Return of the Emblem Chapter Six: Enemies Abound

[Mercakete]

Well, Steinn's talk to Siv was good enough. So, Gytha sat back down (she'd half-risen from her seat) and answered Amon, "Well, I grew up in a port so th' sea's always been a part o' me life. Always looked foreward t' actualla joinin' a crew and sailin' around. Ye meet all sorts o' people as a mariner since ye have lots o' different kinds o' cliants. I'm also appreciated as a swordswoman and I know me way 'round a ship. Maw helps out a lot too bein' th' natural predator o' rats n' all. It's a good, carefree way t' make a livin'. When I'm at sea I feel like I'm home. Guess that's th' basics o' it."

Norbert decided just to listen in on the conversation with the Fallen and the self-destructing shaman. Did he actually fall for that Fallen girl? That's a bit...extreme... He figured though they were all probably in danger from the Fallen -- the waitresses and maids seemed to be less harmless and more just creepy -- there probably wasn't anything they could do about it if it came to a fight anyway. And the Fallen Prince was right: they'd done their part so it wasn't their business anymore. With that in mind, he tried to force himself to relax and crossed his arms, simply listening for now.

[Phoenix]

More Dark Stuff

"Putting information such as this above your health seems counterproductive to me." he said gesturing to Shadrak.

Other Stuff

It was hard for Amon to ignore what was going on. He actually couldn't, but he did manage to get the gist of what Gytha had told him. At that point however, he was looking for an excuse to leave the area. Maybe go down to the university or something. "I see. You know maybe we should get going. I mean we did finish eating, right? The sooner we head over there the more ... fun we can have, I guess ...?"

"Hmm ... that reminds me. I'll have to get going myself. I don't need any rehearsal time for this particular routine but ... traffic's going to be murder heading into the city soon." Rodrigo said before uncrossing his arms and standing up from the table. "Heh, feel free to tag along if you guys want.

Raquel Stuff

They're going to the festival? Well I guess it would be more interesting in a place like this. I can't go though. Not right now anyway. I'm still dead tired and I've got to hurry up with these stupid permits before we have to leave town again. "I should head into town while I still can ..." she said weakly.

"The permits, right?" Caterena asked before sighing. "I'll come with you."

"Mom?"

"You're a wreck, and just because you can pull off the 'I'm doing pretty good for myself' look with your clothes doesn't mean you can do it with your words. You're going to need some help, so I'm going to help you." she explained.

"... thanks."

"Don't bother thanking me, Raquel. You need to be fully prepared for what you're getting yourself into and I'm only doing what a mother should be." Trying to cover your ass as best I can.

[Mercakete]

"A'right, sounds good," Gytha agreed as she got up and began heading out, "C'mon, Amon!" She was apparently somewhat excited about seeing what all was involved with this city's festival. Hopefully it'd be more interesting than the last one.

[Zsword]

"I'm fine." Shadrak spat out... "But thanks for caring I guess..."

[Phoenix]

Dining Hall

"I can't say it's of any concern to me but ... it's worth pointing out, if only to change the subject." Steinn replied.

Rodrigo and Amon began heading toward the exit not terribly far behind Gytha. Meanwhile Atsuko came closer than she normally might have to such a being. Mere feet away from Steinn she spoke up again. "Tell me why. Right now."

He paused for a moment and pushed away the plate that used to contain his lunch, then he turned the chair and sat to the side, facing her a little more somewhat. The two made eye contact. She gave him a cold hateful glare, and he gave an apathetic gaze in return. <"Don't look him in the eyes!"> Siv warned before vanishing behind Gabbie again. Atsuko glanced over at her and then returned her attention to Steinn.

"Your mercenary friends died because they were weak. The mission you were sent on was a very small step in my efforts to claim the throne. That should be simple enough for you to understand."

How appropriately dodgey. Weyland thought to himself.

[Zsword]

"And why do we want you on the throne compared to your brother?" Shadrak asked, sitting down at the table as well, if only because he was coughing up blood after his surge of energy.

Zel and Krystal followed Amon and Gytha out, though Zel took a detour to the guest wings, Krystal stayed with Amon. "So, where are we heading?" She asked him, fluttering to catch up.

[Saturnine]

The silent knight beheld the crash of dishes and the shrill screaming with muted disinterest. There was only one true objective she had to uphold, and it only involved one person. Pushing away from the edge of the wall, the knight strode towards Weyland's seat, standing protectively nearby. She didn't fully expect anyone to try and make a move on Weyland's health, but she was prepared to use deadly force on the slim chance that anyone did try.

[Snowy_One]

Robin lay in her room, her body calm and relaxed from the meal and the warmth of the bed upon which she lay. She looked up at the ceiling of the guest room. Though she was warm and comfortable, a general feeling of disease started to grow in her. Something felt off. She didn't need to ask herself what it was either. It wasn't the room, it wasn't the food... those had been fine. Yet a growing pit seemed to be twisting about inside her belly. It was her. She looked up at the ceiling of the house as her mind milled over what had happened during the past few days, trying to make sense of it. Standing up for Callisto, entering into a Ursium house, Shadrak, Siv... What was going on. Above her, the ceiling started to flow and move, calm and steady, forming into the faces of the three. Yet they were not solid, moving with fluid motions in steady streams like water. Why did she care for them? Why hadn't she acted as nasty to Siv and Shadrak as she had to others?

Suddenly, the gentle flow of the mental images overhead was interrupted by the sound of a steady trickle of water. Robin sat up and looked down from her bed to see a small hole in the wall that had, somehow, sprung a leak. How could water even get up that high in the house? Did it travel through the walls? Was it being pumped from somewhere? Before long, the water coated the floor of the room, lifting small objects and the rug off the floor, including her quiver. She didn't know why, but she could not leave the bed. She dashed forwards, seeking to spring down to open the door, only to stop suddenly at the edge of the bed. The walls of the room suddenly burst forth with a sharp crackling sound like that of dishes being dropped as water flowed in, it's normal liquid sound replaced with that of angry and muffled yelling as it pressed in around her. It rose up above her waist, up to her arms, and then her neck, encompassing and surrounding her. Robin tried to swim, only to find all her strength gone. She reached for the window of the room, trying to let the water out, only to see all of Ursium outside before her. Then...

She bolted upright, in her guest room. Undrenched, unharmed, and water-free. She had fallen asleep, if only a daydream, but never the less, she had been asleep. She quickly jumped off the bed and felt the wall, searching for any dampspots. "<What the hell was that about?>" she asked herself before picking up her quiver and heading back downstairs. Shadrak was into dark magic. That included fortune telling, dream interpretation, and other such things. Maybe he would know.

Yet, as she came back to the livingroom, she suddenly stopped. Two new people were there. While this was to be expected, being a well-staffed mansion and all, these people were clearly not on the payroll. The first, a man she had never seen before, yet seemed to have everyone on edge, and the second a knight whom she couldn't make out. "<Oh no.>" she whispered under her breath. She glanced to the first, then to the knight, her keen eyes trying to see through the visor to find out who, or what, was underneath.

[Saturnine]

Siritov's helmet possessed slim eye-holes, too tiny and too pitch black dark to see into from the outside. Two long, wicked blades jutted out from the helmet like horns of a dragon, adding even more grim intimidation to those who dared look upon the black knight's visage. There was a sizable shield worn on her left arm. The black knight's armor itself was completely rusted. Not red, but black. Light refused to shine off the surface of her body.

She stood resolutely by Weyland's chair, her vision cast across all the others in the dining hall. Without any movement, her eyes silently darted from person to person. The smell of food was tempting her stomach, but she would stave off the urge a little while longer. A guardian must always be prepared.

[Phoenix]

Aftermath

"Heheh. I honestly don't care if you want me on the throne or not. Humans rarely know what's best for them." Steinn replied to Shadrak. "Still ... I think it would be in your best interest if I was the last one standing. After all, my goal isn't to take control of Sardius in a glorious genocide. Under my reign, the empire will have a longer ... healthier existence, which I feel is necessary. Under dear Valdimarr's reign, the world ends ... with a sad ... sad whimper."

Heading Out

It seemed that had at least one more person tagging along. The ice wielder that they had met up with in Kigen. "We're going to go into the city and check out the festival." Amon answered. "Seems like a good time, I think. Whatever's going on in there is a little too intense for my tastes."

"No kidding. I had no idea Steinn was a prince. Well at least he wasn't lying about being of noble decent. Not sure what that really means to the fallen, what with that whole siblings killing each other thing, though." Rodrigo commented as they walked.

Mother Daughter Business

As Raquel and Caterena exited the dining room, they headed for the entrance as well. That initially made Raquel wonder how they were going to be getting around. "Hey, mom? The wagon's in an underground ... area. It's not this way."

"Oh no, you're not going to be riding around on that thing for something like this. Rodrigo's carriage would work better for this."

"I think he's taking the others downtown right now."

"... fine, Weyland can provide a carriage for us. Just remember, you want to put up a good image and that old wagon isn't going to cut it."

"It's not like I can just buy a new one. Well ... I guess if all the mission reward money went to me, I could, but that's not even close to fair since I don't actually fight." she explained.

"Honestly, Weyland says he's going to give you his support and he can't even replace that crappy old wagon." Caterena complained with crossed arms.

"H-hey, I know this probably don't mean much coming from me but that wagon's actually saved my life and it's got a lot more space than most. I think it deserves some consideration here. You know that's the same model the military convoys used to use, right?"

"Ahem, 'used' to use. There are better models out there and I think it's time you invest in one."

"I can't afford a newer wagon. I'm not actually making an overall profit right now either--Weyland's rewards don't count. I've been trying to get some 'out of party' weapon sales going without letting what's in stock fall too low, but it's kind of tough. Most of the time I'm fighting to protect essentials like vulneraries and trying to figure out why a given merchant wants so many steel weapons and to hell with the slims." she explained.

"Ugh, aren't you keeping an eye on the market?"

"How the heck can I when I'm always on the road? I don't have time to check in with the local guilds or even buy information. This is hell."

"This is silly, just have Weyland get you a new wagon and have him send you regular information on changes in the market. Simple."

"No no no no no, I can't do that. I'm already relying way too much on Weyland as it is."

"What's more important to you, rescuing your father and beating the piss out of those mobsters, or staying in the black?"

"Rescuing my father of course! I'm just saying-" "Well I'm just saying. Yes you're relying on Weyland quite a bit. He's a valuable resource so use him as much as you can while you can. He might not be this reliable later on so get what you can before this well dries up."

Raquel sighed. That sounded so familiar. "That's so manipulative ...."

"If he's offering and you need it. Take it. Simple. It's not like Weyland hasn't already put your ass on the line for his own stupid little errands. If he offered you less than half a million for risking an international crisis, then he'd better be ready and willing to help you by giving you simple market updates and a new wagon. This is ridiculous."

"I barely do anything. It's all the mercenaries and such. I'm hardly entitled here."

"Oh shut up with the mercenaries. We're going to talk to Weyland about this as soon as we get back and try to get you properly set up with a new wagon. He owes us at least that much."

I actually like that wagon, you know .... Raquel thought to herself crossing her arms as well with a pouty look on her face.

[Snowy_One]

As she looked into the dark slits of the visor, Robin's hunters eyes could not make out any sort of facial feature upon the knight. An oddity for her. Though she had never personally stared down a dragon or a wyvern, she felt almost like this is what it would be like. It felt a lot like staring down a bear. Was this odd, silent, knight a guard or something else? She suspected the latter, though the former seemed far more likely. Slowly she pulled her gaze away from the odd knight. There were other people at the table and, for all she knew, she was simply engaging in a staring contest with a wax dummy in armor. Raquel was talking with some woman Robin assumed to be her mom about... what sounded like family issues that Robin didn't want to get involved in and others were involved in their own talk.

"<Bah. Figures. Everyone else already talking.>" she grumbled in Skotian. She went to go take a seat, far from the rest of the group so as to keep out of their way and fights, waiting for Shadrak to be done. By sheer coincidence she had picked a spot not far away from the knight. Leaning back on her chair legs, she tried to look through the visor again.

"Are you a wax dummy or a actual person?" she asked herself quietly, in common just to be safe, her curiosity stirred as to if someone as rich as Raquel's mom might actually do something like that.

Edited September 27, 2011 by Snowy_One

[Rothene]

As he was about to leave the hallway, Ranyin heard John call to him and stopped.

"Hey John, what can I do for you?" asked Ranyin as he heard activity in the dining hall pick up and the crashing of plates. The noise made him step closer to the dining hall, as his curiousity was once again piqued. RAnyin raised a hand to silence John as he strained to listen on what was being discussed in the dinning hall.

After a while, he gave up as not everyone spoke in a loud manner, hence he only got bare few scraps of information, not enough to deduce anything. Although he managed to catch Siv's shrill distress calls in kigenese...as well as an indication that the other avian in the room was a fallen.

Then a large group of people came out mentioning the one word that drew Ranyin to them...'festival'

"Hey, are all of you going to the festival thing?" asked Ranyin happily, "Don't mind if I follow?"

***

At the first sight of the man's hands glowing with dark energy, Mireille stood up...and would have backed away with her lance facing the shaman had she not remembered the image she must build as a knight. Holding back her wariness of the shaman's magic, Mireille took her place on the side of Weyland the black armoured knight had not already covered.

[Mercakete]

"Eh, let's stop talkin' 'bout 'im. We're bound for th' festival, after all, aye?" Gytha asked as they continued on their way, trying to help shift the subject. That was when Ranyin happened by, talking about wanting to go to the festival. John was there, too. "HAHARR! A'course, a'course! Ye comin' too, Jehosophat? Wanderin' r'ound alone's not a good idea, after all."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's not our problem who takes over. Neither one sounds like they care about us too much so neither one would hesitate to take us over. He says there's a difference between them, but I don't think we can trust this guy regardless. Still, what does he mean by "the last one standing?" However they choose their next ruler sounds dangerous. Norbert observed as he listened. At this point he'd closed his eyes. His back was to the conversationalists, after all, since he was at the next table over. It was easier to listen this way. By now, he was resting his head in his hand and his elbow on the table. His other hand rested near one of his maces on his belt. He felt more secure with a weapon ready, even if it was likely futile. We shouldn't be doing this. We should leave as soon as possible and never ask for Weyland's help again. Dealing with the Fallen is too dangerous and this guy's friends with one. And if he isn't friends, he's at least an ally. That means if the Fallen ever do become powerful enough, Ursium won't be able to rely on him for help. I don't like this...at all... As he thought about it, his hand slipped over the mace's grip and tightened in his anger. He had no intetion on erupting then and there, though.

[MinunRobotnik4]

Saken's eyes darted around the room as he placed down his finished coffee cup. There were developments that were going on that, he felt, were largely being ignored by the majority of the group.

May as well make some mental notes, we did just helped a Fallen Prince in his quest for power... Hooray.

While still keeping an eye, he turned his other eye towards what he would do right now. The festival sounded nice, but it was Europa.

The chances are pretty low.... to go one more time or not that is the question...

[Saturnine]

She did it very quietly. The other girl's inquiry had reached Siritov's ears, so she turned the angle of her helmet so it would be obvious the knight was looking at Robin. She answered first with silence.

[Zsword]

Shadrak shook his head. "Something tells me that you won't tell me anymore... fine." Shadrak said. "So, Weyland, might as well get on to matters that I wanted to speak with you before. I was wondering if we could do a little note swapping on the Fire Emblem, me and Master, Lady Chie, are studying it, and perhaps a fealt a little collaberation might be in order... there's also other issue around it... I think we've got a predicament forming in Raquel's extended exposer to it, Saken, Seal please!" He said, at the end turning to the little thief and holding an outstretched hand, ready to catch or otherwise recieve the seal.

Zel arrived in his quarters and started to get changed back into his armor. Well, it was nice playing noble for a little while, but sadly the time for indoors is over, and I must hide myself to go into public... *sigh*

Krystal gave a little happy jump at the thought of seeing another festival, now that she believed in the crazyness, it had a much lighter air for her. "So, where are we going first?" She asked the group.

[Phoenix]

Stuff

Weyland quickly finished off his sandwich, but he still wasn't fast enough to get the first word in after Shadrak's opening statements. "The fire emblem, you say?" came from a slightly curious Steinn.

"Alroight, show's over. Get off." Gabbie said, finally muscling out of Siv's grasp and walking off toward the exit. From there, Siv ran to the next best cover, Shadrak. He was closer to Steinn, but still better than nothing. She grabbed his arm next and kept the shaman directly between her and Steinn at all times.

[MinunRobotnik4]

"Oh, that alright," he said pulling out the small seal from his pocket.

He looked at the seal for a second before clenching it in his hand. He then stood up walked over to Shadrak and placed the seal on Shadrak's outstretched hand.

"Here you go..."

[Zsword]

Shadrak chuckled. "Sir, I'm just a cultural scholar, and the emblem shows up in many cultures, I'm just trying to figure out just how significant it is, whether or not an artifact of such power really exists, I don't know." Shadrak explained himself with a smile, he had noticed Weyland's rush, and could only hope he could cover his error. Not exactly like I"m lieing, I can't identify much anything right now.

"Thank you Saken." He said, quickly covering the seal and placing it in his pocket.

Edited September 27, 2011 by Zsword

[Mercakete]

The pegasus rider couldn't believe his ears. He actually turned in his seat to confirm that Shadrak was being that stupid. "Oh, come on! If I'd known you were THAT stupid, I would've knocked you out way before this!" Norbert yelled at Shadrak, incredulous at how much he'd just told a Fallen prince.

[Phoenix]

Steinn

"Well it certainly seems to exist, what with this Raquel having exposure problems." Bert's yelling came next and Steinn paused. "There's no need for raised voices."

Weyland sighed. "Steinn may not mind it, but it would probably be best to talk about this somewhere more private."

"Well ..." Steinn paused to stand up and move out of the way so a waitress could take away their plates. "... well with or without any magical advice from me, I'm sure the two of you can get to the bottom of it. If you don't mind, now that I know Siv is safe and sound, I think I'll take a little walk myself."

[Zsword]

Shadrak visibly winced. "I'm sorry, I guess it was rather rambuctious of me to bring it up in a public area like this..." Shadrak said to Weyland before half bowing to Steinn. "And it was... interesting meeting you sir, may the next time we meet be under better circumstances." He told the man politely.

[Mercakete]

"May we never meet again" is how you say it, moron. Norbert continued to glare at Shadrak.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

Veronika watched the scene unfold as she waited for her meal. Bert was yelling at someone again, which did not surprise Veronika in the least. Eventually, the shashlyk and...bottle of vodka arrived.

"If anyone wants a drink, I'd be happy to share. Despite possible Neviskotian reputation, we don't drink this much...at noon," Veronika said, pouring herself a small glass, before grabbing one of the skewers and biting off a mouthful of grilled beef and onion. Not bad... she thought to herself.

Connor

Connor listened to the conversation develop. He was curious why his uncle wanted to get involved in Fallen politics, but world security seemed a good enough reason. Of more interest was Steinn's mention of 'exposure effects' and 'getting to the bottom of it'. Getting to the bottom of what? Asking one of the waitresses where Raquel went (the waitresses were really the people to ask if one wanted to know where things where at the Weyland Estate), Connor left the dining hall and went towards the rear end where Raquel and her mother were.

"Uh, Raquel? Do you think it's necessarily safe to be carrying the emblem around Europa? There were those Wrathites who attacked us earlier...and there are a lot of Wrathites here in Europa- including Head Wrathite Bradford, though he's not feeling too well these days I hear. Wouldn't it be safer to leave it in the manor?" he asked her.

Edited September 27, 2011 by -Cynthia-

[Phoenix]

Steinn and Other Cast Members

"Oh there could be no better circumstance to meet under than this, I assure you." he said before turning and walking off, raising his hand to wave back at those at the table as he left.

"Oh, I suppose I'll have a glass. Bit of a stressful day so I won't say no to taking the edge off." Weyland said to Veronika.

"I'll be right over there so just let me know when you're finished." she said to the two regarding the vodka.

Carrying That Thing Around

When Connor came up to them and asked about the emblem, Raquel put her head down a bit and frowned. "I'd like to keep it somewhere but the last time I left it behind, I got so tired that I practically fell asleep on the battlefield."

"Oigh, what am I going to do with you?" Cat remarked hearing Raquel's excuse. "Just what is this thing you've got and why do the Wrathites want it?"

"They're probably doing Wrath some great service by beating the living daylights out of us and taking it for themselves. Who knows ..." she replied sounding annoyed."