Return of the Emblem Chapter Six: Enemies Abound

[Mercakete]

The mariner nodded and carefully hoisted the unconcious knife-user onto her back, holding his thighs just above his knees and leaning forward a little to ensure he wouldn't fall off as she carried him. Silently, she gave Veronika a look conveying that she was ready to start moving. Norbert quietly acknowledged what was going on, ready for when it was time to head inside again. He figued Rizen could just tag along.

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

Maw reached the mannor's kitchen...and no one was around. That was perfect -- it was just like a ship's galley, but much more to her liking, considering how clean it was. And so, her pillaging began, checking all over for some way to reach the meats stored there.

[Acacia Sgt]

<So we're heading inside now, alright.> John thought, dismounting Gil. He looked over at the ruined entrance. <I guess I can bring Gil as well. The mounts did traversed the manor on their way here after all.> ''Let's go Gil.'' He said, before starting to move.

The wyvern grunted before breaking his glare, and started to follow suit.

[Phoenix]

Gabbie

"He's probably in the conference room. We were usin' it as a type of HQ during the attack." Gabbie explained. Ringo began lying down since Gabbie wasn't giving him anymore instructions; he had nothing to do and she still hadn't said he could move. The smell of so much blood, both human and wyvern was messing with him, so he buried his nose under a paw and grunted.

[Snowy_One]

As Robin supported Shadrak, her eyes looking for 'Chelsea', she spotted the fallen wyvern riders. A look of dismay came over her body, causing her to stumble. "<Oh no... Oh no...>" she muttered under her breath and the blood drained from her face. She had been fighting fellow Skotians, worse, wyverns. The very symbol of the nation and its power, akin to the Ursium pegasus... and the mount of her father. "<Father... I am sorry. I did not slay them, forgive me.>" she knew he wasn't around to hear those words, but somehow she felt that saying them showed her regret for the deed. As soon as everyone was alive and well, she would be lighting another candle, just as she had for Callisto.

[Zsword]

Shadrak blinked, and scanned himself, his thoughts barely coherent, though even in his almost unconcious state, he could identify her. "She's... over there, Mire..." He said to the knight, he was clearly on his last rope.

Zel smiled at Gabbie's little display, and waited patiently for her to finish talking to the officials.

Krystal accepted the guards escort out, she wasn't a fighter... she wasn't important... so she would do as ordered...

[Snowy_One]

"Come on then." said Robin, spotting where Shadrak had pointed. Slowly, trying her best to support his weight, she tried to move towards Chelsea, her mind trying to stay focused on healing and Shadrak and not the dead Wyverns. She had dragged back deer and other animals, but those she had already taken care of beforehand and didn't need to worry about damage, not so with Shadrak.

[Rothene]

Hearing Shadrak's request, Mireille grunted as she supported him alongside Robin to bring him to Chelsea.

***

Sleeping deeply due to exhaustion, the lone kigenese mage stayed in perpetual darkness as newcomers arrived with their pegasi to the site where the battle had happened. Their arrival did not concern him the least bit, for he was not aware of their presence in his blissful slumber.

[roymbrog]

Synthia had done her best to close Amon’s injuries, but the damage was so extensive that even with her best efforts she couldn’t completely heal them. When the mariner picked him up she was worried. She followed them for a moment to make sure the thief’s wounds didn’t reopen, and then allowed the two to continue on without her. “I’ll meet you inside later, Gytha,” she called after them. Making sure her teammates were alright was important, but there were other people who needed healing as well.

Speaking of which, for some reason Robin and a knight were trying to carry the half-dead shaman around. Synthia would’ve assumed they were helping Shadrak inside, if only they were going in the right direction. Jogging over, she tried to heal him without getting in the way. “Any particular reason you three are going this way?”

-----

The battle was over, healers were tending the wounded, and it seemed the military was now arriving. Took them long enough, Valter thought. He sighed; this had been a long day.

[Rothene]

Mireille looked at the mage who just came over to them and replied, "The healer here wants to heal his friend Chelsea. Once she has been seen to, they would probably head back. I'll stay to make one last sweep to see if we left anyone else out."

[Zsword]

Shadrak gave Synthia a grateful glance. "Thanks... I'll... I'll head in after I help Chelsea..." He said, letting go of his 2 helpers and finishing the rest of the distance on his own, with slight ease, falling on his knees just before her as he lifted his staff over her. "Chelsea... come on Chelsea..."

[-Cynthia-]

Selene

"I'll follow you all back to the conference room then as you know the way better than I. Most of you will have to dismount, the halls are not wide enough to handle this many horses," she said first to the lancer then to her unit.

Going Back

"All right, let's get going then," Veronika said, heading back into the estate. Nadya went over to Luca and discreetly emptied the prizes into his saddlebags before following along.

[Phoenix]

Heading Back

"Alroight" Gabbie replied before waving Ringo off. The wyvern knew that cue and was happy to be free of the previous order. He quickly beat his wings and flew off somewhere as Gabbie began heading back inside. On her way back, she occasionally glanced over her shoulder at the trailing soldiers. It was certainly uncomfortable but she could deal with it for the moment.

[Acacia Sgt]

Making their way, John suddenly stopped, Gil doing the same once he saw.

''On second thought, I think it's better if you don't come.'' He said. <If the military are coming as well, I think it's for the best.> ''You can just... wander around I guess.''

The wyvern grunted, and then took off to the air. John watched until he lost sight before resuming heading inside as the others.

-----

Sophia watched as many had started to make their way inside. I guess I should follow soon. She thought. Is anyone still in need of healing? She looked around, but the only one she could think of, Chelsea, was already being treated by someone else. I guess I can already leave. With that, she walked over to the entrance as well.

[Mercakete]

The kitchen was busted up a bit and, luckily for Maw, some food had been left lying about. It was a treasure trove. The silver tabby first went to some fowel that had been left on a counter and began eating that. It was probably a turkey and it was absolutely delicious.

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

As they walked, Gytha was careful to make sure Amon wasn't being jostled too much. As Norbert walked, Rizen followed behind him. Such was the detailed report given to the readers because there was so much to say.

[Phoenix]

In The Halls

Weyland had been on his way to the main entrance, and many of the party members along with some soldiers were heading back toward the conference room, so naturally, they would meet around halfway. When Weyland caught sight of the group, he gave a silent and brief wave before pocketing his hand again. There wouldn't be a way to sugarcoat Raquel's kidnapping. "The battle is over, but I'm afraid I have some bad news.

"And I was really enjoying our streak of preposterously good fortune. What happened?" Gabbie replied, coming to a stop in front of her employer.

"The conference room was breached sometime during the fighting and Raquel was taken."

Damn! Did they get the emblem too? Hmm ... Gabbie glanced over her shoulder at the officer. Weyland didn't mention the emblem so neither will I. I'll just ask him about it in private.

[Mercakete]

This news was both sudden and the last thing many of them were expecting. Norbert, himself, thought he'd misheard. "...Wait. What? I don't think I caught that. Did you just say that Raquel's been taken? As in kidnapped?" he asked. Gytha was likewise stunned, though she kept quiet since it hadn't really sunken in yet and she had a fainted ally on her back.

[Snike]

Well, after a few minutes, the military arrived on the scene, which in turn prompted members of the rest of the group to hurry up and head towards the conference room, like Blake was in the process of doing. Clearly, the law was intimidating enough to get these people to do the sensible thing. Well, combat support was combat support, regardless of whether it came from knights or knaves. The swordsman advanced with the group into the estate, before they were intercepted by Weyland, of all people. At least he was safe...

Then came the bad news. Their group's peerless leader, Raquel, was kidnapped by the aggressors. So essentially he just risked his neck for someone who went and got captured the moment he turned his back anyways, and now he was looking at being sent on his way with no discernible benefits. Lovely.

"Alright, so, now what?" he asked tersely. "Do we have any real idea where the attackers retreated to?"

[Phoenix]

Halls

"I have a very good hunch, they fled east." Weyland replied, glancing in that direction. If they insist on pulling this Neviskotian charade, east is the best direction for them to head in. They'll have some issues with patrols and border guards in the border regions but that didn't seem to stop them the first time ...

[Mercakete]

Well, that was confirmation. "Great, so now we have to go out and look for her," Norbert complained, before adding with a thought, "if she's even worth looking for. Raquel's gone, so there's no pay coming in. Who knows if we can even get her back if they want her that badly..." This was beginning to look like a waste of time.

"Whadaya mean 'if she's worth lookin' fer?' 'Course she is! She's our friend!" Gytha protested whilst still trying to be mindful of her other friend whom she was presently piggy-backing.

"I'm not saying I want to leave her to those villains, I'm just trying to be realistic. I have to eat, you know. And besides that, we don't have anything more than a general direction they might have gone in and there will probably be more of them wherever they took Raquel. Do you really think we can manage that?" Norbert replied, frusterated at the situation.

[Acacia Sgt]

After a while of traversing through the place they had finally spotted Weyland approaching. And yet...

<Wait, what?!> John thought after hearing the news. <Raquel was kidnapped? Does that means they have the emblem now? That could be bad if they do...>

He then heard the small argument. ''Are you giving up that easily?'' He asked Bert. <Then again, this is kinda repeating itself. First her father, and despite our progress, now her. Hmm...>

Raquel? Isn't she the one who leads the group? Sophia thought. This doesn't sound good.

[Snowy_One]

Robin lay Shadrak down beside Chelsea. She could do little more for him now until the group started to move, and standing guard would do little good. A conversation was starting up a short distance off anyways. Trying to keep her still-recovering body together she headed over just in time to hear the news of Raquel's capture.

"We need to get her back." said Robin, offering her small bit. "I owe Raquel my freedom and... I am pretty sure my life as well. I can not stand by and let such a debt count for nothing. I will track her on my own if need be, but I cannot let her die through... uggghhh..." the venom caused her to stumble back a bit. Though gone, the effect on her body had been sever and she could still feel it now. "Bert. Raquel is what is holding us together. We need her back or we will fall apart."

[Mercakete]

"What's so important about staying together if the whole reason we're here is gone? Frankly, I need income. If I can't feed myself doing this, I'm not going to help. It would be stupid," Norbert replied to Robin.

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

Having had enough of the turkey to satisfy, Maw turned her attention to other scents around the room. She was curious by nature of being a cat and she wasn't full yet, so she stalked over to some ham that had been left out and began gnawing on it. It was tastey, even if it was tough.

[Snowy_One]

"Norbert. If you were to leave now because you are not getting money... what would that accomplish?" asked Robin, a twinge of anger at the mans bull-headedness. "Even if you plan on leaving us at the first sign of money, you have no job as of now and are clearly not in the military. Raquel has taken care of and fed you since you joined with us. If you want to be fed, her family is the one that will feed you, and honor demands that you repay your debts."

She almost couldn't believe she was trying to win the Urswine over. In fact, had Raquel been there, she would have been content to let him leave. However, she owed Raquel her freedom, and with that came the desire to see the woman returned safe and sound to the group, even if it meant putting up with a ass like Bert.

[-Cynthia-]

Disappearances

"Good to see you alive Professor. The attackers seem to be retreating for the most part, but my men can help clean up the remnants if you like. After that we will have much to discuss, both about the identity of our attackers and about this woman taken hostage," Selene greeted Weyland, bowing slightly in his direction.

Maybe Weyland doesn't want to discuss the details of Raquel's capture in front of the Ursian military, we'll talk about it later I suppose. Maybe I should have stayed with Raquel... Veronika thought to herself.

[Mercakete]

"I already paid her back for the debts I had. Since I'm not getting income, there's no reason for me to keep the job. Cause like it or not, dragon-kissing boonies-dweller, that's what it is. No pay, no work. And leaving now that I don't have a job is the best thing I can do to feed myself," Norbert replied, actually more unamused than annoyed as he almost casually answered Robin.

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

The ham was awesome. But Maw was distracted again, wanting to try something she was more used to. And ther it was: a giant salmon. 50lbs or so. And so, she trotted over and began digging in.