For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

[Aust_Nailo]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

"So you're a bit like me in a sense. Wandering around with no where to really go, looking for something to give our lives purpose. Though for different reasons. I wander because I have to. Because I was forced to, but I've grown use to life on the road. Dirt beneath my feet, the wind blowing through my hair. Listen to me, I sound like a dang poet!"She leaned back herself after her stretch, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. "Guess we both might get our answer soon enough. That lord could give us anything. Power, money, influence. Anything goes when you save a whole city."

 

[ranger]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

Ahdeah leaned back and looked over at Alicia with one eye closed the deep purple refelcting Alicia form. "Nothing wrong with poets my dear. And its true the road dose have a certain calling to it but...... all journys end at some point." Ahdeah stared a moment at Alicia before looking up at the celing. "Maybe this is where this one ends...."

 

[Aust_Nailo]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

"Course it does. All the freedom one could ask for and more. If anything, my exile was the best thing to happen to me. Away from all the ignorance back home." She sounded almost triumphant at that statement, knowing that many would find exile to be a detriment rather than a reward. "You sound so down about it. Think of it as a new opportunity!"

 

[Tassadar]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

Terra nodded, and responded to the su-ku-ta woman's second point first. "Individual cities do what they can, but without the King to hold us together... this battle may have been the most Badaria has worked together since the invasion, and even this will fall apart after the feast."

The human fell silent for a moment. No one city could hope to face the aliens alone. And even if they made some headway, they would return to find their homes sacked and their families gone. An alliance of cities... well, nobody had managed that, not even close. And while they waited, the aliens grew in numbers. Maybe Acheron could hold the South for a time, but if the aliens began the sort of attacks Chocolat had described, the rest of Badaria would be as broken as the Su-ku-ta civilization had been.

The brown-haired knight muttered angrily. "Someone should do something." Which was a worthless sentiment. A million people thinking that wouldn't get anything done. "I won't run away again, while another city falls." That hurt to admit, but it was true. If she stood alone, she'd still stand. Even if all it meant was another womb to pump out more of the aliens. "But that's not really enough, is it?"

"Yes..... Someone should," Chocolat mused, her tail slowly swishing back and forth behind her as she pondered the plight of Badaria. It was one shared by her own people, albeit presently in a significantly lesser form, but even though she held no great love for humans, she couldn't simply sit by and do nothing. "No one person can stop. Your rulers and lords.... They will not do it, I think. It must be the people who act," Chocolat said, her voice again becoming grave, "and people need leadership." It was a common saying of her father, who for all his virtues had often looked down upon the lower classes, and Chocolat believed it now as much as ever.

 

[thetwo]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

Terra nodded. The King had provided leadership, but he was dead, and nobody else quite seemed able to fill his considerable shoes. Few had tried, and it was easy to see why. No ordinary person could possibly hope to succeed. But to combat the aliens - not even all of them, just what was left - one wouldn't necessarily have to replace the King. And not trying would be worse than failing, in the long run.

"You're right." No city lord would try it. Perhaps they would donate a few men, and certainly there were plenty of individuals who would come on their own... but first they needed somewhere to come to. Someone to come to. The young mercenary tilted her head slightly, and eyed Chocolat. The meaning of that last sentence had been clear, and it was a good point, but Terra couldn't say she liked it. "It would be a hard job, with few rewards. But it might be easier if there were a few friends to share it."

A few more moments passed, as Terra considered. "And a few resources to start might help as well. Gold. Soldiers. Even land."

 

[Tassadar]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

"Right deeds are their own reward," Chocolat intoned gravely, and then nodded. "The difficult paths are best followed with those you can trust. Wealth, and the need for it, are things that follow after setting an example," she continued, pondering how much like her own father she sounded like now. She kind of liked it, really.

"I was never trained in management. Such is not proper learning for a woman.... Though, I suppose fighting isn't proper training for a woman either. What about you?"

 

[thetwo]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

"Management? I learned a bit about bookkeeping and such from my father - I didn't have any brothers - but I was always more interested in fighting." Terra considered the question a little further. Chocolat probably wasn't worrying about supply trains or logistics, not at this point. "If you mean leadership... I don't really know that it can be trained. Practiced, sure, but you can either do it or you can't. And I think most people around here believe a woman can't."

Terra didn't really agree with that last point, but in Badaria most people wouldn't be happy to see a demonstration to the contrary. Certainly they wouldn't risk money or troops or land on a group lead by a woman. "So if you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting... well, the two of us probably wouldn't get far."

 

[Tassadar]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

"Ahhh, but are there only two of us? Are there not.... Five?" Chocolat asked quizzically, grinning. It was so rare that she managed to pull off a wise-sounding remark like those her father had seemingly always had on hand that she couldn't help but get a little smug whenever she managed it, and now was no exception to that rule.

 

[thetwo]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

Terra nodded. Five wasn't terribly much better than two, but it was a start. And, as much as she didn't really like it, the fact that one of them would be a man might make things easier. But that was Badaria for you. "There could be. I suppose the only way to find out is to ask. I don't suppose you know where any of the others are?"

 

[Tassadar]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

"We've been together for the last hour," Chocolat replied dryly, but then rose and gathered up her cleaned plates. "Who can say? Not me, certainly, and you're the one with magic~ I managed to get all sweaty sparring though, so why don't we start by looking in the baths?" she suggested, and then carried over the assorted used dishware to wherever was appropriate and then went in search of just what she'd mentioned.

 

[thetwo]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

Terra blinked, and was glad that the su-ku-ta woman had turned to clear her plates by the time that last statement had time to get through. The baths didn't seem like a very likely place to find their allies. But there was no terrible rush, there, and 'looking' for her allies - with Chocolat, in the baths - was more appealing than finding them, elsewhere. And for that matter, maybe they would find one of them.

She took another second to push those images away, gathering her own plates, before responding. "That seems... as good a place as any."

 

[Hentaispider]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

Terra and Chocolat easily find their way to the baths. Surprisingly, Ahdeah and Alicia are indeed there.

 

[ranger]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

How long had she been in here? An hour or half hour.. did it really matter. The water was still warm and she had pleasent if niave company. Still she was starting to get a little wrinkly. Sliding out of the water and setting her hair towl on the floor Ahdeah rested on it letting the cooler air dry her.

"New beginings humm... You might have a point."

 

[Aust_Nailo]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

"Yup! Everyday is a new beginning in my life. New opportunities and new experiences to...well experience. Once I began thinking like that, exile turned into one of the best experience of my life with the brands being the cost of admission."Alicia spoke with a bright and chipper tone, climbing out of the tub and sitting on the edge, her feet still submerged in the water, gently kicking all the while.

 

[thetwo]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

It was a style of bath that Terra had seen before, one large pool split into two by a curtain to separate men from women. From the sounds of it, there was already at least one person on each side.

Continuing around to the womens' side, she was surprised to see that the occupants were both of the women she had been seeking. And a little disappointed. If they hadn't been here, there was a pretty substantial chance that she would have been bathing alone with Chocolat. She squashed that thought down - there was an important reason for finding these women. And for taking a bath.

And now that she'd had a better chance to look at the scene, it seemed that both other women were finishing up. She smiled, nodding to the other women. "Oh, hello Ahdeah, Alicia." After a moment's hesitation, Terra pulled off her dress and sat on the edge of the pool, testing the water."Chocolat and I were just discussing what we might do after all this is over, and she wondered if you might be interested." She glanced back at Chocolat.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

Arriving at the women's bath, Chocolat would do what she probably should have done earlier and get out of her armor. The heavy gear wasn't suited to being removed by a single person, but Chocolat hadn't had the benefit of a squire for a long time and had learned to do it by herself. Of course, doing it that ay required a great deal of... Flexibility, and essentially left her partially nude for the second half once she'd done away with the breastplate, pauldrons, bracers, and all of their associated padding. She'd left her helmet in her room after the last battle, having not needed it for the celebration of victory or the light sparring match that had followed, but that still left her greaves, her boots, and the plated skirt that protected her groin, which she removed while topless.

There was absolutely no shame in her motions, though nor was there any alluring flare for Terra to enjoy save for an exhibition of how flexible the half su-ku-ta woman could be. Women were generally comfortable being naked around one another in her homeland, and she had grown up thinking absolutely nothing of seeing numerous other women completely and shamelessly nude. Knowing that the baths were divided by sex left the su-ku-ta completely unworried, and she wouldn't even outwardly notice any staring on Terra's part as she put her armor someplace where it wouldn't be disturbed and then headed out to the bath itself.

The very two women they'd come to find were, surprisingly, present in the baths as well, but Chocolat allowed Terra to address the elven and amazonian warrior women that they had fought beside against the orcs while she slipped into the water. Nodding to what the Badarian mageknight had said, the half-nymph would add, "the orcs coming from the North aren't the real problem.... I know now how your homelands faired against them, but Anudor is in ruins after the invaders from the sky came. I know not how many of my people still live, but I cannot imagine that many exist if the rumors of our cities being infested are true. They hold great strength here as well, and if something is not done about it... I fear that eventually, all that we have built would be left to rot and ruin."

 

[ranger]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

Ahdeah inwardly frowned. It was almost a shame to have such a pleasent bath interrupted by talk of the invaders. But still Terra and Chocolate had a point and while Ahdeah herself really had no homeland to call her own she couldn't deny the threat they posed. If left on checked the invaders would undoubtly overrun any and all resistance.

"Well it seems the future and our roles in it occupy all our thoughts. Only a few moments ago Alica and myself had been speaking of such things. I take it you have an idea?"

Ahdeah had a good sense of what they where getting at especially with how stright forward the Nymphkin was. She only wondered if they had an actual plan or if this was just the opening statment.

 

[Aust_Nailo]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

Alicia too was a tiny bit saddened by the stark change of subject to something much darker, but she knew it was a conversation that was going to be had sooner or later and she had to face it. Even if they had it while sitting in a bath, buck nude. Knowing full well what those fiends had done to Chocolat homeland, Alicia wasn't going to deny that something needed to be done and fast. If not, her home might be suffering in time. Strong as it was, the Amazon wasn't unconquerable.

"So I take it we won't be going our separate ways following the festivities? You two have something in mind to keep us together? A common cause to keep us together and fighting. Well, no use beating around the bush! Out with it!" Despite how serious things were, Alicia couldn't help but inject a little energy into the rather somber discussion. If only to light a fire under all the ladies.

 

[thetwo]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

Terra tore her eyes away from the remarkably flexible display and - deciding that the bath was an appropriate temperature, and that the others might be sticking around - slipped out of her remaining clothing and into the water.

Once in, she turned her attention back to the conversation. Chocolat certainly wasn't wasting any time with small talk. Which was probably appropriate, under the circumstances, but she still wasn't entirely comfortable with the role that circumstances seemed to be pushing on her. Terra tried to project more confidence than she felt. "The individual cities won't take action on their own. They couldn't raise the forces, even if they left their homelands undefended. And they won't cooperate, for fear of a trap. But something needs to be done."

"I wouldn't presume to speak for anyone else, but now that I've sat down and thought about it, I'm not sure if I could go happily about my life, knowing nobody was doing anything to stop the Invaders." She was rehashing points she'd already discussed with Chocolat, but these two hadn't heard that, and it made her feel a little more confident. Her voice grew more firm, louder. "We never beat them. They just left. Only not all of them. They still hold the capital, and more land around it every month. By the time Badaria unites against them, they'll be too strong to beat."

"There only seems to be one solution that makes sense. A group acting independently, in the interests of Badaria and the world. And... well, saying that doesn't fix anything. But we worked well together against the orcs, and we're owed a boon. Even all five of us aren't going to stop the threat alone, but we could be the start of something greater. And if not, well, it can't be worse than doing nothing at all."

And that was about the end of the familiar argument. "I wouldn't call it a 'plan', exactly, so much as a... not even a goal; a direction. Gather at least a few allies and resources, and oppose the Aliens." She glanced at the two new women, judging their reaction and subtly soliciting their thoughts.

 

[ranger]

Re: For honor and glory!(AustNailo, Tassadar, ranger, thetwo) GMed by Hentaispider

"I see..." Ahdeah got up and finished drying off. It was a dangerous and maybe futil goal but still far better than what she had been doing. "All we need to do is get the ball rolling. If we continue our success we could gather enough infulance or even forces to do as you suggest. Though as of this moment I doubt we have the strength to fight the invaders."