Vampire District

[SINIB]

Sakura Edelfeldt

Sakura simply nodded. She didn't have enough experience here to feel she had the competence and knowledge required to make an effective comment. Still, from the knight's reaction, she knew this had to be a serious move, set in motion by geopolitical currents she hadn't the foggiest idea about. She resolved herself to learn more about this world, and fast.

Sapphire quickly scurried back into the safety of Sakura's chest, muttering "You're the best master I've ever had." To her before hiding within. Sakura gently patted the top of her chest, and then leaned forward, ready to listen, and to speak if called upon.

[Elf]

Forest

Do try to pull yourself together.  You're Duke Taro.  You sniffling out in the hall isn't going to make Valerie warm up to you, and where's the man who was getting excited for war.  She just dominated you; you gonna let that stand or are you just going to be her lapdog for all of eternity? Forest sent Taro as he sniffled in the hallway.

At Damian Wayne's words, Forest shrugged and said, "Trust me, I've suffered worse humiliations.  Thank you for your concern."

To Valerie she asked, "What kind of conquest is this going to be?  Negotiations or no one gets out of there alive?"

She straightened up slightly, the part of her that found herself most alive on the battlefield excited about being part of a good, old fashion rave.

[yinsukin]

Damian

Damian softened at the comment from Forest.  It seemed she was a loyal one if nothing else.  As much as the others seemed to critisize Taro, he was loyal to their cause.  Even if she was not loyal to Valarie, a kinship with Taro benefitted them.

Valarie's statement, on the other hand, forced wide eyes from the business man.  He wanted to protest, but with Alice already silenced he chose to keep his mouth shut.  Still, he couldn't help but wonder what her intent was.  Surely the goal wasn't to invade the dojo district.  That place was a natural rival to their own, with a population of trained warriors.  When one took up arms against the dojo, they weren't just fighting an army, but the nation itself.

[yinsukin]

Taro

All of a sudden the steady stream of thoughts flowing into Forest's mind ceased.  It was almost as if the man had died, faded, vanished into nothing.

The simple clacking of his dress shoes on the ground was the only announcement of his presence.  Sharp crimson eyes aimed towards his chair next to Valaire may have alerted the others to his presence.  It is not as if he was hiding it anymore.  There was nothing cute said, nor a single glance towards the other women in the room.  No, the man simply sat down, glanced at Forest, then shifted his gaze towards Valarie, his broad chest turning and squiring up to her body with perfect symmetry.  The Duke awaited his turn to speak.

[Bern]

Death's Cradle

"I want you to challenge each of the Dojo heads to duels for headship, do it at the same time and it can all be mine in a day with no more blood spilled than is necessary."

She rested her head on her hand as she spoke and had a mostly bored look on her face. You wouldn't think she'd be talking about taking over a whole District if you looked at her. "Lord Yamada will not be a problem for he has grown soft, weak even. None of you remember him back in the days of yore, but the legends you have heard, they are all wrong. Nothing rumored about him could ever even  hope to come close to the truth."

[SINIB]

Sakura Edelfeldt

At that, Sakura finally felt she had a good enough understanding of the situation, and that she'd wasted enough time sulking about being reprimanded by Valerie. She looked up, red eyes staring intently at her lord as she was filled with a mysterious reverence. Heat flushed her face, but her expression was steady and calm. In fact, she was smiling, excited by the idea of following Valerie into battle.

"Of course, such a task will be easy for me!" She exclaimed, shuffling her feet under the table. "Are the fire users-do they use magic?"

[Elf]

Forest

Forest raised an eyebrow as Duke Taro entered the room.  He was quiet as his eyes met hers for a moment before going back to his beloved King.  She stifled an annoyed sigh, keeping her still look.

She listened to Valerie's plans and frowned.

"Do you know what each of the heads of the dojo's specialties are?" Forest asked.  Alice was all brute force; put her up against a master of aikido and she'd lose.  Which makes me note how to fight her the next time the bitch wants to start something, Forest thought, even though it wasn't her favorite style by any stretch.  She was proficient in it, but she generally favored the more aggressive striking styles.

Forest knew what she could do and Sakura was a magic user.  However, Forest didn't want to get involved in a bad match for her skill set.

[yinsukin]

Taro

Taro raised his hand and said, "May I speak my king?  My strategy is simple in its execution, but complex in its explanation.  The method of taking down the dojo is simple, take down each dojo head in a duel.  However, when most challenge the dojo, they do not realize that 'honorable duel' is decided between the two parties along with the wager.  While its not likely they will accept a fishing contest or anything, it does mean that we might be able to bait them into a 2 v 1 situation.  Moreover, it also means we can decide the matchups.  After all, we are the challengers."

Taro sighed, pausing to get a feel for the room.  "Naturally I think the mage should fight Bahadur Klearjaac, but the other big problem is Sethrol.  Truth be told, I think only you can best him in one on one combat my king, but we could beat him if we fight with multiple fighters.  I also recommend that we fight to the death.  After all, none of the members have any confirmed regeneration abilities, so as long as we have the grit, we can succeed in theory, even if they turn out to be too much."

Damian

Damian spoke up next.  "I can handle Klearjaac if the new girl is not up to the task."

[Bern]

Valerie

"Oh my, so you want to play with fire Damian? That is so very bold of you, or could it be you are running away from relationship commitment hmm?" She leaned forward slightly as if she eagerly awaited an answer, but she suddenly turned her her crimson eyes on the Idol that had been silent so far.

"I believe it would be best if you took care of Seras. Since they will not take you seriously." Her grin widened at the double edged compliment and insult she handed out. Nothing motivated her minions more than to first be brought up and then pulled down. Or not really, she quite enjoyed seeing her pink idol squirm.


"Wha- you mean me?"


"Yes."

Valerie's eyes sharpened. "You squealed like a little girl and fell down in your chair when I entered. This is your punishment for that pathetic display." She glanced over at Taro. "You hear that? You can decide other three match ups how you want but that one is final, I do not care how you do it, just make it happen."

[SINIB]

Sakura Edelfeldt

Sakura bristled at the assertion that she wouldn't be capable of winning the fight. She frowned, staring back at Damian, unblinking. "I'm perfectly capable of taking on a fire magus, hmmph. I have plenty of tools that I can use to shut down their abilities."

She ran her hand down her perfectly curled hair once again. It seemed to be a nervous tic of hers.

[Elf]

Forest

Forest sat quietly, listening to the plans.

She did raise her left eyebrow at Valerie stating that the pinkette fight someone named Seras and wanted it to happen.  Or rather wanted to punish the frilly little wench.  She also noticed that Sakura was running a hand down her perfect violet curls.  If we were playing poker, I would have already known her tell, Forest thought.

Since no one brought her up, she decided to do something very novel for her.

She sat and quietly listened.

[yinsukin]

Damian

"It is only if needed my king," Damian responded.

Taro

Taro stood up, flashing the room his trademarked malicious smile, his lips stretched from ear to ear like a Chesire cat.  "I won't lie to any of you," he said, standing up, his arms crossed behind his back.  "Even for the strongest fighters, this won't be an easy task.  While the district may be weakened it is one of the stronger ones in the entire city.  Worst of all, the hardest part won't be the actual fight, but convincing them to fight on our terms.  Ideally, we take out Sethrol first, as despite Klearjaac being the biggest threat to us personally, the one with the title of calm is considered the most powerful among the four.  Once Sethrol and Klearjaac go down, it should be a clean sweep, so long as half of us survive."

Hera Greenmore

"It matters not the odds," she said.  "This knight will prevail in the name of our great king!  I look forward to wiping the blood from this armor."

[Bern]

Alice

Alice stood up herself to challenge his suggestion, her tense pose already gave away the fact that she wasn't going to chime in with an agreement when she spoke. "That's terrible strategy Lord Taro. Bahadur Klearjaac could take out all of us at once with one well placed strike, despite his higher general combat potential, the same can't be said about Sethrol the calm. Any person who wields flames that mighty should be seen as the greatest threat. As for it being a clean sweep. Have you not ever wondered why the other two are even Dojo heads if Sethrol and Klearjaac are so much better? Something isn't right there and I feel like we'll get blindsided by something, something we can't see yet."

[SINIB]

Sakura Edelfeldt

As they talked, Sakura quietly pulled out her phone, and looked up the people being talked about. She clicked her tongue as she looked at a picture of him. She wasn't into men, but she had to admit to herself that that was a finely built male body. But more importantly, he was a mage.

And she was confident in her ability to defeat a mage.

"I told you, Klearjacc won't be a problem. Leave him to me." She said, staring at Alice. "I'm sure I can find a magic item that protects me somewhat from fire, and, well..." A black mist shrouded her body like a thick fog did to the ground. "My magic is quite effective at absorbing magical attacks. It shouldn't be a problem."

[Elf]

Forest

Forest titled her head and thought, Wynn would love this girl . . .

Aloud, she asked Sakura, "First, may I call you Sakura, Baroness Edelfelt?  Secondly, do you have the ability to reflect another mage's attacks against them?"

There was a pang of thinking of Wynn, who she may never see again, and Forest felt her chest tighten.  She mentally shook herself and said, "Back home, I had a friend who would sort of 'catch' another mage's spell with a portal and redirect it through her portal to go off behind them."

She then looked at Taro and sent to him, I need information on these guys.  I don't want to walk blind into a slaughterhouse.