The duty to live

[Ebiris]

No Ebony to keep a close eye on him, but Ysgard is quite safe with death having no meaning. It's also her doorstep so if something untoward were to happen, she could respond rather more openly than she ordinarily might. That prospect piques her interest enough to keep half an eye on Nial's impending battle which otherwise might be considered more mundane.

[Anastasia]

"For Aurora and Lifasa," The soldiers roar as they rush into the valley.

Ahead lie a mix. Several dozen lizardmen are here, lightly armored and with heavy axes at the ready. A campsite, enough for perhaps 50. Mixed in with them are a handful of dragonmen - half dragons, all with sickly red scales lining their body.

[Ebiris]

They're heavily outnumbered but if the others are comparable to Nial then the Aurora contingent is composed of strong warriors and Tannin himself is unreasonably powerful even if he doesn't shine among his peers as a front-line combatant.

But just who are they fighting? Not devils or vampires by the looks of it...

Take 10 for 70 on arcana for those half-dragons, 10 for 70 on nature for the lizardmen. And 10 for 70 on planes for such groups in Ysgard.

[Anastasia]

They're the Shellblade Order. A small group of roving lizardmen lead by half dragons. They're one of many small bands on Ysgard and of little note by themselves. They do take work from anyone who can pay, though.

This gets them into trouble sometimes.

[Ebiris]

Not terribly exciting, and this being Ysgard? It doesn't matter if they're killed.

She might caution Nial if they do anything to prevent the dawn resurrection of course, but she presumes Aurora has good reason for fighting them. She'll check with Ebony though, just because she's curious.

Ebony, do you know what the Shellblade Order has done to gain Aurora's emnity?

[Anastasia]

'Alicia,' Ebony responds, 'I know it has something to do with a job they took through a vampire pawn. This is meant to be a lesson with Ysgard's unique properties, to more carefully choose which sides they interfere with and who suffers from their bad choices.'

[Ebiris]

She sends Ebony her thanks and so watches the impending battle. She'll support Aurora here, so long as they fight with honour.

[Anastasia]

> roll 1d100 low is good
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 low is good --> [ 1d100=50 ]{50}

How average.

Blood, screams and fury.

Nial participates in the raid. The clash of steel on steel, the intonation of magic, the crisp scent of the pine trees. It's a blur for Nial, half of rage and half of sheer, simple necessity. In the end Aurora stands victorious, Tannin a whirlwind that cleaves through the leadership and leaves the lizardmen disorganized and ultimately beaten.

Nial stands a bit away, recovering his breath and hounding a nasty gash on his left arm, as it slowly mends itself back to wholeness.

[Ebiris]

Alicia is silent. A typical battle for a straightforward and not at all inspirational cause. She watched, but she has no reason to celebrate nor judge.

Not every event is graced with the palpable touch of the divine, Nial can own this.

[Anastasia]

> roll 1d20+63 I'll assume she has some bonuses running for +15 total to diplo
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+63 I'll assume she has some bonuses running for +15 total to diplo --> [ 1d20=10 ]{73}

Soon enough...

I've yet to find anything helpful, sister. There's no sign or word of what happened. Whomever did it is being quiet about it.

[Ebiris]

That's about what she expected, really. Alicia sends her thanks to Jessica for checking.

Also she'll get Dawnhope to pay some thanks to the Court of Stars through ambassadorial channels for Queen Morwel's advice when this whole thing kicked off, can't forget the diplomatic niceties!

[Anastasia]

Yet Dawnhope returns mere hours later and bears one thing: A sealed letter, addressed to Alicia.

[Ebiris]

"Thank you Dawnhope, how was your trip?" Alicia asks, accepting the letter from her.

[Anastasia]

"I got lost in a maze of trees and then...I think I fell asleep and woke up with this," Dawnhope admits, "It's fuzzy."

[Ebiris]

"Well, I hope the sentiments were appreciated anyway," Alicia smiles. "Thank you," she dismisses her before opening the letter to read it in privacy.