Return of the Emblem Chapter Four: The Human Condition

[Phoenix]

Raquel listened to Bert's explanation and then a look of exhaustion crept up onto her face. "Okay, Bert, listen. I haven't heard of you before but even if I had, it wouldn't change anything. While you're traveling with or being associated with us, you're not to torture anyone, especially not like that, okay? I've got enough problems with certain individuals." she said glancing over at Liz's gang. "I don't need anything extra."

[Mercakete]

The pegasus knight didn't have any reasons that would sway Raquel and he knew it. His eyes shifted to a deadly glare and he glenched his fists, but that was all he could do in his current situation. Having nothing left to say, he turned around and walked away. To where, he did not know, but so long as it was away from that restrictive merchant, he didn't care. As she'd been doing, his pegasus followed.

"Why d' ye think we haven't started fightin' again?" Gytha asked no one in particular as she surveyed Liz's mercenary group.

[Guest Wen Yang]

"Excuse me. officer." Liz said to the guard captain after hearing out his entire argument with Raquel. She raised one hand and snapped her fingers. On the sign, Salicia came over with a sack over her shoulder. She dumped the contents of the sack in front of the guard captain. A small mound of weaponry - some of them broken, coin pouches, and amulets bearing the farsider insignia spilled out of the sack.

"Didn't expect ye to get here so fast. Had thought we'd need to go to the city to report this." Liz continued. "And can't exactly trust dem merchants these days. Better safe than sorry, as they say." She added with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Now, can we talk on the bounty, and don't ye plan on trying to hoodwink me outta this one, mister, or else we can take the talks elsewhere... Like the bounty office's commisioner."

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Because they were willing to stop fighting and I don't think whatever they were doing is worth us killed over," Veronika replied to Gytha rather curtly.

Nadya

Nadya breathed a small sigh of relief when the patrolmen said that they could keep whatever they looted. Not like I helped kill these bandits, wouldn't have gotten anything from their bounty anyway. She decided to see how Luca was doing with all this commotion.

"These seem like nice enough people, eh boy? I think we might stay with them for a while," she said, walking up to him.

Connor

Raquel seemed busy talking about bounties and the whatnot, so Connor decided to talk with the wyvern rider interested in purchasing a shield. "Uh, if you want you could buy a wooden shield and I could transmute into an iron one, that's pretty easy. I might be able to change into something else later, but I'll have to do some more research first," he said to John.

Edited May 25, 2011 by -Cynthia-

[Rothene]

He was not the model student of his academy, but he knew quite a bit about the applications of wind magic. Perhaps he skill was sufficient to teach her. Then the new boy suddenly came to irritate Synthia. During the short banter, Ranyin politely kept quiet in order to let them resolve their issue 'peacefully'. When the boy left Ranyin resumed his conversation with Synthia

"I see you have wind tome." Ranyin said beaming then continued, "So, you want to learn how to cast with it? Like the more utility aspects of it? How to make certain everyday tasks easier such as keeping the dust from your face, bring objects to your by summoning the wind or for combative purposes such as forming blades of wind, a beginners favourite?"

[Acacia Sgt]

John watched Raquel go and talk to the leader of the soldier. 'Oh well, I guess getting the shield will have to wait...' That is, until Connor approached him with an offer.

As he listened, John got surprised. ''Turn wood into iron? Are you an alchemist?'' He asked. ''But that is a good idea. I assume it would be cheaper than buying an Iron Shield directly.'' He laughed. 'Well, I'm selling back the armor, I may get the needed money after all. If not, I can just sell something else.' He thought.

[roymbrog]

Synthia didn’t know about Ranyin’s failure in the mage academy, otherwise she may not have asked him to teach her. As it was though, she considered him a competent mage. “Any sort of casting, really. Though I suppose combat applications would be pretty useful right now, especially after today. I’d like to be able to defend myself if some idiot attacked me again.”

She opened her tome and flipped through the first few pages again, reminding herself what she did and didn’t know. “I can read most of this, but understanding alone doesn’t seem to be enough to cast the spell…”

Edited May 25, 2011 by roymbrog

[Mercakete]

"Now wait just one minute!" Gytha nearly yelled as she approached Liz and the patrolman, "We didn't loot anythin'! It's these people who attacked us while we were on our way to Ursentius! Then those bandits surrounded and attacked us while we were on fightn' each other! We heard their wyvern roar and came t' check it out. When we got here they were feedn' corpses t' their wyvern and lootn' the people around a smashed carriage! They attacked us 'cause we found them in the act!"

[Guest Wen Yang]

"I do not really appreciate being called an idiot by the person who exposed herself in the field of battle." Salicia said, apparently having good enough hearing to hear Synthia's comment. "If anything, I would probably call whoever you fought before the idiots, for not having taken you out earlier."

She approached the two of them with large steps, rummaging through a coat pocket as she does so, and stood face-to-face to the healer girl, the one she shot at earlier, utterly ignoring the short boy? - if it was a boy - next to her.

[roymbrog]

It wasn't long after that Synthia heard Gytha yelling. Oh boy, something was going to go down now. "Perhaps we should back up her story...?" she asked Ranyin somewhat helplessly.

She was just about to run over and tell Gytha to shut up when one of the mercenaries approached, exactly the people she had been trying to avoid. "Newsflash, I wasn't fighting you guys, nor was I on the field of battle at the time of the shooting. All I did was heal Veronika, who you would've killed if I hadn't," she said, huffing. "I do not take kindly to people who shoot me. Now leave me alone, I have better things to do than listen to the enemy."

[Rothene]

Backing Gytha up, thought Ranyin shocked, what help does that Oni need from a mortal like me? But he decided to follow Synthia anyway, maybe if he appeased the monster by helping her, he might finally feel at peace.

[Phoenix]

Close By The Wagon

OOC: Wen, there's no way bandits would have insignias on their weapons, so accounting for those is as pointed out earlier, still impossible.

And just when he thought things were just about over, the bounty hunters brought a bag of weapons to him. "Look, until the day we can determine what belongs to who just by who's touched it, we can't be sure. Best you're getting out of this for potential replacement weapons is half. Take it or leave it." he began. Of course that didn't get very far before Gytha brought up a different retelling of events which had the captain glancing back at Raquel.

"Let me get this straight. In one story, the Farsiders attacked you and these bounty hunters swooped in to reinforce the mercs and take them out. But in your version, you found these people attacked someone else and then fought you people before the bandits even showed up?" he inquired rubbing his head, clearly getting stressed. He didn't look at her again, but he gestured for her to come over with one finger. This wasn't good. When she arrived he leaned up against his horse crossing his arms and giving the merchant a very unamused glare.

"Tell me, how long have you been a merchant, Miss Valcyn?" he asked in a suspiciously casual way.

"About a week." she replied. "Before that I was my father's assistant."

"That so? Where's your father? Is he sick? On vacation? You'd think something would have happened for you to be handling things right now." he speculated.

"He's ... just away right now."

"Huh. Well I was hoping things would be over by now but now that there's two stories, there's a problem. Admittedly the latest one sounds like B.S. to spite the bounty hunters, but I've heard stranger truths in my day."

Oh no, what the heck happened?! I thought we we're going to use the same story! Raquel shouted in her head.

"Well obviously I've already heard your side of the story, and I've heard this woman's." he said before turning toward the woman with the scythe trying to get the bounty back. "Now you're one of the bounty hunters, right? If so tell me your side of the story. I want to know what happened here."

Okay think ... what's he going to do? If he finds out that they killed someone a fight is going to break out and we'll have to pick a side. If he doesn't I don't know what will happen.

Luca

When Nadya returned, Luca was relieved. Knowing how to conceal a bag of loot didn't make it comfortable. In place of an answer, he opened his mouth just enough for her to know he had something for her later ... once the armed seekers were gone.

[Guest Wen Yang]

"Well, officer. Lil' Pinky here told you pretty much what happened. We're just securing the ones we offed, just in case. Oh, and sixty-forty." Liz replied nonchalantly, apparently undisturbed by Gytha's blabbing out the actual circumstances of things. From the corner of her eye she noticed Sergei waking up from his little nap, and Mikhail rising up along with it. Good, she thought. Could use the extra muscles if this gets troublesome.

[Phoenix]

"I said half, woman." The merchant has her story and the bounty hunters confirm it. Makes sense. "Hey, you." he called to Gytha. "Are you with the merchant?"

[Guest Wen Yang]

"Tch, cheapskate. Fine. Half it is." Liz answered, sounding rightly annoyed - although she's smiling inside. In part she's annoyed at Gytha's blabbing, and then she's amused with the current situation. Oh well, a few feathers ruffled. All in a day's work.

[Mercakete]

Gytha was confused. Hadn't Raquel started with the truth? They had nothing to lose, even if it came down to a fight, what with the law on their side and all... "Aye... We met in Sergio... Her father's missing, so I offered to help 'er out..." she replied, still looking at Raquel with an expression which could only read as "why are you doing this?"

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"Hmm yeah, alchemy's one word to describe it. I replace the material of one object with the material of another. I can do armor and shields, just started weapons the other day," Connor said to John. Wonder how Gabbie's lance has been holding up by the way, not like she had much chance to use it last fight.

Nadya

Nadya smiled a little at the coinpurse in Luca's mouth. She looked over, the guards were still arguing with the merchant over bounties or whatever, so he'd have to deal with it for a little while longer.

She looked around, examining the people around her. Seemed to be a rather mixed-up group of people from all over, maybe that's why she seemed to be accepted fairly easily. Not many horses here, just the ones attached to the wagon. Couple of wyverns though...wonder if wyverns eat horses? Maybe there were more to start with... she thought to herself, patting Luca's head and trying not to draw too much attention to herself.

[ReformBlade]

Nanahm kept on riding that horse. Walking is for chumps. He thought to himself, for some reason proudly.

Sammy was about to talk to Raquel about the situation, but he was interrupted by some bounty hunter guy with a Scythe and some pirate chick causing more trouble for the girl. He sighed to himself, looking at the ground in annoyance, but something hit him in his anger. So that chick said I wouldn't be able to kill a dragon with something that puny, and this woman is a merchant... She's working with mercenaries and bounty hunters? Perfect. Maybe I can work something out here... He had a slight smirk on his face at this point, waiting even more patiently.

Edited May 25, 2011 by SlaveBlade

[Phoenix]

"Missing?" he asked to both women, first looking at Raquel, then to Gytha, and then back to Raquel.

Gythaaaa. If we tell them the mercenaries did this, a fight's going to break out. Sure we have them outnumbered but there's been enough killing for one day, hasn't there? I just want to get the heck out of here. Now what should I do? I can't very well tell Gytha to stop telling this guy everything there is to know about us. Sooner or later she's going to mention the emblem too or something, I'll bet. "Umm."

"You've got secrets, but hindering an investigation, a homicide investigation at that is a crime. Do you understand?"

"Yes." she replied hanging her head.

"We'll get to this 'missing' business in a moment, but first, I want the truth." he demanded.

... great ... so this is it. Lie again and Gytha contradicts me and we probably all get held here for an investigation. Truth gets out eventually and a fight breaks out anyway. "The truth is ... that I don't want anyone else to get killed over this. That's why ... I've been saying what I have." she told the captain.

Raising an eyebrow, he asked "And what's that supposed to mean? Hm?" Then he turned to everyone around and raised his voice so they would all hear him. "Alright, all of you drop your weapons immediately! I won't say it again." he announced. This cued the others and they spread out a bit amongst the group making sure they were doing as ordered. Turning back to Raquel he continued saying "Now no one else needs to get killed. Tell me what happened." He took a second to glance at Liz and Gytha to see if they were complying with his order.

OOC:

Explanation: There are seven patrolmen including the captain. Depending on who does and doesn't disarm themselves and what Raquel tells him next, they may become semi-hostile, or mercenaries might be implicated. If either happens the captain will want to hold everyone here for the time being.

Wen: Your guys will have the option to fight, run, or eventually be arrested if Raquel goes back on her word. If you choose to fight unscheduled opponents, it's always to be done via stats, and so below is some essential info. (Note: There are no points earned for unscheduled fights, win or lose, neither are there any objectives or bonus objectives.)

Ursian Mounted Patrol Captain

Class: Level 5 Cavalier

Raw Stats

HP: 6 STR: 6 MAG: 0 SKL: 6 SPD: 4 LCK: 1 DEF: 6 RES: 3

Simplified Stats

HP: 18 MT: 6 Hit: 6 Evade: 5 AS: 4 Defense: 6 Resistance: 3

Weapon 1: Defending Sword E

Weapon 2: Steel Axe

Special Weapon: Rifle

Item: Vulnerary

Special Item: Steel Shield

Overall Stats

HP: 18 MT: 6(+1 if SA)(12 if R) Hit: 6 Evade: 5 AS: 4 Defense: 6(+3 if DS)(+2 if SS) Resistance: 3

Ursian Mounted Patrol

Class: Level 4 Cavelier

Raw Stats

HP: 5 STR: 5 MAG: 0 SKL: 6 SPD: 4 LCK: 1 DEF: 4 RES: 4

Simplified Stats

HP: 15 MT: 5 Hit: 6 Evade: 5 AS: 4 Defense: 4 Resistance: 4

Weapon 1: Steel Sword E

Weapon 2: Steel Lance

Special Weapon: Rifle

Item: Vulnerary

Special Item: Steel Shield

Overall Stats

HP: 15 MT: 5(+1 if SS or SL)(12 if R) Hit: 6 Evade: 5 AS: 4 Defense: 4(+1 if SS) Resistance: 4

Ursian Patrol Captain 18/18 (Aggressive)

Ursian Patrolman 15/15 A(Aggressive)

Ursian Patrolman 15/15 B(Aggressive)

----------------------------

Ursian Patrolman 15/15 C (Aggressive)

Ursian Patrolman 15/15 D (Aggressive)

Ursian Patrolman 15/15 E (Aggressive)

Ursian Patrolman 15/15 F (Aggressive)

My suggestion for the seven mercs for the time being? Run

[Guest Wen Yang]

Liz sighed, and muttered "This is why I hate it when people interfered with my bounties.", before looking straight at the guard captain, dropped her scythe to the ground - carefully keeping the handle close to one foot as she does so - and gave him a shrug and her best "Whatever" look.

Her group followed her lead, dropping their weapons, while keeping it comfortably close enough to them to grab in case of emergencies - and they did not drop the weapons they have concealed out of sight either.

[Mercakete]

Gytha simply followed the order, unsheathing her sword and setting it down. She also took out her pistol and put it down by it, making sure it was well out of Liz's reach.

~~~~~~~~~

When he was informed that he was to set his weapons on the ground, Bert complied, tossing his axe carelessly. Kinda funny how I can't seem to keep any weapons on me recently. Not like that's a good axe anyway. I'll just pick one up somewhere if this one gets damaged or whatever.

[Phoenix]

People were complying so that was a good start. With that the cavaliers began gathering up the various weapons and brought them over to a pile near where they had laid the bodies. "Alright, now tell me what happened. We're the only ones armed heavily armed here, so you don't need to worry about anyone dying ..." he paused to look around at various people "... unless there's idiots here or something." he added.

"Well I ..." she started looking at Liz for just a moment, as if looking for something to justify what she was about to say. "W-what Gytha said ... was true. We found them after they had attacked someone. There weren't any bodies left and we go into a fight. The Farsiders ambushed us. We teamed up to beat them and then we were back to square one. We hadn't done so well while fighting them and a lot of people were injured. I agreed to not report them to the authorities and they agreed not to keep trying to kill us. That's when you guys got here."

That ... makes much more sense. "You. This true?" he asked Gytha as some of the other cavaliers drew closer. Two others had the gathered weapons guarded.

[Rothene]

Relinquishing his weapon to the authorities was both easy and hard. He had a healthy respect for the law and the importance of order. But the tome was no ordinary ones, but a custom made one that showed him how to shape his spells more efficiently so as to strike with sustained energy even at further distances. Things wold have went well if only Gytha had not started being so righteous. Human beings are flexible things, able to let some things slide, like how the river does not seek to stop the currents from flowing. Ranyin sighed as he watched his precious tome round up but knew he would get it back. Or rather, hoped.

With nothing else to do, Ranyin sat down far away from Gytha, but not too far as to not be able to pick up some of conversation with all his mortal power focused on listening.

[roymbrog]

Synthia sighed. This was just going great, wasn’t it? As per orders, she placed her tome on the ground - a lot of good it would do her anyway - but wasn’t really sure what to do with the staff. Were staves considered weapons? Instead of putting it down and looking like an idiot, or keeping it and angering the patrol, she opted for the safer route and just ask. She held her staff out to a patrolman with her uninjured hand. “Do you need this too?”

Afterwards, she went and sat down far away from the mercenaries, which happened to put her next to Ranyin. Actually, it was more like she sat next to him because she had nothing better to do at this point, but she liked the other excuse better. She’d talk to Gytha after this all was dealt with. “You’re from Kigen, right?” she asked him, thinking back to a previous conversation involving that place. She hadn’t been surprised more people disliked it, but it was always fun to hear from a local. And, you know, distractions from the sorry scene at hand were always welcome.

[Mercakete]

Gytha nodded solidly, surely and immediately. There was no doubt in her posture nor expression. "Aye," was her simple reply.