Final Fantasy Reimagining (Still Recruiting)

[Parlortricks]

Finally having caught his breath, Arctomiy straightened his back and adjusted both his hat and glasses to make sure they weren't skewed. It still took a moment for him to find any words, considering who he was currently looking at. Connie clearly had no issues.
"M-Mind your manners," he squeaked at the insolence. Best thing for him, it seemed, as it easily allowed him to return to his senses and be the noble he was raised to be.
"This is the court wizard, Tellah. He doesn't have time for, for… Amateur magicians," he continued, with more strength in his voice.

They had to get a move on. Tellah himself wanted to lead them deeper, a request they couldn't turn down for any price.
"T-Thank you for your aid. It was invaluable, sir," Arctomiy of course had to get the expected out first before anything else, as he started following,
"How did they even manage to get an Ifrit of all things? O-Oh, right! It is terrible, master Tellah. There, there is some kind of a Chaos cultist conspiracy unraveling, a-and they are behind all this…"

He hoped he wasn't sounding too crazy, saying all this…

[DarthArminius]

Finally having caught his breath, Arctomiy straightened his back and adjusted both his hat and glasses to make sure they weren't skewed. It still took a moment for him to find any words, considering who he was currently looking at. Connie clearly had no issues.
"M-Mind your manners," he squeaked at the insolence. Best thing for him, it seemed, as it easily allowed him to return to his senses and be the noble he was raised to be.
"This is the court wizard, Tellah. He doesn't have time for, for… Amateur magicians," he continued, with more strength in his voice.

They had to get a move on. Tellah himself wanted to lead them deeper, a request they couldn't turn down for any price.
"T-Thank you for your aid. It was invaluable, sir," Arctomiy of course had to get the expected out first before anything else, as he started following,
"How did they even manage to get an Ifrit of all things? O-Oh, right! It is terrible, master Tellah. There, there is some kind of a Chaos cultist conspiracy unraveling, a-and they are behind all this…"

He hoped he wasn't sounding too crazy, saying all this…

"House Dunbar and House Dubois, along with other Noble Houses are in this conspiracy. Follow me, we don't have much time." Finally the battle in the halls and the courtyard was over. Numerous Knights and Redcoats, and loyal mages followed Tellah along with the protagonists. The throne room was guarded by around a dozen Honor Guards. Unfortunately the old father of the King lay dead on the stones of the Throne Room, with arrows stuck in his body. The old wizard walked to behind the Throne and pressed his hands on a grey colored rock, opening a secret passage.
"Over here. The guards, Biggs and Wedge will follow us, along with the rest of you." He points towards the protagonists. "The rest of the you, search for survivors and more traitors. Help anyone you can, and rid the Citadel of vermin!"

[Merilan]

Eskha panics for a moment when she realises she overextended herself -- her sword is plunged in the fire elemental, and she's kind of pinned at striking range. She braces for the worst... and then the worst, fortunately, never comes, thanks to a volley of ice spells and a Blizzara finisher, coming from the old wizard. The Au Ra kind of has to roll and grab her gunblade out from under the creature, and marches to meet her allies with a sigh. "Too risky," she murmurs. She follows as Arctomiy explains the situation thus far, grimacing as she sees the King's father on the throne room.

"Well, wherever we're needed, then..."

[Parlortricks]

"D-Deplorable!" Arctomiy huffed, though there was some worry in his voice. It wasn't every day one heard that people they knew were actually some kind of Chaos cultists all along, even if he had heard about these families earlier. It still was difficult to swallow. Traitors under their noses. How horrible!
"Not worthy of their noble names! Their ancestors would surely be horrified!"

The castle was a mess. It was no surprise, if that was where it all had started. The throne room was a grisly scene. Arctomiy kept his head low, already feeling like they had failed. He did perk up a little once Tellah revealed a secret passageway accessed behind the thrones. He had no idea there was something like that in there!
"Where are we going?" The noble asked Tellah as they started to go inside.

[DarthArminius]

"D-Deplorable!" Arctomiy huffed, though there was some worry in his voice. It wasn't every day one heard that people they knew were actually some kind of Chaos cultists all along, even if he had heard about these families earlier. It still was difficult to swallow. Traitors under their noses. How horrible!
"Not worthy of their noble names! Their ancestors would surely be horrified!"

The castle was a mess. It was no surprise, if that was where it all had started. The throne room was a grisly scene. Arctomiy kept his head low, already feeling like they had failed. He did perk up a little once Tellah revealed a secret passageway accessed behind the thrones. He had no idea there was something like that in there!
"Where are we going?" The noble asked Tellah as they started to go inside.

"It's the catacombs. Leading past the ruins of Old Baron to the North. There's a whole underground stronghold there."
"The King and a retinue of guards have hopefully already made it there." Tellah breathed a little heavily.
The journey to the northern Under Guard, as it was called, was somewhat short. The people had made it in a couple of hours on foot. Tellah had shown himself to be remarkably spry, despite being at the ripe old age of eighty years.

The guards immediately recognized and let Tellah and the others enter.

[herastor]

Acantha reared back with her spear, thanks to the timely save by Eskha, and prepared to take advantage of the opening it created. Magic was not her forte, but even the most bereft had a little magic to draw on. As time slowed, she focused a rather large portion of what she possessed into her spear tip for another telling blow.

Nothing came of it though. The attack was aborted as soon as she heard Arctomiy cry out with a warning. The leap back was instinctual and just in time to avoid the worst of the court mage's spell. She shed her panicked momentum and landed easily next to the others.

The next few minutes were a blur as they got to the throne room. More carnage and a dead regent. It quickened a question, one she avoided asking since the start of the fight. One about her father. Her normal attitude would've cast aside any doubts about his survival, but these traitors could call on the power of summons. Who knew what else they could do?

"Tell me, what's the state of Rygard and the other dragoons? Are they part of the guard for the King and Queen?"

[DarthArminius]

Acantha reared back with her spear, thanks to the timely save by Eskha, and prepared to take advantage of the opening it created. Magic was not her forte, but even the most bereft had a little magic to draw on. As time slowed, she focused a rather large portion of what she possessed into her spear tip for another telling blow.

Nothing came of it though. The attack was aborted as soon as she heard Arctomiy cry out with a warning. The leap back was instinctual and just in time to avoid the worst of the court mage's spell. She shed her panicked momentum and landed easily next to the others.

The next few minutes were a blur as they got to the throne room. More carnage and a dead regent. It quickened a question, one she avoided asking since the start of the fight. One about her father. Her normal attitude would've cast aside any doubts about his survival, but these traitors could call on the power of summons. Who knew what else they could do?

"Tell me, what's the state of Rygard and the other dragoons? Are they part of the guard for the King and Queen?"

"No one's seen Ryguard since the dawn." Tellah responded. "Generally though, there are scores of dragoons protecting the King. We have enough food, water and warriors to withstand the siege of all history, should it occur."

"No one has tried to take any of our monarch's lives in three hundred years. This is truly a day that will be marked in darkness throughout generations." Biggs and Wedge sighed. The King and Queen must be protected at all costs. Some of our best mages are missing, and they know the Serpent's Road."

[JNAProductions]

"You have dragons?" Connie asks, a spot of wonder in her voice. "Awesome... But, uh, what are we going to do? We can keep fighting, but what's our end goal?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I know, Dragoons are not dragons. Let Connie have her fun, dammit! :P

[Parlortricks]

"Dragoons," Arctomiy corrected, nodding towards Acantha.
"Warriors like her. Seriously, were you raised under a rock…?"



(Fun? Not on Arctomiy's watch!)

[JNAProductions]

"There was a cave network attached to the lab," Connie replies.

[Parlortricks]

Arctomiy's palm found his face, though he stayed silent. Perhaps it was slightly painful, what with there being a grimace on his face, but maybe he saw it better to not cause more damage to himself mentally.

But maybe something like this that took his mind off of everything serious was good for him.

[herastor]

There was a distinct metallic clang as Acantha's hand followed a similar trajectory to Arc's. It lingered there though as she tried to pinch away the tension that was forming at her brow. Connie's obliviousness wasn't the sole cause either. The was no sign of Rygard. If something had happened to him...

"Rygard can take care of himself. We'll just have to meet up with him eventually. If we're good to move, we should. We're already playing catch up as it is."

[Merilan]

"Well, it is true that dragoons train in the image of dragons, is it not...?" Eskha smiles quietly, on Connie's favour. "Do we have any method to contact those that may have headed to the stronghold ahead of time?"

[DarthArminius]

"There was a cave network attached to the lab," Connie replies.

"Yes. . . " a young man with a lab coat approaches. "Cid is waiting for you. You may not know this, but he has been watching you for a while."

Arctomiy's palm found his face, though he stayed silent. Perhaps it was slightly painful, what with there being a grimace on his face, but maybe he saw it better to not cause more damage to himself mentally.

But maybe something like this that took his mind off of everything serious was good for him.

There was a distinct metallic clang as Acantha's hand followed a similar trajectory to Arc's. It lingered there though as she tried to pinch away the tension that was forming at her brow. Connie's obliviousness wasn't the sole cause either. The was no sign of Rygard. If something had happened to him...

"Rygard can take care of himself. We'll just have to meet up with him eventually. If we're good to move, we should. We're already playing catch up as it is."

"Sir!" A man in blue armor, a dragoon stood with his winged dragon helmet on his knees and saluting the other Dragoon. "Captain of the Guard, Baigan is waiting for you with the King. He has a most important matter to discuss."

"Well, it is true that dragoons train in the image of dragons, is it not...?" Eskha smiles quietly, on Connie's favour. "Do we have any method to contact those that may have headed to the stronghold ahead of time?"

"We have sorceresses, and a sorcerer. They all claim to be telepathic, whatever that means."

[JNAProductions]

Connie asks "Who? Did he know Grant?"

"Telepathy is the ability to communicate solely with your mind. It's possible to do one-way connections, sending messages without receiving them in turn, or to establish two-way or even hub-based communication. Weaker telepaths can only send vague notions and emotions, maybe an image, while greater ones are capable of sending massive amounts of information far faster than verbally. A telepath is also capable of worming their way into someone's mind-a combination of standard psychological approaches with the ability to leave one-way, subtle messages that can potentially be thought of as your own thoughts can, with care and practice, completely change who someone is. Or just break them entirely," Connie says. "In this case, you'd either need a currently-established link to send a message, a great deal of familiarity with the receiver of the message, or a rather powerful telepath to find them and get the message. It may be possible to simply broadcast the message as loud as possible, but that'd let a lot of people know, which is probably not best."

After a moment, she turns to face Eskha. "So... Was the first one trained by a real dragon? Because that'd be cool."

[herastor]

"The first dragoons were said to ride and train with wyverns, but that was a long time ago."

Acantha tossed out the bit of trivia she knew about her order casually enough. The unstated part was that was about the extent of her knowledge on it. In truth, Arc probably knew more than she did about dragoons and their history. Considering her friend, she had to wonder if he wasn't a little intimidated by the disturbing facts about telepaths the liberally spilled from Connie's mouth.

"I'm sure you'll get to ask Cid how he knows you. For now, we should hear what the Captain has to say."

[Parlortricks]

Arctomiy did give Connie a questioning glance. For this entire time she had been clueless about just about everything… And now suddenly she was some sort of a well-read scholar of telepathy. What was he supposed to make of that?

He tried to shake that thought out of his head and focus on the present.
"If the Captain is asking for you, Acantha, you can go. I don't think I am currently in any sort of danger."

[JNAProductions]

When she notices Arctomiy's glance, she looks back. "What? It's telepathy-doesn't everyone know about it?"

[Parlortricks]

"Well, excuse me for not expecting you of all people to know, after not knowing what Chaos or dragoons were," Arctomiy huffed and adjusted his glasses.

[Merilan]

"Maybe," Eskha answers Connie gently, listening to her lecture. Hmm. Well... that's interesting. She hasn't said to anyone, but one of the side effects she discovered from her Junctioning abilities was a loss of memory. Hopefully she can get a telepath to fish those out if that was the case.

"C'mon, let's all go. Unless this is a closed doors meeting, I'd like to hear what the Captain has to say."

[DarthArminius]

The King, Benjamin was noticeably covered in superficial wounds. He had his sword on his scabbard. Meanwhile the Queen seemed wore an eyepatch on her right eye socket. From the smell it seemed like the servants had only recently cleaned the floor. Captain Baigan was seen speaking to the royalty in a hushed tone, when the protagonists finally enter the audience chamber. Tellah brought them and bowed slightly. He would have bowed deeper but he was having mild back problems. "I see your wounds are healing, majesties." The wizard sage complemented. He nodded to the Queen, Anne. "How goes the eye, majesty?" He asked in a concerned voice, before she responded. "Indeed, it heals."

"Now on to the matter at hand." King Ben interjected. "Baigan, Anne, our honor guard and our old friend would speak with you in private." They addressed the protagonists.

"So, Biggs and Wedge have informed us that Chaos is responsible for harrowing events at the Temple of Great Hyne? Is that correct?"

[herastor]

"You're going to be in danger if you think that I'm the only one who has to 'Yes, please' with the royalty and the captain."

****

The smell. That's the thing that stuck out to her. It was a scent she couldn't identify, and she'd been around her fair share of dead bodies. There was something rancid to it. Whatever "it" was, Acantha stuffed her distaste for it and bowed. When the royals asked their question, she answered as best she could with an official tone she'd not used until this point.

"It is, as far as we can tell. Davis killed a number of people there before he was apprehended. Apparently these cultists threatened both his wife and the prince to coerce him into committing treason. Apparently the temple is important to Chaos somehow. We rushed here when we found out about the coup to assist as well as request reinforcements for the temple from your majesties."

[Parlortricks]

"I-It is a great honor if they want to have a private conversation with you! You better behave. You're with me, so your actions reflect upon myself, got it?" Arctomiy warned Acantha, his voice surprisingly stern. Or perhaps unsurprisingly stern. She had spent way too much time with him, after all, and knew what he considered important.

They were led into the deeper chambers, and Arctomiy's stomach was already full of butterflies. His heart was beating so fast. Here he was, face to face with the king and the queen. If only the circumstances were better for this visit! It was very difficult for him to try to calm his nerves, his hands basically trembling as he removed his hat and bowed. Even if etiquette was hammered into him the moment he was born, it still felt like his head was so cloudy it was almost impossible to remember everything.
"S-She speaks the truth, Your Majesty," Arctomiy squeaked and cleared his voice. Wrong time for voice cracks!
"If there truly is a word of Chaos in play or it is just Chaos cultists doing what crazed cultists do best, I cannot say. But the conspiracy is there, and something is hidden within those ruins they don't want us to find. The stakes seemed to be high enough for them to even commit an act as grave as this attack…"

He fidgeted slightly. He still couldn't believe he was talking to the royal family!
"I-I am Arctomiy Bartolone de Labrousse. Of the de Labrousse family. We are your loyal subjects and we cannot accept actions such as these. We offer our aid in any way we can. I-If your wounds require further healing, I still have plenty of magic left."

[RatboyDemiurge]

As they spoke, the doors to the throne room were suddenly pushed open. Standing before them, encased head to toe in purple armor with a draconic helmet, the imposing figure of a dark knight appeared. His aura was entrenched with dark magic, and he bore with him a dreadful great blade of obsidian. However, what was most odd was what he was clinging to his chest; a ragged doll of a moogle, which looked like it had been repaired many times over the years.


Before anyone could strike, he placed his sword on the ground and knelt before the king. Slowly, he looked up and spoke. ”I am Jeth. I come not to fight, but to serve.” His voice was hollow and deep, void of emotion. ”I understand if you do not believe me; I bear the same powers that have brought terrible harm to your kingdom. If you decide to strike me down, then do so; it would be as much as a relief for me as it would for you.”

[JNAProductions]

When Arctomiy talks, Connie looks over to him. She smiles to encourage him, but stays quiet-it might be fun to see how he reacts to various things she says, but she can understand that this is a big deal to him. No need to mess it up.

After that, when Jeth makes his arrival, she moves to interpose herself between the group and the knight, her arms spread in a defensive gesture. But when he talks, she lowers them a bit. "Er..." she lets out, unsure as to whether or not to trust him. "We already had someone good go traitor on us, so it makes sense someone bad goes traitor on them? But... How do we know we can trust you?"

[RatboyDemiurge]

Jeth bows his head as he listens to her speak. He pauses, and then answers her. ”It is true there is very little I can do to prove I am not telling the truth. However, I do not require your trust; all I need is to be of service.”

[DarthArminius]

Jeth bows his head as he listens to her speak. He pauses, and then answers her. ”It is true there is very little I can do to prove I am not telling the truth. However, I do not require your trust; all I need is to be of service.”

"Eh, well. Our Kingdom doesn't believe in torture. Uh. " The King thinks for a moment or two and scratches his chin. "Spend some time in our luxury suite dungeon cell!"
"Free room and board!"

The King jokes. "Seriously though, I don't know what you were thinking coming here to serve us like this. In case you are telling the truth, our sorceresses will prove it for you."

"Do not attempt to leave your cell."

[RatboyDemiurge]

The dark knight nods. ”Thank you; you are most kind,” he says as he stands up, before dutifully walking into the cells and sitting down on the bed. ”I shall await for further instructions, your majesty.”

[Merilan]

Eskha listens in as the King and Queen speak; she's a bit more uncomfortable around royalty than Arctomiy, but it's not like she's dealing with a despot at the moment. Her attention is more on the already attended-to wounds. "If you need more healing, you only need ask -- between Arctomiy and I, we're able to mend any discomfort you may have, your majesty."

Jeth arrives, though, and uncharacteristically for Eskha, her attention is drawn to... the moogle doll he's carrying. Her horns actually start to wilt.

"That moogle... So cute......."

Just like that?!

[Parlortricks]

Someone suddenly burst into the room. Arctomiy was so on edge he made a rather high-pitched yelp and was immediately behind Acantha, putting his bodyguard between him and whatever was trying to come to them. What came out was human-shaped, but… Was it a human? Arctomiy swallowed. He supposed he had heard something about the darkest of dark knights, giving away their lives for power…

He did speak. Strange words. Unbelievable words. Surely he didn't have to voice his concerns, say what they all were thinking? …Not that the rest of those he had fought alongside seemed to be as against the idea. Clearly this was another traitor trying to worm their way in when the first one didn't work. A pitiful attempt. How did he manage to get all the way to the king?! How bad was the security here?!

Luckily the king was a sane man. Of course he was. Arctomiy let out a sigh of relief, seeming to be able to regain his composure when it seemed like the situation was handled. He just gave the strange armored man a glare… And picked up his hat that he seemed to have dropped in his surprise.
"W-W-Who does he think he is, coming in here like that to bother His and Her Majesty?! Is this what the Chaos cultists are truly like?"