Idaliseviel turned her head to see her faithful servant by her bedside, "Good morning Saber! Did you rest well?" As she already predicted, her responded with a small movement of the head instead of a verbal response. She didn't mind as much as she started to hum a light tune to prepare for her morning rituals. She stopped as she was passing her doorway to see a familiar, yet unfamiliar figure standing there in a purple dress. The silver haired maiden stared at her for a moment, and then realized her rudeness.
"Oh, excuse me, I'm still a bit drowsy from getting up. Good morning!" She started, "Excuse me for a moment, I need to get ready for the day." She bowed lightly before going off to her own bathroom to wash and tidy up for the upcoming day. She exits the room wearing a long sleeved, burgundy colored, knee length dress with a beige colored collar and buttons down the her waist line. Underneath she has a white collared blouse and a pair of black tights to finish off her outfit for the day.
Idaliseviel turns to the group awaiting for her in the hallway connecting to her room with a bright smile, "Sorry to keep you waiting." She chimes brightly, "I believe breakfast should be ready, so we can all chat there?" She suggests, taking a small glance towards her servant and Rose for their opinion on that matter.
Etrius moves back upstairs, and sits down to type out a message, to inform the company of the poison.
"Excellent. Three points, then.
"Firstly, I believe that you didn't state your opponents name. That information will likely be useful soon, so I would like to know it.
"Secondly, do you know your opponent's status and location?
"Finally, did your opponent possess any significant magic resistance?
"If it's a yes to the second, and a no to the third, I believe that we could probably eliminate your opponent in a joint attack tomorrow night."
Sister:
"Personal, then? Very well, I can respect that. Would you care to specify the degree of magic resistance which Berserker possesses?"
Etrius briefly considers using a seal to gain the information, but decides that it would likely push Caster a bit closer to being an enemy, leaving him at a deficit in regards to two resources.
"At any rate, I need a bit of sleep. Your engagement at the docks has forced me to re-evaluate the usefulness of the forces presently available, so we'll be altering our strategy a bit."
Thinks to self I'm not awake enough for this shit right now.
Goes to the newly build kitchen area to drink some water
Damian:"BLEH WTF!!! YO, FOOL GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!"
*****: "What is it little bambino?"
Damian: "This water is poisoned you dumb ass, what did you do to it"
*****: "Why nothing of course" turns on water and runs his hand through it "hmmmm yes it does seem rather strange, not to worry a filter is of little concern for me, rest easy piccoli and it shall be taken care of"
Damian: "Yeah whatever, JOSE GET YOUR FOOD!!"
Joseline: "What you get?"
Damian: "3 to 4 kinds of meat compounded into a cylinder and served on the finest french baguettes money can buy"
Joseline:"stolen hot dog?"
Damian:"stolen hot dog" *ruffles Joseline's hair* "and Jo, don't drink any water thats not from this place, when i tasted the water it was poisened, im having Fool set up a filter right now" -- Fool sits down to eat right at that molment-- "so yeah
Joseline(mouth full of hot dog): "mroh kray Rmbro"
Damian: So Fool, whats with this place, and were u at the library? That picture is uncanny
Damian:"So what you can tell the future then? Also you ignored my first question Fool, btw thanks for being of the Fool class, makes it easier to insult you"
Amelia’s face grew pale at the news, ”My family has been poisoned?” the question rang in her head over and over. The girl bit her lips, desperately holding back the urge to run into the house and her family. The last time she rushed to heal her brother she became careless and did a poor job, only furthering his pain.
The blue haired woman stared at the person in front of her with a worry stricken face, would this legendary hero help someone like her if she asked? Amelia slowly shook her head, no she couldn’t possibly ask, “I need to be strong, the war has just started, I need to show my family that... that I’m worth something”.
Amelia grabbed a couple of empty vials and tried for form a plan, she needed to stop the rest of her family to drink any tap water, a purifier would help but that should be saved for later, for now it should suffice to have them drink the bottled water they supplied themselves with. All those who are infected should be moved to the same room so she can easily care and treat them all, finally samples of the tainted water is necessary for the treatment, thus the reasoning behind the empty vials. “I’m sorry Beast, our chat will be postponed for a bit, but can you stay by my side? If the water is cursed the culprit should be a magus, possibly a Master, and may be nearby.”
That was the excuse she told her Servant and herself, despite her exterior Amelia was in complete disarray, and although she couldn’t really comprehend it herself, having Beast near her somehow puts her at ease. The young girl turned around and headed towards the main house and proceeding to carry out her plan, silently praying for the best.
Etrius digested the information silently as he drifted off to sleep. After a little deliberation, he entered a lucid dream. Sure, it was lest restful, and it was harder to wake up from it, but he needed the time to think.
Within his mind, Etrius began the process of analyzing the information he had on the Servants, and how they might be countered.
Berserker:
Magic Resistance: B-S+
Magic resistance was probably the greatest threat that Etrius could face in the war. He had a counter, but it called for absurd amounts of mana and was unlikely to work. The other counter would likely be lost were it used against a Servant.
Slowly, a strategy came together to deal with Berserker. It would take a lot of mana, and it would leave Etrius vulnerable afterwards, but it should work. Only two conditions needed to be cleared.
Caster:
[Censorship!]
Caster was another problem. Certainly, he was powerful, but he was a rather loose cannon. Using the Command Seals would probably see him becoming less agreeable. Caster outclassed Etrius in the realm of magic, and the rest was unknown. The seal would have to do for a counter.
The other Servants were complete unknowns, so Etrius turned to preparing for the revised attack plan. The tome containing the relevant information flew from it's shelf into Etrius's hand, and he began to read.
Day Two
The alarm went off at 0700. Etrius was awake by 0702. After awakening, Etrius sent a message to the force commanders, informing them of the strategy meeting at 0800. A similar message was sent to Caster, though with the time changed to 0745, so that the strategy against Berserker could be discussed.
Having arranged the meetings, Etrius sat down with his breakfast, checked the news, and waited.
"You refer, I suppose, to the time which between my contacting you and the present? I did not feel that it would be polite to rush you.
"I have a few questions for you, but first, would you like some tea?"
Intuition
“A-Ah, Eldest Brother,” Amelia straightened herself up and bowed deeply, averting his gaze, “The water supply has been contaminated, I brought everyone who was poisoned here,” she explained meekly, stumbling over her words a few times, “I’m currently examining the water and everyone will be fine soon.”
The young woman decided against mentioning the one who somehow drank bleach, after force feeding the man milk and applying some activated charcoal the worse seems to be over as he is in his room complaining as usual.
Damian: "Fine jackass ignore me. Come on Jo, I'ma go read this book and you have your studies. Where are my books Fool?"
Fool: "Its over there picolli" *points in random direction*
-I spend the rest of the day learning the contents of the book and making sure she studies her math and reading-
The rather carefree attitude that Etrius was effecting vanished, as he turned to the subject of the war.
"If Berserker's magic resistance is of A+ rank or greater, I will be unable to effect him. Therefore, I have created an alternate strategy. It relies upon two conditions being true.
"Firstly, do you have a repeatable attack which will force Berserker to respond with an attack of his own to avoid damage, or otherwise force Berserker to expend mana?
"Secondly, I need to know how efficiently we can link our mana reserves, and at what range this can be effected."
Etrius pauses, seeming to consider something. Evidently, he's come to a decision, for he relaxes and simply waits for Caster's response.
Amelia staggered to the floor and clenched the burning sensation on her cheek. To her surprise Beast appeared behind her spewing hostile words at her brother. While not fully comprehending the situation she could sense the tension between her brother and her Servant, in response she stood between the two and bowed deeply once again towards her brother.
“Please forgive my carelessness Eldest Brother, but if you can give me some time I’ll be able to create a cure for everyone.”
Idaliseviel nodded her head, "It's nice to meet you, Violet." She smiled at the new maid as she nodded her head in reply. She started her way down to the main room and towards the kitchen to get her breakfast. "So what's the meal for today?" She curiously asked as she took her seat in the grand dinning room, "I assume it's the usual hearty breakfast you've worked hard on, right?" The homunculus beamed, pressing her hands together gently as they set a freshly made plate full of her favorite breakfast items. The silver haired maiden smiled, "You spoil me too much!" She teased as she started to indulge on her meal, glancing around the area for her servant's presence. Upon noticing of her search, he appeared by her side silently, as always.
"Oh, Rose, I'm a little parched, can I get something to drink with my breakfast?"
"Noted, in regards to the second.
"As for the first, I shall be explicit. Do you have an attack which is both repeatable and capable of causing significant damage to Berserker assuming an S+ rank of magic resistance? If so, and if said attack requires Berserker to actively respond to avoid damage, then it should be possible to draw Berserker into a battle of attrition.
"Put another way, if you were to employ [Censorship; it's the attack that destroyed the docks] against Berserker, would Berserker take significant damage were he to not actively defend himself? Could you then repeat that attack multiple times to deplete Berserker's mana reserve?"
Etrius smiles briefly, then carefully restores his neutral expression as the five commanders of Tatsuya enter the room.
"Welcome. As my message to you indicated, there have been a few changes to our strategy. The major change is that all patrols are to be covert. They are not to engage Servants save from within the Oni's Spine.
"To take over the roll of active scouting, I will be creating a bounded field of detection which is to be spread over the city. It probably won't be strong enough to actually detect anyone, but I'm hoping that some fool will try to remove it.
"Caster is to be the main force of engagement in regards to Servants. Tatsuya will engage any vulnerable Masters. I will engage either as the opportunity presents itself.
"Until an opportunity presents itself, we will simply seek to strengthen our position. Are there any questions?"
Mortimer decides to ask the obvious question. "What happened at the docks last night?"
"Caster engaged an enemy Servant, known as Berserker. Their battle was, apparently, cut short. Are there any other questions?"
No-one seems to have any questions, though it is obvious that they are thinking over the implications of the damage dealt to the docks.
"Very well, then. The next subject of concern is the poison within the city water supply. The various bounded fields on this building should protect us from it, but an attack of this nature should not be ignored, and indeed it will not be suffered.
"Dr. Langley, I'd like you to begin seeking to identify symptoms and countermeasures. I suspect that the poison is magical in nature, so do not hesitate to pursue that avenue.
"Caster, you have indicated that you can easily find information. I would ask you to turn that ability towards locating the source of this poison.
"If there are no further questions, then this company is dismissed."
With the meeting concluded, Etrius moves to the chamber of seals on the 35th floor, to begin the work of adding yet another bounded field. Weak, but wide ranging. Its power can be escalated later.
Amelia gave Beast a confused look, "What do you mean? I am in charge of keeping my family safe, so if something happens to them naturally it's my fault right? The damage was kept to a minimum thanks to you Beast, if you haven't warned me I..." she shook her head and smiled gently at her Servant.
The blue haired magus promptly returned to studying the bottles and vials, ignoring the deep red mark on her cheek, and before long figured the root of the disease. Refusing to wait she used her specialized magecraft to heal her brothers.
Despite her family's disdain after their recovery Amelia sat down against the wall and sighed in relief. "What do you think could be the cause of the curse Beast? Is it another Master? Who can possibly benefit from poisoning the entire town?"
(OOC: let me know how much mana I just used up)
Idaliseviel smiled at Rose, "Earl Grey please, it'll compliment this dish very well." Her maid nodded her head before excusing herself to start the brewing. The silver haired maiden placed down her eating utensils and wiped her mouth with a folded napkin before glancing out of the windows in the room. "Maybe, we could head out of the manor earlier than we planned today, Saber?" She glanced over to where her servant was patiently standing.
"Unless there's anything else planned this morning?" Idaliseviel glanced towards Violet who shook her head. "Alright! Then after breakfast we can set out towards Fuyuki a little earlier and see the sights! That'll be exciting to take a step outside of the manor, right?" She glanced towards her servant once again, waiting for his approval.
Roger grimaced.
"I see... so we have to deal with an interloper. That is indeed unfortunate. I shall have to change my plans..." He gestured, sending out 40 of the fair folk to give him coverage of Fuyuki. Their mission was to hide in the shadows of the city and mentally report any and all activity that they saw back to him. It would allow him to scout the area while doing some much-needed work in the library.
Roger went down to the library, stepping through the door and immediately checking through the place for his records. While he was there, he also tried to track down some of his resources on the subject of [subject].
11:01:00
<Etrius has spent 500 mana preparing thus far>
"Ah, there's the interruption."
Etrius leaves off the preparations for the ritual, and begins making preparations.
"Spread what information you have to all units, then maintain your distance. Do not engage.
"Lieutenant Ordion, does your team have line of fire to the target?
"Caster, please do not engage them yet."
As Etrius began to expand his will in preparation for events, the flight patterns of the ravens circling the city changed subtly. Soon, more than a thousand eyes were scanning the area, seeking out signs of the enemy.
"All active units are on standby for combat deployment."
Tatsuya, 11:02:15
Battle Commander Rosara was having a bad day. First poison in the water, then an emergency meeting to completely re-arrange the overall strategy, and now an enemy contact. Even rarer is that the CEO seems to be participating directly. Then there's that "ally", Caster...it's obvious that he doesn't hold much loyalty to anyone, and you suspect that he could do some real damage were he to turn.
Still, if the CEO says to get ready to fight, it's the responsibility of the battle commander to get everyone ready to fight.
"First platoon, split to squads and get in the humvees. Move to ring position at 500m and split to fireteams. Don't make yourself known if you can help it."
Matthew Swift
Matthew Swift kisses his wife goodby as she gets ready to board a plane departing Fuyuki City. Bruiser standing behind them dressed in a Kimono.wife: "Please be careful dear..."
Matthew Swift: "I know I will."Bruiser: "..."
Matthew Swift: "Is something wrong Bruiser?"
Bruiser: "...It's...It should be nothing...Lady Swift, are you sure you should not put off this departure for another time..."Matthew...
0800 - 1300
Mathew stands there, completely horrified by what just happened..... It can't be....
The one person who had supported him. gone. GONE!
Wait. Bruiser was acting different this morning. She even suggested waiting! SHE KNEW SOMETHING!
"BRUISER!" Mathew screams, his voice a mixture of anguish and rage. "WHAT! DO! YOU! KNOW!?"
After a second, he composes himself. Well, partially at least, considering the circumstances.
Surely this was an act of another competitor, trying to throw him off his game. There was no other explanation. Planes rarely malfunction.
First things first. Gotta get his eyes out. Definitely first. And then, it's time to do what he does best. What's known about this? He has to know.
"Bruiser. I need you to keep guard. We're being targeted, aren't we?"
“It seems as though the worst is over, I’ll be preparing breakfast, and... um...” Amelia struggled over her words unused to giving orders, “I’m not asking you to do anything but... it would be wonderful if you stayed inside the household, or specifically my room. Ah but that’s just a small request y-you don’t have to listen.” the nervous magus bowed quickly at her Servant and walked quickly out of the room and into the kitchen.
She tried to shake off all thoughts on the war and decided to focus on preparing the first meal of the day. An American style breakfast consisting of eggs, toast, sausages, bacon and waffles for her slovenly brothers, however there were still a few who preferred the traditional croissant and coffee to go, including her eldest brother Gregory. Unfortunately cooking was Amelia’s favorite pastime which allowed her mind to easily wander back to the previous night resulting in more overcooked food than she would have liked. An of course the obligatory comments from her family as they passed by impatiently waiting for their food.
After an hour has passed she was pleased with her handiwork as the feast was prepared on the dining table. As her family dug in without a moments hesitation the blue haired women returned to the kitchen and was about to prepare her usual toast and milk when her thoughts fell once again on her Servant.
“I.. don’t think Servants need to eat but...” she thought aloud remembering Beast’s attire and decided to make two more servings consisting of steamed rice, miso soup, rolled omelette, broiled fish, and dried seaweed, hoping to use this time to get to know her partner better. As Amelia returned to her room she placed the food on a small table, “Um Beast?” she asked looking around, “I prepared some food for you.”
(OOC: we can have the discussion between Beast and Amelia in PMs or whatever you fancy afterwards I'll have her head into town)
Ryder and Sentinel arrive at home-front around dusk. He gases upon his home and with a sigh of relief he speaks to sentinel in a relaxed tone, "This, my friend, is our new home" With a snap of his fingers the trunk of this massive tree separates revealing a rather new looking metal door with a key pad lock in the center. In almost an instant his hands have typed out the code to open the door. The light sound of hydraulics fills the room as the walls of the massive trunk close behind them. Just as the wall closes the metal door opens and the sound of electricity buzzes as power is pushed through the many fluorescent lights lining the ceiling of the long steal lined hallway. They follow the hallway until they reach another metal door much like the first one with a key pad in the center. Once again Ryder's hands become a blur and the door opens. In the next room there is a man who looks to be about 35 years of age. He has a five-o-clock shadow and is wearing a headset that is partially covering a ball cap. He is seated in front of 4 computer screens that he seems to be watching at the same time. They have various images and codes which seem to be linked through all the screens. He has a cup of coffee and 3 bottles of 5 hour energy that are both empty. He is typing so quickly it would seem that he would break a normal keyboard but that is no problem for him because he seems to have some sort of super keyboard that has hundreds of buttons, all of which have had their numbers and letters have been worn off making it impossible for a normal person to to know what anything does.
Ryder: Hello Shadow. It has been some time since I have been to home-front. How is she holding up?
Shadow: The old bitc|h has been holdin up fine. She had a few bugs here and there but nutin i couldn't handle.
Ryder: Very good. Shadow this is the sentinel I went on the journey to resurrect. He is an old friend of my [chuckles] "Glory Days" of my youth.
Shadow:[Nods] Sup
Sentinel bows in respect.
Ryder: Now that you've become acquainted lets move onto bushiness. Shadow, the defense system must be activated immediately along with the surveillance system. Also, take control of the camera systems around the city. Do not let our presence in the system be known. Do you understand?
Shadow: Hack the cameras. Do it quietly. Got it boss.
Ryder: How are my pupils faring?
Shadow: They do their stuff. I don't know, I don't really pay attention. They're in the workshop.
Ryder: Contact my information network. I want them to begin scouring the city for any suspicious people or events.
Shadow: Whatever you say boss man.
Ryder and Sentinel go through a metal door with just a handle and into a room filled with various traps. An automated system monitors the user, offers advice, assists the user, and can even be used to build traps by itself. A long work bench lines the longest wall opposite the door. Against the table rests one of his students. He walks up and places his hand on his shoulder. The student awakens and immediately unsheathes his blade attempting to swipe. Ryder with little effort, disarms him and holds the blade at his throat. The student's face is suddenly filled with shock.
Student: O Master! I..I,,I didn't know it was you. I am sorry master. [solemn] It shall never happen again.
Ryder:[Hands back blade] You must be quicker to surprise your foe. I could have killed you without even trying. [Smiles] How have you been my Protege ?
Student: I have been successful sir. Many companies have asked for the services of myself and my brothers. [Pauses] Speak of the devils.
Ryder turns around as the other two students enter the room. Then all three students proceed to bow. "Welcome back Master" They all speak simultaneously.
Ryder: Be silent my students. I have acquired the services of my old friend Sentinel. He has seen much and you would be wise to study under him. For the time being continue with your assignments.
All the students nod and disperse from the room.
Ryder: So my friend, tell me of the afterlife. is it everything you hoped it would be?
Mathew rubs his temples. He needed to calm down.
"I'm sorry Bruiser, I shouldn't of yelled at you like that." He says. "I just need a second to think....." His face had gone pale from the shock, and it just hit him how weak he felt.
After taking a minute or two to compose himself, he asks Bruiser, his voice barely a whisper, and quite weak. "Do you know in what direction the magic came from? And if you felt it again, could you identify it?"
After hearing her answer, he realized they have to act now to get information. Asking Bruiser to help him to the car, he allows her to drive back to their base aw quick as possible.
Upon reaching the base, he readies [Action x] and releases [Action y]. These are discussed in the previous PM's sent to you.
Checks: (it appears they didn't go through on the PM
[Skill T] [augmented by magic T, spending 50 mana apiece]
1st:
2nd:
9:00 AM
Idaliseviel turns upon hearing an unfamiliar voice addressing her. Her silver hair whips around her as she turns to face the stranger. After a quick glance to see who the owner of the voice was, Idaliseviel makes a small smile towards him, "What a pleasant surprise indeed! I didn't think I'd catch you out here so early, Mr. Harlow!" She responds, sounding as casual as possible.
She herself wasn't that concerned knowing that the area was still moderately crowded. If it was later in the day then she might have started to worry. Besides, she had her servant, hidden, nearby at all times. The silver haired maiden brushed some of her hair out of her eyes for a moment to collect her thoughts, then returned her attention back onto the Harlow before her.
"So what brings you out here so early? Running some errands perhaps? Or just enjoying the pleasant weather like me?" Idaliseviel responds with another smile
9:30AM
After a short walk the two arrived on the docks where the storm occurred last night, the damage was, to be expected, immense. But that was beside the point if two Servants fought that this location she might be able to find clues to the class and identity of her opponents, if they had not covered their tracks.
Sooner than expected an officer ran up to her stating that the area was off limits, Amelia bit her lips at his remark. "The security is tighter than I would've thought... is it because of the previous wars the citizens are naturally more cautious? Or.. did they find something here? the young magus thought to herself.
"Ah, my apologies officer, but you see my home is not too far from here and I'm a bit concerned about the safety of my family, is there anything that I should be worried about? How did such a storm appear so suddenly?"
(OOC: hopefully I get this right )
Luck
Perception A
Perception B
As soon as Idaliseviel notices the strange figure behind the predigested Harlow, she heightens her guard but shows no waver of concern cross her expression. She glances towards her companions and then back towards the man before her.
"You brought a group along with you too! Guess it's more fun with company, isn't it?" She comments with a small remark. They seemed to be matched in numbers, assuming that the other figure behind him was his servant with his two body guards, countering her hidden servant and her two maids. The homunculus let out a small sigh, "It's a bit sad that all of this could change, the atmosphere is pretty light prior to the beginning of the war, isn't it?" She starts as she place her hands folded behind her back.
"I like Fuyuki! It's very pleasing to the eye, the little attractions I've seen are very charming as well!"