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Return of The Emblem Chapter One: The Artifact


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Raquel stepped back a bit after handing Gytha the items. She wasn't accustomed to animal commotion and certainly not on a wyvern scale. Domovoi put an end to it quickly though and Raquel sighed. With that it was time for her to do something ... leader-esque. She quickly addressed the group at large speaking so her voice would carry.

"Okay then if everyone's here then we should probably get going. There are some things I need to point out first though. First off, I'm not sure how long this is going to take, but regardless I'm still going to be running my father's business in the meantime. If you're still here during stops in villages, towns, and cities, please remember that I'll be working a lot during those times to buy, sell, and trade weapons and items. Also since you're all helping out I'm going to be giving you all a very large discount on anything available. I'm not selling anything I only have one or two of so keep that in mind as well."

She took a deep breathe and continued. "Also note that there is a monkey in the back of the wagon. He's not harmless. His name is Chip, and he's armed. He won't mess with you as long as you don't try to grab anything while I'm not around. If you do, he's probably going to shoot you. Father taught him how to guard the merchandise so just keep that in mind. Until he's use to you at least. Lastly is payment. I'll be paying you all bi-weekly so all the payouts can be handled at one time. If we end up chasing these guys for awhile I'll increase the pay as my own profits increase." She paused and sighed. "Whew. Anyway, are there any questions before we get moving?" she asked the group.

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After a while, the commotion died down, and the fighters all went their separate ways. Axel left as well, only stopping by a local parish to fix his broken arm. The exchange of gold for healing completed, he found a rather quiet inn to spend that night. The following morning, the soldier returned to the wagon, finding that most of the mercenaries from the day before had returned as well. Having decided to stay out of the discussion as much as possible, Axel leaned on a nearby building as the merchant was trying to organize the group.

"Probably using a flintlock pistol," he said to the wyvern rider, standing up straight. "Those firearms are small enough to use with one hand normally, so it isn't too far-fetched to assume the monkey in question uses it with both hands."

Edited by Snike
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"I've something I apparently need to point out as well: I travel with a cat named Maw. Best t' keep yer animals and yerselves away from 'er. I can't be responsible fer anything that happens t' ye if ye choose not t' listen now. Don't ye be thinkn' 'bout harmn' 'er, niether," Gytha warned, seeing as Maw had been bothered far too much already, "She keeps t' 'erself, so she won't bother anyone s'long as she's not bothered." To Raquel she added, "An I won't be takn' pay. I work on the sea. On land, I'm takn' it easy, so this be from me own convictions. I'm a meriner, not a mercenary." She was grinning again. The smile had faded while she was warning the group about Maw, but of course, it was never absent for long.

Maw remained hidden under the cart. Whatever that thing was, it had gotten far too close.

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"Wait... The Fire Emblem? Do you mean that medallion from the tales of old which the Lord of Earth used to deceive his sibling gods into pooling their power into as madness sapped away his sanity so that he could overthrow them? Yet despite the great power he wielded when he turned on them, he was stopped by a band of hero's from a distant world and forced into hiding? His siblings were then either captured or driven from the world with the Emblem falling into the hands of a warlock who used it to enslave dragons until he slipped up and accidentally set the dragons free? THAT Fire Emblem?" asked Daloth, his eyes wide in shock. "Do you like being set on fire Madame? It's a dangerous little thing! It even has fire in its name!"

That is not the Fire Emblem he's thinking of. It's something else. Something that shouldn't be hard to figure out if you know Warcraft Lore. Barring GM approval, it's complete bull.

Edited by Snowy_One
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"Hey, chief!" Hans ran up to Wolfgang to catch his attention. He redirected his gaze from Domovoi to look at his friend.

"Did you get Jack up?" Wolfgang asked.

"Yeah, I got him. He should be running up soon, I kinda took a spring out of the inn the moment I made sure he was up'n hussli'n." Hans said with a salute.

"Good, he should be able to remember where we met yesterday anyways. At ease, Hans, you have no orders until our next conflict." Wolfgang said.

"You got it, chief!" Hans said, instantly noticing the cat attacking the wyvern. He rushed over and stepped between the two animals without disregard to the others at the moment. He noticed the wyvern had backed away, but he could still see it was glaring at the little cat now behind him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, mister wyvern. I know getting scratched by a cat hurts like hell, but don't take your rage out on the little guy! I mean, look at you, you're menacing to something that small, heck, I'm amazed we can tame guys like you! Now listen, I know it hurts, but I've got some medicine that'll fix it up good as new! Of course, if you'd rather your rider worry about it-wherever he is-that's understandable." Hans said, reaching into one of the pouches at the back of his waist line and pulling out some of his own medicine.

"I'm a little low, but hey, I'd rather get infected than a rider's trusted friend." Hans stated before taking a small step towards the wyvern. He slightly raised the medicine and pointed to the wyvern's scratch.

"Give me a, well, preferably quiet screech if you don't mind me helping ya." Hans hadn't bothered to notice the people around him during this, he was more focused with the problem that was occurring.

Edited by EchoingPewter
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Raquel looked around at the group as a whole and then spoke up addressing all of them again. "Okay then, is everyone ready to go? We're heading to some fortress a ways outside of Sergio. If there's any last minute thing you need to take care of while I get reacquainted with driving. Oh and it'll probably save us time if none of you are on foot so can you maybe find someone to ride passenger with? There's an extra seat up here in the front of the wagon and I think a few people could fit on top or at the edge of the back if necessary. Otherwise just riding with someone would be helpful."

She quickly hopped up onto the wagon and dug around some of the attached bags finally whipping out a little booklet that seemed to be homemade. She opened it to find little hand drawn illustrations and paragraphs of instruction all of which pertaining to the horses and the wagon. "Ugh, these are some really bad drawings, father. I can't tell if that's a hat this guy is wearing or a cymbal someone slammed over his head." she mumbled to herself.

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Gytha was about to offer to just run, but Raquel said it'd be inconveniant. Well, that's the opposite of helpful but I'm not going up into the air. "If ye don't mind, Raquel, I'll be ridn' in yer cart," Gytha stated, waiting for permission before actually entering the wheel-boat.

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"Okay that's fine. You can take a seat next to me, ride on top, or sit in the back behind the cover, just don't go in too far or open anything because ... Chip." she replied before putting her head back into the little booklet. She was starting to make sense of the bad drawings.

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Veronika took a spot in the back of the wagon behind the cover, careful not to get too far into the goods and provoke the monkey. Her conversation with the wyvern rider had been interrupted by the discussion of monkeys and pistols, but she figured it was just as well as she could not properly reveal Pavel's identity due to his potential Guardian Corps status. She had run into similar issues in Neviskotia, Guardian Corps members tended to lose their effectiveness if they could not work in secret. She supposed she would just have to find Pavel herself. Hopefully this quest for the Fire Emblem and bandits and whatnot will lead to him... she thought to herself, fingering the amulet around her neck.

Edited by -Cynthia-
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"Aye, ma'am," Gytha replied before agilely climbing ontot the top of the cart. Maw peaked out from under the cart before jumping from one surface to annother until she reached Gytha and sat down in the mariner's lap.

"A'right, Maw," Gytha hummed gently as she began untying the cat's bandages and set them off to the side, "Lets take care of that socket." Unscrewing the lid to the balm and sliding her finger to take just enough ointment, she began gingerly applying it to the inside of the cat's hollow eye-socket. Maw stayed perfectly still, staring up at Gytha with her one, remaining eye. Once the simple treatment had been applied, Gytha began wrapping the cat's head carefully with the clean gauze. After she'd tied it off, Maw knew it was safe to move again and thusly curled up in the farthest corner from the wyverns on top of the cart, staring intently at the giant beasts from the place she had picked to settle for now.

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Wolfgang shook his head with a smile as he watched Hans try to help the wyvern out.

Damn it, Hans, you need that. Oh well, trying to talk you out of helping someone will be pointless.

Wolfgang hopped onto the cart and proceeded into the back to find Veronika already sitting there. "Lady Rusayev, would you mind if I sat back here with you? If no one else joins you, I'd like to ask about who you're fiance is, exactly." Wolfgang said with a friendly yet serious notion in his tone. What could the man possibly be doing to get himself caught? Was he also looking for the Fire Emblem? Why? He had many questions to ask Veronika on this matter.

Outside the cart, Hans cautiously took one more step, since he had not gotten a reply from the wyvern yet.

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With two people already in the back and one on top, Synthia decided to sit up front with Raquel. She walked around to the opposite side, climbed up on the seat, and asked, “Do you mind if I sit here?”

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After only a minute, Raquel had taken in about all she could comprehend from the little book without getting a bit frustrated with the illustrations. She shut it, stuffed it back into the attached bag near her feet and took up the reins with a sigh. I know enough to get by for now I guess. The horses are going to need a lot more attention starting today though. I can't get careless.

Just then Synthia appeared next to her wanting to know if the seat was available. Raquel nodded saying "Yep. You can sit up here with me if you want."

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Jeanne mounted her pegasus, and prepared to follow the cart. She had enough room for another person, but she had no problem riding alone. It may be easier on Megaera after all.

---

A brief silence. "Um, excuse me?" Seliah responded to Daloth's words. "I had no idea that the Fire Emblem had such powers." He said setting on fire. She said it had fire in its name (which was true). Her hand instinctively tapped on her Elfire tome; she was interested. Now that she thought of it, she never learned very much about the Fire Emblem. All she knew was that it was a historical object of great importance. Could it be...my parents withheld information of its powers because they feared what I would do if I knew? So do they...fear me? A devious grin crept across Seliah's face. She had all the more incentive to snatch the object of legend.

"Um, Mister Daloth," Raim spoke up from his horse, helping pull their carriage. "I'm no historian, but that just sounds incorrect. I don't know how much it actually has to do with fire--ACK!" He narrowly ducked under a small fireball that Seliah had shot at his head (not trying to hit him necessarily). "Cease your babble and pick up the pace!" she demanded of the two knights, glaring back at them and tightly gripping her tome. "I command you to find a city, maybe one of historians...no, cultists may be better...perhaps a mix, or just those who are well traveled...or all of them..." she found herself mumbling to herself. Her guards had stopped listening to her, though they were ready to duck under another fireball at any moment.

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"You may sit here, I do not think anyone else is planning on taking this position," Veronika said, thinking carefully. While Wolfgang was probably someone to be trusted, she also did not want to reveal too much about Pavel's identity unless it was necessary.

She decided to share the same information she had with Jeanne and Nanahm. "My fiancee Pavel is a member of the Neviskotian military who I believe was sent on a mission to recover the Fire Emblem. He has been missing for quite some time now, so I am rather concerned about his safety. I hoped that by searching for the Emblem myself I would locate him, though I have had no luck so far." Veronika said to Wolfgang.

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Hans patted the wyvern's neck gently until he could reach the scratch. He took some of his medicine and applied it to the wound, then grabbed a small bit of gauze and wrapped it up. "There you go." Hans said as he gently patted the wyvern's snout.

"Behave now! I've gotta find a ride!" Hans said. He almost took off again but he stopped as his eyes caught glimpse of...a pegasus. His eyes lit up and he made a mad dash over to the pegasus and its rider. He jumped several feet in the air.

"Whoo! Finally I get to see another pegasus! It's so pretty. Excuse me, miss, would you mind if I rode with you to the bandit fort!? Please, please, please-please-please!?" Hans said, having gotten down on his knees half way through his begging. He would've said it a lot more if Wolfgang likely wouldn't have called him to say he was acting too excited again.

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"I admit, my knowledge of the emblem is lacking and gleaned from the crazed mutterings of drunkards whom have passed out on my lap." admitted Daloth. "Yet I suspect that that is really no more or less reliable in this case than what other information is available without being a historian. According to what I know of actual history, the emblem is over five thousand years old. People can't even remember properly whom they are married too some days. If something happened more than a thousand years ago, people get wildly inaccurate viewpoints about it. For example, just by talking to a woman as young as you, a hundred years from now, people who read about me will consider me a pedophile just for speaking to you! If I had a child, two thousand years from now, people would consider it a hundred page epic of good against evil just because we disagreed on fishing spots. There are people today who think people back then had to be actively reminded not to eat mud and could only manage to live in thatched-roof huts. My version of what happened can't be any more inaccurate than some accounts which have the makers saying 'durrr' every third word."

Daloth sighed in mild frustration as his miniature rant concluded. "Sorry." he said in apology for his rant. "The girl is right though. I would trust the merchants more than the historians or cultists. Historians might know actual fact, but few other people will. Unless you plan to hunt it down and it is in plain sight, you'll here more about the stories of its power than its actual power. As for the cultists, while they might actually know, they might also claim that they're a bowl of cereal in their next sentence."

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The monkey issue was quickly dropped, as the merchant lady offered the many sell swords a lift. Axel clambered on to the wagon, being careful enough to avoid the deeper parts of the wagon. Getting shot was not a pleasant thing, and he wanted to avoid the experience as much as he could. The man was about to get up on top, but it seemed that the sailor swordswoman had beat him there.

"Do you mind if I sit there, miss?" he asked, deciding to move to the back if she said no.

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Completely surprised by the begging the sniper performed, Jeanne could only stare blankly. Huh, I guess anyone can become a hardened, elite mercenary nowadays. "Um, sure," she said, finding herself able to respond. She slid her position to the front of Megaera's back. "Just hop on the back. She can hold weight, but try not to shift around too much." Jeanne neglected to admit that this was only the second time her mount had provided passage for two people. My biggest fear is that he'll fall off...but, he's an elite I guess...

---

A brief silence before Seliah looked over at her guards. "Raim, what did you have for breakfast eighteen days ago?" Surprised by the question, the cavalier stammered. "W-Well...I don't know m'lady. I mean, it's just breakfast, I wouldn't bother to remember it." Seliah clapped slowly. "Excellent. Your intelligence seems to surpass that of a squished cockroach. Now, you couldn't remember it because you said it was unimportant." She began to speak faster; she was feeling rather proud of herself. "Therefore, I deduce that something remembered for thousands of years must be endlessly important. The Fire Emblem must be an object of great power, and thus much controversy." She saw no flaw in her logic, but her guards exchanged glances.

"We can follow your call Daloth, merchants first," Seliah said, returning his attention to him. "They may have heard significant stories, I'm sure they have been around all sorts of people. If we're lucky, they may be well traveled, and have more to share. Perhaps a visit to a library to look for information on the object...a relatively large town would work, but not on a city scale..." she began to mumble to herself again.

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"YES!" Hans shouted as he jumped several feet into the air again as he stood up. Hans walked up to the pegasus and gently patted her neck.

"Don't worry, girl, I'm not very heavy. I'm just glad I get the chance to ride another one of you!" Hans said, going so far as to even hugging the pegasus gently. When he was ready he lightly hopped up onto the back behind Jeanne. He let out a little chuckle.

"Eheh, sorry about that. Ever since I was a kid, I always thought pegasi were really cool. I've only gotten to ride one once before, so this is really awesome to me." Hans told her.

"If I make you uncomfortable, let me know and I'll get off right away." Hans informed the young woman.

~~~~

"Then he is of the Guardian Crops?" Wolfgang said, using the Neviskotian's native language to speak with her further, and lowering his voice. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees as he looked at her.

"Forgive me if I am intruding, but I don't think a regular officer would be tasked with such a mission without a platoon supporting him. Is my estimation accurate?" He asked, hoping Raquel wasn't accustomed to the Neviskotian words if she overheard this.

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Once everyone was accounted for, Raquel took up the wagon's reins and began driving the wagon. She steered around making her way toward the northern entrance. The road beyond that led further into Ursium's heartlands. With the wagon and mercenaries all aorund the same pace, it took around two hours before the fortress finally came into view. Nestled right at the edge of the thick forests leading up into the hills and mountains was a fortress, small, with broken walls, and aging features. It was clearly overgrown even from such a great distance.

"Hey, is that it?!" Raquel called back to hoping Wolfgang or Hans would clarify.

Within the fortress walls ...

Numerous men comfortably drank and argued in the daylight. There were others among them who didn't however, a scattered group of men who stood calmly waiting around, some in robes, and some identical to the bandits in attire. Inside the largest building, three men stood surrounding Jethro, who himself was tied up to a chair at the center of a room. The first two men were Sardis and Hayato. The third was a man wearing a very expensive cloak and glasses.

"You people are working with bandits?" Jethro asked a bit surprised by their apparent standards.

"We gave them two choices. Death or gold. A rather inticing offer, don't you think?" Sardis said with a grin on his face.

"How generous."

Taking a closer look at him, the third man speculated aloud. "Who are you? By the gods I know I've seen you somewhere before, 'Mister Jethro'."

"He is a retired army officer. A good service record from the looks of things." Sardis clarified. "I think he'll be a good candidate for our little indoctrination experiments."

"I see. So I suppose you'll be hauling him with you the whole way, yes?"

"Yes."

There is no way in hell my luck is this bad. I need to find a way out of here. Jethro thought to himself while feeling around his bindings for anything he could exploit. The cloaked man turned and walked over to a nearby table with all sorts of documents strewn about. Removing a small note from and placing it down there, he began looking it over. This of course got Jethro's attention immediately.

"Are you sure you should be looking at stuff like that with me so close by?" Jethro asked trying to annoy them a bit.

"Shush. You're tied to a chair and you're coming with us regardless. There's no risk whatsoever." the man shot back.

"Your funeral." he mumbled.

The alert

Suddenly a panicked bandit came rushing into the room drawing all eyes to him! "Enemies sighted!" he shouted.

"How many and what are their affiliations?" Sardis asked staying rather calm.

"We have no idea. We're still trying to find that out. They're still a ways away. There's at least two wyvern riders ... and a pegasus rider as well. We're not sure they can be anything other than mercenaries."

"Wyverns are virtually nonexistent in Ursium's military and pegasus riding mercenaries aren't that uncommon so I suppose they must be those people from yesterday. One pegasus rider ... and two wyvern riders. There's a wyvern missing but it may be them. Is there a carriage or wagon with them?"

"Yes, we spotted a wagon once we caught sight of the fliers." he said nodding his head rapidly in his nervousness.

"Ah yes, it is definitely them."

The wagon? Oh, honey, no. Just ... no. Jethro thought as he hung his head. The dismay was there, all he needed now was to learn that he wasn't going to be fed on this venture and that would be enough to call this a bad day.

"What do we do?" the bandit messenger asked to the room as a whole.

"Gather your brethren up and face them. They're just mercenaries so there's no need to worry about immediate attention from the military." Sardis explained.

"What if they were sent here by the mil-" "But they weren't." Sardis interrupted. "They're after us due to Jethro ... though I doubt his life is really worth all the trouble they're about to endure just to find we've already left. Send your men to face them. Defeat them and we'll up the payment. Six thousand."

"Six thousand?! Just for killing them?" he asked in utter shock.

"Yes now run along."

"Wait ... you're having us fight them while you escape ... you're lying." he said becoming suspicious.

Sardis rolled his eyes. "Actually I'm staying here for the time being and you'll be receiving your payment from me." said the cloaked man who was already back in his notes checking over things.

"See? We're trustworthy enough. Now get going before they storm the place. Meet them out in the field and don't let any of them pass." he ordered.

The bandit nodded and then left the room. Hayato followed saying "I'll tell the others it's time to scram." Sardis nodded in response.

Meanwhile Jethro was feeling around with his legs trying to see if they were simply tied in one loop, or individually tied. If it was the former, he had a way out, if the latter, he was most definitely not making any escape attempts that would succeed. Sardis turned to the man overlooking the table and said "I'll return shortly to get him before we leave. By the way, if these bandits actually do manage to defeat them, don't let them go through any of the spoils before you do. It was already mentioned but hold them to it, and search that wagon. If you find the piece, take it, and leave them to the remains."

"Of course, of course. As you say, it shall be done. There's no need to fret over it." he replied.

"Hmpf." With that he left the room and shut the door behind him. Jethro immediately went into action and began trying to move his legs around. It was as he hoped, they were tired around the legs all with one loop. Shifting his thighs as far as he could, he managed to lift one leg out from the ropes and as the grip loosened, he freed the other.

"Stop struggling. You won't be able to break ropes simply by wiggling around." the man said without actually looking over. Unaware of Jethro's progress, he focused on the notes. "Hmm ... a new type of cannon platform? ... ... my god, Weyland, you are truly remarkable." Just then, Jethro yanked forward and the chair came off of the floor. He was still tied down to it, but he could move now and quickly rushed the cloaked man slamming into him! They both went flying into the wall and collided with a loud thud. Jethro remained on his feet though and his victim fell to the floor groaning.

"D-dastardly barbarian." he spat up at the man.

"Sorry about this, but I'm not much on being a prisoner ... much less being 'indoctrinated' as your friend Sardis so elegantly put it." Jethro said before angling himself for his next move.

"W-wait! Don't!" he cried back.

"Sorry." Jethro replied before turning to the side and freefalling right onto the man using the side of the chair like a bludgeon. The most force impacted the man's neck and head and killed him immediately. Jethro then rolled over and worked his way onto his feet before standing again and ignoring the pool of blood forming around the man he'd just murdered.

"I've got no way to get out of this chair from the feel of things. They're either going to kill me, or just add this to my list of offenses so I'd better think of something." he said aloud to himself. Looking at the table he thought. Whoa ... what is all this? Documents and ... ... this is no ordinary band of criminals. How on earth did we never hear about them when I was in the military? He used his own face to brush aside a few things he'd already read and kept looking for new information. Why doesn't anyone know this?

As he heard footsteps coming, he quickly grabbed the nearest note with his teeth and ran over to the other side of the room. He dropped it in the corner and then kicked enough dirt and broken grass over it to partially cover it up before returning to the center of the room to face whoever was coming back to check on him. Please ... just let someone find that note. I don't have time to hide anything else. he thought as the door began to open in front of him.

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He is not the only one in our group able to speak Neviskotian. Still, I suppose it is unlikely that people will overhear us. "I do not know for certain, but yes I suspect he is a member of the Guardian Corps as well. This makes his disapperance all the more distressing I fear, if these forces involved with the Fire Emblem are powerful enough to take out Guardian Crops members we are in for quite a difficult task." Veronika said in Neviskotian to Wolfgang, biting her lip.

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