Return of the Emblem Chapter Six: Enemies Abound

[Snowy_One]

"<Oh sweet merciful... I actually agree with Noobert!>" thought Robin to herself. "May I please have... three... of those drinks?" she asked Veronika. "I do not usually drink but... Shade drake... I agree with Noobert here."

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

Veronika poured Weyland a glass and took a swig of her own. "Good vodka...this is either imported or a very well made replica. I'd suspect the latter rather than the former given the current political climate, but you seem to be a man of many resources," she commented to Weyland offhandendly.

"Three? I guess you've had a rough time of it yourself," Veronika said, pouring Robin a glass of vodka.

Connor

"Oh right, you did look ill when I gave it back to you. Do you think you've grown some sort of...magical dependence on the emblem? Magical artifacts aren't really my area of expertise though; you'd have to go to a proper archsage or something for that. Maybe you should hold onto it for now, but you still might want to bring a guard or two if you go out. I'm sure Uncle Seth can send Craig or someone along," Connor replied to Raquel.

Edited September 27, 2011 by -Cynthia-

[Mercakete]

"I said if you can't say my name right, then call me by my nickname! Sheesh!" Norbert snapped at Robin, still frusterated with Shadrak. Great! If that Fallen prince can hear well enough, he would've caught my name! ... Kind of. Something that almost sounds like my name... ... I'm safe. Nevermind.

[Snowy_One]

"I am agreeing with Bert." said Robin as she downed the first glass. "BERT! We do not get along at all. Shade drake, you really should have been... Uggg..." she quickly took the second glass and practically turned it on its end. "Getting shot, nightmares about drowning, staring down suits of armor, and now... <Why me?>" she said in a cry that was more a whimper than actual words. She then grabbed the third glass right as a massive wave of unsteadiness washed over her as the vodka started to pour into her system. She let go of the cup before letting her head sink into her hands. "<Why couldn't it have been Raquel, or even Gytha, not Norbert.>" she mumbled into them.

[Zsword]

Shadrak normally wasn't much of a drinker, always liked to keep his mind clear, but a sip or two wouldn't hurt. "I'm sorry about that, I do tend to prattle when things such as the emblem come up, I think Chie ended up teaching me that one..." he chuckled out.

Edited September 27, 2011 by Zsword

[Acacia Sgt]

Unfortunately for John, it seemed the person turned into a corner and out of sight. Not that his shout was for naught, seeing Ranyin further ahead.

<Well, I guess this works as well.> He thought following him to the dinner hall, witnessing a good portion of the events in there.

<Incredible, all this and...> Just then Gytha approached him asking about the festival. ''Hm? Nah, I think I'll pass on that.'' He answered, and remained in the hall, seeing the rest of the stuff happening in there.

[Phoenix]

Weyland

"True, I suppose. But you need more. Everyone needs more to accomplish their goals." he said accepting the glass and drinking it. "Even Steinn is that way ..."

Raquel

"I'm not sure who to bring. Gytha's definitely going to be going to the festival, and Mom, you're out of practice, right?"

"I can pretend to be if you want an extra one of your little buddies along." Caterena replied shrugging.

"Err ..."

[ReformBlade]

Sammuel

"My turn, hm...?" Expressionless, the kid walked right up to the surface, chalk in hand and mind still in a slight daze. Why did I chicken out so... badly? I've done a ton of crazy stunts before, and granted, this was easily the most dangerous thing I've ever even thought of doing, but... Am I really that scared? That cowardly? He frowned as he placed the tip of the chalk on the rock, not moving it until he sorted out his thoughts. I can't face my friends until I've done this, I fucking know that, but can I really do it? He dragged the chalk haphazardly in a crescent shape, slowly and methodically, not even remotely paying attention to it at the moment. "That ain't right... That just ain't right." Looking at what he had already placed, he was slightly startled that he didn't even realize he was writing it. Tilting his head, he looked at what he had subconsciously wrote, letting out a shy burst of laughter. Did that just happen? Hahaha... oh wow. I don't think I'll ever understand how anyone thinks, let alone myself, but I don't have to understand it to see what I've been lacking this whole time... I think I'll give it a shot. "Today marks a new day for Mr. Argus..."

Looking about, he saw a kid waiting by him, simply staring at the wall, looking at all the wishes before fixating on what Sammy just wrote. Smiling, Sammy handed his piece of chalk to the kid. No words exchanged, he walked away, "It's all I need at this point, and if that can come true... I'm set."

The kid looked at Sammy walking away, a puzzled look on his face before turning back to what he had written. "Will...power? What kind of silly wish is that?"

Aneda

The pegasus knight was simply enjoying herself to a nice meal, one she felt she had earned quite spectacularly. "Almost dying for someone I barely met? Yeah that's worth a friggin plate of mystery meat!" Diging right in, she tried to be as courteous as she could, but that would be like asking Sammy to be taller suddenly.

Edited September 27, 2011 by SlaveKitty

[Mercakete]

Well, while all of you go on and get drunk, I'm going to do something useful. With that thought, the pegasus rider got up from where he'd been sitting and left the room. Down the hall was, of course, the Fallen prince, who'd just left not too long ago. Following him's out of the question. I don't think he'll attack, but I can't trust him not to. So, Norbert quickened his pace somewhat and walked past him, glancing over as he did, giving a clear look of mistrust. The glance was just that, though, and so didn't last long as he continued on his way, quickly finding the other he wanted to find. "Raquel," was his simple greeting as he began keeping pace with her and her mother. Like heck I'm letting him near her now that that stupid shaman told him her secret.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

She's either very thirsty or very eager to get drunk. Veronika noted of Robin, before turning to Weyland. "I can certainly agree on that point. Speaking of which, we probably should discuss what to do about the Organization sooner rather than later, though Raquel should be around. I would not want to lose sight of what the purpose of this group is," she said sternly.

[Phoenix]

Weyland

"Right, I'll have to get things set up for the meeting in the conference room in a little while. There's a bit too much miscellaneous information to make an ordinary conversation anything more than an unhelpful summary. I will tell you this though. You are not dealing with some underground criminal group. This is ... something a bit more dangerous than that."

She Who Was Named

"Bert?" Raquel said in reaction to him showing up so suddenly.

"Oh speak of the buddies and they shall appear." Caterena commented a little rudely. "Since you're here, do you mind tagging along? That is if you can play the role of a respectable bodyguard. I'm the legal advisor~"

"Mom, this isn't a play."

"'course it is."

[Mercakete]

"Actually, that's why I'm here," Norbert replied, though whoever the white-haired woman was was a bit confusing. More directly, he said to Raquel, "I don't trust that Fallen prince one bit and he's not far behind us. Shadrak opened his dumb mouth and now he knows you have the Fire Emblem and that it's been effecting you somehow. Looks like he realized his mistake so I didn't knock him out, but you shouldn't let him talk when dangerous people are around. For now, though, I'm going to make sure you're safe. Got it?" He was completely serious and couldn't explain his protectiveness even if he was paying attention to it.

[Zsword]

Shadrak sighed with a nod. "So, I take it we'll have our talk after the meeting?" Shadrak asked, taking another sip of his vodka.

[Acacia Sgt]

<So, with most going going out to the festival I guess there won't be much to do here.> John thought. <Maybe it is truly time to just wait it out.> He approached the group that remained and took a seat nearby. He eyed the bottle. <Vodka, huh. Not my thing. I'm not even thirsty anyway.>

[Phoenix]

Weyland

"Well I suppose, but to be frank, learning more about that artifact is easier when it's actually present. All I've been able to come up with since the last time you were all here are a few possible theories. There have also been some obvious distractions." he explained alluding to the organization he had also been trying to find out more about.

Raquel and Co.

"Funny, because he seems a lot nicer than the other fallen we've run into." she replied.

"Just how many fallen did Weyland get you involved with? Also, is this one of the mercenaries, or a volunteer or something?"

"Well ..." she paused to look at Bert for a moment. "He's got his maces back now so I guess that makes him a volunteer~" she said with a smile. By the way. This is my mother, Bert. Mom, this is Bert. He's a pegasus knight if you can believe that."

"It's nice to meet you." she said casually as they walked.

[Zsword]

"Well, I guess. There in one pressing matter that I think we should look into sooner rather than later though." Shadrak said... still uncertain of whether he could explain to Weyland about the seal in public after the mistake with the Fallen.

[Phoenix]

Weyland

"Hm? What might that be?"

[Mercakete]

"Hah, don't think I gave up my job to work for free. I have my maces back but I'm flat broke, so you'd better pay me from now on," Norbert replied, serious but still a bit good-naturedly. "Good to meet you, um... Raquel's mother. Is there anything else I should call you?" he asked. He felt somewhat more at ease being bodily between Raquel and her mother and Steinn if only because he knew Raquel couldn't fight and assumed her mother couldn't either. Since the prince was unlikely to attack outright, he was unlikely to attack at all if there was some form of barrier between him and Raquel. The pegasus rider was happy to be that barrier as needed, too.

[Zsword]

"Well..." Shadrak brought out the seal and held it out for Weyland. "Raquel held this for about 5 seconds and it entered this state. I'm no seal expert, but something tells that that's bad."

[Phoenix]

Mother/Daughter

"Great, one more mouth to feed." Raquel said, joking a bit to suppress the actual grief. Why can't more of them be like Gytha, and just in it out of some sense of what's right?

"Hahah. You can call me Miss Blanco or Cat, whichever you prefer." she responded laughing at the small exchange between Raquel and Bert.

Weyland

"Hmm ... that's somewhat alarming, but it might fit with one of my theories about Raquel's little 'medallion'." he replied. "Here let me have a look." he said taking the small seal and looking at it closely. After a moment, he sat the seal down on the table and scratched his head lightly. "A seal this size ... should have been able to feed on about five magic users and their tomes for at least another two weeks ... and in about five seconds it drew out enough power to come within hours of its critical phase." he sighed, a bit bewildered the more he thought about it. "That is an astronomical amount of energy to absorb all at once. It's a good thing you removed it when you had or it probably would have detonated killing the both of you ...."

[Zsword]

"That's what I thought, I wanted her to hold on to it, cause I was worried that the item might be... I guess you could say, leaking magic into her, and that it might help stem it off..." Shadrak said... "but, well, I think it might of already come to pass... I think she said that she felt weak and tired if she was away from it... I'm concerned."

[Mercakete]

"Alright, Cat. Well, as your daughter said, I'm Bert, though you could call me Norbert if you prefer since that's my name. Oh, but I wouldn't call myself a pegasus knight since, well, I've never been a part of the military. I do ride a pegasus, though. Her name's Rizen and she's in the stables right now," Norbert explained, actually being civil.

[Phoenix]

Raq and Cat

"Aw but the title 'knight' is so much more reassuring. You might want to reconsider it, hmhm." Cat replied.

Actually, pegasus 'knight' just seemed better than saying pegasus rider since it's pretty obvious he rides one. I guess they're both obvious. Not sure mercenary's the best title for him either ... and I'm about ten seconds from defaulting to 'Bert the Crusher' here ... ugh. Raquel thought to herself as they walked.

Weyland

"Hmm ... that could mean any number of things, but the energy the emblem gives off is undetectabe; it's 'invisible' as I once noted. That makes proper study difficult. If any of you get the chance, you might want to consult a more experienced magician. Someone you can trust not to try to kill the lot of you to obtain it though, of course." he said before pouring himself another glass.

[Zsword]

Shadrak had to think for a moment. "A more experianced magician... hmm, my Master knows more about the emblem than I do, I'm not sure if you've heard of a Chie." Shadrak mused out, finish his glass and setting it aside... one drink would be enough.

[Mercakete]

"Reassuring? Maybe, but it's also misleading and I don't want there to be any misconceptions regarding what I'm not. I guess the lack of armor is a visual cue, but you get what I mean," he explained to Raquel's mother, pondering whether or not he should mention his actual title. Not sure if that'd come across as reassuring or its opposite, though, so I should just keep my mouth shut about it unless she asks. Can't think of too many mothers who'd feel better about their daughters being guarded by Bert the Crusher. Eh, she probably doesn't know who I am anyway, but still, better to keep this one quiet, I think.