Return of the Emblem Chapter Five: The Retrieval

[Mercakete]

Absolutely exhillerated to be aboard a ship again, Gytha wound up pitching in with weighing anchor and any other ship chore she could. Once they were sailing again, though, activity began to dwindle. In Gytha's eyes, this event of being aboard a ship among her fellow seafarers again demanded celebration and celebrations aboard ships called for music and dancing. They'd see if they'd get food or drink -- reliable or not -- but for now, there was a very important person to locate. "Hey, Rico!" Gytha called as she spied the man and hurried over to him, "Who's yer usual shantyman? Ye might want t' call'im t' deck if he's already retired or I might take his place fer th' rest o' the voyage!" Of course, the last bit was sort of comical since the "voyage" across the channel wouldn't last nearly as long as a typical voyage, but Gytha's "threat" was sincere.

In fact, she began singing in a loud, clear voice right then and there, a skip in her slep as she began wandering the deck to the beat of the song she was singing. "What should we do with the drunken sailor? What should we do with the drunken sailor? What should we do with the drunken sailor early in the morning?" Sure enough, she knew one of the shipmen would join in in-time to the music, calling out one of the ridiculous suggestions to do to the drunken sailor. It was a good-natured, joking song and great to open up the celebration with. Gytha hadn't yet met a crew not fully ready to join into song, especially since it was so part of their daily lives and especially when it meant a time to relax and have fun.

As the pirate lady from before began singing loudly and clearly, Norbert was overcome with some confusion. Just why was she singing about a drunken sailor? Especially as the sun was setting...

[Snowy_One]

Robin gave a heavy sigh. Her speech had allowed her a moment of peace and security, a second to forget her looming sense of dread, but it had passed. "Commander Domo, my lady, do we have anything to fear from Kigan? Last I remember, our two nations were... not hostile to each other. I do not know the political situation or..." she looked down and rubbed her hands as if they had been shackled. "If they take slaves."

[Phoenix]

Captain

"Well, Al-Lyrae's a treasure galleon. Built for maximum space, which is just perfect for us." The captain replied.

"Yeah, if we're anticipating a lot of violence we can stock up on ammunition. If we know we've got a big payoff on the way, we can save space for whatever we need to haul back." Rico added with some confidence in his voice.

"Well, there is one thing. You're all on the main deck right now. We need a lot of space up here to move cargo around. With all of you up here, we're in a bit of a vulnerable spot." Fira explained.

"Hmm, yeah you're right. It is a bit crowded ... but I'm sure we'll be fine. It's not like we need all the guns ready all of the time. Lower deck should be just fine on calm waters like these and the chase cannons are more important anyway since I'm not letting anyone put a scratch on us." he said crossing his arms.

"We'll be dusting the dust and cobwebs off of our broadside cannons someday. I'm sure of it." the captain muttered.

Shanties

And then ... Gytha attempt to start up a shanty which took Rico by surprise. He didn't get to answer her first question before she took up for the shantyman ... which just happened to be him. With Gytha starting off so close to Rico, it looked to some of the crew that he was having her start the song, so why not join in? Roughly half of them followed her the second time around.

"I did not see that coming ..." he said quietly.

"Is this really the time for that? I mean sure you sailors aren't in much danger, but the rest of us are heading off into a catastrophe tomorrow." Raquel complained.

"Hah, then your group needs it the most." the captain shot back with a smile.

"No thanks, I don't like to celebrate in the face of imminent death. Seems insane to me."

Lyra

Well that seemed to be over. "It's no trouble at all ..." Lying through my teeth here ... Lyra wanted to go back on vacation ... badly.

[Zsword]

Zel turned to the singing Gytha. "Is this standard procedure on a ship?" He asked out loud. Not really directed toward anyone, but loud enough that a fair few could easily hear it.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"The Kigenese don't have slavery as far as I know, at least not a lot of it. I've heard the Fallen take slaves...though I've also heard they just eat people. Wonder which is worse..." Veronika responded to Robin, pondering the possibilities.

Nadya

"A treasure ship huh? So given by the size of this thing, you must get some pretty big hauls. What do you end up carrying that takes up so much room anyway?" Nadya asked Captain Giovanni, her mind's eye picturing giant dragon statues made of gold below decks.

[Mercakete]

"Weigh, hey, and up she rises, weigh, hey, and up she rises, weigh, hey, and up she rises, early in the mornin'!" Gytha sang as she turned her rhythmic step into an actual dance, stomping and clapping in time with the beat as she did, encouraging everyone who could hear or see her to do the same by her example, "Throw 'im in the bilge and make'im drink it!" The call was out and, naturally, everyone else would sing out the echo.

Bert actually found himself smiling a little that these antics and even tapping his foot. It was a strange sight to him, but it still had a strong, friendly feel. Did this just turn into a party?

[Acacia Sgt]

''If you ask me, I'd rather be eaten.'' John said, glad for the change of topic, though not as much considering to what it shifted to. ''Who knows what they may do to you if they decide to capture you. They also say that the Fallen are necromancers, so being captured doesn't mean they will keep you alive, most likely.'' At this the image of reanimated corpses came into mind, he shook his head. 'Great, the last thing we would need would be that. The fallen alone is trouble already.' He thought.

[Rothene]

Ranyin learned that painting a landscape on a moving object was extremely difficult as the position kept changing and hence the angles were constantly shifting. Even worse was the darkening sky that made the shading harder to work on. In the end, he gave up on trying to draw the river for now and decided he should ask the group for sometime the next time they were by the river side during daytime.

While looking around, Ranyin spotted his primal fear singing loudly, her terrible tune drawing in the helpless sailors to her side. No doubt to bind them her control as sirens did to sailors, if they did not drown them first. Even worse, he saw a valuable comrade, Bert, tapping his foot to the song. Oh no! If he were to fall under her spell, who would let me ride on Riz, thought Ranyin in horror. Dashing towards the pegasus rider as swiftly as he could, Ranyin nudged Bert's side with all his might, something probably equivalent to a gentle tap on Bert's side, and asked in an attempt to break him from the spell, "Hey Bert, what're you doing right now?"

[Phoenix]

Haulin'

"Normally not that much, but there have been times where we couldn't have carried everything back on a ship smaller'en this one. One time in particular we found out where a pirate captain was keeping his treasure and decided to help ourselves. We got to the place and took every last gold piece. Of course before we could get away from the island, he and his other two ships ambushed us. Rico kept the ship at our favorable firing distance while we nailed the pirate captain with the long nines, and Fira set the other two ships ablaze, hahah! By the end of it, the pirate captain had surrendered, and one of his fleet ships was burnt to a black crisp. The other sank. We took the cargo of both ships and cut'em loose. It took all the space we had to carry all of that gold." the captain explained. "We had some of it smelted down and used to decorate the ship a bit. I think it looks nice."

"We wouldn't have run into them if we had better timing. We already knew he would be returning to that island soon, but the captain wanted to take a chance. It sounds like a great story, I suppose, but in truth everyone almost died. It was a really close call and we took a lot of damage." Fira clarified with clear attitude about the event. She seemed to just be recalling it as clearly as she could.

"Ehhh we came out okay considering it was three to one." he said to the contrary.

"Carrying all of that cargo was also a terrible idea because she ship had suffered a lot of hull damage. We were so heavy that the water line came up to some of the holes in the ship, and we spent almost a day keeping the water out. It was really awful."

"Way to ruin a good story, Fira. We stayed afloat, took out a long time enemy, and got more gold than we ever expected."

"It still isn't one of my fondest memories, captain. I'm just happy that no one died."

Crow's Nest

Gabbie stirred, startling Amon, who had almost fallen to sleep himself. "Uuuuuurgh. What is goin' on down there?" she said lazily climbing off the Rexian to have a look for herself. Down on deck she could hear plenty of singing from the crew. "Wrathdamn shanties."

"That's what that is?"

"Gonna try harder this toime!" she announced to the Rexian, his only warning before she muscled her way onto him again. Still helpless, Amon could only blush feeling awkward. Gabbie had put herself to his chest and used his open jacket as an actual cover this time.

"I-is that really necessary? I mean, can't you just get a blanket or something? Or sleep somewhere warmer than up here?" Amon said trying to make a polite protest.

"Are you complainin' to a woman, Amon? Don't they shoot you for that or somethin'?" she said jokingly.

"Urgh, not that again. Gabbie, stop making fun of my culture."

"You can call it culture if ya want but that Aisha chick's got you boys whipped."

"That's not it at all-" "Soilence, insolent male!" she interrupted him. "Know thy place, pillowman." she added putting her head back down.

"Urgh, I don't need this." he muttered, looking for an opening to get up and leave.

"Oh calm down, man." she quickly said rising back up.

"You're really getting on my nerves, Gab- ... Wolfy."

"Just relaaax, man. I'm not intentionally tryin' to piss you off. Toughen up some more. Stop carin' so much. You loike bein' Aisha's errand boy, roight? So be glad ya get to and fuck what anyone else thinks."

"You're saying I should just be happy and not care what others think? Including what you think?"

"Yeah. If you don't loike what I'm sayin', then stop listenin'. Better yet, let me sleep."

"Mmm ..." He couldn't really argue with that, but it was really annoying for her to push his buttons like that and then lecture him. He didn't realize women could be this difficult. Maybe I'm just too used to maidens. he thought sighing and hanging his head. That didn't go well since he just ended up hitting his chin on the top of Gabbie's head.

"What is it, now?" she mumbled.

"Nothing." he shot back.

"Ugh, you suck, don't wake me again unless we come under fire."

Fret And Worry

Raquel wandered back over to the wagon and sat down at the edge of the cargo space. Rico had followed her of course, but she didn't realize it until she turned around to sit down.

"What is it, Rico?"

"My line. What's wrong? You seem so depressed."

"Weyland hired us for this to help us get ready for our fight with the organization that's been hounding us. This mission seems more dangerous somehow, and I'm really not looking forward to seeing someone else I know die. We're not soldiers in an army. Casualties are a much bigger deal for us ... at least they should be." she explained.

"We lose people ourselves sometimes. It happens. You've got to get past it, Raqy."

"What are you even doing here? I thought you had better things to do than go treasure hunting."

"Heheh, nah. I've got money, and I've got the crew. What else could I possibly need?"

"A working brain."

"Now you sound like Jethro. Speaking of which ... where is he? Why isn't he with you?"

"He was kidnapped by the people that are chasing us."

"WHAT?!!! Oh god, who else knows about this? Does Aunt Caterena know?!"

"I haven't spoken with mom in some months. She couldn't possibly know."

"Where did they take him?"

"I don't know, but I'm trying to get him back, which is part of why we're working with Weyland. Right now, we're not strong enough to beat them, so we need some more experience and training."

"What a load of crap. He's just using you to run his errands for him. If you need a strong enemy defeated, you don't train a bunch of random mercenaries. You hire ones already strong enough to do the job."

"They aren't just mercenaries. They're my friends. Besides, I can't afford a bunch of veteran mercs." she shot back with a pained glare.

"You and Jethro are still broke as a joke, huh? For all his wisdom the guy sure can't seem to keep a father daughter business afloat. You guys should just retire and join the crew. Jethro can ... do Jethro stuff, and you can fix clothes or something."

"No thanks. Even after I rescue him, we're not going to start living and working at sea."

"It's really not as bad as it might sound, heheh."

"Go away." she muttered.

Damn, how do I cheer this girl up? It's not like with Fira where all I have to do is sit down next to her an do something stupid. Oh I've got it! "I know what'll cheer you up! You know how you're always infatuated with cool artifacts? I've got quite a powerful one."

She raised her head up quickly with a nervous look in her eyes. "It's ... I don't care. Just go away, please."

"W ... what? Raquel. This is a magical amplifier in my hand ..."

"I could blow a hole through a steel wall with this. Last time I saw you, you would have beaten me over the head with a two by four to get your hands on something like this. What's wrong?"

"I've got enough issues thanks to magical artifacts now, thank you very much. Just go away." she quietly snapped. What did she have to tell him to get him to drop the subject and leave her alone?

He sighed heavily. She wasn't anywhere near normal, and what was worse, he was getting pushed away. Not surprising, but still frustrating.

Edited July 13, 2011 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Ranyin decided to get his attention at that point. Normally, this would be...well, normal. But Ranyin was so intense about it... "I'm just watching the sailors sing and dance. I guess this is a celebration or something. What's wrong?"

[Rothene]

I'd look strange if I tell him my thoughts on Gytha, thought Ranyin as he considered his next words. Wisely, he hoped.

"Oh, nothing's wrong. I was just curious as I saw you tapping your feet constantly.," said Ranyin then he continued, "Oh and just a random question, is it hard to find your way around when flying in the dark?"

[Mercakete]

"Sometimes, yeah. It depends on how much light there is. New moon and cloudy is hardest since you wind up flying with no sense of direction or distance. You can't see any landmarks from very high when it's too dark so you either have to go by wingbeats -- which is almost impossible -- or not even try it. It' always best to fly only when you have enough light to see by," Norbert replied. He felt it was sort of obvious, but didn't mind warning Ranyin about it since he seemed to think it was safe to fly around blindly, "Staying on the ground is safest in conditions like that. I don't advise flying in rain or winds that are too strong either. The feathers of a pegasus could get too wet for them to fly. Not all of the feathers are water-resistant after all. And not being able to see where you're flying can be deadly. Flying in strong winds speaks for its self since you'd be blown around and injure the pegasus. Blizzards should never be travelled in at all and thunderstorms are dangerous to fly in too." After a moment, Norbert figured he'd covered all the bases of dangerous weather conditions for flying and so concluded, "That's about it."

[Rothene]

"Hmm...in that case, let's hope we do not have to fight any fallen in the cover of darkness. Those beings can see clearly in the dark so I heard," said Ranyin suddenly reminded of how fallen can both fly and see well in the dark.

[Snowy_One]

"Being eaten is worse than slavery. I know I got the light end of it in Ursium when I was made into a slave. I have heard the tales of husbands and wives being torn apart, children being treated as less than worms, and everything. The village elder who told the tales ensured that we knew the horrors of slavery... But... At least as a slave you are still alive. You may lack a will, but you are alive. To be eaten is to be dead. Not just dead, but something worse than death, worse than slavery, worse than death in slavery. It is to be defiled. To be torn apart and consumed. Not to die peacefully in ones sleep, not to die as a hero, not even to die as some drunk accident. It is to be considered a animal. While I do not hate animals, they are still something less than human, less than a husk."

[Mercakete]

"Hm. I don't remember what they are, exactly... They already sound sort of like cougars, though, with good night vision. What exactly is a Fallen?" Norbert asked Ranyin, going over the mission in his head. Get the Fallen from the mercenaries and deliver it to Proffessor Weyland. Alright. Doesn't soudn that hard, but apparently they're being hunted. Maybe Fallen aren't supposed to leave Kigen and the mercenaries are having trouble with border patrols. That can't be all, though... I wonder what happened to waylay Weyland's mercs...

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"You were a slave in Ursium? I didn't know slavery was legal there," Veronika said to Robin. "As for me, I'd probably just rather be eaten, since if you're taken as a slave there's no guarantee you won't become dinner anyway. Might as well just get it over with."

Nadya

"You had so much gold that you could use some of it for decoration? Where do I sign up?" Nadya asked the captain jokingly...sort of. That bit about almost dying didn't sound so good, but then again there was a big difference between dying and almost dying.

[Snowy_One]

"How do you do that? Say 'won't'. My common is... strong... but it is not the best. I struggle with contractions and... I only use them when I speak down to someone because I can not use them well. How do you do it?"

[-Cynthia-]

"I'm not sure exactly. I learned both Common and Neviskotian from an early age, so making contractions comes very naturally to me. Just...sound it out when it seems appropriate I guess?" Veronika ventured.

[Snowy_One]

"I can no... I cannut... I cannuut... I c-can..." Robin struggled as she tried to manage the contraction, her tongue tripping over the words time and time again, her frustration at the feat slowly growing. "I con't... I ****... I... I just can't do-" she finally blurted out, releasing the frustration out, only to cut herself out and cover her mouth with her hands. "<I did it?>" she said in stunned confusion.

[Acacia Sgt]

And looks like the topic shifted again. 'Problem with contractions? Is it rally that hard? Then again, I too learned Common since little...' John thought, watching Robin struggle in saying 'can't', until she did.

''I'd say, is it with just contractions that you have trouble with?'' He asked.

[Snowy_One]

"Yes... no... I have trouble with some names as well. Some of the weirder names, like Shadedrake's name, do not even sound like they are common. They sound like something older than that. It is hard for me to pronounce."

[Phoenix]

Al-Lyrae's Progress

The ship sailed along smoothly, and many of the crewmen sang in some sort of celebration while the shore of the other side drew ever closer. Eventually things were getting a bit certain. They had to be close enough to the shore to see it, but at night and with no patrols fires lit, they couldn't tell how close they were. Some moonlight would have certainly helped, but the clouds obscuring the moon were rain clouds.

The captain couldn't help but look up at them and wonder if they were some kind of foul omen. Just to be safe, he spoke with Raquel about the plan one more time, with anyone who wanted to listen present.

"Raquel, how're ya doin'? Not seasick like some of your friends yet, are ya? Hahah. Seriously."

"I'll live ... I hope." she muttered quietly, keeping her head down. Chip was in her lap and being stroked on the head just as a means of distracting her. Apparently wasn't working though.

"Probably not a big storm, but it's still coming. You won't have any luck working on a night like this. I'd say we've got a half hour before the storm hits so we're going to try and get a visual and then anchor near shore for the night. Once we do that, it's lights out, and I'm going to need all hands below decks. It'd be cruel to keep your animals out in the thick of it so we'll be movin' them down there in the meantime." he explained thoroughly to the merchant.

"And the wagon?" she asked simply.

"Heavy cover."

"So you've got things covered then. Alright, we'll stay on the ship for the night and head out in the morning. Actually wait, do you think the storm will clear by then?"

"Probably, but if it doesn't, you could still do a search, it'll just be a hassle, but I'd expect the fallen if there are any, to have issues of their own in that kind of weather. They've got feathered wings after all, so I doubt they can fly much in the rain, heheh."

"I sure can't." Fira commented. "Not unless I keep myself dry by evaporating the water before it touches me."

"Alright, so a quick once over: Half the crew'll focus on getting the animals below decks. Rico'll steer the ship near the shore while Fira scouts for us. You and your people do what you want but be below deck before we douse the lights. We've got about half an hour or less. That all clear?" he explained before checking with them.

"Clear enough for me." Raquel replied lamely.

OOC:

This isn't much of a TS, the conversations could very well extend up into this event. It's just establishing a few things including environmental context before the TS to morning. The ship's lights are still on so you don't need to blind your characters ... just in case that wasn't clear already, but note that there's pretty much no clear visibility beyond the ship itself.

[Zsword]

Zel was growing bored of standing around with Sliep, he needed someone to talk to... but someone he could talk to without being rude. He glanced around the ship and noticed Robin, talking with a couple other members of the group. Veronika and John he recognized, and their might of been a few others. Deciding he had nothing better to do he walked over to them, bowing as he stepped into the conversation. "Good evening, what are we talking about on this fine Dusk-lit night?" He asked, swishing his cape back behind himself whenever the Sea breeze blew it in front of him.

[-Cynthia-]

"Currently we're talking about difficulties saying contractions in Common...before that it was whether we would rather be taken as slaves or eaten alive by the Fallen," Veronika said to Zel. Such odd topics...strange times breed strange company I suppose.

[Snowy_One]

Robin looked down as Zel approached, not to hide herself away from him, but out of a sense of relief. Though the conversation was embarrassing, as long as it continued, she was feeling a sense of relief from the feeling of looming dread. Eager to keep it going, if only to drive the feeling away for a bit longer, she spoke up.

"Yes. I can not handle contractions in common very well. Something about it feels weird coming off of my tongue. It seems I can handle them only when I am angry at the moment."