Return of the Emblem Chapter Three: The Show

[-Cynthia-]

"I don't think most people like killing, but it's something many people have decided is necessary. For money, for survival, for justice, to protect one's loved ones...everyone has a reason to fight. And even though Chip seems to be quite the dutiful guard, there will probably come a time where he won't be able to protect you, pistol or no. But...I suppose you can rely on us to guard you for the time being," Veronika said, noting Raquel seemed somewhat distressed by this topic.

[Mercakete]

As the maids were leading them to who-knows-where, Gytha broke off from the maids and guards escorting them, pulling Amon along with her down a hall and around acorner, acting quite casual. In fact, it seemed like she knew exactly what she was doing. She wanted to talk right away. Enough waiting. It didn't take long to find an empty room. Letting go of Amon's arm, she shut the door and was quiet. This in and of its self would unnerve anyone having known Gytha for long enough. In her unnerving quiet, the mariner looked up, revealing her face to be absolutely serious. Her gaze was far more piercing than she'd ever shown the Rexan before. The unblinking, hyperfocussed mariner's voice was calm but held a low burn to it. This was the sort of look she gave her enemies. "Tell me everythin' that happened in as much detail as ye can."

[Phoenix]

Raqy

"Oh, thank you. I know I'm kind of useless in a fight, but it's nice to know Chip isn't the only one who has my back." She replied only taking her eyes off the road for a second.

Amon

Amon only blinked a few times at first. Well ... this can't possibly be good. "Well, while we were at the concert, this woman was standing between Nanahm and me. She kind of had us swaying with the crowd for some of it too. After the songs were over, Rodrigo explained a few things to the crowd and had them applauding for us, though they didn't know who we were specifically other than maybe Synthia. Anyway, when he started making jokes about those people we fought, that woman said Caine's name, like she knew him or something. I whispered to Nanahm to keep an eye on her so I could come back and warn Raquel, but I guess she gave Nanahm the slip because she intercepted me on a rooftop before I was even half way back to the university." he explained.

"We exchanged names, and she asked me if I would join her. I said no, and then she said that made us enemies." he continued, looking down a bit. "We fought, and I managed to land one measly blow on her before getting stabbed. Before she chucked me off the rooftop she told me to tell the rest of you that fighting them was futile ... something to that effect. I just woke up in the hospital with a doctor and nurse standing at my bedside, some flowers from her, and a six thousand gold medical bill." Amon finished. "That's really all I know about what happened."

[Mercakete]

"How bad was the wound?" she asked, further questioning her teammate and maintaining her stance, "What'd this gal look like?"

[Phoenix]

"The wound? Which one? I had a bunch. If you mean the stab wound. I wouldn't have lasted ten minutes if no one found me. Maybe that's why she through me the way she did." he speculated. She had made a similar point herself just before pushing him off he remembered. It was hard to send a message with a dead messenger. Gytha also wanted to know what she looked like, which had Amon red in the face again. He was also began to wonder if Gytha's seriousness meant she was going on a woman hunt of her own. That was more than just ill advised. "She was a blonde woman, and she wore a black outfit and if I saw it right, a brown undershirt, and very long boots. Uh, Gytha, you're not ... planning anything ... are you? That woman was faster than I am." he said with deep concern.

[Mercakete]

"I'm planning to pick me fights," Gytha replied, "At first I was goin' t' just run off after telln' ye not t' fight people like that on yer own, but then I'd be soundin' like Synthia. Her name's Silvia, Raquel said... We took down Caine. She'll just have t' be next, but no way any of us're fightn' alone." A cool burn was still slowly smuldering inside of her but she'd let that go. She turned around to open the door and leave only to pause and turn back towards Amon. A sort of worry was there -- even some relief -- but moreso was something like fear. "Don't be runnin' too far ahead o' me, ye quick-footed Rexan. If ye do that, how can I look after ye? I promised I would, ye know. Don't make me a liar."

Returning her gaze to the door, th mariner opened it and began walking back the way they'd come. "C'mon, Amon. We'd better see why Raquel's gatherin' us all o'er here." Her tone was almost normal again. As she walked, however, different thoughts were going through her head. I've seen pleanty o' death. Been the cause o' most o' it. But hey, I've found some good people who aren't likely t' turn on me or abandon me or lie t' me... I have t' make sure t' keep'em around. I can't just leave them b'hind if they won't give up on me. That must be why... The face of a cheerful, brown-haired man flashed in her memory, smiling with absolute joy and delicate care. Immediately she felt a strange reserve of strength and confidance. Just as quickly, the strong emotions changed to feelings of betrayal and disbelief. Then she banished the emotions altogether. ... I trusted ye. It feels good t' trust. I won't let ye rob me o' that ability. ... Me new friends won't turn on me. ...They won't...

As she was thinking, Gytha had been tuning out everything around her and wandering amilessly. Unbeknownst to her, she was very, very lost.

[Snowy_One]

"Aye. Would be for the best. I did not expect her to give the offer though." said Robin, raising the wounded limb so that Olga could target it better. "And Olga, if you warp me, I will more than likely develop a strong craving for mutton; if you catch my drift." she said in a menacing tone before sign. "No. No I will not. I just... yea. Please heal the ankle I sprained trying to guilt you into carrying your load."

[Phoenix]

The Halls

Amon listened to Gytha's response with more humility than usual as her concern began to mount. He nodded agreeing to be more careful in the future, and then followed her out into the halls again. I'm going to have to get stronger I guess. Even if we're all fighting as a team, there's the problem that our enemies seem far more experienced and powerful than us ... on average at least.

It wasn't long before Amon realized that hadn't gone back the way they came. The Rexian took great care in his travels to remember where he was going in urban environments, and memorizing lefts, rights, past intersections and the like were rather easy for him by now. "Uh, Gytha, aren't we going the wrong way?" he asked more so to remind her than to actually confirm whether or not they were on track. He knew full well they weren't.

A little ways down the hall Gabbie was sitting up against a wall rather lazily. She had the iron lance Connor had made for her leaning up against the wall right next to her as well. Tossing the two a dubious glance she stood up. "Ey, who're you two?" she asked.

Is she a guard? She sure doesn't dress like one. Amon thought to himself. "We're with Raquel's group. Do you know her by any chance?"

"Raquel? Oh ... roight, that wimp I roughed up yesterday ... well this ain't the roight way to be goin' if you're headin' for the meetin' area." she explained. Wonder what Weyland wants to see all these people for ...

The Gang's Almost All Here

When Raquel and Veronika(and anyone else who came with) returned, Raquel parked the wagon right out front. They were met by the same greeting party as the last three members of the group, and escorted inside to the meeting area while two guards were posted to watch the wagon. The room Weyland chose was actually the same conference room from the previous night's demonstrations. The room looked different now having dozens fewer chairs in place, and being completely empty save for the party members that had been brought in.

Raquel turned to Veronika "This is the room where the show took place last night." Everything he showed us is going to be used on the Neviskotians at some point ... oh man, that was so stupid, why did I even bring this up? It would have been better not to say anything at all. "I-it's an odd place to be meeting I think, I mean this place is really big for a group our size." she added trying to change what her previous statement had been alluding to.

Yasnygrad

With a swift casting, Robin's ankle was healed. "Don't try to guilt trip a mercenary like me, unless I'm gettin' paid to care." Olga giggled.

Olga put the staff back with the others and then stood around. They weren't likely going anywhere until the twins returned with the horses, though that did remind her that she probably still had time to go get purchase some things. They had almost reached the liquor store by the time Robin had injured herself. Judging the distance it was only about half a block away.

"Okay I'll be right back, since we're just waiting around anyway, I might as well get my reserves now." Olga said before jogging off to the store down the street. Bron just stood there by Robin with his arms crossed. Waiting. "Well this is going to be an interesting month." he commented casually.

[Mercakete]

When Gytha heard Amon's question, she realized that she was basicly wanding around aimlessly in a building she'd never been in nor known the standard layout of. Luckily, there was a woman there apparently able to direct them along the right route. "Could ye show us th'way?" Gytha asked. Her previous thoughts had been stored in the back of her mind for the who-knows-how-many-nth time and her old self was returning. "Sorry 'bout gettn' us lost," she appologized to Amon as a bit of an afterthought. Her familliar smile and demeanor had returned, even if it was toned down for the moment.

[Dark Sage]

Looking about the group, Domvoi picked out a mage obviously from Kigen with them. He remembered him joining up with them awhile ago but he never had the opportunity to actually talk to him or get to know him and he hadn't learned much about Kigen.

"Hello there sir mage. My name is Domovoi. You're pretty new here, so I was curious on how well you were adjusting," Domovoi said in a friendly tone.

OOC: Blah post is blah.

[Phoenix]

Gabbie shrugged. "Eh. Sure. Follow me I guess." she replied and began leading them down the hall.

When Gytha apologized for losing track of where they were going, Amon put his hand behind his head and tried to laugh the whole thing off. "Don't worry about it. This place is huge, I'm sure anyone would get lost who hasn't seen it before." This place is pretty spacious but it's nothing compared to the palace in Sanctuary. Now that's a place to get lost in, and your legs will hate you for it too. Amon mused to himself.

It wasn't long before the room came into view. Gabbie stopped by the door not intending to go in herself just yet. As Amon passed, she noted all the bandaging on his arms, and his clothes. "... the hell happened to you, mate?"

"Uh ... I got in a fight with a myrmidon and lost." he said casually before heading inside and waving to the others with his good hand.

[GoD]

After the events that occured last night, Chelsea had retired to her new room. Once she woke up she got dressed and made a plan to meet up with Raquel. It would be nice to let her know the troubador was alright, even though she supposed that the merchant had loads of fun last night. Possibly....Maybe.....Whatever!

"Now, where could I find her.....? I guess I'll just wander around till I see her. It hasn't failed me before."- Chelsea concluded? and left her room to go find her Boss.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika frowned a bit at the mention of the show. "Perhaps the Professor wishes to demonstrate something else?" she guessed.Trusting this Weyland fellow will be...difficult; I have little sympathy for a man whose mind has destroyed so many of my countrymen. Still, attempting to kill him here would be both dishonorable and foolish. If his information leads me to Pavel, I suppose I can trust him for the time being.

Connor entered the meeting room hesitantly, looking around at all the unfamiliar faces. Odd people to be sure...why did Uncle Seth want me here anyway? The servant didn't say much about it...

Edited May 7, 2011 by -Cynthia-

[Acacia Sgt]

After being brought inside the mansion, John decided to explore the place a little, once he noticed Gytha and Amon had apparently done the same. The place certainly as expected from a high-class individual, it could compared to the interiors of the University.

It didn't passed long before he was told by a maid that all guests should be in the meeting room. After being directed where it was, John thanked the maid and made his way there, finding most of the group were already inside. 'I wonder what this will be about.' He thought.

[Phoenix]

"I reckon you're all here cause pinky over there wants to talk to the Professah. That about roight, pinky?" Gabbie said walking a short ways into the room before stopping to put on hand on her hip.

"Um, yeah. Everyone, we're here to speak with the Professor about what's been going on and try to decide on a course of action from here." Raquel explained to the party.

"Hm? Connor? What are you doin'ere?" Gabbie asked, obviously curious.

Out in the halls, Chelsea was happened upon by Weyland himself on his way to the conference room. "I don't recognize you so that must mean you're with Raquel's group. Is that right?" he asked blankly. "The conference room is this way, follow me." he instructed as he made his way in that direction.

[Rothene]

Ranyin gave up waiting for anyone to approach him and had followed Raquel to the market. Unfortunately, none of the tomes on sale there had caught his attention nor did he have the funds to aquire any new ones. As the group reached a mansion, One of the wyvern riders Ranyin had spent a short while observing as he interacted with his wyvern approached him.

"Yeah, the group's much friendlier than I had expected. People are nice," answered Ranyin, althought there are exceptions, he thought of Gytha and continued while thinking of Nanahm,"and interesting."

"So what's it like having a wyvern? You raised it from young or were given it?" asked Ranyin, wanting to have some insight to the life of a wyvern rider.

[Dark Sage]

"Well Miskavolv hatched when I was a teenager. He's the son of my father's wyvern, but the two are completely different," Domovoi started to explain. "He's a very odd wyvern so I wouldn't use him as an example of what most wyverns are like. He does have some things in common with most of them though. He loves to eat, he loves to sleep, and he definitely is looking for a mate. He's a pretty young wyvern, around 10 years old so he has a lot of time to do all those activities.

It's difficult work training a wyvern. I was lucky caring for Miskavolv since he was an infant but most riders have to make sure their own wyverns don't attack them first before they start learning how to ride."

[GoD]

"U-u-um..yes I'm with Raquel's group."- Chelsea answered timidly. Once Weyland took off in the direction he had just pointed at, Chelsea followed suit, saying "Y-y-yes Sir."

[Rothene]

"Hmm...must be quite tough being a wyvern rider, not only must you deal with all the pressure of learning to fight, but also bear in mind that a careless move while in the sky could lead to an unpleasant death," said Ranyin shuddering at the thought of falling a few feet down to the ground,"you said it...Miska...sorry, I didn't catch his name right, he's only ten years old? How fast do wyverns grow and how long is their lifespan?"

[Snowy_One]

Robin

"<No kidding.>" said Robin, reverting to her native tongue now that the thief-girls and Olga were not around. "<I'm not so sure about our traveling companions to be honest. The thief-girls and Olga seem to care more about money and less about what stealing, or even touching, this relic will do for Neviskonia. Are you sure they are the ones we need?>" she asked, raising her eyebrows to Bron in question. "<The ends do not always justify the means after all. Ah well, I hope you have the nation at heart at least. For the record, I will not need any money of my own. I can hunt and make my own arrows and don't need much more than that. Though I... Nah. It's not important. Will we be crossing the border soon? I figure we can claim we're stupid shepherds who crossed accidentally and use Olga's sheep as proof of that.>"

[Phoenix]

Weyland Arrives

Professor Weyland stepped into the conference room with Chelsea behind him and looked around at the various people in the room. She's accepting aid from just about anyone, it seems. "Good morning everyone, and welcome." he greeted the room. This time he had not only his pipe in hand but also what looked to be a folder under his arm.

"Gabbie, if you would shut the door please ..."

"Yeah, yeah." she said as she followed the instruction. Once the doors were shut, Weyland grabbed a chair, turned it toward the group, primarily Raquel, and then sat down, crossed his left leg over the right, and gave the woman a blank stare. "Now then, from the beginning ..." he said calmly, trying not to come across too much like an authority, but more as a friend or council.

"T-the beginning ... well there's kind of a gap between when this ACTUALLY began and when we were first attacked. I found the emblem a whole month before these people showed up." she explained.

"Where did you find it?" he asked with a slightly less friendly tone than before. His focus was shifting from trying not to be perceived a certain way, to getting some much needed context.

"By a small river we we're letting the horses drink from. It was dumb luck that I even noticed it at all. It was just sitting their below the water's surface."

"May I have a look at it?" he asked placing his pipe into his mouth and waiting.

She nodded. "Sure." She moved part of her cloak out of the way revealing not only the waist bag the emblem was kept in but also Chip. He had been hiding just out of view for awhile for some reason or other. She had to move him to open the bag and take out the emblem. Chip took refuge on her shoulder again, and she walked up to Weyland and carefully placed it in his open palm.

The emblem was shaped like a beautiful medallion but seemed like it could explode at any moment due to thick but dim glow it gave off and the long cracks running along its surface. Those cracks didn't seem to have an effect on its structural integrity, but Weyland couldn't be certain. The light rushing out from these cracks was also intense but didn't travel very far at all. Normally something with that much energy trying to get out would just fall apart, but not this thing. The laws of physics had clearly stayed their hand with regards to this medallion.

Adjusting his glasses and handing off his pipe to Gabbie, he eyed the strange artifact with both hands, and great interest. "There's an energy coming off of this medallion, but it isn't dark energy, light energy, or any of the six variations of anima, nor is it raw energy. Also strange is the passivity. This energy, this power ... doesn't seem to be interacting with anything in the environment besides other energies. It's otherwise ... invisible. I can only detect it by what I can see with the naked eye, and due to the disturbance it's causing while interacting with my own energy field, and it only seems to do this at very close range. Raquel, haven't you noticed this yet?"

Raquel flinched. "N-no, I haven't. Not a mage." she shot back quickly hoping he would quickly move on.

"Hmm." Why is she doing that? I know full well she's not a mage. "Well while this object possesses a power I've never witnessed before, it certainly doesn't seem like much of and by itself. This energy does not seem to interact with thoughts either ... which means it cannot be manipulated by the will of a magician; unusable energy, but plenty of it. Are you sure this is the Emblem, and not simply a legendary relic?"

"A legendary relic?"

"Ugh, never mind, back to my main question, are you certain that this is the Emblem?" he asked again.

"I don't know to be honest, but they're trying to kill us for it. But that's not all!" she stopped to get into something else.

"What is it?"

"This guy named Hayato, he said that it was only a 'piece of the emblem'. So-" "Ahah!" Weyland interrupted before standing up with the emblem in hand.

"Of and by itself, this is little more than bold faced affront to magical and physical order, but if this isn't the whole product, that alone changes things considerably! How credible is this Hayato person?" he asked deciding to do that before continuing.

"I have no idea. He just tried to kill us along with a bunch of robed guys." Raquel responded looking rather unsure. Chip began playing with her hair during that time as well.

"How persistent are these people chasing you?"

"I haven't seen that Hayato guy or the other one in a long time, but their people are still after us. They ... also kidnapped my father during the first attack and I haven't seen him since. They're also paying a lot of people for information through out the country."

Looking at the emblem as Raquel explained, he gave it a dubious look. "I assumed you didn't show this to people on a regular basis ...?"

"I didn't. Only my father." she replied.

"I see. This is either a piece of the emblem or a piece of something, one way or the other. If they knew you had this then they must have a way to track you. If their methods have anything to do with the emblem itself, then it's likely they have one of their own from which to develop a way to track you down ... and all they want from you is the emblem, yes?"

"Y-yeah, I think so." she said still unsure.

"No, wait, they want us to join them too apparently ... at least that's what Silvia told me." Amon interjected.

"Fascinating ..." Weyland muttered still inspecting the emblem up close.

Yasnygrad

<"Pretty positive. Mercenaries simplify things. You get the skills and abilities you need, without the extra hassles idealistic people sometimes bring into the fold. At the end of the day, a mercenary just needs their gold and a good chance of survival, so there's less people to argue over plans."> Bron explained. <"As for crossing the border, we're going to have to be sneaky with that. Ursium and Neviskotia are in a huge war right now and Ursium's got a pretty aggressive advantage on land, especially in Central. We try to cross through Central and they'll catch us for sure. Instead we're going to head northwest past Grosnygrad and the plains. Once we reach the northern borderlands, we'll cross from there. It's nothing but wilderness and rangers searching for people like us, but that's partly why I called in Liza and Liliya. Crossing up there also puts us closer to Ursentius with fewer problems and slowdowns along the way. Saves time overall."> Too bad it's going to take us at least a couple of months to make it back to Neviskotia with the thing. Though, if we win as big as I'm expecting, it'll be worth it. he thought to himself.

[-Cynthia-]

Connor shrugged in response to Gabbie, then looked over at the object that Raquel was discussing with his uncle with interest. A...piece of the Emblem? I thought the Fire Emblem was just a legend they taught in Ursium to tell us about the importance of the gods.

Veronika heard Raquel and the Professor start talking about the Emblem, which was a subject she did not find very interesting. Let academics discuss such things, I have no need of it save for what it can lead me to. She scoffed a little at Amon's comment. "Not exactly the best recruitment strategy I think, people are usually reluctant to join forces with the enemy. Are they planning to stab us into compliance?"

[Phoenix]

More Information

Amon shrugged. "I don't know what they're thinking really. I guess they're just confident that we can't stop them or something. Either they're stupid or that's a really bad sign."

"Iiiit's a really bad sign." Weyland commented, still gazing at the emblem. "Well think about it. What are your chances of defeating these people? Do you know how many of them there are, or how long they've been around? Chances are they're far and away more powerful than your current party. I mean no offense here, but a group of mercenaries this size stands almost no chance of toppling anything less than a small time mob, and even that would see some serious casualties." he explained.

"Well, it's that or hand them the emblem. I won't do that. These people are obviously up to something, and no one else is going to deal with them. Besides if I do hand over the emblem to them, that won't guarantee my father's safety. In truth, nothing will guarantee his safety at this point." Raquel said hanging her head.

"This is not a time to play the vigilante, nor is this the type of bunch you want to pursue for revenge in the event of the unforeseen. Raquel, your father was an army Major, and a talented swordsman. How many of them did it take to defeat and capture him?" he asked, preparing to continue based on her answer.

"J-just one. The one Hayato seemed to answer to. He hit my father with a dark magic attack and then Hayato kicked him when he got back up. After that, they warped away." she said keeping her head down.

"I see. Anyone in your current group that can match his skill? I think not. Their grunts may not give you an exceptionally hard time, Raquel, but that doesn't mean you can beat them as a result. Right now, it seems to me that they're merely ... throwing pawns at you. If they ever deviate from that strategy, you might be finished in one fell swoop."

"I know ... I know." she replied, sounding more and more depressed by the second.

"Now then, about the other encounters. How many were there?"

"Three other fights in the last week. We fought the same guys twice, and the battle before that we fought a group of bandits that they used to stop us. That fight was where we got our first lead. We found a note that's got a list of contacts on it." she said taking out the list and handing it over.

Looking it over, he had a few things to say. "... bloody hell why is Rodrigo on this list? Also there are a few officers on this list that were at last night's demonstration ... and even a church official?"

"It turned out that they were only paying Rodrigo for information, but once he started helping us, they went after him too. The guy we captured, Boris, he was the only one that didn't get killed, the only survivor."

Local Jail

"WHADDYA MEAN HE'S DEAD?!!!" Rodrigo shouted slamming his hands down on the guard's desk.

"D.E.A.D. That's what I mean. He offed himself in his cell last night. It's pretty common, annoying as that is." the guard explained while flipping through some logs.

"Ahhh dammit, he was one of THOSE. I hate enemies that kill themselves to protect secrets. Dammit ... just ... DAMMIT! Urgh!" he fumed. "Man, they are not gonna like this. All that effort for a capture, dealing with this guy for two days and now we've got nothin' to show for it. Fantastic."

"You want the sword? It's just going to auction or one of the other guards otherwise. Figure you might want first say since it was your capture. After all, you could have just kept it instead of giving it to us."

"I gave it to you for a reason, buddy. What do I need a swordslayer for? Wait ... yeah I'll take it. Doesn't top my blade, but maybe Raquel can use it." he said shrugging.

[Mercakete]

There really wasn't anything to do besides listen and really, listening proved to be quite insightful. Whoa... I didn't think it was something this big... Gytha thought as she heard for the first time why these people were attacking them in the first place. Amon's coment, she noticed, was something she had yet to hear. "I agree with Vernika," Gytha mentioned, "I'll not be joinin' anyone who stabs at one o' me friends without a darn good reason." Next time we see'er, she'll have me t' deal with. Not sayin' I'll win, but I won't just stand asside, either. Like with Caine. That name still made her blood boil. From the sound of things, a lot of people would have to suffer her wrath, what with how many were trying to kill her newfound friends. Suddenly, her thoughts took on a lighter note. Inland's a good place t' make friends, looks like.

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

Maw napped on the cart.

[GoD]

Chelsea proccesed the information as much as she could, however not all of it made sense, probably due to the fact that she was kinda new and missed a lot of the action.

Veronika's comment made Chelsea giggle, though she kept it silent much to the troubador's chagrin.

She then noticed that Gytha was among her circle of allies and decided to go say hi to her.

"Hello Gytha, nice to see you."- Chelsea kept her voice as low as possible so as not to disturb Weyland and Raquel.