Toogee

The combination of Eva and Shiny Amon/Ra explained the rest of the story (more or less) of the emblem magic they wielded. Though initially worried she said something she shouldn't, Jam was feeling pretty proud that she got the ball rolling on that front. Keeping all these secrets was becoming a real pain in the butt. And this wasn't even everything they were keeping secret. Still, now that they were on the same page, they could move ahead with actually saving the world. Malik was giving the silent Rexian expression that said "shut your hole", specifically to Jam. This seemed to be a good time to duck out and cause trouble elsewhere. While Daichi was addressing Angelica and the bird people, Jam got up and left the meeting.

From the look Daichi gave Jam, the dancer was starting to believe she had said something she wasn't supposed to. Whatever anger he had was focused on her. She didn't care much for it. Fortunately, Eva spoke up to get his attention. Jam thought it best to shut up before stoking Daichi's ire once more.

"Sweet, that works out pretty well," Jam commented. This Daichi guy was really helpful. He really needed them to see the emperor. With Amon being all wishy washy on what to do first, it was refreshing to see someone make a decision. As long as no one said anything stupid, this meeting would go off without a hitch. "And if that doesn't work, we can always drop another magic boat on 'em, right?"

Jam reluctantly nodded; she wasn't sure she agreed. She was getting sick of Neviskotia and Ursian forces dogging them the entire journey. The dancer wanted to go on the offensive and get them to back off. But Daichi pointed out that there were more important matters at hand. He decisively made the decision, unlike the wishy-washy "should we, shouldn't we" discussion the group was having. Jam was turned to his line of thinking: meeting with their foes wouldn't matter if they were eaten by bird people. "You know, I agree with...Ka...ze...mi...Da...i...chi," Jam commented, being very careful with the pronunciation of Daichi's name. She winked back at Eva in thanks and continued. "None of this matters if we're all eaten by bird people. If Ursia and Neviskotia know what's going on, and they still want to go after us, that's on them. Now let's go tell that messenger girl to go pound sand and we can be on our way to KaYoMama."

"What? Is it really Day Chi? Die Chi? Eh, you think he's OK with first names? I'm pretty sure I got Kamikaze down." Jam brushed herself off to be more presentable. This meeting was in the bag!

Jam scowled at Malik after the tease. She was never going to live that incident down. Any effort to get back into the fight would be met with a mention of her capture, most of all by her own inner voice. That made her even more mad. "Hey, he had powers and a dragon! He could have captured any one of us! Now shush before you insult Kamikaze Dyed Chi and ruin the whole mission."

While Jam didn't like the idea of going through capture again, she also didn't like being typecast into the role of potential hostage. "Come on, you don't really think they sent the exact same douche down here. There's more than one Skotian soldier."

Back at the Weyland outpost, Jam watched from just outside the meeting room as Amon, Malik, and Eva debated on their next move. One of their pursuers had found their location, but which one? Juggling multiple meetings and their forces already scattered, there was a real danger of endangering their mission to stop the gate. "I'm no tactician," Jam interrupted, "but whoever wants this meeting, if they were looking for a fight, they'd have an army at our doorstep instead of some messenger. I say we play the same game. We send our own messenger to figure out who we're dealing with. The rest of you can go deal with King Kigen or whoever it is you're talking to." "And FYI, Greta's off doing something, so I'm free for such an errand."

Jam's ready to roll.

Jam was getting cabin fever. She had been stuck indoors since their arrival in Kigen. Between Ursian and Skotian search parties and the differing culture of the natives, the dancer couldn't venture out and perform. She thought about dancing for their demon guest Canaan. Surely he was just as bored, maybe moreso. Her boredom had led her into the meeting room, though she stayed in the back and listened. When talk turned to etiquette lessons, Jam joined the others in support. "I'm in too," Jam announced. "Speaking of culture, do the Kigenese tip. I'm hoping to get some extra coin with a couple street performances."

Jam was sceptical of Canaan at first, but the fact that he spoke their language was enough to humanize him in her eyes. His desire for a monkly lifestyle away from his fellow demons assured her that he probably wouldn't eat them in their sleep. Still, she was concerned with people finding out and turning the entire country against them. "So...what's gonna happen when people do find out? Hate to tell you, but you can't hide forever. I mean, we haven't been here a day and me and Thales found you."

"Yeah Eva! Hold him there so I can kick him some more! Gotta kick that eavesdropping habit outta him!" Jam's flurry of shin-splitting kicks stopped before it started. She had just noticed the other guests in the room. Most notable was Canaan, who was instantly recognizable as not human at all. In fact, he looked more related to the things they fought at Weyland's than anyone in Kigen. She stood there, shocked that such a being was in Eva's room of all places. "WHAT. THE."

I'm a sucky person who sucks. I finally posted though. Thanks :).

The moment Jam was told there were rooms, she disappeared to go claim her spot. She went down a hallway to go find a room. What she found instead was Thales listening through a closed door. How rude! The dancer walked quickly towards him and began to hear muffled female voices. Naturally, she began to draw conclusions. "The nerve!" Jam called out to Thales. "No listening on girls! That's so rude! Back, back!" She proceeded to start kicking at Thales' shins to get him to back away from the door.

If it hasn't become obvious by now, I'm going to be pretty busy for the next two months and two weeks as I try to wrap up school once and for all. If a battle happens between now and then, I probably won't be able to participate, but we'll see. I'll try and get a post out sometime today.

At first, Jam intended to stay outside with Greta while the others arranged to get a plan together. It was nice to finally be in the city and see what Kigen was all about. Just as she was admiring the new scenery, a few of the male citizens were glancing at her. It seemed she wasn't the only one with an admiration of the exotic. If she wasn't so drained from the boat ride, Jam would have started a dance routine. Customs be damned, she could be making good coin just standing out here. However, what she wanted most was to get her own room and sleep for the rest of the day. This place reminded her of the last Weyland estate she stayed at. If this place was half as good as that, it would be a welcome change from the hammock back on the ship. She slipped inside to see what the hold up was. What she found was the others talking about scouting, demons in the north, spirit springs, and of course, that siege gate they've come to destroy. Considering that was there whole purpose of being here, Jam decided to butt into the conversation. The sooner they could take care of the gate, the sooner they could get things to a relative normal. "If it's scouts you want, count me in," Jam declared. "I've scouted with Bert before. In and out of that bandit camp and no one was the wiser! But it'd be nice to rest up first. We get rooms here, right?"

"Greta's gonna open shop while Shad distracts the locals with his 'manliness', I guess," Jam replied, still a little weirded out about how business was done in Kigen. "I'm sure Shad can have three cousins, right Greta?"

Once Greta's wagon was off the boat, Jam decided to go over and see how everything was going. She couldn't help but overhear Nadya and Shad talking about him being a merchant and Pete being a better cousin. Initially confused, the dancer continued to Greta to investigate. "What's this business about Shad playing merchant and Pete being a better cousin?" Jam asked. "And for the record, I would make a great cousin."

In that spirit, I think I have to bow out. I've suddenly become busy and won't be able to keep up with this. Feel free to bunny Ahava if you need a healer for the maps.

"Thank you," Ahava replied as she took her new mend staff and headed on her way. Even down south, there were concerns for the brewing conflict. There would be no safe haven for anyone. It was more important than ever to provide healing magic to those in need. She headed for the tavern, figuring Abeloth would likely be at a popular drinking spot. Sure enough, He was tucked away in a corner, supposedly alone. Ahava sat at his table to deliver the shopkeeper's rumors. "Apparently, Vinhon is pulling their patrols, particularly the ones between here and there. I fear the journey ahead won't be any easier."

Ahava could only afford one of the items. Though she was concerned about dealing with poisons, the offer of a stronger staff would help with more grievous wounds. Who knew what to expect from the road ahead? Perhaps the merchant... "The mend staff please," Ahava replied, handing over the amount of gold. "Do you happen to know what the road to Vinhon is like? Any bandit activity?"

Between being chased by Ursians and and kidnapped by Neviskotians, Jam had no interest in siding with anybody. They were here to talk with Kigen. She had no idea why they had to side with either country to do that. Pete's suggestion to side with Neviskotia over "what they had to offer" was particularly offensive to the dancer. There was far too much bad blood, starting with the black dragon that decimated Greta's group. Fortunately, the conversation veered away from choosing sides to simply talking. Jam wasn't a fan of confronting either side to begin with, but it was better than fighting their war on a chosen side. "I guess if talking gets them off our back sooner, then I guess it can't hurt," Jam relented.

Jam had overheard the conversation between Pete, Amon, and the avians. They were concerned about the rival armies coming after the group. It seemed like a battle was unavoidable: their only option was to choose an ally and foe. The dancer had a novel approach. "What if we get the Ursians and the Skotians to find us at the same time?" Jam suggested outloud. "If we can get them to fight each other, maybe we can skip town while they're distracted."

Seeing that she was stuck in the village, Ahava decided to seek the merchant stalls before they closed for the day. If they truly were to head out, it was a good idea to top off supplies before doing so. She focused on dry foods that wouldn't spoil during the journey ahead: nuts, jerky, and water. A pack to carry all the items was conveniently in the next stall. With her skill with a staff, Ahava didn't need much in the way of first aid. Still, she could've used a restore staff, especially after that last battle.

Ahava was a bit disturbed by the revelations of the bandit attack. Poisoning their own men. Warp circles. This was beginning to sound much bigger. With the captain sending soldiers to a castle, it seemed there would be an opportunity to follow a group. Abeloth seemed to be really pushing getting soldiers to join them. The cleric found it odd for someone she had only just met. She decided to tell him something about it. "You know, you don't have to find me an escort," she said to Abeloth. "There are plenty of mercenary groups passing through in all directions. I'm not in a rush. Besides, with everything going on here, I'm not sure leaving is such a good idea."