imperial_stage | And another summoning

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And another summoning

Who: Roy Mustang, Cornelia li Britannia, and Lina Inverse
What: Roy is summoning the sixth Servant for the Holy Grail War.
Where: Poemond
When: Late at night on February 12

It was well past midnight, and by this time, Roy would usually be asleep so he would awaken bright and early the following morning. However, circumstance led him down a different route tonight, and so he was deep in the castle dungeon, in a room closed off from the rest of the castle.

In this room, Roy was putting the finishing touches on an array on the floor. To anyone who had no knowledge of arcane lore, this would look like a transmutation circle -- especially since the one drawing it was an alchemist. But anyone familiar with summoning magic would recognize it as a summoning circle.

Roy took one last look at the notes laid out on the floor and determined the array to be complete. Taking the Clair Bible fragments out of his pocket, he placed them in the center of the array before turning to the other occupant of the room.

"Preparation's complete. I can start as soon as we verify the coast is clear."

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"Are you both really that helpless?" Cornelia was born into the luxury of dresses and fine jewelry, yet chose to pick up a blade instead of a purse. To hear something "heroic" dismiss it like that frustrates her. "Don't you know how to use a sword in the least?"

"I'm agile enough that that usually isn't a problem." Roy shrugged. "Still, if we can manage a setup where we won't have to directly confront the enemy, the more advantageous for us. I'd like to make that our last resort."

"Eh. Far as I care, you just get in close and set 'em on fire. Works for most bandits, at least."

After a few seconds, Lina looked towards Cornelia. "I know the basics, but I'm not precisely a Saber or Archer. Better to just get out of range, if you ask me."

"Seeing as you're a Caster, wouldn't any opponent's first instinct be to get in close? A little bit of training on the side won't hurt you any. So long as no one catches us doing so."

This woman was now in charge of protecting something she values. Cornelia's not about to just let her walk around without ensuring he'll make it out alive.

"Even if she does, it'd be impossible to successfully repel a close-range combatant, especially a Servant, with the kind of training we could muster in such a short period of time. We're better off playing to our strengths."

With that, Roy looks directly at Caster. "So my first question in that regard would be your Territory Creation ability. What kind of territory can you produce?"

"... Right. That detail." Caster paused, pondering. "It's kind of complex, compared to the common type for Casters.

"Far as I know, I'm only B-Rank there, and it's kinda an odd one. I used to be a regular attendee at Sorcerer's Guildhalls across the land, you see... So any sort of "traditional" Sorcerer's Guild territory - that is, anyplace where magic is taught or studied - is a Workshop for me. The more knowledge it has carried over time, the more precise my spells get - put me in a room with several Clair Bible fragments, and I could fire my Noble Phantasm indoors with absolutely no damage to the library, books, et cetera."

"Also, my revered reputation among magicians as a frontier researcher and teacher applies there, even if they don't know me or my name. If I applied for temp work at one, no one would blink an eye at me using a pseudonym or even working as Caster - or rather, they'd be okay with it on the basis of my merits."

"You don't plan to just waltz around as though you're a free spirit while you're here, do you? I won't permit you to abandon this man's side." With a scoff, she flips her hair over her shoulder as though it would help emphasize the lack of care she has towards Roy. "Shouldn't you two stick together?"

"I'd say outside the castle. Inside, however, can be a different story." The gears have already begun to turn inside Roy's head. "A place of learning is easy enough to set up -- I can have my books, research notes, and tools brought here and set up a workshop. We can also set up a field to alert us if anyone enters the grounds with hostile intent, and traps to activate in such an event."

Lina rubbed her chin at the idea.

"... I'm not precisely sure if a library by itself counts or not, actually. It could be the knowledge, or it could be the teaching of that knowledge, or history of teaching of that knowledge, that is what matters. We may be better off checking if there's a local Sorcerer's Guild around, and working our way to establish a base that way."

She smiled. "Besides which, I'm kinda hungry, what with not having eaten in over a century. Note that I'm not being specific there."

"You plan to keep her in the castle?" In a 'you've got to be joking' tone and all. Cornelia just brings her hand to the side of her head to rub at it, her ire already starting to show through. "What if the Fuhrer comes by for a visit? Will you just magically make all of your magical mumbo jumbo stuff disappear?"

The last thing she wants is to give the wrong impression to the guy who can shoot them on spot for anything after all.

"I think looking for a guild might be a more feasible option." Not that she's agreeing with Caster or anything, but the sooner she gets the crazy magic stuff away from her, the sooner she can return to her nice duties as a General. "Food?"

"..."

"You mean we're responsible for feeding you too?"

"If the Fuhrer stops by, he'd have no reason to set off the field, and so there wouldn't be any traps. But a guild would have its own merits, yes."

Roy frowned at that, though. "Servants don't need food for sustenance. They get all they need from magical energy from their Masters and their environment."

Lina nodded in agreement to Roy's comment about the idea of a guild perhaps being easier.

As for the second, though? Her face suddenly seemed to take a half-pleading look. "Surely you can't just leave a poor girl to starve? Even if I don't need food to survive, that's heartless!"

"It's just that my soldiers are going to wonder why I am feeding a mouth that just lazes about. If you want food, you're going to have to work for it. That's the way the world turns, missy."

No sympathy from Cornelia here. Maybe she should try to give that look to Roy instead.

Roy nodded at Cornelia's words. "That's a good point. I can spring for a meal to get you started, but after that, at least make it look like you're helping me out with my duties."

"You say that like it's going to be a problem. You're only talking to... Well, Caster. If you can't find good work for one of the greatest magicians in history..."

"Magic is pretty meaningless to me." This is why Roy's the one who summoned her and not herself, well, at least one of the many reasons. "Maybe my subordinate here can find something of value for you to do. I suppose it would help teach him a fair bit of responsibility..."

"You act as if I don't get my work done." Roy laughed, but laughter soon turned to a hiss as he grabbed his left hand in apparent pain.

Caster heard Roy's hiss, immediately paling a bit.

"Oh, right. I could've warned you about those."

Might have wanted to warn Cornelia too because she's already withdrawn her sword, the tip pointed straight towards the other woman.

"What did you do to him!?"

"Stop!"

Surprisingly, that call came from Roy himself. The pain was beginning to subside, and he pulled off his left glove. He raised his left hand, back toward the others. There was now some strange marking emblazoned on it.

"This is a Command Spell. Masters get these to enforce control over their Servants."

As Cornelia drew her blade, Caster began to stammer, about to try and explain - thankfully, Roy interrupted and explained on his own.

Stepping back, she elaborated, "He gets three. Each works only once, and can either force me to follow a command, or grant me a significant, if short, boost in power. Problem is, if he runs out, I get the right to end the summoning contract."

"Roy?"

When he tells her to stop, it takes her by surprise, as realization of the situation draws in on her. Normally it was easy for her to keep her emotions locked behind walls and walls of impenetrable ice, but the man in pain while in a situation that made her all too uncomfortable made her forget all of that. She doesn't lower her blade though, keeping a trained gaze on the spirit before her as he explains.

It's only when Caster backs down does she sheathe her sword once again. Yet, she can't bring herself to face the man out of embarrassment.

"I understand." ~~Hurt her man again, Caster, and she'll cut you down.~~ "You can't survive without a Master, so what point would it be cut the contract? You do want the Grail for your own, don't you?"

Roy breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad that that cleared everything up. Still, that was a surprise -- but also not an unpleasant one as far as he was concerned. If Cornelia acted so quickly in his defense, it meant there was still some hope.

"After using the third Command Spell, the prana transfer is severed. She'd need to find a new Master to continue existing in this world when that happens. In past Holy Grail Wars, Servants have occasionally been known to kill their Masters after the third Command Spell was used so they could form a contract with another."

"Not that I'd waste my time with something like that. There's other ways to get prana. Less convenient, but sufficient."

"Excellent, because the last thing I would tolerate is some fool thinking they can lay harm on this man."

With that, she waves her hand as she heads for the nearest door. "Take care of him and I'll reward you as such." She can bribe her with food, can't she? With this settled in her mind, she sees little reason to stick around.

Roy fought back the urge to grin. Such an act showed that there was still some hope after all.

"Can't do much better than that."

"This is going to be a very, very interesting Grail War for me, isn't it?"

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And another summoning

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