Return of the Emblem Chapter Six: Enemies Abound

[Snowy_One]

Furious, Robin stormed down the hallways, returning to her guestroom and slamming the door shut. They wanted her to accept that someone who willingly shot a helpless woman, who shot her in the back, was in the right? Was, somehow, more honorable than herself? She could not stand such a notion! She looked around the room, spotting her quiver, and the thought of simply leaving the group and heading back to Neviskotia and risking being captured and killed entered her mind. She could do it too. She had been alone in the woods before for a long time, knew how to sustain herself away from others, and so-forth, but even so... She picked the quiver up before flinging it against the wall in rage. It was still suicide to head out on her own and she knew it. She collapsed onto the floor, forsaking the bed in favor of simplicity. She was a stranger in this group, through and through. She had no business here and the group was full of people who were hostile towards and doubtless hated her.

A few moments later, the sound of soft sobs came from under her door.

[Mercakete]

"Oh, sorry I assumed that. It's just that... Well, you understand, I hope. Well, alright, then. Would either of you like to play again, though?" asked the man running the bell game.

"Nah. I have other things I'd like t' play," Gytha respectfully declined.

Figuring Amon had already basicly said he didn't want to play, the man simply, cheerfully farewelled, "Alright, then. Enjoy the rest of the festival!"

"Thank ye! Bye!" Gytha waved as she began walking off to decide on the next game to play and to admire her prize from the strength game. "It's a treasure, isn't it?" Gytha asked Amon, still smiling at the gem, "Yer turn, anyway. Which game would ye like t' play?" As she asked the question, Gytha slipped her new gem into her belt pouch and turned her attention to Amon.

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

This test was beginning to agrivate Norbert, too, and he was beginning to agree with Raquel about it. When she mentioned that whoever thought the questions up should be thrown out a window, he couldn't help but agree as he pushed off the wall, "That can be arranged. Want me to?" He was surprisingly serious about it to the point of having a fist in his other hand and warming up his arm muscles for the task.

[Zsword]

Shadrak looked at Siv kinda confused. Do they not have liquor it Corvus? "<It's... It's a type of liquor, liquor being a beverage people drink when they want to... hinder, their mental capabilities, because to some people it feels good. It's usually only meant for adults...>" Oh right... she is kinda young... that might explain it...

Zelatus chuckled a little. "As I said, escorting young Raquel. My father always wanted me to aid the people of Ursium outside of the city... and in Raquel I found an oppurtunity to do so." He explained, re-adjusting the chain on Sliep to help distriubute the weight a little more evenly.

Krystal slowly started to escort Ranyin and Sammy back to where the main group was at with their games, not yet needing to re-orient herself with an aerial view.

[Acacia Sgt]

<There she goes...> John thought, watching Robin exiting the hall. <I wonder if it's safe to let her go while under the effects of the vodka. Well, too late for that I guess.> He shrugged. <More reason to stay away from it.>

[Phoenix]

Choices

"Hmm ... I don't know. Maybe something I might be good at? I guess that comes down to speed and ... maybe accuracy." Amon explained. He wasn't too confident in his accuracy despite the impressive knife work during battles. Knife work and ball throwing were too different things for one, just an example that came to his mind as they moved along.

The Next Step

"If we find out who it is, sure, be my guest." she replied to Bert.

"Oh you two. I'm sure there are very good reasons for each and every one of those questions." she said trying her hardest to keep a straight face and almost failing miserably. "Now we need to head back over to the man who gave you the papers and turn them in." she explained.

"Then what?"

"We wait."

"... for what? An interview or something?

Cat nodded. "You don't think they'll just take your word for it on all those questions, do you? They'll have someone interview you and make an assessment based on that as well as the applications. I was here with Jethro when he did it. It's cute that you two made the exact same complaint. It's also a bit disturbing ..." she added with a slight grimace.

Feeling Good

Siv tilted her head a bit at the explanation. <"It seems dangerous to intentionally lower your own guard just to feel good ... In Corvus, people are more likely to mate or eat their favorite foods to feel good. Well ... that's what the stronger clans usually do. I don't know anything about the lowly groups"> she explained with some caution.

"A wee bit of gluttony and promiscuity there, hmmm?" Weyland commented with a silly grin catching a few words while he drank. "I've known dark avians to be 'lightweights' when it comes to alcohol. That might normally suggest the same of the fallen, but we've already noted some incredible differences between the two races, so honestly no result no matter how extreme would surprise me all that much, whether they're pushovers or completely immune to intoxication, hmhmhm." he chuckled a bit.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

<A difficult question to answer I think,> Veronika replied to Weyland, calming down a little after Robin left. <One could say that anyone born within Neviskotia's border is Neviskotian. Others might say that acting in an honorable and just manner and being willing to defend one's family and country makes one truly Neviskotian. Personally, I do not consider all born in Neviskotia to be my countrymen, and I suspect they do not consider me any sort of kin either,> she said, not refilling her glass as Robin had made her appetite for vodka decrease considerably.

Nadya

"Look for a lady with a wide palm," Nadya suggested to the soldier. "Now for your head line..." she said, starting under his index finger and tracing along the palm to the outside. "You're a man who relies on his gut feelin' more than anything else, you tend to follow your heart...your head line touches the heart line right here see?" she said, touching below his index finger.

[Mercakete]

"How 'bout this'un, then?" Gytha suggested, pulling Amon along by the arm to the stall with the stacked bottles. The man at this game immediately shifted from looking bored to smiling at the potential customers.

"Hello, hello! Welcome to Bottle-Tower Siege! Throw a ball at a tower and try to knock down the bottles! Simple, isn't it? Choose to target the nearest tower for an easier target. Try to hit the far-away bottles for more of a challenge! The further the target, the greater the reward! Only a gold to play!" he called out in delight for any and all nearby to hear.

"It's more expensive than th' last'un, but it sounds fun. Want t' try it, Amon?" Gytha asked. Apparently, she was going to whether he did or not.

[spoiler=Bottle-Tower Siege]In-RP mechanics: The character throws a ball to knock down milk bottles stacked to form towers.

Game stat: skill

Rules: There are three modes: Easy, Medium and Hard. Bottle-towers on easy mode have 5avo. Bottle-towers in medium mode have 10avo and on hard mode, bottle-towers have 15avo. To throw a ball, roll a 1d6. Add the number to the character's hit stat. If the number is greater than or equal to the tower's avo, then you win! If not, then the distance of the tower was beyond your abilities and you lose.

Prize: ???

Cost to play: 1 gold

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

"Is it a private thing or are we allowed to be around when she takes the interview?" Norbert asked Cat.

[Rothene]

"I see...I hope your task provided you with ample of opportunities to show your worth as a knight. Mine ufortunately, involves me sitting down and watching the days go bye," said Mireille getting onto the horse she borrowed. It was a white mare with black spots near its butt.

"So off I go. Let's see if you can keep up," said Mireille as she rode off chuckling slightly.

***

Seeing the group, Ranyin let out a sigh of relief...which turned into gasps of joy when he saw the various games prepared for the festival.

The excited Kigenese mage ran to the table with edges and cups, intrigued about what Ursium games were there while asking, "What game is this?"

[Zsword]

Zel smiled and rode up beside Mireille. "You know, if you're that bored, we have some free time, and festivals are times ripe for thieves and murderer's, all the activity is focused in one area, leaving the outskirts ripe to be pilfered, what do you say we go on a patrol?" He inquired. She may not find the prospect fun, but Zel found it effective enough when he was back in Ursentius.

Shadrak chuckled. "<Actually, that's also true for humans, but, if a human has no lover, and are to poor for good food, they choose to drink. It is dangerous, drunk people tend to be stupid, and get in fights easily.>" He added, trying to ignore the now easily buzzed Weyland...

Krystal jogged after Ranyin... he was so headstrong. Though... she herself was curious as to the nature of the game in front of her...

[Dark Sage]

The meal in the dining hall was pretty good. Normally it was a meal he would enjoy, but drama in the dining hall made enjoying it nearly impossible. Apparently there was another Fallen around, who entered and freaked Siv out. Something about Fallen politics.

Hard enough to follow petty human politics. Might as well not bother following Fallen politics

Things got worse when Robin drunk a lot of vodka and ended up fighting with Veronika. Robin eventually ran off, presumably back to her room, after Veronika insulted her for a final time. Since Domovoi was finished with his meal he figured he ought to go talk to her. Walking out of the dining hall, he wandered about a bit until he heard sobbing behind a door.

Sighing, he knocked on the door, bracing himself for what might occur.

"Robin? It's me Domovoi. You doing ok in there? Should I leave you alone?"

[Rothene]

"Hah, right...go on patrol when there are obviously soldiers going around patroling a large city like Europa...and then be late for the meeting," remarked Mireille sarcastically, "I rather not. This is the first time Master Weyland has me invited to a meeting of some importance. My intuition tells me that...I might be called upon to prove my mettle as a knight soon."

"At the moment, I would rather make my way to the rocks in time to make a wish and enjoy myself while there is still time," said Mireille picking up the pace of her mount, "Come now, if we hasten our pace, we might be able to catch Rodrigo's show!"

[GoD]

After all that happened, what with the reveal of the client, Shadrak's outburst and everyone scurrying off to either do stuff or go and have some fun at the Festival, Chelsea would like to have gone out and wander about. However, she knew she hadn't eaten in some time, so she quickly ordered her lunch... which comprised of Salad with an extra serving of tomatoes. When the food arrived, the troubadour was sitting all quiet-like before this, Chelsea immediately began devouring her food, however she did so in a calm and orderly manner.... which she failed to keep at times.

[Mercakete]

When his little table was approached, the guy with the cup smiled at the potential customers. "Hello, there, miss and miss feathers. Curious about my little game, are we? Well, that's a good thing, actually, or no one would ever play, am I right? Of course I am. Anyway, this is a simplified version of a game called Street Craps. I like to call it 'Shooting Seven.' Basicly, you make a wager, I roll the dice, and we see what lady luck has in store for us. This is the simple version, so just say whether you think the number of dots on the dice will add up to seven or not. You can play against each other, or you can play against me. Make a bet, I'll roll the dice and to the victor goes the winnings. What do you say?" asked the dice master.

[spoiler=Shooting Seven]In-RP mechanics: The character chooses to bet whether the dice numbers will equate to seven or not. Whoever guesses right wins all that was bet. If there are multiple winners, they split the prize money.

Game stat: luck

Rules: Once the bet is placed, the dice master rolls a 2d6. If the numbers add up to seven, the one who bet it would gets the prize. If the numbers add up to anything besides seven, then the one who bet they wouldn't wins the reward. If there are multiple winners, the reward is split between them, though normally it is a contest of luck between two people. One reroll is allowed per every 4 of the betting character's luck before the roll is finalized in-rp. However, the last roll is the one that will count.

Prize: The gold betted by all contributing parties.

Cost to play: A bet; any ammount.

Edited October 2, 2011 by Mercakete

[Rothene]

With nothing else to do, Ranyin decided it was worth a try for fun. He had his fair share of fortune or misfortunes, hence he took out five gold and placed it on the table and declared, "I bet it's not seven!"

[Zsword]

Krystal chuckled a little and put a Kigenese Gold piece on the counter. "7." She said simply, indicating she was going against Ranyin just because.

[Phoenix]

Weyland

Weyland raised an eyebrow at Shadrak's explanation of drunk people. He was rusty in any language that wasn't common, but he didn't fully agree with the general reasoning. His comeback was hardly correcting though ... "Nononononono you see what happens to me when I consume fair amounts of alcohol is I have better brain storming sessions. It took becoming intoxicated before I managed to fix a problem with the Recusant model's drive system. I was too busy fretting over proportions while sober to figure it out. Completely forgetting that I was on a very tight schedule also helped~" he explained.

Humans are ... really stupid. Siv thought to herself after listening to both Shadrak and Weyland respond.

Raquel and Co.

Standing up as well, Cat replied "I think so, unless the policy changed. I was able to go in with Jethro. We aren't allowed to talk during the interview though if I remember right."

Walking up to the desk, Raquel turned in the papers, and the man took them and stood up. "Alright, I'll get these over to processing and we'll be back with you shortly. Just have a seat and make yourselves comfortable." he said.

"We have to wait for the interview, I assume? How long is this going to take?" she asked her mother as the man walked off into another room behind the desk.

"Heheh, best not to think about it, dear. Just sit down and we can ... talk more~" she answered suspiciously.

A nervous grin ... an eerie suggestion afterwards ... ... ... two hours ... minimum. Darn it! Raquel thought to herself.

Soldiers

A wide palm? Is she trying to trick him into getting with some fat woman? the soldier stood there speculating while keeping his eyes on Luca. His ears could focus elsewhere for the moment. As the reading went on, he steadily began focusing more on his partner and the fortune teller rather than the intimidating horse.

Luca then had a brief thought that could only be understood as 'I win'. The soldier looked to the area of his palm and couldn't really make anything of it himself. "Well I do go with what I feel in my heart~" he said in a confirming tone while smiling in his helmet.

This is just wrong. Watch him tip her when this palm fiddling business is over. 'Oh no, Miss you deserve way more than five gold. Here, here's ten!' ... moron. the other soldier thought.

Ball Tossing

"Hmm, alright, I guess I'll give it a try. Hmmm." The closest ones I could hit entirely by accident ... the second furthest out would be easy enough if I tried. So I guess that leaves the furthest ones. "I'll try it. I'll try to hit the furthest ones out." he said.

[Mercakete]

"Alright, then. Let's see which lady luck favors!" with that and a rattle of the cup, the dice master rolled the dice into the boxlike table. The dice had good momentum and wound up being two sixes! "Haha! That's a rare roll! You could've bet cornrows and there they are! Well, the winnings go to the wingless! Congradulations, ma'am!"

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

"Alright, sir, give me a gold and I'll give you a ball. Step right over here. There you go. That over there is your target. Good luck!" the tower master directed Amon until Amon was standing a fair distance from three milk bottles stacked to make a tower with ball in-hand.

"Ye can do it, Amon!" Gytha cheered as she watched.

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

"Alright. I'll stay with you, then. Unless you want me to go on the manhunt now," Norbert decided aloud, presenting the second option to Raquel.

Edited October 2, 2011 by Mercakete

[Zsword]

Shadrak rolled his eyes. "Well, whatever works I guess... <Uh, Siv, my room is the third one on the right in the guest rooms, if you wanna find me later on, right now though, i have someone else I need to talk to...> He said to her before standing and moving over to sit next to Chelsea. "Hey, where have you been hiding this whole time?" He asked with a smile, not trying to sound like he was rushing her so she could eat.

Zelatus smiled inwardly at the knight as he rode to keep up with her, kinda odd, he didn't even know her, but she was noble, nothing about her style was hiding that... it really shouldn't suprise him that he had a desire to stick with her, higher blood stays with higher blood... a concept he never believed when the other nobles said it... but now... he kinda understood what they meant.

Edited October 2, 2011 by Zsword

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Drinking is also a social event, a part of our cultural heritage, and alcohol goes well with just about all Neviskotian cuisine. I didn't know it was good for mental purposes, though I've heard tales of officers having a bit to drink before forming their battle strategies. I always thought it was just to calm the nerves, but maybe it does provide some sort of inspiration," she remarked in response to Weyland.

Nadya

"And some folks say palm readin' is a buncha hokum! Time and again, it's easy to tell what a person's like and a little bit of what their future is just by lookin' at their hands. It's just how Nature made us," she remarked loudly, hoping to maybe draw some other customers in.

"Now let's take a look at your life line- uh well this isn't so good," she said, tracing from the edge of the palm toward his wrist. "Your life line's lookin' on the short side, now that doesn't necessarily mean you'll die early, but it's a serious injury at the very least. But there's no need to panic now, with a bit of nomad magic I can extend your life a bit. I like ya, so it'll only be an extra 2 gold," she said to the soldier.

[Phoenix]

Clingy

<"Third room on the right ..."> she echoed as he turned to face Chelsea. <"Can I just stay with you for now?"> she asked very quietly while he spoke to her. She didn't have anywhere else to be for the moment and didn't want to wander off with Steinn possibly still lurking around somewhere.

Gabbie's Observations Continued

During Gabbie's aimless strolling around the estate halls, she was thinking of ways to get her lance back. Nothing came to mind that didn't involve groveling at Weyland's feet so to speak. She was ... tired of that routine, frankly. Eventually she got turned completely around. She wasn't lost, but it could easily seem that way since she didn't know where she wanted to go. She spotted something interesting before making up her mind, that fallen prince Steinn. He was also wandering the halls it seemed.

"Oi!" she called over to him before approaching.

"Hm? Am I not supposed to be over this way?" he asked.

"Oh nah, you're foine."

"Ah, well good afternoon then."

"Say, man, why are you so poloite anyway?" she asked cutting straight to the chase. She had questions and wanted some answers. His noble-esque behavior was simply a decent opener for her.

"Polite?"

"Yeah, you're totally fuckin' up my entire perception of your race roight now."

"Heheh, well I'm sorry about that. Fallen are not ... typically this well mannered, but keep in mind that I am a representative for an entire principality. I have picked up a few human habits, but not simply for the sake of traveling the country free of suspicion. Part of it is just knowing my enemy."

"Knowing your enemy? You certainly don't act like one ..."

He shrugged in a smooth fluid motion. "Not the wisest idea to do so here. The Ursians don't need to know of my presence here."

Man ... this is a fallen, huh? A fallen prince no less. Weird.

"What's weird about it?"

"..." Right ... "Just ... even the red negotiator bitch was fryin' people loike it was an exercoise."

"Ah, Svanhildr. Was she in good health?"

"We kidnapped her little sister and she got caught in a blast but otherwise she looked pretty good." Gabbie said with an 'okay' gesture. "Wait, you know her too?"

"Heheh. Of course I know her, and if all goes well, she'll be on my side once again before long." he replied with a grin. "Do you mind if I ask you a few things, Miss?"

"Eh, sure go'head."

Weyland

"Yes it does seem to vary in use." he said with a smile finishing off his last glass. "Don't want to get too out of it, however; I've got things to get set up soon." he said.

Soldiers of Fortune

The soldier was a bit worried at Nadya's explanation, but the other one was just as worried for a moment. His mind drifted to thoughts of the war reaching Europa and both of them dying in an artillery strike. He shook it off when she told his partner she could extend his life for an extra two gold. "Alright, that's-" he was interrupted by Luca stepping forward and snorting. The soldier getting his reading wasn't paying much attention to the exchange. The soldier Luca had successfully intimidated, took a step back while eyeing the horse cautiously.

"Hey, that's fine by me, Lass. I was going to tip you anyway~"

"You damn idiot-" Luca snorted again quieting him a second time.

Ball Throwing

"Alright, here it goes!" he said before hurling the ball at the tower!

Amon rolls 5,6,4

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3203782/

MISS!

The ball came speeding at the bottles but just barely missed.

"Urgh. My throw was off a bit. Hmmm ..." Well that's kind of pointless. I want a prize too and two or three gold isn't too much to pay for it I don't think. "I'll have another go if that's alright.

Waiting

"Hahah, no stay, I need you here so my mother limits her interrogation to stuff that's actually appropriate." Raquel said to Bert before sitting down.

The second Cat sat down she asked "So have you been doing your kegels, Raquel?"

"So much for that plan. Mom, that qualifies as inappropriate." she said with a mild glare.

[Rothene]

Grinning happily, Ranyin took his winnings and kept two gold to himself. He then spent the remaining gold on some freshly baked buns and handed some of them to Krystal, "Here you go."

He cared not for increasing his gold as he already had a fair share of them, but recalled something from Kigen about sharing the wealth. When good fortune came your way, spend them on friends, was a saying his father taught him. Which was exactly what he was going to do.

Rushing to the splintered group, Ranyin offered the buns to anyone who was interested in taking some.

***

It did not take long for Mireille to reach the festival, dismounting, she walked and led the mount through the crowd in search of entertaining events to join.

[Zsword]

Krystal took the bread and bit into happily. "Oh thank you... mmm~ If fortune smiles on you, spread it to all your friends and you'll be a far richer man~" She said with a chipper smile and good tone... she wouldn't miss the gold, the bread probably cost more anyways.

Zel stayed mounted, he took up less space on the grounds on a whole that way anyway, he rode along with Mire as he watched for the others or something else to do.

Shadrak looked at Siv a little funny. "<I guess I wouldn't mind... too much, but I'm not waiting on you hand and foot, there are other people here to do that for you.>" He said... Okay... She trusts me... in fact, she trusts only me... and let's face it, you kinda asked for it... as long as Chelsea doesn't get any ideas it should be okay...

[Mercakete]

"Of course! Try as many times as you'd like!" the tower master happily invited as he went to retrieve the ball for Amon to throw again. I should get a dog or something to get these things for me... One he reached Amon, he took another gold and pocketed it as he handed the ball to the Rexain. He keeps missing and I just might~ Dark-skinned people seem to pay well~

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

Well...that was awkward... "Don't worry about it too much. I have enough sisters that questions like that don't bother me too much. They used to try to make me uncomfortable with things like that. What was worse was when I asked Nigel what some of it meant," Norbert excused, taking his spot on the wall again, a little uncomfortable at some of the memories.

[ReformBlade]

"Sweet, food." Grabbing dat ass a bun, he chomped down on it and held it in his mouth, leaving his hands free to feel the world. "oo uuh, wrr aaa rreehh aaee?" Innocently, he looked to Ranyin, expecting an actual answer from the mage. Swallowing it all in one painful gulp, one that made him grunt in pain, he shrugged it off. "Is she even in this festival right now or is she off being some mercantile merchant... thing... selling stuff... weapons... things, you know?" Being the kid he was, his attention was almost immediately drawn to the massive amount of games all over the place, but of course, his attention span was shot and he went right back to wondering if Ranyin would give him that answer at all.

[Rothene]

"Oh," exclaimed Ranyin, his attention snapping to Sammy, "Raquel? She's off somewhere else on some merchant business I presume. We'll be meeting with her later tonight."

Shaking the small basket full of buns with the gold he spent, which was thrown in for free as he bought quite a sizable portion of the buns that were sold at the vendor, Ranyin wondered if the group liked buns any better than they enjoyed sweets the last time.

***

Squeezing past the crowd with her belongings intact, Mireille managed to get hold onto a chalk. Standing before large rock, Mireille made a silent prayer before scribbling her wish onto it. Turning around, she placed her helmet on her to hide the smile on her face, believing firmly that her wish would be granted.

On the rock, written in Mireille's hand writing were the words, "Nature grant me the chance to prove myself a worthy knight to my father and House Authine."