Return of the Emblem Chapter Six: Enemies Abound

[MinunRobotnik4]

The way to Europa was a bit tense for Saken, as he was still anxious about heading back home. But once they were underground, he felt a lot better being concealed once more.

Can you say out of public eye. He thought to himself. Still that wall makes a bit of noise, doesn't it. The guards would be alerted if I tried to go in uninvited. He thought, his old habits acting up again.

And of course, if I was caught here....

He felt best to cross off stealing from Weyland EVER...

[Snowy_One]

Robin had kept to herself for most of the journey since the encounter with the patrol. Her opinion of most of the people had dropped drastically, though mainly Gytha, and she had not wanted to talk to any. Still, as the group approached the magical stone door, the collective notions of what was happening, the magical aspects especially, caught her attention. Looking up from her corner, she looked out the front of the cart, watching the door slide open and the cart enter into the giant underground cave. A look of surprise and awe came across her face, even a gasp of amazement slipping from her lips as she saw the door open. However, once it was passed, she sighed and returned to her spot, not wanting to get into the line of sight of the pirate who, doubtless, had her pistol loaded for another shot at her.

[Snike]

Blake decided to play it safe and find a spot on top of the convoy, which theoretically should have kept him away from the majority of the party members. The majority didn't seem to include the executioner, who had introduced herself as Gytha, much to the swordsman's display. Through her, he learned that Raquel was the name of their leader, how exactly the mercenary group had formed, that the Neviskotian was a mariner with an implied disdain for being labeled a pirate, - note to self: avoid calling mariners pirates, as they might shoot you,- and a few sea shanties, to boot. It wasn't as bad as the recruit thought it would, and the tales caused him to second-guess his believed account of the attack. They didn't seem like hardened criminals - maybe it was just religious fanatics.

The moon came and went, and by mid-day, they were in Europa. The wagon passed through checkpoints with relatively little difficulty, and it was off to the client. Blake caught a bit of the conversation, which in turned provided him with the name of the client: Weyland, the inventor. So the smuggling was for weapons development. That isn't something you see every day. Nor was the retractable wall of the side-entrance. Who would've thought there was technology such as that?! Once the wagon reached its' final destination, the newcomer left the craft, to be prepared to proceed with the rest of the band.

[Phoenix]

Greetings

Once they had stopped, the people standing around came up to greet the party. That wasn't the only face that showed up though. By the door was a familiar face from Ursentius. The woman walked up to the wagon with the others.

"Pft, Anna." Gabbie said to herself.

"Hi there! So I trust the fallen is still alive? It'll be a shame if it isn't." she said as quirky opener.

"Oh she's alive." Atsuko said, sounding slightly more eager than usual.

"Great. Well it's safe to take her out now."

Raquel gave a nod and then Atsuko went to the back of the wagon to help haul Siv out. Once she was in view of everyone, Anna knelt over to inspect her. "Ohhhh she's so cute!" Siv leaned back with an uncomfortable look on her face. You've had these ropes on for quite awhile, haven't you? Well we're going to get you cleaned up now-" "Back, human!" Siv snapped interrupting Anna. It didn't matter how nice she was being. She was kidnapped for weapons tests. There was no reason to be cooperative now that she had reached her final destination.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"What do you mean what's the matter? She knows what this is and why she's here. Did you expect her to take it all in stride?" Atsuko asked.

"Well I was hoping she would. I was instructed to make sure she was comfortable. That will be a lot harder for me if you go on a rampage." she explained.

"... make her comfortable ...?" Atsuko was confused. She was only saying what some others were likely thinking at that point as well, Siv included.

"Now, Siv. That's your name, right? You need to stay within the main building for the time being, but you're authorized to roam around without restraints if you don't do anything overly aggressive, okay?"

"D- ... wha ...?" Siv uttered, completely dumbfounded.

"WHAT?!!! Are you crazy? She'll set people ablaze and make a break for it the first chance she gets! Why would you even think of untying her?!" Atsuko snapped.

"Don't look at me. All I've got are instructions: Inform Siv that she is to remain within the main building for the time being, and tend to any of her needs ... that don't involve exiting the building, of course. It's easier to keep someone comfortable when they're not tied up. These instructions are from Mister Weyland, so you'll have to take it up with him, I guess. Your payment for the mission will be handled by me however."

"What the hell is going on here?" Atsuko blurted out.

"Oh man, Weyland's got other plans, I see." Gabbie said to no one in particular. The whole thing was pretty amusing to her though.

"So, Siv ... can I trust you to behave yourself and take advantage of the luxuries our homey estate has to offer?" she asked with a smile.

Siv nodded. Anything ... just ... ANYTHING to get out of those cursed ropes and to get that seal off. The look in her eyes was one of deep longing, almost as if she was staring at a savior.

"Alright then!-Oh! And remember. Behave. If you don't, someone's going to have to stun you, alright?" Siv nodded one last time, and then Anna whipped out a knife that not even Gabbie expected to see. She threw her arm of so quickly that whatever she did to the rope would have been difficult to spot before the damage actually showed up. The ropes were cut up the center and fell off of Siv immediately. It took a moment for Siv to realize her arms weren't stuck that way anymore, and she quickly reached back behind her neck and yanked off the seal before chucking it as far from herself as possible. After that, she simply stood there ... nervous and a bit overwhelmed by the return of her powers. The shock of the situation was a little much for her.

Resisting the urge to draw her sword, Atsuko muttered. "I ... I can't believe this ..."

"Don't worry, we're well equipped to deal with one rowdy guest." Anna reassured.

"Where's Weyland?! He needs to explain this!"

"Let's see ... still morning so probably at the university giving a lesson. It's Ascension week so classes end before the afternoon so students can help set up for the sunset launch. I'm going myself once I get Siv cleaned up and the new girl's shift comes up."

"Damn, Anna, do you have anything resemblin' a permanent job?" Gabbie asked. I half expect to see her as a tank gunner one of these days.

"No, I can do pretty much anything so Mister Weyland let's me work whenever and wherever I want. I think the constant change is good for me~"

[Zsword]

Shadrak heard a clattering of metal not to far behind him, and noticed the Pendant around Siv's neck was now resting not to far from him. He shuddered as the magical energies instantly vanished from his body, negated by the pendant. He decided to temporarily choke down the feeling, and wander his way back to the cart with the others. "So, let me make sure we're all on the same page... 1:<Siv, do you understand what the rules are for you to remain un-bound?> 2: Who does this seal really belong too? I think I might have an idea for a use for it if no one minds... 3: Would it be possible for me to get an audience with Weyland before we leave here? I understand he's not here now, but I was unable to ask some things last time that I feel would benefit greatly." He said to the small gathering of people, hoping they wouldn't just shrug him off as unimportant...

Zel glanced at the clatter, but didn't really care, instead, he wandered around the facility, his eyes glancing about in an almost trained fashion... as if he was familiar with the underground setting. "Then again... it's kinda nice... there was always a benefit to the being below the surface..." He said aloud, not really speaking to anyone in specific.

Krystal landed, still seeming exasperated at literally being underground.

Edited September 19, 2011 by Zsword

[Acacia Sgt]

Arriving at the end, John had Gil descend, watching the whole exchange.

<I guess she knows what she's doing.> John thought. <Still, we must ever be cautious while we're here I guess.>

[Mercakete]

"Ah. Guess everythin's good fer ev'ryone, aye? Heharr," Gytha comented, somewhat amused and rather surprised by the situation.

"That... Isn't that...?" Norbert didn't speak up much about it. The Fallen's sisters were exceptionally dangerous and now this one was being allowed this much freedom? Agh, whatever. Not my problem. Rizen followed her rider as he walked over to Raquel. "So, do I wait until you get paid or do I get what's mine now?" he asked, sounding sort of firm and slightly annoyed but nothing more than that.

[Phoenix]

W.T.F.I.T.S.

Siv nodded to Shadrak. <"Common is a big language, but she keeps picturing things that make it easier to understand what she's saying.">

Atsuko looked over at the seal and then gave a mean glance at Siv. <"It belongs to Weyland. He sent it to us so we could complete our mission without having to deal with a fire starter who's her own power source. He didn't say he wanted them back so keep it if you want, though I'm not sure why a shaman would want a magic seal. You can't even get within a foot of it without losing your powers."

"If you want to speak with Mister Weyland, you can just head down to the university, but I was also instructed to tell you all that a bit of a situation has come up and until he's able to brief you on the it in person, you shouldn't be wandering about at night, especially not alone. It's probably nothing serious, but caution first, right? You're all free to stay here tonight, by the way. It would be rude to caution you against nighttime exploration and then send you out into the city to look for vacant lodging during Ascension Week, heehee."

"What's goin' on?" Gabbie asked.

"You'll have to take it up with Mister Weyland. Like I said, I'm just here to look after Siv and handle your payment."

"... foooine."

When Bert asked about his maces, Raquel was so confused, she just stood there, babbling. "What's yours? Oh ... right, those paper weight things ... they're in the wagon near the steel axes crate. Don't ... knock over the basin ...--wait, what? The maces? Uh ... can you afford them right now?" she corrected herself from the stupor. I can't believe they just untied her like that. I guess this place is really secure, but we mostly had her trust halfway back so I feel a little silly having her tied up all this time now. Her feathers are badly bent and her arms are marked red ... and yet she's the happiest I've ever seen her. Bad enough to know I'm a criminal, but now I feel like an actual villain putting her through all of that.

Amon just stood by near Gytha and some others with his arms crossed. Hmm ... this mission is looking to be a bit different than what we thought it was if what Gabbie said is true. You'd think a weapons test subject would be restrained at least until they reached a cell. Even if this place does have a lot of guards around, she's still a fallen ... hmm. Then Gytha made mention of things being good and Amon simply said "I guess so ... heheh." not really thinking about it.

[Zsword]

Shadrak Smiled at Siv. "<That's good... I'll still see if I can't put a word in to help you out, but I'm losing power in what I can do to help fast, I'm sorry.>" He then turned to Atsuko. "It's not for me, actually... urgh, she's kinda busy, I'll give it a minute then... man, I want Raquel to keep it..." He shook his head, this thing was a fair bit more powerful than he expected, even then, it would probably help a little with what he had in mind... hopefully... or this was one giant attempt to make a great expirement, even he wasn't sure.

[Mercakete]

Paper...weights...? A few emotions came over Bert. One was fury. Another was dumbfoundedness. His expression showed his rage and he pointed at Raquel and opened his mouth, ready to start a loud argument before stopping, not sure what to say. He thrust his hand down to his side as he curled his pointed finger back into his fist and just glared in a semi-confused way at Raquel for a moment before asking in a surprisingly calm and quiet -- though somewhat sharp -- tone, "I thought they were my payment. Haven't I earned them back yet?"

Edit: STUPID REDUNDANCY FIXED

Edited September 19, 2011 by Mercakete

[Rothene]

The trip to Europa was rather eventless, although it was made enjoyable being able to fly on Rizen's back due to Bert's generosity for quite a bit of the journey. Of course, the joy was short lived as it always was when they no longer had to move around in Weyland's mansion. Being back in Europa was nostalgic for the Kigenese mage as it was here his life took an interesting turn, resulting in him joining this group...and experiencing the horrible phenomena of exploding baths in Ursium Univesities. It also made him wonder how was the friendly mage Tim whom he met in the university doing.

With nothing else better to do, Ranyin went forward to get to know the newcomer.

"Hey there!" called out Ranyin and gave a slight bow to Blake, "I am Ranyin Chasuka, I've seen you around but haven't actually talked to you.What is your name?"

***

Mireille Authine closed the tome she had been reading. It comprised of the collective work of Ursium literature. Most of it detailed on the plight of some handsome young prince who would fight to take back his his kingdom and legendary sword that he was chosen to wield. Said sword would usually be the key to destroying some nefarious Neviskotian dragon that embodied great darkness.

The plots bored her with their repetition, but it was the style of writing and the beautiful command of the language kept her reading, for it would give her the skills to write a book one day, one of the many lifelong dreams of hers. Now that she had graduated from the baracks, she was supposed to serve Weyland in anyway possible as dictated by her father. Fortunately, Weyland had thus far not seen fit to send her on any task or mission, probably due to her lack of experience and skill. And so she had been spending the past many months indulging in things her father had forbidden her from doing with all the lessons in combat and the ways of a proper lady she had to learn in order to be presentable in case of arranged marriages. Her days had consisted of stabbing objects and still trying to keep herself 'attractive'with skills in embroidery, music, chess, make up and how to act with poise and grace of her peers.

It was demanding to be both a capable warrior and a courtier all in the same role. Thankfully that fateful day gave her the resolve to forsake the courteous path and instead walk the way of the warrior...not that she was doing a goo job at it. Nonetheless, she did well enough to graduate earlier than she thought she would, which was predicted to have been twice the time of the average soldier.

Somewhat free now, she spent her days in the Europa University that Weyland taught in reading stories and tomes on the subject of spellcasting, a path she should have been born to but denied to her by her martial father. Her surviving mentor had seen fit to provide her with the imbued lance by her side as it would draw upon her true 'strength' to make up for her weakness.

Taking out a notebook, Mireille scribbled some lines she liked onto it so that she could use it in the future. Then she took out the tome of thunder magic and began reading it intently while taking notes on how to utilise one's psychic talent to manipulate that force of Nature.

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"There are an awful lot of guards in the estate...more than you can probably see right now. She really has no chance at esacping," Connor assured Atsuko. It's good to be home...hopefully Uncle Seth will be impressed with what I've done so far. The work of an inventor is never done after all.

Nadya

"So, are we goin' to go on another mission after Weyland pays us for thia one? Bring him back some dragon eggs or somethin'?" Nadya asked Gabbie, curious about what this group did most of the time.

Veronika

"I don't think we have time to wait for Weyland. Amon, you rmemeber where the hospital is, right? Let's take Axel there sooner rather than later," she said, lifing the red armored soldier by the shoulders. "If they need Weyland's expertise to get the armor off we can go to the the university later."

Clara

"Oy!" she shouted to Cecily, finally catching up to her in the large manor. "Cloe apparently went out on a mission already, do you think we can find this mystery man ourselves? We're not fighting, so it probably shouldn't be too dangerous..." she said hesitantly.

[Acacia Sgt]

<So it's back to the old waiting around.> John thought. <Well, I guess that's it.> At this point he dismounted.

Looking around, he spotted Blake, who has been approached by Ranyin. <The new guy... I guess it may not be a bad idea.> He then walked over to their direction.

[Snowy_One]

From her position at the back of the cart, Robin looked out to watch the ongoings between Raquel, Shadrak, Siv, Atsuko, and the others. It really didn't interest her all that much though. She knew she hated Siv and part of her wished that the demon hussy would be taken away, but she had already come to accept what was happening. She wasn't the third wheel in these dealings, she was the roommate of the third wheels distant Kiganese cousin who claimed to be a cousin despite a lack of records to prove it. Her only connection to the on-goings was that Shadrak still had her knife... and still being in service to Raquel.

"<Damn they're taking a long time.>" she muttered to herself. "<Can't they just dump her and get going again?>" She realized she didn't exactly know what was going on... but still...

[Snike]

"I'm Blake, the new guy," the swordsman said, stretching his hand out to the feminine Kigen mage. Had Ranyin not opened his mouth, he might've been mistaken for a woman. This was... interesting, to say the least. "Pleased to meet you." He seems friendly enough. Out of the corner of Blake's eye, he spotted a Neviskotian - Wasn't he on a wyvern earlier? - approaching, but said nothing.

[Phoenix]

Atsuko and Siv

"She may not escape, but why 'comfort' her in the first place if she's been brought here for weapons research. I've got a sinking feeling that Weyland has been lying to us. He's at the university you said?"

"Uhuh. He's teaching classes right now though most likely so keep that in mind." Anna answered.

Raquel

"Earned?" Raquel echoed. She had never been even remotely sure how to judge what two maces were worth, but she would have felt bad having to make a call that wasn't in Bert's favor after he visibly restrained himself from snapping at her again. "How about this? I'll give you seventy-five percent, since you've been working so hard. Keep in mind that pretty much everything else I'm selling you and the others are getting at a pretty large discount."

Gabbie

"Ehhh, I dunno, but I don't think he'll have us stealin' any drake eggs. There are some loines even Weyland won't cross. The fallen are a gray area he can buy his way out of if he has to. If anyone found out he even troied to smuggle dragon ... anythings, they'd throw as many soldiers as it takes to shut us down and haul him in." she explained. "I figure we won't know if he's got any other jobs for us until we hear from him though."

The Patient

Anna with her keen eyes noticed Veronika moving Axel from the wagon. It was a pitiful sight, and the armor just made it even worse, though she suspected it was how and why he survived whatever caused his ... condition. "Um, what happened to Axel? That's him right? Red hair and red armor?"

Amon nodded. "He set off an explosive reaction somehow. He was trying to give us time to escape. Veronika came back to get him and I went to help ... along with some others. He hasn't woken up since."

"Hmm ... I don't think we can trust the hospital to give us twenty-four seven access to him. We'll get a room ready for him and you can keep him here. Axel's safer here than at a hospital anyway and we can still study the armor and the effects on his body to make stronger versions in the future." Anna explained.

"What? Wouldn't a hospital be better equipped for a patient like him?"

"Not really ... besides, at Weyland Enterprises, we focus on the personal touch. Every customer is--Oh whoops, wrong line. He's one of Mister Weyland's employees anyway, if you hadn't noticed where that armor came from by now, so we should be the ones looking after him. We don't plan on nursing a vegetable indefinitely though, so our focus will be healing him, not just keeping him alive."

Amon looked to Veronika wondering what she thought. It kind of felt like he was their responsibility at the moment. More so hers than his, but he was generally 'that other person' helping to carry Axel to and fro. "It's ... up to you, I guess." he told her.

Cecily

"That's a shame. It would have been a fun outing since we wouldn't have to worry about a big gruesome battle. I think we'll be fine on our own though. I'm not sure what kind of man he is but since he's dangerous enough to be labeled an assassin, we should still be very cautious when approaching him."

[Zsword]

Shadrak sighed, even if it was a good idea or not, he atleast need to put the thing down, he felt so helpless without his magic, he walked over to Raquel and Bert, and gave them a friendl enough wave to kinda say he was there, but didn't press in any farther, he could wait for them to finish what they were doing.

Zel was kinda confused... where the free to wander the region now? Or did the have tos tay here longer... he hadn't heard anything about it... so he decided to wait it out a little longer.

Krystal was still kinda edgy, her amazement kinda giving into the fear about being underground and the like, and how wierd it was to not be able to see the sky at all times...

[Mercakete]

"So, how much gould would that be now?" Norbert asked, relaxing from his anger, but feeling somewhat nervous as he hoped he had enough money now. I guess I earned that percentage. I hope I can pay the difference with what I have.

[Phoenix]

Raquel

"Hehehehhhh ... heeeh." she gave a weak laugh like a suicidal bridge jumper before answering. "Fifteen gold ..." Huge discounts to my only customers and the vulnerary rushes after battles. Weyland's funds are the only thing keeping my head above water and I've already gone through half of the AH mission funds that I got as my cut. If I don't do something fast, I'm finished. She then noticed Shadrak close by. "Did you need something, Shadrak?"

Siv

She wasn't sure what to do with her freedom other than sniff around a bit and begin wandering around. That brought her closer and closer toward the entrance to the estate.

Hands

The other men standing around then stepped forward, one of them speaking for the rest. "We'll handle vehicle and steed storage." he told the party in general.

[Zsword]

Shadrak smiled at Raquel. "Kinda, more like, I think you need this." He said, holding up the seal for Raquel. "I think it would be good to keep, considering my 'concern' about you." He proceeded to explained.

Zel noted Siv was starting to wander... but didn't make a big fuss about it, just noted it... instead he found himself drifting as well, not quite certain what to do now that he was here... he found himself drifting over to the lady who was informing the party about everything. "So, are we allowed (mostly) free access to the grounds?" He asked her.

Krystal started to calm down, though she didn't look any more assured of the situation, she fluttered to a wall and leaned against it.

[Mercakete]

That's not good. Norbert thought as Raquel began laughing nervously. When she mentioned the new price, Norbert's mood immediately changed. "YES! I have enough! Well, almost enough... Would you take this old, iron axe as part of the payment? I don't need it anymore," he asked, skillfully and quickly slipping the axe at his belt to his hand for Raquel to examine. It only had one edge but the iron was shaped very well and it even had cosmetic holes near the shaft branching out like petals into the axehead. The head its self wasn't huge but it wasn't small either and the shaft was around a foot and a half in length. The axe was simple, sturdy and had a touch of cosmetic craftmanship, meant for use with one hand. Norbert, though seemed happier than he'd been since he'd joined the group, obviously hopeful and excited.

[Phoenix]

Raquel

"Yeah ... I can take this." Raquel said in a downtrodden voice. Taking the axe, she looked it over for a moment and despite it's appeal, she could only moan tiredly in place of any kind of actual comment. Shadrak offering the magic seal almost startled her though. "Uh ... I guess?" She began reaching up for it slowly, and the closer her hand came to it, the colder it felt, a sensation traveling up her entire arm in very short order. She pulled her hand away when she noticed how odd that felt for her. Chip began moving around in her bag as well and making some noises. "A-are you sure about this?"

Anna

"Well, yes, but we should probably take care of a few things first. Your mounts haven't been stabled yet, and you still haven't been paid for your efforts on this mission." Anna pointed out.

[Mercakete]

While Norbert was going through Rizen's saddlebag for his money, Shadrak started talking to Raquel. Whatever it was, it didn't concern him. Getting the gold out didn't take long but when he saw Raquel's face, he sent a glare to Shadrak. Serious again and shifting his eyes to the merchant, he asked Raquel, "What's wrong? You look scared or something."

[Phoenix]

Raquel

"I'm fine, Bert ... just ... just a little uncertain about all this." she looking at the seal and then down at her bag with some worry. Would it be good to have the emblem within the range of the seal?

[Mercakete]

Hmm. Magic stuff. I can't help here. "Alright, I'll leave you to that. Here's the rest of the payment," he mentioned, offering the twelve gold coins that were in his hand.