Return of the Emblem Chapter Eight: Affairs of the World

[Phoenix]

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"Remoinds me that I should ask Weyland for a favor whenever we get back to Ursium. Really want some custom fit armor to go with Geminoi." Gabbie replied.

"Let me see, here." Paz began. "What type of sword is this?" he asked, trying to figure out a reasonable trading price for it.

Gambit

Amon put his head back down. "I'm sorry too, Gytha. I should have warned you guys about this." he replied gloomily. Chelsea tried to calm things down herself, but quickly hid which more or less cancelled out any effect her words might have had on the Rexians. There was one effect, however.

"We're not barbarians like you people ... so here is what we'll do. Hand over the pegasus knight, and the rest of you don't have to be cut down." Malik explained.

"No way." Amon shot back. He didn't care what anyone, even those in Raquel's group thought about it. Bert's fault or not, he wasn't going to let Malik take out his frustrations on anyone.

"Amon, you are not a part of their group, so shut up."

This is just ridiculous. Malik's really about to start a battle, here ... and Amon is risking everything for them. That's even harder to believe. I'm the commander's son, dammit. I've got to do something ... Haythem mulled over. Finally he formulated a plan of his own and stepped out toward the chaos. Surprisingly, he got Fizza's attention with a few head nudges first, asking her to follow. Being both curious and positive nothing bad was going to happen to her, she did. Haythem got in front of Amon, even closer to Malik's side of the field than Amon had been. He then forced Amon to back up toward the group as he made space for himself. "Haythem, what are you ..." he inquired.

"Amon just get back, would you? I'm going to handle this." Haythem replied, though he still sounded normal. He could have been dead serious, but his voice wasn't telling that tale. "... and give me your knife."

"My knife?" he echoed.

"Hand it over." Haythem instructed, refusing to elaborate. Amon complied, albeit reluctantly, and Haythem immediately tossed the blade right into Fizza's hand.

"What are you doing?! She is a Tide assassin!" Malik yelled.

"Well of course. I don't want them to get into any trouble for killing any of you, especially not Amon. He doesn't deserve to lose his own life over something a foreigner said. The thing is ... I can't beat all of you by myself. I'm going to need Fizza's help." Haythem explained rather casually.

"I am really starting to like some of you Sancturans. This is simply amazing." Fizza chimed in as she took up a fighting stance. Apparently she was willing to help.

"Assassin! If you don't disarm yourself immediately ... you won't get a second chance. We'll take you down."

"No you won't. Even with this I can take out an organ without you even noticing." Fizza bragged, twirling Amon's knife between her fingers back and forth as she did.

"So that's that, then. Malik, you and these guards had better stand down, right now. It's not your call whether they live or die. It's Lady Aisha's. If you aren't satisfied with that, too bad." Haythem demanded.

"... you must be kidding me."

"No I am not. Isis." Haythem called over his wyvern, who was less than happy to be treading near all of these humans. She had a bad habit of bumping into things while on the ground, after all. As she trudged over to her master and his temporary sidekick, Malik and the other guards backed away, if nothing else, they didn't want to be knocked over by the thing. "Isis!" Haythem quickly pointed toward Malik and the others. Isis recognized what he was doing, but he didn't give her a directive, so she just waited, her glance darting back and forth between Haythem's outstretched arm, and those he was pointing to. "Attack!" he ordered. Isis immediately took a step forward and reared her head back so she could quickly strike and pick one of them off, but Haythem immediately followed up with "Stop!" And so she did, returning to a normal posture.

"Haythem, are you out of your mi-" "And there you have it; a Tide assassin and the biggest wyvern in all of Rex-Avaz ready to pounce. I also don't think you're dumb enough to attack the Commander's son. You can't be that stupid, I mean you just tried to have Gytha arrested for just that, so there's no way you're THAT stupid. I mean how hypocritical could one possibly be, hmm?" Haythem drove his point home further and further after interrupting Malik.

"Haythem-"

"No, just shut your face. We're going to wait here until someone gets word to my father and the High Priestess."

<"We have no choice. Even if the commander's son has gone mad, we have no justification to harm him without the consent of either the commander, the high priestess, or the queen herself."> one of the soldiers affirmed. He and the other soldiers immediately lowered their weapons, though not one blade was sheathed. This was just a waiting game, now.

It is awesome being the commander's son! I just avoided an all out battle, recruited a former enemy for a standoff with charisma alone, and Isis did what I told her to for a change! Oh Lady Aisha is truly favoring me today! Haythem cheerfully mused while his face hid his happy mood.

Edited February 29, 2012 by Phoenix

[Snike]

"It's a barrier sword," Blake said in response to the weapons master. Hopefully that cut the total cost a bit, but even if it didn't, the swordsman figured he had it covered.

***

It seemed like there was a long pause before Thanatos answered. "I'd say take all the time that you need, but that sadly isn't the case. I can afford to give you a week to think about it, and no more. Any other requests? I really must be going, otherwise."

[Phoenix]

Paz

"Ah, I can give you fifty gold for that. And what sort of chest guard is this?" he continued his line of questioning.

Cassandra

"A week ... that's ... fair. Thank you, I guess." she replied shyly. She wasn't sure what else to ask him. She was still trying to get a grip on the situation. Being unsure of where she was, though, she was feeling tempted to ask if she was going to be shown around this ... building, or whatever it was. "Should I just, stay in this room?"

[Snike]

"It's a soft leather guard," Blake replied, while beginning to calculate the cost of his gear.

***

"You can stay inside this room, I suppose, or Naomi can show you around our base," the Angel of Death said, as he checked his watch. "... Anyways, I'll be going now. Farewell."

And, within a blink of an eye, he was gone.

[Phoenix]

Paz

"And I can grant thirty for that, but now I'm wondering about this jacket. I have not seen it before. It must have just arrived today, perhaps. I think seventy would be a reasonable asking price for both the sword and jacket, yes?"

Cassandra and Naomi

She flinched when Thanatos vanished, having still been doubting who and what he was right up until that moment. No staves or bright warping glyphs, just a ghostly exit that could make some wonder if they hadn't just been imagining things. "You never get used to that." Naomi noted at the disappearing act. "So, what should I show you first?" she suddenly took on a perky attitude. Cassandra didn't know where to start.

[Snike]

Ah, so it must have been a custom piece, judging by the fact that the arms dealer didn't notice the jacket beforehand. He was, however, confused by the man's phrasing. That would make the total one-forty, right? Blake decided to go with that.

"So, I owe sixty, then. Here it is," he said, as he retrieved sixty pieces of gold from a pouch around his belt. The man then took his new purchases, donned the jacket, and placed his longsword into the sheath on the inside of it.

[Mercakete]

There wasn't really anything else to say as both sides readied themselves. Then, the Rexians voiced an alternative. It struck Norbert oddly. I suppose if it's their law, I should just accept it. It'd be pretty selfish to make everyone fight a losing battle just because I don't want to go to jail. he thought sourly, not really wanting to imagine what would happen once they had him. Amon spoke up first, however, and what he said surprised the pegasus rider even more than when Amon had decided to stand by them instead of by his fellow Rexians. Just how decisive his refusal was only added to his confusion. What? He's one of them, though...isn't he? I'm not even a close friend of his like Gytha is -- I'm just someone who travelled in the same group as him for a while.

The other decent Rexian man and the decent Rexian woman -- who was apparently an assassin -- stepped forward and basicly were the cause of a stalemate. Rizen was getting kind of nervous, though. She didn't like being around wyverns and that one, quite frankly, was huge.

"Heharr, yer pretty resorceful," Gytha complimented Haythem with a cheery smile, "Looks like ye pass me test without havin' t' spar me. I trust ye with watchin' Amon's back. This is just overwhelmin' evidence that yer competant enough n' have a good enough heart t' do that."

"Not that I'm complaining..." Norbert began slowly, keeping his voice as nonthreatening as he could as he asked Amon, "but why'd you do that? You would've gotten in a lot of trouble for protecting me, I bet and I'm sure I offended you, too, by what I said." He felt pretty awkward and a bit lousy for his temper flare after Amon's display of selflessness. Becoming a bit frusterated with himself, he added, "Look, I still don't like how this country is run -- I have yet to find a governing system I agree with -- but you're pretty good proof that not all Rexians in Sanctuary are rotten bigots who can't take an insult. So...I'm sorry for saying that. And I'm sorry for thinking you'd just led us into a trap. Obviously you never intended that, even if there is one we don't know about yet." His tone changed to once of frustration as he continued, though his volume remained low enough to be nonthreatening, "But Merz, Amon, next time someone's out for my neck, stay out of it, alright? You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Heharr, I told ye we could trust 'im!" Gytha practically sang, obviously happy about that fact.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

Veronika kept her hand on her sword, but decided not to draw it. Chelsea ducked behind her during the negotiations, which Veronika found a bit odd, though her message rang true. Between the tour guide from earlier and Amon, they seemed to convince the irate Rexians to stand down for the moment.

"We're not out of this yet- the commander or the high priestess could easily decide to imprison us or worse. I suggest you stay very, very quiet until we leave Sanctuary," Veronika hissed in Bert's ear.

Nadya

The scene was becoming loud and rowdy enough that Nadya was unable to focus on her reading and instead looked towards the scene. It didn't look to be price haggling, but it looked pretty violent. Nadya gripped her staff- she figured it might come in handy soon, though she kept her distance from the throng. Haythem's wyvern came swooping down-to attack? No it seemed the wyvern was defending the group. She inched closer to the scene, curiosity getting the better of her, though she still wanted to maintain some distance.

[Phoenix]

Thank You, Come Again

With the transaction concluded, Paz passed the newly acquired goods to a waiting assistant and then got back to checking Raquel's inventory. She meanwhile had had just enough time to finish picking out useful items she could afford. It turned out that Paz wanted some of her grenades, and she wanted some of the Sancturan shock grenades. When they realized they were trading primarily in high explosives, they both had a little laugh. Now all that was left was to retrieve the wagon and begin making the exchanges and paying off any differences. Hearing that wyvern in the distance sent a chill down Raquel's spine, though. At this point, she was positive something was terribly wrong, but she desperately wanted to finish the exchanges before having to deal with it. It was always something with this group.

Gabbie of course had finished her business and had no interest in wandering over to the unfolding scene, so she went back into the other room to see if Aneda was still browsing the rexian weapons.

"Well I should ... go and get the wagon. Robin, are you going to come with? We talk on the way." Raquel asked, still trying desperately to put whatever was going on nearby out of her mind.

Standoff

"Heh, a part of me was hoping you would feel that way." Haythem replied to Gytha. It was a win-win if she could trust him, and he didn't have to fight her. Culturally speaking, if he defeated her in a duel, he was 'woman-beating' disgrace; if he lost, he was more or less a complete and utter wimp.

Meanwhile Amon addressed Bert's question, only glancing at the pegasus rider from over his shoulder. "Don't get me wrong, you really messed up when you spoke about Lady Aisha that way, and even I still want to punch you through a wall for that, but Malik just wants to kill you to defend Lady Aisha's honor. He's trying to get revenge and nothing more. I don't know you that well, but we're on the same side. If one of us is in trouble, we should all try to help, even if it's their fault in the first place." he explained in an angry but reserved tone. He managed to crack a smile when Gytha praised his trustworthiness. After all of this time of being paranoid about what would happen in Sanctuary ... something happened, but he didn't seem to be losing the trust of his real allies over it.

Malik stood his ground, with crossed arms and a combat knife in one hand, just studying Haythem and his two female supporters. For all he knew, Fizza had him tagged. That sheer confidence of hers was something he wanted to just chalk up to stupidity, but everything about her stance told him he wasn't going to be able to take her down at all if it came to blows. Haythem's wyvern was a given, and Haythem, while a bit slow, had some very heavy armor and wasn't bad with that lance of his. The more he thought about it, the more frustrating the whole situation became.

[GoD]

"Oh Mercy, you are on Amon's bad side. Best of luck to you, Bert, you'll need it to survive."- Chelsea whispered to the pegasus knight's other ear. Although the recent turn of events, such as the young Rexian and the assasin lady were willing to assist them, the troubadour still felt uneasy and kept hiding behind Veronika.... it wasn't because the swordswoman's back was actually really comfortable- never mind that.

"Gytha, Bert please don't antagonize them any further. Please~"

[Mercakete]

"This is why I stay out of cities," Norbert muttered to himself at Veronika's advice. Amon's words made sense. They certainly matched his actions at least, so that was reassuring. Heh. He probably won't try to attack me when this is over, even if he syas he's angry enough to. Maybe he should -- Truth knows I deserve it for causing this mess. His eyes shifted over to the armory. Stay in there until this is over, Raquel. If you come out now, you'll get pulled into all this for sure, being our leader. She's pretty delicate, too, in spite of whatever powers she may be hiding from us. I don't know how she'd take this. ... Mercy, they'd better not pin this on her just for being the leader! I hope they don't use this to justify taking part of her emblem... Grr by Wrath, I'm such an idiot! It's my job tyo protect Raquel, not put her in difficult circumstances!

"Hey, Amon, when this is all over, I need you to do me a favor and sock me in the jaw. You might as well be the one to do it," Norbert requested. His tone was sarcastically light: a fair indicater he was trying to keep composed while he was clearly irritated at something. In this case, he was silently fuming at himself for his temper...which is sort of circlular, if you think about it: getting angry at yourself for getting angry.

Then Chelsea voiced a form of concern, apparently thinking the quiet, composed Rexian from their group had a temper as bad as his then pleaded with both him and Gytha to not anger the Rexians further. "Why the heck would we do that? Only a real idiot would push their luck at this point," he replied to Chelsea, controling himself just enough not to snap at her.

Gytha was a bit offended by Chelsea's inclusion of her in the troubador's plea. It felt like she was being blamed for this -- at least in part -- when she'd only tried to spar with Amon's friend and that was the end of it. "Ye'd best try not t' make 'em angry either. None of us should," she sharply murmurred to the healer.

[Acacia Sgt]

John reached again the area where Raquel, Paz, and whoever else was still there, just as the wyvern was heard.

<Ah yes, there was a wyvern there as well. Just what is happening right now...> ''I guess that goes without saying there's trouble brewing outside huh.'' He said out loud. ''And by the way, that's a bunch of guards having some of the group surrounded.'' He added.

[Phoenix]

Interruption

With John's news, any hope Raquel had of just going about her business was thoroughly crushed underfoot. She breathed a heavy sigh and nodded to him, aiming to head on over and see if there was anything she could do to help diffuse the situation, having no idea who or what was involved other than some wyvern and Gytha. "Just ... I'll be a few minutes, and then I'll ... hopefully be able to go and bring my wagon back here." Raquel told Paz before heading for the exit. Looking toward the commotion, she only saw some people in the distance, and only yelling made it over. She recognized some of the distant figures dwarfed by the wyvern though. Gytha, Bert, even Veornika and Amon were there, and Nadya was steadily getting closer. For some reason Veronika had some other person right behind her. And to top it all off there were no fewer than a dozen rexians, all armed. It was probably as bad as she feared. Gytha had probably challenged one of them to a duel and enraged them to the point of ganging up on the group. Maybe her presence was required, or maybe it wasn't, but either way, she didn't have the foggiest idea what someone like her could do to help the situation. 'Leader' was only a title for her at best.

Just then, the man from earlier, Commander Aziz, walked right on by ignoring her and everyone else completely. He was accompanied by the same messenger who had barged into his office. She reflexively spoke up. "Hey, wait. Do you know what's going on?"

He slowed his pace but didn't stop walking toward the confrontation. "I aim to find out. You are the leader of this group, are you not? You should accompany me."

"Of course ..." Like it makes a difference.

Stand Off

"I'll keep that in mind, but the one I really want to punch the most right now is Malik." Amon replied to Bert.

"Hey look, a big rexian with silvery grey hair is heading this way ... and there's a hapless looking goon and a pink haired mystic with him." Fizza announced. Quite observant. Amon, Haythem, Malik, all of the guards, their attention shot to those approaching from the armory. It was Commander Aziz. The guards didn't sheath their weapons, but they took a much more humble position, backing off from the group entirely for the moment.

<"Father ...">

<"Haythem."> he greeted his son sounding unamused. "Well, someone will have to explain this situation; it may as well be you, Haythem. Not a one of you interrupt. If you have a version to tell, you can do so after he finishes."

<"Where to start ...> well we had just gotten back, Amon, Malik, and me. High Priestess Lulu wanted to speak with us and Fizza here in her office, so she ordered us to head back to the palace, and then left for there herself. Well, what happened next is a little difficult to explain, but I'll try."

"Please do."

"Now if I remember this right, Gytha here was pretty happy to see Amon, and they were having a discussion that led to her challenging me to a duel ..."

"A duel?"

"I guess things are bit more action oriented where she comes from. Everyone took her attacking me the wrong way and the guards came over to try and stop her. Malik took charge and tried to have her arrested. Amon stood up for her and then things ... 'escalated'."

"Continue."

"Malik started yelling at the Amon and the others and the arguing just go worse and worse, and more and more of the foreigner group showed up to watch the spectacle or comment on it. Amon made it clear that he wasn't going to let Malik kill Lady Aisha's guests, and then Malik somehow got it in his head that killing Amon would be necessary if he didn't back down. Once the pegasus rider berated the lot of us and the queen, I had to step in. It was going to turn into a battle, otherwise."

Holy crap, Bert! Raquel thought to herself after hearing the explanation.

"I got Amon out of the way and gave his weapon to Fizza so she could help me keep the lot of them back. Isis helped too. Then you arrived ... and that's my story." Haythem concluded, cracking a nervous smile.

"I see. Malik, come here, and you as well, pegasus rider." the Commander instructed. Malik was more than a little hesitant; the Commander's intentions were all but impossible to read. Nonetheless he put away his weapon and began a slow walk over, hoping to arrive after Bert in the hopes that it might help in some way. Perhaps he was afraid of getting hit, understandable given the Commander's gauntleted fists.

[Mercakete]

Norbert got a sinking feeling in hus gut when he saw Raquel approching with a couple of Rexians. Oh great... Well, at least she's not coming by herself. Who knows what these people would do if she did? And then began the exchange between who appeared to be a very high-ranking Rexian and Haythem, mostly in Common (which he guessed was so that everyone present could understand.) The story was accurate so far as he could tell, and the parts he'd missed out on made sense in the telling. He whinced at his part in the story, unable to look at his employer since he'd promised to work on his temper back in Ursium and had failed rather miserably here. He didn't think about it before, but he knew what it could cost the group.

Gytha nodded quietly as she listened to the story. It sounded right to her. Hmm guess people realla are more action-oriented where I come from, now that I think about it. she mused.

When the high-ranking Rexian requested Malik and he go over to him, Norbert was a bit more intimidated than he'd been previously. The commander had picked out the two primary offenders accurately and effortlessly and that serious calm he had was unnerving. Still, the only thing to do was to follow the command, so he dismounted Rizen and paused, resting a hand on her shoulder and looking at her in the eye for a moment, silently told her to stay where she was. Then, he walked over to where the messenger and two authority figures were standing, doing his best to keep his expression unreadable and crossing his arms (partially to stop himself from his nervous habbit of keeping his hands on his maces.) He kept his eyes forward, but wasn't looking at either of the authority figures. One due to shame and the other due to nerves.

[Snowy_One]

Robin nodded as Raquel made her offer, but never got the real chance to speak up. She was not sure of what to say in the first place. 'So long and thanks for all the fish'? 'I am a clueless dolt'? 'I refuse to stay with you any longer for no reason beyond my own curiosity'? All of those were hostile and she wasn't trying to be aggressive, just uncertain. Before she could speak up though John andone of the men, probably a commander, came forwards as a commotion with Gytha and others was brewing off in the distance.

"Gytha. Brawl starting and crude conduct. Because."

[Acacia Sgt]

With his 'mission' done, John decided to follow suit, not that far behind. Reaching outside and towards the crowd. Well, nothing big had happened... yet. And now who arrived but, and judging from the reactions of the guards and his appearance, someone important it seems. Well, the situation seemed to have defused somewhat, and then explanations ensued.

<Hm, so that's what it was all about...> John thought. <What a mess this would've become. Then again, ever since the first mishap it wasn't going back.> And now the guy was leaving with Bert and Malik.

<All for culture clash... as if the war up north wasn't enough...>

[Phoenix]

Resolution

Once the two arrived, Commander Aziz stood between them like a duel master ready to formally start a match between warriors. Haythem knew that this was not going to devolve into a brutal contest of strength and cringed. The Commander glanced at Bert first, giving that same intimidating face as before. Then without warning, he his left hand appeared on Bert's shoulder, giving it a grip that was almost inescapable, and immediately afterward, his other fist slammed into Bert's stomach, seeming to 'reveal' just how angry he really was. He immediately let go of Bert's shoulder so he could properly 'curl up', the usual reaction to that sort of attack. "Badmouthing the Sancturans is something we would expect from those who come from the north, but we will not tolerate it when directed toward our queen. During the great rebellion, she sheltered our entire nation. She gave us our new home. She even spared those who would undermine her government. She is not the woman you foreigners think she is, and you should not cast any judgments upon her after spending a mere two days in her lands. You know almost nothing, and if nothing else, you have only come to reinforce our distrust for your kind." he explained.

Malik grimaced. The Commander looked to him next, and before he could try to avoid the blow, he took a hard punch to the gut as well. He collapsed onto his knees, and as he began coughing and gagging, the Commander said "These people are ignorant. They are far more removed from us than normal outsiders. They are in Sanctuary for a reason, and you have no right to try and take their lives. Words carry great weight here, something they may only now be coming to understand, but you have no right to pass judgment on them. The Queen allowed them into her city, and so their fate is in her capable hands, not yours. Never behave so presumptuously and rebelliously against our queen again, or I promise you, you will regret it with all of your being, Malik."

With that, he turned to Raquel and left the two of them to do whatever injured people do. "Whatever business you have in Sanctuary, I urge you to quickly conclude it, and be on your way. I will not go against anything the queen or high priestess decide, but left up to me, you people would never again be allowed into this city for any reason. I do not wish to lay eyes on any of you a second time if it can be helped. Unless the queen says otherwise, you are not welcome here." Raquel leaned back feeling absolutely terrible. It was harsh, but perhaps they were getting off light. It didn't feel that way but even Bert wasn't going to jail, apparently.

Finally he turned to Haythem. "You've done well, Haythem. No blood was meaninglessly spilled over this confrontation. You may yet make a competent officer. Now you, Amon, and Malik report to the High Priestess before she begins to worry and sends for you."

"Yes, sir." Haythem nodded. With that, he turned to leave, his expression unchanged. Haythem's own expression quickly faded to a saddened one though as he turned to those present. "Well ... it could have been worse. It still might be depending on what Lulu thinks of all this ...."

[ReformBlade]

"Hm? Oh hey... sorry, I got kinda distracted here. So much good stuff and yet I can't afford it~" She began fiddling with a sword, simply inspecting it. Damn this thing's sharp she thought as she ran her finger on the blade and nicked herself. "So did you find anything you liked? I would get something but I guess I'm too in love with my current weapon to really part with it. It's seen me through some tough battles, ya know? I hope it sees me through more before I truly need to improvise... or something. I don't know, maybe I'm just justifying not improving my weapon? Either way, it's been working me wonders, and I doubt I could afford any other weaponry as of right now."

[Acacia Sgt]

Deciding she had enough, Sophia walked to the entrance and outside. Needless to say, the crowd in the distance got her attention.

What happened here? She wondered. It certainly wasn't good considering the armed guards. But despite all she missed, there was one detail she did arrive in time to see...

The punches.

She gasped, bringing her hands over her mouth as she looked in surprise. W-wait, why did he...? She certainly had no idea, and as much as she would've wanted to get over to them with her staff, the other man's presence and actions were intimidating enough to not even try.

<Well, he is certainly one you don't want to mess around with.> John noted. <So much for our visit here. I wonder what would be if we ever visit Kigen proper...> He then shook his head. <Well, I guess there's no use worrying now.>

[Snowy_One]

"Has Raquel done anything wrong? Surely you must have other people starting fights elsewhere in the city. She has been nice and done her best to keep these people under control and you treated her like a incapable mother? Show her some respect!"

[Mercakete]

Norbert really wasn't sure what to expect. When the high-ranking Rexian's hand fell on his shoulder, he only had a slit-second to glance at it, confused, before he was suddenly on the ground with his arms over his stomach and coughing, trying to get air back into his lungs. He had no choice but to listen to the lecture specifically crafted for him as he lay curled up on the ground. He was fotunate enough to hear Malik's own cry and coughing as he recieved a similar punishment and listen to the lecture directed at him. "Words carry a great weight here", huh? I was let off easy...I guess... Ooaghhh that hurts... Aghh... I...want to just lay here...for a while...

A few more words were exchanged and the commander walked away, not that Norbert could tell from where he was. Gytha was unharmed, though and was a bit blank at the scene. "...Sure didn't take kindla t' Bert's talk," Gytha noted frankly. Bert's pegasus had let out a shrill whinny when her rider was jabbed in the gut, rearing and fanning her wings in preparation to charge. Gytha had seen this display before in combat and the pegasus was known for being possessive of her rider, so she'd dashed over, grabbed the pegasus' reigns and threw her weight back as the winged horse was rearing, knocking both mariner and pegasus onto their backs in a somewhat silly display. Rizen was a bit dizzy and had to recover from the disorientation (as did Gytha, a little bit, but she was on her feet again much quicker than Riz) and by that time, the commander was already leaving. It was a good thing Norbert was down for that already or he would've likely been downright merderous.

As soon as Rizen was steady again, she trotted over to her rider and lowered her head to inspect Norbert to see if he was alright. The familliar sound of hooves and short blast of warm air were the tell-tale signs that Riz had come to check up on him. Weakly, he raised a hand and hooked his fingers over her bridle in as much of a gesture of reassurance as he could muster at the moment. Rizen's responce was a concerned bray.

[Snike]

Only a few moments had passed since the disturbance temporarily calmed down, when John came by to report that some members of the group were surrounded by guards. Those members definitely could not be Gytha and Bert, could they? Especially after the incident they had this morning, they wouldn't dare inciting the guards, right? Right?

With his news came louder yelling, along with a heavy sigh from Raquel. The merchant and employer dejectedly trudged off towards the cause of the conflict, which left Blake just standing there, as he contemplated heading in the other direction. Finally, the swordsman frowned, and decided to follow suit, his left hand firmly on the pommel of his sword. If there was going to be a conflict here, he'd be able to help end it one way or another.

He was wrong about who wasn't surrounded. The sea-dweller and the Ursian pegasus knight were once again at the center of attention, with many Rexians surrounding them, ready to strike at any moment. Also present were the Skotian noble, Amon, a female Rexian with a knife, and a male Rexian who seemed to be commanding the giant wyvern that was menacing the guards. This scenario was growing better and better. Not only had the group - probably Bert and Gytha: The Skotian noblewoman seemed to have some tact- done something to provoke the authority, there was now a civil conflict at which they were at the center of as a result.

Raquel had met with and accompanied a Rexian -who must have been a commander of the guard force, judging by how the others backed down- as they approached the middle of the dispute. The Rexian then asked the wyvern rider Rexian -his son, judging by the hair?- what had happened here. The response was relatively unsurprising - Gytha was being overprotective of Amon or something and Bert had blown his top- but Blake couldn't help but be disappointed with them. Wasn't it clear that disobeying the local authority was a terrible idea? Regardless, the commander had pulled a red-haired Rexian and Bert out from the crowd, so the situation was seemingly about to be resolved...

Then the Rexian leader socked Bert in the gut, lectured him, then repeated the punishment on Redhair. Well, that was certainly one way to settle things. The man then returned to Raquel, and suggested that the group should hurry up and leave Sanctuary. It was delivered in a very cold manner, but Blake agreed with it wholly, if only to prevent the demise of the band of mercenaries due to idiocy. Now, hopefully no one would speak out against the punishment, and they would be on their way...

Then, Robin, from out of nowhere -literally. The mercenary was pretty sure she had warped while he was looking away, or something- spoke out in an aggressive manner towards the Rexian head in a misguided attempt to defend the merchant. Blake shook his head. Good job, Robin. Now there was no guarantee that they wouldn't be arrested, thanks to that provocation.

[Phoenix]

Gabbie

Gabbie showed Aneda the new lance. "Yep, this'll do~ It's not entoirely dexterium but it's that's not necessarily a bad thing, eoither. I understand how ya feel, though. Hell, even if there was some newer, better version of Gemini, I probably wouldn't just up and switch to that. That lance grew on me, and I wouldn't be foighting without it if I didn't have to. I'm still bein' punished for kickin' the crap out of Raquel, after all." she explained, pausing to sigh afterward.

Retorts

The Commander slowed, and then stopped, noticing someone back there yelling at him in Raquel's defense. "How long did it take her to investigate this incident involving her own people? How well does she truly control these people considering what has happened here? What good does her kindness do?" All rhetorical questions the Commander shot right back at Robin without even bothering to look her way. "Her 'best' is not good enough, and your barking does not change that. If she learns to command, perhaps I will learn to respect her, but even now she cannot even keep one such as you from digging your own grave. Pathetic." And with that, he resumed his walk, seeming dead serious about not wanting to lay eyes on any of them again. He did not look back.

Once again, Raquel's gaze fell to the ground. Why bother showing her face after that? She felt that despite the man's harsh words, though, he was right. She didn't even see herself as a leader, and she certainly didn't act like one. While some of the party were provoking the rexians, she was desperately trying to ignore the escalating situation and do business. There were more important things to worry about, though, and she hurried over to Bert to see if he was alright. Hopefully Rizen wouldn't get the wrong idea, but Bert was the only distraction and from the looks of things, he could really use some help. She slowed down during her approach to make sure Rizen wouldn't kick her or something.

Amon just stood there for a moment, making a note to himself not to strike Bert later on. After what Commander Aziz had done, what was the point? Haythem tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. "We should go ... for now." He then looked out at the group. "... maybe we'll see you all back at the palace. Hopefully." He shrugged.

[Mercakete]

"Ye goin' t' tell th' priestess what happened?" Gytha asked curiously.

The most Rizen did was look up as best she could without raising her head. This was a human Norbert had shown respect to as they travelled in this herd, so she wasn't going to harm the pegasus rider. She let loose a puff of air from her nostrils. It was the best she could do to inform the human that it was safe for her to approch. After that, she didn't pay Raquel any more mind and went back to worrying about her rider.

[Snowy_One]

Robin glowered as she watched the general walk away. From the outset of her own journey she had known she was not cut out to be a military officer, but after that display, she was certain of her decision. She respected Raquel, she had come to defend her honor, and the military man saw only a lack of command instead of loyalty. She suspected that the man only followed orders because command was the only thing he cared about, not any degree of loyalty or respect.

"Raquel, this... cannot happen again." She turned around to look at Bert, Gytha, John, and those who had been involved in the brawl. "And what on Earth did you do to cause this much trouble for Raquel? What in the name of the GODS could possess you to cause such an uproar as to call down the military commanders? Did you even think about what you were doing? What reason could even exist that could explain your actions?"