Return of the Emblem Chapter Six: Enemies Abound

[Saturnine]

Pulling back from the gathering around the great hall, a dark, imposing figure made their way towards the Eastern food hall's doorway with all the openness, sincerity and innocence of purpose of an iceberg drifting into a major shipping lane. At a height of roughly six feet, she possessed the sort of thick, powerful shape one typically gets through clean living, healthy eating, and fresh air in huge lungfuls. Wearing a full raiment of armor replete with a bladed helmet, her footsteps echoed off the floors with the sound of weighty metal and servants gave a wide berth to her approach. The door swung open at her touch, and the great hall was now before her.

The smell of food coagulated with the din of voices in the hall. The great dark knight spared silent looks to the people in the room. Most of them were unknown to her, and offered little to fuel her attention. She clung to the outskirts of the room, her motives undecided for now.

Edited September 26, 2011 by Saturnine

[Phoenix]

Dining Hall of Darkness

Hmhmhm, of course, I'll be back with some Shashlyk and a bottle of vodka. It shouldn't take long~" she replied to Veronika. As she turned to leave, Weyland, Steinn, and Atsuko came in. Raquel and the others were still a short ways behind. Steinn waved over to a waitress himself.

"Excuse me, I'll have a chicken salad. Um ... twice the size of the previous one. Thank you." She nodded and then walked off with the other waitresses who had taken new orders.

"Salad, hm? A bit odd that you eat those but I suppose you can eat anything, right?" Weyland commented.

Steinn nodded. "I like to keep everything in my life balanced."

[Mercakete]

"So, Amon, ever think ye'll find yer way t' th' sea?" Gytha asked. It was good to chat with him.

Norbert just sort of let Ranyin go off while he relaxed in his chair some more. A few more people were coming in, he could hear. Wait. I can hear their footsteps. He glanced over in the direction Ranyin went to see that an older guy, a woman they'd been travelling with since Kigen, a lady knight in white armor, another woman they'd been travelling with -- Veronika, if he remembered right -- and an Avian coming through the door and talkign with a couple waitresses. I could hear them normally... There is definately something wrong with those waitresses. I hope we don't stay here very long... Looking in another direction, he saw someone clad entirely in menacing, black armor. Whoa... who is that and why is he here? Is that someone's bodyguard? It was making Norbert a little nervous seeing all these people enter the room at around the same time. Maybe there's going to be a meeting or something...

[Acacia Sgt]

John watched as they left for the Dinner Hall. <So she's going to see the rest? Well, maybe I should just return to my room.> He said. However, as he began walking through the hallway...

<Wait, on second thought, at this point mostly everyone would be in the Dining Hall. I'd guess it's better to head back there in case something else happens.> He said before quickly turning around and follow suit, hopefully before they got off-view.

[Saturnine]

The black knight with the bladed helmet possessed a rather lifeless manner of standing. She may just as easily have been a statue for how little she expressed herself. Within the enclosed metal shell of the helmet, it was impossible for others to read her expression or even see where her eyes were looking. From this safety, the knight stared icily at the winged bird-folk carousing in the room.

A pang of jealousy sank into the depths of the knight's heart before it fell into an endless abyss of bitter, stoic resentment, joining the legion of deadened emotions.

[Rothene]

Ranyin noted that conversations seemed to be dying down and left the hall disappointed.

***

Mireille told the waitress to fetch her some roast duck and bread with gravy to go with it. Picking a seat nearby, Mireille quickly took out her notebook and began scribbling drafts for her story in it while waiting for her lunch. She paid the black armoured knight standing opposite her no mind...as she did the others in the hall.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

I only wanted a glass, not a bottle. Ah well I suppose I can share. Veronika thought to herself, sitting down near the group.

Connor

Finishing up his meatball sub, Connor looked up to see the new figures that entered the hall, chief among them his uncle.

"Uncle! I made a lot of progress on my research while we were traveling- well I suppose it can wait until your business is done. This must be a new associate of yours, I'm Connor, Uncle Seth's nephew, pleased to meet you," he said, extending a hand to the winged man.

[Phoenix]

As I Said ... Darkness

Amon wasn't sure how to come back to Gytha with her question. He figured he would end up wherever the group did so long as he didn't get separated or randomly reassigned. "Well I crossed the channel on a boat to get to Sergio Port. That and the two trips across the channel on the Al-Lyrae were really the only times I've ever been." Trying not to sound too disinterested he came up with a decent question to cover himself. "So what do you like about the ocean so much, Gytha?"

Weyland came over a little closer when Connor called out to him. "Well fortunately we've got all afternoon until extremely pressing business comes up." he paused for a moment to go over a couple of impending things in his head, one of them being Shadrak, the other something he expected to go down within the next thirty seconds. He turned to one of the approaching waitresses and requested a sandwich, and she was off. Steinn gladly accepted Connor's hand, but the moment he said his name "Steinn Devlinos. A pleasure." Siv's eyes widened in horror.

That of and by itself was nothing. Her wings shot out and the left one hit the table and blew away anything in its path, food and drink, and even wandering limbs were pushed out of the way. As the crashing dishes rang across the room, Siv grabbed Gabbie's arm and hid behind her. "Gaugh! What the hell's the matter with you?!"

<"That's why I was brought here! It's him!> It's him! <S-SHADRAK, HELP!!!>" she yelled first, in Corvian, then in Common, and finally in Kigenese.

The expression on Steinn's face finally changed. He gave her a more serious gaze and his voice depended quite noticeably. "This is someone's home, you're in, not the wilderness. I suggest you calm down, Little Dove." After saying that, he sat down by Weyland and Connor, seeming to be waiting for his food to arrive.

Atsuko stood at the other side of the room wondering what had just happened. Siv was still using Gabbie as a shield and wouldn't budge, even with Gabbie trying to shove her off. Something's wrong here. Why would she be scared of him? Sure he sounded a bit upset just now but he's just a dark avian ... right? She took one more look at the cowering Siv and found that she couldn't possibly believe that. Damn you, Weyland. Damn you to hell! That Devlinos bastard is a fallen, just like Siv!

[Mercakete]

Gytha didn't have time to answer Amon's question before Siv freaked out. She had to use her arm as a shielf to keep from being hit by her wing as she hurried to the relitive safety of Gabbie. "Hoy, what's all this about?" she practically demanded, directing her question at Weyland and the winged man. So far, all the winged people she'd seen had been female but obviously this new guy was male. This was unusual behavior for Siv and she had said "it's him" quite fearfully. Something was up and Gytha had the sudden instinct to be ready for whatever happened next. It was the same feeling she got right before combat.

Norbert's eyes darted to the source of crashing sounds and the Fallen girl's screams. Something was wrong. Keeping his hands at his belt in case he had to pull out Splinter and Crunch quickly, he waited for the answer to Gytha's question. She was probably being protective. He was being wary.

[Zsword]

Zel glanced around, looking at Weyland and Steinn to be precise. He didn't say anything, everyone ELSE was asking the questions for once, which is wierd enough to say the least.

Krystal wanted to hide, whatever it was that could scare a fallen, is probably worthy enough to scare her, if not more... but she resisted the urge for now... yelling wasn't actually dangerous.

Shadrak heard his name called in Kigenese, loud, desperate. I can think of three people that would do that, 1 I KNOW isn't here, another, I thought, had left... that leaves... He turned to Cat and Raquel with a slight bow. "You'll have to excuse me, it appears I'm being summoned..." He tried to say calmly, with the failed attempt at a smile, before he turned around and bolted for the cafe, each step he took leaving behind at first a footprint of residual dark magic, but eventually a streak as he started to magically slide across the floor at rates far faster than one thought he could run, he barged through the door to the dining hall... and was confused to see that realitively nothing was going on, Siv was freaking out, and it seemed like a fair number of people were just edgy about that... tome in hand he walked into the room. "Siv! What is it? What's wrong?" He called to her, glancing at the others for answers.

[GoD]

*15 minutes later*

Chelsea sighed as she sat on the chair. She managed to clean, or rather absorb the runes so that the room wouldn't look like a cultist was staying there. Feeling quite famished, she decided to leave the room and head off to the dining hall. As she exited the room, she noticed that no one was currently in the hallway. She continued walking until she saw Raquel and.... some woman, who was presumably the scary lady. And Shadrak... who just left running. Approaching her employer she asked "Yo Raqui, did something happen with Ucollas?"

[Phoenix]

High Tension

Shadrak left, and Chelsea showed up. "We're going to find that out now. Come on." Raquel said before taking off into a run. Caterena followed as well. They arrived shortly after Shadrak.

While cowering behind Gabbie, Siv pointed to Steinn with an unsteady arm. "He's an enemy!" she said to Gytha, not sure what else to say just yet. When Shadrak arrived, she knew she could answer more specifically since he would know what she was talking about as well as care. <"Shadrak! He's the reason I was brought here!">

"Well ... you wanted to get lunch ...." Weyland said to Steinn, who shrugged in return. The maids were on the scene quickly and cleaning up the large mess Siv had created.

"I had to see how she was holding up for myself eventually. She seems well enough, but this isn't Corvus, and it should be obvious by this point that I have no foul intentions with her specifically." Steinn explained, the first part being for Weyland, and the second part aimed at pretty much anyone listening.

"Hold on, Shadrak, don't get too close. We don't know what that demon is capable of just yet." Atsuko warned.

"... I'm capable of being civil ... if that counts for something." he commented while glancing at Atsuko as if she were being completely unreasonable. Weyland could only sigh. He knew something like this would happen. He had hoped his sandwich would have arrived first though. No the incident made some progress before the sandwich and salad actually arrived.

[Zsword]

Shadrak shook his head. "Ok, could ONE of you, explain to me, what the fuck is going on?" He asked, clearly pissed, if the clenched fists glowing with energy that was starting to visibly gather around his body said anything about that.

[Phoenix]

Who Is Steinn?

Weyland sighed before gesturing to Steinn. "This is Steinn, Prince Steinn ... of Corvus." he reintroduced the man.

Siv's following warning would clear up any of the remaining confusion. <"H-he's Lord Valdimarr's brother!"> she exclaimed pointing at him again.

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"Oh, Corvus. That's...interesting," Connor said, a bit surprised and trying to diffuse the tension in the room a bit. That might explain why we got the Fallen from a particular clan rather than just some random wanderer.

Veronika

Siv seemed rather distressed by the arrival of Weyland and the winged man, but Veronika figured things wouldn't come to blows here and the rest could probably handle the situation. She was content to just watch for the moment.

[Zsword]

and now Shadrak was MORE confused. "So, why is Siv scared?" He asked, while everyone else was calming... he still looked... less than happy.

[Acacia Sgt]

John turned around a corner, only to find another hallway.

<Great, I can't believe I got lost.> He thought. <I should've gone with them immediately.> Watching at the hallway beyond, he noticed someone else was in the hallway as well, walking away.

<Hm? Maybe I could ask.> ''Hey wait!'' He called out, before taking into a run to catch up.

[Phoenix]

Explanation

"Corvian culture is vastly different from anything you'll find in Ursium, Neviskotia, or even Kigen. Both Valdimarr and Steinn are princes in the Fallen Empire. As such, they are destined to one day do battle and kill each other--as well as all of their other brothers--and the surviving brother will become the new Emperor. The strongest clans of any losing principality are violently subjugated following the crowning of the new emperor. Some of them end up being completely annihilated in the process. Siv belongs to a clan that has sworn its allegiance to Valdimarr. That makes Steinn the last person she would want to run into out here. There's not a person on this entire estate that can protect her from another prince, however." Weyland explained as the waitress returned with the small lunch he had requested. Still sitting, Steinn graciously accepted the salad and began eating.

As Siv looked around and realized she was the only one taking the fallen seriously, she tried to rouse the room by yelling <"Don't underestimate him! He can kill you with his eyes! I've seen it! He's dangerous!"> Siv said still using Gabbie as a shield. Steinn was inclined to ignore her at this point in favor of the salad. He bothered to glance over once or twice as he ate, and whenever he tossed her said glance, she hid completely behind Gabbie.

Raquel wasn't sure what to make of the situation when she arrived and neither did Caterena. They didn't have much choice other than to just stand around and listen for the moment.

[Mercakete]

They're everywhere! Norbert thought as the maids appeared to clean up the mess the Fallen girl had made, presently somewhat more on-edge by them rather than the fact that there was another Fallen in the room, though Steinn's species and social rank was concerning.

"Don't care if yer a prince," Gytha mentioned to Stein, now more just annoyed than threatened, "Goin' 'round scarin' kids like that's only good when it's t' help'em or if it's funny." Weird thing was, she was completely serious.

[Zsword]

Shadrak was still horribly confused. "So... why do you need her! She's just a kid!" He fumed, the amount of magic he had gatherred was starting to hurt... crap, this is gonna suck to disperse... ow...

[Phoenix]

The Dark Prince

"And what would you have me do, Miss? Wipe my reputation from her mind so she doesn't cringe at the mere sight of me?" he asked in a slightly snide tone. "She's a fallen, and like all fallen, she must deal with whatever life throws at her, be it being brought to a foreign land or faced with the leader of the strongest enemy faction she knows of."

Glancing over at Shadrak, he raised an eyebrow. "I don't really need Siv. I might have been better served had Svanhildr done what I expected her to do and trade herself for her sister's return." he answered, probably only breeding more questions.

[Mercakete]

"Nah, but ye could give'er less reason t' be scared. Like reassurin' or somethin'," Gytha replied, "Or just sayin' why ye n' she're here."

[Zsword]

Again with the avoiding an answer. "Okay, why do you need a member of you're brothers clan? What is the point of this kidnapping?" He asked again before falling to his knees, and coughing into his robe's sleeve for a couple seconds, the magic he had built up started to fade out.

[Phoenix]

Steinn

Steinn sat idle for a moment and then looked over at Siv who promptly disappeared behind Gabbie again. "You're not here to die. That should be good enough for you." he told her before going back to his lunch.

She was in a foreign land, with very little protection. She knew he would have killed her by now if he'd planned to but she couldn't shake the fear. Gabbie's arm was starting to get uncomfortably warm from all the holding. <"You should ... go away."> she said in Corvian to the Fallen Prince. This time he just ignored her.

"It wasn't your job to do anything more than deliver her here. You've done that much and so the rest is not your concern." he said to Shadrak. "Perhaps the abuse of your power is."

"Yeah well it's my business!" Atsuko yelled as she came closer. "Half the people I knew died trying to bring her here. The least you can do is tell me why."

"A Kigenese woman with a sword. It's one of the rarer sights to be sure ... trust me when I tell you this. You don't want to know why you went through the hell you did. Take your gold, and put it behind you."

Edited September 26, 2011 by Phoenix

[Zsword]

Shadrak stood, wiping his mouth, though it was quite obvious he was bleeding somewhere inside, there was a trickle of blood forming from the corner of his mouth. "Well, I didn't take part in this mission for money, I deal in information, and I would like to be informed, if it's something private, then I have no problem taking it there, and not telling a soul." He said, closing his eyes to focus a little. Calm down, anger is your enemy, do not let anger guide your magic, magic is a tool... not a weapon...