Chapter 5: Serpents and Kings

Chapter 5: Serpents and Kings

North Bridge, Western Ramoa Provinces
The Truth

The road to North Bridge would've taken Agnes, Yui and the others more or less a week to complete. But fortunately for them, they met a travelling caravan that allowed them hop on board their wagons for the cost of those fancy armors they got from the Dome. They didn't take all of it though, the crew bargained and just paid 3 armors for all 8 of them to be able to catch a ride to the castle.

The vampires seem to have abandoned chasing after the group, as they never followed them across the lake. The Vampire army still needed to establish a fortified base, and  time was required before they can turn the Dome into a fortress. Instead of chasing after a group of humans, the Vampires were busy working on their new home to be.


It took the caravan just a 2 days to get to North Bridge. The Castle of North Bridge sits just a few kilometers away from the Bridge that connects Southern Wrozan to the Northern Wrozan. The Castle is over 600 years old, while the bridge is much longer than that. The original Bridge was built approximately 3000 years ago, and was destroyed during the Undead invasion, in an attempt to slow down the Undead Horde from advancing to the south. The bridge was rebuilt 200 years after the Undead Invasion was considered over. Today it acts as a stronghold for the Ramoan Forces.

Incidentally, Captain Durendez is currently in North Bridge. He is personally leading a group of select soldiers to aid him in locating the girl, Agnes Nera. Fortunately for Agnes, Eligor forgot to disclose in the meeting Agnes' updated appearance. So she does have a slim chance at avoiding detection. They had conflicting interests. Agnes was looking for a way to remove the demon from her body and seeks the aid of the Alfeirs. On the other hand the Alfeirs want to use Agnes and her demon as a tool to check on the Old God's seals.

Meanwhile, Yui can now continue her search for the truth about Jenn Girdis. Unfortunately the Sierra's crew members can no longer follow Yui to the North, not without their Captain. They will head back to Ravenghast to report what happened and possibly arrange a mission to recover Cid's body. But before they went, they gave Yui 500 gil for her travels. It was the least they could do for all she's done for the.

Chapter 5: Serpents and Kings

North Bridge, Western Ramoa Provinces
The Truth

MADAM VERTUD'S SHOP Lv: 3

Agnes entered the fabulous shop of Madam Vertud. This shop caters a wide range of quality goods from Equipment and Weapons, to Items and potions. North Bridge has an excellent supply of many type of marketable good due mainly to it's economic relationship with both South and North Wrozan.

The owner of the shop, Madam Vertud, takes a good look at what the girl was offering. The Armor was good but the ring was of low quality. Madam Verturn offered Agnes, 15000 Gil for all the items, including the one she's wearing, the gauntlets and the magic bangle. (All items, plus her current equipment.)

She can also buy the following:

MAG weapon (Gold) Level 142 for 14,200 Gil
DEF equipment (Gold) Level 142 for 14,200 Gil
MAG accessory (Gold) Level 143 for 14,200 Gil

Transaction details:
+15000 Gil for all her items
-42,600 Gil to purchase the new equipment.

Total Amount due: 27,600 (If Agnes agrees to Madam Vertud's deal)

Chapter 5: Serpents and Kings

North Bridge, Western Ramoa Provinces
The Truth

MADAM VERTUD'S SHOP Lv: 3

Deal accepted. 28,000 Gil taken from Agnes' purse. 
All of Agnes' equipment, weapons, and accessories have been sold to Madam Vertud.

The following items have been added to Agnes' inventory:

WEAPON
Diabolic Core Lv: 142 (G)
MOVES	HP	STM	STR	DEX	MAG	DEF	M.DEF
0	0	0	0	0	1136	0	0
Info

EQUIPMENT
Rune Forged Mage Battle Armor Lv: 142 (G)
MOVES	HP	STM	STR	DEX	MAG	DEF	M.DEF
0	5680	0	0	0	0	0	1136
Info

ACCESSORY
Prophecy Charm Lv: 142 (G)
MOVES	HP	STM	STR	DEX	MAG	DEF	M.DEF
0	0	0	0	0	568	0	0
Info

Madam Vertud was flowing with happiness, after seeing the young girl dress in her highly fashionable and combat ready garments. It made her proud seeing a beautiful such as Agnes, wearing her design. 

"Come back anytime dear I'll be happy to show you my entire collection." said Madam Vertud.

Meanwhile a group of Ramoan guards were searching the area looking for anyone that fit the description of a young female, light haired mage. The Soldiers entered Madam Vertud's shop while Agnes was still in the fitting room. Madam Vertud doesn't give the soldiers any information about Agnes, because of her strict customer privacy policy.

Chapter 5: Serpents and Kings

North Bridge, Western Ramoa Provinces
The Truth

Yui managed to regain her balance and sight fully with a little bit of time to actually sit and breathe, the waiting for the adrenaline rush to fade before attempting to lay down. She took the time to spit on one of her disposable pieces of paper, using that as a very poorly done damp cloth to start wiping away the blood that was on her face.

The bumping and rocking of the carriage as it traveled was enough to agitate her ribs as she rested, though only mildly, thankfully. The bleeding seemed to have stopped, but she needed to clean up and wash her clothes. 

A lot of the hair on the back of her head was stuck together from dried blood, providing her with a very minor crunching sound whenever she turned her head as she tried to rest. The sound was keeping her from fully going to sleep, finding a comfortable position for her head and trying to stay in that position to not make additional noise.

She drifted off to sleep for the briefest of moments, being awoken by Agnes' departure from the wagon. Yui climbed out of the wagon and took a look around, being a little cautious due to the sheer amount of enemies she had been encountering as of late.

Yui practically jumped from Agnes tapping her on the shoulders, sighing heavily once she realized that it was just the girl. She did suspect that something was amiss with the girl, however, deciding to follow her to ask her about what had happened to Cid.

She wrote a simple note that read "Keep in Touch" on one side and "See you again" on the other, passing it to one of the crew members before refocusing her attention on Agnes. She managed to turn her attention back to the girl just in time to see her entering a shop, slinging the extra armor she had picked up over her shoulder and followed the girl to it.

She followed some armored men, probably warriors of some sort, into the shop and waited for them to finish asking their questions before moving up to the counter. She hoisted the two armors up and dropped them onto the counter in front of the woman, one of the two looking like a lighter version of the armor that Agnes had just deposited.

Yui shot a smile to the woman behind the counter and scribbled a quick note, placing it onto the counter for the woman to read. It simply asked if she could sell the armors to the woman, getting straight to the point since her inability to speak tended to make most conversations much longer than they needed to be.

She paused for a moment before scribbling down two additional notes, one requesting the location of a blacksmith and the other requesting where she could actually get cleaned up. She was very clearly worse for wear, after everything that had transpired. A nice bath would probably do her some good, she thought.

She didn't really pay the soldiers any mind, trying to keep herself on track. Yui briefly looked around for Agnes while she was at the counter, turning her attention back to the woman that was there.

Yui figured she'd turn up eventually, so her attention was focused on the woman. She needed to offload some stuff if the woman were willing, but she also needed a little information.

(Informational Edit: She's offering the Dragoon Defender's Armor lv100(G) and Light Plate Armor lv44(S). I should probably remember to state exactly what I offered up in the future. )

Chapter 5: Serpents and Kings

North Bridge, Western Ramoa Provinces
The Truth

MADAM VERTUD'S SHOP Lv: 3

Madam Vertud saw what Yui had to offer, and she was only interested in one item in particular, the Dragoon's Defender Armor. The rest of Yui's items were considered as low quality items. But she could still probably use some of them for spare parts.

Here is Madam Vertud's proposition: (FOR YUI)
The Dragoon Armor and the Light Plate armor will be bought by Madam Vertud for 4500 Gil.

Meanwhile the Ramoan Knights took notice of Agnes. She did fit the description of the person they were looking for. Short, good looking girl, with light hair, a mage. The description was very vague but it allowed the Soldiers to search a broader range of individuals. One of the Knights cautiously approached Agnes, knowing that if she were the one they were looking for, then they're in for a potentially dangerous situation.


Ramoan Knight: "Excuse me miss. I'm with the Knights of Ramoa. I'd like to invite you to come with us to the precinct, we'd like to ask you a couple of questions." 

Chapter 5: Serpents and Kings

North Bridge, Western Ramoa Provinces
The Truth

Yui gave a thumbs up and nodded a couple times at Madam Vertud's offering, she didn't want to waste time by writing every little thing down but hoped that she had gotten the point across that she was accepting the offer.

She pulled a small sack from her belt which contained most of what little money she had, waiting for the woman to actually hand her money or place it on the counter so that she could deposit it straight into the sack.

She really didn't have much, especially in comparison to Agnes. She couldn't help but overhear that the guards were asking her to come with them and figured that she'd trail along in order to see what happened, not wanting her little rescue to go waste or anything.

Yui was impartial where it came to the girl, but the two names and mysterious wounds on Cid were too much to go unexplained. An idea popped into her mind, given that her own wounds probably made a lovely scented trail straight to this place and scribbled down two quick notes.

One note read "Dome Captured By" on one side and "Lots of Vampires" on the other, whilst the other simply read "Be Careful". She took both notes in one hand and held them out with her non-metal hand, sparks taking to the air as she snapped her fingers with the dragon impaler to try to get the Knight's attention.

For anyone that were to look closely, it was quite apparent that she had seen combat recently. She didn't have enough time to clean all the blood that had dried in her hair and on her back, both under and on top of her armor. Yui intended to avoid making a scene, but she figured that she should at least inform someone who may or may not take her seriously.

If the vampires did decide to randomly pop up while she was in town, she'd at least have the peace of mind that she told someone who potentially could have done something about it. She knew that she certainly was incapable of dealing with that many vampires.

Chapter 5: Serpents and Kings

North Bridge, Western Ramoa Provinces
The Truth

MADAM VERTUD'S SHOP Lv: 3

4500 Gil added to Yui's Inventory. Dragoon Defender's Armor and Light Plate armor removed from inventory.

Before the little girl could respond to the Knight, Yui interrupted them with her sign board. The knights took a look at what Yui wrote on her board, so did Madam Vertud. They all titled their head sideways and went, "Huh?"

No body understood what Yui was trying to write. It was particularly due to the level of Yui's literary abilities. The word "Vampire" was written in a completely different way in Lunarian, actually most proper nouns are. To everyone, Yui was writing words that meant nothing. Also her timing and introduction was completely off. She just started clicking and showing words on the writing board, without properly introducing her topic.

The Knights decided to ignore Yui and instead reverted their attention back to the little girl.

Chapter 5: Serpents and Kings

North Bridge, Western Ramoa Provinces
The Truth


Yui found herself ignored, probably due to how she typically writes things. She shrugged and went back to what she was doing before, shoveling her newly acquired coin into her little coin sack. She did try to warn them, but clearly she couldn't communicate it and she simply wasn't about to try to play charades with people to get the point across.

By the time that Yui had finished collecting her money she found that Agnes was already gone, opting to take a hint she slipped out of the store herself. Though less slipping and more simple walking, since the most she thought she had to worry about at the time were vampires or red masked assholes, neither of which were currently in the room.

She shot Madam Vertud a smile and gave a respectful nod as she made her way back outside, using the same method of reading signs to try to find her way. However unlike Agnes she had trouble with some of the signs, trying to make her way to a blacksmith and ending up at other places repeatedly.

That didn't stop her however, continuing to wander around until she possibly found her way to where she wanted to be.

Chapter 5: Serpents and Kings

North Bridge, Western Ramoa Provinces
The Truth

Somehow, Agnes manages to slip through an entire patrol of Ramoan Knights unnoticed thanks to Yui's distraction. Agnes manages to find the smithy shop, TVJ. Run by the three brothers Tito, Vic, and Joey. The shop has been here for many years but the quality of their work is nothing extraordinary. The Knights went out of the shop to go look for Agnes but they went completely the other way, buying Agnes some time.

TVJ Blacksmiths SHOP Lv: 1

Agnes was met by Vic, one of TVJ's three blacksmiths. Vic specializes on magical equipment and he takes a look at Agnes' equipment. TVJ's is a level 1 shop, meaning they're not very good at saving an equipment from breaking once it goes beyond it's normal threshold.

Vic: "So you're looking to improve your weapons eh? Tell me to what extent do you wish to improve it? I have to warn you though, anything about 30% and your weapon can break."

Meanwhile Yui, who wanders around all over town, finally finds the Blacksmith shop, the same one where Agnes is getting her weapons improved.

Chapter 5: Serpents and Kings

North Bridge, Western Ramoa Provinces
The Truth

*300 Gil removed from Agnes' inventory*

It would seem that Agnes had escaped the Ramoan Knights, but word of her quickly spread across the castle and it wasn't long before the Knights were able to pin point her to the Inn on the outskirts of castle. The Inn's name was YALA Inn. It's not as big as the other establishments like it that are located in the main center part of the castle, but it was capable of giving excellent quality to its guests.

The same group of Ramoan Knights that met Agnes in Madam Vertud's shop were the ones that tracked her to the Inn. Her avoiding being taken into the precinct only made the Knights more suspicious of her. The female Knight enters the Inn, together with two of her comrades while the other remained outside, standing guard. She asks the Inn Keeper about the girl, at first she was hesitant to release any information to the Knights, but she can be jailed for possibly helping to hide a wanted person if she doesn't comply.

The Inn Keeper points to Agnes' room and hands the Knights the key to it. Cautiously and quietly, the Knights slid the key into the keyhole and unlocked the door. Slowly, they entered the room, trying to avoid making even the tiniest of sound. They searched the main room but found no one, they soon noticed that the bathroom door was locked and there seemed to be someone inside. They did not want to startle the girl by bursting into the room, because if she happens to be the one they're looking for, then surprising her might not be a good idea.

The female Knight decided to knock gently on the door and said, "Excuse me miss, this the Ramoan Knights again. Please don't be alarmed we just want to ask you a few questions down at the Precinct."

Chapter 5: Serpents and Kings

North Bridge, Western Ramoa Provinces
The Truth




Yui took a moment to catch her breath, having hurried around town trying to get to her destination. She began examining the various armors, weapons and other forged items whilst she waited for Agnes to get done at the counter.

Yui slipped into a spaced-out state, her mind wandering through her ideas as to how many of the items were forged. Agnes was gone before she could spacing out, moving up to the first person she could find that seemed as though they worked there.

She didn't stress over finding Agnes to question her, thinking that the girl would spend some time in town. But she didn't want to waste time around town, either. She had things to do, after all.

She wrote down "Improve" on a piece of paper and held it out to the man whom she thought worked there, making small indicators with Cid's spear as to her intention.


(OOC: Sorry for the delay. Lack of email notifications + Reinstalling my OS.)

Chapter 5: Serpents and Kings

North Bridge, Western Ramoa Provinces
The Truth

Yui was met by Tito who specializes with polearm equipment. Yui was fortunate, Tito happens to be the only one in the group who knew how to read. He saw Yui’s sign board and figured the girl was probably a mute who did not know how to use sign language.  Or a spoiled girl who wants to show off her terrible handwriting and spelling.

Tito takes Yui’s writing board and corrects a few spelling errors in her word “Improve”. Then he hands the girl back her “toy”. He takes a good look at Yui’s equipment, Cid’s weapon was highly complexed with lots of mechanical parts on it. There was no guarantee that he will be able to properly improve the weapon. But he will try. “What would you like to do?”

There were some bystanders chatting near the smith, they were talking about the war going on in the north and how the Geislers were winning the war. Little did Yui know, that her Earthling companion, Sylvan, was about to get draw into the Northerner's war.

---

Meanwhile, back at the YALA Inn, The female Knight knocked again, but she was also signaling her comrades to prepare for a breach. The girl was obviously not responding to her on purpose. The knight could hear some rustling happening inside. Sensing the tension in the air, the Knight had her comrades raise their shields. There was no telling what Agnes was doing inside, she could be casting a spell and preparing to blow up this entire place.

“Ma’am please step out of the room, we only wish to talk.” She said.

Nero, Agnes’ demon, was feeding off Agnes’ emotions. It was also able to sense the danger standing outside those doors and it did not like the Ramoan Army for some reason. It was trying again to take control of Agnes.

*CHALLENGE EVENT*

Agnes is being possessed by the Demon. You must roll 3 CHECKS out of 5 attempts in order to resist the demon’s take over. You can roll all 5 attempts in one post, provided that your post is 250 words long and is directly indicating how you are trying to fight the demon’s attempt to possess you. Failure will result to the demon taking over.

Chapter 5: Serpents and Kings

North Bridge, Western Ramoa Provinces
The Truth


Yui looked over the note she had handed over to Tito, having to take a moment to try to figure out what the man had changed and how it affected what she wrote. She slipped the note into one of her pockets and withdrew another small slip of paper, scribbling "Strengthen" as best she could onto the new piece of paper before handing it over to the man.

She took Cid's spear and held it sideways, bringing it down gently onto a knee that she rose to meet it. She was trying to indicate that she wanted to ensure it wouldn't break, given that it was quite important to her.

Yui made sure that she didn't slam it down on her knee hard enough to break either of the two, but she honestly doubted that the spear would give at all.

After indicating that she'd like for it to simply be sturdier she would stand it with the blade facing upward and run a metal finger along it, trying to indicate a sharpening of sorts. She wasn't very good at getting her intentions across, but she figured she would try regardless.


(Note: Yui is attempting to request a +2 on her Dragoon Lance. I am aware that I'd need to pay for +1, then +2 afterwards.)