Return of the Emblem Chapter Seven: Reunion

[ReformBlade]

"ALL OF TH" She started quite loudly and then stopped, her brain having yet another complex complication cooking up. Is it necessary at this point in time? I suppose it's fairly childish, and to be extremely honest with myself it's just a pain to maintain and the only person who seemed to take any interest in it was Ranyin, and vomited right in my face.... Thinking about that incident and the taste almost made her visibly gag but she composed herself after a quick yet troublesome moment of thought. "Ahem... I uh apologize for that. But now I have another question for ya if you'd be so kind. I'd like your opinion! Do you think I'd look better with red or with orange?" An outside and opinion always helps from time to time, right?

[GoD]

Chelsea bathed quite nicely, though she had some difficulty due to spasms in her body, randomly falling and dropping objects.

Then she decided to eat. That went just as bad. The spasms she was having made it difficult to eat correctly.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

Hmm so maybe comin' here was some kinda blessin' in disguise... "Dragons are probably just protectin' their treasure. I've heard stories about dragons hoardin' piles of gold, gems, ancient treasures...of course they can't use any of it. Damn greedy lizards," Nadya said lightheartedly.

Edited January 28, 2012 by -Cynthia-

[Phoenix]

Some Guy

"Well Miss, if your natural hair color isn't what you would prefer, perhaps a color that goes with your beautiful eyes would look best. Orange would probably look better than red, but perhaps another color would go with your eyes." he explained.

Haythem

"Hahah, protecting treasure? What do they think we're going to steal it from them? Well ... maybe the outsiders ..." Haythem paused to think about it. He wasn't exactly sure where outsiders went or what they did besides trading and trying to find Sanctuary. He admitted to himself that it was a pretty limited view of that region of the world.

[ReformBlade]

Aneda couldn't help but feel the slightest bit flattered by the man, but she wrote it off as a gesture of kindness and nothing more (Like a sensible person). "Something that goes with my eyes huh...? Are you suggesting, like, a green or... something? I'd be up for that, if you've got a nice bright one!"

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"People from Sanctuary don't ever steal things from others?" Nadya asked Haythem dubiously. "I guess if Aisha went around blastin' any thieves to pieces that would be quite a deterrent," she admitted.

[Phoenix]

Haythem

"Most 'theft' takes place in local politics. It's not very difficult to catch regular criminals in a city like this, and they usually turn out to be pretty young. We don't deal with regular crime regularly, though. Maintaining a large prison population would hurt our economy pretty badly, so what we do instead is put the light offenders through boot camp ... trust me, it's a lot worse than rotting in a dungeon. And for the bigger crimes, people could face anything from rehabilitation to outright execution. For example, trying to have your way with a maiden against her will would have you getting rehabilitated. Causing anything more than a minor injury will get you killed, heheh. People used to get the death sentence for sexual assault too, but apparently some of the maidens didn't see it as an irredeemable crime and tried to get the laws amended." Haythem explained. "But there's not as much incentive for petty crimes here as there are in other places. Lady Aisha doesn't let people live in the city unsheltered or without work. She doesn't care what it is, but everyone works, and everyone eats. The maidens also try to keep things stable by addressing little domestic issues in the city and low quarters whenever they come up. It's not perfect, but we're on the right track, I think."

Rexian

"A shade of green might work ... n-nothing too dark, though." he replied. "Shall I go and inform them about the dyes, then?"

Meeting's Conclusion

"Lulu, you can pick the men for this mission. I'll continue my discussion with Lilith and Raquel. Amon ..."

"Y-yes?"

"Be careful out there."

"Yes, your highness!" Amon said with a swift and stiff bow. He then hastily left the chamber with Lulu, leaving Raquel in a room with two vasili and her own worries.

Once the chamber doors closed again, Aisha focused her attention on the two of them. "Raquel. since it is indeed your fire emblem I seek, I'll make you an offer that I believe is fair."

"An offer?" Raquel echoed.

"Yes. You look like someone who is being slowly cheated out of what is rightfully yours, but that doesn't have to be the case. If you'll share your emblem with me, I'll allow Amon to continue traveling with your group."

"Uh, wait ... Amon can't come with us unless I do that?" Raquel's expression quickly became hostile. "That's not an offer, it's blackmail!"

"On the contrary. You must have been under the impression that Amon was actually a permanent member of your group. That isn't true. Amon accomplished his mission upon his return. I sent him out there to bring me a piece of the fire emblem, and he did. Amon and by extension I, have no obligations to your group whatsoever. He was going to remain here no matter what you people decided to do. I'm merely giving you a chance to convince me otherwise."

"It's your decision, Raquel, but perhaps you should speak with the others before making a decision." Lilith suggested in an unusually docile tone.

"I wouldn't have you make this decision on the spot. You have other places to be, I'm sure. But take your time, make your decision before you leave Sanctuary."

"... Aisha ... did you send Amon away on that mission on purpose, just now?" Lilith asked, reverting to her regular standoffish tone in an instant.

"Amon is an excellent choice for the mission, and if all goes well, he should return by noon tomorrow. I won't argue that it is not convenient to have him away. Especially when Raquel or her companions could try to persuade him to come to me on the matter and request to go with them regardless of Raquel does." Aisha explained.

"So it's not even his decision ..."

"I won't force Amon to go with them, but I see no reason to send one of my own people with you without a good reason."

... great. Now what do I do ...? Raquel thought to herself, examining the gemstone on her cape. I guess I should think it over some more tomorrow ... it's a bit sudden to make a decision on right now, and Amon just got sent off to ...

"Lilith, since the negotiations are dependent on Raquel's decision, so is my support. After all, you haven't offered anything to persuade me to your cause, either. You already know why I won't be of much assistance without the fire emblem, so I suggest you two talk it over."

"Aisha ... I don't want your help. I never did. There are just things in this world more important than what I want. I came to you because I was hoping you would feel the same way. This issue is between you and Raquel now, and I honestly want no part in it." Lilith replied, turning to leave. Raquel immediately began reaching out for the fleeting vasilus. She wanted Lilith's advice since she was the only one left nearby that she was familiar with. After glancing back at Aisha, it seemed that she was free to leave, so she quickly walked after Lilith as the chamber doors opened again.

[ReformBlade]

"That'd be wonderful! Yes, please do that~!" She continued to smile and stare at the man, simply wondering how long it'd take to get it all done with. And after this I can go bother Ranyin or something. Or maybe someone else? Who knows...

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"So if I picked your pocket, I'd get a job? That sounds like a pretty easy system on the criminals. I'd usually expect getting my hands hacked off as a form of rehabilitation...what this 'boot camp' like? Is it like joinin' the army, would ya make me do push-ups and jump barrels and stuff?" she asked Haythem, teasingly punching him in the shoulder lightly.

[Acacia Sgt]

<It's certainly worrisome as well though.> John kept thinking, switching back to staring at the ceiling. <Not just that Organization, but the Wrathites as well. They'll go after us for the emblem piece at any chance they may have. Not to mention, what Lilith said, looks like we have something big coming once the year's over.> His face formed a smirk. <Heh, makes me wonder where I'd be if I hadn't decided to leave. Very probable still no better than I was almost 5 years ago and definitely missing out on all this.> He then frowned, but then shook his head. <I guess curiosity at times manages to get the best of everyone.>

[Phoenix]

Dyes Dyes Dyes

"Very well then. Please wait, here. I'll return shortly." the rexian instructed before briskly walking off.

Haythem

"Well you're a woman, so no boot camp for you. Instead, you get stuck with two or three guards watching your every move while you help work the farms. A lot of the 'softer' criminals get saddled with working the farms. It's essential, and it is by far one of the most boring jobs a sane person can have." Haythem explained. "Don't risk it, Nadya, please ..." he pleaded playfully. "Hmm ... that's not the only lousy job in the city. There are also people who have to go down into the sewers for maintenance. Thaaaat's not even a job I feel comfortable joking about. Oh right, and there's one last thing the government might do to someone if they're just 'impossible'. Exile. It's not pretty but it's better than execution, I guess. Since you're not even a citizen yyyyet(?) ... you'd probably just get kicked out. So if you need money for something, just ask. No need to pick any pockets.~" Did he really mean that? Who knew?

Return of the Rexian (lol Rotr->Rotor)

True to his word, the rexian returned inside of five minutes along with several others, including a maiden in red clothing. The red maiden waved hello to Aneda on arrival and had the two servants present about nineteen different large vials, each containing different colors of hair dye, but they were all a shade of green.

"Hello, my name is Rasha. I was informed that you wanted to use some of our dyes."

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"That doesn't sound very efficient, you'd probably get more potatoes from havin' those guards work than watchin' me do it. Though I guess the point would be to work me until I learned how not to steal."

She smiled a little at his next comment. "That's a nice offer Haythem, but I doubt you make enough gold to give me what I'm lookin' for. That's part of why I'm with Raquel and crew- tryin' to make enough big payoffs to get what I want. Workin' with them has gotten me more in a few weeks than I had made in a few months, so stickin' with them seems the way to go for now," she said, shrugging.

Veronika

After finishing her meal, nothing dramatic seemed to be happening in the dining room, so Veronika returned back to Raquel's room and unceremoniously tossed Chip the banana. She noticed the room had not yet been disturbed. Still missing...maybe I shouldn't have let her go alone. Amon's there, but he does work for Aisha...not sure what I could do to stop her if she wanted to take the emblem, but I should at least look. she decided, walking through the palace towards where she had seen Raquel exit for her 'meeting', attempting not to look suspicious.

[ReformBlade]

"Oh my..." Eyes lit up like a child's on a birthday, Aneda eyed the selection while responding. "I did ask, and thanks... but I'm still kinda baffled you've got so many! The places I looked, er... could afford, they didn't have nearly this good a selection! Oh wow..." She began touching each one gently, almost as if she had to see if they were really real or not. Of course, her wonder and awe had to be cut short as she didn't want to be wasting more of their valuable time, so she quickly tossed a coin in her mind... "This one should do, don't you think?" Aneda asked, picking up a vial that was emerald in color.

[Phoenix]

Haythem

"My pay is pretty generous ..." Haythem said with a sad face, though the tone of his voice made it almost certain he was only pretending to be sad. This was further evidenced by his immediate calm afterward. "So what are you looking for that requires so much gold? Are you trying to buy a whole island or something?"

Chip

With the banana left for him, Chip decided to get what moisture he could out of it and began clawing at the banana to peel it open. Not having proper experience with the large fruits, he opened it up from the middle after applying some professional fruit killing techniques. It wasn't the moistest thing around, but it would certainly do for now. He ate like a glutton.

Rasha

"It looks pretty in the vial, but it may show up a bit brighter on your hair." Rasha pointed out. Are you hoping for this exact color? It may take a bit of doing but I'm sure I can help you get it just right."

Allies

Raquel caught up to Lilith as the chamber doors shut. Raquel flinched at the loud sound, and then spoke up. "Lilith?"

"What is it?" the vasilus replied, keeping her quick pace but sparing the girl a glance.

"What do you think I should do?"

"I think you should examine the situation carefully and try to reach a decision that will better aid you in the long run. Some may look at this and feel that there's no decision to make, really. Giving Aisha part of your emblem will help her, and it will slow down this energy dump the fire emblem seems to be using you for. You also get to keep your Rexian, though I don't trust people like him." Lilith explained.

"You don't trust him? Why? He never did anything wrong."

"Only because he follows a relatively reasonable woman around on a leash. I'm not saying he isn't worth having with you, only that his true loyalties lie elsewhere, and if your goals should ever conflict ... well then you have a new problem to deal with, and you can only pray this conflict doesn't turn a close ally into a bitter enemy."

"You make it sound like we'd have to fight him. I seriously doubt that would ever happen."

"I doubted a lot of things too when I came back to the earth ..."

OoC:

I've got more to put into the Raquel+Lilith thing but I'll do it tomorrow.

[ReformBlade]

"Hmmm... Yeah, this exact color would be nice! But you don't have to help me, not if it's going to be too much trouble. Oh!" She squeaked out, almost forgetting one important thing, "Is this going to cost anything? I don't want to commit and then be in some serious debt without knowing it! I'm sorry with all the questions and the hassle, really... I suppose I'm just too curious what with all the luxury I've come across in these past few hours."

[roymbrog]

“Yeah...” Valter mumbled as they arrived at the room. It would be interesting to see how well off the common person was here. As he opened the door he remembered something probably relevant. Earlier, he had chosen a single room. They should probably move. "Hmm. I'll check and see if there are any double rooms in this hall," he said, heading back out.

-----

The food was delicious. Synthia focused on eating, rather than the self-righteous archer who decided to argue with Gytha again.

Edited January 30, 2012 by roymbrog

[Snowy_One]

Robin sat up from her spot in her room. Nadya wasn't back yet. Normally this would not be a cause for anything. After all, even if she was a socially-desiring woman, not having someone around her at all times was hardly a cause for concern, especially at dinnertime. Robin was used to being alone anyways, but still... Sitting around in a room with little more to do than hum was boring! She wasn't sure what was going on with the rest of the group, but getting up and actually doing something would be better. At the least she wanted to go out and try to see what the city was like. Quietly she got her bow and arrow before calmly leaving her room, looking for a guard, or anyone, for directions on how to leave and what the city was like.

[-Cynthia-]

I guess I haven't told anyone this yet, but he seems like a pretty nice guy. Couldn't hurt. Nadya thought to herself before responding. "Not too far off actually, I'm savin' up to buy enough land for my clan to live on. Somethin' nice we can farm on, not livin' off whatever desolate scraps Kigen gives us. We really haven't had a land to call our own since we left Rex-Avaz- and I think it's high time we get some. Problem is, good land ain't cheap," she said with a shrug.

[Phoenix]

Rasha

"Oh it wouldn't be any trouble at all." Rasha assured Aneda before the issue of price came up. A simple smile was her initial response. "Not really. The only expense for this is time and effort."

Haythem

"It sounds like you're trying to found a whole country. That's a huge goal!" Haythem exclaimed, picturing more of a seventh nation than claimed territory. "So are you going to be the queen by any chance?" he inquired.

Haythem Seeking Missile

A lone messenger spotted Isis from one of the rooftops, and not a moment too soon, as it would soon be too dark to spot anything in the air that wasn't being revealed by contrasting with the clouds(of which there were none nearby). The messenger stood on the rooftop for a few moments trying to decide how to get the rider's attention. Eventually they settled for sending up a flare. Revealing a tome, the messenger began waving his hand around in circles and flames began to appear forming a spinning ring of fire. <"You had better spot this, Haythem!"> Finally he thrust his arm out toward the distance wyvern and the flames rushed up into the sky. Isis hissed at the oncoming flames and swatted the flames with her tail instead of letting them pass. The small fire streak dispersed on contact.

<"Huh?"> Haythem looked down toward the building the fire magic had come from and sighed. <"Oh what's the big idea? Urgh.">

[Mercakete]

After they were done eating, Synthia and Gytha went back to their room to rest. It was dark out now so the sconces in their room were lit. Maw was waiting for them there, curled up on Gytha's bed. She'd already eaten her fill (around half of the cut of meat she'd found in the kitchen) and drank a satisfying amount of water and no one was the wiser. Happily, the mariner plopped down on her bed, rudely awakening Maw who jumped off the bed and glared at the oblivious culpret. Gytha was fairly content. "So, Synthia... What d'ye want t' do tomorrow? I, meself, am goin' t' look around th' palace n' see if I can find Amon," she asked from where she lay flopped onto her bed.

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

"You don't have to, you know. I could just sleep on the floor tonight. That way we'll both be asleep faster without staying up to look for an empty, two-bed room," Norbert replied with a shrug, "I don't mind."

[ReformBlade]

"You're sure?" Aneda cocked her head slightly, not quite sure how to respond. She wasn't used to such generosity. "Well... If you really wanna do this for me I won't refuse!" and hopefully this won't come back to bite me in the butt later... Oh well. I should take life in stride and not try to analyze every step before I take it. Damn I'm cool!

[roymbrog]

Synthia stretched out on her bed, glad to be sleeping inside tonight. It was a nice change after the last few days. “I dunno,” she replied, yawning. “I guess, if they let us, I might go see what the rest of the city is like. We didn’t see too much of it on our way in.”

-----

Uh, no. His friend wasn’t going to sleep on the floor when there were perfectly good beds around. A few minutes extra sleep wasn’t worth it. “Don’t worry, it won’t take long,” he said and closed the door. True to his word, it didn’t. He was back within five minutes having found a vacant room just down the hall. He reentered the room and slung his bag over his shoulder. “I found one just a few doors down.”

[Mercakete]

Gytha shifted herself and the covers around until she was under them. "Well, t'morrow'll be fun. G'night, Synthia." With that, she blew out the sconces near her bed and curled up in the comfy bed.

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

Well, there was no arguing. Just Valter's expression when he suggested sleeping on the floor told the pegasus rider that much. The horseman found a room quick enough anyway and so gathered his things and began heading for it. Norbert had already picked up his own belongings again and so followed along to the new room. Once there, he basicly set his things by one of the beds and laid down in the bed he'd claimed. It was very comfortable, which was something Norbert's body wasn't prepared for, coercing him quickly into slumber. He barely managed to say "See you tomorow...Valter...." before he was already asleep, felling deeper and deeper into subconciousness by the moment.

[roymbrog]

“Good night,” the mage replied. However, she did stay up a short while longer reading her tome before blowing out her own candle and falling asleep. The bed was so comfy, like a marshmallow...

-----

Thankfully, the pegasus rider complied without any further excuses and they were in their new room. As soon as Bert lay down he was out like a light. Valter took longer to fall asleep, but soon the stress of the day caught up with him and he was dozing as well.

[Acacia Sgt]

Sophia suddenly stopped. Wait, she thought. I don't think I know which room we're staying at. She realized. Well, that is definitely a problem. Well, I can try to find her or just choose my own room. And then the walking resumed.

-----

John yawned. <Well, I guess the time to call it a day is near.> He thought. He rose from the bed and took a sitting position. <We'll see what awaits us tomorrow. But for now...> He looked over at the room. <Heh, this certainly can't be compared to what we may have once we're on the road back to Ursium. Got to take the opportunity while it lasts I guess.>