Indignation is a Fire Emblem Roleplay. It takes place within the Outrealms as worlds collide and kingdoms wage an endless war. However, amongst the quarrels of men do the horrors of the Outrealm reach in to kill and destroy. Fight alone or join forces with other warriors as we create dramatic tales or wage war!
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Why was she lying? The words that Cas spoke made Raziel wince. He had told her to tell the truth, hadn't he? In the years that Raziel had lived, he had learned how troublesome it was to lie. Very seldom the truth would come to surface in due time. It would leave the man in a mess of trouble when it had. Some subjects could be brushed aside or dodged. Who, what, he was was often easily avoided. His appearance in someones life was often so brief that by the time he was gone it wouldn't matter.
There were splotches on the floor that had been covered up with his paste. The blood had been absorbed by most of it. Raziel had been able to clean some, but a few of the stains would still be faintly visible with the right amount of light. Instead, he had now been trapped within this woman's lie. He wasn't supposed to be here. Everything would fall apart if this guard had seen Cas' clothing. His rushing movements made his shoulder protest. He cleaned the mess of buckets of water and herbs and went to the storeroom once again. With a silent apology to Cas, he pulled herbs out and rummaged through what he could. He tipped a barrel, the action alone had tore at the newly stitched up shoulder, which earned a low hiss from the man as he covered up his pain. And there he sat in the darkness of the storeroom, similar to how he had when he first broke in. In pain, in a mess of herbs, like he had stumbled in and ransacked the place like a simple thief.
The piecing red eyes of the woman bore into Cas' as she studied her. Every word that the other said was analyzed, evaluated. Amelia was an intelligent woman. People didn't climb to the rank she had with strength alone. There was little truth in the words from the other woman. The facts didn't add up. There was no denying what could be see in the streets and on the walls of the buildings. “I have searched all of the other homes in this area,” she told Cas. The woman learned forward and held her hand against the door. The amount of pressure she put on the door was enough to contest against Cas' in a motion to say that she wouldn't go away so easily. Amelia would end up fulfilling her task. “I would like to search yours as well. The blood on the streets does not lie. Unless you would like to suggest that this man sprouted wings and flew away, he must be somewhere nearby. It could be very possible that you were too engrossed in your letters, was it, to even notice the man sneak into your shop. Step aside civilian. This is for your safety.”
There had been some faint noises behind her, and Cas wondered if Raziel had found a place to hide. She hoped he found a place to hide. A good place. The woman had wanted to search the house, she was practically pushing her way in, and refusing would only make the situation worse. Had it been a regular townsperson they would've probably quickly walked about the rooms, opening closets and cabinets with only a quick peek inside. This woman was no 'regular townsperson'. She looked like she would scroll around the room and take her precious time looking through drawers for any sign of the person she was looking for. She was in no rush, not when it came to something as serious as finding a murderer.
"Yes, of course, I understand." Cas carefully opened the door for the woman and hid herself behind slightly behind the door. The blood stains had been cleaned up, along with the buckets and herbs. Without the light one could hardly tell the stains had been there in the first place. She prayed that that would be the same for the blood and paste on her skirts. It wouldn't be hard to see the stains on her but the prayer continued. The door was left open for the sole purpose of giving her comfort. It would've felt too small in the room if it had been shut.
"I can assure you I would've heard something if someone tried to break in. My vision may be fading but my hearing is still pretty sharp." A laugh tried to be heard but the sound got caught in her throat. She groaned inwardly.
That took longer than she would have liked it. The woman touched Cas' face as she entered the building. Her hand brushed lightly upon the woman's cheek as she passed. For a moment, she examined the girl's abnormal eye. “A pity really.” How troublesome it would be to be blind like that. Amelia was certain this woman missed a lot more than she let on.
The woman's heels clicked against the floor. The home was much darker on the inside than Amelia thought. She walked through the first room and examined it. There were little places to hide in the entrance way. Amelia called one of her guards over to her and spoke softly in his ear, the crop in her hand pointing to various area's in the room, her eyes would occasionally shift back towards Cas, and then back to the man she was speaking with. The man left in a hurry to return to the horses.
Amelia continued on through the home. The dining table had been set as though two had been eating there, peels from a recently opened orange on one and and a hot cup of tea from another. She had seen no other signs of people in the home outside of the woman whom had greeted her at the door. Many things had been set for one person.
She passed by Cas once again. The closets had been bare, so had behind the counter of the store. She stopped before the door of the storeroom. Cherry red lips rose into a smirk. She ran her pristine white gloves over the blood that was on the door. The man she was looking for was inside. “My dear,” with the crop in her hand, she waved the woman over. She needed to see this. She needed to see how blind she really was. “You have a guest.” The door was pushed open and the man lay against the barrels bathed in moonlight.
The red eyes of Amelia met the yellow eyes of the man.
It took all of Cas' strength to not pull away from the feathery touch. Even more strength to not speak out against her. The woman's hand wasn't cold or hard against her face, but the fact it was close to her eye left her uneasy. Her jaw tensed slightly and she struggled to keep her head up. Having lost her vision wasn't something she was ashamed of, not even when it was the sole reason for most of her fights. It wasn't a pity. Not to Cas.
The woman, as predicted, took slow steps around the little shop and looked at everything with sharp eyes. Cas didn't know what to do with herself. Should she follow the woman? Should she stay put? The guard that had been watching the horses was called in and the two of them spoke quietly, the crop in the woman's hands pointing out different areas. Cas began to explore what exactly this woman was. Her hair was pulled back tightly. She wondered for a moment if the woman experienced bad headaches from the hair style. The way she dressed and stood brought out her figure and while the woman was certainly cold, Cas couldn't deny that she was very beautiful as well. She tried hard to not let herself linger on the woman who was currently on the hunt for Raziel.
Where had he hidden? There weren't many places in the shop or living areas that would provide a good hiding spot. Unless he had just left. Maybe that would've been for the best, if he just left. He would be able to wait out the hunt until it was something that was long forgotten. Of course, that probably would be an unknown amount of years. She had been pulled from her thoughts and saw the woman standing in front of the open storage room. A cold wave of fear washed over her. Her legs numbly brought Cas to the woman's side to see Raziel inside.
Both the man and the room were a mess. Herbs were ripped and thrown, one of the barrels had been tipped, pots and dusty drawers had been opened and it's contents dug through. The man was on the floor right in the middle of the mess. Was this part of his plan? To get catch in another faux crime? Had he no regard for his life or the fact that he would be punished for another person's misdeed? The woman was smirking next to her, as if she had been pleased to prove to Cas how wrong she had been. Her hands tightened into fists and her eyes hardened.
The woman examined the scene. A mess scattered all around. This woman was a fool. Her hand lifted to her lips as she gave a light chuckle. “How foolish to let a stranger in the middle of the night in. Serves you right that you get stabbed in the back.” Speaking of, there was one thing that was missing here. The arrow. There was no sign of it anywhere in the room. The mans shoulder, while dripping with blood had been stitched. Amelia's eyes narrowed.
Her movements were swift and sudden like a strike of lightning. Amelia took a step away from Cas. The whip in her hand struck out and smacked Cas upon the face. “Filthy civilian. How dare you lie to me.” The woman's voice held remorse in it. The woman's lies had meant little to her. She had lashed out only because she could. Her arm flew behind her, ready to catch Cas once again with a back handed swing. The contact never came.
The woman's eyes were widened by the man that stood before her. Her arm had been caught by his. He had a strength that nobody in his condition should have. “Don't touch her.” The man who had once spoke with soft and gentle tones now had a voice that could send shivers down one's spine. Amelia did not struggle within this man's grasp. She met his eyes and the two stared down one another.
“Unhand me.” A guard came in the room, weapon's drawn. The man did as the woman had asked.
Raziel's hand dropped down to his side, but his stance never dropped. He still stood tall above this woman. “I stumbled into her home in an attempt to hide,” he explained. “I asked her to care for me and out of fear, she did.” He turned his head away from Amelia to look over towards Cas. “I am no murderer. Allow me to speak my innocence before the town.”
She made no expression to his words. “You are in no position to make demands of me,” the woman said, she turned in her heels and spoke with the guard. “Take him away. Take them both away. For helping this man and attempting to heal his wounds she has become an accomplice. This woman shall be tried beside him.”
The pain wasn't felt all at once. It was slow and blossoming, taking it's sweet time to reach it's peak. Her head had rolled with the strike and had remained down until she became adjusted to the sharp sting. Everything had happened so quickly and Cas hardly had anytime to process it all. She wanted to touch her check and feel out the damage, but just the thought of touching it alone made her recoil. The hairs over her face were gently pushed back in time to see the woman reach back for another hit. Realization came quickly and her arms were put up to defend herself from the blow. But it never came.
Raziel had stopped her arm from swinging down. The relief she felt was soon replaced by worry. The woman didn't seemed to back down and was now meeting the man's stare with her own. It was rather remarkable to see, really. Two equally intimidating people, varying in heights, staring each other down. If the circumstances were different, Cas would've laughed. The guard rushed in and Raziel dropped the woman's arm. Was he really attempting to cover up for her? It was nice of him to try and keep her out of the mess that was starting to unfold but there was no more pretending she didn't have a part in this. The woman had already caught her lies, there was really no use in trying to hide it.
"I did nothing out of fear. I helped him because he is an innocent man and it was the right thing to do." Her voice came out roughly and it hurt her face to speak yet she continued, her voice finding itself the more she spoke. "How do you expect him to be tried fairly if you won't even listen to his side of the story? Is this what all of us have to look forward to; a system where we're tried just on speculation alone? How do you expect this to prevent anything? An innocent person will be punished for the crimes of another while the miscreant who committed the deed in the first place is still free to do whatever they please because they know that all it takes to get rid of their mess is someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Her face was throbbing and her head felt light. Why did it feel like she was speaking for such a long time? Oh, probably because it was the most she ever spoke in front of strangers. Should she consider this an accomplishment? Cas really hoped the words made as much sense to them as it did to her. The words had just spilled from her mouth before she could even think about their meanings. She felt her heart beating wildly and her hands shaking. Was this fear or anger? Maybe she'd figure it out when the events of today were settled.
The dragon sighed with all attention now drawn to Cas. With every word that spilled from her lips she was getting more and more involved in this. Raziel had given her the chances to shift the blame back upon him. Something told him that was what Amelia had wanted to hear anyways. Raziel would have done whatever time he needed to do. He would have found his way out. “It is as she says,” he spoke to Amelia. “I just arrived in town. I was caught while checking on the woman's body.” The truth in his words was genuine. Had anybody really looked at him and taken the time to listen, they would understand. The guard by the door had shifted uneasily.
Voices erupted throughout the streets. Cries of the villagers arose shouting that there had been another one! Another murder near the edge of town. Amelia nearly snapped the crop in her hands. Things came crashing down at that moment. This man. Innocent or accomplice. Their stories checked out, but she would never admit that she was wrong. With hurried steps she rushed to the door. All her guards had been outside. A carriage was brought over here to cart the man and his friend to the barracks where they would have been held.
Amelia was silent for a long time. The only sound in the room came from her heels as they clacked against the floor. A solution had been reached. Somebody had to be punished for this crime. This man and his accomplice, or the true murderer. It didn't matter to Amelia. Seeing the blood of this man would make the town happy. She approached the guard who stood with a torch in his hand. Now with torch in her hand, she turned to Cas. “He is still a suspect. This man and now another, bandits sent to raid Izumo. He is innocent?” she asked her. “How can you be so sure? It is your words against the towns. You only know what the criminal told you.” The woman smirked, her face lit by the flame in her hands. “Would you stand by it if your little store was on the line?” She gave a chuckle. “I will give you and this man three days to prove his innocence. If you fail to return, this store shall be burnt to the ground. I have no room for criminals here.”
The arrival of the villagers brought Cas some hope. It was through the unfortunate case of another committed murder that Raziel might be proven innocent. They had been here the whole time. Surely the woman had to know that he was innocent now to some extent. It was hard to feel anything joyous from this occurrence, and even the hope that was starting to find it's way into her mind was riddled with guilt. Why did it have to take the murder of another to prove a man's innocence. The light feeling was beginning to grow, and it only made her feel worse. The woman, now equipped with a torch, turned back to Cas and she braced herself for the worse.
Cas tried to stand tall and brave, but the mention of the shop caused her mask to crumple. She could've handled being tried and possibly locked away (It would've been a funny story to tell when her guardians when they came back), but the shop? Something that wasn't even hers to begin with, yet still held so much of her in the walls. This is where she was raised. She was here when she learned about her parents. She was here when the vision finally gave out and she would probably still be here when her guardians lay for their final rest. Cas bit down on her check to prevent any tears. This woman wanted to see her break, and Cas would be damned if she gave her that satisfaction.
"I can leave. You don't have to burn anything down, I'll leave and never come back." She hated how her voice wavered. Was this even worth it anymore? Helping a man who could just as well be working with someone else to commit murders throughout Izumo? If he was working with, or even was, the killer wouldn't he have killed her too? Even if he was just waiting for her to patch up his wound, the kill wouldn't have been hard to execute. No, Raziel was innocent. And Cas was going to prove it to everyone in Izumo, including the woman threatening her home. She wanted to wipe that smug smirk right off those red lips of hers. With new found determination, Cas spoke again.
"Not only will we prove his lack of involvement in the crime, we'll bring evidence and the real murderer as well." As soon as those words came out, Cas began to regret. She couldn't just agree to the terms. No of course not, she had to put more work on top of the already short time limit. She wanted to bang her head against the wall, and she honestly just might after the woman and the townspeople had left.
That really struck a nerve within the woman. The smile that spread across the woman's face was almost deadly. The torch was handed back off to her soldier. In all of this, she had won. Amelia moved towards Cas, her body just a breath away from her's. She had been only a few inches taller. The woman's hand trailed down to her thigh and unfastened a small clasp that had just been hidden beneath the ruffles of her skirt. Her voice was low as she spoke to the other woman. The item passed into her hands while her body blocked the man's view from seeing exactly what it had been. “It's not too late for you to redeem yourself,” she whispered. “If you find him guilty, take his life and your store will be saved.” A black leather bound dagger was slipped into Cas' hands.
The woman backed away, turning on her heels away from the two criminals.
“Cas...” The man said in a quiet whisper. She didn't know what she was getting herself into. There was no dealing with people like this. Raziel didn't like the odds that were against them. Against her. He would find a way out of this for Cas. This store, the home of her uncle and his partners, it would be saved. Why couldn't Cas had just followed suit? Damnit. Despite his turmoil, his expression hadn't changed.
Amelia had slipped away. Raziel and Cas had been left alone in the room. At that moment Raziel could only utter three words. “I am sorry.”
Like with the touch from earlier, Cas wanted to pull away immediately. She was screaming at herself to do so but she was frozen on the spot until something made it's way into her hand. A dagger. Intended to kill Raziel if he was revealed to be guilty. The dagger didn't weigh much yet it felt like the heaviest thing she's ever carried. The smile on the woman's lips led Cas to believe that she already knew that it would be used despite the lack of evidence. Cas didn't nod or affirm that she had heard what was spoken to her, she only gripped the dagger tighter.
As soon as the woman left Cas went behind the counter and placed the dagger into the tool drawer. The adrenaline was starting to fade and the pain in her face grew. The woman's threats, the possibility of having to leave Izumo, it was all coming into realization now. She picked herself up and sat on the counter with her head in her hands, careful of the pain starting to blossom on the side of her face. How were they going to do this in just three days? The real murderer wouldn't be stupid enough to hang around here. They would have to investigate before the sun rose to ensure the real culprit wouldn't escape, if they hadn't already. She undid the messy braid and re-braid it back up with shaky hands.
"Please, don't apologize. It feels like you've been doing that all night." Cas finished the braid and sighed, then looked to the man. "You should finish eating and get some rest. We have a long three days ahead of us."
This situation had gotten as worse as it could get. “Why didn't you follow my lead Miss Cas?” the man questioned. His usual calm demeanor had gone. His voice had the hint of anger behind it. “Why did you lie to that woman? You could have told her that I broke in.” The dragon pound his fist on his chest as he motioned to himself as he spoke. The action was regretted soon after as his body was filled with pain. He kept going. “I broke into your home. You knew from the start that I was suspected of this.” It wasn't in Raziel to drag other people into his business. But Cas had insisted!
No. This wasn't her fault. The man took a long sigh and then stayed silent for a while. With his eyes closed, he calmed himself. Raziel walked over towards Cas and leaned over the counter. With a gentle touch, he traced his fingers just under the mark on her face where the woman had struck her. “I should have snapped that stick in two. I really despise people like that.” He told her softly. “I imagine it hurts. I've had my fair share of beatings in my day.” He slid away from her and went to the storage where he had seen various herbs he could use. Browsing the shelves he had seen a few. The man went for the witch hazel and arnica.
“I wish I could help you further,” he said, “You have more practiced hands than me. Combine these two and apply it to your cheek. The swelling should go down. We need to support each other these next few days. There is no sense in moving tonight. That woman will have already beaten us to the other scene. Any evidence there will be gone before we arrive.” It would be unfortunate. The two wound need to go into this blind, or at least, half blind.
"Strictly speaking, you didn't break in. The door was already unlocked, like I was expecting you." Cas gave a cheeky grin that appeared more tired than she hoped. The grin dropped and she took to looking at the ground. She knew the consequences of being involved, and she wished Raziel would stop questioning her about her choices. While some of her choices were made more on impulse, Cas was in the right state of mind when deciding the others and she hated how the man kept making her doubt. She was risking a lot; she knew. She was risking the only home she had ever known; she knew. It wasn't appreciated that the man kept bringing up her choices. A sigh. After some sleep the anger would go away. Cas was tired and her patience was dwindling.
Her eyes stayed looking down even when Raziel was examining the mark. The pain wasn't so bad now, or maybe she was just use to it. If she was being honest, everything felt numb to her right now. Her lip gave a twitch. If he had broken the crop the situation would've gotten worse. The way that woman held it and used it, that crop was something that was a part of her now and Cas could only imagine how badly she would've reacted to him breaking it. A bell was set off in her head at the mention of his beatings. Was that the reason for his scars? Was that why he acted as polite as he did? It really wasn't her place to ask, but the questions would circle her mind for a while. She gave him a tiny smile before he went back to the closet.
"No, this is fine. I appreciate this, thank you." The witch hazel would have to be boiled and the oils from the arnica would take three weeks at the least to finally be extracted, but she welcomed the help. She could use aloe for the time being. At least until she boiled the witch hazel in the morning. Cas nodded along. "It might be a bit troublesome going back to reexamine the murder scenes, seeing as some people still might believe you to be the killer. Maybe you can take outer Izumo and I can talk to the townspeople. Someone must've seen something during that second murder..."
Cas got off the counter and went back to the kitchen. The witch hazel was placed in a small pot to be boiled while the arnica was put into jar. Oil was poured over the herbs and was set aside to begin it's process. Her tea was still a little warm, so she sat and began to sip the light tea. The orange was still sat among it's discarded peels. Cas pulled off one of the slices and plucked out the seeds. The thought of eating and drinking left her stomach feeling sour, but she felt like she wouldn't have much time to do either in the upcoming days.
The man ran his hand over his chin as he thought over her words. It really would be tricky trying to clear his name while being a suspect himself. Unless they got to asking people involved in that woman's forces, most townsfolk wouldn't be aware of Cas' involvement in all of this. He wouldn't deny that she was pretty sharp witted. It had only been a few moments but she had already thought a lot of this out. Raziel took a seat at the table and leaned towards Cas slightly. He fumbled at the orange and picked up a few pieces of his own. “I will check the scene of the second crime as well as the outskirts of town. Men who tend stables know everybody who comes in and out of towns. If the criminal was smart they would have left the town as soon as they committed the crime.” The only issue would be getting the money he needed to bribe the man. He leaned back in the seat with his fingers fiddling at the long golden earrings in debate. Those, the rings upon his fingers, and so much of his other half could have been used to bribe other people. People would pay high sums for real scale of a dragon. People would kill for the heart of one.
The man was silent for a long time in his own little debate before he remembered a little bit of information. He had the murder weapon on him. The bloody black dagger had been tucked away into his sash in a panic. The man pulled it out with a sigh and examined it. There was no inscription on it. There was no telling who the owner had been. To the man, it looked like a normal dagger. Something that was common and something nobody would mind losing. “Try to speak to the families of the victim. Ask if they've seen this before. And ask if anything is missing. Ask about friend and enemies. If we can find any link between the two people killed tonight, perhaps these people have a common enemy.”
"Let's hope they aren't smart. I'm not sure we'll have enough time to track them down if they left." Cas stared into her cup. If the murderer was smart they would've gotten out of Izumo as soon as the first murder occurred, but it seems like they didn't. They committed another murder in the same night in the same town. It was stupid to stay after one killing, staying after ending two lives was on another field of idiocy. Unless they believed no one would suspect them? Why two in one night, and were the people connected in some way? She couldn't imagine that the two people were picked at random. The men at the stables would be a good place to ask questions. Sometimes she believed those men to be bigger gossipers than some of the women in town. They could be rather difficult at times, and she hoped that the man would be able to get answers to his questions without them kicking up too much trouble.
Cas picked up the dagger, careful of the little blood on the handle, and took to the fire place to be rinsed off with the kettle's warm water. The family wouldn't take well to seeing the weapon that ended their daughter's life. She doubted that they would take it any better if it was still colored with her blood. Once clean she placed it on the table and took her seat. It was incredible to think that this dagger had started these events. No, not the dagger. The person who used the dagger. Weapons were useless without someone to guide them. It looked so simple now, not like a murder weapon at all.
"I'll do my best." Cas hadn't thought to ask about missing items or if the families recognized the weapon. They were good questions to ask, though no doubt difficult ones for the family to answer, and she was glad Raziel brought them up. "Hopefully by the end of tomorrow we'll have some kind of trail to follow."
The man said nothing. It was his hope that they would have some sort of trail to follow well before the end of the day tomorrow. Every passing moment this person or group of people were gaining ground on Raziel and Cas. The home they were in now was in more danger every second. It was going to be a very long three days for the man. Raziel had a long life. It was longer than anyone should have. If a lie could save the home that Cas was in, Raziel would take the fall. He decided that the moment the woman threatened Cas. He was ready to accept his fate.
“I hate to ask this,” he suddenly said at the thought of what they could be up against. “Do you have a way to protect yourself? If the wrong person sees you poking around and asking questions, you might end up in a bit of trouble.” Raziel didn't want to spit up but it was the most practical. “Sometimes words cannot solve everything,” he nodded towards the murder weapon. “I hope you don't have to resort to using it.” The man rose from the seat and stood beside the door of the home. He was ready to exit. The woman could sleep, but Raziel wanted a bit of time alone, outside where he could freely think. “You should try getting some rest Miss Cas. You'll need full strength for tomorrow.”
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