd seen one of the guards get interrogated by Hakon, and if he knew Hakon, she would have squeezed every last bit of information out of the poor soul. She was a scary woman when she wanted to be, and if it was safe to assume his cover was already blown, the best option was to make like a bandit and disappear for a while. Ugh... but the report would have him in it... at least, maybe he could delay the trouble till later. That would suffice, he was adequately curious about Nisreen to allow himself a bit of fun. Even if he'd end up sore and battered later.

He nodded, glancing the opposite direction of the scene. "I've got a spot in mind, if you don't mind being underground. We'll have to hurry, too, I think she knows I'm around here... I can carry you if you can't outrun that Theocog of hers?" He peeked back at the large steed with a smirk. "We've got the advantage, since Purgatorio can't go full speed with all the turns involved." Aven was experienced in many things, and as of late, had become rather accustomed to women due to his frequent interactions with General Hakon. However, this had created another, equally problematic flaw: Aven was still utterly oblivious to norms, such as the awkwardness of simply carrying a woman. It didn't occur to him how strange something of the sort looked, to effortlessly tote another human in such a manner, but because he supplemented his muscles with dark matter tendrils so often in his job, the idea was lost on him.


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[AevumEternity]

Hakon tilted her head upward, following his gaze before murmuring," By now he's probably taken her off somewhere." Idly making this assumption from the guard's report. Her Captain flying about like some sort of bat man, should she really be surprised though? It wasn't often he got to save a damsel in distress. This thought caused her to smile wryly as she seized Purgatorio's reigns, pushing the massive six-legged horse back with her back. The stallion seemed to have locked Ostwin in an icy death state.

" Might as well buy you a drink, I suppose you'll humor me that, hm?" She rumbles, flashing a weak smile. T'was a good time to get a little inebriated, she was heading back to the front the day after the next... Perhaps some peace would be wonderful, even if it was a tentative peace with a mercenary who she'd recently had an unpleasant run in with.


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[Elector Count of WAAAGH!]

"Your a bit too...gah, nevermind." Ostwin had stopped stop caring about what was going on, all he could think about was where he could get another bottle.

He pondered over whether it was a good idea to take the general up on her offer.

On one hand she had already caused him enough head aches.

On the other, he'll get a shot out of it.

...

Hell, why not? What's the worst that could come from a  wee drink?

"Very well general." the man said, adjusting his crossbow on his shoulder but never changing his expression. "Lead the way."

(Just so we all are aware, I may want to time skip a bit in the future.)

[Valtxr]

(((Splitting off. Guess it's time for Ostwin and Hakon to get drunk  :D )))

[AevumEternity]

(Alright sounds good!)

Grasping the reigns, she nods slightly and turns the massive beast of a horse around, ensuring her back was never long to Ostwin, it was clear she did not trust him but alas, she made no verbal indication of it. Leading the Theocog into the empty street, she began to walk and looks back at him," Tell me- strong and good or weak and sweet?"

It wasn't as if she was an alcohol connoisseur but she certain had tastes. But as of now, she simply wanted to get a little drunk someplace with a begrudging companion


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[Elector Count of WAAAGH!]

"As long as does not kill me out right...I don't kill." Ostwin followed, pushing his plume upwards.

He knew all drinks were poison, but Ostwin had a strong tolerance, mostly anyways.

[AevumEternity]

" Perhaps over time, but not immediately unless you happen to be the king of lightweights... Alas, I observed you putting away those shots. You'll be fine," she laughs lightly, striding down the street.

" Tell me, did you get tired if camping, is that why you came into the city, hm?"


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[Elector Count of WAAAGH!]

Tired of camping?

Sure, there were the bugs, and the occasional while animal that Walter ended up scaring away. But was he tired of camping?

All those nights spent chuckling over a camp fire while the rest of the men laughed and told embracing stories of each other, those nights spent eating whatever Grammy delicious muck could scrounge up, watching his brother beat all those men at a round of competition...and then competing with his brother at the title of best shot. All the nights spent singing like there was no tomorrow.

Those were the days, he finally felt...free.

Free of the war, of that feeling you would be dcended upon at any minute. Free of any luggage the luggage of procedures of that of the army.

Freed of the fear that allowed him to open his eyes and witnessing the truth of the world, as ugly, and as beautiful as it was.

In short...

"No." Ostwin grunted. "I'm here to see an old friend...but he is not in at the moment."

[AevumEternity]

" Mmm-" she rumbles softly in response, blinking slowly as she stared down the road as they walked down the dark road. Slowly she shifted her gaze to the man, something was oddly familiar about him. She had noticed it during the meeting- pursing her lips thoughtfully she fell silent, listening to the thunderous snap of Purgatorio's hooves against the cobblestone before asking," Tell me, have we fought side by side, or against one another?"

Her gaze flickers to him curiously.


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[Elector Count of WAAAGH!]

Ostwin snorted.

Of course the general have remembered any of the peasant cannonfodder foot soldiers like himself.

Couldn't blame her, they were so many of them that he suppose that he's face would be unrecognizable, but he was still wearing the uniform, think she would at least remember the uniform.

"Grundell's Marksmen" said Ostwin. " 51st crossbow regiment, we served in the Grand Duke's own army."

The man went quiet for a moment, before saying "The battle near Kilanthro mountains. Don't know if you remember, but we had engaged the rebels in the initial skirmish before we were order to the rear lines, where we fought rearguard action on top of the hill, before pushing down with the rest of the army after your charge."

[AevumEternity]

She pauses a moment, the steady snap of hooves upon cobblestone causing her to suddenly recall the mage. A geokinetic one- yes- an armored man of rock who had nearly killed her. The arrows singing overhead," Ah- yes... the Fourth Battle of the Kilanthro Mountains," she smiles weakly," t'was a massacre, not truly a battle." Nonetheless, she tilts her head toward him, quirking an eyebrow.

" Were you discharged from the service and chose this path as your own?"


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[Elector Count of WAAAGH!]

The two seemed to have remembered to differnt battles.

After they were ordered to pull back and let the cavalry charge, they were plopped upon the hill. Later reports indicated that a rebel contingent had tried to flank them but was repelled. What it didn't say was the fact that the rear lines nearly collapsed had it not been for the fact that Ostwin's regiment were able to trigger an avalanche that had effectively cut the flanking forces in half.

Still, it was the charge that one the day, but he wondered what was to be won had the flank had broken.

"Disbanded." Ostwin said simply as he brought up his other hand to balance out the crossbow on his shoulder. "We were garrisoned at an outpost when it was sieged. We held it, but we took casualties. They didn't have enough men to reinforce us, nor did they have the funds to support us...so they discharged the rest of us from service."

[AevumEternity]

Alas, their separate units had been far between and it was likely by the time the archery units had struggled to hold the line that they had already begun to dominate the main force. The General tilts her head gently toward him," Is that battle why you came here? To Connlaoth? You'd be well suited elsewhere based on you... Specific standards, though I daresay your aptitude to no listen to superior officers definitely makes your possible cliental fall quite a bit."

She tilts her head back as they way," You're lucky they simply did not keep you without pay, I cannot tell you how many times that happened to me and my boys," she sighs weakly


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[Elector Count of WAAAGH!]

"Wasn't just pay that was the problem, if that was it, I think we would of still been around." grunted the former sergeant. "It was everything. Unlike cavalry, we crossbowmen need ammunition, and supplies had dwindled to the point that some of the boys didn't even have any bolts left. Hell, clothing and food were a problem too, more then half of the men had holes in there shoes to the point that they were marching bare foot. Poor Jimmy's feet had several blisters."

The sergeant looked up at the General for a secound. "The food was rubbish, nothing more then stale bread and slope. Sometimes if we were lucky maybe potato peel soup."

He then adjusted his hat and snorted. "Funny you'd mention our standards, we didn't have any when we were in the army. If it weren't for my brother, I think those of us left still wouldn't have any standards."

He then muttered somthing, before speaking up. "Don't lecture me on how to follow orders. Been doing it for seven years in the army, and looked where it got me..." His head was stright, his eyes were dull, as his head rocked back and forth. "An' extra stripe on my shoulder and a little more change...not mention half starving and holes in uniform, smelly, dirty, a good deal of my mates were dead, and myself almost died...if it hadn't all been for me brother"

He kept looking forward, he was thinking about the night.

Seemed like the regiment was on it's last leg. He remembered that he was on the battlements, bleeding too. Surrounding him were bloodied men and corpses, oh the corpses. Men were also below, trying to hold shut the gate with whatever they could find. He was almost certain he was going to die there...

Until he heard the hunting horns...

"My brother is the one in charge of my current outfit, he's a hunter you know. Hunters don't do well as soldiers, don't know if you ever knew that. They are much more independent minded when it comes to a business like fighting. Not that they liked doing it" He kinda snapped out of his memory for a bit to glance back up at the general. "You know my brother was raised in Serendipity, as is most of my current outfit. He was raised by a humanoid race called "elves", they half pointing ears and are said masters of the forest. But above they are said to be the best hunters of all the races, if you can believe that."