Return of the Emblem Chapter Six: Enemies Abound

[Phoenix]

Those Who've Been Walking

Rodrigo's group arrived outside and after a relatively long walk, they reached the large carriage Rodrigo typically used. The driver was standing idly by but once he spotted Mister Vasquez himself, he stopped leaning on the wagon and gave a friendly yet nervous wave. "Hello, there, Mister Phoenix. I hope everything inside went okay ..."

"You're nervous, what's wrong?"

"Heheh ... uuuuoookay, you caught me. I'll be frank. There's no way we can carry more than five people at most, and little Reina's still in the back too. You don't honestly plan to stick some of them on the roof, do you?"

"Hmm ... welp, time to commence Operation: 'Borrow' an extra carriage from Weyland! Who's in?"

Raquel and company weren't far behind and easily caught most of the exchange. "Reina's in the carriage?"

"Uhuh. I prefer it when Rodrigo's looking after her. Does it for free and gives him some practice." Cat replied.

"Practice for what?"

"Well I'm certain he'll have children of his own someday. He might as well get some practice in. Besides he loves little Reina and it's hard to separate the two of them." she explained with a smile.

"... sheesh, how long have you two known each other to where he's replaced a regular sitter ...?"

"Long enough~ Anyway, he's got the right idea. Let's go see if we can't get them to lend us a vehicle."

Those Who've Been Drinking

"You mean the strange Kigenese woman who experiments on animals? I've never done any business with her directly but I do believe had at least one exchange with my company though." he said taking another drink.

Naddy's Daddy: Those Who've Been Fighting

Jason's squad made it through another night without much incident. That wasn't to say their charge wasn't targeted, but the fighting never reached them. The feuding commanders eventually reached a consensus on where to have the soldiers placed to repel any further attacks. Something was still terribly wrong though. An atmosphere of dread was lingering around the higher ups. Somehow, Jason and his squad mates ended up stationed inside the governor's mansion. The place still looked nice, untouched by the fighting. That only made most of the squad let their guard down. Lieutenant Brady hadn't heard much since the meetings had been for high ranking officers only, but his commanding officer, a Colonel in rank, filled him in on a few details he trusted the Lieutenant with. There was one other detail to take care of, but once it was over, the Lieutenant returned to his squad.

When he arrived with a young tough looking woman at his side, it caught everyone's attention. "Hey there, sword monkeys. This is a new addition to the team." he told them.

"Warrant Officer Cameron Lupo. I'd like to say that I'm looking forward to working with you all but ... I've read your file. Can't consider this anything but a demotion." she said to them.

"I know what you mean." Brady commented under his breathe.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa, wait. You must not have been reading the right record, then, cause our squad's got the luck of the gods. We haven't had a casualty in ... what? Forever?" Edgar protested.

"Well ... that's nice ..."

"Alright, guys, listen up. I've got big news for you. I couldn't get into the meeting being the lowly peon that I am, but the good Colonel let me in on a few details. Turns out that things are a lot worse than they look. We initially thought the Skotians were in full retreat. A few suspected they were pulling back so fast to lure us into another wave unprepared, and though they were, we apparently got a report about a very powerful force coming from the north."

"That makes no sense. What are you talking about?" Sampson asked.

"It means that we are about to get smashed into ground glass either today or tomorrow at the latest. A scout team got killed trying desperately to get a report out that a very large aerial force is heading this way. Because we didn't know about it in advance and were too busy setting up defenses specifically against their ground forces, we've basically got our asses hanging out for the aerial force. They'll be here sooner than anyone would like."

"Well shucks, Lieutenant. You ever get any good news from the Colonel?" Regis asked.

"The good news is that this is likely an attempt not to take all of Central but just to kick our asses out of Urcenter. After that, they'll have to agree to a cease-fire or we'll just take it right back when General Remus gets reassigned to it. The Colonel's positive that they're going to force us out of Urcenter, then fortify it as heavily as they can while encouraging a cease-fire. You know ... leave their foot in the Wrathdamn door ..."

"Those cheap S O B's ..."

"Hey, it's what I'd do." Brady said shrugging.

"W-well, what kind of aerial force are we talking about here? It sounds like we're actually going to have to fight for a change." Jason asked standing up.

Brady sighed. "Five hundred aerial units minimum ..." "Well that's not so bad. We get enough ballistas up in time and we can repel that, no probl-" "... and at least twenty-five dragons." Brady finished after Sampson interrupted him.

"... fuck me ..."

"No thanks, and keep your voice down."

"Seriously, Brady, what the hell is this?! How could they possibly get that many dragons organized for one attack?! I thought they only had a few dragons per battalion or something like that!"

"Voice. Down. It's not like it would be that difficult. Most of their army is back in their country so they could easily just cram together a large force like that and sideswipe us with it."

"Why didn't anyone bring enough firepower before now? Why weren't we prepared for this?!" Sampson yelled.

"I said keep your damn voice down. Moving equipment around doesn't happen on a whim. Ballistas are better as defensive weapons and we've been mostly on offense until very recently. Every area needs more than they've got at their disposal. It's not like we don't have ballistas of our own ... we just don't have enough."

"Why the hell don't they bring in Capaberra's army then?! What the hell is wrong with these people?!"

Brady sighed. "Because then that'll leave the Europan region wide open for an aerial attack. News flash, genius, the Skotians are hitting Ursium on pretty much every feasible crossing. We move Capaberra's guys away from the Europan region and that's where they'll strike us next, period. Besides, Capaberra's tactics are to kill them out in the open. He probably wouldn't have a clue how to handle an urban conflict. I don't know if you've read up on history, but this has actually happened before ... several times. We're just going to have to cut our losses on this one."

"What the fuck is this shit, The Third Centralian Blitz or something?! I could have sworn that SOMEBODY said Ursium has a larger army than Neviskotia, so how can they hit us on every Wrathdamn border?!"

"It's called the Neviskotian Navy. Theirs is a lot bigger than ours so unless they spread themselves too thin, our navy can't do a whole lot about them. Another problem is that we were already going for cease-fire according to the Colonel but the Skotians ignored it and I think I see why. Us trying to get a cease-fire is like saying 'We're ready to end the game now'. They've got their ships lined up across all the borders from what I've heard. It's probably how they covered the attack. Just start shooting at every border to keep the defenses evenly distributed and then send in something strong enough to take what you're really after and end the game before they can take it back. If we did manage to repel the attack, they'd have a short distance to fall back to safety too so the plan's got a low risk to it as well. The Colonel said we're pretty much guaranteed to lose this one unless some reinforcements get here before we have to retreat. Fat chance of that though. They need at least a few days and we don't have that long."

"ARRRGH!!! So now we've got to play defense when we know full well we can't take on that kind of force?! What the hell are we supposed to do about that many Wrathdamn dragons, man?!" Sampson protested loudly.

"I dunno, why don't you go brag to them about your awesome ass--nonexistent--kill record. I'm sure that'll send'em home crying. Look, we fight until the order to retreat is sounded. We're guarding the inside of the manse so dragons won't become a problem unless one of them cuts off our escape route and we have to go through'em. The Skotians aren't likely to bomb this place to the ground either. If they tear the whole city down, they'll have to rebuild all of it, and it'll be that much easier to take back. What we need to worry about are infiltration units and antipersonnel bombs, like the ones we've been getting. They'll probably be coming in on the ground like they have been. WO Lupo here is a bomb specialist herself and was transferred to our squad as part of an effort to get all the infantry units prepared for this attack. With her we won't be completely blindsided. That's what I'm hoping for, at least."

"I won't let you down, sir." she reassured him.

"We are gonna die ... that's all there is to it. Dead ... just flipping dead ...." Sampson muttered despairingly.

[Zsword]

Shadrak sighed a little. "Yes, the strange Kigenese woman that expirements... on... animals.... wait, you've met her?" Shadrak asked, he asked Weyland if he knew Chie as a joke, and didn't honostly expect him to know her. "Actually, I've left one such critter in the care of your staff, if you'd like to look at him, though, I'm kinda obligated to say you aren't allowed to do anything past that." Shadrak tacked on, now leaning against the table.

Krystal smiled. "I can fly to keep up if that will help with the spacing." She piped in for the matter at hand.

[Rothene]

Noticing the threat the shaman posed to Weyland died down and the stoic presence of the other knight, Mireille decided that she was no longer needed to protect Weyland...for now.

Sitting down and reviewing her notes once more, Mireille stopped to close it when her meal arrived.

***

Ranyin was worried when he saw the size of the carriage...and people to fit into it. Luckily Rodrigo had sugested they get another carriage. The short kigenese mage did not know how would he have fared had he been forced to squeeze into the carriage with Gytha...

[Mercakete]

"If I had Rizen around, I'd just fly too," Norbert mentioned. "Aye, aye!" Gytha cheered in responce to the question of who all was in favor of borrowing a carriage from Weyland, "An' failin' that, we could all just walk." The latter sentence was stated just as jubulantly.

[Acacia Sgt]

<Animal experimentation?> John thought. <Ah, so she is that kinda person then. Though, for sure it isn't of that kind of experimentation, like the one of...> He shook his head. Yeah...

[Phoenix]

Carriages

"If we walked, it'd take hours." Rodrigo said with his head hung depressingly. He became a little more resolute in getting enough wheels for everyone. That or just let them walk if they wanted.

Once Rodrigo and Caterena called over and had a friendly discussion with a couple of security guards, they were brought over to what appeared to be a manager in charge of the vehicle storage area. It took some begging from Rodrigo plus the immediate downplaying of Cat's veiled threats, but they eventually procured enough carriages to comfortably transport everyone who was currently in the group.

Cat's group consisted of Raquel and Bert, whom she knew were coming with her. Rodrigo's consisted of pretty much everyone else save they change their minds. Since he was the festival group, he highly doubted it. Before they left, Raquel came over to Rodrigo's group to say goodbye as well as remind them about an important matter. "Okay I need to go downtown to apply for some permits. I won't be back for awhile since the city's so big and so crowded. It'll be easier to keep everyone informed if you're all together, so try to get back here by nighttime. I don't know if Weyland's going to hold a big meeting like last time, but if he is then I want you all there so people aren't wondering why we're suddenly heading off to 'who knows where'. Okay?"

Drinkers

"No, not in person, as I said. I do occasionally have a look at the company records and she has shown up on the list. Ordered a large amount of various supplies and instruments ... about a month ago." he explained. "Oh don't worry about the animal. It's not my field of research. I prefer to deal in the inorganic. Far more predictable and controllable."

[Mercakete]

"Aye, aye!" Gytha responded to Raquel's request.

When we split off, I should probably talk to Raquel about taking any more jobs from Weyland. Norbert thought as he waited for the merchant to finish speaking with the others.

[Zsword]

"Oh, that might be why I don't know about it... I haven't seen her for awhile now... though.. hmm... if there was anyone we should see about the emblem... it would be her." Shadrak mused a little more...

[Phoenix]

Weyland

"I'll keep that in mind." he said before finishing his glass. "Oh and, Authine. Siritov. I'll need the two of you at the meeting I'm setting up tonight, so don't disappear or anything, please." he added offhandedly to the two knights.

Heading Off

Once everyone was loaded up into the carriages, the drivers got them moving and out the roadway leading away from the estate. Heading out early seemed to be the right thing for both parties as traffic wasn't slowing them down much. The closer Rodrigo's party came to the university and any other areas hosting Ascension celebrations, the more crowded things became, though still relatively tame. They weren't able to park as close as Rodrigo would have liked either, but that was only minor, and he set off after a quick note "Right, so I'm going to take Reina here around and show'er a good time, and you guys just make sure you get back to the carriages when you're done ... unless you're coming to see my show tonight that is ... heheh. Anyway, have fun, guys!"

"Hmm, so I guess we'll be ... looking around now?" Amon asked no one in particular. He had been looking at Gytha when he said it though.

To The City

As the carriage containing Raquel, Cat, and Bert rode along toward the licensing department building, Cat went over a few things so Raquel would know how to carry herself. When it came into view, Raquel looked out the window and a look of dread marked her face. The building looked somewhat similar to the others nearby but was of an intimidating design; gothic architecture was the theme of this place, and she was not looking forward to going inside. "Raquel, are you paying attention?"

"Obviously not, or you wouldn't have to ask. Mom, is this really the right place?"

Caterena looked out the window and chuckled as they came to a stop in front of the building. "Oh I should have known that was what had you distracted. Creeped out?~"

"I'm not a big fan of the 'tall indoors' or the random armed statues. They bring back awful memories." she explained, curling up in her seat a bit.

Caterena decided to fill Bert in a little, partly to get past it, and partly for her own amusement. "Raquel had a close call in a building like this once. Fell over a railing high above the ground level and was dangling by her leg for almost a minute before her cousin could pull her back up. She was so young too. I'm surprised she's not afraid of heights come to think of it."

"I am afraid of heights, but mostly when I'm helpless and can only scream and flail my arms." she clarified, clearly getting agitated.

[Rothene]

Getting off the carriage, Ranyin was unsure of where to go. He had already written his wish on the rocks back at that town, it would be greedy of him to send up more wishes...

Deciding that it was best to go in a group, remembering the last time Amon's solo escapades on the rooftops ended with him in dire need of healing, the kigenese mage figured it was best to travel in a group. Addressing Amon, Ranyin said, "So do you have any idea where to start?"

***

Hearing Weyland's orders, Mireille decided she would spend sometime in the festival since she had nothing better to do and had already done her morning practices. Enjoying herself might help her break the writer's block she was suffering from.

Quietly, the ursium knight made her way to the stables to borrow a horse to ride to the festival. An important hobby of the nobility was horse riding, which Mireille had been taught, although not to the extent of fighting effectively on horseback.

[Zsword]

Krystal landed next to Ranyin with a small flutter of her wings. "Mind if I tag along with you as well? I've never been to Ursium before..." she said, sound a little nervous and scared, and who isn't in a new enviroment?

Shadrak nodded at Weyland. "I think... it would be a good destination for atleast Raquel and me to visit, get some true professional input on the matter. I'm not sure how many we can take though, Chie doesn't like to many guests if I remembre right, and if we travel with the full caravan we might attract attention that we don't want..."

Edited September 29, 2011 by Zsword

[Mercakete]

A little chain had formed, it seemed, as they arrived at their destination. Amon asked Gytha something, then Ranyin asked Amon then Krystal asked Ranyin. So, Gytha broke the chain by answering Amon, but adressing all of them in general, "Aye, let's start lookin' for things t' do! Looks like there're shows, merchants, games and rock-signin'. Might as well start with th' games, aye? Come on!" Someone had to get the group going after all, so Gytha led the charge into the fairgrounds.

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

"That's too bad. Well, at least now I know not to fly if you're ever a passenger again," Norbert mentioned to Raquel, somewhat indifferent about the story, "Though riding a pegasus is much safer than dangling off of something. Don't worry about it, though. If you start to fall in there I can catch you before I smash in the face of whoever tried to push you over something. Same goes for you, Cat. I'm here to make sure you're both safe, remember?" It was a lame and less-than-eloquent, half-effort attempt at reassurance at best. The pegasus rider wasn't at all phased by the building, either. To him, it was just another man-made structure with walls, floors and cielings. His focus was on keeping calm and alert so he could do his job and -- the task that would no-doubt prove the harder -- attempt to keep his civility while in the city.

[Saturnine]

It had been so easy to fit into the life of a bodyguard. It was so easy to turn off her mind and let the matters of other people melt away into something she couldn't care less about, to simply become a tool used for protection and the occasional episode of brutality. The black knight who had previously been still as a statue turned her head in master Weyland's direction, hearing his decree.

"Yes, sir." Siritov replied with a cold, undeniable reassurance.

[Phoenix]

Licensing Department

"Oh don't worry about me, Bert. Raquel deserves your full attention. She's paying for you after all~" Caterena replied. A subtle moan could be heard from Raquel as they walked in. Inside the building, it was just as Raquel expected, a lower level with high up walkways. The place was gigantic and reminded her both of the two cathedrals, the one she had nearly fallen to her death in, and the one where the Wrathites had attacked them. Were places like that just deathtraps or what?

Walking up to a reception desk, Caterena played the spokeswoman. "Can I help you?" came an annoying voice from the small woman at the desk.

"We-" That ... voice. I kind of want to punch her just for existing. "We'd like to apply for a Grade Four Trader's permit ... and a couple of other things. Could you direct us to the office that handles this, please?" Caterena said successfully hiding her annoyance.

"It's that waaay." she said pointing with a pen toward their left to a staircase. "Second floor, room fourteen."

"T-thank you." she said, not containing it as well this time."

Everyone Runs Off

Amon was a bit overwhelmed by the whole scene. There were people everywhere, almost like at the concert, but actually moving around. It almost felt like being on the surface of a river and not being able to see out very far. Being of relatively average height didn't help either. He wasn't going to be given much time to fret over it though. He had to keep up with Gytha. Fortunately for him, that was something he could do, even if he had to duck and dodge a few people to do it. I guess she's just going to stop at the first thing that catches her eye.

While wondering what might get Gytha's attention and keep it for more than a comment, he spotted some things that held his attention at times, like a pair of mage students who were literally playing with fire. One stood there pretending to wield powerful and sometimes even oversized weapons while the other manifested magical flames and shaped them into those weapons. When the gigantic fire scythe appeared and started getting swung around, the surround crowd started cheering. When the weapon vanished, the student posing as a weapon wielder checked his gloves over to make sure they were still protecting his hands all over. I could sure use some gloves like that ... Amon mused while still following after Gytha.

Rodrigo Signs Things

Leading Reina along by the hand, Rodrigo took her all around. They had to stop at pretty much anything that caught her attention: from the speed painters, to the acrobatic daredevils. The same general phrases born of curiosity filling his ears, Rodrigo was overcome with a strange mix of agitation from the boredom, but also some glee from how much joy it was bringing her. All that came to an utter halt though when the fans that caught sight of him showed up. Rodrigo new he was surrounded before they all even appeared from the crowd.

"Hmm ... heheh, hi there!" he greeted them, trying to hide the nervousness. The circle forming around him and Reina collapsed and they were packed in. Questions from the males about what kind of weapons he had, questions from the females about who the cute little girl was. Rodrigo put as big a spin on Reina as he could to keep them from realizing the truth, and eventually after about half an hour of signing autographs and posing for speed paintings with at least ten people, he and Reina were free of the small mob. He took her someplace quieter to sit down.

As she hit the bench, she looked up to Rodrigo and said. "Those girls were kind of like mommy."

"Huh?! Whaddya mean?" he asked quickly, not sure what she meant.

"Well, they keep touching you and saying nice things and stuff. They wanted you to draw on stuff though, that was different ..." she noted, trying to remember it right.

"Well uh ... yeah. See Rodrigo's got a lot of fans since he does a lot of things."

"Like the exploding glider!" she shouted raising her hands up.

"Uh, not quite, it's only supposed to catch fire, not explode while I'm still inside it." he said looking away embarrassingly.

"Hahahah!~"

"Yeah I ... I guess that is pretty funny, huh?" he conceded.

"Oh my gods! Mister Phoenix!" a young voice came.

"Huh?" Uh oh, another one? he thought before looking over to see a woman approaching. Oh ... very long blonde hair, deep blue eyes, kind of looks like a swordswoman ... wait, she actually does have a couple of swords on'er. She stopped right in front of the two.

"It's been awhile~" she greeted.

"We've met?"

"Silvia. I do whatever it takes to make it to your shows, the good, the bad, the hilarious. I'm a big fan~" she explained with a cute tilt of the head, keeping her arms neatly placed behind her back.

"Miss, your hair is loooooong." Reina commented. Rodrigo thought it was rude to say that but he wouldn't have time to correct her.

"Yeah, well I couldn't bear to cut the longer parts."

"And it's pretty too, almost goldy."

"Oh stop flattering me. I was already blushing a bit when I got here and you're just going to make it worse heehee. I like your hair too though. Pink isn't a color you see often."

"Rodrigo said me and my sister are 'specially bred'. What does that mean?"

"It was a jooooke." he said with intense defensiveness in his voice.

"Hahahah, well I like it. It's a pretty color. Prettier than mine actually." she explained giving her own hair strands a light flick with her fingers causing them to flow out a bit.

"Noooo--you look great." Reina reassured her.

"Oh, I think I'd look even better with a beautiful color like that~" she said with a wink.

Rodrigo crossed his arms. "This girl with pink hair ..." he paused to imagine it ...

"Whoa! Raquel the Second ..." he commented getting confused looks from both Silvia and Reina. "Ahem, so what can I do for you, Silvia?" Swift recovery.

"I make it to all the shows even with my crappy schedule, but I usually can't get to you before your big exits. Could you sign this for me?" she asked holding out a sheathed sword.

Rodrigo's eyes widened having gotten a closer look at the sword. "What kind of blade is that?"

"Oh it's uh ... heh--poison. Viper, if you want to give it a name." she explained.

"Wow ... you going to kill someone with this?"

"Err ... iiiiif I have to ...." she said shyly. Once it was signed, she gave the sword a hug and put it back to her side. "Okay well ... I should probably stop bothering you two now. I've got a lot of work to do."

"That so? You're going to make it in time for tonight's show, right?"

"I'll be there, even if I have to actually use this thing~" she said giving Viper's sheath a couple of pats. "Well, I guess I'll be going now. Hope I see you again sometime too, Reina."

"Me too~" she replied waving as Silvia left.

"Well that was interesting." Rodrigo muttered while leaning back with his arms spread out over the bench rest.

"It is official. I wanna be a sword master when I grow up."

"... good grief, Cat's going to blame this one on me too, I bet."

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

Weyland seemed to be occupied with Shadrak for the moment, so Veronika turned her attention to Robin.

"Not that I don't appreciate your help, but if you wanted to go back to Neviskotia sticking with our group may not be your best option. It depends on what Weyland says I guess, but I don't necessarily see us heading to Neviskotia anytime soon," she commented to the archer.

Connor

Connor figured Bert would provide enough protection for the emblem for now, so he decided to go the library for the time being. I had been wanting to look up on magical properties for quite a while now, tomes can't be that different from weapons can they? he thought to himself, getting several large volumes on magical theory off the shelves.

Nadya

The lady at the door said we only had to come back by nightfall right? No use loafin' around here all day then. Nadya said, somewhat energized by the sight of people getting their mounts. When she got outside, she noticed that things in Europa were crowded, even more so than when she was in Ursentius. I thought we already had that festival thing? Eh, maybe I can get to makin' a little bit of gold this time around she thought from atop Luca, pondering her options.

[Rothene]

Squeezing through the crowded streets of Europa was not difficult for Ranyin due to two things. His evasive capabilities and small frame. Keeping up with Amon was not difficult, but he tried to not move too fast, in case he got too close to Gytha. By following Amon, Ranyin caught sight of something he wished he did not.

Seeing two mages toying around with fire reminded him of a duel back in Kigen he was forced to do in order to pass the mage exam. He was pit against...of all things...a fire mage. That mage had produced a katana of fire to fight Ranyin back then...and seeing the two mages shaping their flame into weapons caused him to remember the pain of being cut and burned. Panicking, Ranyin folded up his sleeves, checking for any signs of cuts and burnt marks. The kigenese mage could not see them, but he could still feel them, the pain coursing through his body as if those wounds had reopened. Shivering at the memory, Ranyin hugged himself and slowly backed away from the two mages...sinking deeper and deeper into the crowd.

When he lost site of the fire mages, Ranyin dashed erratically unsure of where to go to, but definately away from the source of his fear.

Not sure how long he ran, but by the time he stopped, he found himself near the rocks that people put wishes on. Now that he was away from the fire, a new fear found its way into the mage. He had no idea where his companions were as well as lost track of his way back to where he ran from. Deciding now was not a good time to succumb to another panick attack, Ranyin went forward to make a sensible wish on the rock.

After writing down his wish to return to the group, Ranyin turned around in time to see a familiar face not too far away from him. Ranyin vaguely recalled the boy in the distance who wanted to hunt a dragon and forced himself into the group...only to disappear in the fight where they fought an actual dragon of sorts. Having nothing better to do, Ranyin called out to him.

I think Ranyin found sammy...if you don't like this flow of events...then I'll edit the last bit to have him spot no one

[Mercakete]

There really wasn't a whole lot to say, especially since Cat was doing most the talking. So Norbert just played the silent bodyguard for now, following the women and keeping his ears sharp, listening for anything out of the ordinary. It was the most subtle, unassuming way to keep guard, after all. The most unusual thing so far was the receptionist's voice and though it was somewhat annoying, it wasn't a sign of danger. Cat seemed to have a worse reaction to it than Norbert did, though.

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

It didn't take too long to get to the rows of various games set up for the festival-goers. They were scattered around and each seemed to test something different. One booth had some milk bottles stacked into little towers. There was also a board sticking out of the ground with a round, disklike bell at the top and a lever with a middle fulcrum at its base. One man was simply standing by a table with edges on it, holding a cup and waiting around. There even seemed to be someone juggling at his own booth. There was someone watching after each game, presumably there to explain the rules to the players.

Gytha looked behind her to see who all was there, and adressed all present. "Haharr! This is it! After we play some games, maybe we could watch a couple o' shows, aye?" she asked excitedly.

[spoiler=OoC]Just mention your character talking to one of the four game masters and I'll respond using that generic NPC. These games actually do have rules, but you can get some extra plot gold if you play them well.

[Zsword]

Shadrak glanced over to Veronika and Robin, then turned to face Weyland again. "Sir, if you don't have any immenent destinations in mind, I wouldn't mind taking Raquel down there sooner than later."

Krystal noticed that Ranyin look scared... or rather felt it, it was such a black 'sound' compared to the otherwise happy fuzz that she was getting in contrast to the rest of the crowd. She saw him dash off into the crowd, and followed after him. After an eternity of carefully dodging civilians she caught up to the kid by the wishing rocks... he scribbled something down, but she couldn't see it, she really didn't care. INstead, she walked up to him, panting heavily from all the running. "You really... buh... shouldn't run off like that..." she said between breaths. Note to self, do more running, don't just fly everywhere anymore...

Zel finished donning his armor and went to recover Sliep from the stables. It took him a lot of wondering, a fair amount of asking for directions, but he eventually found his way there. Once he got there though, it was ANOTHER set of directions just to get to the right stall. Once there, he saw another White Armored Knight preparing a mount... he needed someone to talk to while he inspected Sliep, so he called out to her. "Hey there miss, heading the festival as well?"

Edited September 30, 2011 by Zsword

[Saturnine]

Many minutes after Mirielle had entered the stables, Siritov left the great hall and found her way through the mansion, arriving in the white knight's territory. Siritov came to rest before her mount, a proud black Percheron. The horse was massive and suited the task of carrying Siritov's weight perfectly. He was her oldest friend, and the closest thing she may have ever given compassion to. She wrapped her arm around his snout in a gentle embrace, resting her metal forehead against his for a moment of shared silence.

[Acacia Sgt]

''That's true.'' John added. ''In fact, we've been going away from Neviskotia since the beginning. Traveling westward except this last trip back to Europa. I doubt we're leaving Ursium any time soon either.''

[ReformBlade]

A shout over the normal hubbub jarred Sammy, making the kid cock his head in the direction of the voice in curiosity. A girl (?) in blue seemed to be moving towards him, which made Sammy all the more curious. "Ye-" It only dawned on him who exactly he was talking to when he first opened his mouth, "-s...? Sorry, I have a pretty sporadic memory and sometimes I just can't be bothered to remember certain things, but I digress on that portion, have we met before? I swear you like familiar... If not, I'll try not to forget your pretty face again, ma'am!" Without even thinking of it, he decided to hit on the girl (It had to be done), flattery being his big hitter. After all, even Sammyknew he looked like a wimp, a fact which only drove him forward to make himself even better, and in that respect he was glad about his smallish stature.

[Rothene]

Ma'am he calls me, eh, though Ranyin, his expression darkening slightly. Grinning mischieviously, Ranyin knew the precise actions to banish such false notions about his gender...by speaking normally. Or so he thought not realising that his voice might not be deep enough by Ursium man standards...

"Aye, we have met before kid," said the kigenese mage folding his arms, "You joined the group I'm travelling with in search of dragons to slay...and when the opportunity presented itself, you vanished without a trace. Although you did help out in catching a thief during the time you spent travelling with this group I speak off."

Worried that Sammy had truly forgotten his encounter and time spent with the group, Ranyin decided to relay an event that occured during Sammy's join time that he missed, "Does the name Raquel ring any bells to you? That bow you have with you is probably the one she gave you to replace your original one that my...junior...erm mage...broke in a fit of rage for you shooting one of our members named Nanahm."

Leaning forward until his face was close to Sammy's Ranyin added, "Also, it's mister!"

Hearing Krystal approach them, Ranyin's face lit up. Ah, someone followed me, I'm not lost anymore...seems odd that my wish gets granted so soon, mused the mage.

***

Mireille paused what she was doing and turned to address the cavalier nearby in a respectful manner, "Yes I am, sir knight," then turning to look at Siritov, "and would be heading off as well sir knight in black?"

[ReformBlade]

"Raquel? Her bow??? I dropped that thing when I... strategically r-retreated..." Fuck, she's a he? Figures my luck would turn out that way... "And I'll hope you know, this is my bow. Mine. I payed money for it, money I earned by myself. But that's besides the point..." I really missed out on a dragon...? Is he lying? No don't even got here, man, not even worth it. If he's lying, then it's silly, if he's telling the truth... it wouldn't help you out either. "Funny you should mention Raquel, actually. Is she here? As much as I'm loathe to admit it, I do owe her for the bow I suppose and It's not like my image can get any worse, right? Are you still with her? Ugh, I was kinda hoping I'd just go on my way, but... fate seems to have other things in store for me. You ARE still with her, right?"

[Rothene]

Folding his arm and smirking slightly at Sammy's...reactions, Ranyin answered, "Yes I'm still with her. Today we're just taking the day off," looking at Krystal, Ranyin added, "And if you plan on coming back, you're in luck, for this avian here can show us the way back to the group...although Raquel isn't with us for now, she has other things to do."

Approaching Krystal, Ranyin smiled to her and said, "Thanks for following me back than! Now lead the way back," then suddenly realising that he had jumped to conclusions too quickly, he paled and asked weakly, "I presume you know how to get back to the group right? If worse comes to worse, you can still fly over this crowd to find everyone ya?"

[Phoenix]

Paperwork

Once the trio reached the offices they were looking for, they found another person sitting at a desk. He looked exceptionally bored. "Can I help you?" he said in a dull tone.

"I need a few application papers." Caterena asked in place of Raquel.

"Alright, this is the merchant license office, so I assume you're a merchant."

"Not quite. That would be my daughter here. She'll be needing a Grade Four permit, one to buy and sell abroad, and one to carry merchandise in and out of the country." Cat explained.

I need a permit just to carry things from one country into another?! Oh gods, I've got even more crimes under my belt than I even realized. Raquel thought with a grimace.

"Grade Four? Someone's trying to get into the big leagues, I see."

"Hm?" Raquel mutterd, a bit confused.

Huh, guess her mother's trying to help get her set up. Probably a birthday present or something. "Grade One permits allow traders to sell basic equipment. Without this, you're pretty much just a peddler. If they're specifically arms dealers, then it allows them to sell weapons of a certain category as well. Grade Two is obviously for better equipment, some of it military grade. Grade Three permits the selling of what the common newbie thinks is the best stuff on the market. Grade Four and the 'final' grade for at least the next ten years allows you to buy and sell anything above and beyond the previous grades. If you were in business with corporations like Weyland Enterprises or Hammer Technologies, you could make a contract with them and sell their tech in various places, assuming the military doesn't have a patent on whatever it is you're trying to get your hands on. If they did, you could still apply for trading rights with them directly though. Wouldn't be the first time they've let a merchant do that." he explained.

"Okay I see. My father already had Grade One, Two, and Three permits. He said they were kind of tough to get because he was trying to make them usable for either of us." she said recalling a few things. "I was only seventeen at the time too so I wouldn't be old enough to apply for my own until later on.

The man nodded. "Yeah it's a pain to get omni-permits if you're not a corporation. The reason is because if someone gets access to your papers, well ... game over, they can sell anything you'd have been allowed to sell yourself. It's not like writing a list of legitimate sellers helps either since they can just claim to be that person. It's not that it can't happen with a single user permit too but ... it's less likely, and luckily anyone willing to go through the tedium of getting one tends to take good care of it." he added while fetching the application papers Cat had asked for. When he came back up with them he gave them a slightly embarrassed look. "Ssssome of these questions are a bit intrusive. I'm not obligated to tell you this, but if you're in the merchant guild, then you can skip most of them since they would already have that information on you."

"Intrusive?" she echoed.

"Yyyep. Also, you do know that the second permit is only going to be good in Kigen until the war ends, right?"

"Yeah, I figured, but what about this intrusive stuff?"

"Oh you'll find out."

Caterena smirked knowing full well that Raquel was about to be pretty bothered. Raquel was suspicious but took the papers. They went over to a table and sat down where a cup with pens and some ink were nearby. After looking over the applications, she sat there ... bothered. "What the heck is this?"

Leaning over to skim a bit, Cat answered "Ah, I see. These are the big questions. They don't decide which applications they accept and turn down based solely on education level and experience. They're on the lookout for risky applicants."

"What does my religion and this other creepy stuff have to do with that?!" she shot back keeping her voice down.

"Helps them to gauge your mindset, I suppose. That or they're just trying to fluff up the application. Either way is amusing~"

"You wouldn't say that if you had to be the one filling out a hundred and some questions, half of which aren't even related to what I'm applying for."

"Maybe I wouldn't, but for the moment you're the one in this boat, so just get to filling out those questions~" she said with a smirk and a chuckle.

Mumbles, that was what could be heard from Raquel as she got to writing. She positioned herself and her arms so that what she was writing wouldn't be easily seen, not without her noticing the attempt first at least.

Tagging Along

"Uh, sure. So which games first?" Amon asked, looking all over the place. He was hoping that if they did play a game it would be one he would be good at, but for now it was up to Gytha to decide. While he was looking around, he spot what he thought was someone familiar. The only thing he got a clear glimpse of was long flowing blonde hair before the figure disappeared into the crowd. ... okay there are plenty of blondes in the world. Even I'm one. Don't get paranoid. he said to himself.

Travel Schedule

"That will be up to you people to decide. It turns out there are a few places you could go to continue this 'hunt'." he said to Shadrak. "There are always jobs that need doing as well, but I figure it best to handle it the same as last time. If you feel you aren't strong enough to take them on just yet, then I have one or two alternatives for you. I know you had a rough time of it though, so you don't have to worry about anymore extremely dangerous missions." he added at the end.