Return of the Emblem Chapter Six: Enemies Abound

[Snowy_One]

Robin gave a nod as she looked up to the man she had sat beside. She didn't know him but was certain her little incident with Gytha had long since passed the point of common knowledge within the group.

"Do you remember when Gytha shot me? I do not know what is going on over there, but Gytha has already shown herself to be unstable and willing to shoot people on a whim. I am afraid she will go 'Arrr I do not like me this squabbin' and shoot me to end this contention. It is clear I can not work with her, so I have no choice but to avoid her entirely already or risk her shooting me again, and the more people talk about it, the more likely she is to take action."

[roymbrog]

Wait, what? “Gytha shot you?” Valter asked, wide eyed. “I had no idea; I haven’t been with the group for a few days. What led up to that?” The mariner hadn’t stuck him as the most normal person, but he hadn’t expected her to attack an ally. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think she’ll kill you because of other people disagreeing with her.” At least, he hoped not. That would be grossly illogical.

[Snowy_One]

A look of shock came across Robin's face as she heard Valter had not heard. "Well, a while back we ran afoul of a Ursium patrol. We fought them, killed most of them, and knocked their leader unconscious. They were debating if we should keep her alive or not. There is no honor in killing a helpless opponent and it is wrong to do so, so I stood against killing her and stood between her and the rest of the group. Gytha, however, was not willing to spare her and shot her. In outrage I threw away any weapon I had that had not been made by me, any weapon that had been made by Gytha's world. I did not mean to hurt her, only discard the way of life that could yield such a woman, but she took offense to it and shot me. Since then Veronika has berated me for it and, when Domo talked me into seeing that the fault was not entirely Gytha's and I had a share in the blame, she refused to even acknowledge that she had done wrong and continued to justify her shooting me. In fury I walked away, almost left the group entirely, until Raquel calmed me down. I then came here, to this room, having realized that I need to avoid Gytha like a wild bear, one with a gun, and simply avoid her gaze entirely. I can not talk to her and she will not admit wrong or even express remorse at having shot me, so it is clear that nothing I can say or do will calm her besides licking her boots, and I will not demean myself to such a degree. It hurt my pride enough to have to apologize for throwing my arrows away in her direction, and I will not hurt it further."

[Mercakete]

"Woulda talked if I thought it woulda had th' same impact," Gytha replied to Synthia, "An' I'm a decent shot. Was careful not t' kill'er. N' 'course I'm willin' t' put people's lives n' danger. That is, th' ones tryin' t' kill me 'r me friends. Allies? I do me best t' help'em survive. Tried talkin' t' Robin after th' fact, explained why I did what I did. She's behavin' th' same way. Just hope I'm not around when she gets 'rself n' 'er teammates killed." It was apparent there was a lack of respect on both ends of the conflict. Gytha didn't trust Robin and thought she would get them all killed and Robin thought basicly the same thing about Gytha. "If that didn't show'er that provokin' attack gets ye hurt, then nothin' will. 'Least she knows I'm not one t' let things like that go. Not till they're dealt with anaway."

[-Cynthia-]

"Y'know if someone shot at me I'd probably stay away from 'em too. Well, unless they shot me somewhere that stopped me from gettin' away, then I really wouldn't have much choice in the matter. " Nadya chimed in to Robin from the other side of Valter. "At least she didn't shoot ya in the head, that's not an easy problem to fix."

[Snowy_One]

"Thanks." said Robin, smiling a bit. The joke didn't seem terribly funny to her, but the attempt to make her feel happy did cause a small smile to appear on her face. "I bet she is talking right now about how 'ya shiddent atterk semone less ya be willn ta be attacked in kind." she said, trying her best to mimic a pirate accent. "Yet the only reason she does not have four arrows protruding from every joint in her body is precisely because I do not agree with her philosophy. Do not shoot your fellow hunter. Always respect life. My father... however..."

Robin stopped as she thought of what her father would do. He was a bear of a man in every sense of the word. When Robin had been only eleven, he had gone as far as to actually punch a bear to keep her safe. Though Robin respected her father, she was greatful that she disagreed with him in some areas, especially the one in which Gytha was now likely discussing with the other group.

"My father would probably deck Gytha with his first punch then smash her head into the ground until she apologized."

[-Cynthia-]

"My pa would probably smack my butt for picking a fight with a woman half a foot taller than me with a sword and an itchy trigger finger. Sometimes it's smarter to run than to fight. Or to feint runnin' away then shoot 'em when their back is turned. But I wouldn't try that on Gytha, she's a pretty quick draw with that pistol," Nadya advised Robin.

[Snowy_One]

"I am simply going to avoid her and her friends at all costs. If I meet and talk to her again, it is likely she will shoot me, and being shot hurts a lot. I did not pick the fight with her though. I do not pick fights with others. I just wish that, if she is not going to apologize, that she simply avoids me entirely. Her and Amon."

[Phoenix]

Quality Over Quantity

Raquel arrived at the meeting room and looked around. It didn't take her long to decide that she wanted to sit up in the front row. For some reason that felt like the place to be if you were dead serious about hearing what was being said. It didn't look like she would have to fight for a seat either. Picking the closest one, she walked up and sat down, minding her cloak and moving a bit to make sure it wouldn't tug on her if she leaned forward. After that, she looked down at the ground for a moment. It's a big presentation from the looks of things so I know he didn't come up short ... but ... I've got to wonder what he can really share with us after only a week's absence. She then looked up to the podium. That hadn't been there the last time she was here.

Weyland soon came through into the conference room from the same door everyone else had used. Caterena was with him. She took a seat right next to Raquel and let Weyland continue up to the podium with his large book of ... notes. Once he was up there, he set down the notebook, opened it, turned to some seemingly random page, and then cleared his throat to get the room's attention. Once he did this, a couple of guards came up and shut the doors. They waited right outside for anyone else who wanted to get in, but for the most part, the meeting was to be private.

"Now I'd like to begin by saying that my investigation has indeed yielded 'new' information. How to put it, though ... ... things are ... better than I had feared ... but worse than I had hoped. This 'organization' is far larger than I thought they would be, but they're spread suspiciously thin which leads me to believe they have many people in various place 'bought' for whatever purpose. This organization doesn't seem to go by a common name, which has made them that much more difficult to identify. All of the people on that list Raquel had were merely contacts as well. How much they know would vary by individual, but I doubt you'll learn anything new from them." he explained.

Raquel hung her head a bit at the news.

"These people are everywhere. Possibly in every human country in Sardius. I can't rule that out, especially not after getting a lead on at least one Neviskotian who might be in league with them." Weyland looked slightly disheartened as he explained. Only slightly, but it was there. He flipped through a few more pages before stopping to speak again. "I came about much of this information after a couple of incidents. One of my investigators found out that one of my own men was an informant for these people. It took Craig and several others to track him down when he fled. After ... as humane an interrogation as they could manage, they learned of another mole who was more directly involved with them. We learned quite a bit from that one. We can't confirm this, yet, but for now, assume that these people operate in every human country, Ursium, Neviskotia, Kigen, Rex-Avaz ... all of them. Don't forget that in your travels."

"W- ..." Raquel paused. She wanted to ask what happened to the two they captured, but Weyland didn't sound like he was done, just yet.

"Yes, Raquel?"

"W-what happened to them?" she finally asked.

"The informant was in no condition to flee so I'm having him kept in an undisclosed location for the time being. The other one ... he tried to strike a deal and things when south from there. According to Craig, one of the others liked the offer and tried to convince him and the other two to agree as well. Craig had to kill them both to prevent things from escalating any further. He and the survivors made it back and told me everything they learned. In the last few days before any of you returned, we've had a few other close calls. Some of my more trustworthy agents have been reporting being accosted by people from this organization on repeated occasions in the last couple of days."

That sounds familiar. Amon thought with a wry expression, thinking of Silvia.

"You may not have noticed, but the estate is a bit on edge. We're not expecting anything good from these people in the near future. I don't ... have any idea what they're after, yet ... beyond Raquel's invisible energy device, there." he gestured toward her before continuing. "Now the reason I say they're 'large' is because they're connected to several seemingly random groups that might as well be fronts for something else; a few companies, several well known criminal groups, etcera. You can look over the notes yourselves once I finish; it's full of suspected fronts and groups either a part of or closely associated with them."

"Sheesh, is there any good news, here?" Amon quietly muttered.

"There is some good news, however. Because they are spread so damned thin and don't seem to have any large pockets of human resources, it just might be possible for a group your size to confront them on favorable terms. You'll need to focus on quality from now on rather than quantity or you'll be facing a great number of casualties in due time. I don't know how much of their operation they'll allow you to trample over before they confront you in force, however ... but for the moment, you may be able to take the fight to them without being overpowered by sheer numbers. Keep in mind, though, that they have enough resources to buy off even some of my own men. The Ursian military has yet to do that, successfully. They haven't gotten to any of my most trusted agents, but I won't overlook estate security being persuaded to help them, you understand, I'm sure. And Raquel ..."

"Y-yes?"

"You would do well to make certain that you can trust those you travel with ... all of them. This organization takes advantage of any lack of loyalty it perceives. I don't want to cause any issues with your comrades, but it's more important to be sure. A group your size can't afford any traitorous elements. You're too vulnerable as it is. Keep this in mind in the future as you acquire new allies as I'm sure you will."

"Right ... I-I'll try." she replied shyly.

"There are some other things I'd ask you to consider, but I'm sure you would rather keep that private. Do any of you have any questions before I move on?"

[-Cynthia-]

At the mention of trustworthiness, Veronika scanned the faces of those around the room and began to ponder on how little she truly knew them. Most of them seemed decent enough folk...seemed being the operative word here. They had been attracting newcomers like flies to honey ever since their trip to Sergio, almost all of them without any sort of recommendation or background checks. It would be so easy for the organization to enter our group, but if I start acting paranoid and accusing people I'll chase away what little help we already have... This train of thought stopped when Weyland asked if there were any questions.

"Does this organization have any sort of headquarters you know of? I realize that they are apparently everywhere...but to be of that size they must have some sort of central power structure," she said.

[Zsword]

"I've also got one." Shad called out. "How long do you suspect they'll be spread thin?"

[Dark Sage]

Trustworthiness...that's going to be quite a difficult obstacle to overcome. Gytha and Robin are already hostile towards one another, we've been picking up so many recruits without learning much about them, and I doubt any of us really know each other very well. Hell, I don't think I've actually talked to half of these people and I need to trust them to watch my back in battle. I wonder if there's much we can do about this. If there is a mole among us, we're pretty much screwed.

[Acacia Sgt]

<Trust huh.> John thought. <That's quite a good point. Heh, the least we may want is to have conflict between us... oh right, there is already. Well, at least regarding this particular topic.>

This was... a lot to take in. Sophia thought. This sounds very serious. For these people to be involved in it... wait, if the professor called me here does that means...?

[Saturnine]

Siritov stood near the back of the room with her great metal-clad arms folded in front of her. She drummed her metallic fingertips against the armor, listening to the various conversations happening in the meeting room. There was no room for her to speak--yet. So she simply bid her time and did as she always had. She stood and listened and let her thoughts wander where they wouldn't be shared.

(Slaughtering defeated opponents. Shooting who speak in defiance. Cowards and spies. What a mess.)

She spared parting glances over each of the occupants, letting her eyes rove over them as she tried to memorize them and match the faces with the voices. She hated the threat of unperceived dangers, of cloaks and daggers and people pretending to be allies when trouble brewed in deeper waters. But these were the rules of engagement. She would either adapt, or she would fail.

[Mercakete]

When the meeting began, Gytha turned around in her seat to listen to Weyland. The doors shutting were enough to rouse Norbert into a sleepy half-awakened state. "Mrrhhnnhnh? Wha..?" he mumbled as he tried to remember where he was, then rubbed his eyes and stretched, awakening to a more reasonable amount of clarity. That nap had done him some good. Right, right meeting or something. Guess now I can figure out what I'm up against working for Raquel. The explanation Weyland gave was grim and didn't really get any better as it wore on. Trust. ... I don't trust a whole lot of people. I guess the ones I trust the most not to kill me or be spies are Raquel, Ranyin and Valter. But Valter's been gone for a few days. I guess anyone coming from Weyland are people he trusts enough to go with us so they're trustworthy. I think the ones I trust the least are Gytha and Blake. Maybe Aneda, too, since she was looking for people who were working for Weyland specificly. That Avian's kind of untrustworthy, too, and so are Shadrak and Robin. I don't know that I trust Nadya entirely either. She's a Nomad so it's not like she'll have any reliable personal records and she could've easily been bought off. I don't exactly have a lot of reason for people to trust me either, though. I wonder how the trustworthy will be filtered out from the untrustworthy.

"Sounds like there's even some in yer home," Gytha quietly murmurred to Amon, referring to the organization.

"So, what are these people trying to accomplish anyway?" Norbert asked Weyland, raising his voice so the professor could hear.

[Snowy_One]

"<I may not trust all of you, but I trust Raquel.>" said Robin under her breath. It was a simple matter to her really. She hated Gytha and was not on speaking terms with either Norbert or Amon, but at the same time, if Raquel said that she was to travel with them, she would travel with them. She would just be silent if she was put into a group with Gytha and not speak to Amon or the dumbass flying pony express rider.

[Phoenix]

Answers and Assignments

"I suspect they have some true base of operations, but I've yet to find it, which means it probably isn't in Ursium. Just a guess on my part. It's only been a week, so not all the data is even back, yet." Weyland replied to Veronika.

To Shadrak and Bert he said "Both impossible to discern at the moment. If you aim to take them on, then you may very well learn the answer to this, yourselves."

"Right, then. Onto the next matter. Raquel, your group is of a decent enough size to fight them, but you're not quite ready to deal with a major threat all on your own. As I said, you'll need more quality as opposed to quantity from here on, so I'm going to assist you there where I can." he looked over his shoulder and gestured to someone who was hidden from view behind the stage somewhere. A moment later, the conference room wall began to come down, just like at the tank exhibition. What was sitting in view when the wall disappeared entirely was a vehicle, a large vehicle.

"Is that the new wagon?" Raquel asked aloud by accident. It looked like a wagon ... somewhat. The driver's seat was also partially enclosed which really grabbed her attention. The entire thing was roofed just like her old wagon, however this roof needed very low hanging guardrails due to the wagon's overall shape. It wasn't quite a box like the old one. The design was odd since it seemed to be misapplied. Had it been made of heavy metal, that shape could have easily deflected certain types of projectiles, but wood wasn't so slick.

"This isn't the current model in use by Weyland Enterprises' trading division, but it's not necessarily 'lesser', especially not after applying the upgrades." he explained. "This model is called the Dauntless. It's got a surface layer of wood; that is just a facade. The main body is actually composed of steel. It's shape will allow it to deflect anything that gets through the wood up to a direct shot from a Recusant ... and I rather doubt you'll be facing any of those. I suggest any noncombatants take shelter inside it during battles. Speaking of which, the driver and passenger seats are now accessible from both the inside of the vehicle, and the front. Use whichever method is most convenient. To aid in security, the Dauntless features two sliding steel doors in the back. There are a few small viewports on the sides so it's never completely dark inside. There's also more space than your original wagon, as you might have guessed based on the size."

"That thing ... must weigh a ton." Cat commented.

"Several, actually. The deflector pads are already installed. You can turn them on individually, or use a bit of magic, whichever you prefer. I'll note that with them off, the wagon will be much more difficult to move, but while they're on the wagon will be kicking up quite a bit of dust from the ground. The more pads that are on, the stronger the gust; a natural consequence, I'm afraid. Well at least the roads will be cleaner after you drive by ..." he ended with a bit of a joke before looking at a separate note. " A more positive note is that with enough deflectors on, the Dauntless can travel up to as fast as the horses pulling it can run. You won't be so easy to catch. The wheels can also be locked in place in an emergency from the driver's seat. The horses are still steered the same way, but the reins are now threaded through small opening and anchored in several places. There's a hatch and ladder on the right side that leads up to the roof, and a few other detachable segments that I left on there in case of any future upgrades."

Raquel was just sitting there with her jaw hanging by that point. "There are various other details, but you get the basic picture, I'm sure. These kinds of wagons are not being used, yet, not even by the military, so without the wooden facade you would attract far too much attention. Wagons of this shape however are becoming more and more common thanks in no small part to the competitive industries popping up in various places. For that reason, I've added a flip capable Weyland Enterprises logo onto the wagon."

I guess it'll be easy to dodge questions if people think we work for Weyland ... though that won't be good in some places so I guess it's a good thing it flips. Raquel thought.

"What a good show of support, Weyland. I'm so glad you're at least going to sponsor my daughter and give her some insane prototype to test." Cat spoke up.

"It's already tested, woman! Look, I know you think I'm just taking advantage of the situation, but these people are no longer a mere fringe threat. They've infiltrated my organization, not just wronged your family. I'm just as invested in this as the rest of you ... if not more so. Now then ... onto other matters. Siritov ... Authene ... Meredy. I called the three of you here because I'm going to be adding you to Raquel's group. I noticed she's lacking in heavy armor and healers and you three will do nicely."

[Zsword]

Shadrak nodded at the timing. "Well, if we have time, then I'd like to take Raquel, and as small an escort as we can permit back to the border of Kigen, I've got a contact that might know more about our 'invisible enery emitter', and make sure that just having it in our presence isn't doing anything... odd, to us." He explained, being on the other end of the hall made it nigh-impossible for the party to not hear him and his suggestion.

[Snowy_One]

"I would like to volunteer for such a group. I would like to travel with Raquel and... ummm... Shade Drake as well." said Robin, raising her voice as soon as Shadrak and finished. In truth, there was two reasons why she was going. Not just to be with Shadrak, but because Raquel seemed to be the only one capable of keeping peace between her and Gytha, and being away from her would likely result in at least one shooting.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"I don't see why we have to go to Kigen just to find out about Raquel's...magicky thing. We should focus on the organization and getting Raquel's father back as quickly as possible. Even if Weyland hasn't found their base of operations yet, there must be something we can attack. If we start hitting them, we'll either find some documents or interrogate more information our of them or something. We know the organization is made up of people; people can be found and killed. It's that simple," she said in response to Shadrak's suggestion.

Nadya

"Question, uh sir," Nadya said, not really sure of the proper honorific to use with Weyland in this situation here. "When are we gettin' paid for escortin' that Fallen?"

[Saturnine]

Siritov walked closer, standing within the proximity of the gathered audience. She came to rest with a weighty shifting of metal armor plates, holding herself in a proud statue-esque poise.

[Acacia Sgt]

<That's an interesting wagon there.> John thought. <Although I'll still be flying out there in the open. Wait, a trip to Kigen?>

So it was true. Sophia thought. He called me here to join them. Well, I guess he made a wise decision showing that wagon first.

[Mercakete]

"You sure were quick to suggest that," Norbert mentioned, suspision of Shadrak rising, "But if we go to Kigen again, since these people are apparently everywhere, we could look for them along the way. Right now what we need is a direction so we can begin." Maybe I can cut off that Fallen woman who ran away from Steinn, too. If the message never reaches the other prince, it'll delay his coming and he might be calmer about it, too. I still have a chance.

[Rothene]

Arriving late, Ranyin sat near the back of the room, just barely a few seats away from Shadrak. The idea of spies among the group did not sit well with the kigenese mage. Not because he was suspicious of anyone, but rather, his introduction to the group had few credibility, thus making him a potentially suspicious member. And then things got worse when Shadrak mentioned about heading to Kigen.

Thankfully the idea proposed was to be of a smaller grouping if it occured, meaning he could easily choose to stay back with everyone else. Gytha, he had a hunch, would definately go with Raquel, making such a thing a plus.

***

Hearing about the potential of spies in the group, Mireille felt a twinge of fear. She had read many stories about people stabbing others in the back and poisoning of food supply, especially in stories of forbidden love. Shrugging slightly to banish such thoughts, Mireille reminded herself, "I'm a knight, and a knight is ever vigilant. Such underhand tactics are beneath me."

A surge of pride filled her when Weyland mentioned the reason why she would be going with the group. This is the chance to test my knightly mettle, thought the Ursian noble gleefully, although taking care not to show it with a solemn expression on her face. The perceptive might have caught her smilling at Weyland's words earlier though. But it increased her worry. Travelling with this group would be dangerous, and there might be potential traitors to look out for. Being a knight did not embolden me, rather, I have to be bold as a true knight, thought Mireille, this task shall be a test of my true worth.

[Phoenix]

Meeting

"I'll let you all look at the notes and you can pick your own destination from there. I'm helping to fund this operation but I've no intention of steering the ship, myself. That's your job, Raquel." he said to her more directly at the end of his statement, causing her to lean back in her seat, apprehensively.

"The gold should have already been delivered. It should be near or inside Raquel's previous wagon. It's up to the lot of you to divide it amongst yourselves ... try not to be greedy ..." he replied to Nadya.

About a minute ago ...

Amon had been a bit concerned about the mention of Rex-Avaz, but it didn't surprise him, much. The country was technically ruled by Aisha, but there were still several known factions within the nation operating within their own territories ... some of them openly hostile, others, treacherous ... and a rare few were difficult to find and just as dangerous as the others. If the organization was behind any one of them, it still wouldn't change how the Rexian planned to deal with them in the future should they ever threaten his home. He had a bit of an angry expression on his face when Gytha mentioned it to him, but didn't say anything.