#m:racketeering

[amitieos]

it’s raining arrows (not men)

The Battle of the Eagle and Lion is coming soon! The armorers are holding a seminar on the infamous hilltop ballista, allowing students to learn what goes into its maintenance and care. You’re even allowed to make a few test shots! [Grants Bow +1]

Gronder Field is frightfully cold. Elincia shivers, breath glittering in the breeze as she tries and mostly fails to listen to the instructor. She’s here to aid students as a member of faculty but the lecture the instructor gives is vague and blurred in her mind. Something about securing the mechanism before placing bolts? That is of course, if she was following correctly. It could well have been the other way around for all she knows at this point.

Everyone disperses, the elderly gentleman finally finished with his extended and terribly dry lecture. If she’s lost she can only imagine how much — or little, the students have taken in. Most of them pair up and she finds her feet wandering over to a young boy on his own.

“Chad? Hello! It’s a pleasure to see you,” Elincia greets him warmly, sounding far more enthusiastic and optimistic than she truly felt. Her eyes glance at the ballista and recoil. It’s difficult to force herself to look at it directly. Old habits die hard, she supposes. “Are you confident in what you’re doing? I’m happy to lend a hand although I must confess—”

“I tend to spend more time flying as far away from these things as possible than observing them. I’m a little clueless as to their inner workings.”

@lycianlynx​

[amitieos]

will the real lyndis please stand up

When you break the news about the imposter lords to one of the villages, they naturally react in horror and shame for being deceived. However, something goes awry when the message is passed along to the village elders. A miscommunication down the line leads these leaders, half-blind and three-quarters-deaf, to believe that you are the “real Lyndis”. Whether you are or not, there is little you can do to convince them otherwise, and so they demand you make things right. [Grants +1 Authority]

It’s a warm, quiet day. With the Battle of the Eagle and Lion behind them, it was a blessing to have a day to themselves. Far from Garreg Mach, in a small coastal village in Southern Faergus, Elincia takes her tea with extra sugar. The scent of rose petals delicately weaves it’s way through the air. A soft, hazy smile makes it’s way to her face as she gazes at her companion.

“You know, the ponytail suits you well,” she says between sips of tea. Her left hand reaches up, teasing through her own verdant locks. “Perhaps I should try something new? This does look a little too formal for such a personal occasion.”

A friend date, they’d decided to call it. Elincia sets her cup down and loosens the braid wrapped around her bun. Carefully displaces bobby pins and elastic bands until her hair falls down in waves past her waist. A sea of green, shaken loose from it’s usual bindings. Petite hands run through loose curls, throw lengths over her shoulder and smooth down any cowlicks until the Crimean queen is quite satisfied.

“What do you think? It’s nice to try something different once in a while but… it’s not too messy, is it?” Elincia asks in earnest, before being rather rudely interrupted.

“Lady Lyndis!” Byleth is accosted suddenly by a stranger. A few men, similarly dressed follow along. “Please, you must lend us your aid and sword arm. There was an imposter! Someone pretending to be you! We… we fell for it and now we’re bankrupt. You must take responsibility.”

“Don’t be a fool! That’s not Lady Lyndis, her hair is blue not green!” Yells another man. There’s at least a dozen at their table now, shouting the odds. A woman cries and Elincia feels genuinely guilty for being upset about having her peace shattered. It looks like their day off is a bust after all. “That woman is Lady Lyndis! You’ll punish the brigands and fakers, won’t you?” A finger is pointed squarely at her and Elincia swallows uncomfortably.

“Don’t be a fool! Lady Lyndis always wears a ponytail—”

They begin bickering. About whether Lyndis carries a sword, which both she and Byleth do. How tall the woman is, the exact shade of her hair. Elincia casts an apologetic glance at Byleth for what she is about to do.

“Quiet! Neither of us are Lady Lyndis,” Elincia declares, eyes flitting between the many faces before them. She allows her shoulders to relax as she addresses them once more. “However, we will assist you in righting the wrongs you have suffered. You claimed there was an imposter? Tell us what happened and where she went.”

@ashenprofessor​

[amitieos]

babygirl, what’s your name?

As the most successful scammers of the group, “Marth” and “Roy” are your biggest targets. A chance encounter in a large town brings you face to face with the two, but things turn complicated when a crowd forms in support of the imposters. A gaggle of fans proudly support these “down-to-earth princes”, viciously defending them against your supposed slander. Try as you might, just one sensuous “babygirl” from Marth is enough to rally the crowd against you. The puffed-up “Roy” goes as far as to say they are undefeatable in their strength and purity of heart… but can they prove it? [Grants Sword +1]

The two men have evaded the church’s grasp for sometime, imitating two of her students to unscrupulous ends. Finally, they are caught between herself and Edward in the middle of town. Elincia shoots him a pleased smile, proud of their efforts and teamwork. Yet a crowd draws closer with every second, enthralled and enchanted by the pair of scoundrels. Do they not yet realise the danger they pose? How they besmirch the good name of two honourable young gentlemen?

“Leave our princes alone!” shouts a young woman, and Elincia turns her head in confusion.

“But Marth is Archanaea’s king, these men tell you naught but falsehoods.” She pinches her brow, taking a deep breath to calm herself. “Their deception and racketeering has led innocent people to bankruptcy. They must be stopped!”

“Babygirl, must we fight them?” The man who is very much not Marth asks in a voice barely above a whisper. The crowd starts squealing in a bizarre display of delight. She looks to Edward, puzzled by the response as the arrogant, imposter Roy threatens them with his infinite strength. Her hand twitches, the instinct to grasp Amiti’s hilt in defence almost irresistible but something else troubles her deeply.

“Babygirl? No! Absolutely not! How dare you call yourself pure of heart if you’re willing to drag an innocent child into a fight! A baby, too! A defenceless little baby. You should be ashamed!”

@justices-blade