Return of the Emblem Chapter Four: The Human Condition

[Mercakete]

Bert simply took his axe in hand and gave it a once-around spin. "You know, I was hoping you'd be some of the smarter bandits. Maybe at least keeping informed about who might hunt you," he mentioned, steering Riz around a little with his heels and free hand and keeping her ready to fly up for when -- he was pretty sure "if" wasn't going to happen -- he was attacked. "If you're going to attack me, then you might as well get it overwith. I'm warning you, though, I'm fighting back. Too bad I don't have my maces with me right now... I'll have to just enjoy hacking your limbs off instead of smashing you all to a fine pulp...unless, of course, you change your minds and tell me where your cache is as well as any information you might have on the Farsiders' base." Either a group attack or a realization is next. Then we'll see who'll talk and who'll bleed.

[GoD]

Chelsea knew that Raquel was a bit upset so she bowed at her, and faced the woman with a sad smile. "Excuse my impertinence Lady Raquel. I know you must be stressed out, and I probably made it worse with that kind of joke. I'm sorry to make you worry about trivial matters. Just try to keep a positive attitude and everything will work out, alright? Well then please excuse us."- she bowed once again and, signaling Shadrak to follow her, she made her way inside the inn, and up the stairs to get to her room.

"I must remember to not make any crude jokes when the timing does not seem right."

[Zsword]

Shadrak nodded towards Raquel. "Alrighty then." He said as he jogged to catch up with Chelsea, following her up to which-ever room she picked out. It didn't matter to him really which, so if she had a preferance he might as well roll with that. Man, If I'm wrong this is gonna suck... He thought to himself as he followed, carefully storing his new tome in his robes as he did so.

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"Maybe she thinks whoever's she fighting will be uh, distracted or something," Connor responded to Craig. "Anyway, I'm ready to go when you are, no rush or anything." I feel a little bad just leaving Gabbie and the rest when they're off fighting, but I'd probably just get in the way. Probably more use to them doing research than trying to swing a sword anyway.

Veronika

"Let's share a room then," Veronika suggested to Raquel. "And Amon, you should really sleep in a bed. I know you were healed, but you were in a hospital just a few nights ago. Severe injuries heal better with proper rest, well that's what my mother always told us anyway."

[roymbrog]

Aha, that room was too smelly, hmm, that one had only one bed, oh, and only two were on the side facing away from the sunrise. Synthia stepped into one of the two rooms and set her bag down. “Gytha, this room ok with you?” she asked the mariner as she heard her catch up. She stepped over to the window and pushed the curtains aside, letting in the evening light and a decent view of the surrounding area.

[Mercakete]

Gytha dropped her bag next to the unclaimed bed, entirely happy with Synthia's choice. "Aye, this is a good'un," she replied. Maw padded in after them and jumped up onto Gytha's bed to curl up and lie down. Then she looked around the room from where she was. This was where they would be.

[roymbrog]

Synthia had turned around about to say something when she saw the cat slip in after Gytha and sit on the bed. She had seen the cat hanging around and had a vague idea that it was Gytha’s, but she hadn’t expected it to come inside with them. She hadn’t really paid much attention to its appearance till now either, come to think of it. Leaning over, she inspected the bandages on her head. The wounds didn’t look recent, but Synthia was still curious. “Gytha, what happened to your cat?”

[Mercakete]

Maw glared her one eye and lowered her head, omitting a low growl as the other human got a bit too close.

"Oh, Maw? She's had those injurries since I met'er," Gytha replied, sitting on the bed Maw was already settled on, "It was back in Fairgale Port. I was in from a voyage, havin' been paid fer me services in protectin' th' cargo. Rented a shack off the dock so I could relax for a while. One night I heard somethin'. Had no idea what sort of monster could make a sound like that. Some sort of screech n' growln'. It lasted a while, so I ignored it. Next day, I began lookn' around. Eventually found Maw, just layin' there. She was too scared t' move and her eye was bleedin' real bad. Or rather, where her eye was. She had lots o' other scratches, too... A bleedin', furry, broken sack o' life. I brought'er back t' me shack and helped t' fix'er up. Took a while but eventually she recovered and got used t' me. Ever since, I've brought'er along with me on voyages, offerin' t' take care o' th' rats fer th' captains fer extra pay. Maw pays fer herself, ye see. She and I do well workin' with each other."

By the end of her story, she was smiling at Maw. The seafaring woman and her seafaring cat. Who knew?

[Phoenix]

Banditoes

"Wait ... who the hell is this guy? Only idiots and bounty hunters pull this kind of shit." the apparent leader said.

"Who cares? He's just one guy. Let's fuck'em up and then see what made him think he could mess with us." another chimed in readying hi axe.

"Nah, let's just kill'em and be done with it. When we're done with him it won't matter where who he is, heheh."

"Alright, what's you're name, toughshit? I want to write it up on my wall-o-kills." the leader said.

Craig

"Alright then, follow me, and stay close." Craig instructed as he began walking toward the entrance. Once outside, he looked around. The crowds weren't as thick, but he was in no mood for muscling through crowds. Maybe if I was on my own, but we won't get there any faster like this, so we'll take a carriage. Craig mused. Once he summoned a cab, he paid the driver and they were off down the streets of Ursentius.

Party

"That's fine with me." Raquel replied when Veronika suggested sharing rooms.

Amon may have been fine with sleeping outside, but suggestions contrary to that still arose. "Well ... I guess you're right, Veronika, but ... what about the wagon? I know it's probably a little paranoid but shouldn't someone actually be out here guarding it for the night? The university wasn't even all that secure so I know we've got no shortage of ways to get robbed in a place like this." he explained worriedly.

"Is this really that bad a neighborhood, you think?" she asked.

"I don't know. Just trying to be cautious is all."

Edited June 6, 2011 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Of course, the usual banter of a new area... The pegasus knight looked over to the leader, smiling, unphazed by their talk of their plans for his demise as he answered the question, "Bert the Crusher." With that reply, Bert gave the unspoken commands to Riz, having her rush at the lader, trampling him down before turning to face the other three remaining. "I'll save that one for later! Lets see what you three decide to do in the meantime!" he laughed, axe and unspoken pegasus commands at the ready.

[roymbrog]

Synthia backed off a little, getting the hint that the cat liked its personal space. “Poor thing. She’s lucky you found her,”she said. She would’ve pet the cat’s head, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t appreciate it that much so she kept her hands to herself.

[Rothene]

With the confirmation that they would be picking rooms for themselves, Ranyin immediately sped off not too far behind Synthia and Gytha. If it were not for Gytha's close proximity, he would have already overtaken Synthia in the search for rooms.

By the time he went around looking through the rooms, the final decision was not hard to make. He picked on the the rooms facing the sunrise, because it was farthest from the room he spotted Synthia and Gytha enter. It was a small room with thankfully two beds and the air was not to stuffy as the morning sunlight would remove the dampness of the room. He called out to John and asked, "John! This one good enough for you?"

[Acacia Sgt]

John had followed Ranyin not that far behind. Hearing him out, he took a look inside of the room to see for himself.

''Well, looks decent enough.'' He answered. ''Yeah, let's go with this one.''

[Phoenix]

Bandits

Bandit A

Class: Level 1 Soldier

Raw Stats

HP: 3 STR: 3 MAG: 0 SKL: 4 SPD: 3 LCK: 2 DEF: 4 RES: 1

Simplified Stats

HP: 9 MT: 3 Hit: 4 Evade: 5 AS: 3 Defense: 4 Resistance: 1

Weapon 1: Iron Lance E

Overall Stats

HP: 9 MT: 3 Hit: 4 Evade: 5 AS: 3 Defense: 4 Resistance: 1

Bandit B

Class: Level 1 Thief

Raw Stats

HP: 3 STR: 2 MAG: 0 SKL: 5 SPD: 5 LCK: 3 DEF: 1 RES: 1

Simplified Stats

HP: 9 MT: 2 Hit: 5 Evade: 8 AS: 5 Defense: 1 Resistance: 1

Weapon 1: Iron Sword E

Overall Stats

HP: 9 MT: 2 Hit: 5 Evade: 8 AS: 5 Defense: 1 Resistance: 1

Bandit C

Class: Level 1 Knight

Raw Stats

HP: 4 STR: 4 MAG: 0 SKL: 3 SPD: 2 LCK: 1 DEF: 5 RES: 1

Simplified Stats

HP: 12 MT: 4 Hit: 3 Evade: 3 AS: 2 Defense: 5 Resistance: 1

Weapon 1: Iron Axe E

Overall Stats

HP: 12 MT: 4 Hit: 3 Evade: 3 AS: 2 Defense: 5 Resistance: 1

Bandit A 9/9

Bandit B 9/9

Bandit C 12/12

"Alright, enough playin' around! We're gonna make you regret that, ya little pony ridin' punk! Take'm down! Now!" a bandit shouted.

Edited June 6, 2011 by Phoenix

[MinunRobotnik4]

Saken saw the others begin to divide up and head into rooms.

Well, no one is going to volunteer to sleep in the same room as I am, for obvious reasons. Suppose I will check with the leader of this group.

He went up to the one that others made apparent was the leader and said, "Hey I guess I am the new guy. I am just wondering if there is anybody who still needs someone to room with."

[Mercakete]

"When did everyone start confusing pegasi for ponies? And in Ursium no less... Is that supposed to be an insult?" Bert muttered to himself as he took out the red drought again. Two more uses... I can save this for later. He put it back into his saddlebag then directed Riz into the air. He didn't fly very high before they changed direction and swooped down, aiming for the first bandit.

WTA!

((3+2)+4)-5 = 4 = hit!

(4+5)-4 = 5 damage!

Bert's attack struck true, the edge of his axe gutting a deep gash into the lance-wielder's shoulder. He retaliated as quickly as he could before Bert could pull up again.

WTD!

((4-2)+6)-6 = 2 = hit!

(3+2)-3 = 2 damage!

Though the bandit's lance manages to scratch Bert's arm, it really didn't do much. Bert was in the air again in no time, ready to come down and finish the pikeman off.

Bert 13/15

Bandit A 4/9

[Phoenix]

Bandits

Being struck hard, the lance wielding bandit cursed. "Damn you! Stop flying around like a little coward! That's right, fool! You're nothin' without your flyin' hay eatin' pony!"

Inn

"The only people I know of sharing rooms so far are Veronika and I, Synthia and Gytha, Nanahm and Sammy, Ranyin and John, and Shadrak and Ch ... elsea." she said, still a bit uncertain about allowing the last pair. That leaves Amon, you, Axel, Domovoi, Damian, umm ... Bert. Am I missing anyone?" she asked no one in particular.

[Mercakete]

"Hahaahahahahahahaha! You think Riz is my only advantage! I just outclass you! If you insist on fighting me on foot, I can do that, too!" Bert laughed, his furvor rising as it always did in battle. On his next swooping pass, Bert jumped off of his pegasus' back, letting her fly back into the air as his axe came down at the pikeman's skull.

WTA!

((3+2)+3)-5 = 3 = hit!

(4+5)-4 = 5 damage!

As Bert stood up, he wrenched his axe out of the bleeding corpse's skull, accidentally breaking the neck in the process. "Oops. I didn't mean to break his neck... Oh well. It isn't as though he'll miss it," Bert chuckled, looking to the other two with a sinister sneer, "Who's next?" His pegasus flew overhead, waiting to aid her rider when he needed her or wanted her assistance.

Bert 13/15

[Phoenix]

Bandits

"Y-you bastard! You bastaaaard!" one of the bandits said charging at Bert with the other one not far behind him.

[Mercakete]

"I only have one axe, guys, you'll have to take turns giving it something to drink," Bert laughed before running at the smaller between the remaining two, armed bandits.

WTD!

AUTOHIT!

(4+4)-1 = 7 damage!

Bert's axe tore into his vistim's flesh, nearly gutting the swordsman. However, the bandit quickly pulled his arm over the wound to keep his organs in and slashed out with his quick sword in retaliation.

WTA!

((5+2)+3)-6 = 4 = hit!

(2+5)-3 = 4 damage!

The swordsman managed to make a longer, larger cut on the back Bert's opposite forearm from where his comrade had only scratched. Bert was still smiling, though. "You're quick," he mentioned offhandedly, ignoring the fact that the line on his arm was beginning to darken red.

Bandit B 2/9

Bert 9/15

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

Connor was glad to be on a carriage ride, since his feet were rather tired from following Gabbie around.

"So Craig...how did you come to work for Weyland Enterprises? And what do you...do really?" he asked the man, attempting to make polite conversation. Uncle employed a number of people from interesting backgrounds, but Connor didn't rmemeber meeting this fellow before.

Veronika

"Hmm, perhaps you are right, I was robbed earlier after all. Someone should stay with the wagon and someone should watch Saken. Though if you're going to stay out here in the wagon, we could at least get some pillows and bedding for you to sleep on," she said to Amon, crossing her arms.

[Phoenix]

Bleeding Bandits

"Holy crap!" One of the bandits shouted as the other took a nasty hit. "Come on! Pull yourself together, we've got to kill this guy now!"

"Urgh ... damn you, punk. Is that all you've got?! Huh?!"

Inn

"I'd appreciate that. Thank you, Veronika." Amon replied. "I'm use to just picking a nice spot that's not being wind chilled and sleeping up against a wall. It's easier for me to come to that way, and it's how I was doing it until joining you all. Since I'm not usually sleeping alone nowadays there's not as much reason to be so cautious."

"On a rooftop somewhere, right?" Raquel added.

"Uh ... yeah, but sometimes an alley is safer."

"What are you, crazy? Sleep like a normal person." Raquel shot at the Rexian.

I'm an agent. We have to be trained to survive alone and with no allies or extra equipment. It's sad, but operating alone requires poor man's luxuries sometimes. He thought to himself. I'm just glad that I'm use to it so I've got nothing to complain about if I suddenly have to go back into doing it regularly.

Cab

Sitting there almost completely motionless, Craig explained in a tone that suggested he was deeply recalling events as they came to mind. "I use to work with a special unit outside this country. We handled almost any kind of mission that our superiors required of us. However, as good as we were, we were still just pawns. When our numbers came up, I was the only one left standing, and so I got out. A few short months of outstanding mercenary work brought some unwanted attention my way. Too many job offers, not enough compensation. Long term contracts, same jobs-different superiors. Let's just say your uncle made the best offer ... or rather ... the right offer." Craig explained, finally looking at Connor at the end of it.

"As for what I do ... well ..." he paused letting his coat open just enough for Connor to spot some of the weapons he had on him without alerting the driver. A short sword was hidden inside, along with a gun, a large dagger, and even some grenades. "Beyond that, I help get any information we might need ... for whatever purpose."

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

Veronika smiled a little. "I used to see people sleeping in alleys back in Kievan Rus, the ones too poor to have houses I suspect. I always had the luxury of staying in the manor myself, never really found myself getting jealous since it looked rather uncomfortable. Some proper bedding might be a nice change I think."

Connor

Cool Connor thought as the man showed him his weaponry. "Uncle Seth seems to have knack for picking up talented individuals. Have to wonder where he picks them all up. Come to think of it, I don't even know where Gabbie came from really. Guess it never came up," he said, shrugging.

Nadya

A few minutes passed by, and Nadya saw no signs of the group. She didn't see any wyverns stabled around anywhere nearby either, which was a fairly sure sign that they weren't at this hotel. She sighed and looked up into the sky, which was getting darker.

Squinting, she could make out a faint glow in the distance. "Hey Luca, do you think that's...the Satarma? Maybe it showed up here to guide us back to our job. Whaddya think? Should we follow it?" she asked the horse, leaning against him.

[Mercakete]

A whistle and a rush of wind later, Riz had landed near Bert, who quickly took out the drought from before. "You're a bit fast for me right now, even with a wound like that. So I'm going to put this to good use..." the pegasus rider mentioned before quickly downing another dose, corking it and securing it back into Riz's saddlebag. He sent Riz off again as the stimulant began to take effect. Again Bert felt the warmth in his muscles both relaxing them for easier movement and tensening them to increase their power. Again he felt his senses clear somewhat and again he felt a slow grin widening across his face. "Heheh... Hahahahahahaa! Now let's see the effects of that little miracle potion combined with my strength!" Bert laughed, readying his axe.

Stimulant use! New mt = 6! New hit = 4!

With that, Bert charged, setting his sights on the already-wounded badnit with the sword.

WTD!

((4-2)+1)-8 = miss!

The frightened bandit managed to get out of the way of Bert's reckless charge before attempting another swing at Bert.

WTA!

((5+2)+3)-6 = 4 = hit!

(2+2)-3 = 1 CRITICAL! 2 damage!

Had the swordsman been stronger, perhaps he would have made more than a small cut on Bert's chest. For a moment, Bert paused. That would have been a mortal blow...if the thief hadn't been so weak. His silence only lasted a moment before he burst out laughing. "Y-you!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA! You could have killed me...but you're so weak! HAHAHAAAA!"

Bandit B 2/9

Bert 7/15

[Phoenix]

Bandit Troubles

"Sh-sh-shut up!" the bandit shouted at Bert, trying to figure out a different method of attacking the man. He would have to aim for his neck or face next time to maximize the damage he could do.

"Don't give up, we can wear this bastard down and then we'll be the ones laughing!" the armored one said.

Inn

"Heh, agreed." Amon said with a smile.

"I'll give them a little while longer, then I'll just start pairing people myself so we can hurry up and get our room prices."

"Oooooiiiiii! Piiinkyyy!" came a familiar voice from the air which caused Raquel to cringe angrily. What did she have to do to get that woman to stop calling her 'Pinky'?

When the woman landed, Raquel had a response ready for her as well. "What is it, Gabbie ..."

Gabbie glared. "Call me Gabbie again and I'll drop you. Now look, folks, we're runnin' out of toime to act here. We need to foind one of these scoientists and do our job. There's only three left aloive that we know about. As you can see, the suns gonna be down soon and that's when this guy comes out to play, so we need to hurry."

"Are you rushing us or are we seriously running out of time here?" Raquel asked, not being entirely convinced.

"Ffffuuuck, woman! How many nanoseconds did you even look at the files before you went 'Oh! Well this is just over my pretty little head! Here ya go Amon! Take it!~'?! We only knew about ten scientists, and seven are dead! We've got no guarantee he's not gonna catch these geeks all in one place and off the lot of'em before we find out what they're up to. This is no toime to be questionin' me, we've gotta get a move on! If we get goin' roight now, we'll still be another hour before we even reach the city, so just standin' around here is pointless!"

Yep, just keep yelling at me like that, GABBIE. That really drives your point home. Raquel thought crossing her arms and glaring right back at Gabbie. Turning to Veronika, Amon asked quietly "Should I go let everyone inside know what's going on?" Then again, they might already know since Gabbie's being so loud. he thought.

Cab

"I've been through Gabbie's file. She's not much different from me really, just less ... graceful ... or dignified." Craig explained. "No idea where she's from, but all of her time in Ursium has been spent doing some unsavory work for wealthy businessmen or cunning nobles. That was in the west however. In this region she wasn't going to go long without the authorities coming down on her, and hard. She was defeated eventually of course but since Weyland was involved, the outcome was a bit different than one might expect. Her employer ... disappeared once we found him," he said squinting slightly. "... and she was given an ultimatum. I suppose she's handled it better than most would." he explained.

Hotel

Looking up at the sky with Nadya, Luca was a bit annoyed by all the blocked angles. So similar to a jungle. There were so many places, so many directions they could be ambushed from, and no clear view of the sky save for what was right above them. It would be awhile before the rest of the nighttime lights came out, but the largest ones seemed to be coming out already, and when Nadya mentioned it by name, his ears perked up. They might be leaving. Were they getting ready to go after the light again? If that was the case, he was ready. This was no place for a horse ... an intelligent horse anyway. The others wandering about were just hapless slaves and he knew it, so they didn't count.

Luca gave an affirming nicker and then started scanning the area for anything that might be stalking them.

Tower

Sundown was nearing and at the top of the city, from the tallest structures in the city, the sky could be view from the perfect vantage point. Gabriel was taking full advantage of this and sitting at the edge of one of the largest towers in the city gazing out at the sun. Behind his back was a rather large two handed sword. His gaze was out on the horizon, and a small grin was on his face.

The Southern Fortress

When the Neviskotians and the sheep had been brought to the fortress, Patricia was surprised to learn that tailing Sabina had proven to be the right call. A report came in that placed her at a large building deep in the metropolitan area. The building was on file and listed as an old research building that was still in use, so when the background checks on all of the serial killer's victims revealed that they were all professors, scientists, magicians, or medical specialists, her interest was piqued.

"Hmm, this serial killer definitely has a goal here, and I think I might know what it is." she said to no one in particular. They had also learned about several people involved rather closely with the victims, at last. Patricia decided to base some of her theory on the likelihood that Sabina was working for one of the scientists. Since there was no bounty issued publicly by the military, Sabina most likely could have only gotten the job from someone closely involved. Two long pacing hours of data compiling, digging up old records about the victims, and piecing things together, Patricia came to a conclusion, and that conclusion altered the mission parameters significantly.

"Listen up, people." she began addressing a lot of soldiers, and many of the volunteers that showed up. "Our current theory is that the serial killer has been targeting people who were all involved in the same field of scientific research, a specific privately funded project even. Information on the project ... whatever it is, is so carefully safeguarded that we haven't been able to determine what they're up to, and ordinarily we would be on their asses about this by now if we had learned of it sooner. What we do know however is that the killer is after all of them. So to catch him, we'll surround them. Tonight, we'll be positioning our troops in a parameter around the research building in east Ursentius. Most of them will be from among you, and you'll be hidden until we give the signal to attack. Now if this turns out to be some sort of black project, we may end up dealing with more hostiles than just the killer, so look sharp, and be prepared to face any security units guarding the building. Now myself and several officers will be making an attempt to learn what we can about the project during the course of the operation, so command will be left to the Captains of each division." she explained.

"It's a two-fold operation now ..." Lyra said to herself, a bit surprised. So Trish is going to use the ambush troops to not only take out the killer, but also entrap the occupants of the research building too. Even if they're well equipped, they probably won't be able to defeat us, so surrounding them in advance will ensure our victory so long as they don't suspect this from the onset. If they surrender when they realize we have them pinned, maybe we'll be able to find out what they're doing in there ... and without a bunch of people dying .... she speculated.