[Chapter 2 - SCENE] - You see nothing but feel disturbed...

[seizeglory.livejournal.com]

Who: Balir and Van
Where: Katizur Port
When: After Choral Castle, once Van's spoken with Raven.
Warnings: None.


Balir knew Van was not going to be in the least bit pleased to hear this report.  Unlike with Asch, he was going to have to admit to his idiocy that had caused this.  Seriously, who injures themselves with their own weapon?  Only the most idiotic of new recruits does.  True, his weapon was different and rather dangerous to begin with, but he should have known better.
 
At least for now, it will all eventually heal, he was just getting concerned about the fact that it was being slow, even with the use of gels, he should have been recovered by now.  But still, he had to report in to Van so the man was at least aware that one of his God-Generals wasn't exactly up to fighting at the moment, and really didn't want to be sent back to Daath.
 
From what he had found out from his men, the group they fought had headed to Kaitzur.  The chances of finding Van there were pretty good, since the Commandant had headed in a different direction than they did.  He could report in and hope he wasn't sent back to Daath because the last thing he wanted was to tell his family what happened before he had fully recovered.  
 
He had his men wait outside Kaitzur, a short distance away for now.  It wouldn't do for Kimlasca to get antsy about the Malkuth landship he held, even though it was now under the control of the Order. He entered Kaitzur himself, with his passport ready in case he had to cross to the Kimlascan side to find his Commandant.

The guard jerked his head back up, looking around anxiously under his helmet and hoping that no-one had seen. To be reprimanded for falling asleep on his shift...That definitely wouldn't help him with any promotion.

Thankfully, it didn't seem that anyone had noticed, though he did see an official looking man coming toward the border, possibly a God-General if he were to guess. Didn't the Dorian General mention a message?

He immediately stiffened, standing with his back straight as the God-General came closer. As soon as the man was within earshot, he started, "Dorian General Grants is at waiting at the port. You'll need to meet him there."

Then he paused, having forgotten something. "Oh uh, do you have a passport?"

Balir definitely didn't fail to notice the laziness of the border guard, but then he wasn't going to say anything, since at least the man did his job, which was more than he can say for his own men sometimes.  He just handed the man his passport as requested to get all the regulations done with.
 
It appeared his men would be waiting for awhile, since he was going to have to make a trip to the port.  Until he had orders, he didn't want to deal with getting a Malkuth landship across the border, as it was Malkuth wasn't going to be overly pleased that the Order took it from them and killed over a hundred of their men, but this was the only way to follow the Fon Master with Rotelro Bridge being out.  So his idiots could have a nice long break that they weren't aware of while he made a side trip.
 
Once his passport was returned to him, he told the soldier, "You might want to go grab yourself some coffee when you get a break.  Thank you for delivering the message."
 
Even one of the meanest of the God-Generals could be nice when a favor was done for him.  That saved some time in searching, which was appreciated.

The soldier nodded, still not daring to relax in the presence of a God-General, even he was nice. "Yes, sir! Will do, sir!" He gave the man an eager salute before taking a step back to continue guarding.

Meanwhile, at Kaitzur Port, Van was scowling. He had already spoke with Raven and given him his mission, but Balir had yet to arrive. Of course, having his God-Generals arrive late was not something new, there had been many times in the past when they've ran into unexpected trouble. Usually, Van was more patient and understanding than that.

Of course, usually, Van didn't have to deal with so many betrayals and setbacks in such a short period of time. If Balir was late, then it was difficult for him not to assume that yet another problem had made itself known.

The walk to the Kaitzur Naval Port was far from a short one, and Balir knew he was trying Van's patience, but he hadn't a choice.  He had to make the stop he made in St. Binah for supplies and his own sake.  Again he was cursing his forgetfulness in getting enough supplies, but then who could have expected the docile Fon Master to attack a group of his men?
 
He finally arrived to the port and wasn't surprised to find Van looking not pleased at all.  The man definitely would not be pleased with this report either.  He straightened himself as best as he could, though Van would catch right off that something wasn't right, for one, he was forced to salute with his left hand since he was advised by the doctor he saw to limit movement with his right arm until his shoulder fully healed.  It was annoying enough that he still had that damned hole in his hand and shoulder as it was, and that didn't even get into the full extent of what happened to him.
 
But he had no choice, he couldn't delay reporting, he would just have to hope to not be sent back to Daath.  "Here to report in, sir, and apologies for my lateness." he said as he saluted badly with his left hand.  He wasn't going to give an excuse yet, not unless it was asked for, he knew Van was canny enough to probably figure out something was wrong already.

Van noticed Balir's arrival, but chose to wait until the God-General spoke before saying anything. It was already obvious that Balir was injured and badly so. He couldn't see just how bad the injuries were but it was likely safe to assume that they were the reason for Balir's lateness.

"Very well," Van said curtly, not sparing time to even acknowledge the apology. "I would like to hear what you have to report now."

Yeah, he could tell Van wasn't pleased, best to get this out of the way and quickly since it wasn't the best of news.  "We retrieved the Fon Master and he was taken to Shurrey Hill.  He tried to escape but was captured again.  Soon after, we were attacked and lost the Fon Master again."
 
He knew Van wouldn't appreciate hearing that, beyond the fact that Shurrey Hill was no longer sealed, at least something went right.  "During that attack, I got hit by a few arrows."  And for now, he wasn't going to say much more unless Van specifically asked for a full accounting of injuries.  He wasn't going to admit to further stupidity, there was already enough in this report.

Fortunately the replica Fon Master wasn't of much concern, now that Van had found him and the group he was with. Course, he would have preferred that they had found and kept a hold of the replica from the beginning, but at least it wasn't anything that would set him too far back. "The Fon Master has been found, you don't need to concern yourself with finding him again."

As for the rest... "Have you seen a doctor or healer?" Though he didn't personally care much for Balir's well-being, Van knew better than to lose anyone still (somewhat) loyal to him.

It was no surprise that the Fon Master had been found again, and it was a relief that he wasn't yet being asked for anything further on that loss in the first place.  "That was the reason for the lateness, sir, I made a stop in St. Binah to see a doctor while my men replenished our supplies."
 
But yet he had a feeling that wasn't going to be enough, there was plenty that had been done very badly here.

Only then did Van allow himself to relax and even give a small, barely noticeable smile. Now that he knew that there was not yet another setback, it was much easier to do so. A commander that couldn't be understanding would never be respected by his men after all.

"There is nothing that requires your immediate attention at the moment." Mostly because he had already sent out Raven to do what needed to be done, but Van felt no need to mention that. "I'd like you to use this time to recover from your injuries, I'll need you to stay in good shape for when it's time for you to be called on again."

Then he stopped for a moment, looking Balir over. "Is that you all you've come to report?"

There was more to mention, Balir thought.  He should find out where Van wanted him to be.  "A few minor things.  Asch informed me that he was returning to Daath.  I also need orders on what to do with the landship we captured when we captured the Fon Master."
 
Though he did have a feeling Van was wanting to hear about his cousin, from what it sounded like, the annoying brat had already been here.  Well, he wasn't going to mention that until it was asked, no need for orders to not kill the boy.

Van frowned. Causing negative relations between Malkuth and the Order wouldn't help matters, not this soon at least. It would be a rather delicate situation. Perhaps it would be best to destroy the evidence...

"I want you to take the landship you captured to Akzeriuth. Then you and men must immediately leave the area, even if you must do so on foot. Is that understood?"

Strange orders, but Balir wasn't exactly going to not follow them or ask questions now, he could make his guesses later as to what that was about.  At least it kept him away from Daath for a bit longer. "Understood, sir.  If you have nothing further, I can leave immediately."

"That is all, take your leave." Van turned around, signaling that he was finished. Though he was grateful that Balir didn't ask questions, he only hoped the man was quick to obey them. While he could possibly push back the Score's predication, it would be impossible for him to stop entirely.

It would be a shame to lose an ally in that manner but if he couldn't act quickly when everything starts, then it wouldn't be worth the effort to keep him alive.