Turret Wife Serenade

[Silence Sei]

(Open to really anyone, cameo or otherwise)

The first signs autumn were starting to creep through the corridors of Ixian Castle. Sei could fill the chilly wind on his skin as he made his way towards the outside of the fortress. The Mystic had been going over war strategies for several weeks now. Upon going over several various attack methods in case a war ever brought the Ixian Knights into the confrontation, the mute came to an eye-opening revelation.

Ixian Castle was underwhelmingly protected.

While the warriors within the walls would be more than enough to take care of any kind of assault, if said warriors happened to be on the attack when the Castle was sieged, there would not be much that could be done. While the whole of Concordia Forest provided an excellent cover for the home of the Ixian Knights, Sei found that the camouflage was really the only line of defense that the group had against an incoming attack. This was a problem Sei had sought to remedy.

As such, he had placed a notice in all of the spots around the castle where various groups of people gathered; the cafeteria, the exit to all of the barracks, even Aislinn Orlouge's medical ward was not safe from the bulletins. Sei had to make sure that anyone who had any available resource that the Knights could use would do so. It was the next necessary step to be taken seriously by Rangers and Empire alike.

The telepath found himself on the training grounds within a few minutes. Many of his troops had arrived today in order to help the mute with his goal. Standing at the forefront of the group, her back to her father, was Anita Orlouge. The girl was holding a clip board and writing down names when her father stepped beside her. The teenager did not even look up from her paper.

"Seems you caused quite a tidal wave when you let us know that we needed to improve the defenses, Papa," Anita commented, her yellow pencil scribbling furiously upon the paper.

"I just threw the stone that caused the ripple, Anita,," Sei commented, pulling one of his war fans out to cover all of the features below his eyes, "the Ixian Knights created the wave from that ripple. Did you relay my message to Zerith and Jasmine?"

"About asking for some aid from Moriah? Yes I did, Papa. Zerith should actually be coming back within a few hours with whatever news he has. Jasmine was a bit more reluctant to go with him, but offered any service she could provide with her magic to help. We also have several of our top ranking people willing to do what they can, so I sent Rehtul to practice his ice magic a bit, hoping he'll learn something useful in the process, I talked to Commander Bracken about how he could help, and he mentioned something about a force field, Kyla is somewhere doing....something," Anita sighed, obviously frustrated with the way her 'sister' seemed to disappear without informing her of her intentions, "And Dan....well, I figured Dan should report to you."

"Why is that?"

"Because if I sent him to gather wood for some spikes, he'd likely destroy Underwood," The brown haired girl stopped her writing for a moment, reflecting on what she had just said, "Again."

Sei smiled at Anita's comment and looked back to his soldiers, raising his fan up high and smiling to his people with a posture befitting of an army leader.

"You are brave men and women to volunteer your services to us today! Our goal is simple; Try to make Ixian Castle as impregnable as possible! Anyone participating today will hereby receive a bonus to their pay rate for this entire month! I am proud that so many of you wish to aide us in this endeavor, and your efforts will not go unrewarded. Now, who wishes to be the first to receive an assignment?"

[Duffy]

“You know the next time Sei asks us for our help Ruby?” Duffy mulled over his words with the sort of delectation a connoisseur wielded when indulging in the tasting of a fine wine. His question lingered in the summer heat and threatened to stick to skin and cloth until it received a satisfactory answer.

Ruby could hear his contempt, even before she opened her mouth.

“Yes Duffy…”

“Remind me to say no...Make sure I say it loudly and with conviction.” He bit his tongue, but pushed his hand up into the air over the heads of the gathered congregation of soldiers, knights and vagabonds pressed into service in the name of Sei’s so called ‘greater good.’ The tree tops of Underwood were shining under the changing light of the sun as the season’s turned, which only made Duffy regret offering to help even more. He wanted to be running free over rooftops half drunk and in squalor where he belonged, not embarking on a round of charity work.

Ruby would have agreed with him if he had voiced his distress. She did not want to be here either, but they were part of the Ixian Knights and it was their duty to protect the lives of their fellows. If they could offer help, especially in the form of Heidegger Barrier for the castle, then one day of labour would be a small price to pay for the continued allegiance between the Tantalum troupe and Sei’s band of light wielding mystics.

“As promised Sei, Ruby and I have brought with us the reliquary – we can construct a force field around the castle, though we require the small price of a drop of blood from everyone who wishes to enter or leave freely once it is erected.”

As the stares started to mount against his calm composure, the bard blushed. Several of the younger recruits were talking feverishly amongst themselves about what they had just heard, and Duffy was almost sure he heard death threats dance through the crowd. They were useless, but he felt ashamed to have caused fear. It was literally a pin prick he was asking of them, one drop of blood to ensure the continued resilience of the Ixian Knight’s stronghold during a time of global war and uncertainty.

“It won’t hurt!” He added, before falling silent.

Ruby rolled her eyes with her usual manner, a cold, calculating and ever scornful approach to everything that was remotely uncouth. She folded her arms over her chest and remained dutifully at Duffy’s side. She watched Sei closely, expecting a witty retort to fill the empty space between her ears from the mystic’s telepathic array. She was glad he liked her, but she was never sure if that was because she had befriended Emma Orlougne and taught her the wily ways of the spell singer in Raiaera, or because of some other strange and immoral reason she did not wish to consider as a married woman.

They both fell silent to listen to the other declarations and offers of help. The hustle and bustle was a ruckus, a choir of shuffling feet, commands, drills in distant courtyards and birds flocking on the battlements to watch the commotion with a cocked head and a curious, sparkling bead mounted in a feathered skull. Though autumn was well on its way, there was still plenty of life in the forest and the strange structure which jutted up over the tree line – soon, it would shine and hum with the energy of the Thayne Tantalus, but until then, only the sound of work chants and the smell of sweat would protect.

There was much work to do yet.

[Silence Sei]

Sei listened to the instructions of the Tantalum's leader. It seemed as though there was a much bigger reward than the cost of the spell. The castle would be protected, to an extent, and here were the proud soldiers of Ixian Castle, gazing at their feet as if there were a group of nudists standing before them. It was shameful to see such things happening right before the mutes eyes. Sei bit his bottom lip for a moment, attempting to think of a way to convince the apparently squeamish soldiers the folly of their ways.

"Miss Winchester," Sei spoke to the troupes second-in-command, "if you would be so kind as to recruit my nieces from wherever they may be working, I would be ever so grateful."

Ruby Winchester blinked for a moment, but nodded in compliance with her Lord's wishes, off to fetch Aislinn and Kyla Orlouge. The mute then turned his attentions back to the so-called 'soldiers'. Raising an arm as if to call al attention to his person, he sent out a broad message to all of the warriors via his telepathy.

"All soldiers who are willing to sacrifice just a few drops of their blood to the Tantalum will be rewarded by having said blood withdrawn by Kyla Orlouge, Aislinn Orlouge, or Ruby Winchester." The faces of his men brightened up, and several cheers were made once they had realized that they had 'heard' the words correctly. Sei knew what thoughts lied at the heart of most males, and most males would easily volunteer themselves if it meant that the ritual was being conducted by three of the most beautiful women of Ixian Castle. There of course would be issues once the girls had arrived, but Sei was the leader of the knights, and thus their commanding officer. Even if they did not enjoy being leered at by different men every couple of minutes, it was for the good of the castle.

Of course, Duffy's unique barrier brought up an idea in the mute himself. If the leader of the Tantalum Troupe could come up with a protective sheild for the solders of Ixian Castle, why couldn't Sei? This had always been the heart of the two men's friendly rivalry. Duffy Bracken was just as much a hero as Sei Orlouge, yet only recieved a fraction of the attention bestowed to Corones favorite son. On the other hand, Sei was envious of the way that the former theif managed to instill loyalty in his followers, an attribute the mute had always found himself lacking in. As a result, the two of them always tried to out perform one another in the friendliest way possible.

The mute nodded his thanks to the actor and began to make his way through the Ixian courtyard. There was much work to be done, and very little time to do it in.