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Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths


Phoenix
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Her comments about pigeons and servants was stated so seriously... Had it been a joke? Yeah, it probably had been. So, Bert dismissed it. It hadn't been funny, especially after they'd lost some people to the Fallen attack... But on to other matters. And other matters had to do with relationships again. She sure sounded resentful of Zach... Of course, he wasn't particularly fond of the thunder mage either, but it wasn't like he didn't think of him as a human like Robin seemed to. That was relationships, though, so, moving on to yet other matters.

Oh, right. So much had happened between his resignation and now that Norbert forgot that most people probably didn't know about it yet. Her comment about hunting her... The heck does she mean by that? She already agreed to teach me... Is that some sort of initiation thing? Well, it was irrelevant anyway, so Bert just got straight to the meat of the matter. "I'm not on Raquel's payroll anymore. I work for Weyland now. So, I'm not going to be travelling with you lot anymore. I guess you didn't know; sorry I didn't mention it sooner."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Weyland seemed to be fairly short-staffed at the moment, but Gytha didn't much mind. If push came to shove, she had her own means of drying off before putting on some dry clothes. On the way to her room, though, the mariner ran into Synthia, who waved, came over, and began writing something in her tome.

"Ahoy, Synthia!" Gytha cheerily greeted, but she somewhat awkwardly stopped there. Synthia was still writing right in front of her and she really wasn't sure how to handle that. So, she just waited for Synthia to do something that wasn't so confusing.

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Robin looked a lot more surprised than Norbert was expecting. Frowning a little awkwardly, he took a moment to figure out how to explain it. In the end, he decided to answer simply. "Raquel's next destination is Neviskotia. If I can't stay out of trouble with the law around here, in Ursium, then how do you think things will go in Neviskotia? I know my limits: I won't be able to keep my temper in that country. And being Ursian, I don't think they'd have any sort of sympathy if I upset the Neviskotians. I could get everyone into trouble. That's why, yesterday, I resigned from Raquel's employ."

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"You do not upset me though and I am Skotian. Well, you did at first but..." she looked down a bit before muttering something under her breath. "Nevermind. Bert, you will no longer be journeying with me than?"

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"If you're still following Raquel around, that's right," Bert affirmed, "And I'm less concerned with upsetting locals than I am with upsetting people who have an army behind them on their own ground. I can not want to upset them all I want -- I know I don't have enough self-control to face them safely yet. They're people who're trying to kill my sisters. It's a consequence of being on opposite sides in a war and having family in the military."

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"I know. I have been afraid for a while that I would have to face my brother, but that has not happened thankfully. I have hated him ever since I was a young child. Before I had even learned my first sentence he was pushing me around, and before I was even ten he was fighting with my dad about how my homeland is horrible. When I came back with my first duck, he came back with calling me an animal murderer and told me how Ursians never had to hunt and lived in nice homes. I knew he was angry at my father for living in Ohka, but even so, he took out his anger on my father, my mother, and me. Said I was nothing but my fathers perfect little girl. When he left, I was so happy that I could finally be... well... Me. And if he returned, I have been afraid of how I would react." she said before giving a deeper sigh.

"Especially since I have become... infatuated... with Ursian men not once, but twice now."

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As Robin talked about her brother, Norbert became a little confused. Didn't she say Wil...something was younger than her? Maybe they were really close in age and she just didn't learn things as quickly as him...? He forgot that detail some, though, as she described how her brother had treated her growing up, he felt his own resentment towards some of his sisters welling up. True, he'd fight hard to protect them, but he'd also fight just as hard against them. Though, to be perfectly honest, there was only one sister at the forefront of his mind, and she could handle herself perfectly well against him, even when he was going all out. One day, Cecelia, I will beat you down so hard that you won't know which way is up! Norbert and Robin's sibling trouble wasn't exactly the same, but it was relatable enough.

The last thing Robin said seemed a little...strange, though. "Weird. You seemed like you really hated Ursians when we first met. I could've sworn that 'Urswine' was your favorite word in Common," he passively noted. I guess she hasn't actually been using it for a while now, though. A little amused, he attempted to clarify, "I don't really care about your relationships, so don't think I'm prying. I just really didn't think Ursians were your type. I can't help but think it's a little ironic."

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"Indeed, it is. As a child and teen I did not think it likely, but yet, here I am, infatuated with two of them. It is nothing but me being stupid and lonely. Besides, maybe I do hate Ursians, but I am smart enough to realize that they are not all swine. Just, hating them is so easy at times. Yet I am sworn to protect one."

Edited by Snowy_One
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Giving a nod towards the redhead, Zach took a seat at the table. "Training eh? Almost everything I know about thunder magic comes from what my mother taught me growing up. She learned a lot while serving in the military back in Skotia, and managed to pass on most of it to me, though I'm still not nearly the mage that she was. Even though I've mastered just about all she taught me, I'm still having trouble with her greatest technique after all these years...."

___

It'd taken a lot longer than he would have liked, but eventually Cyrus had finally made it to the Estate where his new employer was evidently located at... and it'd taken longer still to get past the gates after explaining his story to the guards.

Finally though he managed to get to the stables, stripping the supplies off of Glen and making sure the Wyvern would be well taken care of now that he was out of the storm. "Ya did good Glen, I'll come check on you a bit later all right?" He said patting the big lizard on it's side, getting a snort in response. "Yeah yeah... enjoy your nap, I'll put in a good word with Gwyn for you, maybe she'll bring some apples."

Now he just had to find his way around this place... maybe get some lunch.

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Norbert felt those were fair observations, but lacked an opinion on them, really. Robin knew her motives better than he did -- that was for sure -- so he just went about eating what was on his plate for the time being.

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Robin gave a small chuckle to herself. Of course he was just going to eat instead of thinking to realize it was him. Not that it mattered. They would be going different ways soon and not likely see each other again for a long time, if ever. "Urswine Bert. We will go on separate paths soon, but... well... I would like to wish you well if you will accept it."

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Bert looked up when Robin started talking, swallowing what was in his mouth. By the end of it, though, he was both slightly confused and a little amused. "So, I'm still an 'Urswine' to you, huh?" The way she'd used it sure didn't sound like an insult this time. She was getting better at telling jokes.

"Well, it's not like Raquel's leaving right away, and for all I know, I'm going to be stuck here for the rest of my days," though he began saying it fairly lightheartedly, really, those were some serious points. He really didn't want to be in debt to Weyland for the rest of his life, and he didn't want to be just some servant or something. Besides that, Raquel was about to pull some risky stuff. That distracted him for a moment, thinking more seriously about it. Those thoughts were pushed aside in short order, however, so he could finish his point. "Anyway, wishing someone well isn't something you need permission to do. Even if the other person doesn't want it, it's up to you and what you want to do with your wishes." He'd gone grumpy again, but smiled a little as he finished, "But thanks. I hope you lot get through things intact, too." the thoughtful frown returned "It won't be easy... I don't know what you all will have to face... But give it all you've got! It's the only way you're going to survive, sometimes." And that was from personal experience.

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Dining Hall

"Okay, sure," Suzume nodded, glancing around for a free table. From a buffet to a huge selection of seats. She actually liked this place being relatively empty. Once they sat down, she just had to decide which food to start with ... likely the soup, if only because it wasn't going to get any warmer.

Reign stared at his glass while Zachary elaborated on his training. He eventually won the staring contest with it after the leftover ice began to quickly melt, producing water and a little bit of vapor that couldn't seem to get much higher than the brim of the glass. With the ice melted, Reign downed the rest of the glass' contents and then set it back down.

Study

"No one who can get her out today," Weyland gravely noted. "The point is, if the Wrathites want to stall here, they can. Nothing's stopping them. There's a chance myself or others can eventually secure her release, but if they want information from her ... well they have ways to get it and there's really nothing we can feasibly do about that part of it."

"I'm not going to sit here while they accuse her of being some spy and torture her for information," Glen raised his voice considerably. "I'm already a fugitive anyway, so I'll find a way to sneak in there and get her out."

"And then what? She can't return to a normal life if she escapes," Weyland noted with a scowl. He didn't like where this was going. It was all too cliche and likely to result in some casualties. Then came the part he really didn't want to have to point out for Valter and Glen. "They're not going to do anything permanent; she's a well known figure, so at the very least, they'll hold back while interrogating her."

Glen cocked his head at Weyland while leaning forward, realizing that, in essence, Weyland was saying that she wouldn't be tortured much. Once that sank in, his expression grew bitter. "You can't be serious. Just because they won't leave any marks or lasting damage, you're okay with leaving her in there? She doesn't deserve this!"

Storage

"Well right now I need you for training," Raquel said to Jericho, her smile almost genuine, but the depth of it a little forced. "... after finding a decent place to practice, that is. I guess it's time to ask around, then." She made for the storage entrance, hoping the others were following them, and suddenly realizing that Faatina had left ahead of them already.

Estate Grounds

<"Just avoid her eyes or other soft spots and she won't jump to any conclusions,"> Haythem explained with a big smile. He was glad Isis wasn't too sensitive about that sort of thing. After all, she took up a lot of space living in an urban environment. Being touched even when not being tended to was almost inevitable. <"Uh, she's not shy, herself though, so try to keep that in mind ..."> he hastily added, figuring Nadya deserved a heads up. Isis rarely took an interest in humans, but when she did, they could expect to be inconvenienced until her curiosity was sated.

Dark Hallway

Io disappeared back into her room momentarily and returned wearing her cloak before stepping out and shutting her door. "Let's be off, then," she said, listless and already walking off down the hall.

Hmm ... no, just save it til we get there, Shadrak told himself. With that, he was right on Io's tail.

The Outer Chamber

Finally, they got there, the outer chamber. In the center of the large dome shaped chamber was another dome, the same one housing the archives. There were still rune knights about, the door guardians, Koray and Tuncay were nowhere to be seen, and the archive doors were closed. Io had cleverly allowed Shadrak to pass her up as they arrived, making it easier for her to attempt to leave, since he wouldn't be able to literally stand in her way ... glaring. "Okay, have fun," Io said, turning to leave.

"Hold it," Shadrak swung around and carefully placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you just stay here for a minute?" he said, wording it like a suggestion, but it sounded more like a poorly veiled trick.

"You'll just end up getting distracted," Io warned. Shadrak gave a confused look to that, not sure what she meant or how to respond.

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"This place is as welcoming as it was earlier..." Eva said with a small look about. The two knights they'd fought were gone, which was once again, slightly disappointing. Eva tried to think back to how they'd opened the door before, but after everything that had happened during the day, she couldn't quite put her mind on the specifics. To be fair to her, plenty had happened. It was still annoying, though, that she couldn't remember. And as Shadrak tried to get Io to stay, Eva felt like being blunt to why he wanted her around. "He thinks you're Nyx," she said aloud, still staring at the door, "which is why he wants you around. But she's right, if you focus on that, you'll just waste time instead of figuring out this door again."

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Dining Hall

"Well, I'm sure you'll be able to learn it eventually. I don't recall most people being considered masters of anything under the age of 30," Veronika assured Zach. She didn't ask about the details of the technique since she doubted she could understand the explanation.

Workshop

"It's coming along nicely now that we have the parts and aren't being distracted by attacks and whatever else. We're probably still a few days off from completion though," Connor answered Axel.

Estate Grounds

<"Works for me,"> Nadya answered, extending her hand to pet Isis's neck rather cautiously, rubbing over the leathery skin. Feels kinda different, but not bad, she thought to herself.

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A Man Called Gar

He'd have liked to pull the seat out for Suzzy Q but his hands were tied so oh well. Though in retrospect he might have done it with his feet. Well, either way he put her soup down, tossed the flowers on the floor and pulled out his own supplies. An apple(of course), some salted pork, a waterskin and a small slice of bread. He brought out his cutlery knife and made his own little sandwich to go with things. Never the best meal(except the apples) but good enough!

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Speaking of distractions, the earth mage was paying attention to the conversation as well. Well... it was an interaction at the least, maybe not a full blown conversation that she's used to. Either way, she decided to take things into her own hand(s), and in a tired sounding voice, "Let her go back to her nap, we're imposing enough as is..." Mushirah tugged lightly on his sleeve to hopefully drive home the point.

Aneda, meanwhile, was scratching her head, confused at the proceedings. Place seemed big and there were some knights about, she surmised that that was what was fought earlier, and she really didn't see the big deal. Maybe it's more than meets the eye, seeing is believing and a bunch of other bullshit.

Well that was pleasant. Jericho mused, still miffed at his own inability to actively take part in the actual job but still more than willing to help out as he followed after Raquel.

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"That's enough out of you." Arietta noted sharply, placing herself between Glen and Weyland once again.

"You came here for Boss' help and he gave it to you. You got the voice of reason that's telling you not to rush in there blind and throw your life away for no avail. Hell if you ran in now like a madman, they'd just have excuses to give it to her worse than she'll get already. Now sit down and level yourself out before you do something you'll regret and I have to knock you unconscious." The bodyguard continued, the harshness in her words fully intentional.

"Boss'll come up with something, he's a genius and a half... but if you screw it all up by doing something stupid, what good will it do?"

Edited by Ether
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"Indeed. It will not be easy. Keeping Raquel happy is not a task I can accomplish, and there are many better suited for it than me. All I can do is shoot things. Still, if you are worried about me and wish me well, that is... nice." she said, looking down as a small twinge of red crossed her cheek.

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Dining Hall

Suzume glanced down at the flowers Gar had put on the floor, wondering if they were really going on a grave or something similar. After that bit of musing was done, she got a look at Gar's sandwich. There hadn't been a selection of pork among the sandwiches but if there were she had no doubt it would have been delicious. She started with the soup since it really wasn't going to get any warmer, and she wasn't disappointed with the taste, in fact, it was so good that it more or less made her forget about her past musings. "This is great. How's yourssss ...?" she held the word a little too long as she turned to Gar, suddenly remembering that he wasn't having what she was having.

Meanwhile at the table with the empty liquor glasses ... "The army's probably getting close to perfecting their own method, at least," Reign noted after Veronika. "Give them a few more decades and they'll be churning out elemental masters in just a couple of years. They probably won't be completely sane, but that won't make them bad fighters."

Study

"Is that all you people know how to do in the end?! Threaten other people?! Whatever he comes up with is meaningless if the wrathites have their way with her first," Glen fired back.

"Would you rather she be held indefinitely?" Weyland raised an eyebrow at Glen. "People might ask questions but eventually they'll lose interest. After that, the wrathites could keep her locked away in the cathedral indefinitely. No one's going to care after enough time passes, and if they turned to violence so readily just to bring her in, then nothing short of violence will see her released that quickly. I might still be able to get her released in a timely manner, but it would be much easier however, if I wasn't implicated in any 'incidents' happening beforehand," Weyland explained, a forced calm about him.

"Violence ... a rescue mission? Hmm," Steinn feigned his musing, "you might as well, I suppose. You would be saving us all an undue distraction and fulfilling your own sense of justice. I can endorse something like that."

"And who are you?" Glen bitterly asked, about ready to storm out if this didn't amount to anything.

"Steinn Devlinos, Prince of Corvus. Soon to be Emperor of Corvus." As Weyland buried his face in his palm, Steinn let a small smirk emerge. The Fallen Prince was perfectly fine with letting Glen jump to conclusions if it would get this problem off of their hands. He was a dead man anyway, as far as Steinn was concerned; he was someone who should be fleeing Europa with all haste, but was instead desperately trying to help someone else.

"W-what ...?" Not too far off from what Steinn was expecting, Glen was shocked. Having remembered that 'Corvus' was a name that referred to the Fallen in some way, he was dumbfounded to realize that Weyland was actually involved with the heir to that evil throne. How were they supposed to get help from someone involved with those monsters? He was even beginning to wonder if Weyland was wholly responsible for last night's attack.

Training Room

The training room. That was where they wound up after speaking with one of the maids out in the hallway. The room was somehow both smaller and larger than Raquel had expected, or perhaps a different shape. She'd expected the ceiling to be much lower than it was and the walls to be farther apart. After thinking about it a little, she figured there was more than enough room for what she needed to experiment with, though she still couldn't help but wonder what room was directly above this one.

"This place should work. I can't do any ... 'range' testing, but I can still do what I mainly needed to practice, taking someone into a warp and leaving something of theirs behind. If that works then I also want to try warping more than one person at a time-" Good thing she'd brought Jericho and Erion, "-and if that works, I'll try warping more than one person while leaving something of theirs behind. If nothing goes wrong, then that means I should be able to handle one or two things going wrong during the mission."

Estate Grounds

Haythem smiled again as Nadya began stroking Isis' neck. Isis didn't seem to mind one bit. It was pretty important that the two of them got along, so it was more a sense of relief causing Haythem to smile than anything else. <"I think we're off to a good start. Just make sure you stop by to pay her a visit everyday and she'll figure out what's going on. I think the command training might also help drive home the point.">

The Outer Chamber

"That would be nice, I think," Io dejectedly mumbled after Eva. "I doubt her sleep is interrupted this often."

"And I doubt vasili actually need 'sleep'," Shadrak muttered. After that, he turned to Mushirah. "We don't know how to get the door open, not for certain at least ... and even if the person we're here to see isn't actually her, she's still our best chance for getting the thing open without wasting too much time."

"I think you're confused," Io said. "If I'm Nyx, then that means I'm the source I warned you about, earlier. If that's the case, then why are we even going to the archives at all? Clearly I already have all of your secrets and am more than capable of giving you what you want in exchange for them, regardless of where we are."

"Then, can you do that now, please?" Shadrak irritably asked. "I already assumed you and she were the same and you're not doing much to change my mind since you know so much about this and the way she operates."

"And I recall warning you about making assumptions ..." Io eventually pointed toward the archive door, and just before it began to open, she sighed. "By the way, I was being hypothetical." As the archive doors moved away from each other, the same scene from earlier unfolded again. The archives were just as they'd left them, and Nyx was at the top of the mountain of books, sitting on that bench again, looking down on them with a hint of irritation. "I'm not the source. She is," Io concluded.

Well ... at least Shadrak had been right about Io making the door part easier. He was hesitant to give up on his theory just yet, but was running out of ground to stand on. Still, he glanced back and forth between them a few times. Nyx was still a fair distance away, and might not have even been real. Nadine was also still in the archives, but she was sitting on a different bench by this point, the one directly at the base of the mountain of books, beneath Nyx. Much as she wanted to continue reading, the huge distraction of the archive doors opening up overcame her and she let the book down in her lap momentarily. Shadrak got it in his head that he might be able to ask her if Nyx had been acting strange but suddenly realized that he actually was getting distracted by all of this. "Urgh, never mind. First thing's first," he said, starting a bitter march toward the throne of books.

Complex

Gabbie didn't waste any time after being released and ran off looking for Anna, leaving Cassandra and Burke alone in the rain. Turning to Burke, Cassandra said, "Is that all? You just came to make sure I didn't do anything to Gabbie?"

"I suppose ...? Think whatever you want, girl. I really don't care. Just keep your cover intact ... aaand try not to die." With that, Burke turned around and walked off, going back the way he came, leaving Cassandra on her own again.

"... they're supposed to be my allies but what does that even mean when I'm stuck here and they can go anywhere and do whatever they want?! Argh!" She stormed off back toward the building, having given up on going after Anna. "I had no idea it was going to be like this ... or that it would feel this awful ...."

Edited by Phoenix
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"No one can keep that woman happy," Norbert corrected, both suddenly more frustrated and looking more tired. "Maybe getting her father back will fix things, but it might not. It's like she's determined not to be happy...and to put herself at risk...even if she's useless...which, in turn, makes things that much harder for those of us who're trying to protect her."

He sighed in frustration, remembering his fruitless attempts to keep her safe in the past. Then, he ate a bit more of his sandwich. Truth be told, it was almost gone. After swallowing, he added, "I'm glad she's actually able make a difference in her own fights now, though."

It wasn't until just then that he noticed it. "Huh? Hey, are you alright?" Her face is weird... Is she sick? Maybe she eat something that doesn't agree with her.

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Eva quickly took a step back as the doors started to open. She'd have gotten them pushed into her face, since she'd been staring at them so closely. Inside was almost the same scene as before, minus a few actors. Though that girl who'd stayed behind with Nyx was still there. I wonder what immortality feels like... Well, I don't wonder enough to try it. She stepped aside to let Shadrak in first, and slowly walked in after him. "Sure is nice and...booky, in here. Have a nice nap, Io," she called back out of the room. "Seems you were wrong, eh, Shaddy? Unless you still think they're connected. In more than an obvious way, I mean."

Edited by I have opinions
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"I see.Well, let's hope we have a quiet few days, then," Axel said, as he turned to leave. "Good luck with it, either way."

***

Cassandra, can you hear me? This is Uniter. If you can hear this, please respond through thought.

Edited by Snike
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A Man Called Gar

"Could be better," he said. "Have to preserve the meat so it's usually more for sustenance than taste. Apples tasty as ever though." He took a bite of the fruit and swallowed. "Yours?"

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Dining Hall

"Powerful mages with questionable sanity sounds like a poor combination. If this training is so bad, shouldn't someone petition the king about it?" Veronika asked Reign. Truthfully, she was more concerned about how this might affect the Neviskotian army, but having Europa or Ursentius burnt down by insane mages was also not a pleasant thought.

Workshop

"Yeah...I hope your mission goes well. Let me know if anyone needs any equipment upgrades, from the sound of things you all might need it," Connor replied to Axel hesitantly.

Estate Grounds

<"Will do- I'm sure the two of us will be friends in no time,"> Nadya said encouragingly, stroking Isis's neck a little more before stopping. <"But speakin' of people I need to see, I've got someone special in the stables waitin' for me. I'll be seein' both of ya soon, no doubt,"> she said, handing Haythem's cloak back to him.

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