The Cerulean Brigade, Ch. 1

[lazy man]

"What do I make of all this?" Dirk asked, repeating the question directed at him. "Well, I think it's odd that the king hasn't made an appearence with all the noise we're making, but other than that, I guess we could survive... If can work together. Which I doubt, right now."

It was a blunt statement, but this situation called for bluntness. People who should be working together arguing over... what, clothes and etiquette? It was possibly one of the stupidest subjects of an argument Dirk had heard, and he'd heard a surprising amount of them in his time.

"The name's Dirk Vale, by the way. If you've ever heard of a metal man working for money... well, you're looking at him right now," Dirk said, holding a hand out to Raine.

[IHateMakingNames]

Ruin finally showed up at the meeting room, after being sidetracked by the unknown. He knew nothing of etiquette, so he was wearing his adventurers clothes and all of his equipment.

He made a quick scan of the room, and was pleased with what he saw. The place was filled with what could be a rag-tag team of adventurers. If Ruin's father's stories taught him anything, it's that rag-tag team of adventurers always went on quests that lead to many unknown places filled with magical treasure.

At first Ruin was going to go introduce himself to everyone, but then he noticed the free food. Due to his recent unsuccessful digs, Ruin had little money, and hasn't eaten well in a while. So first he would fill himself up on royal food, then he would introduce himself.

[Mesden]

"Uh huh..." she said, eyeing he 'dragon', "Well then, mighty good illusion there."

Then her attention turned to Curua, the crimson color staying its course, if only swirling a bit.

"Again, I've never called myself a 'lady' since I've been here. I put on a dress instead of full plate mail. I really don't care what you look like. Why would I?

Also, what's with all this ferocity against me putting on a dress? I don't see how it's this big a deal..."

Crimson changed to Magenta.

[Krylo]

Taris Sinkas arrived at the palace as one summoned by the king in such a manner should arrive--his clothing was clean and formal, but his weapons were upon his body as were the tools of his 'trade'. Yet they were displayed in a way that left them no less threatening than your average knight would appear.

When he arrived at the gates of the palace he stopped and bowed once to the guard, removing his summons as he did so and handing it to the man, who, by this time, had been expecting to be in some way man-handled, prodded, beaten, or in some other way abused as another personage summoned by the king arrived. The poor man couldn't help but exhale a slight sigh of relief as Taris merely nodded toward him and moved inside after the guard had signaled his go ahead.

Entering the great hall, Taris also did as one would expect to be done when meeting nobility on a matter of national security. He entered with a sturdy gait, his back straight and his head held high--though not so high as to seem condescending.

However, the scene before him quickly destroyed his proud demeanor, and a gloved hand went directly to his face--catching his drooping cranium. He shook his head softly before running his hand back through his hair, lifting his head once more and letting out a long sigh as he did so.

"...Great," he muttered to himself before sighting a woman in a cloak--another personage skilled at 'acquiring items of interest' perhaps, given her dress, and a man made entirely out of steel at a table some short distance away. They seemed to be the only people not making complete jackasses of themselves, and so he decided that he would associate himself with them before the others.

Coming to the table he reached out to one of the chairs, resting his hand upon it, and addressed the two other personages who had already taken residence there, in a voice quiet enough to be reasonably certain that the others would not hear, "May I be so bold as to intrude upon your meeting? You seem to be the most collected indivuals here."

[Tarrin]

Tyrrine watched as both the lady warriors argued over what could only end up being beauty, Surely they must realise beauty was everywhere!

Swirling his hand slightly ending the movement in a fist two plants rose from the walls blooming infront of each of the ladies, The rose that presented itself was half black and half red, Perfect in every way, The sweet scent drifting upto the ladies noses It's scent not overpowering at all.

For all it's beauty the rose however still had thorns sharp as any blade, For even beauty was dangerous.
Hoping the children would get the idea he turned back to his pack continuing his conversation, A smile pressed on his lips.

[mauve]

Originally Posted by Mesden

"Again, I've never called myself a 'lady' since I've been here. I put on a dress instead of full plate mail. I really don't care what you look like. Why would I?"

Curua blinked, then gave a doggy grin.

"Wasn't talkin' about you, mate," he said. "I was talking to the lady with the umbrella." He nodded to Pinchette. "Lass doesn't seem to like animals. We can tell, you know."

He plunked his rear end down on the floor and scratched an ear with a hind foot.

"And as far as the dress ordeal goes... Person'ly, I couldn't care less what you humans wear," he said. "Been ages since I've needed to pay attention to human fashion, male or female, so whether you're wearing a dress or armor or a wool bag makes no difference to me."

[Inbred Chocobo]

A great shadow covered the land. Well, in truth no one cared about that shadow, it was what was causing the shadow that had people talking. For the shadow was casted down by what looked like a floating island. And on that island, stood a solitary tower, cutting through the clouds as it soared.

The floating tower came to a slow stop over the castle. For those who looked, they could see what looked like a carriage floating down from the island, down towards the front gate of the castle.

In this carriage, sat three, well lets just call them people. One was a old man, completely dressed in white. Next to him sat a suit of armor, looking like it was armed to the teeth. The last person sat across from the man, looking like a combination of armor, and mechanics. In truth, he was the old man's greatest creation. An intelligent being capable of self movement.

The conversation between the golem and the old man was quite grand, yet not a word was spoken.

I really don't know why the power cells will not hold a large enough charge. The golem said, continuing a conversation they had.

I am not sure myself. Perhaps something is draining more power than we originally planned.The old man thought back.

Well then what do you want me to do? We had plans for this tower to follow you throughout the adventure the king would put you through.

Its simple. I'll do without it. The armor here should be enough. Besides, I am not here to test my creations. I have been wanting to test my abilities.

Then what about me?

Take the tower home. Then see if you can isolate the problem. Once you have figured out the problem, fix it then do another test run.

Fair enough. If I do get it working, do you want me to come and follow you?

If you do get it fixed that quick, then fine. Though I want you to do at least three test runs. Better to make sure I can count on it once it is here.

With that last thought, the carriage landed on the ground quite gracefully. The doors opened up, and Sadron floated out. The suit of armor stepped out on the other side. The golem gave one final wave goodbye as the carriage floated up without them.

Sadron looked towards the doors, and smiled to himself as they pushed themselves open. The guards were stunned, for they gave no command to push it open. The armor reached inside of itself, and pulled out the letter, showing that he was summoned. The guards nodded in confusement as Sadron floated in, just inches off the floor, the suit of armor walking behind him.

[PhoenixFlame]

Originally Posted by lazy man

"The name's Dirk Vale, by the way. If you've ever heard of a metal man working for money... well, you're looking at him right now," Dirk said, holding a hand out to Raine.

Raine chuckled, and met the man's hand with her own. "Well, you and I seem to be in similar business." she smiled, slipping her fingers back to shake Dirk's hand without scraping her claws against his metalline exterior, "I'm Raine Silvermane, daemonhunter and money-seeker like yourself."

About this time it came to pass that Taris happened upon the two mostly sane desidents of the meeting, and, almost meekly adressed the two. Raine was none so modest, and apparrently gazed up at Taris with a nearly shocked look. Playfully shocked, mind.

"By the divines! Another sane person!" she cackled cheerfully, and gestured toward the chair Taris had laid hands on. "Please, do join us."

[Astral Harmony]

Even the lingering scent of the rose couldn't bring Aishel out of her funk. However, the hand falling upon her arm did. It was some chambermaid, Aishel assumed.
"Are you all right, my lady?"
Aishel turned around and tried to show a positive expression. "Yeah. Thanks. Oh, hey-"
There was one thing bugging her about the summons. "Do you happen to know who is going to talk to all of us about what the king wants us to do?"
"Won't it be His Majesty himself?"
"Yeah, but it doesn't have to be. Any middleman could pass down the word."
"I...see."
"Oh, nevermind. I'm all right. Sorry for taking your time."
"Not at all, my lady." The woman in the dress exited the hall. Aishel had a tired face. "God, do I look that awful? I wish I brought one of the Princess Guard with me, like Chizuru. This wait is getting unbearable without her to talk to."
On the main street, looking at a fruit vendor's wares, a beautiful woman sneezed. "Don't sneeze on my fruits, ma'am."
"Oh! I'm very sorry." Chizuru said, scratching at her shiny black hair and smiling nervously. "But I guess it did help me choose which of these apples to buy. I'll take that one."
After the exchange was made, Chizuru whiped the apple on her black kimono and turned her red eyes towards the castle. "That was a little embarrassing. Maybe I've caught a cold or something. I hope not. I'm sure I'll be watching Miss Aishel for a long time."
-----(Meanwhile, In the Kingdom of Duvashnia)-----
Riven was breathing heavily when he finally reached the tower of the castle where the Princess Guard was assigned. No less than eight girls were in the Princess Guard. There used to be ten, but two retired roughly a year ago, leaving Tsubasa in charge.
Tsubasa wasn't in the room. In fact, there was only girl in the room. Kirie, with short cut crimson hair, gold eyes, and a rich green kimono. Then again, she was probably noted best for wielding one of the biggest swords Riven had ever seen. "Oh, Riven. Damn, you look like you just got done sprinting around the castle."
Breath. "Do I-" Breath. "really-" Breath. "look that bad?" Some more breathing.
"Your face is red and I feel the urge to get my ass out of this chair and find some refreshing water for you." Kirie rose up and put her hands on her hips. "You're looking for Aishel, right? Well, I can guess that you went to see your father who told you to come here."
"Yeah, father told me that Aishel left Duvashnia. Do you know where she went?"
"No, but Tsubasa does. Unless she's on her way back, you can find her out in the southern courtyard with Kiyomi. I'm pretty sure they're just talking about Kiyomi's pride and joy, the Trampler Tank."
"Kiyomi's pride and joy? But I'm her pride and joy! She should be paying more attention to me!"
One of the doors opened and in stepped Rio, who Riven had noted a long time ago as being not only the most sexually active of the girls, but also because the target of her aggressive affections was Kiyomi, though she did find time to flirt with just about everyone else. Rio stood in the doorway, eating a banana in a way that gave Riven some thoughts he didn't particularly need right now.
Kirie turned back to Riven. "Anyways, yeah. Tsubasa's in the southern courtyard. She'll tell you where your girlfriend has gone."
Riven wasn't out of breath anymore, yet somehow his cheeks were still red. "Aishel isn't my girlfriend. I just worry about her a lot."
"Of course you worry about her. She is the future bearer of your beautiful children."
"Miss Kirie."
"Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Go."
"Wait!"
Rio promptly bit off half of the banana and swallowed it quickly. "If you see Kiyomi when going to talk to Tsubasa, tell her I want to see her at the archery range in three hours."
Riven knew what Rio was implying. And Kiyomi would, too. "You and Kiyomi...there? But there'll still be people training."
Rio flexed her right arm for no apparent reason. "In that case, we should see an amusing exchange between the students and their trainer over their poor accuracy scores, ha ha ha."
"Rio, you're...twisted."
"I never said I wasn't. Now hustle, boy, hustle."

[Skyshot]

Hunpher realized it would look suspicious if he stood around leaning on his cane with a pack on his back when there were clearly chairs handy. He limped over to the table, focusing on the new arrivals sitting by the woman with the odd nails -- no, claws. How odd, though in his profession he'd seen stranger. In the midst of all the fighting going about, these folks seemed to be doing fairly well. He was going to get in on that. Moreover, he was curious about that metal-looking man. He hadn't seen one of them before, and was always interested in expanding his medical knowledge even if he wasn't always keen on using it.

He pulled up a chair next to the group and sat down. He wouldn't intrude on the conversation, of course. He'd just wait for a moment when he could interject something both interesting and relevant. That was the way to get things done.