NENGO 327年11月24日 7:06 AM - 37 Days Until Culmination
The next morning, you could probably cut the tension in the air with a knife in the House of Xanatos. Almost the entire night before, passionate moaning could be heard from the room where Kuta and Anri were "sleeping" together. As the party ate breakfast and made their preparations to leave, THRAX, Kuta, and Anri were virtually silent. Everybody knew that a really huge fight was imminent, so everyone did their best not to agitate the situation... so as to keep the unnecessary drama and resulting wasted time to a minimum. At around 8:00 AM, the wagon was loaded with the parties' supplies, including blankets and such from Xanatos' house since winter was coming; and the party exited the barrier and made their way east toward Mount Gigazet and the Village of Lockhart.
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Meanwhile, in Mount Sabretooth Prefecture....
(BOOM!!!)
random person: "HOLY SHIT! Someone blew up the railroad bridge!!"
The scene almost immediately became chaotic as the residents of the Capital City of Itsuka saw the railroad bridge over the Muriad River collapse, following a huge explosion. This particular bridge was the main artery between Itsuka and Northern Port City, the main seaport that serviced the big cities in the northern half of Sabretooth Prefecture. Needless to say, this caused an immediate widespread panic.
King Midus ordered the immediate deployment of the Prefectural Army to bring the situation under control, and restore and maintain order. Of course, the major media outlets converged on the scene, and almost every television and radio inside the United Prefectures was flooded with news coverage of the Itsuka rail bridge collapse.
The general confusion and worry continued for a few hours, then later that morning a live news conference from the Military Capital in Ghon-Ki Prefecture was held; in which Premier Jansod pledged to support his friends and allies in Mount Sabretooth by deploying a detachment of his army to assist with King Midus's army... however it will take a couple of weeks for them to get there since the railroad was damaged.
As the day continued on, questions arose as to who is responsible for this, and how will King Midus respond. From the media coverage of the scene, everyone noticed a huge graffiti symbol spray-painted on the side of a cliff within view of the site of the bridge collapse, but no one seemed to know what it said or meant. At around 1:00 in the afternoon, a news conference was held in the Mountain Castle, led by Defense Minister Dick Peters:
Peters: "Our fellow citizens of Mount Sabretooth and the United Prefectures, I'm sure you are all aware by now that Muriad River rail bridge outside of Itsuka has been attacked and destroyed at around 8:00 this morning. King Midus has ordered an immediate and thorough investigation of the incident. This investigation has been underway now for the past four hours, and so far we have determined that plastic explosives were used to destroy the bridge. As for who's responsible, we have yet to find any definite clues. You may have noticed the graffiti spray-painted on the bluff near the site. We have analyzed this marking, and so far have not yet determined who painted it there, or why, or if it has anything at all to do with the events today. On behalf of His Majesty, I want to urge everyone to remain calm and maintain order. Let's not make this already volatile situation any more worse by unnecessary panic. Be assured that the whole of the King's resources are being used right now to restore order, and locate who is responsible for this attack today and make sure something like this doesn't happen again. When we find out more information, we will be sharing it with the citizens. Meanwhile, please remain calm and listen for further civil service announcements. Thank you very much"
Peters immediately walked off-stage, dodging questions from the reporters who were present in the briefing room.
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Meanwhile, in Okremafort....
lackey: "Lord Vankar, We've received confirmation from our operative in Itsuka... the rail bridge has collapsed over the Muriad River. Plus, it's all over the news over there too!"
Vankar (sitting in his office behind a desk): (a'la Mr Burns): "Excellent. What about Earnest's detachment? It's been 9 days since they left for Rygog island. Have they reported spotting anything yet?"
lackey: "The last report from General Earnest came yesterday afternoon. They arrived at Rygog island the day before, and have not yet seen any sign of Midus's army; nor any evidence that they have been trough there. They will continue to watch, and report in immediately if they see anything."
Vankar: "Very good. Now, what of Kokichi? How is he coming along with his search for the rest of the Crystals?
lackey: "Kokichi's last report was about 5 days ago. He reported locating and securing the FrostDrake, and was en route to where the FireDrake was believed to be. We haven't heard back from him since."
Vankar: "I see. And, what of our 'honored guests'? Has any of them responded to our invitation yet?"
lackey: "Not yet, my Lord. Although, I'm not too certain your guests will be able to make it here, since you say most of them are human. Not too many humans have made it this far into Okreman Territory."
Vankar: "Oh rest assured. They will come. They will find some way to get here."
lackey: "Of course, My Lord. Is there anything further?"
Vankar: "Nothing. You're dismissed."
The lackey leaves Vankar's office, while Vankar turns on his satellite TV and watches the news coverage from the Human world.
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Meanwhile, back in the Badlands Valley, our party continues to make their way down the path along the River Xanthur toward Lockhart Village. THRAX, TRITHAL, Danika, AXEM, and Adeth were riding in front of the procession, followed by Elric, Veiko, Vash, Xaklafor and Jarsar; and Kuta and Anri were bringing up the rear. Throughout the day, the party had very little conversation with each other. The tension seemed to be even thicker now than it was this morning. THRAX began to quietly converse amongst the others in the front of the procession.
THRAX: "What the fuck is going on? Why is Kuta moving in on Anri?"
Danika: "Well, you have been kind of a dick to her lately."
THRAX: "But I always rag on her somewhat. Why is now any different?"
AXEM: "Back in Episode 35 you had her crying like a little girl. You might have pushed things a little too far, Thrax."
Danika: "You're one to talk, Axem! You were tearing into her just as bad as Thrax was."
AXEM: "Well, it's her own fault for getting Trithal all pissed and you all worried. She should have kept her nose out of it, since it had nothing to do with her!"
TRITHAL: "Enough, Axem! What happened happened, and we've all learned our lessons. Now, Thrax, Anri and Kuta will need to address this themselves. We need not get involved."
AXEM: "So... what are you gonna do, Thrax?"
THRAX sighs heavily, and says "I don't know. I guess I need to think about this for a while."
By this time, it was around 6:45 and the sun was beginning to set. The air became colder, so the party found a clearing near the river suitable for camping. The party sets up camp, has a quiet, yet tense, dinner; then turns in for the night. Anri and Kuta, of course, sleep together again.
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