Return of the Emblem Chapter Four: The Human Condition

[Mercakete]

"Nah, you're misunderstanding me, Rooftop. I never said I'd fly you up to the buildings' highest points. I meant you could just play the passenger while I flew over the streets a ways. The point is to avoid traffic, right? Of course you'd have to jump off after a short stretch; Riz isn't a carrier pigeon," Bert clarified, leaning foreward and resting his chin on his arms on his pegasus' neck. Most the irritation was absent from his tone again, except for the last warning.

"Riz?" Gytha echoed in confusion, "Thought yer name was Bert or somethin'."

"I'm called Bert, Norbert or-- Well, you know my job name," he replied, not exactly feeling like using it in the city, "Riz is my pegasus. Well, that's what I call her most of the time. Her full name is Rizen." Though his voice was still a bit gruff, Bert was actually calm now and his tone showed it.

"I'm Gytha and this'ere's Maw," the mariner introduced, indicating the dozing cat next to her. He's not so bad once you're around him long enough I guess.

The pegasus rider shifted his eyes to see who Gytha was indicating. "You have a cat?"

"Aye. Met 'er in Fairgale."

"That's pretty far south. Isn't that in Central Sardius?"

"Aye, but I'm usually out at sea. I'm a mariner after all," Gytha answered with a bit of pride.

"Oh, so that's where your accent's from. Sounds like we come from opposite sides of Ursium. I'm from the mountains in the north," the pegasus rider was actually smiling at this point. It was quite a calm exchange.

"HAHAHARRR! So that's where YER accent's from!" Gytha laughed.

Bert looked quizically at the woman on the wagon's roof. "I have an accent...?"

"HAHAARR! Aye, ye do! It's a bit different from most landlubbers' accents. Not sure how t' describe th' difference, though," the mariner cheerfully replied.

"Hmm. ... Maybe it is because I'm from so far north. I never thought I had an accent before," he mused, mainly to himself, trying to figure out what could possibly have led to this seawoman to hear a difference in the way he and most Ursians spoke.

[Snowy_One]

"You are not going to let us leave this place alive, are you?"

As Robin asked the question, she could feel her fingers gripping subtly on her stone knife. She fully expected a 'no'. She could almost hear it being voiced in the air. The moment the hostile response came though, she would be ready. She suspected that she was not the only one planning for such a response either and that the sisters would have knives of their own ready for the crazy woman as well.

[-Cynthia-]

"It would appear that way yes. You can start by handing me back my coinpurse. Why did you steal it?" Veronika asked the man, not letting her sword down. I could just hand him over to the authorities, but I suppose I will give him a chance to talk for the moment.

[Phoenix]

Sabina and Thieves

Still holding the rifle in their general direction, Sabina examined all five of them. "You don't look like criminals ... not good ones anyway ... so no." She said lowering the rifle just slightly. "Until there's a warrant for your arrest, you've got nothing to fear from me but having your ass handed to you. This guy ... " she paused to gesture toward the dead broker. "He was already dead. He just didn't realize it yet. He was a good information broker. Too good in fact. He got his grimy little paws on some military secret and since they had no clue where he operated from, they put out a bounty. Since he knew something about my current target, I figured I would dig it out of him before I put him down."

"But that's just straight murder! He was defenseless!" Liliya yelled.

"Oh shut up. You got here after I turned the tables on him. If I knew he had an extra pistol lying around, I would have skewered both his hands ahead of time."

"You're that bounty hunter that operates in the west, aren't you?" Liza asked. She'd heard about the woman before since she was originally of Neviskotian descent.

Sabina nodded. "That would be me."

"So, you're trying to bring in the serial killer?" Bron interjected.

"There's no try, imbecile. You succeed or you fall flat on your face. I will kill him. That's all there is to it. Stay out of my way, and you won't get hurt."

She's so cool! She could take all five of us down and barely break a sweat! That's so awesome! Olga thought to herself.

[Snowy_One]

"We do not have any intention of getting in your way. Though our goal is independent of the killer, it is just related." Robin's eyes narrowed to an unusually wary level of focus. "We can both get what we want without stepping on each others toes. We are hunting the doe, and you the wolf that hunts the doe as it were."

Robin could feel the breath being caught in her chest as she spoke. This was not thin ice. This was negotiating without any leverage what so ever and your opponent knowing it. Using the murder would bring no avail as leverage as the... man... was the only out that the group now had for trying to find the serial killer. They couldn't risk the fight for fear of one of them killing the bounty hunter.

[roymbrog]

Synthia had spent most of the trip practicing magic, or rather, trying to learn how to use it in the first place. About halfway there she had figured out how to release power from the tome, but all that brought were uncontrollable gusts of wind. It wasn’t till they reached the city that she had any semblance of control over the air currents, and by then she was thoroughly distracted by the size and architecture. She’d been there once before when she was little, but it’d been such a long time she’d almost forgotten how absolutely massive the place was.

Raquel and some others started discussing lodging arrangements. Synthia wasn’t really paying attention; she didn’t care where they stayed as long as she wasn’t paying. Instead, she began concentrating on her wind magic again and soon succeeded in manipulating a breeze around herself. Excited, she was about to tell Ranyin… when she noticed he’d ran off. Alright then, next best thing.

“Gytha, look at this! I learnt how to use my tome!”

[Mercakete]

"HARR! That's great news!" Gytha exclaimed in excitement, "Now our team'll be even stronger! Somethin' like this deserves celebratin'! I'll go on and buy ye a present sometime soon." The mariner had already made up her mind. Today was a great day for her so far: she was on the job -- well, sort of. She was doing work for a friend which was just as good -- one of her friends and teammates had just learned a new skill she was proud of, she was getting along better with one of the newer members of the crew and she'd seen the capital of a country (or at least a piece of it). Needless to say, Gytha was in a very good mood.

"Congradulations," Bert offered to the mage. He was in a fairly good mood himself considering his usual temper. He'd forgotten his self-concousness for the mostpart and though this woman wasn't his friend, they were on the same side. When Gytha had mentioned their team getting stronger, he assumed she meant the group as a whole. He hadn't quite learned that they had individual combat teams yet.

[Phoenix]

Sabina and Doe Hunters

What did she mean by that analogy? Liza thought to herself.

"Hunters? Rival bounty hunters are the only thing I hate more than the scumbags I have to spend time chasing, and if you even hint at splitting the reward for that elusive prick, I'll blow your damn kneecaps off.

Amon and Raquel

While Raquel over her shoulder and down the street where Veronika and some others had run off, wondering if they had caught the thief or not, Amon listened to Gytha and Bert converse. He wasn't expecting to see the pegasus knight acting so friendly, relatively speaking. That was good. Synthia soon mentioned having managed a spell casting. That was also good. I'm guessing magic is pretty tough to wield ... and yet I've seen it used so naturally before. he thought.

[Snowy_One]

"We are not rival bounty hunters! It just so happens that our target happens to be related to yours, though the two are independent." hissed Robin. She could feel the adrenaline shooting through her body, her heart racing, and her muscles twitching with fear as the conversation continued on. One wrong word, and there would be one more body upon the floor. "We were looking for a distraction. The thought of using this killer as one came up as an idea. We don't care if he is caught, killed, or dancing; just that he is in one place at one time so that all the attention is on him. If need-be, I will even offer to help you catch him, free of charge, just to ensure that he is in that spot at that time. It is that important."

[MinunRobotnik4]

Digging into his pocket he pulled out the prize that he had to reluctantly give up. He made sure nothing had fallen out into his pocket and then extended his hand with the purse in it.

"Probably, for normal thief reasons, need money to keep self with a roof over my head and food in my stomache. Plus I didn't feel like working with my normal contacts, bunch of dull backstabbers, and thus I have been at a pickpocketing spree. You're the first complaint so far."

[-Cynthia-]

"I'm going to assume the other people you pickpocketed simply didn't notice. Most people do not enjoy being stolen from." Veronika said, taking her coinpurse from the man's hand. Well he is pretty good at what he does. If I hadn't been thinking about renting rooms when I did he'd be long gone.

"Haven't you ever thought about getting an actual job rather than resorting to crime? Stealing to maintain one's life is acceptable, but only when all other options are closed. And that still doesn't make it legal. I could turn you over to the guards, unless you have a good reason why I shouldn't."

[Phoenix]

Sabina and Thieves

Oh ... we are so screwed. Liliya thought to herself while Liza tried her best to get Robin to not explain anymore of the plan to the bounty hunter without saying anything in front of the woman.

"A distraction?"

Liza continued shaking her head in silent protest. Bron wasn't sure what to do at this point. He was trying to figure out a way to simply get them out of there without getting shot. "We'll just be on our way, if you don't mind."

"Oh nooo, stay, chat. I'm starting to enjoy the company of you imbeciles. Besides, I want to know what you're up to now." she said keeping the rifle aimed at them.

"Look, what we do is none of your business. We haven't bothered you about how you're going to find and take this guy out yet, now have we? Perhaps you could show us the same courtesy." he said, putting some strength into his voice to not sound as nervous as he was.

"Huh. Fair enough. You've been warned. Stay out of my way and you won't get hurt." she replied simply, lowering the rifle a little more. Not enough to give them an opening, but enough to let them know that she wouldn't shoot them if they kept their distance. The twins sighed heavily, relieved.

[ReformBlade]

Spitting out dirt from being dragged about, Sammy got up but not before punching the thief in the back of the knee. "That's for dragging me around like a fucking rag-doll, you dirty thief..." he said with all the tact he could muster. Seeing that Veronika had gotten her goods back, Sammy waited for the thief to try and make yet another break for freedom. Maybe he'd do it, maybe he won't, but damn, Sammy just wanted reasons to punch the guy at this point. Making me do something like that, what the hell, man...

[MinunRobotnik4]

The blow wasn't so hard that Saken wasn't able to ignore it, plus he was used to the foul language, as a thief it came with the job, not that he generally swore out loud himself.

"Unfortunately, most of my other options are closed and have been for quite a while now, probably by my own choices..." Not that I regret them Saken thought in his mind. "That is unless by reasons you shouldn't hand me over to the authorities include my working for you. You three are a varied bunch by my guess are mercenaries of some sort. You could use a couple of guys like me around, first mission free as a way of saying I'm sorry."

Edited May 31, 2011 by MinunRobotnik4

[-Cynthia-]

"A pickpocket isn't exactly the sort of person I'd be willing to trust with my life on the line. Still, I don't exactly trust Ursian authorities to administer any sort of justice," Veronika said, thinking back to the incident with the patrols. "Fine, we'll take you with us for now, better you work off in payment than spending your life in some jail cell. But no more thievery unless I call for it," she said to the man. "I'm Veronika by the way, we're part of a larger group of mercenaries," she said sheathing her sword for the moment.

"Thank you for your assistance by the way Ranyin and...Sammy?" she said, taking a while to remember the boy's name. "It's good to know I have people to count on if I need assistance."

[MinunRobotnik4]

"I thank you for your most wise decision, I pray that you will not regret your decision and I will do as you ask. I known by most people as Saken and starting today I am in your employ."

Eh, not bad, Saken thought to himself as he heard himself say that.

"Still I do ask one favor, since I did rob you, and by the looks of things I am guessing they saw it, that you put a good word in for me to the rest of our group. It would help with... making things go smoothly."

[Rothene]

Ranyin took a moment to register that the thief had actually performed a feint. He had thought the person was going to barrel into him and nimbly shifted himself slightly in order to not lose the spell on his mind. But when the realisation of the thief's intentions reached Ranyin and that he might have been responsible for it to work, he cursed and swore inwardly. The moment of losing his self-control caused the spell to slip his mind, preventing him from triping the thief as he had intended to.

Thankfully the young newcomer was quick and reacted, albiet slightly haphazardly. When Veronika decided to be friendly with the thief and let him join the group to pay off for his misdeed, Ranyin siezed the opportunity to quickly introduce himself to the man saying, "Hello, I'm Ranyin." He made a short bow and made sure that he had a good eye on his belongings and no physical contact. He had been able to prevent having his personal belongings stolen from him back in the academy, but really experienced thieves were leagues better than mages in their trade.

"Oh, and well done boy," said Ranyin to Sammy, "that was quick thinking back then grabbing his foot, I'm Ranyin by the way," finished Ranyin bowing to Sammy.

[ReformBlade]

"The name is Sammy, not 'boy', and thanks... it was just as planned!" he added stupidly to the mage, halfheartedly bowing back in a terrible looking reciprocation. He didn't much like letting the guy go, and he'd damn well voice his opinion on it, but for the moment, he didn't want to step on any toes, especially the toes of any red headed chicks, "And you're welcome for the assistance, lady. Any time!" he added stupidly again. "You're very lucky, pal" the archer then commented to the thief. It was kind of true, but he didn't really care to explore how true. All he knew was the thief was stopped and as such, he could've been taken down and killed easily.

[-Cynthia-]

"Very well Saken, I'll make it known to the rest of the group that you're working with us now," Veronika replied to him. Although if Gytha decided to floor him I probably wouldn't mind too much. "All right, let's return to the rest of the group shall we?" she suggested to the people around her, keeping a careful eye on Saken as she walked out of the alleyway and back towards the wagon.

[Rothene]

Not wanting to be left behind, Ranyin followed Veronika back to the wagon with his hands firmly in his pockets, one holding onto his money pouch, the other griping tightly to look like he was holding a purse in that pocket.

[ReformBlade]

Sammy walked back with them as well, dusting his clothes off as best he could. Oh well. He thought. If nothing else, he's right under our noses and then I could probably just shoot the fucker if he tries it again. He's unfortunately memorable... or maybe I just remember the dumbest things. Either way, I'm watching this man...

[Snowy_One]

"Bron, I suggest we go now." said Robin, moving away towards the door. "She's lowered her gun, we can find another way to do what we need to do now."

[roymbrog]

“Uh… celebration?” Harnessing wind magic was great, but Synthia wasn’t really expecting something like that. However, when all Gytha wanted to do was buy her a present she was relieved. With the way the mariner behaved sometimes you could never tell what she was going to do, but this seemed somewhat normal. “I’m not ready for anything resembling combat, Gytha, but with some more practice I should be able to help out more.”

All she managed to give the Pegasus rider was an “Er… thanks.” She hadn’t really expected him to chime in and didn’t really feel comfortable talking to someone who so enjoyed breaking bones. That just wasn’t right.

[MinunRobotnik4]

Saken to the left of Veronika, noting that that Ranyin kept his hands in his pockets with rather clenched fists.

"I understand your sentiment, but I assure, it would an incredibly stupid act if I were to rob you right now."

Then Saken turned his thoughts on to his third new companion. The impression Saken got of him was a mixture of arrogance and stupidity.

Those two qualities are a bad mixture, of course maybe he is just having a bad day. Understandable.

[-Cynthia-]

Returning back to the group, Veronika put her hands up in a show of peace. "The thief has been apprehended...and will now be traveling with us now to work off his debt. It may seem a bit strange, but I think we can keep a better eye on him than the authorities," she said to everyone.