Return of the Emblem Chapter Four: The Human Condition

[Nanami Touko]

Not ten minutes were given to Tanner, the general's orders bellowing out seemingly as soon as he'd laid down. "Great! Let's get movin'!" He wasn't going to take no as an answer from Robin, as he'd grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her along with him to one of the wagons.

At the building

"Geez, sure are a lot of men here... Probably gonna need the lot of 'em." He'd made his way to his group, waiting for orders to assault the buildings. A small group entered first, getting attacked almost immediately. Yep, this's gonna be a long fight. His group had no orders to move in, yet, and it was irking him. The commanders had been sent in, though, and he wanted to rush in with them, smash a few heads, but he held himself back. Moments later, screams were heard from inside, but it sounded more like their own soldiers were yelling. "That's not good..."

[Acacia Sgt]

That was it, the military seemed well prepared for this, but if they needed assistance even with this set-up... well, just what to expect inside the place would not be pleasant, at the least.

John dismounted Gil and got himself ready, spear in one hand, shield on the other. 'Okay, I won't be able to rely on Gil on this, I guess that was expected with a building.' He thought. 'Let's see: weapon, shield, vul... ah yes, I sold it to get enough money to buy the shield. I won't be able to rely on self-healing then. Got to be less reckless, this is no laughing matter, I can easily see.' He gave the building a look. 'Well, if I don't make it, other than leaving Gil behind, I regret noth...' He stopped, then shook his head. 'Y-yeah, nothing...'

[CT075]

Tyrsal

Tyrs was about to respond when the order to mobilize came through. He grinned.

Finally, a chance to regain what has been lost in this experience!

His hand was immediately on his lance shaft. There was no way this killer would get away from him. That is, until he heard shouting from inside the building the commanders just rushed into. Tyrs paled the slightest bit.

[Snowy_One]

Robin had sat down beside the foot of Tanner's bed and had been eagerly looking forwards to spending some time making some stone arrowheads, both to ensure she would have a constant and ready supply and to annoy Tanner as best she could with the sound of rocks being banged together. That had come to a swift end before she could even remove her quiver and pull out her cobble and a unfinished arrowhead to work on though as Tanner grabbed her arm and pulled her off as a mission came through. A startled cry was the only vocal response she could muster as she hurriedly did her best to ensure that she lost nothing as the pair moved swiftly.

Several moments later, Robin was standing behind Tanner outside the building, her bow unslung and strung for combat, a arrow with a quartz tip in hand and ready. The screams came from inside, but unlike Tanner it seemed, Robin caught the sound of the exploding gun. A nervous twitch shuddered through her body, only getting worse at the sounds of the screams. She could single out Merissa's name from the cries.

"Sounds like Merissa... got shot." she said, pausing for a moment to try and calm her nerve. "Someone in there has a gun. Probably got lucky and scored a lethal hit. Surprised that they managed to hit anything at all to be honest. How thick is your plate?"

[-Cynthia-]

"Well, hopefully we at least know some ways to get out of trouble, ya? I'm Nadya, nice to meet ya," she said to Ranyin. Looks Kigenese, guess I should make sure to be careful around this group. she thought to herself.

"Watch the other mounts and make sure they don't get into any trouble while we're gone all right? I'll be back soon," she said to Luca, patting him on the head.

[Phoenix]

Pink Party

Luca was now thoroughly vigilant. Given the responsibility of leading the animals in her absence made him quite happy ... and cocky. Glancing over at the two wagon haulers, Sandrock and Riley, gave them a friendly nicker. Sandrock seemed to give a friendly response, but Riley just stared. Him again?

"I'm, not really sure what to do from here, guys. I'm pretty useless in a fight." Raquel mumbled.

"So just stay here. We'll handle it." Amon said, looking his combat knife over. Then he took out the files and gave the relevant ones one last look over. "White hair ... and violet colored eyes ... the tell tell signs of an artificial human. Got it. Here you go, Raquel." he said handing her the folder with all of the information on their information in it. "If you need to do something, maybe you could let the military know just what they're up against?"

"I guess. Since they're involved now they're probably going to find out anyway." she muttered. "Better they know sooner rather than later and avoid some casualties."

Gabbie hopped down from Ringo with her lance at the ready. Ringo then took off into the sky disappearing in the darkness. "Stay in this area, lizard. I don't wanna have to rely solely on these guys ... no offense."

Patricia's Strategy

OOC:

Okay I need to go on a little physics rant here so we can clear a few things up about the current environment for future plausibility and to avoid confusion. Currently there are hundreds people outside the building. That's a lot of chatter even at its quietest and while I'm not too miffed about hearing a little of what's going on inside, there's a limit to human hearing in an environment like this. Patricia's gang is at the central staircase, which is roughly the center of the first floor of the building(this is not a small building when it takes a hundred units on each side to cut off all ground escape routes). Hearing their conversations that deep inside the building shouldn't be physically possible. Gunshots? Yes. Screaming? Just barely possible given the distance and background noise. Specific names? Impossible due to background noise and sheer distance.

What do I mean by background noise?:

Confirmation orders, troop movements, weapon checks, pointless chit-chat, briefings, mount noises, all of this is background noise that's constantly present that can mask even the loudest noises at times.

That is all.

Patricia and her remaining units dove for cover as another shot came flying through the darkness. It missed whoever was being aimed for however. Leaning up behind something she couldn't quite make out in the darkness, Patricia called over to Lyra. "Do you see them?"

"No. We could really use some light in here." she shot back while clinching her sword. "Ma'am?"

"What is it?"

"Is there any particular reason we're still trying to advance? We only came in here to investigate what they were doing, but at this point there's nothing we can do except fight until this is over. There aren't likely going to be any negotiations."

"We're still trying to advance because the enemy was waiting for us. I know I shouldn't be putting my ass on the line like this but until we spring all of the traps they've got lying in wait for us, the grunts that get sent in here are all going to get killed." Patricia explained.

"I thought that's why the volunteers were brought in." she muttered.

"I brought them here for that, yes, but it would be a waste if they were all killed like this. Their purpose was to improve our numbers and keep enlisted casualties to a bare minimum, but they'll be completely wiped out and not do us much good in the end if we send them into this. You and I are going to keep heading in deeper and take out any ambushes we can find along the way."

"That's suicide! I can handle myself I suppose, and you are plenty good yourself, but so was Merissa. If we make even one mistake, we'll be killed instantly just like she was." Lyra protested.

"True, but I'd rather do this than send some poor sobs from the volunteer division or my own forces to handle this. At least with you and me there's a small chance of actually surviving."

"You should have a little more faith in your troops, Ma'am." Lyra muttered.

"I do, that's why we're going to have them hold all of the positions we secure while we advance so we'll have someplace to fall back to. For right now though, we need to get their ambush units focused on us so strategy B goes off without a hitch. To start ..." she paused to reload her blunderbuss. "we need to deal with that guy that took down Merissa."

"Ready when you are, Ma'am!" one of the soldiers called out. She nodded and then leaped out of her hiding place onto the floor near the center of the room. Lyra stayed right where she was, waiting, and the soldiers moved up as quickly as they could holding up their shields to cover their heads. Another shot quickly came from the darkness, and Patricia shot the figure in the chest the moment one of her soldiers was hit. His shield saved his life, but he was clearly out of the fight regardless.

"Now see, if they've got a bunch of ambushes like that everywhere, who's going to handle that better than us, Lyra? Uh ... Lyra?" she said finally seeing that Lyra was curled up again because of the gunshot. "Oh brother. Get him to a medic and tell the others the first floor is almost secure. Tell them we need another two minutes and then they can take the first floor." If we have the first floor, and they aren't all in the basements or something then we'll have split their forces up, isolating them to the basement levels and the upper levels. That's a double edged sword but I can work with it. she mused with a grin.

Volunteer Groups

Having gotten a report and order back from the front line, the Captains and their teams were addressed by the colonel himself. "Listen up! The Major General is currently working to clear out the ambushes you people would have been walking right into. Be thankful because we were looking at some major casualties, possibly all volunteers had the enemy been successful. We need to secure a foot hold inside the building however, so there's no time to wait around. In less than two minutes, we'll be advancing inside, team Alpha from the same entrance as the first breach team, and team Bravo from the opposite side. Get a move on, people, and don't do anything stupid, this is the enemy's home ground, and from what we've seen, they fight well in the dark, so don't let your torch staff carriers get shot."

"Alright, you heard the man!" the Captain of the second team, team Bravo said loudly. "We're breaching from the other side, so grab your gear and follow me!"

"Now then ... what to do with those mercenaries Weyland Enterprises endorsed so damn much." he said looking over some document. "Hmm, I might have some use for these people after all. The basement is probably the most heavily fortified position in the whole damn building. If they can handle that without getting killed, we'll have enough strength left to overrun the place ... maybe. Though, they might also do well clearing out the upper levels, because the last thing we need right now is to get hit from above AND below at the same damn time."

[Mercakete]

Gytha had managed to renew her nap and slept for all the time it took to get to the part where they had to get off the wagon and ready themselves for combat. It was the sounds of hustle and bustle that woke her and after a quick stretch, she was on the ground. Without a word, she simply began stretching her legs and back in preparation for the work they'd inevitably be doing. "Oy, Amon, ye ready?" she yawned, not the least bit daunted by the sounds around her.

After the business with Valter and the dark avian had concluded, Bert had flown over and caught up with the group. When he heard that taking their mounts in was prhibated, the urge to shout in defiance shot up like a geyser. However, he managed to hold his tongue and just internally complain about the ordeal. He was no less adgitated by it, though. Riz carries a lot of my things for me; blast it. No miracle potion this fight. My sides still hurt, too. I swear, if I die in there, I'm going to kill that pink-haired wench and the authority who barred Riz from coming along! "Alright, Riz, stay here with the wagon and these others. Try not to get into trouble. ... In fact..."

The pegasus rider tied Rizen's reigns to the wagon, getting a quick, shrill whinny in complaint from the pegasus. "No. I said you're not following me!" sternly commanded Norbert, grabbing the winged equine by her bridle and forcing her to look at him, "Got it?" The pegasus gave as much of a growl as a pegasus could -- a low, long whinny -- before snorting and yanking her head away from him, refusing to look at her rider. "Tch. Good luck to you too," Bert grumbled before taking his axe in hand and walking away from the pegasus to wait for further instruction.

[Nanami Touko]

OoC: gonna ignore Snowy's part about Merissa, 'cause of what Phee states in that little OoC section thar.

"Strong. Strong enough t'stop a bullet? I doubt it." The general commotion in the crowd was making it difficult to hear anything other than the faint screams from earlier. Dammit! This pisses me off... I should be in there fightin' with them. Instead I gotta wait? Ugh! Then orders came to breach the far side, Tanner's mood changing to something a bit happier. He gripped his axe tightly, wishing to run it through one of the enemy soldiers inside; any soldier would do. He had all this pent up rage, and it needed to go somewhere. "You heard the man, Robin. Let's go." His temper was apparent in his words, as he jogged along with his group.

[Zsword]

Shadrak continued analyzing what of the battlefield he could, and all he could discern was that yes, this was a battle, and not just a Siege, because there was gun shots and the occasional scream could be heard above the crown. He turned back to the main party with a semi confused expression. "Now what!? Are we waiting for some sort of order or are they expecting us to jump in our own!?" Shadrak asked, his voice raised to be heard over the commotion in the back ground.

[Snowy_One]

"Understood, master." said Robin in reply, nodding though she was sure that Tanner could not see it. She followed behind him at a somewhat slower pace than him, doing her best to ensure that she would remain on the back line of combat. A flicker of worry suddenly shot through her mind. She had never fought in a group before! Previously, she had been a hunter with only her father at most to aid her as they stalked deer and other animals. She had never dealt with a group before. Any archers arrows could miss; what if they struck a soldier? Of all the possible deaths she could think of 'executed for friendly fire' was far from a ideal reason to die. She would just have to not miss then! She knew she was accurate, and ensuring that none of her allies were shot would just have to be something she did!

[Rothene]

Ranyin had picked up from some conversations on the trip to the building about something called combat teams, where two or three people work together to cover each other's backs. If I were in a combat team earlier, I might have not been blindsided by that myrmidon earlier, thought Ranyin recalling his first proper fight. He spotted the pegasus rider arrive just recently and decided to approach him. There were some favours to be asked of him.

"Hey Bert, have you heard about combat teams?" asked Ranyin as he approached Bert talking to his pegasus. He stood just out of axe reach from the man when he started speaking.

[Acacia Sgt]

''Well, looks like you may get to sleep after all,'' John told Gil. ''If you mind the noise.'' He laughed, Gil merely grunted. ''Either way, don't leave near the wagon, and try to not grab any attention, as always.''

Finally ready, he now waited for the time to finally enter into action.

[roymbrog]

Valter offered to go in first and soon the business was concluded with both bandits in jail and a little more cash in his pocket. After Bert departed they left, continuing on towards their original destination, the church in Ursentius.

-----

Despite hearing almost everything, Synthia didn’t actually see the situation till the wagon stopped and she was able to get out. This was a fairly large operation, she mused, before she heard gun shots and shuddered. “….Do we really need to go in there?” She looked around for her teamates, trying to at least take comfort from the fact that she wouldn't die alone...

"I would assume they're waiting to throw us in as gun fodder," Synthia said, deadpan, to the party's shaman. He was starting to get on her nerves; it didn't help that the current situation was already making her anxious.

Edited June 10, 2011 by roymbrog

[ReformBlade]

Sammy got over his Synthia!Fear eventually and went with everyone, as did Nanahm. Neither knew exactly what to expect, but if Sammy thought he was scared before, he had no idea what he was getting into.

[-Cynthia-]

"We are waiting for orders I assume. Jumping in unprepared and unorganized is a good way to get us killed," Veronika replied to Shadrak's question. "Besides, we don't want to be mistaken for possible hostiles by the military."

Nadya was feeling a bit nervous about the upcoming conflict. Sure she had been in skirmishes before, but that was on horses out in the open with people she knew, not in a building with strangers. "Uh, I'll take the rear guard if that's fine with everyone," Nadya offered.

[Mercakete]

The pegasus rider was a bit surprised by the question, looking somewhat quizically at the mage. "Combat teams?" he echoed. He'd previously assumed by "team" people had been referring to the group as a whole, but this sounded more specific. "No, I haven't. What's that all about?" he asked, becoming more and more convinced that Raquel was trying to get him killed. Did this guy ever tell me his name? I know he used his vulnerary to heal me. Nicest guy in this group so far. "What's your name, anyway? If you told me, I've forgotten it."

[Phoenix]

Church

When Valter and Joanna arrived at the church, there was a small gathering of clerics preparing to depart on a wagon. Father Remiel was standing by the entrance as well when he noticed them. "Ah, Joanna, you've arrived safely. That is most fortunate. Since you were running a little late, I had begun to fear the worst. I'm glad my fears were unfounded, and a thanks to you, young man, for seeing her here safely."

Joanna could barely focus and was instead looking over at the clerics. "Um, where is everyone going, Father?"

"The military made a request a little while ago for as many healers as we could spare. It's just a precaution, but their Major General has a hunch that they may be required if it becomes a full scale battle, so some volunteers have offered to act as extra healers in the event some troops come back wounded." he explained.

"I must help as well!" she quickly shot back raising her hand at the wagon driver who up until then hadn't heard or been listening at all.

"Mmm, I am not surprised you would offer, but Joanna you must think about your safety. You'll often go rushing to whoever is wounded without a second thought, and in a situation like that, it may cost you your life."

"I cannot sit idly by while people are dying, Father."

"Hmm."

Last Minute Planning

"Yeah, I'm ready." Amon replied to Gytha.

Raquel came to face the group as they were getting ready and addressed them all. "Okay everyone, are you guys ready? Is there anything you forgot, like team assignments or things you needed to get in order? This is probably our last chance to handle things like that."

"Indeed." said the colonel. "We need the teams to move into position now. We're on the clock here."

"Okay you heard him. Combat teams, all ready, yes or no?"

"You guys use combat teams?" Gabbie blurted out.

"Oi, I guess we aren't ready just yet ..."

In Position

Once the first team and second team were in position, they waited for orders to move out. "So, do you think bird girl bit the dust in there or no?" Liza commented.

"Lyra's probably fine, aside from the gunshots." The captain answered. "Just you people be ready, because we aren't going to be getting any mercy from their main forces."

[Rothene]

"My name? I thought I told it to you before? I must have mistaken. I am Ranyin, pleasure to meet you," said Ranyin bowing then added, "combat teams are supposed to be the us forming smaller groups so that we can cover each other in battle rather than all attempt to squeeze around and stepping on each other. It's supposed to make us more efficient. I'm not in any team right now and am wondering if you're in one yet."

[Mercakete]

"Oh yeah, I guess I just forgot it," the pegasus rider replied in responce to Ranyin's name. Weird name. "Heh. You think anyone would want to team up with me?" Bert half-joked. Hmm. I usually fight alone with only Riz's help...but Valter's help made things a whole lot easier before... "Well, I don't have a team, so if you're offering to join forces... I think it's a good idea. Alright. I'll watch your back and you watch mine. One more thing, though. Your name's kinda weird, so do you mind if I call you 'Ronny?'" he asked.

Edit: Typo.

Edited June 10, 2011 by Mercakete

[roymbrog]

When they reached the church Valter dismounted and helped Joanna off the horse before bowing respectfully before Father Remiel. “You’re welcome, sir, I’m sorry for the delay.” He too was curious about the bunch of clerics gathering in the wagon, but Joanna beat him to the question.

The cleric wanted to help, but it was obviously too dangerous to let her go, considering her certain… tendencies. Father Remiel explained it perfectly. “Well, if I’m not needed currently I’ll be on my way. It was a pleasure to meet you, Joanna,” he said politely, and turned to leave.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"Wait you guys are organized into teams? Well that might help us live maybe. Or we all die as a team. All for one and one for all and all that heroic stuff," Nadya said when Raquel started mentioning teams.

Church

Alastor was waiting near the entrance to the cathedral as well and saw the young man drop the dark avian off. As the clerics left, several pegasus knights flew down and landed near the entrance to the cathedral. He gave them a curt nod before approaching the father and the dark avian.

"Good evening Father Remiel and...Joanna was it? I have a matter I wanted to speak with you about. I'm planning a ceremony in Wrath's service in the main cathedral tommorow morning and I would prefer that it not be interrupted," he said. They wouldn't understand and they would be unlikely to help, better that they stay out of the way...

Edited June 10, 2011 by -Cynthia-

[Rothene]

"Ronny?" muttered Ranyin grimacing at the word. I suppose for his help, I could put up with that, thought Ranyin knowing the importance of having a team.

"Yeah, Ronny's fine, but I sure hope you can eventually get used to calling me Ranyin. I'm not too used to Ronny so I might assume you were referring to someone else in the heat of battle." explained Ranyin.

"So we're a team, nice to know someone in the group can also watch my back. You might want to get a vulnery from Raquel. I have one vulnery on me," said Ranyin showing Bert his almost used up vulnery, "but one vulnery won't be enough if my instincts are true and I can't use staves for healing."

OOC: Interesting, Ronny was my nickname at one point in college

Edited June 10, 2011 by Rothene

[Zsword]

Shadrak rolled his eyes at Synthia, before turning to Veronika. "Tha-" He was cut off by the Colonel. Hearing his orders he nodded with understanding. Axel had taken his place with Veronika and John, so he needed a new Combat Team... he rememberred Chelsea's Team still had a slot, though he couldn't remember who was taking the other. With a small sigh and smile Shadrak walked up to her. "Hey, I need a new team, may I join you and your friend?" He asked politely, well,as politely as one can when needing to raise their voice over the sound.

[Nanami Touko]

"I'm not yer master, I'm Tanner. I call you Robin, you call me Tanner. Simple enough?" This whole situation was starting to get really unnerving. Why weren't they entering yet? Shouldn't they be giving all the support they could to their commanders? Sitting around was killing him. He couldn't take it anymore! "Captain! Why're we sitting here, waiting?! We should be in there, givin' our all for our commanders!"

[Phoenix]

Combat Teams

"Okay, so two or three people per team?" Gabbie asked trying to get filled in.

"Yes." Raquel replied simply. "If you fight all by yourself it's just going to be that much more difficult for you."

"That's why I generally do some pretty underhanded stuff, but this is a straight of slugfest ... ugh. I don't know any of these people. Pinky, ya can't expect people loike this to be able to fight all that well together without any trust built up."

"You can fight alone then." Raquel replied coldly as she crossed her arms.

"Fuck ... fine who would you recommend, then?"

"Anyone who's not taken." she said still not looking in the woman's direction anymore. "There's Nadya, or Bert if you're feeling up to it. Maybe Saken if Veronika's still with the other team set up."

"Fuuuuck meee." Gabbie muttered hanging her head. "I'll ... take my chances askin' the nomad. Doesn't seem like the type to whine the whole toime."

Another Request

"Hmm, Valter, wait a moment." Remiel said weakly. "Perhaps you could escort Joanna just a little longer ... and keep her out of trouble? I'll understand if it is too much to ask, but I'm afraid to let her go without someone experienced there to keep her out of trouble, and the military may be a bit too rough with her."

Alastor then appeared to speak with Remiel. "A service, you say? Very well, I will pass the word along and make certain that you aren't bothered. Though, it may be prudent to speak with the other representatives of Truth and Nature just to be doubly certain." he replied.

Volunteer Teams

"Settle down. We've got to give them a little more time to flush out any ambushes on the first floor. Still thirty more seconds before we move in." The captain explained. "Just be ready. Once we secure the first floor, we'll be on a short standby until it's determined which forces handle the basement and which ones handle the upper levels." he explained.

Edited June 10, 2011 by Phoenix