Blockade Runners (Ard-Rayden/Mission)

Ardere stood at the Train Station, he was waiting for his partner to arrive. Apparently he had been assigned a new team within the Rune Knights, and he was aware of who some of the people were. The only information he had been given was the man's name was Rayden, he was unsure if he had seem him around or not though. He did remember Hikaru, but unfortunately he was not on this particular mission. Tapping his foot slightly, the fire mage hoped that he wuld make a good first impression, for he was sure the two would be going on missions with each other multiple times from now on. Being assigned to his team was not something he preferred, but at least not everyone was a stranger to him. Ceasing to tap his foot, the red haired man would begin to take off the wrapped that concealed his sword. Revealing the red and orange sword named Clarent, he would slide it in a strap across his back. He found the sword quite useful for conserving magic on missions.

Their objective here was to clear a blockade, a tree that was blocking the train tracks. Apparently some goblins and vulcans had teamed up, and they wanted a bunch of pies. The whole situation sounded strange to Ardere, but it wasn't the strangest thing he had heard this week. Running a pale finger through his red hair, he would check his watch to notice that he was just a couple of minutes early. He was the type to prefer to arrive early, just in case. Opening a spare book he had on him, the fire mage would begin to read a bit of a passage. It was a book about the different kinds of wildlife in Fiore, which he found to be an appropriate read considering the current circumstances.

WC: 312/200

Since on his first mission his partner was late, Rayden felt no rush or need to hurry off to this job. He'd take it slow, be casual, and easy on this mission. To be honest, it felt like a waste of time. Dealing with pie lusting vulcans? That was child's play, at least in his opinion. But he had to start somewhere, and it felt like an easy chance at some money. Cracking his knuckles, he scanned the station, not really expecting anything. He was partnered with someone named "Ardere," and outside of that he knew nothing. So how he was expected to find him was beyond him. It's not like the hall was particularly crowded, but there were enough people to make scanning for him difficult. Wishing to save time, he simply yelled out, "ARDERE, if you can here me I'm here from the Rune Knights! Meet me at the door so we can get this done!"

There was no way he hadn't heard that. Half the people in the building stared at him for a moment, suddenly stirred by his uproar. He smiled widely, pleased with the attention, before heading outside and leaning against the door. He had no weapon, not really needing any with his magic. Whistling a soft tune, his impatience was obvious despite his ideas to be casual.

WC; 224/200

Ardere was standing in the Train Station, adjusting one of the straps on his sword, when he heard a voice. The voice echoed throughout the train station, causing several heads to turn. Once he had realized the voice was for him, he had made the assumption that is was Rayden. Who else would be from the rune knights? The fire mage thought. Making his way over to the stairs, he would be on his way to the door. The station was busy, as always, but it seemed to be majorly backed up. With the tree blocking the train tracks, it was imperative they remove it within the hour before people got more angry than they already were. Sighing slightly, he would exit the door to see a young man standing outside, who he presumed was his partner.

Giving a casual salute, he would introduce himself. Ardere, you must be Rayden? Extending a hand out to shake, he presented a laid back and calm demeanor. The two would be partners for the duration of the mission, so it was important that they did not clash. Being outside of the building they were near the tracks, luckily with no signs of vulcans or goblins in the area. By the size of the tracks, he assumed the tree that fell over had to be huge. Unfortunately he didn't have much time to observe, as he saw getting into the loop with his partner was more important. Should we get to it? Vulcans and goblins were not much of a problem, they just had to deal with them swiftly in case another tree fell.

WC: 272/200

Sizing up his partner as he saluted, Rayden returned one as well, albeit in an almost mocking manner. He didn't care much for the formalities of the job, nor the regime. It wasn't his style. He preferred to act as he pleased, whether that be casual or high activity. Anyone trying to put him into set motions was instantly on Rayden's nerves. "That's what they call me." Taking the man's hand, Rayden gave him a firm shake, as if trying to test his strength in a way. Seemingly satisfied, he let go and turned to the tracks. He didn't see much of anything really, but his nose disagreed with him. With more accute senses than the norm, Rayden could smell their scents. Well, at least something not human, and definitely smelly. If that wasn't the culprits, he had no idea what was.

Motioning to his partner, he made his way towards the tracks. Surrounded by trees, more became visible as they moved, eventually revealing the fallen tree somewhat down the tracks. Behind it skulked the culprits, two hunched figures seemingly hiding from view, albeit in an awful way. The tree was large, which explained why they needed the pair to handle it. He felt confident he was strong enough to move it in Takeover, provided they removed the other obstacles. He turned to his partner, curious what he had planned. "So, any ideas for this, or are we just gonna run in and scare em off. I don't think it'd be too hard to make em sweat."

WC; 258/200

Returning the firm handshake, Ardere would walk along with Rayden to the tracks. They were fairly, wide enough for a train anyhow. He had seen many trains, and the ones here in Clover tended to be quite busy. Hopefully they could clear this blockade and get the hell out of here as fast as possible. Walking for not very long at all, the two mages would cross paths with the blockade. It was a large tree, thick enough to derail a train if hit. Well, that's a problem. Surveying the tree, he supposed his flames would be enough to disintegrate it. A special property of god slayer flames that he appreciate, was they destroyed rather than just burning. Corruption at it's finest.

I'll weaken the tree severely, then clear out what's left with my sword. Watch out for any vulcans or goblins. Nodding to his partner, the fire mage would step in front of him and take a stance in front of the tree. Lifting his hands up, he would transfer black flaming energy into the ground, and lift it upwards beneath the tree. A large wave of black thick flames would lift upwards through the tree and into the air. The tree would begin to disintegrate with every second that passed, until not much was left. Large pieces of the tree were still covering the tracks, and he would need to clear that. Drawing his sword and walking over to clear up the wood, two vulcans and a goblin would leap out in front of the tree yelling and shouting. Well, hello there. Getting ready to fight, he eyed down his enemies. He could heard rustling in the bushes, they were going to be pissed he had massively injured their tree.

WC: 295/200
MP: 90%

Weapon/Spells:

Following Ardere casually, he wasn't exactly in a talkative mood. Typically he'd be trying to associate, but the more time he spent on this mission the more he felt he wasted. He just wanted it over with as quickly as possible. The tree was much larger than he had expected, and made him question a few things, most notably how they managed to get it onto the track. While stronger than your average person, even together Vulcans or Goblins weren't exactly powerful. Maybe these were exceptions then? He'd have to keep an eye out. Hearing that his partner could handle the tree, he focused his attention on the culprits. With no direct sight or vision on them, he knew that they were likely being watched, and soon to be pounced on if not careful.

His instinct proving itself true, Rayden smile and engaged the creatures. Leaping up to match them, a burst of light emitted from him as he activated his takeover, releasing all that he could manage of the sealed beast. The now present wings keep him aloft as he pounced, Rayden tackled at the three, feeling his blood boil inside himself. "Why hello there, I hope you don't mind me interrupting." It'd been so long since he last fought seriously, he was going all at it from the start now, holding nothing back. With a massive motion, the tail behind him sprung forward, attempting to stab the vulcan, while the rest of his body flew at the entire group.

WC: 251/200

Spells Information:

Clutching the handle of his blade, Ardere would stare down his opponents. The two vulcans would rush him, but he had anticipated a straight forward attack. Moving his left foot back a bit, he would use it to pivot. Being trained in martial arts and sword fighting styles for years, he had picked up a thing or two when it came to being attacked by multiple enemies in a rush style. Using the foot to pivot, he would swing his sword in a horizontal manner to slash both of his opponents, who he was slightly faster than. Slashing open their stomachs, then would attempt to grab at his legs in a last ditch attempt. The fire mage jumped upwards, and spun around to smack both of them on their heads with the side of his blade. Knocking them out instantly, he would notice the goblin rushing him from behind. Slashing at the goblin, his blade would be dodged. The goblin attempted to strike him, but Ardere was quicker than he was. Avoiding the strike, he pierced the goblin's chest with his blade, jabbing multiple times.

Taking a fighting stance, he would not have much time to pay attention to his partner fighting. Well, that wasn't so bad. Scanning the area, he would see no enemies attacking him personally. Walking back over to the tree, three vulcans would leap out of the bushes. You've gotta be kidding me. Arching an eyebrow slightly, he would grip his sword to battle yet again another wave of enemies.

WC: 255/200

Ferocious and unafraid, Rayden took on the three with little regard. They stood to oppose him, and that was all the justification he needed. They were weak creatures, the kind who relied on tricks and numbers to prevail. As such, with a full on tackle like he presented, they had nothing to stop him. Taking them down into the bush, he forced himself onto all three. His tail followed up it's strike, a solid blow to the vulcans chest. It wasn't enough to take it down, but with where it hit the ape would be enough to wind and disorient it while he dealt with the others. Channeling his power, the claws that had replaced his arm glowed golden. The goblin was the weakest, so he struck it first. With the non winded vulcan under one leg, and the goblin under the other, he leveraged his height and weight, landing a solid blows on the creatures head. It shrieked, still shocked from the charge and unable to properly brace itself. Its head slammed against the ground, it lost consciousness almost instantly.

Now the problem lied with the second vulcan. It'd be to it's senses soon, and he would be angry. Placing the other hand on it;s neck, he pushed down, trying to create a hold to keep it in place as he shifted. He didn't have much time before the creature struck again, and it'd feel rather stupid to actually be hit by a pie eating monkey.

WC: 248/200

Spells Information:

Staring down his three opponents, Ardere gripped his sword tight. Scanning them, he realized they would strike at any moment. Not allowing his opponents to take the offensive, he activated an ability of his blade, Sword of Kings. Flames encased his blade, creating a flame blade five meters long. Essentially it was a massive flame blade, with no extra weight. He could swing the massive blade as fast as he normally could, and that was what he did. Narrowing his eyes at his targets, they would look frightened for a moment, but decided to charge anyways. Swinging the massive blade of flames, he slashed right through all of them. Then just for good measure, he slashed through them again. The vulcans had no idea what had hit them, their skin began to char somewhat as they were burnt and knocked out. Gritting his teeth, the fire mage checked to make sure his partner was alright, and he seemed to be handling the situation on his own. Vulcans. He sighed at the thought of vulcans, and the idea of goblins teaming up with them almost made him cringe. Turning back to the tree, he swept his sword across the surrounding bushes to eliminate them. Their enemies seemed to be using the bushes as cover, so he took it upon himself to eliminate that advantage, and perhaps even scare more out. There was only a few chunks left of the tree, after the red haired mage removed that, they could finish off the remaining enemies and get paid.

WC: 257/200

Spoiler: