Return of the Emblem Chapter Four: The Human Condition

[Phoenix]

That One Place

"We're Rusko's gang ... which is a bit of a bad joke since Rusko's dead. We're led by Kelly now. She's some drop out pegasus knight gone bandit who dated Rusko until he got surrounded by a patrol and skewered to death. That was dramatic ... anyway, we do tend to hire whoever's got some skills since it's the only way to not be steamrolled over by the Farsiders or anyone else that large ... and yeah, we'll even take street kids if we can get'em. That's just how you have to do things when you're this small. They're better at stealing than most of us. Of the ten of us left, we've got a pretty good mix of everything, I'd say. Sword, lance, axe, bow, magic, peggie, armor, etc." he explained. "We typically have to pick times and places the Farsiders don't already have picked out, since if they can't recruit you, they'll probably just do that cavalry shit, surround and kill you. You know how it is I'm sure. Early evening works best for us, when people are just barely getting use to the dark." he added trying not to sound like he actually enjoyed being so sneaky.

Cathedral

When Remiel returned, he found Io looking at the statues of the minor gods on the left side of the room. "Well that was fast." she said plainly.

"Looking at the vasili again, are you?" he asked.

"Just wondering about the artistry, and what they really looked like." she shot back with a smile. "Tell me, Father Remiel, what do you think this one?" she asked pointing to a statue of a woman standing quite tall.

Looking at the inscriptions at the base, he began commenting saying "Mmm, Nyx. Queen of the night. A controversial figure, that one. Some people simply cannot overlook the fact that she took part in the great rebellion. I suppose I am one of those individuals. Aside from whatever crimes she may have committed against the gods, she redeemed herself in the end it seems."

"Hmm."

[Mercakete]

"Thank you," Bert repeated, backing off somewhat, "You're free to go, but I'm warning you right now: If you tell Kelly and her gang that you told me all or any of this and they don't kill you, I will hunt you down and you won't escape. Understand?" He was going over the new information in his head while he gave the warning, keeping his axe handy just in case this guy decided to pull a fast one. They're mostly away during the early evening, location marked on the map, good mix of all sorts of types of fighters, only ten of them left, leader is Kelly, she rides a pegasus, has at least some military training, name is Rusko's Gang. "Oh, but one more thing, if you don't mind: What sort of weapon does Kelly use?"

[Phoenix]

Retiring With Health Benefits

"Are you kidding? When you said you were Bert the Crusher and took out Kyle even in that big suit of armor, I knew we were done here. It was fun but I had a feeling we were either going to get taken out by the Farsiders, bounty hunters, or the authorities one of these days." he said sounding a bit relieved and sad all at the same time. "Kelly? She's got a sword but she don't know how to use it. She's more likely to stand back and let the others do the fighting. Youuu might be able to talk her down ... maybe. I dunno." he trailed off.

[Mercakete]

"Thanks; this has really helped me out. Well, good luck out there," Bert was finally satisfied with the information he'd gotten, letting the man go and walking back over to Riz, who was only a short distance away. As he was putting the map in her saddlebags, the pegasus rider couldn't help but see his hands, covered with bloodsplatters. Sighing, he finished his task of putting the map away, then walked over to the horseman and his passenger. Riz followed.

"Thanks for the help. If you want, you can take the trampled guy and the guy you shot to the authorities and maybe get some pay. They should still be alive, unless you shot to kill and unless Riz here acctidentally stepped on the bandit's windpipe when we ran him over. Say they're from Rusko's Gang," Bert thanked. He was about to leave when he noticed something he'd been too focussed on before to realize. "... You a dark avian?" he asked the lady riding with the bowman. He'd only heard of the winged people, having never actually met one himself. He didn't really know much about them other than the fact that they had bird wings and were usually more powerful than huamns.

[Phoenix]

Someplace

The remaining uninjured bandit nodded, stood up, grabbed his things, and started hiking back toward the road. If he was going to start looking for a job, he'd better get to it, he figured.

Joanna was still shielding herself a bit behind Valter, but peeked out to answer Bert's eventual question. "Y-yes, I'm a dark avian." she answered, feeling just slightly less worried.

[Mercakete]

"Looks like you have healing abilities. ... Well, I can say I've seen a dark Avian up close now. I have business to take care of. ... Like washing up," Bert muttered the last part to himself as he turned and began heading in a the direction he'd found the stream earlier in the day after the Farsiders incident. It shouldn't be that far from here. These wounds are superficial, so I should be able to heal on my own. They helped me out, but it's really best we part ways now. I made good progress today. If Raquel'd just hurried up and fixed up my tunic, though, that swordsman wouldn't have seen my wounds and the one on my left wouldn't hurt so much. Grrr... And she still has my maces! If I had them, I wouldn't have needed those two's help! Useless merchant woman... Looting Rusko's Gang's and the Farsiders' bases will definately get me enough gold to get them back. Then I won't need this old, iron axe anymore. Grrr.. If I had my maces...! Curse that pink-haired merchant and her gang of mercenaries! UGH; WHY DO I HAVE TO BE ONE OF THEM FOR NOW?! Grrr... Oh well. It's for Splinter and Crunch, so I'll have to just do my best... I'll head back over towards that inn after I wash up, I guess. That way I can keep a better eye on them. Don't think they'd send anyone if something came up and like I'd let that wretched wench get away with my maces AND my tunic! Riz followed Bert as he internally cursed pin-haired merchants named Raquel and all who willingly followed her command, especially pirate women with guns.

OoC: Roy, go on and yell at him if you want. He's leaving but isn't impossible to call back over. He's not far enough away for that.

[roymbrog]

With the kid long gone, Synthia finally broke into the fits of laughter she’d been suppressing the whole time. “That was great, that was really great. You’re forgiven, Nanahm, I haven’t had this much fun in a long time,” she said. “Gytha, that was amazing, the kid looked like he was going to wet himself.”

Curious to see if Sammy was back in the hall yet, as he’d have to pass their room to get outside, she poked her head out the door and peered down the hall. Instead of Sammy, she saw Ranyin. She looked at him, a huge grin plastered on her face. “Did you see that archer?”

------

Valter smiled as one of the bandits surrendered. Two down, one to go. Just as he was about to turn his attention to the last one Bert charged him, killing him on the spot, in a rather barbaric manner, he thought. He groaned and lowered his weapon. He had been specifically trying to not kill them, and this hotheaded fool just went and screwed up his plan.

“I’m sorry, Joanna, I was trying to keep the rest of them alive,” he said, guiding his horse towards the fallen thief. He dismounted and pulled a short coil of rope from one of the saddlebags before leaning down to bind the bandit’s arms. Once that was done he lifted the kid up and leaned him on his horse’s neck in the saddle in front of Joanna. “You can heal him now, if you’d like.”

As Riz landed Phyllis snorted and backed away, closer to her rider. Horses were fine, and birds were fine, but a horse with bird wings was not something she considered normal, even if she had seen them before. After Bert finished his chat with the remaining bandit Valter tied up the bandit leader and pulled him over to his horse, wondering how he was going to carry him back.

“Uh… thanks?” he mumbled to the Pegasus rider, a bit unsure of what to say in this situation. Of course he was taking the survivors in to the authorities, but should he be taking this man in as well? He tensed as Bert approached his winged passenger, but was relieved he didn’t yell or scream or… well, generally do anything that would frighten her more than she already was. However, there was still the problem of transporting the unconscious bandits, he didn’t really have time to deal with this, and he still considered Bert responsible for what happened here, especially since he heard he was Bert the Crusher. “Hey, Bert!” he shouted, hoping to get his attention before he left. “You mind helping me carry these guys?”

[Mercakete]

"Heheh... He wouldn't last a day in Stubbsgrit, let alone a night," Gytha chuckled quietly to herself in responce to Synthia's praise. She didn't expect her roommate to hear, considering she was already talking to someone else outside their room. Gytha herself simply sat down on her bed and relaxed.

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

With a quiet sigh, the pegasus rider stopped walking away and looked back to the horseman. "It'd probably be better if I washed all this blood off before I go anywhere civilized, don't you think?" he asked, only somewhat irritated, "I have places to go, too. ... I guess they won't be expecting me until morning, though. ... Fine, I'll help you out, but I'm getting washed up first and then we have to stop somewhere between here and Ursentius: one of the suberbs. Deal?" I swear, if that useless merchant isn't done mending my tunic...

Edited June 8, 2011 by Mercakete

[roymbrog]

“Yes, of course. I just need them carried to the closest guard post anyway, that shouldn’t be too far from here,” Valter replied, leaning against his horse’s side. If he was going to have to wait for a while, he might as well be comfortable.

[Rothene]

"The archer? Oh, you mean that young newcomer? Yes I saw him make a hasty escape," said Ranyin slightly pale. He felt sorry for the kid. So young, and already subject to the horrors of Gytha. He had no idea how Synthia survived near Gytha and why would she even consider sharing a room with her. Probably Gytha's friendlier around other females, thought Ranyin suddenly imagining a monster surrounded by female virgins who were offered as sacrifices to it.

"So...ah...how goes your practice with wind magic?" asked Ranyin, trying to banish the horrifying imagery with a more casual subject.

[Mercakete]

So, Bert wandered off with Riz in tow, only returning after he'd washed himself, his axe and his clothes enough to be presentable in civilization. That is, the blood -- and any other sort of fluid or bits of skin -- was gone. Though he and his pegasus had walked to the stream, they flew back to save on time and to dry off a bit more. Only an hour or so had gone by by the time Riz landed, Norbert steaded in the saddle. "Alright, which one do you want us to carry?" he asked, directing Riz closer to the horseman and all associated with him.

[roymbrog]

“I swear, that was the funniest thing I’ve seen all day… Oh, my magic?” Synthia reached for her tome only to find that it was not in its usual pocket; she’d left it with her bag in the room. “I’ve improved, a bit. I left my tome in the room, come in for a second and I’ll show you.”

-----

Valter was jolted awake and almost fell over as his startled horse moved from behind him. He’d been leaning against her for the whole hour it seemed, first talking to Joanna, then napping. He quickly caught her reins and calmed her down, then turned to see Bert there on his pegasus, the reason for his horse’s discomfort.

“If you could take the one on the ground that’d be great,” he said, stroking his horse’s neck to keep her calm. Phyllis wasn’t a terribly large horse, he doubted she could carry more than two people, unfortunately. “Joanna, do you think you’ll be alright flying a short while?”

[Rothene]

"Come in?" asked Ranyin, his face paling even further. Inside's where the Gytha IS, inside I will be trapped, got to think of an excuse to not go in there, thought Ranyin panicking. He quickly recalled why he was leaving his room in the first place and said, "Ah, it seems we have to be on the move again immediately. I happen to be on my way down, perhaps you could show me your improvements on the wagon?"

[Mercakete]

"That's not a problem," Bert replied, dismounting and hoisting the unconcious leader onto Riz's back. The bandit stirred a little, though. Not wanting to take any chances, Bert simply, nonchalantly gave a hard jab to his head, knocking him out again. Once the bandit was slumped forward, unlikely to fall off since they were travelling on the ground anyway, Bert moved Rizen's reigns to lead her along. "You'll be riding your horse, Odd-Eye? I'll be walking anyway so you don't have to worry about keeping up," Bert asked as he began leading Riz towards the suberb which held the inn at which Raquel's group was staying.

[roymbrog]

“Yeah, sure. Let me go tell Gytha. I’ll meet you outside,” said Synthia, returning to the room. She grabbed her tome and a few other miscellaneous things she thought she might want. “We’re leaving now, I think,” she told Gytha, and indirectly Nanahm if he was still by the door. She left and hurried outside... to find Gabbie standing around with Raquel. Synthia was confused. Didn’t she say she was staying at that fancy hotel?

-----

He winced at the nickname Bert gave him. That brought up bad memories. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call me that. My name is Valter,” the bowman replied, leading his horse to opposite side of Riz. It was both good and bad news that Bert hadn’t decided to fly. Good that he didn’t have to lose track of his charge, but bad that they would make poorer time. When people asked him for favors they expected them done on time, dammit.

[Rothene]

When Synthia turned away to retrieve her belongings, Ranyin hurried down the stairs and out of the inn in order to avoid a potential encounter with Gytha. Out there, he was surprised to see Gabbie with raquel as he had expected her to be off at a fancy hotel with Connor. He was too tired to go asking around and instead went to find a nice spot on top of the wagon to lie down and take a quick nap.

[Mercakete]

"Already? Well, alright," Gytha was looking forward to some sleep, but she figured she could sleep when she wasn't needed to defend things, so she followed Synthia out, leaving her cat and her things in their room -- she already had the essentials on her belt anyway -- figuring they'd be coming back later. The mariner didn't pay the scene much mind. Instead she simply got onto the cart's roof and tried to take a quick nap until they would inevitably be under attack.

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

"Tch," Bert's way of appologizing, not that it sounded like it at all. "You already know my name, so I guess we're on even ground that way. What're you doing in the wilderness, anyway? Get lost?" he asked, "Or maybe you're trying to stick to the wilderness for some reason. Bounty-hunting?" His eyes flicked over to Joanna for a second before making his next guess. "... Eloping?"

[roymbrog]

Valter made a noise somewhere between coughing and choking. “None of those, actually, especially not that last one.” There was a very evident blush on his face. That was not appropriate, why would he think that?! “W-We’re just traveling. I needed to escort this lady to Ursium and the quickest way happened to be through here. Is there a problem with that?”

[Mercakete]

Bert chuckled quietly to himself at how vivid a red the odd-eyed horseman's face was. His stuttering only added to the humor of it. "Don't you mean 'Ursentius?' You're already in Ursium," Bert asked snidely, wondering if this Valter guy wished he was eloping with the dark avian woman.

[GoD]

"What's done is done. Don't beat yourself over it, alright? So anyways, what did you learn throught these years in terms of Magic?"- Chelsea asked Shadrak seeing that he calmed down.

[roymbrog]

Valter looked as if he’d just swallowed a bug. Of course he meant Ursentius! Damn his tongue! This was… this was just embarrassing. “…Yeah, I did.”

[Zsword]

"I learned quite a bit in fact" Shadrak said, looking around the surroundings with a conerned look. "But I'd much rather talk about it inside, shall we get our room?" He asked Chelsea with a smile.

[Mercakete]

Bert couldn't help but laugh. "Hahahahahahaaa!! Well, don't worry, then, Valter, it won't take too long before you're in the capital. Heheh..."

After cutting across some farmland to make better time, the party of two men, two mares, two unconcious prisoners and a dark avian eventually made it to the inn and saw the party getting ready to move out. Seeing this, the pegasus rider was glad he'd decided to check back....and he could feel his frustration rising. "I have someone to talk to," he informed Valter and Joanne before briskly waking up to Raquel. Even without his leading, Riz followed somewhat. She could tell this was one of those times Bert wanted to deal with something himself.

"I don't care if you couldn't find enough lodging, but you'd better say that my tunic's repaired," the pegasus rider demanded, suspecting that it wasn't.

[GoD]

"Unfortunately it seems like we're going to be moving out. Tough break."- Chelsea told Shadrak.

[Zsword]

Shadrak nodded "Aye, I guess that's true, oh well, I guess we'll wait then." he said, pulling out his new tome to skim through a couple more pages.