Return of the Emblem Chapter Seven: Reunion

[Acacia Sgt]

''I never said they couldn't be called that.'' Sophia said. ''But that doesn't mean it's actually correct to or not. You may think one or the other, but the truth itself won't change. Even if you don't care, it doesn't mean the issue will just vanish. People on both ends can be so stubborn... well, just look at the war.''

[Mercakete]

"That's what I was just sayin'," Gytha responded to Veronika, glad someone agreed with her. She was surpised to hear the cleric echoing one of her own points, too. "Aye, doesn't change what they are. Exactla what I've been tryin' t' say. N' aye, ye were saying I was callin' it somethin' it wasn't. Realla, don't act like ye weren't." Again, this woman was being annoying. Who was she again? Someone Weyland sent with them, right.

Edited December 19, 2011 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Move'em Out

Raquel opened her eyes to the sight of food and drink. She was either dreaming or Bert was just nice enough to do that one thing for her. She hauled herself up and sat hunched forward. She could feel that her outfit was still soaked and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the back of her head had sand all over it. It almost made her want to jump right back into the water. She just might ... but first, food and water. "Thank you, Bert." she said in a very low voice. Whether he caught it or not, it was time to give her body that much needed energy. She took a drink first, and then began wolfing down the biscuits. She washed them down with another few gulps from her canteen and then sighed in relief.

As Raquel tried to stand up, the weight of her waterlogged cape almost kept her grounded, but she got to her feet and took a look around. The wagon was back on dry land, and the horses were attached to it and seemed ready to go. "H-how long have I been ... err-out of it?" she asked.

"Too long. You people should be ready by now. I'm starting to reconsider going alone ..." Lilith remarked.

"Relax, goddess, we're ready ... sssorta. We've just gotta make sure we don't forget anything or anybody and then we'll be roight behoind ya." Gabbie reassured.

Darksider: Return

"I guess that's fair ... if his information isn't any good then he's not an informant worth keeping around." Cecily chimed in. Well, this is your last chance, 'Darksider' ... did you find him or didn't you ...?

About a half hour later, the man himself appeared in the distance, with his hood down, his face dripping sweat, and his walk as weak as a dying man's. He had come quite a ways on foot. "My horse ... my horse was ... confiscated by the Neviskotians."

"You mean stolen." Cecily corrected.

"Most definitely, yes. Who ... who is she?" he asked, panting heavily. Cecily didn't reply and simply lowered her head and closed her eyes. It was up to him to give her something worth his life she supposed.

"W-what's going on?"

Progress

While Gabbie stalled for time, the others got their themselves ready. Raquel realizing they were running out of time ran out into the water and submerged herself several times to get the sand out of her hair, consequences be damned. She ended up taking her cape off and setting it between her legs in the driver seat. She truly wasn't up for driving through the desert covered in drying salt water, but there didn't seem to be much choice.

Once the group was ready to head out, Gabbie ran over to Ringo and began ripping through the contents of her saddlebags. Eventually she pulled out a large hooded robe of a dull urban color. She quickly put it on and put the hood up. "Vicious tans are not my thing." she said to herself as she reached for her water. She kept it close at hand before taking off. "You know what to look for, Ringo. Foind us a noice breeze and keep up with the others."

Amon thought about getting on top of the wagon, but eyed the vehicle suspiciously. "Hmm." He climbed up to the top and tested the surface with his fingers. As he suspected ... it was scorching hot after being exposed for so long. He sighed. I'd rather be crammed up inside than cooking out here ...." Inside it was, and that was where the Rexian went.

Luca had been testing the terrain for awhile since his rider was off earning the respect and fealty of the other herd members. Every step he took he found his hoof almost completely encased in sand. He took a few leaping gallops to see how that turned out and the results seemed exaggerated. The horse snorted at the sand. It wasn't even ground, was it? It was something else covering the ground that he would have to somehow travel across. Bothersome ....

Moved Out

The party's journey into the desert was a surprisingly peaceful one. Progress was slow, but going so long without any weather hazards rearing their ugly heads was a real blessing. Amon not so secretly wished Lilith would help them out with perhaps a cool breeze or something ... instead of just floating inches off the ground several hundred yards ahead of everyone else. Gabbie and Ringo were soaring hundreds of feet above the party and doing well by comparison. Raquel was too uncomfortable and bored to do anything but daydream.

Around sunset, things were looking up, or at least that's what Raquel's first thought was since the heat was going don dramatically. The air was still hot, but the sun was going away to try and murder someone else. Amon warned the overly happy Raquel that the next trial would be a cold one. It would have been nice to have a fire mage in a few hours. They went as far as they could before the cold began to set in. Once it was dark and only the moonlight lit their surroundings, Lilith decided it was time to call it a day. She floated over to the wagon and landed. The horses immediately began neighing in protest. They were tired, but it was also cold and there was no shelter in sight.

"If possible, you should try to get a fire going." Lilith advised. "That or shield yourselves from the windchill."

"We don't have any wood or other stuff to burn, do we?" Raquel asked those nearby.

Gabbie landed close by and closed up her robe to keep warm. Ringo lied down. "Well this is annoyin', out of the fryin' pan and into the freezer. Do we have anything we can burn?" she asked, echoing Raquel somewhat.

Amon emerged from the wagon and his coat was buttoned up tight. "Lilith, how close are we?"

"From where we started? Oh about a third of the way, I'd say. I was hoping to get halfway, but not all of the animals can handle that, it seems." she answered.

[Mercakete]

Ow... Ow... Ow... I hate the desert. It needs to die...somehow... Norbert mentally complained. Though he'd been riding on Rizen and keeping a close watch on Phyllis, the day had still been too gosh dang hot. His head still felt like it was trying to get rid of excess heat -- his face and neck in particular. The cold was a welcome relief for the man from the northernmost reaches of Ursium -- and he imagined it was for Rizen, too -- and he figured the equines could huddle together to keep warm if they were cold. He was also only beginning to realize that his neck and face were sunburnt...somewhat badly. Not being used to such exposure to the sun, his skin burnt easily in the sun's rays. He hadn't been expecting it, though, for some reason. Blast it! There's no snow for the sun to reflect off of! I guess it doesn't need to reflect off of anything when I'm right in it, though, darn it. Oww my skin hurts... It was at this moment when he was most thankful that most of his skin was covered. Wish someone had told me this would happen... Ow...

Gytha wasn't happy with riding in the wagon, but the top was just too hot. Instead of sitting on a hot pan, though, she was in the crowded, sweltering wagon. When they stopped, she hopped out as quickly as she could, thankful for the breathing space again and for the cooler temperature, even if it was a bit chilly.

[-Cynthia-]

Layla

"I guess it will be a long walk back then...if you end up getting back. I'm Layla, the one in charge of this mission. Now that we're finished with introductions, you can tell me where the prototype is. He and I have...business to attend to and I'd rather attend to it before he leaves town," she said, taking out one of her knives and twirling it idly.

Feel the Heat

"Well the wagon is partially made of wood, but I don't think ripping off pieces of it is a very good idea," Veronika noted unsure of what to do. She wasn't dressed for the weather, that was for certain.

"Can't bird lady just wave her arms and magically make us a fire? I'd know how to make one myself in a place with grass or trees, but I'm not used to livin' in a desert," Nadya remarked.

"Once we get wood or something, I can use my blowtorch I use for transmutations to start a fire. That'll be faster than trying to use a flint and tinder anyway," Connor chipped in.

[Snowy_One]

"Do not get used to it. Having a magic bird lady free us will not always happen. As for starting a fire, do you have any kindling Conner? You need some or it will be hard getting the fire to catch."

[Acacia Sgt]

Did she not understood what I said? ''I'm not denying that part.'' Sophia answered. ''I meant that I never said that you couldn't call it one way or the other, regardless if it were right or wrong, since as she said, you are free to do it. You mixed up the two statements.'' The argument, however, came to a halt it seems, as it was finally time to get going.

Hopefully the whole thing will just end here. She thought heading over to the wagon.

-----

''Heh, looks like she finally got to know Gytha, eh Gil?'' John laughed, the wyvern just grunted. <Well then, I guess it's time to go.> He now took his attention to his bags and began searching through them.

<Up high the sun would be the only problem I guess. Never thought I'd actually use it again. Where was it...? Ah, here it is.> He withdrew his arm from one of the bags, a feathered hat emerging from within. <Better than using my helmet, that's for sure.> He proceeded to mount back on Gil. ''Let's go.'' And so they went, ready to follow the wyvern from up high.

-----

Nightfall had come, and so the temperature had pulled a 180. Once the wagon moved no more, John, having switched from the hat to a coat, had ordered Gil to land nearby. Sophia had likewise exited the wagon. It seemed there was the issue of making a campfire.

<Wood huh?> John thought. <Too bad it doesn't look like there's a oasis nearby. We could chop down a palm tree for wood or something.>

Edited December 19, 2011 by Acacia Sgt

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"No, we don't keep wood on hand really. The only source of wood I can think of that isn't the wagon itself are the wooden shields Raquel has in stock, but I'm not sure how she would feel about us burning her merchandise," he replied to Robin, shivering a bit.

[Snowy_One]

"I never thought we would be this far south. Otherwise I would have insisted on firewood. But Connor, let me tell you something. You do not want to use a magic fireball to start a flame. Only a little will catch and the fire will not get a chance to breath and grow. You like food, but would you like a steak the size of a man suddenly dropped on you?" she said, trying to teach him a bit about campfires as she crossed her arms over her chest, starting to shiver. The desert outside was getting cold, who would have thought, and even simply talking about fire made Robin feel better.

"I should know. I have had to make them for hunts for many years now."

[Psych]

Sirocco rubbed her arms. Winds were beginning to pick up, and her dress was sleeveless. They were have to find shelter soon. "As long as we all huddle together in the carriage and tarp off the open sections, we should be fine. We'll just have to take before it gets to hot or risk being baked alive. Someone should keep watch. I can offer to take a shift, though I may pass out again like before. I'm a bit worried for our safeties with what I saw."

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"What did ya see? Like a pack of wolves in the distance or somethin'?" Nadya asked Sirocco, squinting her eyes as she looked over the horizon.

Connor

"I'm also not a pile of wood, which we don't have at the moment by the way. If you know so much about making fires, maybe you should try making one," he responded to Robin, somewhat irritated.

[Snowy_One]

Robin looked down in slight dismay as her mind milled about. How to start a fire without wood? That was difficult to say the least. Wood was the most obvious supply to be sure, but was it the only? She closed her eyes, thinking. "Do we have any cloth we can live without? Or oil?"

[Psych]

Sirocco closed her eyes to focus. "It..wasn't very clear. My visions never are. But there was something special about this one. Usually my visions only show me one scene, but this one was different." Sirocco opened her eyes and stared directly at Nayda. "For the first one, I was flying in my costume, as if I really had wings. I flew above the desert, and into this town. I landed on a castle, and saw a woman. I have a feeling that was the woman in charge of Sanctuary, but I am not sure as I have never seen a picture of her." Sirocco paced back and forth, contemplating what to do.

"My next vision...was strange. Besides the shock of receiving two messages at once, this one seemed to take place in the future, as if it could really happen. The others usually are just signs and symbols, like my flying one. We will likely meet the woman of Sanctuary, and she may have a message for me, or something like that. But this one, it was like a battle. We were high in the clouds, on top of a mountain. There was a huge nest, with eggs inside of it, and a gigantic dragon was fighting us. It breathed fire and slapped people with it's tail. It was easily thirty feet tall. Probably larger. There seemed to be Fallen Soldiers with us though. They were fighting the dragon with us, and they were wearing armor and fighting with lances. But then Robin...She got sideswiped from behind by the creature's tail. She flew off the mountain and beneath the clouds. I couldn't see the bottom or hear her hit anything, but..."

Sirocco lowered her head and looked solemn. "I'm worried that we may fight some creature like this. Or something similar. Robin would do best to avoid a creature like that."

[Phoenix]

The Dunes

When Nadya asked if Lilith could start a fire, Lilith gave the woman an unamused stare, somewhat disguised by the darkness. "I promised to get you to civilization alive. Until you're in danger of having another casualty, I think I'll stay my hands. This isn't helping my opinion of Raquel as a guardian, mind you."

"We got warped to the desert, by you, remember? When else is something like this going to happen? How else, even?" Raquel chimed in, shifting the blame to Lilith.

"That was not a warp, and I already accepted responsibility for it. My only obligations are to bring you safely to Sanctuary. These little 'favors' are just that, favors. Do not try to take advantage of my pity, little girl ... or you'll lose it. Unless someone is about to freeze to death, figure it out yourselves." Lilith shot back.

So the suggestions came, the only viable one coming from Connor regarding the wooden shields, but they weren't proper firewood and would likely require a bit of effort to use. When Robin suggested burning cloth, Gabbie couldn't resist, and had just about given up anyway. Walking over with a silly stroll she said "Oh yes, let's start burning our clothes and dance half naked around the bonfire whilst Lilith hangs her useless head in shame. Barring that, we could burn our beds and sleep as the steeds do. What a wonderful prospect~ FOR CRYING OUT LOAD!!! LILITH, JUST MAKE A DAMN FOIRE, ALREADY!!!"

Lilith raised an eyebrow. "I don't even use anima magic." She crossed her arms.

"UUUUGH!!! So you CAN'T do it?!"

"I'm sure there is a round about way to do it, but I'd rather wait until you actually need my help."

"How about this ... favor ... for a favor. What do you want?"

"For Wrath to give up on his plans if he hasn't already."

"... shit."

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

Nadya cocked an eye at Sirocco as she spoke. "Yeah, I'd stay away from dragons if I were Robin too, that'd kill her pretty quickly. Still, I don't think dragons and Fallen are our biggest concern right now. Ya might want to get some rest or somethin'" she suggested to Sirocco lamely. Sometimes the elders talked about seers sometimes...is this girl for real or just a loon? I guess if her predictions start comin' true we'll see.

[Snowy_One]

"That was uncalled for Gabbie." said Robin with a royally PO'ed look on her face at the open-handed insult. "At least I am trying to figure out some way for us to have a fire tonight. If you do not have any ideas or suggestions than please keep quiet."

[Phoenix]

Doomed On the Dunes

"You see that, Robin? You're still standin', but only because ya said 'please'. I say what I want and to who. That's my style. If ya don't loike it, too bad. Here's a suggestion, go into the wagon, grab a grenade, and fuckin' sit on it. Boom, fire." Gabbie replied.

Too bad we can't use the grenades to actually start a fire ... well ... not without blowing ourselves up, anyway. Amon thought.

[Acacia Sgt]

<Hmm, on second thought,> John thought. <It may be worth checking just in case. If there really is an oasis nearby it would be really for the better.> ''Come Gil, let's go for some scouting.'' He said. A grunt was the reply. ''I know you may be tired, but this will not take long.'' Another grunt. John then mounted. ''Let's just give a try, shall we? You can rest all you want afterwards.'' A third grunt, but this time the wyvern took off flight again.

<Now the only problem aside from not finding an oasis could be getting lost.> He shook his head. <It better not come to it.>

[Mercakete]

Meanwhile, Gytha had climbed up onto the Dauntless' roof and curled up. It was still warm from the day's travel and so she could at least nap up there. Maw had apparently had the same idea seeing as she, too, was curled up atop the wagon, enjoying the coolness on her fur after the day's heat.

"We have more to worry about than just warmth. Do we have any food or water for the mounts? If they're going to continue this travel, they're going to need to stay fed and hydrated," Norbert brought up. We should all eat soon, too. Everyone's probably hungry and thirsty. "While we're at it, if we have some way to cure burns," he indicated his face at this point, "I'd like to benefit from it." John took off at that time. Maybe he was looking for some resources. Well, at least someone had the sense to actually do something about their problems.

Edit: Thoughts =/= spoken words. Sorry about that.

Edited December 19, 2011 by Mercakete

[-Cynthia-]

Surviving

"Healin' staves cure burn wounds from fire, not from the sun," Nadya said to Bert. "Best thing I can think to fix that is puttin' some ice on your face, but other that you should just wait for it to go away," she said shrugging.

"There's some water and rations in the wagon...not much though. We'll probably need to stock up tomorrow at the latest. If there aren't any settlements in between here and Sanctuary we'll just have to try and get there tomorrow," Veronika said.

[Mercakete]

"It was worth a try," he sighed to himself, hearing that he'd just have to wait for the burns to heal naturally. All this sun isn't good for me. Maybe it's because the Rexains have darker skin that they can handle it. "What sort of rations do we have? Anything horses, pegasi or wyverns can eat? If we don't, we're better off saving those for ourselves and trying to find some sort of wild grass somewhere or something. And some form of meat for the wyverns, I guess."

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"I think we should save the rations for ourselves, they wouldn't feed a horse or a wyvern very much anyway," she said to Bert. "Maybe John will find something useful, though I'm not sure if going alone is very safe," she said, frowning a bit.

Connor

"Uh, yeah I wouldn't use grenades to try and make a fire, that'd be pretty dangerous. Anyway, if no one's making a fire I'll just go inside the wagon, it's at least a little insulated from the wind," he said, going inside.

Nadya

At the talk of food supplies running low, Nadya unobtrusively walked over to Luca and stuck an apple in his mouth. Better unload now in case people start scrappin' over food later.

[Phoenix]

The Cold Camp

Luca enjoyed his just reward while Sandrock and Riley whinnied for attention. They couldn't say it themselves but a few jerks and tugs was a tell tale sign that they wanted to be unhooked from the wagon. Raquel came to the front of the wagon to investigate. "Are you two okay? Here, I'll undo you." She quickly got to it, and as soon as Riley was free, he wandered over toward the other mounts. "What are you two lonely? I thought that's why you had each other ..." she muttered as she continued. Once Sandrock was free, she wandered off after Riley. Their intent became clear when they lied down beside each other. "Oh, I guess it is hard to do that while all tacked up. Sorry ...."

"Sooo if it took us half a day to make it a third of the way to Sanctuary ... it'll probably take us another day if we keep our current pace. That's not too bad but it's cuttin' it a little close." Gabbie assessed. "Also the animals could get fatigued by then and then we lose toime."

Wanderers

A couple of miles away and approaching unawares from the south, was a small group of five mounted travelers. One was a woman, the rest were men. Two of the mounts were camels, and the rest were horses. All five steeds were heavily burdened with supplies and their own riders. The one leading the group along with the first rider behind him were in the middle of a conversation, and the latter was hidden behind a map he was looking at.

<"We are lost, I tell you. Not only that, but we are getting very close to the edges of the desert. Those mountains to the north and northwest, they lead to the lands up north; they lead to Kigen. This can't be the right way."> the map reader warned.

<"Remember, no one simply finds the Sanctuary. It is a place that requires both skill and good fortune.">

<"You say that as if the place is a myth. Everyone knows it's real. The only thing that keeps anyone from reaching it is the goddess herself. If we were getting close, you would think a sandstorm would appear to blind us. We must be dozens of miles off track.">

<"The unnatural storms do occur in this region, yes? Then we have good fortune and only need to continue our search. We have charted much of the land, and we are getting close. There are only certain places where this Sanctuary could be for crying out loud. Even if we reach the end of the Rexian desert, we'll be that much closer to finding it ... then we can breathe easy."> he said looking back to the other three travelers. <"We can all breathe easy. Let's ... keep moving. Just a little while longer. Then we'll set up camp.">

[Acacia Sgt]

The landscape beyond didn't showed signs of, well, anything else. It was just sand everywhere. <I guess there really are no oasis's nearby.> John thought. <At least in this area.> ''No luck here Gil, let's search elsewhere.'' He said. The wyvern grunted before turning and heading over in that direction.

<Maybe this is too far way.> The landscape was pretty much the same over here as well. <Fortunately I know my way back to the others... I think.> And so they kept flying around. <Nothing here either, maybe this will turn out to be a fruitless search after all.> However, there was a slight change of plans.

Hm? There seemed to be some dark dots in the distance. <Could there be something...?> ''Go in that direction Gil!'' He said while pointing at the dark dots. The wyvern complied, and soon where on their way there.

[Phoenix]

Wanderers

<"... do you hear that?"> the man with the map asked the rider up front, lowering his map to look at him directly.

<"I do."> he replied simply, looking up at the moon. <"There! In the sky! Tamina, send a flare!"> The woman nodded and took out a thunder tome. It wasn't long before she cast a spell, sending a bolt of lightning across the ground. <"It's always good to find others out here in this wilderness. Perhaps this one is from the Sanctuary, as well.">

<"The chances of that are slim at best."> the mapper pointed out.

<"We shall see.">