Return of the Emblem Chapter Six: Enemies Abound

[Dark Sage]

"<Are you sure you're not just let your anger getting the better than you? I have only known Veronika for a short while, but it doesn't sound like something she'd say. Anyway that situation was very complicated with the captain. We could've let her live and let her go, but we would've had troops after us. We could've tied her up and let her live, but undoubtedly somebody would've found her and let her go and we would've been in big trouble. Bringing her along would present it's own problems, so the only good options were the killing that Gytha did or pumping her for information and then killing her. Gytha, being a fool, took the former option, but in any case, you weren't blameless. You attacked her after she did the deed. Should she have shot you? No. Like I said, she's a fool, and an impulsive one. In any case, there's no use crying over spilled milk, and getting this drunk will not help you. Instead, you should try to just make up, even if it's fake, so you don't end up tearing each other's throats out.>"

Good god I blathered on, Domovoi thought to himself, surprised he could talk so much.

[MinunRobotnik4]

Saken looked into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. The wallet was more plump than it had been for a long while.

Not bad not bad for one day's pickpocketing... He thought as he counted through the money in his wallet. Large festivals like these make things so easy, he thought as he placed the wallet back into his pocket.

He found a garbage can and threw the evidence away, plus the remains of something he bought to cover up the wallets in case their owners looked in the garbage before throwing something away. Best to be a little cautious.

After some walking he saw another member of the group by two soldiers.

That thief, I mean, that healer from our group, looks like I am not the only one who set up shop...

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

Since Weyland appeared to be preparing for the meeting, Veronika decided to prepare by taking a short rest in her room. Along the way, she passed Gabbie talking with that Fallen man from earlier. Weyland must have a lot of confidence in his security to let the Fallen roam the estate at their leisure. she thought to herself, giving the pair a nod.

Nadya

"And thank you good sir. Y'all have a nice day now," she said to the soldiers, ignoring the surly one. Some people are just as cheap as me I guess. she thought to herself, noticing a familiar face in the crowd. Ah right, my looting competition in this group. He might be doin' some thievin', I'll leave him to his business long as he keeps his hands off my gold.

Edited October 4, 2011 by -Cynthia-

[Snowy_One]

"<At least you acknowledge she was a fool to do what she did.>" replied Robin as she thought about what he had said. Though the overall message was the same as Veonika's, one she did not agree with, it was not framed in such a offensive manner. "<So you would say that I am not without blame myself? That in discarding those tools made by the same who would shoot a downed woman I provoked offense?>"

[Phoenix]

Soldiers

The soldier who had been given the reading waved goodbye as he returned to his partner's side.

"You just lost seven gold, and for what?" the suspicious soldier asked, somewhat rhetorically.

"... yeah well ... you just stood there pouting while I was helping out and getting advice from a lovely lady. What say you to that?" he replied as they began walking off into the crowd again.

"I'm ... pretty sure I can do better than some nomad with a devil horse."

"Devil horse?"

"Err-never mind."

The Pair

When Veronika came by, Steinn nodded as well, and Gabbie gave a very small wave.

"So Siv really went through all of that just to impress your brother?" she asked.

"As I said, Siv was born to merge the Finnian Clan with the Royal bloodline. She was raised to do whatever it takes to make that happen. She wasn't made to undergo the Rite of Heresy, however. I don't recall her mother advising or even demanding her to do that. She did that of her own free will. Such a thing wouldn't escape my brother's notice, but I still feel the admiration is wasted on someone like him."

"No offense, man, but you brothers are supposed to kill each other, roight? Doesn't mean much comin' from you." she said crossing her arms again.

"I'm going to become the next Emperor, not Valdimarr, so her affections on him are wasted. His 'qualities' are ... irrelevant at this point. And as much as I admire her resolve ... she is not the wife I have in mind." he explained sounding a bit sorrowful.

"Ahhh, someone's confident."

"If the stakes for failure are your very existence, one is better served being optimistic. It also helps to keep my faction's morale higher than it otherwise could be. Oh, now what happened here? I thought it was my turn to be asking the questions."

"I ask thirty-somethin' questions, then you get one, and then I get another thirty-somethin'. That's how this works~" she teased.

He chuckled lightly. "I see ..."

The Interview

"So tell me, Miss Valcyn, what is your reason for applying for a Grade Four permit, as well as the foreign access and carrying permits?"

Oh gods, this guy is going to grind me into dust at this rate ... "My business is still small but I don't plan on it staying that way forever. Frankly ... I'd rather take care of this sooner rather than later." she answered.

"Hmm, your mother seems to approve of this. Does your father?"

Raquel glared reflexively at the hidden figure for a moment, and then put her head down. "Probably not, but I'm doing it anyway."

"Strange. I thought you and he had a good relationship with a lot of mutual respect for one another ... it's almost ironic that your mother is here in place of him. Wasn't she the one you were typically at odds with?"

OH YOU WOULD KNOW, WOULDN'T YOU, YOU NOSY--... Urgh, this is really getting on my nerves. They make me write down pretty much everything about me there is to know and then they start grilling me for inconsistencies and all I can do is just sit here and take it. "My mother and I don't always get along but that doesn't mean she won't ever support what I do in life. My father's not ... available right now."

"Where is he?"

"I can't say ... I really don't know right now ..."

There was silence for about ten seconds before the man spoke again. "It almost sounds like you've been abandoned, Miss Valcyn ... by your father, at least."

"No I haven't. He just couldn't tell me where he was going."

"... I wonder why that is ..."

"Pardon me, but what does that have to do with the interview?" she asked becoming slightly indignant.

"I'll be asking the questions, Miss Valcyn, not the other way around. Do keep in mind that we cannot overlook the overall mindset, habits, close relations, religious views, and political stances of anyone applying for the things you are. No area of your life is off topic for this evaluation. Do you understand?"

"... yes." she muttered while putting her head down, again.

OOC:

To be continued.

Edited October 4, 2011 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

It was hard enough to oblige to sitting that far away from Raquel. If she'd been attacked, he would maybe barely reach her in time to defend a blow, but it would leave him quite open to other attacks. What was worse was the questioning. Norbert had to conciously force himself not to open his mouth or attack for how dangerous these questions were. After all, from what he understood, Raquel's father was missing -- quite possibly in danger -- and Raqeul cared for him a good deal. Norbert hadn't really cared that they asked about him -- it was only natural since he was quietly following along, not a family member and was armed -- but these other questions were touching upon sensitive subjects and if these people were dangerous it would mean serious trouble. I bet they have a couple dark avians in here, too... He was in no mood to be trusting.

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

"Hmm want t' watch a couple shows?" suggested Gytha, already beginning to wander in the direction of the performances.

[MinunRobotnik4]

Saken began to walk forward the crowd condensing around him as he bumped into one of the soldiers, the one that was not just ripped off by Nadya. He continued to walk until he saw that neither soldier were still in sight of the Nadya's stand. He turned around then and walked back to Nadya's stand.

He stood in front of Nadya "So thief, how's your looting been going so far?"

[-Cynthia-]

"Lootin'? I'm runnin' an honest business here! Palm readin' is a time honored tradition that predicts the future better than almost anythin' else!" Nadya responded to Saken loudly, hoping her pitch would carry over to the crowd. "Are you here to get read or am I needed back at the estate?" she asked Saken in a quieter tone.

[Zsword]

Shadrak sighed at the lack of response. "Well, I'm going to go to the festival for awhile, meet me there when you're done, kay?" He asked Chelsea before turning to Siv. "<I'm gonna go out for awhile, so, try to be safe, don't make a big fuss, I'll be back later.>" he said, flipping up his hood and heading out, expecting to take a walk, before one of the manor hands offered him a horse to borrow for the night. He accepted graciously and started on his way...

Krystal fiddled with her new earing, adjusting it so it wasn't bothering her so much. "So, it doesn't make me immune to like, freezing, right? I just won't feel the cold from it?" Like I had issues regulating my temperature before...

[MinunRobotnik4]

Saken chuckled a bit after hearing Nadya's sales pitch. "Me, I am here to enjoy the festivities, and make a... not so honest living. We don't have to go back yet," he said in a quieter tone, pulling out the soldier's wallet.

"I may as well be your next sucker, after all it isn't my money that I'd be spending."

[-Cynthia-]

"All right, five gold and hold out your right hand. Or left, if that's what you use to do most things," Nadya replied to Saken. I suppose I'll just say I didn't know it was stolen if anyone comes sniffing around. she thought to herself.

[MinunRobotnik4]

"Sure sure," he said handing her the five gold fee courtesy of one robbed soldier. "The hand that I use for most things, that is my right" he extending his right hand in front of Nadya.

Can't believe I am going through with this charade.

[Mercakete]

"Hmm? Oh, if you were caught in a blizzard? Summer is on it's way! Do not frest overmuch about blizzards! I am afraid you would still freeze to death. You would just freeze comfortably is all!" It was a bit of a morbid message, but the juggler didn't seem phased by it as he kpet his sing-song tone, still amusing himself with his juggling.

[-Cynthia-]

"Hmm, water hand shape with the wide palm and long fingers. Means you're versatile, willin' to adapt to new environments. Long fingers are also useful for thievin' incidentally," Nadya said to Saken, examining his hand. Tracing across the top of his palm, she looked at it carefully. "Hmm, seems like you have a gridded heart line here. That means you're really into things that get your heart beatin' fast, like runnin' or stabbin," she remarked.

[GoD]

As Chelsea was too busy eating the wonderfully delicious salad, she did not register most of Ucollas' words, she simply nodded and continued eating. When he made plans to leave, which he did, it was only 5 minutes after the dark mage left that she realized he wasn't speaking to her anymore. Cursing the delicious salad, the troubadour quickly ran after him, and rode to the festival.

[Phoenix]

Luca

When the two soldiers left, Luca was still a little sore at the first one for not handing over his gold, and kept an eye on him for until he was out of sight. A wondrous thing happened though. Another male came along and took the gold from the soldier and came to offer it to Nadya. This was a more tolerable human. He knew who to take gold from, and who to give it to. He hoped Nadya didn't actually owe him anything for it though. Being so helpful was reward enough, wasn't it?

Amon

"Okay, sure." he replied, taking another look at the music box. I'll need to be careful. It feels durable enough but if it's going to be a decent gift, I ought to keep it from getting scratched. he thought. "Oh but first I need to find something to keep this in so nothing happens to it while I'm carrying it around." He looked around wondering if there was someplace close by where he could by a cheap clothe.

[MinunRobotnik4]

"My hands are good for thieving, I never would have guessed," he sarcastically remarked, somewhat to himself. Everything she said so far wasn't really much of a prediction, just mostly things anyone who knew him would know.

And runnin' and stabbin' are my bread and butter I suppose.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"Well aren't you just the smartest thief around. Followin' your head line I see, it leans to the left...means you're very logical," she said to Saken, tracing along it.

"But what you're really lookin' for is the life line readin', that's what everybody wants. Yours...is comin' up a bit short," she said, touching his hand towards his wrist. "Somethin' dangerous is headin' your way...from your past maybe? Not somethin' you're too connected to though, your lifeline's not connected to your heart line at all. Still, whatever it is, extendin' your lifeline's sure to fix it up. Just two gold for magical protection!" she said, rather cheerful despite the ominous prediction.

[MinunRobotnik4]

I... HATE... YOU.... It was just a coincidence, just luck.

He knew he didn't believe in fortune telling, that probably wasn't about to change. But being in Europa, he did not want to hear what he just heard. He kept his composure though, he didn't want that little fact coming out.

"Doesn't being in the same mercenary army kind of grant that already? Still, it's not my money I'm spending...." he said plopping two gold into Nadya's hand.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya shrugged and smiled as she deposited the coins in the tin. "Hard to say whether it'll be somethin' our crazy crew runs into or whether an elephant will try to sit on ya or what," she said to Saken before taking out her grease pencil and extending the line down to his wrist. "That should ward off...whatever's tryin' to kill ya for a bit at least," she said, somewhat satisfied with her handiwork.

[MinunRobotnik4]

You're not even trying anymore are you? He thought at Nadya's last remark.

"So that's about it right? I am now as hosed as the other chump, eh? Well I've got time to kill, and money to make. I suppose we will see each other back at the estate, see you later."

[Zsword]

Shadrak turned to Chelsea with a chuckle as she caught up to him. "There you are, so, where have you been hiding during this whole trip?" He asked her with a smile.

Zel nodded at Mire's sign of generosity. "That's nice of you, the last time I saw little generosities like that were... my 3rd spelunking expedition I think..." He mused out, now dismounting Sliep proper and guiding the horse by hand.

Krystal gave the man a grateful nod, and noticed Zel was with them. "Oh, do you two know each other? Being nobles and all?" She asked.

[Mercakete]

After Gytha and Amon found someone who sold boxes to keep things in so Amon could safely store away his new, spiffy music box, they, at least, headed over to the shows to see what all was going on. The first one they came acorss was simple. It was a stage with people around it, dancing and clapping as musicians on the stage played a lively tune on a few instruments. "Oh hey! Amon, we should dance, too!" Gytha enthusiastically suggested, already bouncing a little to the pronounced beat of the song and clapping.

[Rothene]

"Oh...spelunking? What is it like?" asked Mireille curious. In all her training, she had never been sent to a cave although she had read stories about, mainly stories about valiant heroes rescuing damsels from dark caves that hid dragons. Glancing at Krystal, Mireille answered, "No, I've heard of House Drak'thul, but I never knew their members personally."

***

Ranyin was...as usual unfamiliar with the quick paced jig that Ursian's seem to dance with. Not sure what to do, but admiring the powerful effects it had in rendering docile the mighty Onigyhta, Ranyin decided he should just try immitating the steps others did as they followed the tune.

[Phoenix]

Amon

"Uhhh I can't really dance." he said, trying to scan and memorize everything everyone else was doing. He had a feeling he was going to get dragged onto the dance floor no matter what he said so to be cautious he was hoping to learn as much of the routine as he could before having to do the same. Oh man, what have I gotten myself into ...?