Return of the Emblem Chapter Six: Enemies Abound

[Zsword]

Shadrak was pissed, with a cry he slammed his fists into the ground, not to far infront of him another huge ball of energy crashed into the ground, leaving a large dusty hole. "That was to be his grave..." said the Shaman, tears streaking down his eyes. "He got away, he got away, THE MOTHER FUCKER GOT AWAYYY!!!!" The shaman shouted into the night, before collapsing on the ground, sobbing. I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed...

Zel let out a long, relieved, sigh. "Oooookay, we should probably take this home, we have to check on the other fronts." He called out to the group, waving his spear in the air to indicate for the group to pull in, riding beside Gabbie as he did. "Are you ok?" He asked her, still looking around to make sure all the wounded were tended to.

Krystal pushed her way out of the rubble, the remains of the ice barrier she threw up to protect herself slowly melting around her, there was a large clowd of dust. "What-" Her sentence was interupted by a few coughs. "What happened, are they gone?" She asked, trying to wave the dust away with her wings.

Edited November 7, 2011 by Zsword

[Acacia Sgt]

Finally, the last enemy was struck down. Too bad their plan to assault Colin failed, but at least they made it through.

<Well, that sure was a close one.> John thought. He looked over to Shadrak. <This sure affected him. All that preparation for nothing. Oh well, such is life. You gamble, you may loose.> He shrugged.

Sophia looked around. They made it, right? They were safe, if only for now. I can't believe it. She thought. And this group gets into these sort of fights often? She sighed. Tough times awaited her indeed.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Don't pursue them. We need to tend to the wounded for now and hope Weyland's security managed to hold the other entrances. We can go back in to help once we're in shape to move," she said to the group at large, casting a doubtful eye on Amon's nearby unconscious body.

Nadya

Nadya dismounted Luca. "Fight time's over, you know what to do," she said to the him before coming upon the wyvern rider Gytha had disabled.

"Want him alive or dead?' she asked the small group around him casually, staff at the ready.

Connor

Connor curled up into a ball and hid his face in his hands during the explosion, avoiding most of the collapsing rubble. He didn't see much of what went on, but he heard the whole thing, particularly Raquel's mother yelling at Weyland. Noticing Chip laying on the ground, he scooped the monkey up and placed it in his arms for the time being. He really hoped Chip didn't decide to blow his head off for this, but just leaving him there seemed wrong.

"Um, we should probably secure the manor first before trying anything too dangerous. They could be in the estate by now for all we know," Connor said to Catarena quietly.

On the Horizon

The events of the night had not gone unnoticed by the Ursian military. While most of the military was fighting near the Neviskotian border, there were still forces who vigilantly maintained the peace in Europa. Major General Selene had not had to deal with such a direct threat near Europa during her time as officer, but that did not mean she was not prepared. She quickly assembled a strike team and led them out of Europa to investigate the threat.

The calvary and pegasi were the first to arrive on the outskirts of the estate, the Major General herself leading the charge. A bit to her dismay, she noticed the wyverns were already fleeing from the estate. Neviskotians? How would the get inside our borders so easily or in such large numbers? I think an investigation will be in order...

"Do not pursue them at the moment, we can follow stragglers later. Secure the perimeter and enter the estate if are you able. Weyland is the priority here, we must ensure his safety at all costs. Do not spare any of these assailants if they prevent you from accomplishing your mission. Noelle, inform Lieutenant Altena that her unit is to cover the southern grounds of the estate, providing backup if necessary," she said to the brown-haired pegasus rider, who broke off from the mounts and flew swiftly through the night sky. The rest of the calvary began to circle the estate, allowing the wyverns to leave for the moment.

Edited November 7, 2011 by -Cynthia-

[Rothene]

With the last foe vanquished from the corner of his eye by Gytha, Ranyin finally let himself collapse among the dirt patches. The softness of the ground felt wonderful to his exhausted aching body. Lcosing his eyes, the mage drifted off to sleep. And for once in a long while, there was no terrifying presence of the Onigytha in it...at least at first glance.

***

"Huff...huff..." gasped Mireille when the enemy appeared to retreat. She leaned on her lance as she let her shield drop to her side. Flexing her arm, she winced more as the pain shot through her entire shoulder. She would need to get her shield arm looked into by the healers, and that shield that served her well would need to be repaired.

Looking at the disappearing forms of her foes to the darkness, Mireille closed her eyes and sniffed the air. It was filled with the stench of body fluids of both friends and foes, choking with smoke and dust. Is this the scent of victory? Or is this death, wondered the Ursian noblewoman, it is so vastly different from how the poets describe them, so empty.

Seeing others huddled around Amon as he awoke, then at Nadya and valter who had remained largely unharmed by the battle, Mireille allowed herself to smile, yes, this is the reward of being a knight I guess, to ensure no harm befalls those under ones care. Seeing Shadrak despairing in one corner, Mireille frowned. The battle was won, why would this one suffer so much?

Slinging her shield to her back and hugging her wounded shield arm, Mireille slowly approached the shaman, "Good sir, what compels you to despair here when you should be rejoicing at the lives kept alive today?"

As soon as she uttered her sentence, Mireille glanced around again at the dead bodies of their enemies, kept alive, eh Mireille? Yeah right...

Edited November 7, 2011 by Rothene

[Mercakete]

"I'll carry'im," Gytha offered, refrring to Amon, "We shouldn't leave our wounded out'ere."

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

Norbert had the worst headache. It was the first thing he noticed as he began to awaken, much to Rizen's relief. Slowly, he picked himself up, then looked around, trying to figure out what exactly happened. It was dark and several people were ahead of him. Right, that was the group. And they were...going to defend the estate. ... Well, that looked taken care of. But then what was that in the distance coming towards them? Again, Norbert remembered his headache and carefully touched the sore spot on his head before quickly pulling his hand back as he flinched. It stung a little. Again, carefully, he felt the wound. I need some ice on this...

[Zsword]

Shadrak stood, wheeling on his heal as he aimed a magic infused punch to Mire's stomach, but he was tired, weakened, and his magic just fizzled, and the punhc itself had no weight behind it. He sighed, looking up to the armor (The motion made him fall to a kneel). "Oh, sorry... um, here... let me... uh..." He was out of it... I failed... I failed... Despite his thought dominating his mind he entered auto-medic mode, starting with Mire's shoulder. "Hey, could you help me find a couple wounded? My visions a little out of it..." He wouldn't say it, but he probably needed a medic to.

[Acacia Sgt]

With not much else to do, John ordered Gil to ascend a bit. The place sure was a mess. <Well, at least they're gone.> John thought. That is, until looking around, he spotted some figures in the distance. <Hm? Now what...?>

Sophia didn't remained in place for long. She knew that, sure, the battle is over but quite a few were injured in the battle. I must fulfill my duty. She though as she began wandering around the former battlefield, looking for anyone in need of healing.

[Rothene]

"What?" gasped Mireille in shock as Shadrak punched her, was that...dark magic? I must be dreaming.

Feeling the flow of healing magic surge into her, relieving her arm of pain, Mireille held onto the man who was a few inches taller than her. She was not a very strong person, but years of carrying the heavy armour gave her shoulders enough strength to withstand the added weight of the shaman.

A healer I see, thought Mireille scanning the crowd for those who were in need of healing but attended to yet. Spotting Robin's unconcious perhaps bleeding form, Mireille rushed to her side with Shadrak in tow as fast as she could, a feat not easily accomplished with someone heavier than her and a full set of armour, although it was customised to be lighter.

Reaching Robin's side, Mireille leaned down to place Shadrak closer to the Neviskotian archer, "Here healer, this girl is in need of your magic."

[Phoenix]

Gabbie

"I'd heal'em ... but just enough for an interrogation." Gabbie told Nadya. To Zel her reply was "Yyyeeeah. About as okay as I can be, really. It's you who moight want to take it easy. I'm glad you're up, but damn ..."

Luca

Right, Luca got right to it, sniffing around the corpses and looking for coin.

Conference Room

"All I care about right now is getting back my daughter." Cat replied to Connor, keeping herself in check. Yelling at Weyland was one thing, but Connor was just a child to her. She sat on the floor since nearly half of the chairs had been thrown away by the explosion and kept her hand on her side. She had an injury, herself.

"The enemy is leaving ... so I expect the military to be here, soon." Weyland said to everyone, though it seemed more like he was talking to himself. "I'll speak with them when this is over ... and then try to figure out our options. Miss Blanco ... ... if there's a way ... we'll get Raquel back. I will do everything in my power to make that happen." She nodded and used her free hand to wipe the dust and tears from her face. Weyland then pocketed the emblem and began walking through the conference room, heading--eventually--toward the door.

Battlefront

Their forces faced off while the two women fought one on one. Anna had the advantage of distance. Silvia would have to close that distance to even have a chance of landing a blow. Silvia's advantage was extremely poor lighting. Her movements would be hard enough to follow in a well lit hall, but in this darkness, Anna had to keep her eyes sharp to avoid being rushed. When Silvia finally made her move, Anna took her shot Silvia avoided it, and the race began. Anna began moving back to buy herself the precious seconds she would need to reload, but Silvia was sprinting and quickly caught her. With no other options left, Anna dropped the crossbow, rolled to the right as she took out a combat knife, and successfully evaded Silvia's counterattack. As Silvia sliced the wall, Anna got back up to her feet with the knife ready. It wasn't her best weapon, but the ranged engagement appeared to be over.

The two quickly closed in on each other and made a couple of close exchanges before Silvia's men began calling for her. "It's time to pull out! The military's here!"

"Oh darn it ..." she said, looking Anna dead in the eye.

"Sure you don't want to stay? It's not like we're going to kill you or hand you over to the military." Anna offered.

"Sorry, but I enjoy my work ... getting caught here is about the same as retiring ... no thanks." she replied with a sorry smile. She then broke into a dash heading toward the breach point to escape. Anna dove for her bow and quickly reloaded it. She got off one shot before Silvia and the rope she grabbed onto ascended out of sight. The shot struck Silvia in the back, but she doubted it was a lethal blow.

"Well ... I tried ..." Anna reassured herself.

One the roof, Silvia yanked out the bolt and held the wound tightly. "Ow ... ow ... ow ... ow ... ow ... ow ... that was a really god shot. Ow ... owwwww ... ow."

"Can you deal with it for now? We've got to get a move on." one of the wyvern riders said. She simply nodded and climbed aboard. He took off, and the rest of the forces began to pull out and retreat.

[Zsword]

Shadrak fell to his knees, holding his healing light over Robin. "Thanks miss..." He was really dizzy and light headed... though the magical parasite had faded, it's damage was done, and the whole, making a 6' Radius hole was NOT helping the matter.

Zel chuckled weakly. "Yeah... he blindsided me with a powerful spell, not much I could do about it... ugh, um, have you seen my helmet?" he asked, twirling Sliep around as he realised he wasn't wearing it.

[Snowy_One]

Robin was down and out for the count. Her entire body had long since gone numb and, she was convinced, the only reason her heart had not seized up was because of sheer luck. White, healing light then showered down over her body, feeling returning to it as Shadrak healed her, hope returning to a hopeless situation. She could feel her body again, her legs, arms, toes, and everything else. After a moment she rose up, saved from death.

"Thank you." she said, her voice weak, but greatful. She then weakly hugged Mireille, then Shadrak. "Thank you both."

[GoD]

The attack was quick, and Chelsea didn't even see it coming. Suddenly the leader of the enemy forces came up to her and stabbed her in the arm. No expression or scream was given by the troubador as the wound was inflicted; just an empty blank face, as if she was still processing the fact that she had been wounded. Quite suddenly, a burst of magic energy seeped into the wound and shook her whole body, with an unbearable pain. She tried to scream, but nothing would come out, just tears from her eyes and blood from the wound. Since she was not on Nesha's back she limply fell to the ground, as the man pulled back. Her last thoughts, before she fell into the depths of unconcious, were: "I'll kill you..... you bastard.... I......damnit all I just cursed badly didn't I?"-

Even after the battle was over, Nenesha was still guarding over his master's body, daring anyone to come and collect her body to a swift whooping. The horse could not process his thoughts clearly, and was acting irrationally. What do you expect from a companion who saw his master get stabbed and wounded badly?

[Snike]

Too slow again. Always too slow. By the time Blake found a viable target, they were cut down, and then the rest of the bad guys were dispatched. Had he been swift enough, maybe there would have been less injuries. But it was too late to change that.

The novice swordsman sighed, and sheathed his sword. So much carnage... Well, it couldn't be helped. They needed to get back to Raquel and Weyland, and soon. Who knows why they retreated?

"I'm going to run back, just in case hell broke loose," Blake said, as he turned back towards the actual mansion, or whatever was left of it. "Anyone free should probably follow."

[Phoenix]

Gabbie

"Your helmet? Haven't seen it." Gabbie replied. She leaned sideways a bit to look past Zel and over to where he'd fallen. Unsurprising that Ringo was still there. "That'd probably be the place to start looking" she said before strolling over to her wyvern and looking around. She had half a mind to check to see if Ringo was sitting on it.

[Zsword]

Shadrak hugged Robin back, his eyes looking around for something. "Chelsea... where's... chelsea?" He asked, trying to not pass out, by this point even he wonderred what was pushing his body forward, but forward he pushed all the same.

Zel rode over to Gabbie, dismounting to search as well. "Not the end of the world if we don't find it... full helms are easy enough to come by if you know where to ask..." he said, his search turning dis-apointingly fruitless.

Krystal glanced around at everyone in the room, horribly confused. "Wai-wait... what happened?"

[Zsword]

((double post, sorry.))

Edited November 8, 2011 by Zsword

[Phoenix]

Gabbie

While they searched, Gabbie covered a different area from Zel and eventually got to checking underneath Ringo. He wasn't sure what she was doing back there, but eventually he felt a smooth rock get plucked out from under him, and Gabbie came up wearing a white helmet. "Watch where ye lay thine ass, reptilian sloth." Gabbie mocked.

She then came over to Zel. She lifted up the visor revealing her face. "Found it~"

Conference Room

Cat looked over to the dark avian that had just spoken up again and had to hold back some choice words. Cat was feeling anything but friendly with her daughter taken and so few competent or capable people around to help. Every second that went by was only making things worse for the woman. "We were attacked, is it not obvious?" She stood up, a bit off balance. "I have to do something. I won't let this stand." she muttered before walking toward the door Weyland had left through. A couple of guards entered before she reached the door and came up to Connor and Chip.

"Connor, it's probably a good idea for us to leave. The conference room is mostly stable but some loose material falling off could still be life threatening. Perhaps your room, or someplace else that wasn't hit in the attack ...?" the guard suggested.

The other guard looked over to Krystal. "You don't need to be here, either. You should come with us."

[Mercakete]

Maw, likewise, padded out of the room. This place was not safe. It had loud, sudden sounds and things falling. So, she decided to see about pestering those humans who gave her food again and headed towards the kitchen.

[Snowy_One]

Robin slowly stood up, her body on pins and needles as her nerves re-awakened. Being careful not to slip upon blood or trip over body parts, she moved to Shadrak's side. "Here." she said, offering him what support she could. "Who is Chelsea? What distinctive features does she have?"

[Acacia Sgt]

John watched for a few seconds. <I doubt they could be enemy reinforcements. On the other hand, it's highly likely the Ursium military is already aware of the attack by now. I guess that would be them, just arriving. If that's the case, too bad they didn't come sooner.>

With that he ordered Gil to descend once more. <So now what? I guess back inside and to the Conference Room I guess.>

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

Nadya healed the fallen wyvern rider just enough so that he would survive.

"Well, interrogate away or somethin'. I'm gonna...help clean up the bodies," she said, pocketing a coinpurse off a nearby Org member, Waste not, want not.

Connor

"Uh, all right I can go to my room I guess. Be careful all right?" he said to his uncle before leaving with the guards.

A Force to be Reckoned With

The horses and pegasi charged towards the estate. Looking at the scene briefly, Selene deduced that a battle had taken place here recently given that the wyvern corpses still looked rather fresh. But who are the victors still here? Weyland's allies or enemies?

The horses and pegasi stopped near the battle site, weapons at the ready. "I am Major General Selene Alexakis of the Ursian military. Identify the affiliation of your company immediately. Keep in mind that I have little time and less patience," she said, her gaze focused on the recently descended wyvern rider, sword drawn.

[Phoenix]

Outside

"Uh oh ... it's the Reds." Not sure if we should of offed that guy or not ... I doubt we'll get to interrogate him before they do. "Uh, here." Gabbie took off Zel's helmet and handed it to him before turning to face the officer that was a short distance away. "We're with Weyland." she said just loud enough to the woman so she would hear her. "Don't ... moind the wyverns ..." she added cautiously.

Luca promptly stopped his corpse looting upon their arrival and began putting on the docile facade of a normal overlookable horse. The taste of gold was starting to become all too familiar, and he was wishing he could reach the saddlebags and just hide his findings in there.

Inside

As Weyland made his way through the halls, he thought deeply about the situation. The organization had come in what appeared to be full force; they had demolished a third of his security forces--his best estimate--, and made off with Raquel. About the only good news seemed to be that they hadn't gotten away with the emblem as well. Before he could focus on rescuing Raquel, however, he had to assess the damage. Who among his staff was still alive ... who wasn't? It would be a long sleepless night.

As he rounded a corner he found the remains of Evan's unit. Most of them were alive, but Evan's appeared to be struggling to stay alive, having lost a frightening amount of blood already. One of his men called out to him when he saw him approaching. "Mister, Weyland, sir. We just don't have enough medics for this. I'm not sure Evan will pull through or not."

Weyland nodded. "Tell the noncombatants it's safe to come out. If you see Owens or Stashio tell them that we need all the help we can get."

"Understood."

"I suppose I should go greet the military, now. I don't want them tearing the place apart looking for me. There's enough that needs repairing."

Chipside

Chip at first had been rather passive after his fall, but fell asleep in Connor's arms after they left the conference room. The guards kept their eyes peeled for anymore enemies. Things had calmed down and the only remaining noises seemed to be rubble stirring and voices further down the halls, but no signs of actual trouble, just yet.

Tankside

The surviving Recusant crew exited the vehicle together and walked over to Craig, who was lying motionless on the ground. Fortunately, the man hadn't passed on, but his apparent attempt to apply a vulnerary hadn't gone too well. His wounds were only partially tended to. "Oh Mercy ... we're going to have to do something about this. Let's get him inside."

"We don't know if there's still fighting in there."

"We don't have a choice. I mean, sure we could slap some more salve on him, but we've got to make sure there's nothing else wrong. Look, we'll take the tank. I'll stay with him by the turret since that things useless right now, and you drive. We get ambushed, pull back and we'll hide behind the turret. What could go wrong?"

The driver sighed. "... I suppose that would be fine. Let's hurry, though. I don't want to see him die over our little debate."

[Acacia Sgt]

Looks like there was no time for that, the military were indeed here. <How predictable, first thing she does is look at a wyvern rider.> John thought. <Then again, the enemy did had wyverns of their own.> For now, he decided to just return the gaze. <Good thing I have my helmet.> This could've been enough to make him laugh, if even a little, but he knew better than to do so in this situation.

Mirroring his master, Gil also looked at the newcomers, though his gaze was more of a glare. To him, the Ursium military was no more different in his eyes than the enemies they just fought. For now, he'd just watch, and wait until either left; them, or him and John.

-----

The arrival of the military stopped Sophia in her tracks. The military is here? Thank Mercy. She sighed, things were certainly starting to look up. However, her relief lasted short. Wait, that reminds me, the wyverns. She knew the wyverns and their owners were on their side, but she also knew the military wouldn't be able to know that at first glance. Fortunately, it looked like the issue was going to be taken care of.

I guess I should focus back on my task. She thought, resuming her search for any inured.

[Mercakete]

Gytha didn't pay the military much attention. She was still wondering if they would be moving into the mannor. Veronika was probably the next-best leader to them after Raquel, so she was waiting on what she had to say. It didn't look like they've be moving their wounded quite yet, though, so she just stayed crouched over Amon.

Oh great. Now the military's here? Norbert whined as he stepped forward to stand amongst the other group members. Rizen followed along. I hope whatever fell on my head didn't cause too much damage. It's pretty sore right now, and I'm not sure if the skin broke. Oh well. And so he lowered his arm to rest at his side. Looks like this was a tough fight I slept through... I could be worse off.

[-Cynthia-]

Looking for Professor

"I will take you at your word, for the moment. Where is Weyland? If he is in danger we will need to rescue him immediately," Selene asked the lancer who spoke up, though it was directed to the group at large.

"We should probably start looking for Weyland ourselves. Gytha, if you carry Amon then I think everyone else can walk on their own strength," Veronika advised the group.