RP:A Knight's Gauntlet
Part of the The Ice Plague Cometh Arc
Frostmaw Arena
Hildegarde seemed to dance between her opponents, twirling gracefully between the two before jerking her halberd to the right to smack the first opponent in the gut and then barrelling her heavy body into the body of the other. The orcs stumbled back, unprepared for the assault, snarling as they went as they grew angry at the attack. Orcs loved to fight, so training drills were an absolute pleasure for them. The orcs advanced together: one swinging both hatchets down while the other swung his club towards Hilde's waist. But the knight had experienced such an attack before, so she knew the response required of her. Seamlessly raising her halberd up, she held the hatchets in position before twirling once again - as if a graceful dancer twirling under a partner's arm - to twist the hatchets out of the orc's grip and thrust her leg out to boot the other in the gut. "Enough!" she commanded, once they had both staggered back. "You fought well," she commended them, "but being a berserker is no good to you against a giant if you cannot get close enough. They can swing a club and have you across the field, in the blink of an eye!" she warned, gaining a small nod and grunt in recognition. "Get some rest. See Master Gikal about your armour, if you have the time."
A light, piercing applause follows Hildegarde's words, the clapping resounding unnaturally through the stadium despite being delivered by a single pair of delicate hands. Where moments ago the seats had been empty, one now is occupied by a slim form lounging nearly sideways. As the orcs trot off under the knight's directions, Satoshi continues her round of applause and slowly straightens, only to throw Hildegarde a salute. "Every day our fighters improve under your training, Mithril." Is... is that Satoshi's way of saying she's been watching, even if others haven't seen much of her in recent times? Bingo.
Hildegarde turns immediately the applause, as if expecting someone entirely different. Upon seeing the Queen, however, the knight immediately drops into a kneeling position. "My Queen," she said in way of greeting, "you are truly much too sneaky," she said with a smile. "They hardly improve. Tristram's men are excellent fighters, but ill-equipped to face the cold. But they are eager to fight for Frostmaw's victory."
Satoshi finishes sitting up, only to sling her arms over the seat's back casually. "Every fighter can improve, no matter how good they are. You prove that to them~. And it's why I trust you to these tasks. Gualon's warriors may not be used to the cold, but we have armed them to the best of our ability, they are too strong of spirit to let the weather stop them in a battle. How fares all else?" One moment, she's hinting that she's been lurking and watching everything, and the next she's asking for updates. Satoshi is a fickle creature.
Hildegarde doesn't miss a beat with Satoshi's change in nature, from omniscient to asking for information, "There have been one or two incidents," she said, looking to Satoshi as if to gauge her reaction. "Outlaws attempted to take control of our lumber area, but they were dealt with. A young girl… she wandered out beyond the Western gate. We found our body and the exile responsible. He was offered a trial by combat, where he met his End," she informed Satoshi, remaining in her kneeling position. "But more importantly, the Lady Dami and I had a good look at the exile camp. Their forces are impressive."
Satoshi's gaze is distant, and she'd seem as if she weren't listening to Hildegarde were it not for vulpine ears being attentively cocked toward the knight. Absently, and delayed more than usual, the magus gestures for Hildegarde to stop kneeling, although her focus still seems to be on something unseeable. When she speaks, it is almost as if to herself, or an invisible companion beside her, rather than the Silver. "Yes, their forces are impressive. As is their leader. I felt him, shortly before you went to rescue Eliason. I have been preparing since." With a jerk, Satoshi brings her attention back to the present and properly fixes her gaze on the Silver knight. An apologetic smile tilts her whiskers. "You've worked so hard while I've been doing so. Thank you, Hildegarde. We have just one more trial left before us, then we can celebrate. And pay tribute to those who fight for Frostmaw."
Hildegarde rose up from her kneeling position after a few moments, reliant on her halberd to help pull her up onto her feet. The knight, however, doesn't miss a beat: narrowing her eye as she noticed Satoshi's absent minded behaviour. "No need to thank me," she said dutifully, "I only do my duty." But she adds, "I noticed that they had… had undead creatures. Dragons, wyrms, mammoths. They are clumsy in the air, which is to our advantage," she said, almost a tad absently herself. "But you have been well…?" she asked with a more concerned look and tone, a question that was asked in part out of duty and in part out of a genuine care for the Eidolon.
Satoshi shrugs in an attempt to dispel the knight's worrying--and to allay suspicions should there be listening ears. She has, in truth, not been well. For the preparations Satoshi has made to contend with the Exile leader are as equally deadly to herself. The process had left her sick, weak, and doubtful. Her seclusion in the ruins necessary to rebuild her strength, along with rallying the inhabitant spirits. But Satoshi sees no reason to put further stress on Hildegarde's plate by mentioning as much, which leads to the shrug and a dismissive wave of a hand. "All is prepared, Mithril. Frostmaw will stand stronger than it ever has before."
Hildegarde could probably understand Satoshi's reasoning behind avoiding any solid answer, but her patience had run so very thin in the past few weeks. "That isn't what I asked," she replied, "but you are my Queen and I must take your word as truth," she said with a little wry smile. "I can vow it many times, but I vow it again: I am your shield before death. I shan't let you come to harm," she promised most seriously. "Ask anything you need of me and I shall do it," she said with a dip of her head, "you know that."
Satoshi fixes Hildegarde with a peculiar look, one part intrigued and one part rueful. It was rare for the knight to take any tone other than humble obedience, and it serves as a reminder to Satoshi that Hildegarde is not simply a weapon to be swung about freely. Dipping her head in silent acknowledgement, the magus hides the flickering hints of a genuine smile. "I know that. And all is well," Satoshi adds as she looks back up, amber flecks of her eyes blazing, "I assure you." She lifts her hand then, beckoning to the Silver.
Hildegarde had grown harsher since the beginning of this war, learning the harsh realities of war and the fact that commanding an army meant she could hardly be a pushover these days. Even with the Queen! A woman she was meant to protect with her very life, she couldn't just allow her to wriggle out of anything now. She had heard such talk from Tharn from time to time. "I should hope so," she replied, heading up the steps two at a time with relative ease; even though she was exhausted and terribly bruised behind all her armour. "We will have our victory," she said with certainty.
Satoshi, while Hildegarde climbs the steps, reaches into the front of her coat to remove a small satchel. The bag is silver in color and shimmers as if it were made of metal. Satoshi places it upon the seat beside her, so that it rests between herself and the knight, once Hildegarde arrives. Carefully, the magus pats the bag as she comments in hushed tones, "I have a gift for you in here. Unfortunately, I cannot claim to have made it myself, for Gikal was an enormous help. Nonetheless, I think it will serve you well. However..." Satoshi trails off a moment to hum. Although it appears to be a momentary lapse in concentration, in actuality, Satoshi is weaving the cold air around them to create an invisible pocket of silence, warding them against eavesdroppers. "Use it with caution. You are a dragon, thus a creature with magic knit in your bones and blood. What I give you unravels magic." When Satoshi opens the satchel, what's lying inside is a single gauntlet, wrought of the same shimmering material as the bag, joints expertly articulated, and fingers tip with finely pointed talons. Across the gauntlet's otherwise smooth surface are delicate traceries decorating the edges, sigils of Frostmaw and the North. Gently, Satoshi reaches down to turn the gauntlet over, revealing its palm, and the keystone of its unique nature: a single honed shard of amber firmly set in the center. One of the same shards Satoshi obtained from the Time Lord's necklace, a barbed gift from Cerinii. "The metal will protect you from the amber, for a time, but it cannot guard you constantly, so use it sparingly. The amber... is a vicious substance, carrying the ability to undo any magic it comes in contact with. I've seen it poison a fully grown dragon from the inside out. I've felt its venomous touch myself. And if you're wise, the Undead foes we'll soon face will too feel its bite."
Hildegarde knew Satoshi was prone to giving gifts, an act that made her awkward and shy when she thought about it. Foolishly, she thought that the bag was going to be her gift and she did think of it as pretty. But the knight listens carefully to her Queen's words, growing ever curious about the contents of the bag. Her curious nature was sated after a short wait, gazing at the fine gauntlet as the Queen presented it to her. Rather than her typical awe and humble nature, the knight spoke softly to Satoshi: "Frostmaw royalty is in the habit of gifting their loyal subjects with objects of immeasurable power and great harm to themselves," she said, fixing Satoshi with a stare. "First Whim, now this gauntlet. I am no magic wielder, I know little of it, other than the fact it sustains me and my species. If I bear it, I trust that you or the Wizard will guide me in its use." The Silver said it seriously, as if she wouldn't take no for an answer. "It is finely crafted," she said more quietly, as her gaze fell once again to the gauntlet itself. She was a dragon! Prone to like shiny things.
Satoshi displays her hands in a gesture of one unarmed, expression sheepish at the mention of Whim. "I did not know that weapon's full capabilities, and some weapons tend to have intentions of their own. This gauntlet, however, is without mind, intent, or enchantment. It functions merely as armor, unless you touch that piece of amber to an arcane weaving. Then it shall begin to unwind the magic. Thus far, I've found the larger the enchantment, the longer the amber takes to work, much like a poison. I imagine it might work more swiftly if it was given proper energy. Or perhaps blood. Like the Leech that created it, it seems fond of blood. ...I don't recommend that, with you being a dragon." Taking care not to touch the amber piece herself, Satoshi lifts the gauntlet and offers it to Hildegarde, lying across both hands. The glow of the magus' runed palms is muted in the presence of the amber, hardly visible through Satoshi's gloves.
Hildegarde needed to understand this piece of equipment better before truly accepting it. Her experience with Whim had frightened her, to have a *weapon* whisper so darkly in her mind and attempt to change her very nature was a terrifying experience. "And if I touch you with this gauntlet…?" she asked quietly, "Say I must grab you and this is my only free hand. Will it hurt you?" the knight's eye settles upon Satoshi, worry clear to see in her gaze as she lifted the gauntlet from Satoshi's hands so she needn't hold onto what seems like a burden or a threat. She didn't want to endanger her after all.
Satoshi glances from the gauntlet to Hildegarde. Habit compels her to twist the truth, but the knight's virtuous nature is a difficult one to resist when so close... and so Satoshi bows her head slightly. "It would hurt me, yes, for I am a creature of magic like you. But unless you insisted on maintaining contact for a prolonged time, it would not undo that which binds me in existence. You would have to intend to harm me, to do true damage, I promise." There is more to be said, but Satoshi refrains. For while she trusts Hildegarde, and her own Warding spell, the magus is not taking any chances on saying anything further. Yet.
Hildegarde takes a long moment of silence to consider her reply, appreciative of the perceived honesty in Satoshi's reply. "Then we had best hope I have no need to grasp you with that hand," she said genuinely, "but we have skill on our side! I can wield my weapons with either hand, much like my pencil," she smiled almost proudly at that. The halberd was a weapon that was poorly wielded with one hand - not impossible, but not well done - so it required the use of both skilled hands to direct and handle it well and carefully. "I have given my word countless times," she smiled at Satoshi, taking a seat beside her without invitation, perhaps assuming she has earned the right to do so, "so I expect you know that during our final fight, I shall be with you," she glanced to Satoshi's face, gauging her reaction.
A flash of amusement crosses Satoshi's face when Hildegarde invites herself to a seat. The knight has grown, in strength and confidence. In a peculiar trading of personalities, Satoshi nods humbly in response to the Silver's firm words. "I had figured. Even if I were to protest, I don't think Aramoth himself could keep you from my side when the final battle begins. You are much too stubborn and loyal for that."
Hildegarde waved her hand in a dismissive manner, as if further mirroring Satoshi, "As I am sure you know, I have disguised myself as Aramoth for battle and for our men before. Don't make me do it again to protect you," she said with a grin. In truth, she wouldn't mind if Satoshi asked it of her. Frankly, the deceit had embarrassed and shamed her for a time, but she knew it was for a greater good; for the sake and wellbeing of her men.
Satoshi's humility evaporates as quickly as a snowflake in a firestorm as she whistles with delight. "Oh Mithril~. Imagine the tales they would tell, of Aramoth and the Snow Maiden going into battle side by side to defend Frostmaw!" Now you've done it, Hildegarde. Satoshi's always wanted stories to be told about herself, and now you've planted the perfect means in her mind. Like a giddy child, Satoshi squirms in her seat at the very idea. "Our troops would be unstoppable, seeing such a sight!"
Hildegarde , unlike Satoshi, didn't really want songs or stories about herself! But she was a servant to the crown; her duty was to the Queen. She'd be lying, though, if she said Satoshi's enthusiasm and utter lack of humility didn't amuse her. "I wonder, if I would need to be as tall as our men for that, or could I get away with this height?" Changing shape was a difficult thing for a dragon to do, when so accustomed to one particular shape.
Satoshi rises to her feet with a gleeful stretch, invigorated by the Silver's musings. As she turns to the knight, Satoshi remarks with a wink, "If the God of War teaches anything, it is that the size of the warrior doesn't matter, so much as the fight within his spirit~." Hildegarde is flashed a grin then before Satoshi takes a step back, hand lifted in salute. "Soon, Mithril, we'll end this matter once and for all. Until then~." Saluting, the magus dispels the Ward around them, causing the frosted air to descend in a flurry. When the snowfall clears, Satoshi is gone, as silent and unseen as a ghost. But the gauntlet is left behind, along with the satchel--after all, the kit didn't miss that gleam of admiration for shiny things in the Silver's eye.
Hildegarde rose to her feet as Satoshi did, like any proper soldier would in the presence of their commander. "Aramoth will be proud of us, I know that much," she said fondly. How funny it was that she had gone from scepticism of gods to praying regularly to a select few. "You need only summon me, I shall be there, halberd in hand," she promised, offering a stalwart salute of her own. Once Satoshi was gone, the knight affixed the gauntlet to her arm and finally noticed the bag being conveniently left behind. "She must have forgot," she said quietly. "I'll return it when I next see her. Best hold onto it for now," she murmured to herself, lifting it up off the cold seat.