The day had started out like any other. Ko woke up in his temporary residence, concocted his usual hangover cure, and proceeded to go about his day busying himself with personal training. Ever since he’d returned from Fatal Peak with Nantosuelta, she had played a prominent role in keeping him motivated during training, usually by either chasing him through the outskirts of town or shouting motivational words from up above. Today, however, turned out to be a little different. While in the middle of his training routine, Ko was suddenly approached by a messenger. While the man seemed like a professional, he was also obviously unnerved by Nantosuelta’s presence, and delivered the missive hastily and with a trembling voice. Someone, the man did not specify who, wanted to hire Ko for a job. He was given no information about the supposed client, only a location where he was meant to arrive at as soon as possible in order to receive the details of the job. Already, Ko was suspicious. No client worth their salt would try to hire a mercenary anonymously while also instructing them to go to an unknown location. To make matters worse, the location was in the Farmlands. Ko didn’t have good memories of the Farmlands; not just his piss poor attempt at hoeing the fields, but also the strange vine-like invasion that had occurred previously. Still, Ko couldn’t help but be intrigued. The messenger hadn’t purposely revealed any information, but Ko could tell just from the man’s bearing that he wasn’t some penny letter-carrier. He was an official of a well-to-do family, likely with a wealthy owner. Immediately, Ko’s mind turned to Syllas, the family that ran Marigold. Most of his dealings with the family had been entirely legitimate. Well, except for one. Ko told the Messenger he’d be at the location requested. He was curious to see what Rosalia had in mind this time. Hopefully it’d be more fun than just distracting some guards. 329/300 |
(Quest - Ko Lesalt) Burn It All: Burninating the Countryside
Mon Jul 20, 2020 5:37 am
Mon Jul 20, 2020 5:38 am
The location Ko had been directed to was off an old trail that led into the woods just outside the Farmlands themselves, rather than being in the actual Farmlands. If Ko were the sort to be concerned about ambushes, he was certainly being led to an appropriate location for such a thing. He wasn’t worried in the slightest, however; not with Nantosuelta at his side. Should he have turned out to be wrong, he had full faith in his ability to fight his way free from the situation. Luckily it seemed that his suspicions were exactly correct. Waiting for him at the specified location was a group of armed guards, and the lady of the hour herself: Rosalia de Syllas. They exchanged pleasantries quickly, during which Rosalia thanked him for his previous work under her employ. Despite her wild behavior, it seemed she knew how to act like a lady when it suited her. She was particularly intrigued by Nantosuelta’s appearance, but as Ko had expected Nantosuelta didn’t care for the woman at all. With introductions made, Rosalia detailed the job at hand. It seemed that several farmers in the area wanted to leave Marigold, selling the farms to her Father and using the proceeds to pursue other ventures outside the town. Just from her body language, Ko could tell she vehemently opposed the idea, which he didn’t find surprising. It was one thing for the Farmers to sell their lands to other citizens or the like, but to sell them to Ferdinand and then take that money, money which was a part of Marigold’s economy, and leave Marigold for another location didn’t seem like a good prospect for the government. Perhaps her Father intended to make up the money by bringing in Farmers from other locations to sell the land to, but Ko doubted it. It seemed that the man had sentenced these properties to destruction, simply by virtue of not knowing his daughter’s true nature. 327/300 |
Mon Jul 20, 2020 5:39 am
The full details of the job included five distinct properties, all of them farmland owned by Marigold citizens. In order to prevent the sale of the land, Rosalia wants everything of value razed to the ground; barns, homesteads, crops, animals, everything. There was no kill like overkill, after all. More importantly, she wanted it all done by the end of the night. The Farmers might make the sale any day, and if all the farmlands weren’t destroyed at the same time it might prompt some of them to sell early to avoid the same fate. Ko saw no issue, and with Nantosuelta at his side burning the farms down swiftly would be child’s play. Since Ko couldn’t embark until nightfall, Rosalia took the opportunity to engage in small talk with the mercenary, clearly interested in securing his future support thanks to his relationship with Nantosuelta. She even called him “Wyrmrider”, a title Ko had yet to hear anyone call him by. It seemed his reputation had been growing for a while, and befriending Nantosuelta in the mountains had given him quite a boost. If Rosalia wasn’t clearly such a conniving woman Ko might have actually been interested in the conversation. Alas, Ko wasn’t easily manipulated by words, and soon night had fallen. With no preparations to make other than planning out the path he would take between the farms, Ko leaped onto Nantosuelta’s back, giving her an affectionate scratch in that hard to reach area behind her horns. It was all the encouragement she needed, and the Flamewyrm exploded into the air in a flurry of wind, carrying both of them towards the first Farm swiftly. Upon departing Rosalia’s presence, Nantosuelta took a moment to ask if they were really going through with this. These were human residences they were burning, after all. Didn’t Ko worry about harming fellow humans? Ko couldn’t hold back his laughter at that. 318/300 |
Mon Jul 20, 2020 5:40 am
It didn’t take long for the first farmstead to come into view far below. The farmer and their family seemed to still be awake, as lights were coming from inside their home. It wasn’t nearly bright enough for them to see Nantosuelta up in the sky, however. A brief survey of the farm revealed no animals or livestock; it seemed this farm made all of its money through the sale of crops. Luckily, the majority of those croplands were to the rear of the homestead, meaning they were free to burn them without worrying about being spotted. At Ko’s command Nantosuelta dove down low, sweeping over the fields in long swaths, spewing out flames that instantly immolated the crops like kindling. Within a few moments the fields were blazing in their entirety, utterly unsalvageable. Ko and Nantosuelta circled a few more times to ensure there was nothing they’d missed before moving on. The next farm was completely dark when Ko arrived, and it took a little longer to identify where the crops were located. Once they’d managed to do so, however, it was once again a simple matter of spewing fire over their entirety; it was practically tedious busy work for Nantosuelta. The third farm was much the same, if a good deal larger. Their crops were mostly corn and wheat, large tall fields that Ko could see clearly even in the dark. Within only a few dives the fields were enormous conflagrations that even Marigold proper could likely see against the night sky. For a brief period Ko worried about the fires spreading into the forest and possibly Marigold itself, but he dismissed those concerns. These were Rosalia’s instructions, after all. If the wind changed and it ended up getting people killed, she would have to live with that. Ko would just count his money again. 307/300 |
Mon Jul 20, 2020 5:42 am
As they came upon the fourth house, Ko immediately noticed the presence of other buildings on the property, as well as large fenced pastures. It seemed these farmers did keep animals after all. While it seemed a waste to kill so many animals for no reason, orders were orders. However, if he wanted to ensure that the place was properly destroyed without the farmers interfering, he had to ensure that the fires were all set before the animals could wake anyone up. It took some strategic maneuvering, but Ko and Nantosuelta managed to set fire to the rest of the property while ensuring that the barn where the livestock were being housed would burn as well, all without rousing the panic of the animals. The last farm they arrived at also had barns full of animals, and as such Ko and Nantosuelta began to go about following the same plan as before. However, Ko’s concerns about the flames spreading suddenly became a very real concern. As the previous fires they’d started finally began to expand, the wind was picking up and blowing the scent of smoke out all around. With the smell of smoke filling the area, the animals in the shack began to panic, instinctively desiring to flee from an oncoming wildfire. Realizing the farmers were awakened by the animal’s cries, Ko ordered desperate measures. Nantosuelta launched a ball of fire at the shack instead, causing it to explode violently into a torrent of flames. The animals inside were immediately set ablaze along with the building, and giving Ko and Nantosuelta enough time to fly up and away from the farm before the farmers could leave their homestead. Their mission accomplished, Ko and Nantosuelta returned to the original location, where a bodyguard handed over his payment. Rosalia even threw in a little extra for the sake of his reputation. Not bad for a single night’s work. 317/300 1598/1500 |
Fairy Tail RP » South Fiore » Marigold » Marigold Farmlands » (Quest - Ko Lesalt) Burn It All: Burninating the Countryside
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