Return of the Emblem Chapter Eight: Affairs of the World

[Phoenix]

Bar

Raquel felt very heavy after that cry and found it a bit difficult to pull her head up. She wiped the tears from her face and turned around to face Gytha and Veronika when they returned. "I'm not even drunk. I just need a little help. I can come too." Raquel pleaded weakly.

"Oh you are so much worse than drunk roight now. Drunk people are actually funny." Gabbie chimed in, pointing to Aneda. "What was all that stuff about stabbin' Sardis in the face?"

"I'm really stressed, okay? Leave me alone." Raquel shot back as she leaned away in the stool and nearly fell off in the process. She barely caught and steadied herself. "I made a mistake thinking I could handle half a drink, but I'm not drunk. This is my part time job, so help me do it."

"Oh what could possibly go wrong if someone other than you does the negotiating?" Not a question Raquel wanted to bother answering. She just glared instead.

[ReformBlade]

"Oh would you quit being so childish! Yeesh, it's not the end of the world! Not yet anyway, but eh..." sighing and propping her head up with one arm, "There are worse things that can happen than someone willingly doing your job for you!" Aneda mused. "It's not like this sort of opportunity will never rise up again, and it's not like- whoa... just a second..." Aneda had to catch her breath and steady herself before going on, laughing to herself in the meantime. "Anyway, it's not like you're so damn important to this extremely specific taaaask, okay? I don't see how this ain't sinking in, unless you're really that drunk as a skunk or... or a trunk or however the fuck that rhyme goes. Maybe it's monk? Whatever. Either way, you are silly, and you shall from now on be referred to as Miss Silly Pants McHides Stuff! Nnnahahahaha!"

"Lost women and dreams I can sympathize with, I think, but ships? Not a chance. The sea is not a place I'm all that fond of, outside of a nice sunset view mind you. But I must say, this sight is disheartening..." Don't even think about helping, Davod, you cause a scene here and you're gonna regret it. "hey, shut it alright? I'm not gonna do anything..." he mumbled perhaps a bit too loudly.

[Mercakete]

"Err... Raquel, ye are drunk. Not everyone is the same kind o' drunk. N' even if ye weren't, yer an emotional mess right now. Best t' just calm down..." Gytha advised, concerned for the woman, "Ye'll realize it once ye sober up. They always do...unless they never sober up. ... I'll be right back after I have a chat with th' captain o'er there." Gytha looked over to Veronika and instructed, "Please keep an eye on 'em while I'm gone."

With that, Gytha walked over to the man the barkeep had indicated earlier. "Ahoy," she greeted. This being the captain of a ship rather than a crewman, Gytha was less stern and more herself, though remaining respectful (he WAS a captain, after all, so some respect was due him), "I hear ye have a ship bound fer Tremere."

[-Cynthia-]

"If I were in your shoes, I'd want to stab Sardis in the face too," Veronika agreed. Maybe it was good for her to let go a little bit, keeping everything inside can sometimes be painful.

"If you want to talk to the captain of the Argus then come along. There's no law saying only one person can negotiate for something," Veronika said to Raquel, holding out an arm for Raquel for support if wanted. Besides, I don't trust Gytha to handle this by herself anyway- she's definitely not the most responsible member of our little group.

[Phoenix]

Bar

"Hmm? You're not?" the barkeep asked, not catching that his customer wasn't even talking to him in that moment. "Well, can't blame you. It's hard enough to deal with our problems, let alone someone else's." he mused aloud. "She looks to be recovering a bit, though. That's good."

"I'm not drunk, Aneda. I just don't want to sit here and wait for this swirling to stop when someone could just help me. Besides, the sooner I get out of this place, the less likely something else bad will happen. Who gets sober in a tavern, anyway?" Raquel replied, somewhat rhetorically.

"Everyone's sober after a foight breaks out~" Gabbie noted with a grin.

While Gytha went to negotiate with the captain of the Argus, Veronika offered to help Raquel. FINALLY, someone willing to not verbally restrain her. She took her arm without hesitation and was very careful when she got up. "Thank you." she said in a sincere tone.

The captain of the Argus had been watching things from beside the door for awhile, but when Gytha came to him, he finally had all the context he needed. He nodded at her greeting, and when Tremere came up, he shrugged a bit. "Sometimes. Ship's not goin' anywhere til I get a few more new hands and she's fixed, though. Blasted pirates are gettin' bolder ...." Seemed his ship and crew had gotten a bit worked over by pirates at sea.

[Phoenix]

<Placeholder for the best thing ever>

Edited March 24, 2012 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

"What sort o' hands were ye lookin' for?" Gytha asked, "N' how long d' ye think th' Argus'll be stuck in port?" This'un has potential. Th' captain's lookin' fer more hands for his crew. N' since he was attacked by pirates, he might want more mariners t' fight'em off. She was completely unaware of Veronika and Raquel's approach.

Edited March 24, 2012 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Chiming In

"Full time, and who don't complain much, though plain ol mercenaries'll might do for now. Nobody important got killed." he explained. "The Argus is almost fixed ... hell, she is fixed. The shipwrights just want to put the spit shine on'er."

Raquel and Veronika arrived in time to catch most of that, but Raquel didn't hear the 'full time' bit. "Umm ... hello." Raquel greeted.

"Hmm?" the captain looked around Gytha without moving anything more than his head. "Hello to you too. Women sticking together, huh? That's smart" he said with a slow nod. "This ain't the north after all ..."

[-Cynthia-]

"We can act as a group of mercenaries, though we specialize in fighting, not running ships. We stand at about 15 men, plus some horses and other mounts. Would there be room for a wagon anywhere aboard?" Veronika inquired of the captain, filling in for Raquel who seemed to be a bit shy at the moment.

[Mercakete]

"They aren't proficient at helpin' t' run a ship," Gytha clarified, a bit annoyed that Veronika seemed to insist on making negotiations difficult, "But they can learn with instruction n' I'm a mariner meself. Been one fer some years now, usualla anchorin' in Fairgale, but I've been t' pleanty o' other ports, too. Mostla Ursian vessels, but I've been aboard a couple Kigenese ships, too. Keep in mind that we're tryin' t' find th' best deal here with company that won't mind us so much but not be too welcomin' either, if ye know what I mean. Most o' us're women, after all, n' we're hopin' t' eventualla reach Ursium." Some of her explanation was meant for the captain, some was meant for Raquel and Veronika, whom she was beginning to get the feeling that she thought she was incapable of negotiating on her own.

[Phoenix]

Raquel

"Ursium? You ladies are a loooong way from home I take it. Maybe I could have ya aboard, but I can't agree to anythin' just yet. If my men found out at the last minute that we were going to have eight or nine women aboard ... well I'd be lucky if I didn't have to shoot someone just to get their attention off of ya, let alone get the damn ship out to sea." he explained. "Need to see if I can keep those dogs under control first. How many of you're married? Never mind ... doesn't matter. I'll just tell'em you're all married. They don't need to know any better. Not sure it'll help much, though."

'Not sure if it will help much'?! Oh my goooooods. Raquel thought to herself. It seemed pretty obvious what was going through her mind, though; her face went pale and she looked utterly disturbed the moment the captain expressed his doubts about his lies.

Reign

Somewhere in an alley, there was a confrontation taking place. A young nomad was slammed into a wall and slowly slid down onto his rear, his blue and teal shirt dragging behind his back. "... well ... that hurt." he muttered with a wince.

"You've got more coming if you don't wise up." one of the three sailors warned.

"How did you guys even know I was thinking about joining up with the Leverager, anyway? I didn't shout it from the rooftops or anything." the nomad asked as he began to haul himself up. He wasn't in good shape from that impact but wasn't bleeding or bruised either.

"The captain knows who those bastards are. You join the Leverager, and you're a dead man, got that?"

"Okay I've got it ... sheesh."

"Good. Alright, let's get out of here." the man said. The other two followed suit and the nomad was left alone in the alley. He sighed and looked up at the sky, and then toward the exit the thugs had taken.

"I swear, if I get my hands on a fire tome, I am going to roast those brigands and make a peace offering to the fallen. Okay, time to warn the captain, before he loses anymore people in shady alleyways. If I'm lucky maybe he'll take pity on me and take me full time. I'd do anything to get out of this damn port, even go out to sea." With that, the man took off running, his destination, the docks.

Edited March 24, 2012 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

"Well, glad t' hear it sounds like yer not one o' those captains who thinks bringin' a woman aboard is bad luck. N' I understand -- we can't guarantee we'll be sailin' with ye either. N' I can't speak fer th' others, but I don't think ye have t' worry about me too much. I can handle meself in a pack o' dogs. I keep me sword n' me pistol on me at all times, so if we do sail with ye n' one o' yer men dies, I apologize in advance fer th' lost crewman...'r crewmen. Shouldn't take many fer them t' learn not t' make any advances on me 'r me allies. Harr pretty sure a lot o' th' women with us can handle themselves, though: tough as nails n' twice as sharp. Oh, n' hope ye don't mind havin' a temporara ship cat. She's good at keepin' th' rats out o' th' grain," Gytha elaborated to the captain. It felt good to be talking about boarding conditions again. "If we wind up sailin' t'gether, a'course."

[ReformBlade]

Davod couldn't help but overhear parts of the conversation with the green haired drunken lady, and he had to admit he was intrigued. Sounds like fun if you could hang out with those people, eh? I bet that's what you're thinking, and look, a couple of em seem to be mercenaries, or mercenary-like, there might be a living for you yet! It didn't take Davod too much convincing, though it did take him a while to muster up the courage to try and not screw up introductions. Getting up and moving closer to the lady, he tried to strike up a conversation. "Hey there, I couldn't help but overhear, but-"

"Riiiight, right, this old schtick. Come on, make this interesting! What was so great about what you heard?"

The fuck did you get yourself involved with? Man, you're on your own for this one, she's definitely out of it or just playing around, and you know how that goes... "It sounds... interesting, I suppose?"

"Watching a girl cry and me make fun of em in a roundabout way is simply interesting to ya? You sooooound like a real good partygoer!" It was at this point that Aneda started to get a little drowsy, swaying back and forth, forcing her to lean on the table again. "I'm done! Go away sir! Or at least bother someone else, I'm tiiiiiired..."

"What...?" He looked at Aneda with an incredibly confused face for a moment before sighing to himself. "Really shoulda seen that one coming. Uh, you there." He pointed to Gabbie to try and get her attention, "Pardon my intrusion, but are you uh... able to talk, er, coherently?" Smooth, real smooth...

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika groaned inwardly a little as Gytha casually mentioned killing the crewmen. She appreciated Gytha's sentiment, but she doubt the captain would appreciate people being killed aboard his vessel.

"When and where should we meet you to discuss arrangements further?" she asked the captain of the Argus. He apparently wanted to meet with their crew and Veronika wanted to see if the Leverager had a better offer.

[Phoenix]

Bar

The man's exchange with Aneda didn't go so well. Gabbie wasn't surprised, but right as the scene ended and she turned back to face the endless line of bottles on the shelf behind the counter, the same man called out again. He wasn't talking to her was he? She glanced over to check and sure enough, it was her turn. He apparently wanted to know if she could speak coherently. "Better than her." Gabbie answered with smirk.

Meanwhile the conversation with the Captain of the Argus continued. "Bringin' women aboard is bad luck in a sense. Your crew spends the whole journey gawkin' or testin' their luck, discipline becomes damn near impossible, and battle readiness drops like a shot mast. I just don't really care. Sometimes ya just have to have a woman or ten aboard. Best to just deal with it. Besides, how else are ya supposed to get'em from one place to another, make'em swim there? That's just ridiculous." he replied to the luck comment. The captain did grimace when Gytha began talking about potentially lost crewmen, but he shrugged by the end of it. "If they die, I don't have to pay their dumb asses, but just don't you go around shooting my officers. I need those morons to keep order. You and your girlfriends go around shootin' up half the crew and I'm going to have a real hard time justifyin' why you're even aboard. Don't much mind 'pets' but keep any drakes muzzled or out of sight. I've still got a few things to do, but I'll be at the docks if you're still interested. Look for a green flag and a red line painted on, just above the waterline."

Whoooooa, how can he care so little for his crew? I know they're just hired hands but he treats them like a burden he'd rather wash his hands of completely. Raquel thought to herself.

Soon, three burly looking men barged into the Sandbar and began scanning the place.

Not the Bar

It was a long walk back to the docks ... mainly because the young nomad was trying his hardest not to be followed or seen on approach. There was nothing he could do to stay hidden once he actually reached the docks, though. There was too much open space and hardly any shadows to hide in. It was so close to noon that there weren't any shady spots. Honestly he wouldn't have even bothered sneaking around if he just had a tome. In the end, he decided to make a quick jog out into the open and run right up onto the deck of the Leverager. The second he made it up the ramp, he hid out of sight from anyone on the docks by ducking behind the guard rails. He was immediately held at gunpoint by a crewman who just happened to be wandering around.

"I don't like stowaways." he muttered as he pulled back the hammer on his pistol. The 'intruder' slowly turned his head toward the gunman.

"Do I get any 'last words' or are you just going to shoot me?" he asked with a braced look on his face.

"... ... ... I'm listenin'."

"I just got jumped by three goons in an alley. They must have spotted me talking with your captain, earlier. They're trying to make sure the captain doesn't get any new recruits. You may not recognize me, but I was here bargaining with the captain, earlier."

"You're one of the potentials? Huh. So, who were they?" the crewman asked as he lifted the barrel away from the nomad, put the hammer back in place just slowly enough not to fire the gun and then holstered it.

"I don't know, but your captain was really vague about some things, so I have a feeling they're involved with whatever you guys are doing. I just want to warn him that whoever he's up against is probably trying to harass anyone he tries to hire and slow you guys down. That's not a bad idea since if he doesn't replace the men he lost, he's either got to sail at a disadvantage, or keep trying to recruit while the other ship gets away, and fighting out in the open in a place like this is just insane."

"You certainly seem to know an awful lot about what's goin' on with the Leverager ..." the crewman noted with suspicion.

"Your captain's good at dropping hints. I'm positive that there's another ship in Temptress that you boys are trying to take down ... and they're trying to at least hinder you. Found that out the hard way a few minutes ago ... Look, I want to help, I really do, but there's only so much I can do without a tome and some more information. Also I haven't eaten in a while so some food would be nice too, heheh."

"Look at you, you're not even hired yet and you're already begging for provisions and info. Alright, come on, you rexian vagrant. The captains in his cabin. You two can talk it out, yourselves. I've got rounds to finish for Levi's sake."

"Heh ... thanks."

[Ether]

"Is there something wrong with your knife that it needs replacing?" Faatina asked, turning to Robin, glad for the change in subject.

'I should get a new knife as well, I suppose. Norbert has mine.'

[Snowy_One]

Robin's eyes raised in slight interest to Tina's remark. "No. Not really. I like my knife. It is a fine knife. Here, let me show it to you." she reached down to draw the blade she had crafted. It was a lovely looking blade, black as the night with a faint hint of dusky translucence along the edges. Soft ripples where Robin had struck the obsidian glinted in the sunlight and caused it to shimmer as she held it aloft. The edge was smooth and clean all along from the base to the curved tip of the tool and looked sharp enough to cut ones eye merely by looking at it. She held it by the hilt, made from carved wood with many small carvings she had done herself. Small strips of leather tied the hilt to the only dull part of the blade at the hilt tight enough and carefully done so it would not move.

"It is very sharp. However, it is also very brittle. Obsidian is not the most durable material and the way this blade is shaped makes it even less so. That is... not the reason I want a new one though. All my life I have struggled with the concept of what I am. I have had people try to tell me I need to live a certain way, buy certain things, and belittle the work I have done. Most people would look at this knife and see only a stone knife made by a primitive woman and insist I buy an iron knife to replace it. I made this though and it is as much who I am as my right arm. As a result I have resisted for so long, and... now... I am no longer sure. I do not know if I want to buy a new knife, but if I do... it will finally be on my own terms because I want to, not because some merchant insists that 'the stupid stone girl buys one'."

[Ether]

"It's beautiful." Faatina remarked, looking the obsidian blade over.

"I don't see where the sentiment comes from, but I am no merchant. Perhaps they simply wished to force a sale onto you?" Faatina pondered.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika raised an eyebrow at the men scanning the bar, but she decided to ignore them for the time being. "All right, I believe we have our own business to attend to, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Veronika said to the captain before heading towards the doorway. We still have another crew to discuss things with- we may be able to get a better deal.

Edited March 25, 2012 by -Cynthia-

[Mercakete]

"Aye, I can understand that," Gytha commented at the captain's musings about women being bad luck. The captain went on to talk about shootings. "Haharr, why would I use up so many rounds outside an attack on th' ship? Don't worry, it'll only get lethal if they persist even after getting a couple black eyes n' a broken nose," she lightheartedly replied. And with that, the meeting had ended and a few tough-looking customers walked into the bar. "We'll see ye later if we d'cide t' sail with ye. Smooth sailin', captain!"

With that farewell, the mariner began walking a little ways off, then addressed Raquel. "That went pretty well, all things considered," she noted, "We should get Wolfy n' Aneda n' head o'er t' th' docks now. We've handled all th' business we can n' should here."

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

Well, at this point, he was just waiting for Robin and Faatina to start looking for a cutlery or something. Instead, they were just talking about Robin's present knife. That was all well and good, especially since they seemed to be getting along now. I wonder what'll happen first: them looking for a knife or Raquel coming out of that bar.

[ReformBlade]

"Better is... a relative term. Okay it's better than, well, that I guess." Davod tilted his head towards Aneda for a moment before returning his attention to Gabbie. "Couldn't help but overhear some things and I may be jumping to some conclusions, but are you people, that is to say, well, everyone you're with currently... I guess... Ahem. Let me start over... The name's Davod Icaros, I'm a wandering storyteller, though mostly children's stories, and before you get the wrong idea NO I'm not trying to... uh. What's the term I'm looking for here, I wanna say score, yeah, score, I'm not looking to do that or anything, I'm already married... I think... I'm just wondering if you're all mercenaries or some sort of traveling group thing, because honestly, I'm quite out of luck and looking for a job of sorts. I'm whatever you'd need me to be, I'm fairly reliable in that regard!" He tried to smile, knowing he was moving ahead way too fast. "Sorry if I'm forward." Oh yeah, that fixed it. Now you seem totally normal! When will you learn you?!

[Phoenix]

Bar

"Do we really need Gabbie and Aneda with us? The Dauntless is right outside and I don't want to move it all over the docks before I know which ship we're taking. It's also a good place for everyone to meet up before we board. Aaaand the two of them are picking on me so, can we just leave them here for now?" Raquel requested, still not looking so good. Around that same time, the three men headed straight toward the corner that the men with the long coats were occupying. Raquel and Veronika could have been shoved aside as they passed if not for a little advanced warning.

"When are we setting out?" the man asked when they reached the corner.

"As soon as the captain gives the order, of course." the creepy sailor replied.

"Well he'd better hurry. Those bastards are even recruiting local street trash, now."

"You think a few vagrants are a match for us on the sea? Are you serious?" the sailor replied with a concerned look on his face. The man seemed like an idiot to him right now.

"The more men he lines up, the more we might have to cut down."

"Well, stop messing around and start finding some muscle of our own, genius."

"Err ... you know I'm not much of a recruiter ...."

Meanwhile at the counter ...

"Not looking to score ... oh well. Yeah, we're ... a little loike mercenaries. Some of us. I'll have to direct you to our fearless and completely unshakable leader, Raquel, though she appears to be on her way outsoide." Gabbie replied, pointing a thumb toward the pink haired merchant, who was just barely out of earshot. She seemed to find the conversation too amusing to just speak like she normally did.

[Mercakete]

"It's not that we need 'em necessarily," Gytha replied, concern causing her to frown, "It's that places like this're dangerous n' at least Aneda's not in th' sharpest state o' mind."

[Phoenix]

Bar

"If you're worried--I'm not since Gabbie's at least staying sober--we could send someone back to check on them." That was Raquel's initial suggestion, but she didn't wait for a reply before determining for herself that it was a little lazy on one end, and rushed on the other. She turned back toward the counter to see Aneda resting and Gabbie speaking with someone. She didn't say anything, though. She only stared, trying to decide whether or not to drag them out of the Sandbar.

[Snowy_One]

"If they are they are doing it the worst way possible. Insulting my work then pushing inferior knives on me without explaining why they are 'better' beyond that they are iron." Robin sighed as she raised the knife carefully before sheathing it again. "Let us hope that this time it is different. Bert! Let us go knife-hunting!"