Return of the Emblem Chapter Six: Enemies Abound

[-Cynthia-]

"Yeah I'm with pegasus boy over here. Raquel seems like a nice girl and all, but we don't all have the luxury of going on free rescue missions," Nadya chimed in to Bert and Robin's conversation.

"I can pick up the tab for your services while we're in the process of rescuing Raquel," Veronika added from nearby, breaking out of her thoughts. Hopefully this is short, both for Raquel's sake and my ever dwindling pocketbook.

"I'll get you a list of fees very promptly!" Nadya responded to Veronika gleefully.

"Splendid," Veronika said flatly, sighing.

[Acacia Sgt]

<How easily they think about money.> John thought, just watching. <I bet I wouldn't be surprised if that organization tries to win us over with gold or something, and they accept on the spot. Then again, that's how many go in life.>

Are they thinking of money before even thinking of rescuing her? Sophia thought, surprised. They sure aren't the most loyal from the looks of it.

Edited November 10, 2011 by Acacia Sgt

[Phoenix]

Weyland

"Would you people quit your arguing? No one's pay is getting cut over this, you're simply going to come under my employ for the time being. If that's acceptable, you'll assume your usual fees ... if not, there's the door ... what's left of it ..." Weyland explained. Turning back to Selene now that the distraction had been addressed he replied "And I'm glad that your people arrived so quickly. They may have been expecting you which probably saved lives."

[Mercakete]

"That's fine with me, I guess," Norbert replied, satisfied that he wouldn't go hungry. "Is there somewhere I can put Amon? He's kinda hurt," Gytha asked Weyland. She assumed they had a sick bay or something around here.

[-Cynthia-]

"Fine by me," Nadya answered as Bert did. Veronika breathed a sigh of relief.

"Judging by the wreckage of what used to be tanks outside, not quickly enough," Selene replied to Weyland drolly. "Men, assist Weyland's security in dealing with the aftermath of the battle. Tend to their wounds, clean up rubble, you all should know what to do," she said to them, as they began to disperse from the hallway.

"Who are these attackers Weyland? Neviskotians are an obvious first suspect, but I find it hard to believe that border security has become so lax as to allow an entire contingent of wyvern riders to cross over. And what was the reason for the attack- you said something about a woman being kidnapped?" Selene asked Weyland. I heard the name Raquel...ragtag group of mercenaries working with Weyland...that must mean the attackers have the emblem. Perhaps I can work this to my advantage.

[Phoenix]

Weyland

I won't be able to hide it all ... "Just look at the bodies. Neviskotian Recon if memory serves. However there weren't any dragons which would have been a lot more effective against my security ... overall. I honestly doubt they were Neviskotians if they took Raquel with them. I would imagine a raid by the Neviskotians having more focus on capturing Weyland technologies as well ... not blowing them up ..." he explained with a hint of agitation in his voice. He was still upset about his tanks being blown off the map, but the anger was more for Selene's sake. Weyland was frankly too busy trying to formulate a rescue plan to focus on the frustration of losing three tanks to a single man.

[Snowy_One]

Robin sighed softly from being Weyland at hearing those words. To have not been fighting her own people was huge for her. Never the less, wyverns had been killed. "Mr. Weyland, forgive my rudeness, but I would like to request a proper burial for the bodies, at least those of the wyverns if possible."

[-Cynthia-]

"The thought of a dragon crossing the border is even more absurd than a couple of wyverns. Well unless it's a baby, but those are pretty easy to kill," Selene said, taking a moment to admire her rune sword. "But yes I agree, this does not seem like Neviskotian endeavor. I have heard rumors of some sort of well-organized crime syndicate moving across Ursium- perhaps this is their work? In any case I think it would be in Ursium's best interest to eradicate this threat as quickly as possible- as well as rescue Miss Valcyn. An act of violence of this magnitude cannot go unpunished," she said to Weyland emphatically.

[Mercakete]

Ugh... She knows Raquel's surname. Thiiiis cannot end well... I guess saying Raquel's name wasn't such a good idea... Well, Weyland said it first, but... Darn it... Norbert inwardly agonized. Gytha felt her anger rising at the mention of killing infant dragons. However, she couldn't do anything about it with Amon on her back. Speaking of which, her question hadn't been answered yet. "Mr. Weyland, what should I do about Amon?" she repeated.

Edited November 10, 2011 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Weyland

"I'll be happy for the help." Weyland replied. "You should take Amon back to the basement entrance. The medics will likely be gathering there right about now. Gabbie can show you." he said to Gytha.

Gabbie sighed and then began walking off, only giving a hand motion as a cue for Gytha to follow along. Robin's question was a bit different, however ... "Why are you concerned for the wyvern riders--orwyvernsI'mnotsurewhich--and none of the others? Frankly they'll all be buried in due time, but this is no time for sympathy. I'd prefer to worry about the casualties on our side. There's been no less than nine casualties and that is just referring to the destroyed tanks. We're probably closer to twenty something with the rooftop patrols gone." he explained. He didn't expect Robin to care about any of his people, but wanted to get the point across that his were far and away more important to him than the enemy.

[Acacia Sgt]

<Hm, I wonder just how much we could trust her.> John thought. <After all, if the Wrathites made something clear in our battles with them, the emblem is of their interest. I wonder if the emblem really escaped capture. But if so, then it'd now be in the risk of being taken by her if she finds out.> He shook his head. <Truly a long night...>

So then, we'll be rescuing her next? Sophia wondered. Well, at least the military will help out.

Edited November 10, 2011 by Acacia Sgt

[Snowy_One]

Robin wasn't quite sure how to answer the question properly. Why was it so important to her that the bodies of the wyverns be buried? Why not the horses as well after all?

"I apologize if I came across as uncaring, but it is a matter of personal importance. My father was a wyvern rider and he taught me to always give the upmost care and respect for the wyvern, even though his was gone. I would be very grateful to see the buried properly and feel that I must bring the issue up even though they are our enemies, if only out of respect and love for my father."

[Mercakete]

Gytha began following Gabbie as instructed.

The basement? Didn't he mention before that that was where that Fallen was hiding? Actually, all of them. He mentioned not wanting the military to find them... Maybe I should ask some of these people about that old war the prince mentioned or warn them about that other prince coming to our borders. ... Nah, they wouldn't believe me. I'll just have to try getting as much information about how Wrath could wipe them out as I can. Not now, though, obviously. Norbert idly thought as he listened to the conversation between Weyland and the others.

[Phoenix]

Weyland

Well at least she's being ... relatively vague, not being blatantly obvious ... "As I said, they'll all be buried in due time ... but not here, my estate is not a cemetery. The bodies will be turned over to the military once we're done here. I imagine they'll want to investigate for any possible known criminals or any connection to the identity of the people behind this." he replied to Robin.

Gabbie

As Gabbie passed the conference room, she stopped to peek inside. What she saw was a little disturbing. "Do not tell me that guy who wrecked the tanks did all this. Loike ... half the wall is missin' and part of the second floor is just crumblin' and fallen down here ... oigh. I can't look at this anymore. Les'go." Eventually they reached the basement entrance and it was quite crowded, virtually every noncombatant working on the first floor of the estate was there, packing the hallway and making nearly impossible to get through to the other side, not that there was a need.

"Oi! Need a medic over here! Gytha, set'em down or somethin'."

[Mercakete]

"Aye," muttered Gytha as she saw to carefully setting Amon down.

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

After she was satisfied with the portion of salmon, Maw decided to look around and investigate the kitchen some more. Gracefully leaping over various obsticles, she made her way over to some tall container with something that looked like water in it. It smelled terrible but was worth investigating. Prodding the bottle with her paw, she scooted it little by little until it fell off the counter and crashed against the floor. The noise was loud and sudden, causing Maw to dash away from the frightening sound and jumped into one of the open cabinets to hide. A moment later, she peeked out from where she rested atop a plate. On the ground was the glass and foul-smelling liquid. Maw let loose a small hiss at the thing. It had been very unpleasant and was better off dead, as it must have been at that moment. Maw had killed it and now it was dead.

From her new vantage point, the tabby surveyed her surroundings. Curiosity gripped her yet again and she jumped to the next counter and began sniffing around for something else interesting.

[-Cynthia-]

Selene

"Weyland's right. He's allowed to keep the bodies if he really wanted to I suppose, but this mess will be hard enough to clean up without dead wyverns being strewn all over the lawn," the Major General remarked to the blonde archer girl.

"As for the identity of the attackers, I plan to resolve that in a more direct manner since with a hostage situation every second matters. I already have some pegasus knights loosely tailing some of the stragglers. After things are resolved here, I will be leading a rescue mission with a small platoon. Since you likely want to rescue Miss Valcyn as well, I think it would be in our best interest if we work together on this. I realize that your security forces have probably been compromised and are fatigued from the battle and you may need some time to organize them. I need time to organize my men for this as well- do you want to discuss arrangements in about half an hour or so?" she asked the Professor speaking quickly, yet calmly.

[Acacia Sgt]

<Respect for the wyvern, huh.> John thought. <Very familiar words. Then again, it was a given he would...> He shook his head. <Now's not the time. Or even there being a time for it anyway. I guess the impact was stronger than I expected.> He shrugged.

In itself it isn't a bad idea. Sophia thought. After all, it'd be a big disrespect for both Mercy and Nature if we don't give them at least a proper burial. Although, in the eyes of Wrath... why must their mandates conflict most of the time?

[Phoenix]

Weyland

"Half an hour sounds good. In the dining hall if that's alright. My conference room is structurally compromised." he noted. Since Veronika seemed to be one of the party's more focused individuals he spoke to her as well. "I suggest you also ready yourselves if you want to help out. It's going to be a looong night."

[Snowy_One]

"Thank you." said Robin, grateful that they seemed at least willing and capable of understanding than some other people. "If it can help, I am willing to offer what knowledge and experience I have as a hunter to help follow Raquel's trail as well."

[Snike]

Blake

Off to the east they were supposed to go. With the pegasus knight, who... knew Raquel's last name? This boded well.

The newcomer was swiftly pushed out of the conversation, though, so, he waited for it to wrap up completely, since they apparently had a backup leader.

Not Blake

A black-haired man wearing a black suit and carrying a Restore stave stepped up to DW's call. He was rather annoyed with all the ruckus. Couldn't the invaders kindly wait until the break of dawn, when he wasn't on duty, to light the place up? Screams certainly didn't make tea time any more relaxing.

"I'm right here," Ethan said, as he broke free from the crowd, towards the caller. "And the problem is... Oh. Bloody hell. Who did he pick a fight with?"

With a bit of muttering, the healer touched his staff to fix the fallen Rexian. Instantly, a ripple of energy coursed through the patient's body, as the wounds melted together into smooth skin. After a few moments, Ethan took the staff away. "Anyone else?"

[-Cynthia-]

"All right, I will be there when the time comes," Selene said as she and the rest of the troops exited the hallway for the time being. A woman with short blue hair had her gaze linger on Bert for a short while before exiting with the rest. It seems unlikely that he would be here but maybe...eh I'll ask him later. she thought to herself.

"We might have trouble getting ready too quickly given how badly some of our group was injured, but I'll see what I can do," Veronika responded to the Professor, waiting until the military had filtered out completely before speaking further.

Edited November 11, 2011 by -Cynthia-

[Psych]

Sirocco walked along the dirt path. The trees were swaying in the breeze, and the clouds lazily floated by. The sun was beginning to set, though that was of no concern. Yes, this was the path. They would be here soon. Sirocco knelt, careful to not dirty her dress. The fire would surely alert whoever was coming. And even if they didn't come during the night, it didn't matter. All things would happen with time. It was the goddess' plan after all.

Sirocco attempted to lay down on her bed, though the costume's wings continued to get in the way. Not that they could help it. In the image of the goddess, all things were perfect. And if she was going to be meeting the chosen group, then she would have to wear it. She would have to stay up all night anyway. She had trained her body to be prepared for this meeting. She almost felt as if it was set from the day she was born.

[Mercakete]

"I'm a little tired, but it's nothin' some rest won't fix," Gytha replied before asking Gabbie, "Ye think we should bring'im out t' th' others? Some o' them might be hurt, too."

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

As she was investigating, Maw had successfully killed some containers with strong-smelling dust in them. Now the rare spices powdered the ground along with the vodka bottle she'd shattered earlier. She tried a bit of mint and decided she didn't like it so much, used a flourbag to maintenance her claws and was presently staring at a hanging fixture above one of the counters. Oh, she would make that jump. Then she would be in quite possibly the highest position in the room. It had to be accomplished.

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

So, they would be meeting with the military again in half an hour. Thinking about it, there was some things he could do in the meantime, such as checking up on Ranyin and Valter or investigating the basement. That is, if he wasn't recruited for helping the wounded or something like that. And if he didn't have to stable Rizen. So, he simply asked Weyland. "How long are the mounts going to be allowed to wander about the mansion?"

[Rothene]

Leaving Shadrak to heal Chelsea, he had Robin to help support him after all, Mireille went off to check for any of the other group members who were left on the battlefield.

Spotting Ranyin, Mireille shook her head when she heard him mumbling something, then went silent. He did not look awfully hurt at least not as badly as some of the others. putting his light body over her shoulder plates, Mireille wondered as she head over to the estate if she had tread down the path of magic, would she be as frail as him.

[Phoenix]

Amon and Gabbie

"I think any injured should head here ... unless ya really wanna drag'em all over the place loike that." Gabbie replied.

With his wounds healed fully, Amon quickly woke up. He didn't make any quick or sudden movements, however. Instead, he seemed to come to like someone who hadn't gotten enough sleep and groaned. He could see the man who had healed him, Gytha, and Gabbie. "What's going on ...?"

"You got taken down from three different directions. How're ya feelin'? Gabbie answered with a smile offering him a hand up.

"Thank you ..." he said first to Ethan, and then to Gabbie he answered "... I feel like I've lost ... a lot of blood ... and maybe a few years off my lifespan."

"What doesn't kill ya only makes you stronger--and all that crap--now hurry up and pull yourself together. Raquel got taken by those guys and if we don't get after'em soon, who knows where she'll end up."

"Raquel's gone?!"

"Yep ... ... thought you'd be worried about the emblem, though, heheh."

Weyland

"Any wounded your healers can't handle should be taken back to the basement entrance where Gabbie and the seafarer left to. That should help speed things up a bit." he replied to Veronika.

"There won't be a follow up attack, I'm certain. Best to stable them for the time being, but keep in mind, you people might be heading out again, soon." Weyland explained with a bit of a frown. Most would likely be at the point of normally heading off to sleep, but instead they were to prepare for a swift departure. Feeling some sympathy, he also noted. "If any of you aren't used to pulling all-nighters, I may have something to help, but for now I have some other things to check on."