Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[Ether]

"Hatching a plan up there, Boss?" Arietta asked, already pretty much aware of the answer... more people at one's disposal at times like this was always a boon, after all.

***

"You, nervous? I don't think I'll ever see the day." Faatina jabbed back with a smile.

"I figured atleast one of us should be, if I know one thing is the same in Sanctuary as everywhere else, it's how damn fast rumours can spread." The paladin continued... if she didn't put on a strong face now she'd never see the end of his teasing.

Edited June 26, 2014 by Ether

[Mercakete]

Now seemed like a good time to test out her voice again. "So, you're all going to Kigen?" It was still a little quiet, but it seemed like Nadya's healing and the vulnerary had done the trick.

"I'm glad to hear you're doing better, but what was wrong in the first place?" There was so much to comment on, but this one took priority at the moment, Valter felt.

"When we went to the cathedral to find an emblem piece, we had to fight some knights. My throat was damaged in the fight, but I'm fine now. And there wasn't actually an emblem piece there, either," Synthia explained, not really feeling like going into too much detail. It just wasn't worth it.

Valter frowned, but he figured he wouldn't get anything more out of the mage, so he didn't bother. Instead, he returned his attention to Glen, "That would be helpful. Are you going to wait with the supplies?"

"Well?" Synthia impatiently questioned.

Valter glanced her way again. Why was she glaring at him like that...? Oh, right. "Joanna was captured by the Wrathites. We're going to rescue her, but we'll have to flee Ursium to make sure she's kept safe. Otherwise, the Wrathites could capture her again." He didn't want to point out the gruesome end those protecting her could come to, but it was also a good reason to get out of the country.

"Oh. I s'pose that'll be soon, then," Gytha mused aloud. The news was sad, but she knew it would be coming eventually. That didn't stop her from expressing the way she felt about it, though.

Synthia was surprised that Valter wasn't going to be going with them, though, and unlike Gytha, she wasn't so clearly wearing her heart on her sleeve. She was frustrated that Valter hadn't told her sooner, but then again, this seemed to be a recent development. The mage figured she probably shouldn't be too surprised, though, since it was Valter's job to protect people like Joanna. Even so, she thought he'd been an official member of Raquel's company all this time. Was that not true?

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"One big old blast to get everyone important and that'll crash the building down after," Gar explained. "With Raquel zipping in and out grabbing people they'll be confused and probably try and group up so no one randomly gets picked off." Not that it's relevant really. "The bombs will only go off once everyone's clear."

But there was something else he needed to make clear first. "Just to remind everyone here, my goal is to get after whoever was trying to backstab me. And until I have a better lead I'm sticking by Raquel because of that, regardless if she goes on the warpath or goes back to whatever she was after this. So I don't personally care about these guys unless they end up being connected to whomever was trying to mess with me. In which case they're going down. Hard."

[-Cynthia-]

Dining Hall

"Yep, if we're gonna be angerin' Wrathites by takin' their prisoners, we should get in and get out as quick as we can. Guess that means I'll be sayin' goodbye to some of y'all soon, assumin' some of ya are stickin' with Raquel," Nadya noted, primarily to Gytha.

Training Room

"I would not hold it against you if you chose to stay with your father rather than continue to fight the Organization, but I respect your decision to see this through to the end," Veronika responded to Raquel's statement. That answers that question I suppose. "What more needs to be done to prepare for this operation?"

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"On my end I need to get the explosives, really," and a bunch of belts, string and a cloak. "Which is half why I came here."

[Snike]

"I know. But if the Avatar of Wrath wanted to do that, last night he would've insisted on you staying in Europa,. You have emblem abilities anyways, so it wouldn't make any difference if you have a piece or not at this point," Blake said, simply.

When Raquel added that she was going to see the downfall of the organization, he hid his surprise. "... I respect your decision. As for preparations, aside from Gar's, we need to know who will be helping with the arrival to and escape from the complex. I also need a definitive answer about the Wrathites."

[Mercakete]

Synthia was almost tempted to go with them. Valter may have seemed a little oblivious and aloof, but he was still her childhood friend, and he was about to get himself into some serious trouble... They weren't kids anymore, though. They were full-grown, responsible adults, each perfectly capable of taking care of him- and herself. Valter had a responsibility to look after and protect Joanna and he was perfectly capable of doing that without her help. Likewise, she had her own responsibilities with Raquel, being both in charge of finances and being one of the mercenaries the pink-haired woman had hired. With Nadya leaving, as she seemed to be, the healers travelling with Raquel were going to have to step it up. She couldn't leave. Not now.

Besides all those practical reasons, there was another, glaring one right beside her. Gytha had given Nadya a sorry smile, and told her, "Oh, so yer leavin', too. Well, good luck." then stuck out her hand for the Nomad to shake. Given Gytha's blatant focus on the group as a community, Synthia had no doubt that the mariner sincerely felt sorry for Nadya's leaving. She also knew, however, that more than that, Gytha's spirits were down because she would have to say goodbye to Amon again. Gytha had trusted her enough to share with her her life story, yes, but she knew that she wasn't on the same level of friendship with her as Amon was. Gytha had a hard time after Sanctuary. Synthia hoped that Gytha wouldn't get depressed again when Amon left for Kigen.

In response to Nadya, she said, "Well, Amon, you seem like you'll be fine out there." Then, to Valter, she ordered, "Don't let yourself die, okay?"

Valter nodded to Synthia. "I don't plan to." He was a little puzzled that Nadya was coming with them, though. She didn't normally do anything unless you were paying her. Did Amon offer to hire her earlier or something? He wasn't complaining, but...

As it turned out, Synthia was pretty accurate with regard to reading Gytha. The mariner was sad to see their group lose members, but she was especially upset at having to say goodbye to Amon again so soon. She knew this was coming, but it still bothered her. Besides that, she was worried. Worried about Amon and the dangerous mission he was going on, yes, but also worried about herself. She was afraid of making a similar mistake back at the fort, when she'd challenged Sylvia. She didn't know what she didn't know, but what if something like that happened because of it? What if the consequences were greater this time? When he was around, Amon always looked out for her, explaining things to her to help her keep out of trouble. With him gone...how much of a liability might she become? Would she alienate herself from her crewmates even further, when what she really wanted was for everyone to be united?

[-Cynthia-]

Dining Hall

"Good luck to y'all too," Nadya said to Gytha, shaking the offered hand. "Try not to do anythin' too reckless- I think Raquel's gonna need all the help she can get," she advised the mariner.

Training Room

"Well, I'm going," Veronika said simply, unsure of how many people were willing to come and how many they should take. "Won't there be a problem with the Wrathites if any of them get caught in the blast?" she asked Blake- perhaps he had a plan for that she was unaware of.

[Phoenix]

Dining Hall

"I guess there really isn't any other choice. I infuse tomes and imbued weapons, I don't have enough practice to actually fight with them," Glen admitted bitterly when asked if he was going to stay with the supplies once they were gathered. "That said, you people better not take things easy, here. You have to help her on my behalf, too."

Amon wasn't even sure what that meant, but for now, he supposed he could agree to that. Trying hard was usually how things went, anyway. As the rest of the conversation progressed, it became clear that they would be saying their goodbyes even sooner than he expected. He sighed, realizing he was beginning to hate goodbyes in general, if only due to the sometimes somber atmosphere they created.

"Well, I'd better get to it. While I'm off looking into this supply issue, you might want to get the rest of this plan sorted," he advised Amon.

"Yeah ..." Turning back toward the main discussion right now, the looming farewells, he said, "We'll be fine ... but just the same, we should probably try to get a better understanding of the cathedral's layout and the way it's guarded before we actually try this, and that's going to take a little while."

Study

"I suppose you could say that," Weyland nodded without taking his eye off the list. There were a few over ten people. "Since they're here, I might reassign some of them for the time being. The situation is urgent, after all, but I'll be sending someone back to Ursentius with more orders to give as well. We need to put together a gate team for this region as quickly as possible."

"Gate team, sir?" Vivian hadn't the slightest ...

Steinn glanced at Weyland and then to Vivian said, "There are three large devices, one for Ursium, one for Neviskotia, and one for Kigen. If they are not destroyed, these three countries will be overrun. Even if they aren't, if even one of the gates is opened, things will change forever."

"The world's changing by the second, Steinn; it can't be helped," Weyland replied, still looking at the list in his hand. "At this point, the best we can reasonably hope for is that we aren't bowled over."

"What I'm saying is that once one of the gates open, there'll be too many kestrelii in those areas to completely root them out. They'll own it," he explained, his gaze becoming even more serious. "Kestrelii will quickly become natives to any region a gate is opened in. Even if your people win the 'war', they'll be fighting holdouts and their children for generations."

Weyland didn't say anything else right away, but he honestly didn't mind that outcome too much. A more consistent, potent, and tenacious threat was better for the company and developing new technology. It would also be much easier to keep the fallen smuggling shenanigans under wraps if there was a sudden infestation that no one could really do anything about. The war itself, if it really came to that, was going to be awful, though.

Training Room

"It's a pretty big building, but whatever," Gabbie shrugged.

"And I still need to determine what I can and can't do with what energy I still have so we know how far we can take all of this," Raquel said after Gar noted that he still needed to get the bombs. He was being slightly more open with the plan than before, but that may have been due to circumstances and the fact that they had less time to prepare. There weren't really that many people around right now, either. To Blake, she said, "I'm not sure if he knows that I actually need the energy just to function, though."

"Well he probably does, now," Gabbie muttered. Seriously, was there some secret plan to manipulate the wrathites through blatantly discussing battle plans in front of their new eyes and ears that she wasn't privy to?

"But yeah," Raquel followed up after Veronika, "if we bring the wrathites, won't they just get caught up in the explosions, too?"

"Ohhhh myyyy goooooods," Gabbie groaned, not sure how much more of this she could take.

Faatina's Room

"You should have seen me a few seconds before I wound up needing this," Reign pointed to his damaged eye and the ebon patch covering it. "I stopped caring about rumors myself while I was still at the academy. Talk to two different women within a month of each other and clearly a harem is in the works," he smiled to conceal the bitterness of it all. "So you can imagine what people thought when you actually worked hard and trained with those same women. Still, I figured it better to be unclear about this whole massage thing ..."

He took a moment to look at the palm of his hand. It was a lot rougher than it used to be. After surviving the opening days of the war, working on ships, and wandering dangerous streets and clinging to walls for balance, he suddenly wasn't so inclined to touch someone else with these same hands. Whether or not this happened, his gloves were going back on the second they were finished here.

Edited June 27, 2014 by Phoenix

[Ether]

"Once they get the foot in the door, they'll keep it there unless you tear the damn thing off... figures." Arietta noted with a scowl.

***

"I suppose, but then it is a school, those places tend to breed nests of rumours... the littlest of things was enough to cause an uproar when did my studies, too..." Faatina replied with a smile.

"That's likely for the best, in the end. Certainly better than screaming it to the heavens at any rate." Faatina concluded, before going back to his previous remark.

"And to think I missed it... I'll never get another chance like that you know... now, uhh... turn around for a minute, and make sure the door is closed." The paladin noted, finally getting to the heart of the matter... if she could get past the beginning of all this, chances are it would end up fine.

[Mercakete]

Gytha gave Nadya a half-hearted smile and a nod. She agreed -- the fewer crew members they had, the more the others would have to work. More than that, though, Nadya's mentioning of not doing anything reckless caused Gytha's worries to spike. How would she know what these land-folks considered "reckless?"

Noticing Gytha was getting increasingly uncomfortable, Synthia mentioned to her, "Well, they seem like they have plans to make. Let's go get some dinner." Then, to Amon and Co., she wished them well with a "Good luck." Then, she walked off towards another table further away.

Gytha gave Synthia a nod, figuring she mage was right: at this point, it was better to leave Amon and the others to their planning. The time for goodbyes had more or less come and gone. So, she looked dead into Amon's eyes and gave him a solemn nod. "Goodbye, Amon... N' good luck." She managed to force a grin as she added, "I'll see ye again." Then, she followed after Synthia.

Valter glanced after Synthia and Gytha. They were already gone... There were other, more pressing matters to talk about, though. He nodded to Amon's note. "That's why I think we need that information Bert said he'd get: an update on how Joanna's doing and where they're keeping her. But that could still change if we talk to the Mercites first. Honestly, I don't see why we can't get going right now, or at least as soon as we decide who's going to come show us where the supplies will be waiting. Glen can handle the supplies issue while we go to the cathedral, and then we just have to send someone in ahead of us to stir up the Mercites into taking action. We just have to wait for the signal to head inside and take over from there. Once we have Joanna, we need to get out of there and follow the dispatch from the supplies so that we can meet up there and then get out of Europa."

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

Meanwhile, soaked to the bone and breathing heavily, Norbert finally caught sight of the whole reason he'd dashed out into the rain. Rizen whinnied in excitement and trotted over as Norbert finally slowed to a stop and rested his hands on his hips. In spite of the frustrated glare he fixed her with, Rizen was just glad to see he'd escaped the predators, too, and nosed him affectionately. Bert heaved a sigh at this and shook his head. "Riz..."

Rizen cocked her head thoughtfully. Why was he saying her name like that? Normally, he sounded like that when he was upset about something, but not the angry kind of upset. As she puzzled over it and he caught his breath, she began to worry that they might go back to where the predators were.

Norbert raised his gaze from the ground to Rizen, then he walked over to her side and mounted up. "I'm sorry about the wyvern being in the stables. That must've scared you." As he spoke, he began riding Rizen back towards the manse. She was a little nervous, but hearing Norbert talk like this helped. "It's not your fault. You're a wild pegasus, and I have to say, I'm grateful for it. You can assess dangers and act on your own if you have to. You protect the both of us and... Well, you just wouldn't be you if you didn't act the way you do." He thought back to all the times her wild and free personality had caused him trouble, but also all the times that it'd saved his life. It was the unpredictable antics that, in part, defined who Rizen was: a free spirit, a fighter, a true friend... It was still amazing to Norbert that she chose to stay with him and worked with him. She wasn't trained, so really, if she wanted to, she could just fly away. She never did, though.

Something was clearly on her rider's mind. He only took this tone with her when there was. He continued, "You know, Riz, sometimes I just can't help but think that you understand me better than anyone. Sounds kind of dumb from the outside, but that's because they don't know what we've been through. They don't understand." He smiled as Rizen gave a small, jovial sound. "Heh. Yeah, I think so, too. ... Thanks, Riz. You know, you're a great listener. And even with how much I complain, you always stick with me and you make me feel better. You're one special pegasus: ...my longest-standing ally." Rizen gave a soft bray. Indeed, no pegasus was luckier than she. Without her rider, she never would have lived a life this full, and there was still a lot more to come. She could feel it. And for now, her fears were forgotten, as they always were when she had her rider in the saddle. She felt completely safe, even with the predators ahead and the storm all around them. So long as they looked after each other, as they had for so long now, Rizen was sure that they could survive anything.

[Snike]

"They won't be caught in the explosion if they know ahead of time that the Organization is desperate and would be willing to try something like that," Blake said, looking away, "And any survivors could be caught and interrogated. As for the energy, we did talk about a condition last night."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"It'll be a pretty big explosion," Gar grinned as he imagined the sight. Oh yes.

[Phoenix]

Dining Hall

It's still a little early for us to be leaving ... but I guess it's safer to say goodbye now rather than risk missing the chance later, Amon mused. "Yeah," he replied to Gytha with a nod before holding up the gem she'd given him before. "We will." Malik had just a split second to see the thing before it disappeared in Amon's fist.

Once she'd left with Synthia, he turned back toward Valter. "Do we even know where Bert is right now? Honestly, though, we should probably stay away from the cathedral ourselves until it's time to move in. We'll be too obvious just waiting around inside or out in the plaza. Maybe somewhere nearby in town, but definitely not in plain view of any of the clergy. We also need to make sure everyone who's coming with us is ready well in advance."

"I'll be honest, too," Malik spoke up, "I don't think we have enough people for this. I suppose in the ideal outcome, just a few of us would sneak in and grab her and the emblem, but they just took her a little while ago didn't they? So there isn't a doubt in my mind that she's under heavy guard, which means we have to fight if we do this any time soon, and we're severely lacking in fighting power with Fizza missing. A few fighters isn't going to be enough when they can just cut off our escape route, box us in, and whittle us down to nothing."

True enough, they'd tried something similar in the past, Amon was reminded.

"Then there's the issue of the emblem being in a completely different location which it, in all likelihood, is. We're shorthanded enough without splitting up, but if we don't split up to find that thing then it'll take even longer to pull this off, giving them more time to block any and all escape routes. I think we should use this time to try and get a few more people to help us and not rush into this."

"Either way, whoever's going to go stir up trouble at the cathedral should probably head out as soon as possible."

Study

"If you'd seen our homeland with your own eyes, you'd understand that desperation," Steinn noted. "It can be absolutely maddening for them to see a world beyond Corvus, one overflowing with natural riches. That is worth fighting for. That is worth dying for."

Training Room

Well this was getting dark and less clear by the second. Gar hadn't really answered either version of the question Raquel or Veronika had asked and Blake seemed pretty confident that the wrathites wouldn't get caught in the blast. Before she could say anything to that, Gabbie threw up her arms and said, "So you guys and the wrathoites will just miraculously survoive while everyone else will miraculously doie. How ... miraculous."

"Yeah, I'm confused," Raquel finally replied.

Faatina's Room

The idea of just putting his patch over the opposite eye quickly occurred to Reign as a bit of a joking workaround to him not seeing what Faatina was about to do. Still, any hope he had left that she wasn't going for a full back massage and would spare him the awkwardness of having to use his bare hands on her skin were dashed when she asked him to turn around and make sure the door was closed. Oh well, he decided. He might have a solution for this anyway. As he turned around, he said, "If it's the full treatment you want, I should probably go and grab a couple of things, first: oil, a few towels, those sorts of things."

[Ether]

"I can understand that, but it doesn't make it any less of a pain to deal with from the other side. Either way, it just means we've gotta destroy it before it's ready to use, right? Tryng to weed out holdouts is something to worry about after, if we end up fighting off an invasion in the first place." Arietta replied with a sigh.

***

"Hmm... that might be a good idea, huh?" Faatina replied, pausing before beginning to peel off her layers.

"Are you sure you know where to find them,. though? I mean, towels would be easy enough at the baths but that other stuff?"

[Snike]

"I was implying they would be directed to fight the organization on the outside of the complex, until the explosion happens," Blake said, frowning. "And, if the explosion is going to completely collapse the whole building, I think we should focus on not getting ourselves caught in the blast."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"It's why one of my titles is 'Miracle Man'," Gar gave an utterly shameless smile. "Just keep the dopey wrathites away long enough for the place to come crumbling down. And if any get a bit too zealoty and run inside that's their fault."

[Phoenix]

Study

"It's all really up in the air at this point," Steinn shrugged deeply and held the pose for a second, "Even with the ideal areas pinpointed, there is still a great deal of ground to cover, and not nearly enough manpower to ensure their destruction."

"You know, I'm still a little surprised that you're willing to destroy these gates before any of your people get through," Weyland noted, feeling that despite the threat of annihilation being justified after something like that, it might be worth the risk for the fallen to have a better livelihood; those stuck in Corvus would be free of overpopulation for a few generations and those in the outside world would be able to establish new settlements and lives for themselves. They would be fighting for every inch of land they could claim for themselves, but what settlement didn't have its problems coming up?

"My people are going to suffer mightily for their ambition in the near future regardless of whether or not those gates unleash our armies. The difference is that the bitter taste of a great opportunity lost and a quick return to the norm is nothing compared to the wrath of this entire continent's people as well as that of their aptly named god."

Training Room

"No, it's your fault for blowin' up a complex just to avoid a skirmish, ya collateral bastard," Gabbie grumbled. "I'm just gonna go now. Not sure getting Ayano involved in this is such a good oidea anymore." This is not gonna be pretty and apparently one of our own people is mixed in there with the rest of them. I don't give a damn about the wrathites, but someone needs to make sure she gets out of there in time ....

"So," Raquel spoke up again, "we're assuming they'll stay put just outside the building ... while fighting with Sardis' men? I'm still confused; if they know what we're up to, wouldn't they either try to stop us or at least get there first? Or-" "Or rightfully label us as a bunch of maniacs after we level a building in the city," Gabbie bitterly added before heading for the door. Much as Raquel hated to admit it, this would probably be the meanest, most violent thing they'd ever do while fighting the organization. Still, if they fought them fairly, they were sure to have some fresh casualties. That still wasn't worth what little honor was left in this rescue campaign, she told herself. "I just don't think they're going to cooperate with us ... they always have to have things on their terms ...."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Did I miss the part where this building was somehow essential for the fate of mankind or something?" This was almost becoming annoying wondering why everyone was so against it.

[Mercakete]

When Amon spoke up again, Gytha turned her head to look at him. That was when he showed that gem: the blue gem she'd received at the festival in this very city, then later gave to him as a token. That, coupled with the determination in his last statement gave Gytha far more hope than she had had previously and managed a genuine smile and a small nod before following after Synthia again. The mage was already grabbing some more food, having set her tome and writing utensil down at one of the tables. As she made her way over to the buffet table, Gytha's thoughts were whirling. Aye, that's right. I can trust Amon. We'll definitely meet again. We did last time we said goodbye, didn't we?

Of course, just because they would meet again didn't mean that she wouldn't have to deal with potential misunderstandings while he was away. And, as the last time proved, some of those misunderstandings had serious repercussions. She didn't want to think about all that right now, though. For now, she was content to enjoy the knowledge that this goodbye wouldn't be permanent.

Synthia had her own troubles while she was getting her food. Primarily, she was worried about Gytha. She'd tried to get the mariner out of that situation as quickly as possible since it was becoming clear that it was getting hard on her. Her primary worry shifted when Gytha came up beside her, getting her own food with a sincerely cheery smile. She was a little surprised at that, but if she'd just needed some space from them, that was good. That alone couldn't have been what'd done it... Had she missed something?

Valter, meanwhile, was a little confused. Why had Amon thought he meant that they should wait right outside the cathedral, or, worse, inside it? "I never meant we should wait inside or right outside it. I meant we should stay nearby, so that when the opportunity comes, we can get in quickly." He agreed that everyone needed to be ready before they set out, too, as his bobbing head indicated. Malik's concerns were fairly valid, too, though Valter's own mind had been on making sure Joanna got out okay. He didn't much care about the emblem piece, though that was part of the deal. "If you can get more people to help out, by all means, do so. I wouldn't put too much time into that, though. Time is of the essence." Or at least for him it was.

Then, Valter addressed another of Amon's concerns. The first one he'd mentioned, in fact. "I don't know where Bert is, but he was saying he was going to go to the cathedral in advance before Glen and I met with Weyland." Then, he addressed the last thing Amon said. "And whoever goes to the Mercites should get going, yes. I'd volunteer, but the Wrathites might suspect something if I was the one to do it. If no one else does, however, I'll take that risk. I'll need to know where to meet all of you to let you know when it's a good time to attempt the rescue, however."

Synthia stayed quiet until she and Gytha were seated and had already started in on their late lunch. Until then, she'd been trying to think of how to word her question, which wound up being, "So, Gytha... Are you feeling okay?"

The mariner looked up from her sandwich and swallowed, giving the mage a wide grin. "Aye! N' ye?"

Synthia nodded. Her throat was feeling much better and her voice had cleared up quite a bit. She stared down at her meal with a frown. "I know it's probably hard for you. Saying goodbye to friends, I mean."

Gytha's grin waned quite a bit, finally settling into a bit of an uncomfortable frown. "Aye. But..." She smiled again. "I know we'll meet again."

Synthia looked up at the mariner, a puzzled frown on her face. "How are you so sure? I don't mean to ruin your good mood, but they're going on a pretty dangerous mission." It was a concern she had, herself. There were those in Amon's group -- Amon himself included -- that she was worried she wouldn't see again.

"B'cause..." Gytha replied gently, smile still on her face, "Amon said we would. N' I trust 'im."

Synthia blinked. Gytha wasn't serious, was she? No way she was serious... ... Actually, she probably was, but basing their survival on trusting just one person's word? Synthia's frown became sympathetic. "Gytha... You know, Amon's a nice guy and all, but..." Her words caught as she looked into Gytha's eyes. The mariner had a friendly smile, but her eyes were somewhat grave. Is she just clinging onto hope? Does she actually have the same worries that I do? Synthia shook her head. "No; you're right. We can trust Amon." Gytha's smile broadened and Synthia wondered if she'd said the right thing. This was a sensitive time for the mariner, in all likelihood. Even if it was based on something as simple as a promise Amon couldn't necessarily keep, was it so wrong to let her have a little bit of hope right now? She wasn't sure. So, she just continued to eat her soup and decided not to think about it anymore.

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

To be honest, during their return, Norbert had had half a mind to just ride away. He and Rizen had survived worse than rain, after all, and he wasn't too keen on returning to a life defined by others' rules. No one was around. If he wanted to, he could've just gone off into the wild again and never had to deal with society again...until he was hunted down and held for not paying his debt... Yeah, that wouldn't work. Besides that, he still had unresolved issues in Europa, one of which was Joanna's situation. His hatred of being caged only helped to stoke his anger against what she was probably going through.

That was another temptation: just riding off to check up on her like he said he'd do before he was stopped. However, he'd been stopped for a reason, and he had to remind himself that one wrong word could endanger her even further. But I'm sure that if I found Erica, I could learn something about Joanna without getting into trouble. She turned a blind eye when I lied about Raquel. If I lost my temper and started insulting people, I'm sure she wouldn't hold that against me! Grr... ... Maybe I could ask again, and this time ask someone who actually has a say in it. He still wasn't sure if that maid actually held authority over him, but by now, maybe Valter and the other guy had talked to Weyland. Maybe he could ask him. He hated having to ask permission to do what he was compelled to do, but it was the route he had to take if he wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to Joanna.

So, Norbert increased Rizen's speed from a slow walk to a speedy run across Weyland's fields back towards the stables. He just hoped that massive wyvern was clear by the time they got there. Sure, he could still get Rizen inside, probably, but it sure would make things easier if the thing had been moved.

[Toogee]

After running into Alphonse, Jam ended her training to pursue some post-session stretching. She thought the mansion could use a little more “lively” art. The dancer slipped into her room to change into a pair of pants and headed downstairs.

Beside the doorway of the dining hall, Jam found a sturdy end table to use as a pedestal. By standing on the table, she was to become a living statue. The dancer began by balancing herself on one foot and stretching her arms out in various positions. Not only was her spot visible to the passerbys, she could also catch the conversation in the dining hall.

Edited June 30, 2014 by Toogee

[Nanami Touko]

The flight back had been uneventful. No one really said anything, and there was just the beating of the rain against themselves causing any noise. The wyvern's wings occasionally rose above the sound of the rain, but not very often. At least Eva had been right. The take off and landing had been much smoother, though there were still problems. Sasha seemed rather surprised that his rider had learned how to take off properly, and perhaps wasn't used to the sudden jump in skill. Whatever the case, Eva set him up at the far end of the stables, having heard that there was a commotion earlier with another steed; someone's pegasus had been spooked by the rather large wyvern that was hanging about, and ran off. Sasha wouldn't move from where he was set, so surely he wouldn't cause any more trouble.

Making her way back into the estate, she stopped in front of the dining hall, as... Well, she wasn't sure how to put it. "Huh..." It seemed like a person, but who would go up and stand on a table. It would surely be a weird place to put a statue. "Uh. Are you...real?" she asked, a bit confused by all this. She would've simply prodded it, had she not been worried that it was real. Wouldn't want to knock anyone over; balancing like that would be a true feat.

Tia, on the other hand, brought herself straight to the dining hall and sat herself down without any other distractions. She needed to try and collect herself as best as she could, even if there was talking going on there. The water soaking through her clothes wasn't making the ordeal any easier, so a few voices couldn't make it too much worse. What could Shadrak do that would even fix this? Can anyone fix this? Will Nyx come after me if someone does fix it, just to mess with my mind again? What would happen to them? Or me, the second time? Perhaps asking all these questions was against what she'd intended to do, but there wasn't much else she could do. It would take a bit to wind herself back down.

[Snike]

"Well considering the fact that in that case, if there's a delay on either end, Raquel might be captured or killed, there should be some second thought to blowing up the entire building," Blake said, bluntly. "And again our goals align here with the Wrathites. They aren't opposed to us, so it wouldn't make sense to obstruct each other like what you think they would do, on this issue. As for on their 'own terms', there has been and will continue to be exceptions. At the very least, if I go, we have some control over the Wrathites that arrive, given they probably already know."

[Mercakete]

The big wyvern was, in fact, exactly where Bert saw it last. He, himself, tried to ignore it and just guide Rizen as per usual. The pegasus got a little nervous, but otherwise obeyed her rider's direction. She was uncertain just how safe it was to be going past it, but keeping a human on her back seemed to make her a less appealing meal. Needless to say, she was quite relieved when they got into the stables again and there were no predators to be seen...not that she didn't still smell them. Had another one been in here recently? Well, if it had, clearly, her rider had sent it and the other one packing. She felt a little bad for having missed whatever epic fight had gone down, but at least everyone was safe.

Well, Rizen's stall was probably not repaired, so Bert didn't bother with getting her back into that one. Instead, he just put her in a fresh stall. For a moment, he considered untacking her and brushing her down to help dry her off. Ultimately, however, he decided it'd be pointless. If they set out again, which was his intent, she'd just get wet again anyway, and in this scenario, it was better to be equipped and ready. He'd worry about brushing Rizen down again if he wasn't able to go to the cathedral.

Pegasus stabled, he headed straight into the main building again and hurried back towards the study he'd talked to Steinn in. It was a decent place to start, after all, and if Weyland wasn't there, he could just ask someone where he was after that.

Edited July 1, 2014 by Mercakete

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Eh? Are you all thinking I'm like letting this go as some sort of timed bomb or some crap? I can literally call out the second I want things to go boom," Gar hopefully cleared up something.