[Mikelobmike]

If looks could kill, Justice would have murdered this guard many times over. Despite his lead over the two first years, he was not the first one through the gate. You see, explosive rounds have this nasty habit of sending debris and shrapnel in all directions after the impact. Justice had managed to dodge getting hit directly, but a particularly sharp piece of rock flew into his face, leaving a deep gash. If the blood had not flown so quickly, it would certainly be possible to see his cheekbone.

Justice looked down as his white gloves turned a deep shade of red with the flow of blood. Even if there was a way for his aura to quickly stem the blood flow, that was never going to wash out. Justice maintained eye contact with the guard as he recalled his weapon, with the Razor flying over the wall and attaching to reform his walking stick. Justice extended his semblance, looking for someone to copy from to get this rage out of his system.

[nathan67003]

Camelia ran through the gate at beyond sprinting speed, releasing her semblance on Rory as soon as he stepped past the gate as well. She huffed and puffed, bent over, trying to get air back into her lungs, tired from the furious pace as well as from semblance use, albeit far less significantly so. There'd been a kerfuffle or two - she went past a dissolving corpse as well as varied metallic debris near the wall - as well as another grenade right behind her. Not only did it singe her legs, she was pretty sure she'd caught several pieces of shrapnel with her Aura. This Gaud needed to learn to aim better. Friendly fire was not cool.

After starting to feel like oxygen was being carried in her bloodstream again, she straightened back up, a drop of sweat running down from her right temple. Well, they were definitely in, at least. Rory seemed mostly fine, judging by his behavior. "You're welcome, buddy. It was that or running on your own steam, anyway..." She looked at the other people nearby - a guard and the occasional townsfolk - before her sight landed on Justice. Worry tainting her voice a bit, she asked "...Hey, Justice, you okay? What happened?" This was beyond odd, shouldn't his Aura have prevented injuries like that?

[Kingnoname1]

Calen nodded politely in response to Donna request, the conflict seemingly ended before it could truly begin. Calen filed away the reluctance to continue their altercation for future use, although there seemed to be an increasing tension in the air no one was willing for it to devolve into a full fight. Well no one besides Calen that is but even his limited understanding of Grimm made him aware that the negative emotions he would inevitably inflict could attract more of the creatures to the still recovering town. 'Of course Master Donna we will make our way over, I'm sure you are needed else were so take care.' Calen responded moving his arm from from Cami's wrist to around her shoulder and lead her away. 'I agree, we should get moving.' Calen whispered under his breath as he waved goodbye to Donna with his open arm.

Calen's scroll started ringing again and he was quick to answer as Rory continued to explain the situation the rest of the team was dealing with. 'Things are getting a bit rough in Vona, Donna is getting more and more insistent, I'll see what I can do to get a ride but it might not be possible. I don't want to be seen and the last thing this town needs is people chasing after us leaving it even less defended. Take care and I'll call back when I have more of a plan.' Calen kept his voice low unsure if Donna or someone else would be following him.

Not exactly up to date with the latest hot wiring techniques and unless Calen seriously misjudged Cami neither was her which meant stealing a vehicle would be difficult. And he didn't have enough lien on hand to buy one out right so although he would keep an eye out if an opportunity presented itself his mind turned to the second best option. A horse. Cheaper, quiter and probably a bit faster given the relationship between the three towns meant that the roads might not be well maintained. Passing on his plan to Cami still under his breath the two hopefully set about searching for a way out of this increasingly hostile town.

[Ordelis]

Anov, compared to Vona the village was bliss. Men and women walked about without a care, children played in the streets chasing each other around, and guards with modern looking rifles sat atop towers pretending to be awake. A farm, a massive expanse of land was entirely dedicated to agriculture; fruits and vegetables of all size and variety, animals miling about minding their business, and their farmers respectively tending to the very life their friends and families would have for the day's meal. There was nothing really negative to be considered from a first look about the village.

     "You again!? *chew *chew I told you the last time and my answer hasn't changed!" the guard had returned, accompanied by a short and very portly man. In his hands he carried a large bowl with a comically overfilled pile of rice, his other hand was shoveling away with his bare hands at the pile and sending it to his mouth. His clothes were rather ordinary, nothing really indicated him as a leader or anyone important. A cross stitched leather vest, regular work pants, and a pair of warhammers connected by a chain dangled at his waist. His head was balding and his multiple chins expressed annoyance in Gaud's direction.

"They demand for life in exchange for nothing!*chew *chew The point of a trade is for both sides to barter equally, you can tell them the past is irrelevant to the current situation!" the plump man said in between bites, sending projectile crumbs in Gaud's face as he talked. Gaud simply tilted her hat over head so nothing would directly hit her face, she seemed ready for this occurence as she pre emptively covered her face as she was addressed. "The Grimm will soon be handled, after that there should no need for a stockpile and you can lift the embargo" Gaud replied plainly. "With what you and this army?" he said suddenly taking notice of the trio "They look rather battered from the Misted Woods! On top of that they're just a bunch of kids,is a single team really enough to clear the mist?" he examined Justice and Rory's wounds and his gaze ended on Camelia, more specifically an area below her neck, despite the area covered in armor. "Well little lady it wouldn't do to hurt that cute little face of yours! I am village Master Carafe Vita. Do you and your comrades ,but mostly just you, care for some nourishment and rest for the night?" he gestured to Camelia with his bowl of rice extended out to her as if offering her to dig in, obvious lechery could be heard behind the voice.


"Oh I know the perfect place to go!"hearing Calen's requirement for a mode of transportation, she lead Calen off to a corner of the village, not far from the main gate they came in from. Cami came to a stop to the entrance of an open stable with a row of horses, deeper inside a number of wagons could be seen, though the dust suggested they havent been used recently. "I talked to the stable master here and he said the horses haven't been used for a while since the villages stopped trading with each other, they wouldn't notice if one were to go missing would they?" she subtley suggested as she started stroking the mane of the nearest horse. 

[Kingnoname1]

'I've always wanted to ride off into the sunset with a beautiful woman, it's not quite the right time and although clearly potent work horses they aren't as graceful as I had in mind but they'll do.' Calen responded quietly but with a wide grin plastered across his face, fun was back on the table. Seeing that the two weren't bothered when Cami walked straight up to one of the horses Calen decided that speed was likely to be their ally here more than subtly. Still taking every precaution available; waiting until people were looking away, explaining Cami loved horses and just wanted to pat one and jsut engaging in simple conversation, anything the dismiss the suspicions that they were about to commit horse theft. Isolating the two sleekest horses Calen made a show of teaching Cami how to saddle and mount the creatures as an excuse to mount up.

Leading them around the pen a few times until the workers surrounding them lost interest Calen flicked the gate open and gestured for Cami to ride on ahead. Calen would stay behind for a few moments and try to secure the pen shut by tying the gate closes with tight leathers. Satisfied it would give them a reasonable head start Calen reared his horse up and let out a loud wallop before racing after Cami. Some basic geography as well as survival skills kept the two on generally the same right path as they raced towards Anov, moving just slow enough to ensure the horses didn't lather.

'I've been meaning to ask Miss Unis, is there a reason why you won't play without Miss Gaud. I'm sure she has heard you play numerous times before and would forgive one concert given the circumstances.' Calen remarked as they rode away from Vona. Calen was happy about how the situation had unfolded, the adrenaline shooting through his veins and he still smiled as he imagined the the village master's face , but this whole issue seemed to have been able to be solved easily.

[Riven]

Anov couldn't have been more different from Vona, as near as Rory could tell. Vona had an air of desperation about it, a bitter and stubborn determination that brought to mind plants growing up through cracks in the concrete... Anov may as well have been a rich-soil flower bed by contrast. The people seemed content and, if Carafe was any indication, well fed, but that was to be expected when a village was both fully enclosed and self-sufficient for food. Still, Rory didn't really feel any more at ease here than he did in Vona, regardless of the chief's generosity. The persistent feeling of something being off was the one thing Anov and Vona definitely shared.

Still, the fact that this village's chief liked to run his mouth so much was advantageous. As painful as it was to listen to him chew with his mouth open, the shield fighter learned more about the situation from the chief's offhand comments than he'd been able to get out of the chief of Vona. Gaud had already mentioned that conflicts here involved both fighting and a bitter trade dispute, but from here he could start to see the outlines of how that came to be. Anov was the region's bread basket, its main source of food; Vona, then, seemed the village best outfitted with warriors and weapons. What Navo contributed he could only guess at, but it seemed abundantly clear that these three communities each had something the others needed... and weren't willing to trade away lightly.

The thought that Anov might be slowly starving out the other two -- well aware that they were doing so, at that -- put Rory instantly in a sour frame of mind. Carafe's shameless comments towards Camelia didn't help either. He kept an eye on her to see how she responded, ready to back up however she chose to handle this double-chinned lech.

[Mikelobmike]

Justice had a single moment where he looked close to bursting out in anger at the fat bastard, but he quickly gained his composure. Taking a quick breath, his mind started moving quickly. Rather than take on the anger directly, he started rationalizing the entire situation.

"A simple cut. Excessive use of my semblance and a few false assumptions on my part lead to an injury. Explosive dust rounds. But why? Guards tend to be more hesitant to fire at human targets unless previous experience colors their judgement. Village shows no signs of conflict, rather a large agricultural base. Valuable outside the kingdoms." Justice said, first to Camelia, but slowly talking to nobody in particular.

"A place seemingly without major need of Grimm eradication. Large amounts of food, adequate weaponry, bolstered defenses. No man brings the potential trouble that an endeavor like this is bound to have unless they have a need. People. You have farmers, not warriors. The guards must be on extended shifts. Lack of sleep over long periods of time causes irritation, lack of judgement, lowered reflexes. The same kind of behavior that would cause them to fire on a group of people attempting to help them." he continued, his speech pattern gradually increasing over time.

"And the leader. Indulgent. Hungry for power, influence, feasting on what gives you your power. Starving the other villages out until they meet your demands. An effective strategy for the long run. Making sure they know how things will be if they ever fall out of line once more." he said, suddenly turning and addressing the village leader.

[nathan67003]

Before Justice could answer, the guard came back accompanied by a short, indisputably overweight man. Ready to give him the benefit of the doubt, Camelia's good will was rapidly obliterated by the sheer quality of the thing's greed and narcissism. What the hell? This wasn't how you survived against the odds! Had the imbecile never heard of cooperation?

And then it became millions of times worse. She struggled to retain control of herself, a vein or two coming this close to popping on her forearms. Her face, usually somewhat open and soft, slowly gained in rigidity until it became a cool, unwelcoming block of concrete. She mentally patted herself on the back for maintaining a neutral face.

After the carafe, as she'd decided to refer to it, went quiet, she turned to Justice, who'd taken the conversation's center afterwards. Upon hearing the explanation for the scratch, she gave a single nod - managing to not make it stiff - before taking the opportunity to walk right up to her team leader while Justice talked, ignoring the 'village leader' all the while.

Arriving beside Rory, she firmly grasped his shoulders and turned him towards her before saying, in a whisper so low that he'd probably be the only one to hear, "Can I slam him into the ground?", rage rather obviously overflowing past her ordinarily mesmerizing blue irises.

[Ordelis]

"And what would you know Bones!?" Carafe suddenly enraged at Justice's comments, his attention immediately moving from Camelia to him. "Look at you dressing up like those fancy rich boys of the kingdom, couldn't handle the Whites could you?" Carafe taunted.

"Without need for Grimm eradication? HA Hardly! Let me educate you about Anov,we are a weak and vulnerable settlement, despite what you may think. Like you said we have farmers, not warriors, no that's Vona. This village and the other two as a matter of fact have two entrances" he said as he gestured two stubby fingers

"The main gate that leads outside, and the back gate that only leads to the Misted Woods. In Anov both entrances are protected by a weapon, not skilled warriors, a powerful machine gun that cannot be moved or operated by a single person" Carafe rambled on. "Anything the weapon is pointed at can be wiped out immediately, but what happens when we run out of dust do you think!?Or when it malfunctions at the worst moment!?" Carafe said raising his voice, the guard that initially brought him over shifted nervously at this comment, sweat beading down his face despite the cool temperature, all the while glaring at Gaud.

"Or when the Grimm over run our walls!? Without those guns my family is a slaughter waiting to happen!" he ended his rant and realized how panicky he must have appeared to both the group and the village around him saying such dark things.
 Calming himself down he continued "The fog in the Misted Woods and number of Grimm didn't used to be this bad, it's only recently it's become this dangerous. The weapons and the ammo for it was originally supplied by Navo, but they request for an absurdly unfair trade deal for it. What they request won't starve us but moving such a large amount of resources in this state is just begging to be attacked, and it would be enough to force us to ration for some time, especially since Vona is requesting for the same deal."


CALEN

Spoiler: ShowHide

'I've been meaning to ask Miss Unis, is there a reason why you won't play without Miss Gaud. I'm sure she has heard you play numerous times before and would forgive one concert given the circumstances

"It's a bit of a long story but it'll pass the time so why not?" she said with a sad smile as she reminisced her past, she slowed down so he could hear her story as the two horses trotted along.
"First you'll need to understand where Gaud and I grew up. We were born in a very...tribal village I think the word would be to describe it, Amandla. Being a warrior meant everything in Amandla, and I mean Everything, from birth everyone is trained to be capable of fighting Grimm. I remember a parent that would brag how their baby's first word was 'death'. Amandla entirely  devoted itself to fighting, I remember my first "toy" was a set of throwing knives, I hurt myself alot with those" she said with a giggle at the absurdity of the memory.

"In Amandla opening up your aura was like a rite of passage, and finding your semblance was a sign they were ready to become a warrior. I'd say kids on average would've unlocked their aura by ten and find their semblance by thirteen, if you didn't you were the target of bullies and considered a failure. I never did either" she said with another sad smile, this one clearly bringing up bad memories.

Cami was about to continue but fate had something else in mind for her. An explosion of sound was heard in the distance.
[BOOM]
And a streak of white death burst at the feet of Cami's horse, the steed in surprise reered it's front legs and wildly thrashed around throwing Its inexperienced rider right off. By plan or terrible luck the path they were on was on the edge of a rocky cliff, it wasn't a straight drop dow, it was a rock slope that hurled Cami to the bottom of it like a ragdoll. Cami slamming on the rocks as she tumbled down. It was possible she could've mitigated some of the damage by falling on her guitar case she still had on her back but whether by coincidence or intentional she fell in a way that protected the instrument.

[Kingnoname1]

Calen was rather surprised listening to Cami and Gaud's history, finding there stories mirrored a fair bit actually as the little girl continued. Both trained to be warriors from birth although Calen clearly took to it better that his current companion did. They even shared a gift, Calen reached behind him and touched his own throwing knives hidden by his suit. Nodding along Calen was lost in memories he would rather forget and as such didn't notice anything until a large explosion shocked him out of his reprieve. Immediately scanning his surroundings Calen saw Cami knocked off her steed by a white burst. Remembering what Rory said about the albino Grimm Calen immediately used his semblance to dash towards Cami's falling body and hopefully catch her before she hit the ground or at least get to her before anything else did. After having the little girl secured in his arms Calen then launched himself back towards his horse with his semblance.

Kicking the horse hard Calen raced the beast to full speed as quickly as possible as he tried to out run this new foe. One arm around Cami's waist and the other wielding his weapon in glaive form Calen was on the look out for more threats. Rory did also mention fog and he couldn't make out any grimm so the possibility that it was something else, maybe one of the other villages launched to the front of his mind. Directing the horse into the trees Calen hoped to get out of sight of this new foe. 'Apologises Miss Unis it seems we will have to continue your story another time, this might be a bumpy ride so do your best to hold on.' Calen remarked confidence rich in his voice. Confidence which wasn't actually real of course if Rory had trouble with these with two other hunters-in-training at as well as Gaud his back Calen would be hard pressed to fight back by himself. Of course Calen would never admit this out loud or even to himself but somewhere in the back of his mind fear started to blossom, fear he hadn't felt in a long time.

[Riven]

"I'd pay good Lien to see that, honestly." Rory, careful to mind his volume, responded. At the same time he had an ear to what Carafe was blathering on about -- from the fat man's perspective, giving Navo what they were asking in trade was a bridge too far even though, by his own admission, the safety of his people relied entirely on heavy turreted guns that his farmers could neither supply nor maintain. His stubbornness bordered on the suicidal, yet he just kept stuffing himself. "...But you know we can't." He was sure someone like Camelia would understand the reasoning. Satisfying as it would be to violently knock two-chins down a few pegs, the scene would almost certainly start a fight between them and the village's guards -- a fight that would cause people to panic, a panic that would attract Grimm.

... Grimm that would easily get over the wall, now that Gaud had disabled their machine gun.

Glancing back towards the gun emplacement, Rory was keenly aware that they needed to be tactful here... regardless of how vile their host might be. "I've got an idea on how to handle this guy; with any luck, we won't have to be around him for long." Walking over to Carafe -- far closer than was actually comfortable -- and putting on his best poker face, Rory addressed the glutton with all the restraint and calm he could manage.

"Unfortunately, sir, your gunners opened fire on us as we approached the gate. We had to disable the weapon just to make it inside alive." He kept his voice down, knowing how words would catch and spread after Carafe's rant. He also made sure not to mention it was Gaud's doing -- she was their connection to the villages and, at the moment, their best asset here. "Unless you have the means to repair it, your village is currently in exactly the predicament you just described. Even if you have the means to fix the gun, it sounds like your defense resources won't last forever... and I suspect the last thing you'd want is for your people to become fearful under such circumstances."

"Since the gun is so vital, and since it was damaged on our account, we should be the ones to remedy the situation. Your people need the protection of more assets from Navo anyway, so let us go to them and see if we can secure aid. As students from Beacon we can serve as impartial intermediaries, negotiate a deal -- perhaps even arrange for the school and the kingdom to chip in towards new arrangements between the villages."

"This stalemate is dangerous, as you clearly see. Let us go to Navo under your authority, see if we can end the impasse... before it becomes fatal."




(OOC: Rolling for Diplomacy check!)

[Mikelobmike]

Justice was not angry. Anger would imply that he had been slighted in a significant way. No. What Justice felt was a palpable sense of disappointment. Here he had been hoping that this leader would be a man after his own heart, playing into a long-term strategy to ensure the betterment of his people. It would have been simple enough to put on an act for the people attempting to negotiate with him, play the part of a fool. But, alas, it seemed that he was truly a lecherous moron.

Justice turned his back to the leader. Not only was the man not worth his time, but it seemed the boy had managed to start talking to him. Good spirit in that kid. He shall make a good leader once he gets control of his emotions.

Walking up to Camelia, Justice moved in closer than was was normally considered socially acceptable. Justice attempted to talk quietly, but his boisterous speaking pattern did not lend itself well to whispering. "Just let me know if he gives you any trouble. I can give him an in-depth lesson on the capacities of the central nervous system." he said, with a smile that was trying to be comforting, but was probably more creepy than anything.

[nathan67003]

Still utterly fuming, Camelia ignored the entirety of Little Fat Man's tirade, letting go of Rory as the... thing spoke. "Yeah, I know, but I almost couldn't restrain myself.", she whispered to her leader through clenched teeth. She stepped aside and kept her orientation, refusing to face the lump of fat. Rory went to talk to him, leaving her to calm herself down.

She was still busy decompressing when Justice approached her - far closer than she would've guesed was normal for him. Well, with how quiet eh was attempting to be, it made sense. She turned her head to him, only to bear witness to what could best be described as 'an attempt to produce a comforting smile'. He obviously failed at it, creating something closer to creepy, but at least she knew he tried. His words genuinely alleviated her anger a bit. She smiled back, her version far more successful than Justice's at seeming, well, comforting. Or relaxed, in this case, rather. "Thanks. I'll make sure to let you know.", she answered as quietly as Justice had probably intended.

[Ordelis]

In the middle of the trio's conversation with Carafe, Gaud...walked away. Tilting her hat over her face, her expression was unreadable. But to Justice she was still an open book, anger, frustration, and strongest of all was a bitter sadness. She slipped away as quietly as possible hoping Carafe would distract the trio.

Fear and rage filled the leader's voice"DISABLED!?
That weapon is not something to be just disabled! What you just admitted to was no less then destroying our only line of defense!" Carafe no longer making any attempt not to spit projectile food in Rorys face, under the impression he was one to have destroyed the gun. "Of course you will bring us a replacement for the weapon! You fools will fix the problem you created or have the deaths of families on your conscience!As for a fair deal, tell that greedy woman in Navo, Torah, the deal still hasn't changed, a one for one, not five to  one, she needs what I need just as much as I do hers. And damn to the kingdoms, we've had a cooperation that doesn't need their help!" Carafe paused his tirade, lowering his voice.
    "And I'll have one of you stay behind to guard the now weak entrance" he said with a casual tone of voice but his gaze drifting towards Camelia, obvious who he wanted to stay behind. "Three of you should be more then enough to get to Navo especially with...where did that barbarian go?" he said suddenly noticing Gaud had seemingly dissapeared.


Cami was battered from the fall, cuts and scrapes all over her jacket and pants opened up, revealing broken skin and abbrasions. While  the scratches were visibly obvious none of them were particularly serious, perhaps except for the blood dripping from her forehead. "Oww.." She moaned weakly. "A sniper? That round...it came from the direction we just came from..." being the victim told her more about the attack. "Please don't tell Gaud, tell her it was just a grimm ok?" she pleaded to Calen, being able to talk normally, suggested the wound on her head wasn't too serious, but should still defintely be taken care of.

[Kingnoname1]

Looking down at Cami as she sputtered her response while they rode off into the tree line Calen's expression turned increasingly serious. Inter-village violence was always a reality of this mission but getting attacked themselves brought the whole situation into a new perspective. Nodding as Cami begged him to remain silent on the matter Calen didn't say a word on the matter. Focused more on avoiding the undergrowth they were dashing through Calen tried to keep him mind off the implications that attack would mean. Wanting Cami to remain in their village made sense on a purely realist level but actually attacking her as they fled? This conflict seemed a lot more personal that an old grudge whose cause lies lost in the mists of time. And the weaponry required? A rifle to cause such an explosion at such a distance would require incredible technology if it even was a rifle not some artillery piece.

Luckily the horse was at least as happy to get away from being tied up all day as sure footed as Calen could ask for, dashing through the loosening undergrowth. After getting even further away and hopefully out of range of the weapon which had spooked Cami's horse Calen halted their gallop into a smoother trot. There was still Grimm to worry about and their was no point overworking the beast until they needed to again. Calen wanted to call Rory to tell him about the developments with Vona but he wasn't sure if Rory wouldn't pass it on to Gaud. Still having a decent idea of where he was in relation to the other town Calen opened up his scroll to double check. The last thing he needed was too ride further into these Grimm infested wilds than he needed to. Itching for a fight as always Calen was still uncomfortable with whatever these albino Grimm where. That small pit of fear had grown considerably since the attack.

'It's probably not much further.' Calen remarked, patting Cami on the shoulder lightly as she rode along in front of him. Unused to comforting someone Calen was mostly at a lost of what to do with this clearly worried girl. In a combat senerio having someone who wasn't 100% capable wasn't a good thing at the best of time but mental uncertainty was even harder to deal with. The physical wound however was something that he could deal with. Reaching into his pack Calen took out a small cloth, soaked it in water then started to wipe Cami's face clear of blood. Once clean Calen sterilised the wounds by light dabbing alcohol then covered the scars as best he could with various patches. Having done the best he could without stopping Calen kicked the horse again into a faster pace, it had had time to rest, he would have another look at Avon. 'How are you feeling Miss Unis? It was a pretty bad fall. Apologies I wasn't able to reach you in time.' Calen continued hesitantly, unsure if he sounded sympathetic or condescending.