#flmerceus2022

[hresvelged]

relinquish

The house that once occupied the Ziegler’s now seems to echo in its chambers, the words of Lord Ziegler still within Edelgard’s mind after her conversation with Ferdinand. She has no interest in speaking with Lord Ziegler any further (nor Errol, for that matter). Now, all that’s left for them is to release the grip they held onto ever-so tightly. Once Sasha is attended to, Edelgard and the rest of their group make haste towards locating those whom Sasha could not.

Fort Merceus is a key essential for the Empire and they were roaming about it as if it’s theirs to keep. It must not fall to the hands of those who will not use it well. She steels herself for what’s to come- Whatever that might be. She knows all too well that the Agarthans are not a foe to be underestimated. The masks they wore as a household within the Empire, seeping further into Adrestian territory.. As much as she has been painfully aware of it, the look on Sasha’s face is one of many horrible reminders of their reality.

“There’s no time to waste,” she calls to Marianne and Maria. She takes leadership and begins the charge as they head towards one of the village areas. There’s the sound of steps amidst their move, but it’s hard to distinguish its exact spot in the present moment.

Started at L8, moved to Q9

She turns back to them, seriousness etched on her face: “If you see or hear anything- No matter how minor- We will follow it.”

@cruelsfate @princessmacedon

[prhyst]

To Give Chase

FLMerceus 2022 Team 2/Green starter for @bcmbshellblcnde and @futurerequiem

They had their targets. The aspect of actually facing one of their enemies head on was intimidating, but it was better than not knowing, he supposed. Rhys’s Recover staff tapped lightly on the ground with every few steps he took. The courtyard they were gathered in was clear for the moment, but they had to all split off at some point...

He idly hummed a few bars of melody, not just because it helped his nerves, but it conjured and then sustained a sort of aura around him to those in earshot. May my allies be lighter on their feet and heavier handed with their weapons than our foes, he prayed.

Rhys paused and listened intently. Some sound from the cobbled streets made his ear twitch, as though someone had tripped over an uneven stone.

“Everyone- let’s try this way.” He said it with more confidence than he felt, off to the cobbled streets of a residential area. Tap tap tap tap, like a gentle rainfall, they made rather good timing, and they made within the edge of the district without trouble.

New Location: M11

[arcstral]

❛  𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧  𝐭𝐡𝐞  𝐅𝐨𝐱𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞  ❜   —   Dimitri,  Marth  &  Pelleas

                A dark shade was certain to fall over the rest of their time within the fort city, but perhaps they had all equally suspected it would come to this. The hands of the Ziegler household overflowed clumsily with their secrets. As for the youth, Errol, in particular... Marth could not forget the horrible look on his face as he assessed his own sister. The precociously cold attitude he wielded towards Marth upon the questioning of his bleak behavior. Now with Sasha’s spilled blood and her startling admission of the attack that rendered her close to death came an otherwise bright ray of clarity. Two perpetrators and one goal. Errol and Lord Ziegler. Writ in fine ink across the mind, it was clear what they needed to do:

              Capture these Agarthan imposters in human skin that would shake the continent’s foundation of peace in further unspeakable ways if left unchecked. Remove them from the world they sought to change by deadly force if need be.

               Their obligations lied with them. Concerning as Sasha’s condition was, time was of the essence. After assuring that the Ziegler heiress remained within reach of capable medical faculties with the assistance of her household servant, Marth ventured out into the manor’s surroundings with his companions. His attention pressed forward, focused upon the report that Errol had been last sighted upon a tiled path to the southwest. So, too, was this the direction that Marth followed.

   (     START:     K8     )     (     3 AP,   move from K8 -> I9,   uneventful.     )

               “  The Ziegler boy—the Agarthan,  “   he quickly corrected himself with a look shot towards Dimitri and Pelleas at his hind. The king gazed upon them at such an angle that it was only a guarded sliver of his expression that came into view. Recent developments had not struck him as a total surprise, but the likely knowledge gained by their extension was troubling. Maddening, even. That the guilty figures they chased wore the faces of those dead or murdered no matter their age.   “  I pray we catch him quickly, for I have a mind to say my piece. Be it with word or blade.  “

   CAST:     @elegiac-boar     @pirrhyc

[amitieos]

rust to gold

Fort Merceus. The Stubborn Old General. The most fortified city in the Adrestian Empire. The fact security was incredibly tight came at no surprise. The vast, almost cavernous room they were all shuffled into however was unexpected.

“New construction. Higher ups wanted this up and running A S A P - imperial military lingo for as soon as possible, sorry, forgot you guys are civvies. Next time it’ll be prettier for sure-” Elincia looked towards the guard speaking with a hint of alarm held in her wide eyes. The man seemed friendly enough but had he even stopped for breath? He spoke at such a speed she hardly had time to process what he’d said/

“Newman! No dawdling” “S-sir!”

Newman saluted, shut his mouth immediately and marched away to other duties. Elincia tried to keep his thick ginger beard and bright green eyes in mind. He’d seemed far more amicable than any of the other guards here. Lead into a small office on her own, she found herself face to face with an officer, a woman with dark grey eyes that seemed to look straight past her. Her questions were curt and her tone no nonsense. Name, birthdate, known spells, had she brought any dangerous objects.

“I have a sword with me.” Elincia confessed, immediately doubling back on herself as the officer’s eyes narrowed. “It’s a family heirloom - our national treasure! I have no intention to attack anyone, I promise.”

Perhaps only because they’re here on church business, her paperwork was ticked off all the same. The woman muttered about how dangerous she is - a mage and a swordmaster. What a security risk. Her belongings were taken for inspection too and she hesitated before handing over Amiti. Alas, they’d get nowhere if she refused and so Elincia complied, accepting the wooden tag she was granted instead. Her name and details were carved into it and Elincia stepped to the side to wait for her belongings and allies.

It was a curious little thing. Polished beautifully, a number cut into it alongside the rest of her information. There was something odd about it too. She could feel magic emanating from it, albeit weakly.

“Ah, Pelleas. Could you take a look at this for me?” Elincia was joined by four people she was lucky enough to consider friends: Maria, Rhys, Marianne and Pelleas himself. His experience with magic was far greater than her own, so she deferred to his expertise. “I think it’s enchanted, is yours the same?”

@cruelsfate @pirrhyc @prhyst @princessmacedon

[bcmbshellblcnde]

Ballroom Blitz

The following day they wake up and the house is already bouncing with far more energy than Charlotte feels she has. Still sulking and wounded over all her wasted time and energy, she sulks behind the group as they are directed along the house to where the supposed party will be taking place. It’s bustling, but not in the way Charlotte assumes the party is meant to be.

Servants rush around with last minute directions, fixing things and rearranging other things and putting things down just for someone else to come and pick it back up...Charlotte’s exhausted just watching them, and she hasn’t even done anything yet.

Sitting stationary in the ongoing storm of events are two people, a young woman and a younger boy. Charlotte perks up curiously. Were they lucky enough that the missing person they’d been sent to hunt down was sitting right there in front of them. She wished...the sooner she could get away from all this disappointment, the better.

Before she could even nudge any of the people she came with to try and suggest heading over to them, a voice calls out and Charlotte quickly snaps the mask of a perfectly demure woman back on.

“Oh, welcome everyone! Ah, it’ll be a while yet until we can truly begin…”

Charlotte smiles, though it lacks the energy she had yesterday. "Oh, that's quite alright! I know that I'm still just honored to even be invited." It’s not a bad idea. Charlotte figures if there's still time, they might be able to try snooping around and seeing if they can find something interesting to do until they're all shepherded around for the rest of their stay to make sure they don’t see precisely the kinds of things they might be looking for. "Is there anything that we might be able to do to help? I'd be delighted to help things run smoother and take that stress of your minds!"

“No need.” It’s not Lady Bergliez that answers but her companion, an incredibly lordly older man. He looks down his nose at you all, seemingly unimpressed. “I didn’t realize that we would have extra……… ‘guests’.”

Charlotte mentally wrinkles her nose. Great, some stuck up snob. She didn’t need any more than that interaction to feel that this was exactly the type of noble who got his kicks outta shitting on anyone below them. Ugh. She did not want to deal with this guy.

"Oh, you must be Lord Bergliez?" Charlotte smiles all white teeth and cheeriness once more, doing her best to look perfectly sweet. "Lady Bergliez so generously invited us, yes. We have been sent here formally by the Church of Seiros out of concern for Sasha, but I am sure that the announcements made here today will be of great reassurance to them when we return."

“You’re mistaken.” The lord says flatly. “I’m Lord Ziegler, actually.” His displeasure was already palpable when you came, but at the mention of the Church his mood manages to sour even more. “Hmph.”

Oops. Well, good. She hope that stung his ego.

“…Oh don’t mind him.” Lady Bergliez gives a winning smile. “It’s only natural for a father to be less than thrilled to part with a daughter. Isn’t that right, Virgil?” There is a moment of silence as Lord Ziegler seems to collect himself, his anger relaxing into a pensive, melancholy expression. “Yes… you’ll have to excuse me. Life’s trials continue to stack heavily on these shoulders of mine. To give away sweet Sasha threatens to be the straw that breaks the horse’s back.”

Charlotte hums in a way she hopes comes across as understanding. He was probably just pissy he didn’t marry her off to better. Charlotte glances over at the rest of the group and hopes someone else steps up to deal with this.

@arcstral ; @elegiac-boar ; @futurerequiem​

[blaydiud]

Just Horsegirl Things | dimitri and marianne

Midway through the cobblestone, Dimitri almost thought about giving up and going back- the sound of his own steps only caused the dull pain in his head to turn into sharp digs, but at the end of his path there was something worth the trouble: the stables.

The last few days have been especially stressful. Between having to deal with the Kingdom’s matters, rushing his way to Fort Merceus on time to participate in the mission, then having to go to a ball, seeing and hearing so many new people without the option to back off and then finally being put to accuse not only one but two of these people for being agarthan impostors…it was a bit too much in a too short timeframe. The day he becomes king his life won’t be much easier, he knows, but at the same time he highly doubts it’ll reach this level of chaos. He needed to find somewhere calm to rest his mind- to just do nothing for a moment or two.

For that, the stables. He didn’t have any plans to take Duke on a ride mostly because they’d have to prepare to goto the Zeigler Estate later, but also because he just wanted to be there and spend some time with his trusty steed. Duke always seemed to know how to make him feel better, and the other horses in the stable were only a plus, really.

It was worth the trouble, and so the prince marched on. The walk to the entrance wasn’t a particularly long one, but it felt like an eternity- each step he took making his head pound more and more. At least, the fact that the stables offered shelter from the sunlight already did help the headache to cease slightly. As soon as he pushed the double doors open, a few curious heads nearby poked out of their stalls to look at him.

Dimitri smiled. Horses were so cute. Seeing that it wasn’t their owner, one by one the horses went back to their stalls, but Dimitri kept walking. Duke’s was further in the back. The staff was nowhere, most likely on break or already done with their tasks, so it was just…quiet, save for some horse-y noises here and there and his own steps.

34…35…36…37…”38..!”

And it was the sound of his voice that made Duke finally stick his head out of the stall, a clump of hay in his mouth. “Hey boy!” Black fluffy ears were pointing right up as the large horse huffed in greeting. “Eating as always, hm? Hehe.” Then, Duke turned his head to look at something else- a person.

“...Marianne?” Dimitri inquired, curious, before offering a hand wave in greeting accompanied by a smile. ”I did not expect to see you here at all. Good afternoon!”

@cruelsfate

[theofficersacademy]

                                     Lucina  Rhys  Marianne  Marth                                    Charlotte  Pelleas  Dimitri  Elincia                              Patty  Edelgard  Sigurd  Maria  Ferdinand

INVESTIGATION [ January 5th - January 19th* ]

TAG: #FLMerceus2022

SETTING: Fort Merceus

Good tidings, Professor.

I hope the Blue Sea Star shines brightly on you this moon. I regret that I will not be able to spend this joyous time with my friends at the Officers Academy. Still, it has been a while since I’ve seen my little siblings. I’m sure they will be glad to see me return, even for a short while. I’m certain my mother and father are busy as always…

I will be arriving at Fort Merceus on the morrow. May the Goddess grant me patience. - Sasha von Ziegler

You are sent off with Sasha’s last words before you begin your journey to Fort Merceus. Your route is well-known among the academy as the way to Gronder Field, the site of the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. Along the Airmid River, across the Bridge of Myrrdin, your party takes the well-trodden road through wheat fields and tiny farming villages. Travelers, including rich ones, are such a common site on a major road like this. You are unable to find anything useful regarding Sasha’s disappearance before you arrive at your destination...

Fort Merceus has long earned its place in Adrestrian history as Enbarr’s most formidable protector and a stalwart friend. Revered and reviled as the “Stubborn Old General”, soldiers here pride themselves on the fact that their city has never failed in its defense against the Empire’s enemies. As a bustling city in its own right, any Agarthan here would easily blend in here..

What to know:

House Ziegler is a prominent house in the Empire, originating as a cadet branch of House Bergliez. Though the split occurred long ago, the two houses maintain close ties with each other. The Empire’s Minister of Military Affairs is an inherited position in House Bergliez, but current House Ziegler members are far down the line of inheritance.

Sasha herself is the heir of House Ziegler, a member of the Black Eagles House, and a budding mage close to her Faith professor. Ennobled Adrestrians in the group may have met her before, knowing her as shy in her youth and reserved and detached in the present day. Professors would know her as diligent in her schoolwork, but not particularly outgoing. Sasha’s friend group does not overlap yours or anyone else’s in this group

Fort Merceus is the home of the Empire’s most prominent military base and academy for soldiers. Many of the Empire’s newest soldiers are trained here, and many of the Empire’s brightest military minds make their home here. While they do not know about the Agarthans, the city watch takes the defense of Merceus seriously and is prepared to aid you in your search for “the church’s enemies”.

Where to start:

“Fort Merceus takes security seriously” isn’t an understatement. As soon as they received the Church’s warning, they immediately implemented a system to keep track of who goes in and out of the city and ensure that they aren’t dangerous. While the process for new arrivals is tedious at best–even you lot aren’t above their security precautions–their system may prove useful in learning who has entered the city recently.

Perhaps the first place to look is the most obvious. House Ziegler makes their home here, so it makes sense to check there first. Does her family know anything about this?

House Bergliez also maintains a residence here. As a extension of good will, you’ve been invited to set up base in their residence for the duration of your stay. Randolph von Bergliez awaits you at the other end of the gate, and his mother at the estate. With House Bergliez so close to House Ziegler, they may give you some insight into this situation.  

* This remains a tentative date & timeline - you may see adjustment depending on story progression.

Make sure to keep track of all your findings! How you do so is up to the group. Everyone should be contributing!

Talk to Mod Bren for any additional information and NPC dialogue.

[princessmacedon]

"Maria," Deirdre's smile is warm as she sets a gentle hand on the young girl's cheek. She remembers their last mission like this. Maria had been there with her. They'd seen so many awful, awful things. She does not like to think about her going off into potential danger like that again but she keeps a cheerful expression. She would hate to frighten the poor girl. "We should have tea when you return. I'd love to hear about all of your new adventures!"

Warm. Before she thinks to say anything, Maria leans into the touch, all her bright greetings and cheery smiles brought to a momentary halt. Throughout the entirety of the last mission, Deirdre had looked after not just her own child, but all the littler ones (static at the edges of memory, a missing piece). That she was one of them back then did not surprise her, but to see her come back now and wish her well, in her own way...

Maria smiles, her own hands catching Deirdre's when it falls and squeezing it gently, reassuringly. It wasn't that she had thought her fickle, or had ever doubted her sincerity, but-- but she was happy to be remembered.

"Hee hee!" Another squeeze before she lets go, the light returned to her expression in full shining force. "It's a promise, Miss Deirdre! But won't you tell me your favorite flavor of cake? I can make it for us when I get back!"