Return of The Emblem Chapter One: The Artifact

[RPG]

OOC: Accidental post

Edited January 16, 2011 by RPG

[Snowy_One]

"I would be most honored to have a duel with you, though not to the death or anything like that. As for my destination, I do not know. If I return to the city, I risk those guards throwing me into a jail cell as they did not believe my story... and I refused to let them examine my tome. Tis my masters tome and I do not desire for people to go flipping through it like it is a library book."

[Phoenix]

"I uh ... I can understand that. I'll remember it too." Raquel said in response to Wolfgang's comment on the other mercenaries. "Oh by the way, the monkey's name is Chip. He's my father's and ... he did shoot that one guy yesterday. I have no idea why my father taught the pet monkey how to wield a flintlock weapon instead of just hiring an extra hand long-term. I guess Chip's less expensive and sneakier but ... still. We can't count on Chip to know when it's not a good time to put a shot in someone's head. It's a bit unsettling since my father's not around to rein him in."

Once they were back within view of the wagon, Raquel's jaw dropped slightly. "Oh wow, leaving the wagon right where it was yesterday was a good idea. That looks almost like everyone from the fight.

"Not everyone." said a voice coming from above. As she looked up she saw Amon keeping pace with them on a rooftop, picking up speed only to leap over the alleys. "I still need to speak with you soon."

"Right ... sure." she said ending with a sigh.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika hustled towards the spot where the battle had taken place yesterday. She spent the night in an inn on the outskirts of town, many of the inns near the markets had been filled to capacity. The wyverns and wagons were easily identifiable as she walked in.

"Morning." she said curtly to the assorted people. "Are we prepared to attack the bandits yet? Or are we still waiting for other mercenaries?" she asked Raquel and Wolfgang. She raised an eyebrow at the man on the rooftops Raquel was talking to, but chose not to comment.

[EchoingPewter]

"Who is that man?" Wolfgang questioned Raquel, his sword arm instictively laid onto the hilt of his sword. He looked the man over a couple of times and returned his look to Raquel. He didn't like the looks of that man, and the fact he spoke the way he did meant they'd met before. Didn't sound friendly by Raquel's reaction.

"Lady Rusayev, if you would, I'd like to ask you to go on to the wagon. I think it'd be best if Raquel speak with this man as quickly as possible so he does not impede our departure any longer than necessary." Wolfgang suggested to Veronika.

[Dark Sage]

Lady Rsuayev? No wonder I recognized her. She and her family did meet my father a few times. Never really knew her very well. I guess we spoke a couple of times but otherwise, we barely know each other. Hmmm....well at least there's somebody here I know Domovoi reflected, having heard Wolfgang and Veronika.

[Phoenix]

"That man was here yesterday. He killed at least one of those people that attacked us. I'm not sure what he wants but I'll talk to him I guess. We'll leave as soon as everyone's present." she replied to Wolfgang.

"Excellent." Amon muttered to himself while quickly making his way down from the current building. Instead of jumping straight down, he leaped over to a balcony on the next building over, and then somersaulted to the ground from there. It was a rough landing but he hid the slight ache and wandered over. He was in a bit of a rush.

"Okay so ... is there something you want?" Raquel asked sounding falsely polite.

"That object you carry ..." he began.

"The ... object. What about it?"

"I don't know how to say this so I'll simply say it. It's what I've been looking for ... for a very long time now." He scratched the back of his head as he continued. "I was sent to recover some sort of mystical object. I don't know much about it but I do know that you have it."

"How do you know I have it and that you don't have the wrong one?" she asked.

"This." he replied while revealing his small trinket from before. Its shine was so bright now that the object itself was completely obscured by it.

"That little thing you carry around."

"I don't know how it works but it shines brighter and brighter the closer it is to what I seek." he explained.

Oh no. I guess that means the emblem IS what he wants. "Okay I need to be honest with you ... um ..."

"Amon."

"Amon. Right. Okay I can't let you have this. It's important." It is now at least. "Those men from before want it too and I can't let them have it either." she replied. Thinking back to the incident from when she woke up she had to wonder why he simply didn't just steal it then and there. Karene probably would have caught him, or Chip may have shot him, but he didn't seem to have known about either ahead of time. "I'm sorry about this, but I really can't let you have it."

"I understand." he said softly before going deep into thought. Currently it would be too dangerous for her to part with it. She may need it to rescue that man from before. I suppose in my hands I couldn't guarantee to keep it away from them either. I'm just one man and they would probably catch me long before I ever make it back to Sanctuary. Once I reach the desert Lady Aisha could protect me but, it's a long road. They would have plenty of time to stop me. So even if I steal it, I can't make it back without help. If they get their hands on it, I'm doubtful they would let me use it either. That settles it then.

Tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention he spoke again. "You're going to fight that group, right? I'll help."

"What? Why? Umm ... wait. Don't think that I'll just hand this over to you once we beat them. I need to find out what it is." she explained in a hurry.

"I understand that. I don't know what that thing is either but I can't let those people have it. I also can't simply leave it to you people and not keep track of it at this point. Until I can negotiate with you further, it's best to stay close to it. I promise you that I won't try anything deceptive or cunning. You have my word."

"Ummm." She considered the offer. "How much do I have to pay you?" she asked.

"Nothing." he said solemnly.

"Except the emblem once those guys are history, right?" she shot back with a dubious look in her eyes.

"I said nothing. I'm in a bad situation, miss. I can't defeat either of your groups for that object but I cannot simply walk away and hope it will find its way to me in the end. Until the situation changes, I need to stay as close to it as possible. I won't steal it. I won't sabotage this group; and I won't side with the other group even if it suits me."

"Why not? They may be stronger than us." she noted.

"They've already tried to kill me, and though I'm not trusting of your allies either, I was at the very least warned instead of outright attacked. That will have to do I guess."

She sighed before conceding. "Alright. I guess I can trust you. Though you should know, Amon, whether you're being paid or not I'm offering discounts on everything I sell to whoever's helping out, okay? If you need anything let me know."

"Alright then. And your name?"

"Raquel."

"Raquel. Thank you for your consideration." he said before rushing off ahead to meet the others at the wagon. Raquel sighed again hoping that things wouldn't get complicated later on due to Amon's true motives. What did the Rexians want with the emblem? How did they even ... ... she stopped herself mid-thought. The questions were just going to keep coming if she didn't distract herself with the current issues. The current issue, was to get to that fortress, and to do so they needed to get moving. Once she made it to the wagon she gave a polite wave to the group at large.

[Mercakete]

When Raquel and Wolfgang arrived, Gytha stood up and sheathed the freshly-polished sword she'd sharpened. "Ahoy there, Raquel! I hope ye don't mind if I bring along someone. Also, I'll be needn' to make a quick purchase if ye don't mind!" she greeted with as much jolly enthusiasm as ever.

[Phoenix]

Raquel nodded. "Sure what do you need, Gytha?" She was secretly hoping that Gytha wouldn't ask for anything Raquel didn't already know where to find ... or worse yet, something they didn't sell at all. If it wasn't something obvious she wouldn't even know if they had it until after she checked the whole wagon. That wasn't going to be any fun. Suddenly a thought occurred. Wait. Father's notebook. He took inventory once every business day. I should start doing that too so I can keep track of everything.

[Mercakete]

"Maw's due for a bandage-change," the meriner explained, indicating the cat with a jerk of her head, "So some disinfectn' ointment and some fresh bandages are what I be needn'." Maw heard certain key words indicating it was almost time to have her head rewrapped. Padding over, she sat down next to Gytha, ready to be taken care of. It was one of the few times she'd let anyone do something like this.

[Phoenix]

"Well I know for a fact we've got disinfectant and bandages. Just not sure if that's just our personal first aid provisions or not. Either way's fine since I can just stock up later. Give me a moment to get them." she said before heading to the back of the wagon. There she found Seina. "Huh? Hey, what are you doing back here?" she asked.

[Mercakete]

"Oh, she's the one I told ye about. She's from Kigen and doesn't have a way home, so I'm bringing her along," Gytha explained, "No idea why she's there, though." She puzzled over it for a moment, but figured the girl wasn't her direct responsiability. She was just bringing her along and helping her out.

[Kanami]

Seina looked curiously at the pink haired woman who'd spoken to her. Recognizing the woman from the day before she gasped, wondering if the woman had more bad luck with her this time. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but she didn't like the woman, she emitted some sort of funny aura that made Seina uneasy. "Treasure hunting" Seina said quietly, tossing the expensive looking item she'd found carelessly back into the crate she'd just pulled it out of. "But it's all junk and stuff, nothing fun or good in any of these boxes" she said indicating several objects lying around. Jumping off the wagon swiftly, she scampered away from Raquel and tried to hide herself behind Gytha.

[Mercakete]

"What? Ye were looking through other peoples' things?" Gytha asked sternly, sending the child a frightening glare though she wasn't yelling, "Look, I'm taking ye back t' yer home. Didn't ye learn that theft is wrong? Thought ye'd know that with how polite ye were earlier n' all. Keep t' yer own stuff unless ye have permission, Hoshno." I'm turning into this girl's keeper...

"Raquel's a nice lady. Ye shouldn't be stealn' or calln' what her father left her 'junk.' Now, appologize," she corrected, folding her arms and waiting for Seina to act responsibly.

[Phoenix]

Raquel listened a bit hurt when Seina called the stuff "junk", little girl or not, it was a bit much to hear at the moment. None of that showed in her expression though. Once Gytha chastised the girl and apologized, Raquel finally got a word in. "I-it's okay. She's cute, and it's ... not like I wasn't going to be tearing the wagon apart myself later on. I have to take inventory daily so this is all kind of inevitable." She ended with a nervous laugh.

Amon walked around to the front of the wagon and eyed the horses. "Hmm, one as black as the night sky ... and this other one ... ... she looks like a Rexian horse. Hmm" Neither horse was all that interested in Amon, but examining them gave him something to do. He had a habit of trying to quickly become familiar with his surroundings and that included people and animals too ... though he would certainly take his time and be cautious while becoming more familiar with these people.

[roymbrog]

Raquel was back, but they still hadn't left yet. Waiting was getting pretty boring, there was nothing happening and no conversations for her to eavesdrop on. No one out here had said anything since she arrived and it was starting to make her feel sort of self consious. So, Synthia decided to break the silence herself.

"So, how did you guys get roped into this?" she asked, hand on hip. She didn't really care, but it was the only thing she could think of at the time.

[ReformBlade]

"It happened like any other ordinary day. I met my employer outside a tavern and insisted I get a job, and viola, I'm here." He said rather jokingly, and if you believed him, well... "OK, not really 'ordinary', but hey. Job's a job, y'know?" Nanahm corrected. "Probably should've thought it through, but that's life. For me, anyway. Anyway, here's to... not... bickering amongst each other... I guess?" Yeah, that was good! Clearly I will get rid of the

. But all in due time, Nanahm, all in due time. Baby steps, like... Slaying bandits, maybe...

[Acacia Sgt]

''It started for what happened yesterday.'' John gave his answer. ''After that boat sunk, some guys appeared and went after the wagon. Most of us just happened to be nearby to defend it. Afterwards she went asking for help to find her father, and that'd be it.''

[RPG]

Jeanne had winded up close to Nanahm, and indicated him with a lazy pointing motion. "Same situation as axe-guy. I'm just hired by chance." Looking around, she had noticed that most of the other mercenaries and warriors seemed more experienced and stronger than she was. Between the very burly sailor woman, the swordsman that just gave off an aura of "elite mercenary leader," and the wyverns that dwarfed her pegasus severely, Jeanne was feeling very inferior.

---

"...I'll respect your privacy then." Seliah responded to Daloth. She hadn't been extremely interested in the tome until Daloth started acting so possessive of it. She had begun wondering what it would look like if it was burned. Perhaps this is the "rebellious adolescent" side of me that the psychologist mentioned, reacting to his overprotective tendencies. She wondered. Or...maybe it's the sadistic one? Dismissing the issue, Seliah folded her arms and casually placed one leg over the other. "Well, if you have no destination in mind, I suppose that we could take you with us to find the Fire Emblem." She wondered if the assailants Daloth mentioned could have anything to do with it; she didn't believe that people attacked without reason, for the most part. But the pants-less leader he mentioned seems too...irregular She placed one hand on her chin, pondering her leads.

Edited January 17, 2011 by RPG

[Phoenix]

Once Raquel fetched Jethro's notebook, she flipped through it to yesterday's date. Running down the list she didn't find the bandages or disinfectant on it, so she knew for certain that what she was fetching for Gytha was coming out of their own personal supplies. As she said before, it didn't matter since she would restock the next chance she got. There would be plenty left over anyway.

She quickly found what she was looking for way in the back of the wagon and returned to Gytha and Seina with bandages held over top the notebook in her left hand, and a bottle of disinfectant in the right. "These aren't on the list so they aren't priced either." she told the mariner.

[roymbrog]

“It seems you guys had rather different scenarios, well, excluding Jeanne I guess,” she said, mostly to herself. “Well, I walked over here yesterday to find out what had happened. Explosions and dead people in the street aren’t everyday occurrences, you know? Raquel figured out I was a healer and hired me. However, I'm not a mercenary like you all, so keep in mind that I can't fight. I'm just here to patch you up after battles. If I'm injured, you all might die, so keep me safe, alright?" She crossed her arms and nodded approvingly of what she just said. In her mind, she was the second most important person to protect after Raquel.

[Dark Sage]

Making up his mind to go talk to her, Domovoi approached Veronika, his back straight and his face lacking expression. If a Neviskotian noblewoman was here, he'd probably have to protect her. That's what his father would do anyway.

"Excuse me miss, but you are of the Rusajev family correct? I am Domovoi. I'm a Neviskotian mercenary and I'd like to know why a noblewoman like yourself is traveling into Ursium territory yes? Unless you're working around here, it's sort of stupid to travel to a place that's an enemy of your own country yes?"

Miskavolv meanwhile eyed the cat, who was standing beside the bold lady who talked funny. The cat was odd, it had bandages wrapped around it's head and it seemed very close to that one human. Maybe cats tasted good? It's head heading towards Maw, it sniffed the cat and brushed its nose on her fur.

[Mercakete]

"Thank ye, Raquel. It's a careful matter and--" she was cut off by the wyvern head's getting far too close far too quickly to her travelling companion: the silver tabby. Maw didn't like anything getting that close to her. Frightened by the giant...thing, she unsheathed her claws and scratched at the whatever-it-was' snout, cutting open the tender flesh rimming the nostrils before she dashed under the cart to hide. "Maw--!" Gytha was too late to stop the incident.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika was about to follow Wolfgang's suggestion and go onto the wagon when one of the wyvern riders approached her, a dark-skinned man. Seems to be a member of the Neviskotian military she thought to herself, eying him up.

"Yes, I am. Traveling in Ursium may be somewhat dangerous, but there was someone I had to find who was no longer in Neviskotia. My search eventually led me here, and I plan on accompanying this group until I find him." Veronika replied to Domovoi.

[Dark Sage]

"Well it is better to have safety in numbers. It's smarter to travel with us than to go alone. Anyway you said you were looking for someone? I'm looking for somebody too. If you describe him too me, I'll help you find him if you help me find the one I'm looking for."

The cat slashing Miskavolv in the snout, Miskavolv reared his head up and chased after Maw, his wing brushing against Gytha. Catching notice, Domovoi hurried back and reigned in Miskavolv.

"What the hell is going on Miskavolv?" Miskavolv glared at him before glaring at Maw.

"A cat! You're making all this ruckus after a cat! That's it Miskavolv. You're not getting any good food tonight."

Miskavolv made a small whining sound and backed off, still glaring at the cat.

Some day...