Scene #4517: With Siren's Wailing

Owner	Pose
Geralt of Rivia	It's not every day that you get a contract to rescue a Princess. In the northern kingdom of Redania, there lies a small noble family - the Borateks - with a small keep. Not the sort of family to have much land or much riches, but enough that their name still carries a bit of power with King Radovid V. They've used this power to keep themselves away from the war that's consuming everything south of the river Pontar, and that power to dominate the newest member of their royal family. The fair maiden - Halina - has some manner of allies, however, and they managed to slip word to none other than Geralt of Rivia, whom agreed to free her. This, of course, meant allies, as Geralt isn't about to bring the entirety of a keep's soldiers down upon only his head if he can help it. It's a pleasant night and all thought of the war is far away as a variety of nobles and other important people socialise inside the main hall of the keep. Geralt is there, in full armor and gear, looking remarkably out of place. There's plenty of food and drink and no shortage of feeling that every single person here is some kind of shark. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be any sign of the flaxen-haired maiden, either. "Hate this to be easy," Geralt murmurs.
Karian Icefang	Also a bit out of place at the party was Karian. Looking like some kind of super heavily armored warrior, or more likely something from Skellige, He was over where the drink and food were flowing. He kept quiet, but watched the surroundings with his one good eye, scanning for a maiden.
Emiya Shirou	Emiya Shirou has heard that around these parts is a princess being strongarmed into something. Exactly what he isn't sure. Political games? Arranged marriages? Well. he'll find out soon enough, and then decide what to do... But .... the ATMOSPHERE of this place, when it should be festive, has him unsettled. Oh yeah, Emiya Shirou's here to investigate. No jumping to conclusions, not yet! He, like Geralt, is clad entirely in well-polished plate armor, though... oddly enough, he bears no weapon? Who walks around in full plate mail entirely unarmed? Oh well, whatever...
Xiaomu	They don't have fried tofu, which is kind of an unforgiveable sin in Xiaomu's eyes ... but they have enough other food and drink that she can afford to be lenient. She's also procured (or more likely, cosplay-transformed into) a hooded cloak, something which helps to conceal her vulpine ears and hairtails; if anyone complains about the fact that she's keeping it up, she points them at the crude stitching that holds it in place for lack of a proper clasp or other fastening. It's not her fault that all she had to work with was leather cord most fit for lacing boots and that she can't stitch better. Of course, given which world this is, sporting the fact that she's an honest-to-heaven fox in the form of a pretty girl would PROBABLY be kind of hazardous to her health. She's partying hard enough to put that out of her mind, which is probably for the best, but she's refraining just enough from the fine wines to keep her wits about her for when it's time to leave the table and start taking more direct and deliberate action.
Shielder	With Shirou is a girl, pink-purple hair and eyes. She's not very tall compared to the boy, barely 5'3", seems a bit frail physically and wears glasses. Combined with her simple white and grey hoodie over a one-piece black dress look, she looks like a clerk or student, not someone you send to investigate a kidnapping. Her steps are uncertain, she looks about nervously quite a bit, broken only by the occasional tug on Shirou's arm to point out something he probably noticed himself. 'T-This is a real keep!' 'Authentic period clothing!' 'W-Wow they really did use candles and torches for lighting!' 'Look at all the stars you can see in the sky!' And so on. Someone sheltered, obviously.
Dorian Pavus	There's at least one person who's not ill at ease here. That would be one Dorian Pavus! Sure, Geralt's world isn't his. But it's close enough that Dorian can adapt. Not only that, but festive parties hiding horrible things like murder and forced alliances, both of the platonic and romantic type, are practically par for the course in Tevinter. Besides that, Dorian has the bearing of a noble, and it's always more about who people THINK you are than who you really are. Of course he's in white. Though it's a formal, military-style jacket with silver piping along the seams, light brown trousers, and dark brown thigh-high boots. The jacket has dark brown shoulder accents, almost like pauldrons, and he wears a royal blue sash over one shoulder and around his waist. There's a dark brown belt over the sash at his waist. And of course his staff is slung upon his back. He's very likely been mingling since he got here, and hopefully he's been able to glean a bit of information from the guests, if there's any to be had. He casts his gaze around to mark all of the other Elites he recognizes, or not. Karian is pretty well unmistakeable anywhere, Shirou's notable lack of a weapon draws Dorian's eye, Xiaomu's keeping her hood up is also attention-drawing, and Shielder's demeanor makes her stand out too. A look to Geralt and a slight nod is a sign that he's paying attention. A check-in, if you will. Everything's fine here, as far as he can see.
Kotone Yamakawa	Given that Geralt, wisely didn't want to bring an entire keep's worth of soldiers down on their heads? She was down for this she seemed to be clad in what might be leather or something akin to that but to those who knew her even in passing? It was likely stealth gear of one stripe or another. Shielder gets a bit of a grin and a head tilt from Kotone. "Friend of his?" She asks gesturing to Shirou. "You seem to be having fun. It's pretty mind blowing isn't it when you travel to places different from your home." She hadn't seen Shirou in so very long and she nearly /hugs/ him. "Good to see you as well, we're not neck deep in filth so that's an improvement over our last meeting." She tries out some of the food if she's able she can /still/ make use of it. "Mmm totally organic food."
Geralt of Rivia	The Witcher and his friends are seemingly treated like interesting bits of furniture. Surely, the Boratek family must be a powerful one if they were able to have a Witcher as a security guard! You can never tell if there'll be a vampire around, after all. Geralt stands by Dorian, frowning slightly. It's not unusual - the Witcher is usually frowning. "Contract said she's locked up in one of the towers. Can't exactly just walk up there without bein' spotted." Karian draws attention. He's huge, the biggest person there, and armored. "I say," says a garishly-dressed nobleman, "I don't know how they conduct themselves in Skellige but we here in Temeria have decorum!" Emiya, too, attracts attention. This party guest is missing an arm from the elbow down and has the scars of a war veteran. "How's the war? How's everythin' south of the Pontar? I've heard that the black ones'll be looking to push down on Radovid, soon." Dorian's keen sense of mingling has managed to pick up a recurring bit of information. No one seems to know where the Princess is either, and the Borateks are just claiming that she's 'ill'. Which might even be true. For whatever reason, Kotone, Shielder and Xiaomu seem to be given a wide berth. It might be because of the pink-purple hair or the hood or... There's whispers that they are sorceresses, which means you'd need to stay away from them unless you wanted to be turned into a frog. Or worse!
Karian Icefang	Karian turns his head and stares right into the nobleman's face. "And here I was wearing my best armor. But I suppose your brashness is simply a matter of being noble-born. I just hope my clansmen don't see this act as some kind of insult." He says.
Xiaomu	Hey now, if Xiaomu was going to turn anyone into a frog, she'd already be making threats about it. Besides, she doesn't do 'polymorph other'; she's more of a cleric than a wizard, if you had to put it in tabletop RPG terms. And if she REALLY wanted to freak people out, she'd be flaunting the black magic that is her PS Vita or her New Nintendo 3DS, or even just her smartphone. Really, she's just here to party and have a good time! Which is an order of magnitude harder when nobody wants to sit next to her. Worst party ever, -765/10. Finally she finishes eating, and sits back from the table, looking down towards King Radovid V. "Your Majesty, if I may presume upon your goodwill, I have some modest knowledge of herbalism. Perhaps my meager skills might be of some succour to those in need under your roof ... ?"
Emiya Shirou	Having to look after Mashu frequently drags Shirou's thoughts away from this crazy rescue mission, but he seems happy that she's happy! He answers her banter with comparisons to Dun Realtai, and how he wishes the stars were this thick for his home's night sky, and have you ever been in a castle before? Of course Kotone, her arrival is regarded with a hint of a friendly smile! "Yamakawa. Sheesh, almost a year since the last time. Sorry, I had to dive into a training course from hell...." Thoug he doesn't sound like he's complaining about it. Eventually his meandersings bring him the wrong attention. He freezes on the spot, unsure whether he should play along with this or not. Lying isn't really a thing he likes doing. At all. But it's not hard to give an answer to this question! "Fierce as ever. I've not heard of a war that isn't hell!" Well it sure sounds like he wants this bloody war to be over soon, and.... that isn't really wrong, either. He's just omitting the fact that he isn't fighting in it...
Shielder	If Mashu is a sorceress, she may well be the woobiest this crowd has ever seen. Her eyes dart from one side of the room to the other, inspecting the clothes and weapons of the guests like it's the first time she's seen anything like it. It helps that it's true, so in no way does she seem to be faking it. Dun Realtai is interesting, but this is more authentic. It's a similar culture, but unchanged by magic or the Union. It also seems to be politically loaded, from the occasional conversation she catches. War? Sounds dreadful. That disarmed veteran kind of says that much with just a quick glance. Standing next to Shirou, the girl questions the veteran who addresses him, curious. "There's a war? With who? Why're they called the black ones? What's Radovid?" Obviously this isn't Earth, or if it is it's rather different.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa may have some idea why people re giving her, Shielder and Xiaomu. She won't attempt to threaten anyone but she will make use of their fear. he pauses mid bite swallows it and she looks to Shirou grining some more. "So that's what you were doing?I hope it's worked out well Emiya. Still it's really good to see you again my friend." Shielder's asking a good deal of questions, she won't complain if there are some answers to be had, but on the other hand? Who knows how the locals will respond to the questioning. She also keeps tabs on Geralt and Dorian and so far? Nothing has seemed to catch fire even with one of the Emperor's Own Space Marines here.
Dorian Pavus	Dorian nods to Geralt's observation. "Ordinarily," he says quietly, "I would suggest a distraction. But our dear Princess is probably being guarded by men taught to ignore everything." He gives a thoughtful 'hmmm'. A moment later, "Oh. Yes. I've been hearing an interesting little rumor. Seems the Borateks have been telling everyone that the Princess is 'ill' somehow." Hearing Xiaomu's words gets a thought. "She may have just given me an idea," Dorian states. "I'm not sure how much trust I'd place in rumors, but if she '''is''' ill, they could be in need of people to see to her. If not, I'm fairly certain I can at least slip away and find where she is. Likely the most heavily-guarded wing. Getting in will be another matter altogether." Shirou's answer is just vague enough to be informative without admitting anything. However, his companion's rapidfire questions are about as subtle as a mace to the side of the head. Dorian turns in Shielder's direction with a blink. Likely mirroring the blinking of several other guests.
Geralt of Rivia	The garishly-dressed nobleman stares right back at Karian, his lips twisting in a grimace of wounded pride. "An insult? You insult me by disparaging my blood! Good sir, I will have satisfaction! Or are you a coward?" The scarred war veteran nods to Shirou. He grunts, nodding as Shirou talks. Of course, when Shielder speaks up, he looks at her like he has no idea what she's saying. "With Nilfgaard! With Emperor Emhyr van Emreis! Their black armor matches their black hearts!" He spits on the ground. "King Radovid - may he reign forevermore - is the only ruler with the balls to stand up to the southern bastards." Of course, at the table, King Radovid V sits. Radovid the Stern, as he is called by those who like him. Radovid the Mad, by those who don't. His handsome face doesn't conceal his disturbing eyes. He's a madman trapped in a world of hate - hate for mages, hate for nonhumans, hate for, well, whatever you've got. He claps and applauds something, and his guards glower at Xiaomu. Slowly, he turns to look at Xiaomu. "A herbalist?" he asks, slowly. "Are you sure that's all that you are? If I didn't know better, I'd say I could /smell/ the magic on you. Captain, do you smell it?" The Captain nods. "Of course, your majesty." The moment stretches out. One second, two second, three... And Radovid laughs! "Then you need a better nose, Captain!" A brief bit of laughter titters around at it, and many people feel glad that it didn't end with someone losing their head. Geralt looks over from that commotion, to Dorian. "Hmm," he grunts. "Might work. But I'm no physician. Looks like we might have a distraction. Need to check the wings of this place, or the towers."
Karian Icefang	Karian looks at the nobleman and simply smirks. "As you wish." He says simply. He looks over, giving a nod towards his allies, suggesting he'll take on the distraction role. "Hope you don't humiliate yourself."
Shielder	"O-Oh." Black armor, right. That makes sense. Radovid is their host! She should have paid closer attention, but luckily it doesn't seem she offended anyone too gravely. At least, nobody's trying to kill her, and her books said knights and guards will move swifly when their lord's honor is tarnished. Usually, anyway! Mashu gathers, from the idea their armor is as black as their hearts, that these people and this emperor aren't nice, and that it's probably at the heart of why there's a war at all. A conclusion so simple a child could reach it, but she's momentarily happy she's putting the pieces together herself. Then there's talk of distracting people so others can move to rescue the princess. It reminds her maybe these people aren't the nice ones in the war, and the talk of black hearts and armors might just be propaganda... ah, this just got complicated. Politics! She never liked reading about it. She never really got it, either. Whispering now, she asks Shirou: "What are we g-going to do? W-What if they see us running for it when the big man causes a mess?" Lucky for them it's a big room, with a lot of guests, so it might not be that hard. She just lacks confidence.
Xiaomu	If any heads were going to roll here, Xiaomu would be out to take out a couple of guards before anyone could collect her pretty little noggin. And that's assuming she would stay long enough to give them a fair fight of it; more likely she'd open her centuries-old bag of tricks and .... Well. Truth be told, she'd probably put all kinds of new fears on the table. That's the problem with being discriminated against, anything you do to protect yourself legitimately still just reinforces the discrimination in the end - and Buddhist or not, Xiaomu's not so noble of heart as to die without a fight just to claim the moral high ground from her would-be killers. Still, it's a good thing that her hood hides as much of it does as the baleful look which she gives the king and the captain. "If you have no desire of my services," Xiaomu replies quietly, "then by all means, forget that I asked ... although," she glances towards Karian and the nobleman, "I dare to say that whatever your man suffers at the hands of Sir Karian will be far beyond my abilities." Let Karian be the distraction; what little appetite Xiaomu had left just vanished, along with any feelings of guest's-obligation towards her host. Coming here was probably an awful idea.
Dorian Pavus	Dorian offers a smile in return to Karian's nod. It's a grateful smile; a distraction is indeed needed! Geralt's words draw Dorian's attention back, and he confirms quietly, "This should definitely be enough to distract the guests. Though any guards we find near wherever she's being held might be a more difficult matter. We could tell them someone's trying to kill the King. That should get them moving." Sadly he can't quite hear Shielder's question over the beginning ruckus. Though he's making a show of looking disinterestedly at the developing duel in-progress. Hopefully Karian can manage not to break the poor bastard immediately. While the crowd starts to gather, he seems prepared to let them get closer! Dear me no... he, a '''noble''', get close to a duel? '''Heavens''' no! That's what he's wanting it to look like. Of course that's because what he's actually doing is looking for a group of people passing a doorway that he can use to disguise his passage into said doorway...
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa is not as informed of the political situation here as she'd like to be, but that tends to be the case for her on worlds that don't have a information network she can access. Still she makes note of the information that's been dropped. She keeps with Shielder and Shirou. She does start thinking over what she'd do if things so hit the fan, she'd packed a few flash bangs which should help should everything go the hell in a hand basket. She had some ides in mind but kept with the pair. She looks to Shielder. "We haven't met before, I'm Kotone Yamakawa. If your friends with Emiya. That is good enough for me." She does take a moment to scan the party goers and shifts visual spectrum to UV for a moment just to see if there's anything odd before returning to normal.
Emiya Shirou	None too sure of this 'black armor' thing himself, Shirou just grimaces at the veteran's description of things. Pretty genuinely, in fact. Is THAT what's going on? Geeze.... do people really order BLACK ARMOR from their smiths? This being a thing... is something he finds hard to believe. "My friend here doesn't get out much! There's a lot more of the party to see. Pardon me..." Shirou tries to get him and Shielder excused with a quick nod to Kotone. Of course THIS coming jsut as Karian starts up a heck of a matter... Shirou tries to whisper back.. "Don't run. Running draws eyes! Just walk. Make for a wall. Speed up when people look away!" Which is exactly what he sets about doing...
Geralt of Rivia	Geralt nods to Dorian. "It'd work, but the moment Radovid knows about the threat he'll take heads. Real or not. Need to be fast." He follows Dorian as the Tevinter mage finds a group to slip through so he can slip into the doorway. He pauses only to catch Xiaomu's eyes and cant his head, a remark to follow. The floor of the keep becomes a space for duelling. Radovid watches from the head of the table, eyes alive with a terrible leer. The nobleman fetches a rapier from one of his servants, and the weapon looks ridiculous when compared to Karian's ceramite-girded form. Maybe he thinks he can slip it between a gap in the plates? Maybe he's just an idiot? "We'll see who's humiliated, fool!" Mm. Probably the latter. Still, it's all enough of a sideshow that people are focused on that and not on Emiya and Shielder as they slip away. They catch a glimpse of Geralt ducking into a corridor to follow Dorian. Kotone's UV vision doesn't pick up anything strange, either. It's colder, back in this part of the keep. Stone walls don't often keep heat in. There are many doors but little behind them that aren't old tomes, old weapons and empty rooms. Up ahead, though, there's muttering - and four guards wearing the colors of Boratek family. The target of their quest is probably in there - but how to get past the guards?
Karian Icefang	It's about this time that Karian draws his own blade. It catches the candle-light and gleams with an almost inhuman perfection. The length, however...he should not be able to wield it in one hand. "Yes...let us see." He says. He aims the blade towards the nobleman and smirks.
Xiaomu	It's as good a time as any for Xiaomu to rise from her seat at the table, while everyone else is gawking at the duelists. She gets up and casually meanders away, circling the room to follow Geralt and Dorian and whomever else. She doesn't really need to watch Karian slaughtering that idiot - and likely starting the war that may be about to happen anyway, depending on finding Halida and possibly rescuing her. So they need to get past some guards, huh ... well, Xiaomu can think of two options off the top of her head. One of them involves a lot of ice, the other involves totally and completely and utterly blowing her cover as anything OTHER than a magical being in the midst of mortals. Neither idea actually entails killing them, mostly because she has better things to spill blood over and these dimbulbs don't warrant the trouble to wipe her sword off. On the other hand, anything that gives them time to think or react in a manner other than removing the obstacle is likely to create the kind of uproar that would render Karian's 'distraction' a moot point. She mulls it over briefly, wondering if anyone else will come up with a good idea.
Dorian Pavus	Dorian is surprisingly quiet when he needs to be. Moving through an old keep is one of the times he needs to be. Though he shivers at the cold. One of the things he much prefers about modern buildings-- they're not so '''bloody cold''' when the temperature starts to drop. Those old tomes are interesting though. One can see the interest in Dorian's gaze. Books are, after all, a hobby of his. But that's digressing. The problem at hand is how to get past four guards. There's a number of ways Dorian can initially think to deal with this, but most of them involve more damage than he's sure Geralt is all right with. Besides that, he's not looking to kill the guards, just to knock them out. So first they need a tiny distraction. A bit of fire should do it. Hiding behind whatever cover he can find Dorian waits until everyone else has found cover as well. Then he flicks his fingers at the ground near the guards, sending sparks there, in an effort to draw them to the side of the hall, where he and his allies can see them, but they cannot see him or his allies.
Shielder	It's only when Shirou and Mashu inevitably catch up to the rest of the group, slipping unseen through a corridor while everyone is busy paying attention to Karian, that the girl considers maybe she wasn't cut out for the whole 'unseen' part of this adventure. She was totally down with the 'save a princess part', as something deep in her resonated and said 'we can't ignore this', but now she wishes she'd paid the idea a bit more thinking. If ever this comes down to 'protect the princess' there won't be a soul here more suitable to the task, but right this moment she feels awkwardly out of place. A bit less when the idea of just taking the men out is proposed. She thinks she can handle that. Probably. She's never TRIED, and has only fought once so far, but she'll never know if she doesn't give it a shot. She stays back for now, presumably still with Shirou. She'll be ready to make a move when the guards take Dorian's bait, so here's hoping they do!
Geralt of Rivia	Out on the floor, Karian draws his blade and there's an audible murmur of approval. Radovid laughs. "Yes! Now that is a sword! A fine blade if I have ever seen one!" The nobleman, however, in his garish ridiculous clothing, thrusts out his rapier at Karian! Dorian's plan works. Maybe more intelligent guards would keep someone at the door, but the intelligent guards have been fed into the meat grinder of the war to the south. These guards wander to the side of the hall, where Dorian had thrown out the sparks. "You see that?"
Karian Icefang	Karian brings his blade up with the practiced ease of an age-old warrior. He moved to block, and tried not to break the rapier...too quickly. After all, he had to keep everyone distracted. "Perhaps I should play fair and duel with my hands tied, no?" He asks, playing to the crowd.
Xiaomu	"Xiaomu Cyclone!" The abrupt shout - kept quiet enough that it SHOULDN'T travel back to the main hall - is just the initial distraction; Xiaomu is already on the move, trying to wrap her legs around the closest guard's head (helmeted or not) and do a hurricanrana on her way past. The idea is to use her momentum and weight to pull the guard off-balance and leverage that into smashing his head into the floor. Hopefully that'll also throw his comrades into enough confusion that her allies can take the rest of the guards down while they're still on the 'wait what?' phase of their reaction. And if the hurricanrana'd guard isn't actually unconscious yet, Xiaomu administers a few punches to finish the job ... still with her legs wrapped around his head. Possibly in a position to muffle his voice, too, but that's far from a given.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa says "Well then we should help fix that for her later!" Kotone seems to honestly mean it too from the tone of her voice and the look on her face. Her scans turn up little, but she wans't expecting much. The man has stones going up against a Space Marine but Kotone wonders just what the man's plan is against one of Leeman Russ' own. Once the distraction is underway. She'll be making ready to deal with the chaos that is coming.
Shielder	The guards are moving! Mashu summons all of her might, which momentarily wraps her in a curtain of blue light. Nothing that glows and is visible from too far, it's more an idle coat of obvious magic. It replaces all of her clothes, and even takes her glasses away; from head to toe Mashu, now Shielder, is covered in black and purple armor, fit to her shape in a way that few if any blacksmiths could manage. It's pretty heavy, from the looks of it; gauntlets and elbow pads over black and purple gloves, thick greaves and thigh-high plate leggins over the same sort of fabric as those gloves, a heavy chestplate, collar and even a skirt, with purple cloth hanging from the plate skirt to the side and back, and even a simple sword hanging from her waist. What's more interesting is the six and a half foot tall shield she's hauling about. Wider and taller than she is, the massive shield is shaped like a celtic cross over a large circle, covered in runes that spell God knows what. It's ornate and unwieldy for a shield. But she proves it doesn't matter, when her speed takes her to the guards in a heartbeat, shield pulled back for a melee strike. Her demeanor has changed completely, like she isn't even the same person anymore. Her movements are precise, a bit stiff, but undoubtedly those of an experienced knight. With the strength of about thirty men, too. Whacking a guard behind the head with the shield should do the job, and her arm pulls back just enough that it won't even be lethal. Hello severe headaches when he wakes up, though.
Dorian Pavus	Cute little fireworks are also not Dorian's only trick. If there's any guards still conscious after the rest of the party's bum rush, those guards may find themselves dealing with a pair of fingers aimed for a hard jab at the place underneath an ear. Said fingers are also charged with just enough electricity to render a hard jolt. And hopefully enough to render said guard or guards unconscious! It's not flashy, but it should hopefully get the job done, if necessary.
Emiya Shirou	"Trace on!" Shirou barely gets the words out of his mouth and his favored short swords appear with a faint flash of light in each hand. he's arming himself JUST in case Shielder and Dorian's manuever doesn't work... so he can maybe clobber someone on the noggin.' Hopefully he won't have to though. But one day he's got to ask that girl just what's up with that weird henshin thing...
Geralt of Rivia	The Elites fall upon the guards. Xiaomu knocks one down and beats him until he goes quiet. Shielder's shield takes another. Dorian shocks a third into silence. Emiya catches the fourth with the hilt of his sword and he drops. Silence. No one comes running. No one shouts or calls for help. Geralt lingers between the Elites and the rest of the keep, Witcher senses alert. "No one's coming," he says. "Sounds like Icefang's putting on quite the show." The door and lock is easily enough defeated. Inside, the Princess sits, lit from behind by an open and moonlit window. She's beautiful but there's a strange cast to her features - too sharp, too pretty, eyes that are too green and too big - and, strangely enough, she does seem sick. Dehydrated, even. "That explains it," Geralt says, "You're a siren. No wonder I'm to take you to the river. Hmm," Geralt says, glancing out the window. "Too far to jump." Geralt turns to the group. "Don't suppose one of you knows a way to undo a curse? Or some way to get us down the window? Can't exactly sneak back through the main hall."
Xiaomu	"'Too far to jump' is a little subjective," Xiaomu remarks, taking a look out the window herself. She's re-settled her hood and cloak, though, so as not to freak out the princess ... still, you'd think a siren wouldn't react badly to a foxgirl. Assuming Halida's reacting to ANYthing. "I can make an ice ramp," she suggests, "and if Mashu can spare her shield for a sled it'd make somebody's ride easier. As for curse-breaking ... I can try, but this isn't going to be magic I'm familiar with so it's going to take some trial and error. And I don't think we've got much of a margin."
Dorian Pavus	Here's where it would be extraordinarily helpful to be a mage from one of those super high magical worlds. Those worlds where wizards can cast spells to make themselves lighter than air, or make items that give themselves the ability to fly or glide. Dorian has none of those, unfortunately. He might be able to craft such spells, but that would take time. And time is something they don't have. Dorian blinks a little when he sees the princess in question. He doesn't really see too much that's odd about her. But that sense of magic about her... that's something he can sense. Geralt's mention of 'Siren' gets a blink, and he backs up a bit. Because see, Sirens have a bad reputation for eating people in many worlds. But he still has every intention of completing this mission. The question from Geralt gets a thoughtful look from Dorian, and he glances at the window. "I could probably run down the side myself," he observes. "But aside from carrying someone, there isn't much I could do for the rest of you." He pauses at Xiaomu's words then, and nods. "I might be able to help you. I'm quite knowledgeable about magic principles in general. Several kinds share principles across schools. Even across worlds, I've noted. Rather like science and physics."
Shielder	That was easy. Suspicion wells up in Mashu from deep in her thoughts, but she can't say from there. Experience she can't remember warns her to be on her guard, that it can't possibly be THAT easy. The normal person in her, on the other hand, really hopes it is. "Those of you who can't survive a fall from that high can use my shield like a sled, sure! Mister Emiya and I can handle the fall, and I can carry her majesty if she'll allow it." Something about the girl gives off knightly vibes, unlike earlier, where she seemed to be an awkward, out of place kid. "I don't know anything about curses, though. It's best if he handles it!" She says, towards Dorian, who claims expertise on the subject. Luckily, the shield IS big enough, and curved such that there wouldn't be any problem steering or sitting on it. The cross shape might even make it easier to keep on a ramp, if Xiaomu shapes the ramp right. And Mashu is more than capable of carrying a princess.
Geralt of Rivia	Geralt glances down at his wolf's head medallion, the trinket tapping against his cuirass. "It's not strong magic. Should be easily enough dispelled. I've seen it before - makes the siren able to live on land. This one's poorly done. Mm. Took her voice, too, by the looks of things." Halida nods to being carried. She wants out, and probably doesn't care about the specifics of it. Geralt says, "You take the window and I'll meet you by the main gate. The Pontar's not far. I'll head back through the hall - Witchers don't attract much attention."
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa at Shirou going trace on? She'll end up shimming as she seems to fade from view, if one were to look really hard you might see her and into the chaos she'll slip she'll move to make use of built in eel-ware into her shell. Which basically are build in tasers to stun whom she needs and non fatally she'll act to back up Shielder and Shirou as best she's able to. She's like a Phantom maybe they were right to fear her, but not for her magic. Then the fight is over and she decloaks she pauses looking at the Princess and then to Geralt. "I'm afraid that's not my thing but I may know someone. Inga might be able to help us later if Dorian can not handle it." She looks back to Shielder for a moment nodding. "Good plan, but I should be able to take the jump at lest my body's specs say I should be able to." She nods to Geralt it's time to go. "Your in good hands with Geralt."
Xiaomu	With the decision pretty much made, Xiaomu leans out the window with her staff and starts conjuring ice, making a relatively smooth ramp down and along the wall - not straight away from the castle, though; that'd be more likely to draw attention from somebody just happening to spot it. Once the ramp is complete down to the ground, Xiaomu heads out first, conjuring an extra block of ice to ride it down the ramp - and to smooth it out some along the way. She even suppresses the urge to go 'Whee!' as she slides down; it's a bit on the steep side, so people will most likely be sliding rather than walking.
Emiya Shirou	"From the second floor? That's doable!" Shirou's confident he can handle a leap from that height. His Reinforcement isn't THAT shabby! Although he's momentarily transfixed by their target every now and then, finding it difficult to look away. Guys. All he can do is clear his head and ponder on these words. She's a SIREN? "S-so... a Siren can be a princess? And these people locked her up WHY?" Something about this doesn't QUITe add up. Who's she a Princess of then.... he's missing crucial information here. He ends up skipping the ice ramp after getting a good view of how far of a drop it is. Pumping a bit of magic through his body, Shirou just vaults out of the window... and when he hits the ground it's moving slightly forward! He bleeds the momentum off with a freaky forward roll-flip that's only slightly flaily...
Shielder	It's with great care that Mashu lifts the princess, in an obvious princess carry. Nevermind the fact the Shielder is probably shorter than the siren; at least her body seems up to the task, her hold firm and unusually strong for her build. It feels like she's done this before numerous times, but she can't recall any of them. Her muscles remember acts and deeds long past that belong to someone else; for her own part she's a bit nervous she'll mess it up, but her posture doesn't betray that right now. Assuming someone plans to use it, her massive shield is left behind to be placed on the ramp and used like a sled. For her own part, Mashu simply leaps out the window, falling as though she were being carried by the wind, slower than she should, and landing by Shirou a moment later, a smooth and non-bumpy ride for the princess. "I'll stay back here until mister Geralt is back, I don't think it'd be a good idea for me to walk up to the front gate with their prisoner in tow."
Dorian Pavus	The mention of a poorly-done curse gets a nod from Dorian. "I should be able to break it then, if only with dis-enchanting charms," he notes. "One has to be able to 'turn off' magical items if they become a problem, after all." Kotone's mention of Inga gets a nod. One of the only blood mages he knows that he'd trust farther than he could throw them! "That does seem like something she could assist with," he notes. "But hopefully we'll be able to break it." Xiaomu's conjuration of the ramp gets a blink. He's not fond of ice, to be perfectly honest. But he being the only one not with a way out of the tower, Dorian's going to utilize that shield as a sled. Should provide enough of a barrier between himself and the ice to keep his butt from freezing to the ramp! Dorian is not the 'whee, sledding!' type. He was never fond of the cold, so he didn't do a lot of sledding as a child. Besides, this thing goes way too fast, and he has very little control over where it's going. He should, with luck and the use of his staff as a steering rod, get down to the bottom without much trouble. Though he's likely to end up on his face once he gets there. Nothing standing up and dusting himself off won't fix, though.
Geralt of Rivia	It seems like the Elites have made good on their escape down an icy ramp and to the grassy plains below. The Pontar river isn't far. It should be as simple as undoing the curse and throwing her back into the water. Then Geralt can get paid. Geralt means them by the gate out, as he said he would, and the group even makes it about half a dozen paces before someone shouts out for them. It's Prince Boratek and about half a dozen of his men! "Witcher! Do you think you can make a mockery of my family by attending this feast?!" Well, small miracles, he seems to have no idea his lady love is leaving him. Geralt considers that question a moment. "Think you've done that without my help." His hand goes to the steel blade across his back. "Make for the river, handle the curse," he tells the group - but help will probably be welcome!
Shielder	However acrobatic Dorian's descent is, Mashu retrieves her shield after the fact, or rather, it seems to evaporate in a flurry of bright blue wisps of mana, returning to the girl, presumably to be resummoned if the need arises. In the distance she can see Geralt being followed, and some shouting occurs. Shielder looks to Dorian and Xiaomu, with a simple nod. "Unless you're both needed to break the curse, mister Geralt looks like he could use some help! I'll run to the river so the princess can at least drink up and feel better, and so those guys don't see we have her! Catch up to me when you can!" If it's a simple run to the river, Mashu won't have any trouble with it. She's not as fast as the usual Servants roaming about, but she's still some ten to twenty times the speed of a peak human athlete. More than enough to reach a river and be out of sight before the prince and his men can see what Geralt's friends were up to.
Xiaomu	Nothing to see here, these aren't the smartphones you're looking for, move along, move along. Xiaomu just continues on her way as though she didn't even hear Boratek flapping his mouth, hobbling along on her staff like she were physically closer (by human standards of aging) to her chronological age than she normally appears. Once the group reaches the river, she'll start working on the curse. Even after Mashu asks her to help, Xiaomu lifts her head just far enough to cock an eye at the pink-haired Shielder. "If I get into that fight, it's gonna go even worse than if Geralt takes them single-handedly," she stagewhispers. ... but, she can still pitch in a bit. A layer of ice starts to spread across the courtyard between Geralt - who has an ice-free area around him and to the gate - and Boratek and his platoon. It may be a little too temperate for that much ice to be mistaken for anything natural, but they shouldn't be able to trace it to the herbalist hobbling along on her staff. Not unless one of THEM has magic too, and given the distrust shown towards suspected magic-users, Xiaomu's only wish would be for enough popcorn to watch the resulting dispute when she points the finger at one of them as a secret wizard.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa is leery of blood magic but Inga seems to use her own to fuel her spells and it seems to focus on healing more than anything oddly. But ruight now was the time for her to leap out the window and she drops like a rock she'll land in crouch she'll leave an impact crater from her three point landing. She rises up and cricks her neck. "It's as he said you have done a fine job of that, now if you'd like another lesson I'd be happy to give you one and it will be one you'll live through but you won't like it." She redies her first and thinks she really, really needs to get a melee weapon of some sort.
Dorian Pavus	That's good, that the shield disappears so. Because it's probably quite heavy! While no, Dorian is no 'squishy mage', he's not trained in the use of a shield, so it would likely get in his way. Looking to her, he notes, "Thank you. The alternate method I had of getting down could have been slightly more dangerous." He's aware of the appearance of Boratek and his men, though, and heaves a sigh. Looking to Geralt, he comments, "Yet again I find myself shocked by the sheer stupidity and ungratefulness you endure." Though he too has a response. Agreeing with Geralt, he adds, "I feel I must agree with the Witcher. Serving pyment with roast goose? Utter sacrilege. Anyone knows pyment is meant to be served with beef and lamb." Shielder's words get a nod, too. "If I'm needed, I'll catch up. If the curse is weak it shouldn't take much more than a push at the base, or a pull at a trailing thread. Figuratively speaking, of course." He's unaware if Xiaomu can sense magic like he does, but hopefully she should at least get the gist of what he's saying.
Geralt of Rivia	Geralt grunts. "Comes with the territory," he asides to Dorian as he draws his blade. His tone of voice says it'd like be getting upset at the sun for rising. Boratek's men advance. Two of them slip on the suddenly icy ground and fall over - something snaps and one of them stays down. One of them reaches Geralt, blade in hand - feint, parry, riposte! - and suddenly his hand is on the ground, blade still held there. Geralt kicks his first challenger down, and then he's duelling the next. One of the men moves to strike Kotone, too. But it's enough of a distraction to allow Xiaomu and Shielder to begin their trek down to the Pontar river, free of any hindrance.
Xiaomu	So how do you break a curse you don't know the first thing about? Well, when you're Xiaomu, you start from basic principles. If there's an active cycling of magical energy in or around Haliba, the sage fox examines it, tries to determine if it's harming or hindering Halida - physically or otherwise - and if it seems to be, she tries to wrangle the magic out of the disruptive pattern and ground it out. Working at the river actually helps for that purpose: water has an aspect of purification, and water magic is part of Xiaomu's strong suits thanks to Suiren, her staff (and cane-sword). Otherwise, Xiaomu can attempt a purification effect; she's done enough exorcisms, solo and assisted (or assisting), to know how to do that without hurting a youkai in the process. And she's kind of categorizing a siren as a type of youkai - a supernatural being, as opposed to a human or a purely natural animal. Y'know. Kind of like Xiaomu herself is. She'd also make sure Halida gets a decent drink of water, on the off-chance that Shielder isn't able to see to that herself. Heck, just drinking natural water from a free-flowing stream might be part or all of what it takes to break the curse's hold ...
Dorian Pavus	Geralt suddenly has help, too. Dorian has no qualms about revealing his being a mage. Where he's from, that's a mark of pride, not a stigma. And he really doesn't care much for the Ferelden-like attitudes of 'magic, lock it up and murder the practitioners'. So when he does this, it's with full knowledge of what he's invoking, both with his own power and in the people that are watching him. His eyes narrow, and his left arm, from the elbow to the hand, begins to glow blue-white. Dorian makes a sweeping gesture parallel to the ground, and blue-white energy rises up from the ground near the Witcher's feet. Geralt might find that he's suddenly covered with a Barrier. If so, it will effectively grant him twice the health, but it will decay rapidly. He has a few moments of protection though. And he also adds, of the food and mead mismatch, "You think I'm joking? Where I'm from that would get you assassinated. Definitely socially assassinated. And possibly literally assassinated." There is, as ever, a note of flippancy and sarcasm in his voice. It's hard to tell if he's kidding or not. What's clear, though, is that he's planning to assist Geralt in staying alive.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa doesn't seem to have a weapon as one of the men come for her, this might. She moves quickly tyo catch the blade btween both oif her hands it cuts into her abit it hurt but then comes? The eletical discharge it's not enough to kill but the sword should act like a lighting rod. Rory would be proud Kotone would think, at using her hardware like this. Hopefully it's enough to drop the guy. "You really should ask yourselv es are you in over your heads and is it worth the coin?"
Geralt of Rivia	Geralt seems to be set on staying alive, although the barrier helps. It's always good to have insurance - that's probably somewhere in his esoteric Witcher's Code. As Geralt and Kotone dispatch the last few of the Prince's men, Dorian's comment draws his ire. "How dare you!" he shouts, "I'll have you burnt at the stake for your insolence-!" Anything else further is cut off by Geralt's fist at his jaw, knocking him down and out. "Come on," Geralt says, to Dorian and Kotone, as he heads down towards the river. At the river, Xiaomu works on the curse. It's really not a intricate thing - it has all the hallmarks of some cheaply done trick. No sorceress worth her spells was behind this. The water helps and Xiaomu's ability to wrangle out the magical pattern does the rest. As Geralt and co. burst through the brush, they're greeted to the natural sight of a siren. Human from the waist up, but with fangs, claws, a fish's tail and what appear to be thin, membranous wings. She bows her head to the group and dives into the water, vanishing from sight in seconds.
Xiaomu	The yell of 'have you burnt at the stake' prompts a very, very weary look to cross Xiaomu's face, coupled with an under-her-breath murmur of, "Bitch, please." The utterance just so happens to coincide with picking loose the last 'anchor' of the curse - and Halida swiftly resumes her true form. The sage fox returns the bowing of her head, and watches the siren return to the water. She wasn't totally sure how deep the river was here .... apparently, deep enough for the siren to submerge. "So," Xiaomu says casually as Geralt rejoins them. "Mission accomplished, I can shake the dust of this world off my sandals for now? If not for longer? I haven't felt that much hostility in ... oh, three or four centuries. Maybe longer, but people don't have to know what you are for you to know they hate you ..."
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa disabled the lst few guard and she tuens to run now. She had no hate for them, they might owe oaths or be employed she gets how tha tis. IT's not personal against the goons, the pricne on the other hand. "I think not!" She say before turning to run with inhuman speed to join the others. IT's pretty much clear that yes she may have been a magic user as far as the locals were concerned. "I'll take that as a thank you and damn never seen anything quite like her before..."
Dorian Pavus	Dorian stifles a snicker as Geralt rather quickly and effectively silences any further bluster from the good prince, via a knuckle sandwich. He nods to Geralt's words. "Good idea. I wonder if the others have managed to break the curse?" He'll follow Geralt, with applications of Fade Step if he needs to to keep up. Dorian's a pretty fit guy, though, so it shouldn't be necessary. And as he and Geralt arrive, the lady changes! Dorian skids to a stop, wondering if now the tables are about to turn and they'd need to fight for their lives. But no, it appears the Siren just wants to go home. He offers a polite bow as the lady nods her head and disappears. Xiaomu's words get a nod. "Oh I know," he agrees. "I'm both a mage '''and''' from Tevinter. In Thedas that makes me a devil of the worst sort." He chuckles. "Well," Dorian comments. "The Lady of the Sea was rescued, and a buffoon ate his own teeth. I'd say all's well that ends well?"
Xiaomu	"You aren't going to have people clamoring to burn you at the stake if your hat or your hood blows off and people see fox ears," Xiaomu asides to Dorian. "I mean, true, it's no picnic to know people will want you dead if they realize you can cast magic, no matter how beneficial it might be ... but if you have to go among mage-haters, you don't need to dress up for it." A poof of gold-hued smoke rises around Xiaomu, her hood and cloak vanishing with her other local-ish garb, and she's left in her qipao, vest, sandals, and foxy ears and five 'tails' that are part of her hair. "Me ... not so much," Xiaomu grumbles, shaking her hairtails out a bit. "C'mon, where's that warpgate, I need to pursue Lu Bu."
Geralt of Rivia	Geralt stands there at the bank of the river. The discussion about stakes and being burnt at them passes him by - he's long used to it. "All's well that ends well," Geralt replies. "Just when I get paid."