Return of The Emblem Chapter One: The Artifact

[Mercakete]

"Well then, could you give me some good-quality sword polish allong with this'ere whetstone if I pay ye 60?" Gytha asked, slipping her fingers into the coinpouch on her belt and feeling for the right ammount. It was a gamble since she didn't know if, sword polish included, she'd be overpaying or underpaying, but it was a good gamble and hardly worth fussing over.

[Snowy_One]

"I didn't steal anything!" As Daloth pushed the body of the man off of him, he looked sullen and shocked. Sure, he had seen dead men before, even men being killed before, but right on top of him? "I tripped and stumbled and grabbed his purse by accident, and his pants came off and into my hand on their own accord. I didn't steal them. I even gave the pants back."

He wanted to get up, to thank his rescuers, but as he brushed the dust off of his robes, he could see that the pair had taken to business talks with a group of mercenaries. "Figures."

[NTNP]

Trying to get to know his savior...

"Oh I'm sure that it will always feel worse in the morning but that's the price you have to pay sometimes. So miss Synthia, you've heard a little bit about me now but I really don't know a thing about the woman that saved my life other than she doesn't drink, doesn't like my pet names and is looking for a bit of experience when it comes to using a staff. If you don't mind me asking, whats your story thus far?" Edwin took the girl's suggestion to heart, and after he finished his thought took a couple of large gulps and then started ordering again. Honestly, he was absolutely exhausted but what was really strange was how hard it was trying to grip the glasses. He felt so very clumsy right now, and very weak. Something was clearly wrong, probably due to the failed healing... but maybe once he started feeling better he might be able to find a better healer.

That is assuming his legs would start working anytime soon.

[Kanami]

Seina wandered down the streets surprised and astounded by all the strange people, she'd seen a strange small hairy tuft of fur sitting on a cart, a woman talking to her cat, people chatting idly by a foul smelling building even two men who were doing "naughty" things to eachother. She'd only ever heard rumors about such acts, and had been skeptical whether they true or mere tattle tales..... Though she did wish they'd do their business somewhere more private, or perhaps it was normal for these people to be making out in the middle of the road while the sun was still high up in the sky?

She hadn't strayed too far from the strange street of people when she saw a man leading a large lizard with wings. Fascinated and intimidated by the creature she stared for a few moments, barely supressing her gasp of fear when it turned it's eye on her and let out a low growl. It's owner though seemed oblivious to the incident and continued on his way, disappearing with the beast around the corner to Seina's relief.

As she started to slowly calm down she looked around at her surrounding once more before letting out a sigh. She didn't know where she was, but her original assumption was correct, this sure wasn't Kigen. And the people certainly weren't what she was accustomed to. She didn't know what would await her outside the small port town either. She'd already seen too many strange creatures, and she sure didn't fancy being left alone with a big menacing lizard.

Reaching into her sleeves she pulled out a small pouch of gold, nothing much, she didn't how much the coins were worth in this strange land but it could probably net her a few meals and a place to stay for the night. She dug through her pockets and sleeves finding nothing of worth besides her treasured Temari ball, her engagement ring and a jewel incrested bracelet she'd been given by her fiance before she'd departed Shin. Perhaps she could sell them off for a few spare coins?

She contemplated going back to the docks, but decided against it when she remembered the strange shiny men stationed there. She'd seen a few walking around town as well, but they seemed more numerous near the docks, almost as if they were looking for something, or expecting someone unwelcome to arrive. (Neviskotians). Ah well, she could head back there any time, for now she needed to find somewhere where she could rest for the night. The sun was still up, but she didn't want to risk sleeping on the streets tonight. She looked around and decided to ask for directions to somewhere where she could spend the night, scampering over and pulling on the clothes of the first person she saw.

[EchoingPewter]

"Hm...that, medallion, the girl carries. That, is why I approached you first, merchant. Eheheh, now, let us go to speak with...Wolfgang." Strangely enough, Ariost did not stress his boss's name, even though it was treated in the same matter. Regardless, Ariost turn and began to leave the scene, the dark magic at his shoulder creating a 'come hither' finger motion to the merchant behind him. His pace was a bit slow, and hearing his long robe drag along the ground could be somewhat unsettling if no other noises were around.

Wolfgang had actually left Karene with seeing to everyone departing the ship. He could live without being near her for a while even though his order was for them to stay together. He met Ariost halfway back to the docks, merchant in tow or not.

"Ariost, did you find someone worth our time?" Wolfgang asked in his deep, gruff tone.

"Yes, I did...the girl with him holds a peculiar...item, I feel would be important to protect. I believe it was what was making you...suspiscious, back on the boat as you told me." Ariost informed his boss.

"Really? Well then, I will certainly consider this man's time to useful." Wolfgang replied with a firm nod.

~~~~

Hans was now travelling an alleyway. He had seen a cat dart in here after escaping a wagon, probably in shock. He had a piece of fish with him he'd caught from the days long trip from between the ports held in his hand.

"Here mister cat. I've got a nice, fresh fish for you. Figured you'd be hungry, and I was planning on cookin it later, but hey, nothing an old fashioned biscuit can't fix for me. What do you say? Don't want ya starv'n." He enticed, hoping the cat would come out and accept his offer. He didn't want the owner to lose their cat to starvation, or he didn't want it to die on its own from it.

[ReformBlade]

Nanahm smiled and said after a little thought, "Sounds... vague, but doable. Oh, how rude of me! The name's Nanahm." A silly mistake to make, forgetting to introduce himself, but he had other thoughts in his mind, namely getting the OK for teh job first. Awesome day so far! Better not screw this up... he thought to himself. After all his moping about not having any decent work, he'd have to make sure he'd make this one count. And by Raguni, he would...

"Is there anything else besides a name and a story to go on you might provide? I just wanna make sure we're all on the right page to begin with."

[CATS]

Last job was a bust. Bad guys knew they were coming, set up traps. Archers on the cliffs, everyone turned to pincushions. Jack would've been, but his armor was too thick for the arrows to penetrate. Getting away with his life wasn't as good as it sounded, though. Employer yelled at him, was angry because the others all died, took it out on Jack because he was the only one left to take it out on. Got no pay, just a few more nicks in his plates. It was ironic, he wore such heavy armor to guard his life, but sometimes he wished he wasn't the one guy who survived, at least the others didn't need to fill their bellies anymore. Jack still needed to, but had no means of doing so. He was now alone, almost coinless, and jobless. That meant drink, and drink meant tavern. Jack walked into the tavern and threw his last few coins at the bartender. He started in on his drinks, not even bothering to take his armor off.

It was loud in the tavern, things were happening. Jack drank.

Somewhere, a gunshot went off. Jack drank.

A wyvern rider came in. Filthy Neviskotians walking around like they owned the place. Jack drank.

Some dead guy was hauled in. Jack drank.

Someone healed the dead guy. Jack drank.

The dead guy was passing out drinks and 500 gold to the healer. Jack raised his glass and took a sip, then spit it out and stopped, running that through his head again. The dead guy passed out free drinks and 500 gold to somebody for helping him. The dead guy was loaded and not shy about sharing the wealth. Jack couldn't miss this chance. He grabbed his spear and hauled himself up from the bar, then clanked over towards the dead guy and the healer girl. They seemed to be in a lively conversation, Jack came in on the dead guy asking the girl for her story. Maybe they were into each other, or considering that he still looked partially dead, maybe the dead guy was just trying to charm some more healing out of her. The polite thing to do here would be to hang back and let them talk, but Jack found it difficult to care about politeness, being slightly drunk and in a foul mood, to put it mildly. He cut in on the conversation.

"Greetings. I'll be frank with you, I overheard your payment of an absurd amount of gold to this girl for fixing you up, and I'm hoping to get a share of that wealth. I noticed that you have a problem you weren't able to solve on your own, what with the arrows in your back and such. You could use a strong soldier by your side, I could use some gold. I propose that you give me some coins, and then I go and poke whoever you need me to with this sharp stick of mine; everyone's a winner. What do you say? No offense, but I daresay I'll hold up a bit better than you did when they start shooting at me," Jack said.

[roymbrog]

“Me? I’m just a normal girl from Ursaea. I left a few years ago to actually do something with my life, but that hasn’t exactly worked out as planned… I recently lost my job.” She spoke with a scowl and her voice held a hint of bitterness. There was more to the story that that, but she wasn’t quite as loose lipped as the man she was conversing with.

“So, since then I’ve had a miserable time searching for work and traveling till my feet ache. Most people aren’t willing to hire someone outside the church that can heal. It’s rather like the issue with Pegasus knights I suppose,” she said, shrugging. “Learning staves was my parents’ idea, I wanted to study magic instead. I am glad, though, that I was able to do some good with it.”

OOC:Hey Walter, can you change yours to after mine? I don't have time to edit.

Edited January 7, 2011 by roymbrog

[NTNP]

Even if it would normally only *tink* Jack, being stabbed in the head by an arrow would still sting...

"I never cared much about how someone came to acquire their abilities personally. Most of the time, anyone who has been tossed into the world used to be someone else. Heck, I used to be a lot of things but now look at me. I'm just a guy sitting in a bar with a nice girl who somehow knows her way around healing magic. Don't bother questioning it, nothing good ever comes from it. Although I'll be honest, if you wanted to come along I could probably use a healer for the next couple of days. I doubt that I'll be using my bow very well for a while, that's for sure." Edwin tried to smile, although he could feel someone getting closer. Without saying a word, he leaned back and put his hands behind his head. It looked like he was just resting, being lazy however that wasn't entirely true. His left hand moved just a little down his back, until he could feel a feather on his index finger. If this was someone deciding to be a little 'forceful' he would need some kind of defense after all.

Upon hearing the man's words, Edwin remained in his 'stretching' position with the tip of an arrow just within reach. The man looked pretty strong, very defensively capable although no one ever seemed to enjoy an arrow to the head or side. "Its only fair, after all what good is gold going to do me if I end up 6 feet under. Who am I going to leave it to, that horse out there? Or one of the many friends I have in the world" "Anyways its not that much money. I got paid about half my usually fee anyways...but that doesn't mean I plan on letting go of the rest of unnecessarily." As the conversation continued, the self named 'survivor' would do his best to analyze the man's next few words and actions. If he didn't take being told 'no' very well and went for the gold it was obvious that things would go from better to slightly more annoying. "But I digress, I don't have any issue with the people that did this to me. I'm a professional, and I knew the risks when I signed up for this little suicide mission. Fact is the people that did this to me got the drop on my employer and managed to sucker us into an ambush. A lot of my people died, and a lot of theirs did too and in the end I survived. I don't resent the people that did this, the moment that my employer bit the dust my contract ended and I don't plan on trying to 'fulfill' her mission myself or going after them for revenge. The moment the cute little red head's head hit the ground, I knew my part of the story was over so I turned tail, broke through the back guards ranks and got out of there. Maybe some of the others did too, but I kinda doubt it since I didn't see any of them on the road. And I doubt you would have fared too well against a woman who knows how to bend lightning to her whim friend. Then again I don't know what actually does stand up well to that."

"However, I'm sure that in a town like this either of you could find some work. Heck, I might even be willing to hire both of you if I had anything lined up at the moment. Unfortunately though, I doubt I'll be in working order anytime soon as it stands... no offense to the girl that tried to save my life of course and the somewhat drunk guy wanting to 'stick' people for money. However you never know how the world works, the call seems to come at the most inopportune times. I wouldn't be surprised if someone wasn't already putting us into the middle of something already."

[Phoenix]

OOC: Just for the record, this wagon is enclosed(high walls, roof, etc). Might make a rough picture of it and its specs later if it helps.

More Business ...

"Sword polish? Hmm."

Jethro started off somewhat behind. He turned back to see that Raquel actually was making a business transaction. "Well I'll be damned." He was slightly torn for a moment. This Ariost person wasn't quite far away yet, but he was getting there.

The Big Bang ...

The figure in blue revealed a small black pearl in his hand and lightly tossed it up before catching it again. A small gesture before he rushed to the location he was told to place it. With a swift thrust, he slammed it into the mast and it cracked while embedding itself deep in the wood. With that, the figure rushed for a nearby cannon port only to find that he was discovered. Three sailors with rifles came rushing over having been drawn by the noise they had made while inserting the dark sphere. Before he could open and get out through the port, he was shot several times and floored! Reaching into his cloak, he pulled out a single grenade, activated it, and chucked it at them. The men panicked and began running the opposite way only to be caught up in the explosion and hurled away.

Up on deck, the noise and rocking from the blast caught the entire crew's attention. "What in the blazes was that?" the Captain asked to anyone around. "Search the ship, we may be under attack." The other sailors complied grabbing their weapons and preparing a march into the lower decks.

As the sphere began to draw more and more material to itself, the injured assailant tried desperately to get to their feet. They were running out of time and knew it. "Urgh ... dammit." a young male voice muttered in pain. The mast began to crack inward being drawn by the immense pull of the sphere. Spiral tails began to form licking up anything in the air from dust to wood fragments and blood on the ground. The sphere began to pick up larger and larger things until everything in the area was being dragged toward it. "It's happening so quickly ... urgh. I have to get out of here." said the man as he struggled to his feet.

Trying his best to ignore his bleeding leg, he limped over to the port and forced himself to try and open it even though both his arms had been shot. Once it was open he reached out through the window with his right arm and used his left to try and pull himself through. Suddenly his legs left the ground and began pointing at the sphere. Now he along with everything else was being caught up in the sphere's pull. He could only hold himself in place, he hadn't the strength to pull himself out of the port and off of the ship now. The men from the main deck came down and quickly regretted their decision.

"Daaaaark hooooole!" shouted one of the soldiers while trying to hold his hat on as the others pulled back and made their escape. He too was pulled into the vortex and crushed along with the cannons and as the walls began to snap, bend, and yield, the man responsible for it all called out one last time through the cannon port yelling "Sardis! Help me!" From the docks the ship seemed to be collapsing into itself ... a moment later, it all vanished temporarily in the light of a massive explosion! The shockwave came over the waters and shook the docks. The two remaining halves of the ship, no longer under the influence of the gravitational pull, simply sank in flames. The UNV Celeste disappeared to the bottom of the harbor right in plain sight taking its entire crew with it.

Raquel stopped what she was doing and stood there in shock. The same with Jethro who was a fair distance from both her and Ariost at that moment. On the rooftops, Amon had been following the continuing brightness of his trinket until the explosion hit. That forced him to stop abruptly close to a building's edge and get an eyeful.

As the soldiers everywhere began heading for the docks, dozens of cloaked figures began emerging from all over the place, mostly on the rooftops. They quickly made their way in the same direction Amon had been headed before the explosion occurred. When he saw some of them approaching, he quickly started climbing down the side of the building to a window sill to avoid them. From the window sill he could maintain a steady grip and not fall off. As he'd hoped, they all ignored him and leaped over to the next building all heading for the markets. Now that he was behind them, he could figure out what was going on. He climbed back up to the roof, leaped over to the other side, and followed keeping fair distance so they would have to put some effort into turning and attacking him.

"Finally" said the ebon cloaked man. The Kigenese swordsman was still with him, but his outfit and weapon were mostly covered up by a cloak of his own, not nearly as dark as the first's though.

"Are we ready to go then?" he asked.

"Indeed we are. The others should already be on the move. Once we arrive, I'll take the prize from those people, and we'll be on our way. You just kill anyone trying to be a hero I suppose." he explained.

"Understood."

[Mercakete]

"What in the name of Leviathan was that?" exclaimed Gytha in surprise, keeping a strong grip on her sword, ready to draw it at any moment. The mariner retruned her attention to Raquel, now wearing a kind of sinister smile, though her eyes held intensity and strength now rather than her previous, carefree air. "Hey, lassie, I forgot to ask yer name. Mine's Gytha! I'm a meriner, so it's a spot of instinct for me to be protectn' merchants and their wares. You're a good sort, so go on and get in the cart and I'll stand watch until the commotion goes down. I don't expect pay. I'll still pay you the gold for the polish and whetstone, but you'll have to put 'em on hold for me, just in case!" Tossing the whetstone back to Raquel, Gytha turned her attention to the alleyway Maw had run into. "Hoy! Maw! Keep agile!"

The silvery feline was a bit torn. There was a human offering fish. Fresh fish. Good-sized fresh fish. But that call that Gytha made... There was something going on. Loud noises always meant trouble and Maw knew she would never get used to them. So, she chose the only option available to her: She dashed forward, took the fish in her mouth mid-leap and ran back over to where Gytha was. However, she didn't stop there. Instead, she ran under the cart to enjoy her fish. She was still hungry, after all.

Seeing Maw with a fish, Gytha blew a quick puff of air from her nostrils. Well, that's your share. I'll eat later.

[Dark Sage]

Information would be what he needed definitely. Specifically, where his prey was. He had gotten a description on what the killer looked like from a friend of his father's, who was with him during his death. The man had short scruffy black hair, a pointed beard, carried a short axe on his back and a broadsword at his side. He wore dirty grey armor and and carried a shield, but the most striking thing about him was his expression. He had dark green eyes and had a piercing gaze, his expression was like one of a vulture as if it found a kill.

The main problem was how to ask without people trying to figure out why. And more importantly, how to make sure people did not figure out he was a Neviskotian soldier. Anyone would be able to figure him out as a Neviskotian if they heard him talk, his accent being thick. To make people think he wasn't a soldier would be tricky. Perhaps say he's a mercenary?

As he entered the tavern, he took a peek back to see Miskavolv go near a redhaired woman to sniff her and rubbed his nose against her.

Oh great Domovoi thought sarcastically to himself as he rushed towards Miskavolv and gave him a look that said get away.

[-Cynthia-]

"Well I-" Veronika began to explain when the red wyvern she saw earlier rubbed his nose against her, breaking her concentration. The man Veronika assumed to be his rider showed up to apparently shoo him away.

These thoughts were interrupted by a loud explosion from the docks. This was followed shortly by dozens of robed figures appearing from seemingly nowhere and they were all headed towards the markets.

"Let's investigate this. There will be time for proper introductions later." Veronika said to Jeanne and Nanahm. I have a bad feeling about this she thought to herself as she began to move towards the markets.

Edited January 7, 2011 by -Cynthia-

[Acacia Sgt]

''What the...!?'' John was surprised at what happened. 'What is going on...?' He quickly got up on Gil.

''Okay Gil, looks like you'll get to fly earlier than expected.'' He said as the wyvern took to the air. He couldn't believe what he saw... that ship in the distance, ablazed and torn apart.

'What's the meaning of this?' He thought as he watched the last moments of the sinking. 'Has the countries finally gone into war?' Just then, his wyvern growled while having his head downwards.

''What is it, Gil?'' He said, looking down as well. He saw the cloaked men gathering on the area below.

'Just what's going on today...?'

[EchoingPewter]

"This may be a problem. I'm not sure what needs to be done right now, however-" Wolfgang was interupted by something in the air. It was Wallace's wyvern, Gromit.

Gromit let out a monstrous roar that would send chills down spines if they weren't used to the ominous feel in the wyvern's screech. Wolfgang looked up, then back to the docks. That's when it happened.

An explosion occurred, and a big one at that. Completely destroyed the ship they'd noticed in port while they were closing in to Sergio. His instincts instantly forced him into action, as well as the rest of the mercenaries.

"Wallace, take care of the girl! Ariost, remain with the merchant, keep him and his supplies safe!" Wolfgang shouted orders to those two before Hans ended up interupting him.

"Chief, we've got company coming, and fast!" Hans said, running up to him.

"Thanks, I'll handle them with Karene. Get to a good spot to handle things from afar!" Wolfgang said quickly.

"Right. Hope that cat's okay now, he left so quickly, then this happened, didn't have a chance to check. Oh well." Hans said with a shrug before dashing off.

"Wolfgang!" Karene soon caught up to Wolfgang. He smiled at knowing she was alright.

"Glad you're okay. Listen, Hans says we've got company coming, fast. I don't know how many people can fight around here, but I have a feeling the citizens will take lesser priority to them. We're protecting the citizens, no harm is to come to them, understood?!" Wolfgang commanded.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Karene replied obediantly before the couple ran further into town.

~~~~

Ariost hovered above the ground and shot backwards towards Jethro. He stopped himself in front of the man, letting his dark magic set him down. "Get to the cart...now! I'm looking after you until things clear up. Don't worry, the girl is in very capable hands."

What Ariost was talking about would soon be seen by Jethro. The massive wyvern that had roared in the sky had swooped down with immense speed near Raquel. The sheer force of its wings could knock an unwary citizen to their knees. The man on it quickly snatched the girl up without her consent and shot into the air.

Once Wallace was certain they were in a stable motion in the air, he looked at the girl he'd put behind him.

"You okay, young miss? I deeply apologize for that rough manner, but I'm ordered to keep you safe. You are related to the merchant Ariost has been conversing with, correct? The interactions I've watched are very convincing." Wallace questioned, looking down at the ground at Ariost and the man next to him.

[Dark Sage]

"What in blazes?!" Domovoi said in surprise, his head jerking towards the dock, hearing the explosion. Miskavolv jerked his head as well in the direction and Domovoi climbed on the wyvern, deciding it would be a good idea to investigate. It wouldn't be against orders. Who knew if any Ursium soldiers were nearby, and if there were, he could scout to see how many there were. Maybe his quarry might be behind it as well?

"Miskavolv, we're heading over to investigate. Whatever is happening there can't be good." Upon this, he saw black robed figures appear and run towards the marketplace.

"Probably reinforcements to help their kind," Domovoi said grimly, drawing his lance just before Miskavolv took flight. He gazed down, riding overhead to investigate.

[Mercakete]

"AVAST AND DOWN, SKY-VERMIN!!" Gytha called up to Wallace as she clung to the man's wyvern's tail with one arm while the other held her sword. Her arms were straining and currently, her main concern was falling. It had taken her a moment too late to tell who it was, exactly, who was diving for the good merchant...who still held her new whetstone. "IS YER CAPTAIN CRAZY?! WHY'RE YE PILLAGING MERCHANTS OFF THE STREET?! ARE YE DAFT?! OY!! TO LAND! TO LAND!!" She was furious and terrified, though it was her fury which was mostly showing through.

[Snowy_One]

As the explosion shuddered throughout the village, Daloth found himself being lifted off of his feet and being dropped right back down on his rear from the sheer might. Rebounding upright, he raised his hands, revealing that they held naught but the ice tome within. "It wasn't me! I didn't touch a thing!" Thankfully for his own good, no one had seemed to notice, or even accuse him, of wrongdoing. This made the explosion probably the best thing to happen to Daloth all day... and boy did that bite. Never the less, despite the death that likely was abound in the air about the docks, his interest had been piqued.

"Maybe I can get a new story out of all this." he mused to himself. Not that he had any trouble making **** up before; but still... Alternatively, some dumb block could have just left a torch too close to the pitch and blew himself sky high. Still... Fire, explosions, danger... It called to some dark part of him. Some dark... male... part. He just HAD to check it out! Looking down to his feet to ensure that the fisherman was, indeed, dead and wouldn't be following him, he took off towards the docks; eager to see the carnage.

[Kanami]

Seina looked around crossly as the cloaked man she'd ask for directions brushed her off and hurried along on his way. Damn brutes in this country didn't even have the most basic of manners. Pouting she was about to ask a plump looking merchant, figuring the only way she'd get any information was by buying it she heard a lound explosion.

"What? Fireworks? This early?" she spoke out aloud not believing the stupidity of these people, fireworks were so much prettier at night, why were they wasting them by letting them off now? A stern looking red haired woman walked past her followed by a few others, some armored and most likely mercenaries, others wearing plain clothes drawn to the noise via curiosity. She started trailling behind an enemy man when two shinymen came clanking up behind her. Panicking she braced herself for some rough handling, but the men didn't even bat an eyelash her way, pushing their way past the old man and towards the docks. "Must be a really big event huh" she muttered out aloud ignoring the strange look the now knocked over man was giving her.

Quickly bowing her head, she reached out nervously to help the old man up. She didn't know how these people worked but the elderly were to be respected.... or something like that, she didn't know but it wasn't like helping the man up would cost her anything. As the man regained his composure he smiled a toothless grin at Seina "Mighty big explosion that was ey lass?" he said a bit too friendly for Seinas liking.

"Uh yeah, I mean yes!" she corrected herself trying to sound polite but failing miserably.

"Shouldn't be anything too bad though, the soldiers will protect us" the man continued not really concerned at all about the explosion, if anything he looked excited. Which only endorsed Seina's belief that the explosion had only been fireworks, she couldn't see any yet, but the sun was still up, it didn't surprise her that she hadn't spotted any yet.

Without her consent the elderly man grabbed her hand and started walking off towards the docks again, blabbering about how great the soldiers were in this country and how "those cursed lizard breeders" should learn their place. She struggled at first hoping to get her hands away from the wrinkly man but gave up rolling her eyes. At least she'd be able to ask for directions after all this was over. But for now, she looked forward to what sort of fireworks this strange nation had to offer.

[EchoingPewter]

"Keep your voice low! Gromit won't tolerate you for long if you don't!" Wallace lashed at whoever was on his wyvern's tail. Gromit slowed his speed so Wallace wouldn't have to raise his voice, or make it difficult for the girl to hang on.

"If you want down, don't expect a soft landing. It's either that, or Gromit sets you up here." Wallace continued, trying to keep a calm tone so he wouldn't upset the person. He couldn't see him or her, but he hoped they weren't too scared of heights. He'd prefer not to land unless he heard Wolfgang order an attack.

[Snike]

An explosion in the port. Not anything you see on a regular basis. Had Neviskotia finally attacked? His mental question was answered a mere moments later, as a file of cloaked men stepped out from various alleyways. There was no way the Neviskotians would conceal themselves during a siege. They were too honorable for that. That left... Axel pulled out his spear, and began to follow the enigmas, with a slow and confident stride. It still wasn't his problem, but if these were Kigen soldiers, then he may as well see what they were here for. Intel paid well, occasionally.

[Mercakete]

"Wind speeds sometimes makes shouting essential to be heard," Gytha replied, lowering her voice as the wyvern slowed down, "I guess you Grandzenstraum Scallywags'll take care o' the nice merchant, aye? Lassie, you keep that polish and whetstone held for me; I'm bound for your cart to find Maw and see if these landlubbers have that'un covered, too." With that, Gytha let go of the wyvern's tail and attempted a somewhat-smooth landint on a rooftop. She took a couple steps she hadn't meant to, but still had her sea legs fromt he voyage, so regaining her balance wasn't so tough. Breathing a sigh and placing her free hand on her hip, she began to survey her surroundings. When she looked behind her, she dropped down to the side of the building and held onto the roof's edge. There was no way she hadn't been sighted by the group that was running allong the rooftops, but if she had to, she could drop down to the ground without much troube from where sh was now rather than having to worry about the rooftop-runners.

Maw was blissfully eating her fish.

[Phoenix]

"Whoa whoa whoa put me down, I've got to make sure all of our stuff is alright! I'm his daughter, yes, but I'm not a fan of flying." Gytha quickly tried to do something about the situation but once the two cleared up the misunderstanding, Gytha was set down and unexpectedly tossed the whetstone to her. She barely managed to catch it in her surprise but once she had, it was simply a matter of getting a handle on the situation. Below them the wagon was pretty much surrounded.

Meanwhile as the robed figures closed in, one of them was impaled by Jethro who quickly cut his way through the line and reached his wagon only to find that Raquel wasn't there. "So the wyvern lord has her, huh? Okay I wasn't certain from a distance."

"You there." said the voice of a man almost fully hidden by his cloak. Beside him stood the completely black clad figure who had forged the dark sphere. He quickly removed his hood revealing a young Kigenese man with bright red and silver hair. "Yeah you. With the blade. If you haven't guessed why all this is happening by now, let me tell you. That object you found. Hand it over, or die. I won't say it again." He quickly removed his cloak and chucked it over his shoulder revealing a startling bright red master's robe underneath with a sword sheathed at his side.

"... sword master ... great." Jethro mumbled out sarcastically as he turned to face the man. Meanwhile Raquel looked down at the very object they were seeking, the one she kept with her at all times. It was shining rather brightly. She quickly hid it to make sure it didn't attract any attention from the ground. They didn't know where it was yet, so for the moment she was probably fine. On the other hand, she was contemplating giving them the object. They were monsters if they would cause so much destruction for a single item, but they were also powerful to boot. There didn't appear to be a greater good anywhere just yet.

"What do you want that thing for?" Jethro asked plainly.

"You don't get to ask questions. You get one chance to hand it over." he replied reaching for his sword.

"That so?" he readied his own blood stained sword. "Well it's not for sale, buddy."

"We thought you might do something stupid like this." he shot back drawing his sword. "I've got him. Not sure what you plan to do about those mercenaries though."

"We're not here for the mercenaries, we're here for the emblem. If they and that girl wish to forfeit their lives to me in the meantime well that's fine I suppose." He looked over at the other grunts they had brought along and gave them an affirming nod. They readied themselves to attack anyone who got in their way while they tear apart the wagon searching for what they came for.

OOC: This would be the start of the stat fight, but I'm holding off on that for one more post. Good chance to drag bring people in.

Edited January 8, 2011 by Phoenix

[EchoingPewter]

...Oh they did NOT just interupt my conversation!

Ariost was peeved at these men for interupting his conversation with the merchant.

"You, are going, to...pay, for this!" Ariost didn't sound collected and intellectual now. He sounded sinister and maniacal.

"Eyaha...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Ariost roared with a manic laughter. Dark energy began coursing, outlining his body. His body ascended into the air a foot off the ground.

"I suggest you all leave, NOW, before I unleash even more hell upon you conniving little rats!" Ariost shouted, clearly having lost his mind. Who would've guessed? Ariost suddenly felt a splintering pain sear through his head. His feet touched the ground, and one of his robed hands reached for his head.

"What...nuisances...I must leave..." Ariost muttered, the darkness suddenly enveloped around him, and he vanished with it just moments later. He had left Jethro alone.

~~~~

"I apologize, young lady. However, the best way to keep you...and that medallion, away from them, is up here." Wallace said, his eye catching the brief revealing of the artifact the girl had pulled out. Its bright glow indicated that it must've been why Wolfgang and Ariost had targetted this merchant company to speak with on a job.

"If you are worried about being up here, just, hold onto my waist. I promise you that you will not die in my protection." Wallace reassured the young woman.

~~~~

"That's not good, Ariost got pissed. Well, guess I should give a warning shot. Good thing the chief headed further into town." Hans said from his hiding place. He pulled out an arrow from his quiver and notching it onto his bow. He aimmed it steadily at the robed swordmaster, and aimmed according to the soft breeze and fired it to shoot past the back of the swordmaster's hair. That'd likely make him hesitate.

NOTICE: If you saw the earlier post of Ariost's part, it has been changed to better suit the other RPers. tl;dr, no attack has been made on them now and Ariost was forced to leave.

Edited January 8, 2011 by EchoingPewter

[Kanami]

Seina pushed passed the crowd of spectators barely sustaining her balance, narrowly avoiding falling into the water. Apparently there wasn't any fireworks going off, but some sort of accident had befallen one of the ships. She cause the words "explosion" from the crowd around her. She could also hear people saying something about gunpowder, but the uncertain expressions on the peoples faces indicated it was mere speculation. Another man had gathered around a small audience and was preaching something about the Kigenese and Neviskotians secretly being allies and that the explosion was an attempted act of terrorism. But Seina couldn't really care less. She'd never heard of any plans for Kigen to ally themselves with the outer nations, and trusted her own ears more then the rantings of some tongue waggler.The old man she'd come here with was listening fervently listening murming occassionaly in agreement. And it didn't look like she'd get much out of him now.

"Stupid people and stupid explosion" she muttered sourly before turning around and pushing her way back through the crowd. They might be happy to stare at floating bits of wood all day but she had more important things to do. Though if this countries ships blew up like that frequently, she was rather wary of asking for a ride back to Kigen now.

Either way a place to rest was what she needed first. Tugging at a friendly looking womans clothes she inquired where she'd be able to get a decent room, and was pointed towards the way she had just come down minutes before. It really didn't help that she couldn't read all the signs. Why couldn't these people just learn to write in Kigenese? Mumbling about the stupidity of the people around her she slowly plodded back down the street towards what she hoped would be a good nights sleep.