Return of the Emblem Chapter Eight: Affairs of the World

[Phoenix]

Greetings

"Meh, if we don't kill'em all, they moight just head up north and reinforce the rest." Gabbie replied to Nadya, leaving Omar for the more timely vultures.

Meanwhile Robin approached the gathering that appeared to be forming around Raquel and apologized the apparent poor performance. Norbert and another mounted person weren't far behind. "It was good enough, Robin. We're a little under powered right now, so everyone had to fight harder than usual. If the enemy hadn't retreated when they did, we could have really been in for it." she replied.

It seemed her initial suspicion was right, and Bert was escorting someone over to meet with her. Had she helped out during the battle? Yes, Bert confirmed it. "Hi, Faatina. I'm Raquel Valcyn. It's nice to meet you ... though I was kind of hoping I wasn't that famous already." Well no wonder we got attacked. Darn it, they knew about us as soon as we got here. It's been a whole day so for all we know they've sent word back to the others about us. Craaaaaap. What if they harass us constantly all the way back to Ursium?

[Mercakete]

Well, the sun was setting. There were no cannons, ships or pirates.... Memories of the battle returned to her: defending Raquel, trying to knock away a grenade, a flash, pain... She looked around. It looked like the fight had just recently ended. Bodies were strewn about and Raquel's crew was picking themselves up and those with staffs were healing. It was easy to pick out people: Raquel looked busy, talking to some people. For a moment, Gytha's eyes scanned the area, at first perplexed, then worried, before a memory struck her. Right... He's not around anymore. Amon and Synthia were the first people Gytha usually woke up to in a situation like this. But Synthia had apparently been feeling under the weather, and so she'd remained in the wagon this fight. Whoever healed her had done her work (they had no male healers) and that was that.

Again, she looked over to Raquel. She's th' captain, so a'course she's busy with other things. Gytha imagined what might've happened if Amon and Synthia had been available. First, the first thing she'd see when she woke up would be Synthia withdrawing her heal staff and Amon standing by worriedly. "Gytha, are you alright?" "Aye, I'm fine; don't worry about me, heharr." "Why do you always get in the way of those attacks? You could've been killed!" "Nah, it's fine. See? I'm a'right! How about ye, Synthia? Amon?" "I'm fine." "Me too, but you two are going to get yourselves killed one day." "Hahaharr! No, we'll be fine! We have each other after all!" "Heh. I guess so." As she imagined it, Gytha couldn't help but smile. In 'er own way, Synthia cares about us. N' Amon's just downright reliable. I'm so lucky t' have such good friends.

Gytha turned her gaze back towards Sanctuary. Don't worry about 'im, Gytha. Ye tested Haythem yerself, aye? Amon'll be fine. N' Synthia'll get o'er her illness eventualla. Just worry about watchin' Raquel fer now. She needs it, after all. Ye'll be fine.

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

The bandits were surrendering and so Cecelia left the remainder of them to her unit while she went to report to Colonel Langley. "The bandits are all either dead, being arrested or being pursued by Lieutenant Colonel Miguel, his foot soldiers and a few of my pegasus knights," she reported to her superior.

Edited March 17, 2012 by Mercakete

[Acacia Sgt]

John noticed the group was starting to gather. Once he was healed, he told Gil to wait there, and walked over. Sophia meanwhile kept to her wandering around and healing.

Reaching them, they seemed to be talking about regarding their assailants.

<Hm, she's right.> He thought. <We only defeated like half of them, who knows how many of them are in this desert. Next time it could be worse.>

[Ether]

"No such luck, Ms. Valcyn, you and your entourage were the talk of Sanctuary, doubt that's changed just yet." Faatina replied with a smirk.

"But, I may as well get right to the point. I've wanted to leave Sanctuary so long as I can remember, see the world, and be allowed to feel the thrills of the battlefield. When I heard about you guys, I knew it was my best shot, my only shot to get out of Sanctuary... braving the desert alone would have been suicide. I guess to put it simply, I'm asking if I could tag along with this crusade of yours."

[Snike]

Almost moments after he paused, Blake began to feel better, and time seemed to have slowed down a bit once again. A quick turn of the head showed that Raquel had purged the poison from his system. Thank Mercy for that, as he felt like was about to fall over otherwise.Time to play bodyguard, a position he really hadn't had the freedom to act as earlier on in the fight. Luckily, there were no attackers to deal with, and so, all the swordsman did was watch one more fighter fall, along with the Rexian horsewoman - again. She was quite reckless, it seemed - before the Rexians fled. The merchant group had won, but as he looked around while wiping the blood from his longsword, well over half of the swordsman's allies were injured or unconscious. In reality, they had been lucky. As the healers spread out and began to fix everyone else up, Raquel went and thanked Blake for actually fighting, and complimented him for being a 'good' fighter. That didn't sound right. He only finished enemies off, and even then, he had to rely on luck and the cooperation of his teammates.

"It was really thanks to everyone else that I was able to finish some enemies off," Blake protested. "I mean, the leaders would've lasted longer if the others didn't distract them and if you didn't distance me, and I got lucky by having John on the last attack. I'm not really a good fighter."

After saying his bit, the man stepped back and let the incoming members talk to Raquel about the enemies. He had killed the leader, it seemed, but not the two grenadiers. Well, they might have information, however unlikely that may be.

[Mercakete]

After a bit of sitting, Gytha realized her sword wasn't in its sheath. It wasn't difficult to find and after a couple swings to get the sand off, she slid it into its scabbard. Then, she looked herself over and sighed. There was a long, thin hole in the side of her tunic now where the axe had cut into her. The amount of blood stained on her belt and tunic was likewise irritating. I'll need t' find a way t' wash up. If I can't get this stain out o' me belt, it's probabla better t' just get a new one in th' next port. In th' meantime, might as well just change tunics. So, the mariner slipped into the wagon, took her green tunic from her duffle bag and changed into it, leaving the stained, red one off to the side near her bag.

That finished, Gytha decided to talk to someone. The first person who came to mind was absent, the second was ill and the third was busy. Well, fortunately, there were still plenty of others. Eventually, Gytha decided on a target and walked over. "Ahoy, Blake! So, uh... What'd I miss?" she asked her newer teammate. She knew she missed almost the entire fight, so she was looking for some details on it. It would be a good opportunity to get to know her new teammate better, too.

[Snowy_One]

Robin shook her head at Raquel's words. She understood the attempt to encourage her, but that wasn't the problem. "<How can I say you should not be on the front lines when I can't hold my own on there.>" she said silently before heading into the Dauntless. She had other problems as well, namely the hole in her shirt where the arrow had pierced her. She was lucky that the pain had been minor compared to what she knew she should have felt, probably a result of the adrenaline in her body at the time, but either way... She was lucky on the whole for that fight. Taking a small strip of cloth from something she didn't really care enough about to know it's purpose, she folded it up and slid it down her shirt to fill in the hole and protect her modesty.

Then she left the Dauntless and headed over to Raquel and the new girl. "Raquel, I am sorry to interrupt, but I want to ask a question. I spared two of their healers during that fight, non-lethal blows, but she killed both. Why?"

[Phoenix]

The Gathering

Tagging along on the crusade, huh? "Well ... after what just happened ...." Raquel began and paused looking down at the sand and rocks. "I'm not sure I can afford to say no. We need more manpower-err ... any-power for this fight. If a random group of them in Rex-Avaz hit us in force, it's probably not going to get any easier. If you're willing to help us, then you can come along, but I've got to warn you right now; these people are incredibly dangerous and we've already lost people ... not in this battle, but in the last ... and before that even." she explained with a frown. She was not making the most encouraging pitch, but it felt like a time for honesty. Anyone willing to help her deserved to know what they were up against.

Upon Robin's return, she seemed to have done something about the hole in her clothing, though Raquel immediately recognized the cloth she used. It wasn't important enough to berate the woman over, so she focused on her question instead ... not that she could really answer it. She didn't know Faatina's motives, though she had a sinking feeling Gabbie would speak up any second to justify it. "You would have to ask her, Robin. I don't know why she did it for certain."

"Common sense, perhaps?" Gabbie mockingly interjected. "Exactly what do you plan to do when you don't learn anything from those two mad bombers? Cut them loose and HOPE they don't come up with some way to be a problem in the future? We killed their boss a little while ago, ya know ... they don't have much reason not to hate us." Raquel didn't say anything to that. As much as she disagreed, she didn't have a counterargument that didn't reek of principle, and there was little room for that with the enemies they were facing.

Day Two

Once again, Cassandra found herself in the training room taking most of Burke's attacks. Naomi was sitting by this time, on the Coffin of Darkness. She had a glass of water and some cutlets on top of a black dining cloth that was laid out next to her, making the coffin a sort of table and seat. The arrangement required a bit of careful balancing, but seemed to have worked. She watched with interest while Burke delivered an occasional punch, usually whenever Cassandra's guard was down.

"Tell me again why you insist on beating the living daylights out of me?" Cassandra pleaded while guarding her face. Burke delivered a swift punch to her stomach instead, forcing her back a bit. She ceased guarding her face and covered the impact area.

"What happens when someone gets this close, hm?" Burke shot back before throwing another punch. Cassandra saw it coming for her face and put her arms up to block it, but somewhat regretted doing so. The impact to her wrists hurt so much that she could barely keep the tears from forming. "That's right, you get your ass handed to you. Conventional training won't prepare you for this!" he exclaimed, the rise in his voice warning Cassandra that another attack was on the way. She quickly moved out of range of any punch he could get off, but he had no intention of letting her escape; he had a kick speeding her way and she didn't realize it until the last moment before he nailed her in the gut, same place as before.

She stumbled back and committed both arms to shielding her stomach until the pain passed. "Look! Just because it only hurts for a few seconds doesn't mean it's not excruciating! You're punching me with metal gauntlets for gods' sake!"

"They'll be using blades and firearms and I promise you it will hurt much worse than anything I plan on doing to you." Burke explained casually.

"Your training is pointless! I never had a good pain tolerance to begin with! I'm certainly not going to get one overnight." she shot right back.

"Tch, to the gate your pain tolerance. Pain isn't something to be ignored. It lets you know you've screwed up big time, and I'm thankful you can still feel it. This would be rather difficult without it."

"What's the point, then?"

"I'm not trying to turn you into some super assassin who's void of emotion and pain. We could have easily started off that way, but it isn't your calling. I'm trying to get rid of everything that made you as weak and reliant as Raquel. That weakness is something you should grow out of naturally. Using magic to erase such things is distasteful and a waste of experience." He quickly rushed forward prompting her to defend and threw a punch so hard that it forced her to the ground. Both of her arms took part of the punch, so she couldn't grab just one or the other. "I'm just using my limbs. What are you going to do when someone takes a swing at you with a sword or tries to impale you on a pike, hmmm?"

"Urgh! At least give me a tome to block with!"

"Pff ... Naomi!" he called over to her. She quickly left the training room, apparently to fetch something.

Cassandra pulled herself up to her feet and grimaced, then she glared when she realized Naomi had left to get the tome. "I bet you didn't beat the stuffing out of her just to 'get rid of her weakness'. Why am I getting all of this brutal treatment?"

"She's a coordinator. You aren't. Besides, I've shot her before. That's nothing compared to what you're going through."

"You shoot teenage girls?! What on earth is wrong with you?!"

"She's twenty-five ... and I take pity on no one. Look, Cassandra ... you need to get over these 'social norms' you're so used to. They have their uses, but not here and now. You need to learn to adjust to the world presented to you. Now stand up. You look silly down there." As she stood up, Naomi returned with a dark brown colored tome. It was rather heavy and looked like it could take a hit from an axe and only have a few pages cleaved. Cassandra held it with ease, but thought back to Burke's comment from the previous day. She was stronger than 'Raquel', and so it was probably a lot heavier than she felt it was. "There's your tome. Can you defend yourself, now?"

"I think so ... I'm not very good at casting, but a real battle mage can at least use a plated tome to block a sword."

"I guess." Burke said with a shrug. Suddenly he rushed forward and prepared to strike her. She raised the tome to keep his punch from getting through, and he immediately raised his right arm high above his head, formed a blade shape with his hand, and brought it down at tremendous speed, destroying the tome in one strike, badly hurting Cassandra's thumbs, cutting her forehead, and obscuring the whole scene in an explosion of shredded old tome pages. She fell onto her rear and cringed. She could feel the blood coming down from her forehead, and her thumbs were broken for all she knew. Burke stood over her with his head cocked just slightly. "Still want to rely on tomes, or are you going to find a way to save your ass that actually works?"

She teared up, not knowing how she was even going to get through the day without being broken in half. "D-dammit ... I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be doing this. I shouldn't be letting you beat the crap out of me in the hopes you'll prove some point."

"'Let me'? You never let me do anything to you. You're just weak and can't do anything about it, right now. Your body can handle this, but you're still soft on the inside. Look, the bleeding even stopped." Burke explained, pointing toward Cassandra's head. There was still a trail of blood leading down from the center of her forehead and down the right side of her face, but it wasn't flowing anymore. She wiped it with her right hand while trying to push herself up with her left. The wound didn't hurt anymore, either, and her thumbs were recovering as well. "The reason you're putting up with this is because you know I'm right, and you want me to prove my point. You want me to show you that strength you've always wanted. Admit it; you don't want to be guarded like she was. In the long run it failed. THEY FAILED HER, and anyone you pick would FAIL YOU somewhere and sometime. No, what you want is to be able to accomplish your goals, whatever they may be ... and you know I can give you the mindset to go with that body of yours; the mindset that can do what it sets out to do without groveling at people's feet for help and protection. I can and I will give that to you. How long it takes depends on how long you keep hiding behind anything within reach." Cassandra remained silent, and barely standing, seeming to be in deep thought.

Crossing Blades

"Let us hope that the Lieutenant Colonel doesn't do anything particularly reckless just to catch the stragglers. I haven't noticed any casualties on our side, yet, and I would very much like to keep it that. Captain, I need you to relay a message to Lieutenant Fletcher and anyone in the Lieutenant Colonel's unit that isn't going after the stragglers. We may have a few holdouts still in the cave and we need it swept before they have a chance to fortify the position." Langley replied. "Shield's first." she added, using some jargon that basically meant 'put the knights in front'.

Meanwhile Miguel followed his men who were following the bandits, who were following Boris's men, who were following Boris. It was a scattered retreat through the forest that steadily turned into a long line of men chasing each other. Boris wasn't liking where it was going and turned to fight. His men quickly caught up to him along with the bandits, and as soon as Miguel's men caught up, the fighting started again. Immediately several of Miguel's soldiers were forced back, and two of them were badly injured by the sudden counterattack. Miguel finally arrived and sent one of the bandits flying with a ranged light attack. That was it for Boris; the one leading the chase had showed up, and if he couldn't get some distance between himself and that man, he would be apprehended a second time.

Try as he did, he couldn't escape, and as Miguel's soldiers began to fight back in earnest, the last of the escaping bandits were taken down along with some of his men. Boris' escape plan had failed and he didn't have much of a choice but to fight. He and Miguel exchanged blow after blow, but Miguel gained the upper hand and his combination of strikes and magical bursts eventually sent Boris into a tree. He sighed and dropped his sword as the last of his men was cut down. Miguel approached with a mix of pity and disappointment in his eyes. "You know for a bandit, you've got some skill. Why can't we have more people like you in the military?"

"Make an offer that's better than the spoils of crime? I don't know. You figure it out." Boris bit back.

"Heh, as if being imprisoned and possibly executed is better than a paid lifestyle and only a minor chance of death. I doubt you're even a bandit. Why were you with these guys? What were you after?" Miguel asked as his men surrounded Boris on all sides.

"They were misguided and needed to put their skills to better use."

"Oh? What kind of use?"

"Whatever I saw fit. Assume whatever you want. I've nothing else to say on the matter."

Miguel sighed. "Why not? I like hearing the bad guys talk. It gives me some insight."

"I don't have any incentive to say anything else. There's nothing in it for me, after all."

"Right, right. Alright, then. Slap'em in irons and let's get back to the Colonel before she writes us off."

"She knows we didn't die, sir. I mean come on ... in a fight like this? Not a chance."

"Tell that to Anders and Justin. They both got injured pretty badly. Speaking of which, they may need some help getting back. Carry them if you have to. Come on, let's get a move on." Miguel instructed.

Return

It was quite the trip, but Cecily, Clara, and Simon eventually made it back to the west and to the estate they had been 'stationed' at before receiving orders to track down Gabriel. Cecily had mixed feelings. She wasn't a fan of staying at other people's homes, but it came with the job, and of course it was quite lavish and she wanted a bath. Simon was giddy and just waiting for the chance to get a look inside. The stables were the inevitable first stop, however. A couple of hostlers greeted them.

"Ah, hello. Are you Miss Layla's ... assistants?" the closer one asked. Cecily just nodded tiredly in response, hoping to herself she wouldn't fall asleep during her bath. "We can take it from here. At least one of you could use a rest, it seems.

"Bath first, sleep later." she shot back in mild protest.

"I could use some dinner, to be honest." Simon spoke up.

"Heh, is that so? Well I'm not the chef, obviously, and neither is my partner here. I'm sure you'll find her inside."

Friendly Visit

It was quite the trip, but Rodrigo, Caterena, and Reina eventually arrived at Ursentius. Their trip did not officially end until they reached a house a ways from the city itself. The carriage came to a stop, and Reina woke up wondering if they had finally arrived. "Are we there? Are we?" she asked once and then again hoping to get a faster answer. She wasn't the only one who'd nodded off; Cat was sleeping against Rodrigo's shoulder and he had his head against the window. Cat slowly opened her eyes.

"Madam, we have arrived, I believe." came the driver's voice.

"Well that wasn't a very satisfying nap ..." she mumbled. She then looked to where her head was and glared at Rodrigo. "Must he always wear that armor? Who knows what sleeping on metal could do to my face."

"I thought you would be cold."

"It warms after awhile, dear."

"What warms after awhile?" Rodrigo asked as he came to.

"Those metal plates you forced me to use as pillows." Cat explained with some agitation in her voice.

"Hey, you could have rested in my lap. We'd have both been quite comfortable, I think~"

"Oh I just bet. Come on. Let's see if anyone's home." The small family exited the carriage and walked up to the front door of the house together. Cat was dreading that they hadn't arrived until a little later in the afternoon, but they couldn't get there any quicker without the driver ... driving like a maniac. She knocked on the door and then began going over her own little 'to-do list' while waiting.

Edited March 17, 2012 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"Unless ya plan on comin' back here, they'll probably just be a problem for Sanctuary- not us. I guess they could follow us, but they barely look rich enough to feed themselves, let alone get a ship," she said to Gabbie.

<"Now if y'all want to live, some cooperation would probably be in your best interest,>" Nadya pointed out to the reviving Rexians.

<"You kill our people and then expect 'cooperation'? Why should we work with Aisha's dogs at all?"> Jamal asked.

<"So we can live brother, and so perhaps these foreigners will be inclined to show mercy...>" Jalil replied rather sadly.

"Anythin' specific you want to ask Raquel? I don't think these two speak Common," she asked the merchant.

Home? at Last

"I really prefer it back at headquarters than out on the road," Clara said with a sigh of relief. "Bath sounds good, food sounds good...wonder if Cloe's back. We should probably report in soonish, but we don't have do it immediately," she pointed out to Cecily and Simon, not feeling particularly dutiful today.

Visitors

Lysandra has spent the day preparing for her important guests, placing the many volumes and scrolls she had for research in the corner as to make the cottage a little neater, trimming the hedges and flowers, baking some scones to give her cottage a nice homey smell.

She heard a knock at the door-perhaps a bit sooner than expected but perhaps she had just lost track of time. She opened it, seeing the small family at the door.

"Welcome. You must be Reina, pleased to meet you," she said, smiling at the young girl. "And her mother Miss Blanco and the Phoenix himself. I don't usually get such renowned visitors in my humble home. You can all sit down if you like, you're probably tired from the ride. I just put on a pot of tea and the scones are freshly made- help yourselves," she said, her hand inviting them towards the small table in the sitting room.

[Mercakete]

"Don't forget to see a healer. You were in the thick of it this time too, you know," Norbert reminded Raquel, as he slipped out of Rizen's saddle and began to wander away, leaving Raquel to tend to her duties as leader. Rizen followed her rider. It makes no sense. he thought to himself as he walked. My first impressions to people have never included anything like that. A good heart? What? What would prompt that sort of responce? Nigel said something kind of like that before, but he says that sort of thing to everyone. Then, some woman from Sanctuary I just met says I have a good heart out of nowhere. I've had people say I'm brutish, ill-tempered, insensitive, disrespectful, insolent, worthless and all sorts of other things like that so how the heck does someone think I have a good heart? It was absolutely perplexing.

Rizen brayed softly from behind him and bumped her nose against his back. Norbert absently stroked her nose as she came up beside him. They were a little ways away from where most everyone was: enough distance for there to be a relative quiet as the pegasus rider thought about this anomaly. Was it something I said? Something I did? All I did was get her some medical attention and I was kind of hostile with my wording. That's just because I don't trust her much but I'd have to be pretty dumb and a downright jerk to just leave her out there like that. She would've been mistaken for one of the enemies easily. Sure I'm not the smartest guy out there and I'm certainly a jerk, but not to that degree. It must've just been a misconception or something. Ugh, that was an embarrassing display, though... The pegasus rider hung his head at the memory of his reaction to the compliment. I was really caught off-guard. I didn't know how to react... I guess I need to be more careful about expecting the unexpected. Next time someone says something like that, I'm just going to have to ask why. He shrugged to himself. Not like that's likely. Anyone we meet will learn sooner or later that I'm not someone they'll like being around. I'm pretty argumentative so fights often break out around me. I don't usually care, but my actions reflect on more than just myself now. But Merz it's hard to keep quiet when I'm angry! And I get angry pretty easily. This is why I used to just stay away from groups of people! Grrrr... I don't have much of a choice. I either leave Raquel's group when we get back to Ursium or I find a way to keep my mouth shut. This is stupid.

The pegasus rider looked back to the area the group was occupying with a glare before returning his eyes forward. "Sand. Sand. And more sand. The days are blistering hot, the nights are chilling and it's all run by a vasilus who thinks it's her right to be worshipped to the point where no one is allowed to think poorly of her..." he quietly fumed, temper rising before finally eruping as he slammed his fist into the ground at his feet, resulting in a crouch, "I HATE THIS DEMON-RUN DESERT!!!" This was followed by an unintelligable cry of hatred. Rizen just watched her rider in his fury. He got like this when something annoyed him to a large degree and there was nothing he could do about it, which resulted in his becoming even more irritated. He was still safe to stand around, so she didn't move from her spot. It was hers so long as she claimed it so no one else was allowed to have it for the moment.

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

"Yes, ma'am," the captain soluted as she replied before promptly returning to the others to follow her orders. "Form up! Shields first! We're going to sweep the cave; make sure there's no one left hiding in there. Be ready to fight if there are any more bandits ready to attack!" Cecelia relayed to the general crowd of soldiers before dismounting and addressing her own pegasus knights, "Keep the prisoners company."

[Snowy_One]

"I do not care what they do Gabbie. If they return seeking my life, I shall fight them again. I know I will likely die, but I would rather that than kill another intelligent being. I have sworn to never take a human life, and I shall follow that promise."

Edit: Due to post-timing problems, Robin's response to Tina: Robin looked at the newcomer with ire in her eyes at the comment. "I had a arrow in my chest and in my arm, worst than what I did to her, and I am standing here now and alive. I refuse to be a cold-blooded killer of humans. Did you even try to disable instead of killing?" she said before sighing in frustration. "I know. I know. I will go before I get shot in the leg again."

As she finished speaking back to Tina she heard Bert's cry before giving a sigh. "I will handle this one."

Robin turn and slowly slogged up and through the sand dunes, being careful to avoid that which was encrusted with blood and the dead bodies of the foes that they had slain. It wasn't a hard thing to do and before long she was in speaking distance of Bert. She waved her hand up in the air, hoping to get his attention, as she walked towards him.

"I do too Bert." she said under her breath, waiting to get closer to express sympathy for the rider's plight.

Edited March 18, 2012 by Snowy_One

[Ether]

The archer girl approached Faatina and asked her a peculiar question.

'Why did I kill? Is that even worth answering?' Faatina pondered, deciding to humour the girl as a brash sounding lancer voiced an opinion that sounded much more relatable.

"The healers? Simple. The first was lying on the sand in anguishing pain from her wounds, and asked me to grant her the mercy of a quick death. I complied to her final wish and killed her so she wouldn't suffer. As for the second healer, I don't know what to say of your eyes but she was more than well enough to heal her allies, or attack us. I charged to take her out of the fight, and she died on my lance. It is a tool of war, these things happen. Had I held back, and she were capable of striking still. perhaps it might be I instead lying in sand stained with my own blood." Faatina replied to the girl, before turning to Raquel.

"Regardless, if what I see before me is correct, you are a merchant. In Sanctuary, women are not allowed to carry real weapons and armour... what I have today is only what I could manage to find or craft with my own hands... I would appreciate the chance to browse your wares."

[Phoenix]

Desert

"Eh nothin' these people do would surprise me after throwin' us in 'Purgatory'." Gabbie replied with a shrug, somewhat getting a final word in. There wasn't much else to do but wait and see what came out of the questioning. Faatina answered Robin's question, but the archer decided to address Gabbie first. More talk of principles and hollow vows as far as she was concerned ... that and a name she only let certain people use. "Don't call me 'Gabbie', you suicoidal nut job." she replied with her arms crossed.

Meanwhile Raquel focused on Nadya and the captives. "Ask them if they know anything about my father ... Jethro." Raquel instructed, making sure Nadya had a name to use. Lot's of men were fathers after all. Then a thought occurred. She had way more questions than Nadya or the captives may have had the patience for. "And ask them about Pavel too ... and if there are any bases or ... fortresses in the area ... and where their main base is." she added, deciding to get the most important ones right out in the open. Gabbie rolled her eyes at the questions, figuring the one who MIGHT have had the answers was already dead. The two grenadiers just looked like a couple of grunts to her.

While Nadya translated the series of questions, Raquel replied to Tina. "Well, okay. I could show you after I'm done here or ... hmm ..." Raquel paused, thinking maybe it was better to just send someone else and handle it sooner. "Oooor someone else could ...?" she replied, hoping anyone listening might volunteer. Gabbie thought about it, but she'd wait a grand total of five seconds before volunteering herself.

Place

"Hmm, word will probably get around soon either way ... and if Cloe is here, I'm betting we'll spot a particular pegasus in the stables." Cecily commented. "I want to rest up, first."

"I will leave my horse in the hands of these capable hostlers and see about getting something to eat. Then I can explore this lovely abode. A question, though if neither of you minds. You say this is not your headquarters ... I suppose that means it would be futile or perhaps just unwise to try and make this the center of my information network?"

"Still trying to be a big time broker? I would take it up with the owner if I were you." Cecily replied dismissively before dismounting.

Humbler Place

"Scones and Tea? I'll take that offer." Cat replied with a smile. Rodrigo was still coming down from his recognition high and would be a moment or two. Cat didn't bother waiting and guided the husk over to have a seat while Reina greeted her.

"It's nice to meet you too, Miss Lysandra!" Reina spoke up as politely as she could.

Mission Almost Accomplished

"We're moving in?" Fletcher asked, mostly to himself. Orders were never given in jest on the battlefield. "Men! Switch to short range weaponry. Arbalests and blades, now!" he ordered his own division. "Grace, are you going to be okay out front?"

"Of course! I've been waiting for this! I just hope the Lieutenant Colonel gets back in time to see me work!" Amber replied, hoisting up her shield. There were several other knights, and fortunately for a 'tunnel sweep' that was all they needed. Too many shield lines would make the ranged line ineffective.

"Unless he's in the firing line I don't see how he'll witness it. I just hope those bandits didn't get the better of him somehow."

With that, the knights went front and center, got out their shields, and steadily moved forward making sure nothing, not even an arrow attack could get through. Fletcher's unit was armed, ready, and following closely behind with a mix of arbalests wielders and swordsmen. He spent most of the time planning for the worst possible scenario, a completely fortified cave with at least a dozen bandits still remaining and armed to the teeth. Of course even then they could avoid taking too many or any casualties at all if they could quickly close the distance and gunned them all down with crossbow bolts.

Edited March 18, 2012 by Phoenix

[Acacia Sgt]

A shout in the distance was heard. John turned to see Bert had gotten away from the general area. <Amazing he managed to hold on until after we left the city. Then again, could he have restrained from doing so back then anyway?> John thought.

Well, nevermind that, it looked like they were going to interrogate the pair there.

<Hm, wonder what can be we get out of it.> He thought. <Would they be willing to talk? Hopefully it won't be like last time we had a prisoner we could interrogate.>

[Mercakete]

Norbert didn't look up. He was still fuming. After a moment of collecting his composure enough to make a somewhat-civil request, he warned Robin, "It isn't wise to talk to me when I'm like this."

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

Cecelia went into the cave as well, whip ready at her hip to each over the heavily-armed moving wall if necessary, though presently she held her sword. Her pegasus, of course, remained outside the cave, being the obediant stallion he was. For now, the captain would quietly wait for the fighting to begin, if it did. She would be ready to contribute.

[Snowy_One]

Robin nodded at Bert's words. She knew he was mad to say the least, the scream had told her that much, and she wasn't going to back down so easily. "I do not like it out here either. It is dry, there are no trees, no forests, no shrubs, no shade, and little water. I am dressed in animal hide which is likely only slightly less worse than your armor for protection from the sun. I hate this place too Bert. I can not do much to stop the heat, but I can offer a sympathetic ear."

[GoD]

Once the battle was over, Chelsea wandered about trying to heal anyone who needed their injuries tended. Her eyes fell on the girl who she revived a few moments prior. Walking to her while leading Nesha, she began to prepare herself to cast healing magic. Once she arrived the troubadour attended to the girl's wounds.

"Personally I don't like killing, but they would have complicated the fight. If we can avoid killing then we won't, but otherwise we will. Name's Chelsea, yours?"

[-Cynthia-]

Interrogations

"That's a lot of questions, I'll see what I can do," Nadya said to Raquel before turning to the prisoners.

<"All right, so you know where Raquel's father is being kept? Name's Jethro"> she started off with, figuring that was the information Raquel wanted most.

<"I saw in the report that he was kidnapped, but I have no idea where he is now. We are but a small branch of this organization, one hand does not always know what the other is doing>" Jalil attempted to explain.

<"What about a guy named Pavel?"> Nadya asked.

<"I never saw that name in any reports"> Jamal answered truthfully, deciding maybe it was for the best to cooperate.

<"Where's the main base of this organization?>" Nadya asked dutifully, remembering Raquel's various questions.

<"Like my sister said, one hand does not always know what the other is doing. All I know is that there are agents in every nation in Sardius,> Jamal answered, unable to look Nadya in the eyes.

<"Ok, you guys have any bases or fortresses around here?"> she asked finally.

<"We are...short on resources, our meeting places would constantly change depending upon which rebels we were trying to recruit. Some of these people are not really part of this Organization...if that makes any difference in whether the merchant spares us or not, please tell her,"> Jalil said.

"All right, so they don't know where Jethro or Pavel are. They also don't know where the main base is- only that the Organization operates in every nation in Sardius. They say this is because the Rexian group isn't well informed of what the other groups are doing...I think they're tellin' the truth personally, but maybe they're holdin' back. They don't claim to have a base around here either; not organized enough for that or somethin'. Some of these warriors are apparently from local rebel groups, not the Org itself," Nadya summarized for Raquel.

Clara

"Well this isn't our central headquarters, but it's as close as we get here in Ursium really," Clara replied to Simon, leaving Perseus in the hands of the hostlers. "You'll probably want to talk with Layla if you want a permanent position here- well she doesn't officially own this estate technically speaking, but the opinions of the actual owners don't matter a whole lot nowadays," Clara suggested to Simon, her tone a bit sad.

Lysandra

"A bit surprised that I keep up with the newest trends? I usually don't, but an old student of mine is quite the fan of yours," she said to Rodrigo, eyes twinkling. She poured cups of tea for her guests and herself before sitting down, looking Reina in the eyes.

"Well, let's get to why you're here. Your mother said that you didn't like school...may I ask why? What do you want to learn?" she asked the child, tilting her head slightly to the side.

[Ether]

"Well met, Chelsea. My name is Faatina." Faatina replied to the troubadour.

"Death is a fact of battle... if I didn't understand that, I never would have left Sanctuary. It is not something that can be looked at in black or white, because it is different for everyone. The first one I killed begged to die, because she knew she would not survive her wounds, and wanted the pain to end. What sort of fallacy is it to call her death unjust, to call it a robbery of life?"

[Snike]

Gytha, finally up, approached Blake with the inquiry of what she had missed, which was essentially ninety percent of the battle. Well.

"After the grenade exploded, we got ourselves patched up and went after the leaders. The warrior and one of the grenadiers were brought down after a few minutes, and we chased the remainder of the bandits off, but over half of our number were hurt to some extent. Around the middle of the battle, the Rexian horsewoman joined in, and while that might've helped, she was brought down twice," Blake said, as he tried to ignore the throbbing of the wound on his side. "We basically got lucky. Now, I have a question for you. Why did you slash the grenade?"

Before the mariner could answer, there was a skyward scream about hating this demon-run desert. The swordsman turned his head to see Bert off in the distance. Of course.

"We might have to delay this conversation, if he gets any louder," Blake said, shaking his head. "I would've hoped he'd keep his head after what happened in Sanctuary, but I guess I was too optimistic."

[Acacia Sgt]

Aha, there were results after all.

<Willing to talk but little to reveal.> John thought. <I guess that's why they could get away with it huh. Allied with the rebels... I wonder...>

''Not much to go by, eh.'' He noted. ''So, what's the plan now?''

[Phoenix]

Interrogation

"So we won't learn anything from them." Raquel concluded with a grimace and a lowered gaze. "I'm not sure what the plan is just yet ... other than keep heading for a port."

"What'd you expect? That a couple of grunts would know where your father and ... that other person are being kept? If we could squeeze these guys for a main base, I'm sure you would have been recruiting heavy hitters for a siege by now." Gabbie interjected.

"It was worth a shot at least! It's been a whole month! If we don't find new leads soon ... I might never see my father again."

"You're definitely not going to see him again if you keep grasping at straws. You know what you have to do to foind him. You know who you have to 'interrogate' to get to your father, Raquel. The same bastard who took him in the first place. Stop dicking around with the hired help." Gabbie shot back.

Raquel got a pained look on her face. "We can't beat him right now. He blew up Weyland's tanks and captured me without a fight. He took my father down with a single attack and there was nothing I could do. How am I supposed to question him? I'm asking these 'grunts' because I don't have a choice. They're the only ones we're strong enough to catch. Sardis would just kill us all in a minute or two ..."

"Well ... what are you going to do with them? Let'em go and hope they don't come back to boite us later? Take'em with us and give them the nut job archer's rations since I'm not sharing? Or are you going to kill them so they can never kill us?"

"I'm not like you. Just ... take their weapons and let them go. I can at least sell those and they won't be able to hit us again so soon. That's good enough for now, isn't it?"

"Well at least you're smart enough to take their shit. That's respectable, heheh. And sell it too? You just moight be the arms dealer you claim to be. Works for me. I'm going to go check on Connor." Gabbie replied before leaving.

"Knock knock." she said when she arrived at the Dauntless.

Headquarters

"That frightening woman?" Simon asked. "Well ... I suppose I should eat something first. I am hungry after all. Layla can wait, yes." he explained nervously. "Here is my horse, please take good care of him ... or her?" He wasn't sure and didn't feel like checking. Best to just go eat, or something.

Sconequarters

"Oh well whenever you see her, please tell her I'm thrilled to have her as a fan!" Rodrigo replied.

"Automatically a 'she', huh?" Cat noted quietly while accepting the scones and tea. She was the first to try them and her eyes lit up. "Delicious. Rodrigo, quit daydreaming and try these." she instructed while Lysandra spoke with Reina.

"Well it's hard to learn anything at school right now. My 'fellow students' are really distracting, and Jasper is gross. My teacher makes everyone do the same thing at the same pace; I can't learn anything before anyone else does or read anything else without him getting mad. I wanted to learn earth and thunder magic, but the course I'm in has us study everything as a group before we can umm ... can 'branch out' into fire, thunder, wind, ice, water, and earth."

"You know, fire's an easier field than thunder ... safer for the caster too~" Rodrigo commented.

"Ignore him, he's just looking for help with his fire stunts." Cat clarified so Lysandra could focus on Reina.

Cave of Wonders

The front line advanced into the cave, and the knights were extra vigilant, keeping an eye out for any traps near their feet. About ten meters into the cave, an intersection came into view. Fletcher gave the three paths a dubious and frustrated look. Having shields up front wasn't going to work as well going down more than one path, and choosing just one or two left them exposed. Furthermore, the intersection suggested that this wasn't a natural cave, though it probably wasn't a mine either, since there was no equipment lying around ... nothing meant for mining at least. "Okay, we split three ways, but be careful." Fletcher instructed. "Is that alright with you, Captain?" he asked Cecelia, but the instant he asked, a lone figure peeked out from the left corner and fired a pistol at the group. One of the knights blocked the shot with their shield, and someone with an arbalest shot the figure right between the eyes. He froze and fell over like a statue, setting off a mine, and disappearing in a small explosion. The knights shielded the group, but a bit of red mist and debris still got on Fletcher's coat. "... bloody mines? I knew it was too good to be true. I knew they couldn't be THAT ill-prepared." he cursed at the situation.

[Ether]

"Sardis? Weyland? Your father?" Faatina mumbled, trying to figure out what was going on.

"It sounds like you have quite a lot on your plate, Ms. Valcyn... I can't say I really know much about this group aside from the rumours but... it seems whatever it is you've gotten yourself into, you've gotten in pretty deep." Faatina said to the distraught woman, before hearing the sound of leather giving way, and the scrap that was left of the makeshift leather cuirass after that fighter's brutal assault falling unceremoniously from beneath her cloak.

Picking up the remains with a sigh, Faatina began to mutter towards the leather. "Tch... to think all the work I put into this thing and it would only last this long... I suppose I really will need to look through your wares now, unless I should wish to fight bare." Faatina finished, turning to Raquel with a slight smirk.

[-Cynthia-]

Cleanup

<"You can live, but we're taking your weapons,>" Nadya informed the Rexian rebels.

<"Without weapons, we're completely defenseless against Sanctuaran forces! And we barely have anything else!>" Jamal grumbled.

<"It's still better than dying...tell your leader thank you I suppose,"> Jalil said rather sadly.

"All right, they say thanks for lettin' 'em live and we can take weapons now," Nadya informed Raquel.

Veronika sighed at the lack of news, but wasn't especially surprised. She began gathering the weapons from the fallen enemies- they needed something to pay for the ship out of there after all.

Connor opened the wagon to see Gabbie. "The fighting looks to be over, do you need help with anything?" he asked her. He was rather glad that he didn't have to open the wagon before the healers showed up- he wasn't quite used to seeing such violence yet.

[Phoenix]

Weapons and Wagons

"They're welcome ... I guess. Can you also tell them to just ... I don't know, quit working for those people? I don't know the whole story but there's nothing good about Sardis or his subordinates. And ... stay out of trouble in general?" Raquel replied to Nadya. Faatina soon had a wardrobe malfunction and Raquel sympathized a little. "I guess I'll take you over to the wagon myself. Follow me." she instructed.

Meanwhile over by the Dauntless, Gabbie chuckled in response to Connor. "Yeah, maybe you can help organoize all the enemy's crap in the wagon. Raquel's acting like an arms dealer for a change so we're probably gonna sell most of it at Port Temptress." she explained.

Raquel arrived a moment later with Faatina in tow. "Excuse me." she said, hoping Gabbie would clear the way so Faatina could have a look around."

"Ehhh." she did so.