Return of the Emblem Chapter Eight: Affairs of the World

[Acacia Sgt]

Well, John got his answer somewhat. <So she just invited him to join after meeting him inside a bar huh.> He thought. <Well, at least it's a step-up from randomly encountering someone while on the road.> He shrugged.

Sophia just stared at Gabbie. Really? We're just taking him in just like that? But then, she remembered how just yesterday they had brought Tina in likewise, and what John told her about their unusual way of recruiting people. She was still at a loss for words thought. I guess they're just used to this then...

[-Cynthia-]

Leverager

He wants to order us around in battle as well? I suppose we're not used to naval combat, but we're probably better off with some autonomy. "I'm Veronika, pleased to make your acquaintance- is our business concluded here for now?" she asked the captain.

Dauntless

"Uh, not that I have anythin' against pickin' up guys in bars, but do you know what he can actually do exactly?" Nadya asked Gabbie, tilting her head in the direction of the stranger.

[Phoenix]

Cabin

"Unless there's something else you people need, no." Bogdan replied. "Reign. Bring my first mate here. I want the crew informed before Raquel's people get here, so there isn't any trouble."

"Sure thing." Reign accepted the task with a deep nod and then turned to leave, stopping by Raquel on the way out. She'd just stood up herself. "This will be the first time outside of training."

"Yeah ..." she said quietly.

"It'll be fun. I'm glad you're here ... ignoring however it happened for the moment. You'll have to tell me what you're doing way out here later on, okay?" he added, patting her on the shoulder a few times.

"You're not going to believe a word of it anyway ...."

"Yeah sure I won't. Okay, see ya." he turned to leave, waving back over his shoulder as he left.

Dauntless

"He can hold my attention. That's pretty much elite roight there, but in all seriousness I hear he's good with a whip ... and I really wanna see that in action~" Gabbie replied to Nadya. "Why don't you take a shot at it, Nadya? I'm sure you could come out of the Sandbar with at least a swordsman. Can never have too many of those."

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya snorted a little at Gabbie's comment. "I bet I could get some random sailor to join the group if I wanted to, but I don't necessarily want this group gettin' any bigger. The more mercenaries Raquel picks up, the more people she has to pay and the less gold I get," she explained.

[Snike]

Aaand Reign the Rexian- or Ursian? Raquel was an 'old' friend of his apparently - was, as expected, not the captain. The man behind him however, was indeed the captain, and he had no time for the merchant's reunion. The quartet entered the cabin, Raquel seating herself, and Gytha quickly stepped in and began to talk for Raquel again - which was, first of all, stepping out of place and disrespectful, as Raquel could certainly speak for herself as of five seconds beforehand. Secondly, the mariner did not even bother with giving the correct rumour to the captain, which would have been the 'safer' choice had if the captain really was as diabolical as the sailors claimed. Luckily, the seaman was only homicidal towards the Dark Utka crewman, for motives Reign would only explain if the quartet promised to keep their mouths shut. Which they would, of course. After all, it was their business now that they had been so rudely accosted. Veronika voiced consent, which almost immediately drew fire from Gytha -the 'group spokesman'- and this prompted immediate reprisal from the noblewoman. In front of one of their only ways to get out of this shady town. This was another one of those matters he would have to talk to Raquel about later.

The bickering subsided, the sea captain threatened the quartet with death if they were allied with the rival ship, and Raquel had asked that they not be pressured into making a choice, before Reign launched into the tale. Captain Bogdan -the threatening man in front of them- was apparently going after the Dark Ukta because they were smuggling dragon eggs to the Neviskotian rebels - Blake had heard of them, but only a slight bit through that friend -, which would then be enslaved by said rebels. The Leverager was scheduled to attack them at sea once more after they finished recruiting members. Veronika denied any allegiance with the smugglers and questioned why the Leverager's crew wouldn't attack at land, while Gytha affirmed the denial and began a push for accompanying this ship. The merchant considered that vouch, and Bogdan explained that they needed to fight the ship at sea so as to not encounter interference. This seemed to do the trick, as the female Skotian then added her support for using this vessel. To be quite honest, Blake wanted to accompany the Leverager as well, if only to pay his dues to his fallen friend by helping out their people. He did not say anything, though, as he did not want to put any pressure on Raquel, as the others might have. He was not getting paid to coerce his ward into assisting privateers.

Luckily, the woman decided that they would aid the Leverager, to which Gytha cheered and announced her name to Bogdan. The good captain exchanged his name once again, before launching into a brief description of rules, which essentially were summed up as 'Feed yourselves', 'clean up after yourselves', and 'listen to me while on-board'. Which made sense, seeing as they were exchanging services, after all. Travel time was estimated to be multiple weeks, but maybe earlier if they thrashed the Dark Utka swiftly enough. After that was learned, there really was little reason to stay. Reign and Raquel began to talk about training or something, which abruptly ended when the former departed the cabin. Blake merely stood by the door, so he would be ready to leave with the others without delay.

[ReformBlade]

"Oh, I'm Davod, sorry to intrude... I guess. I'm just looking for a job, heard your little troupe thing was in the business of being hired swords and whatnot." It was then that one of the ladies inquired as to what he could do, and Gabbie seemed to respond for him. "I'm sure I can help out in more than just a scuffle, but yeah that's what I'm probably best at."

Edited April 1, 2012 by RainbowKitty

[Phoenix]

Dauntless

"Oh I'm sure you could make up the difference with all of the looting." Gabbie teased. "The way I see it, the more people we've got on our soide, the more enemies we take down. More spoils ... and I've never seen anyone get to those bodies that fast." Though I guess looting is a drop in the bucket compared to Weyland's payouts. Might not want to rely on those too much, though. He's got his hands full helping us AND Steinn.

Approaching Dauntless

With their business aboard the ship more or less handled, it was time to go back to the Dauntless, hope to the gods that everyone was present, and then begin gathering up the supplies they would need for the long trip. Once they were finished, they could board the Leverager and hope for some rest before the captain decided to ram his ship into the Dark Utka or something equally rash and spectacular. Raquel found that they were only about halfway back when she expected to see the vehicle up close. A frustrated sigh escaped and she began fiddling with the gem on her cloak, trying to figure out how she would remove it. She hadn't had an opportunity since her last dream ... too distracted.

[Snike]

And here was his chance. Gytha and Veronika seemed to have been preoccupied with their own thoughts, and so had left Raquel relatively alone. Which meant all the more time to pitch his combat team idea. Blake moved to the merchant's side, and spoke.

"Sorry if I am interrupting you," he said as he noticed the woman's fiddling with her gem. "But, I just wanted to talk a little bit about the last battle. I think we took way more damage than we should have, as a result of everyone making their own combat teams, it seemed. So, while you were in the bar, I came up with this," the swordsman continued, as he produced the list of teams that he had completed just minutes beforehand. "Those are some ideas for teams based on how we did last fight. Sorry about the naming - I haven't really met everyone in the group yet, unfortunately." With this said, Blake offered the list.

[Phoenix]

Organize

Raquel let the gem be for now. Improving their battle formation was more important than getting the emblem out of her clothing. She took the list and began reading it silently, though she would comment aloud as she did so. "Oh that's right, you don't know everyone by name yet. Sooo the first one is John with ... troubadour troubadour-Nadya and ... Gabbie?" It was mostly a rhetorical question so she continued going over the list. "Pegasus kniiight. Aneda, Faatina, and Robin." She continued. "Veronika, Ranyin, and Bert. Hmm. Ursian ... Sophia, I think. Gytha, and Chelsea ... she's the only other troubadour I know of." and then there was one more left. "You, Mireille and me?" It hadn't occurred to her to take up one of the group's shield wielders for herself, but if she ever got captured again, they would be in trouble. "Do you think these set ups will really help us take fewer losses? I really wouldn't know, myself. I haven't exactly gone around figuring out what people are best at ... and it's even harder to observe in battle ... harder than I thought, anyway. I'm always keeping an eye out for stray projectiles, and now that I'm on the front lines, I've got to do that and maintain an empowerment spell.

[Snike]

"I think it's certainly safer than placing the knight on someone fast enough to avoid attacks most of the time, and resilient enough to shake a few off," Blake said, referring to Nadya now that he knew her name. "And it will definitely help us protect you, which in turn should ease the burden on everyone else's minds, allowing us to set the tone for battles early on, rather than later on. The fact that there is someone encased in armor drawing fire away from you would also let you relax a little and maintain your empowerment spell a with a little less hassle. Though, that's just my opinion. You're the boss."

[Phoenix]

Little Boss

"I guess I should talk with everyone about this once we get everything on the ship ... unless everyone decides to splinter off like last time." Raquel mused aloud, thinking back to their time aboard the Al-Lyrae. The party scattered once they boarded and she wasn't even going to attempt to gather them all ... though that was probably what led to some of the missing party members during the battle, she realized. Urgh, it's hard herding people ... no wonder things are so strict in the military. It WORKS.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"Well, scuffles seem to be what we're good at findin'. I have a feelin' Raquel didn't book us a cruise ship, she's probably signed us up to fight pirates or sharks or somethin'. Ah well, no pay in sittin' around, nice to have ya aboard Davod," she said, giving the stranger a wave.

[Acacia Sgt]

<Heh, funny she says that.> John thought.

''Well, now that you mention it,'' he decided to speak up. ''You're not that far off, in one way or another.''

[Snike]

"Maybe if everyone is at the Dauntless, you could quickly announce that teams could be changing once we go aboard?" Blake said, in response to Raquel. "I mean, that way, they might not all separate immediately, if that is an issue."

[Phoenix]

Regroup

"Good idea. Even if everyone isn't there yet, people can still pass the message along. The Leverager is huge and I want to make sure we're prepared. Ocean combat isn't going to give us any room for mistakes like land combat does." Once the Dauntless came into view, Raquel sighed in relief. The overwhelming majority of the group was present. She was expecting a handful at best. "Everyone! Ummm ... we're going to be sailing on the Leverager. The captain is a Neviskotian privateer, Captain Bogdan. I need you to inform anyone else who's not here. We have to take our own food and water for both ourselves and the mounts, so I'm going to take care of that right now ... and maybe see if I can't find any new supplies." she announced. There was also one more thing. "When we board the ship, I want you all to stay close by because I need to brief you on a few more things, including our combat teams and battle formations. It's really important so ... don't ditch!" She felt a little light headed and nervous after addressing the group like that, but she didn't have much choice.

"Fearless leader! Davod here's lookin' for work. Come see what ya think." Gabbie interjected. Best give the guy a little push and get him noticed. She quickly nudged Davod with her elbow. "Why not give us a little demonstration?~" she asked quietly enough that Raquel didn't understand it.

[Acacia Sgt]

And so Raquel and company had returned.

<So it's the Leverage after all.> John thought. <So I guess from what she was told we are gonna be fighting those Dark Utka guys then. Must be important too if it did convince her to choose the Leverage. Though those guys weren't going a good job no matter their intentions.>

''Important huh.'' He spoke up. ''Is there a reason in particular, like being on hostile terms with another ship or something?''

A Neviskotian ship? Sophia thought. Well, I guess if we have to. Wait, did she say about battle preparations? I guess it makes sense, better safe than sorry as they say.

[ReformBlade]

Aneda snapped to attention when Raquel decided to start yammering on about food or something. "Yeah I already got that taken care of..." Still haven't been paid yet you pink haired ditz. And she went on grumbling to herself until she noticed that there was a familiar face that she still hadn't quite pinned yet. "Hey, you're from the bar... Wait wait, you're gonna try to join up with us? Oh boy, dunno what to say to that."

"Well, I uh- oof!" The elbow made him stagger forward slightly as Gabbie said something to him, something Davod questioned back to her, "Demonstrate what? It's not like I have free reign to do whatever I want! Augh!" A wee bit frustrated but not backing down from a potential job, he continued to approach the pink haired lady. "Sorry for the sudden intrusion, really I am, but I heard from the lady over there" he pointed to Gabbie with his thumb "that you're a kind of mercenary group thing. I'm wondering if I can get in on this. I'm willing to do whatever is needed, really, I'd just like a living." Nice, sound more desperate... Davod sighed under his breath and tried his hardest not to respond.

[Phoenix]

Dauntless

"We're less likely to have ... some of the issues we would have on the Argus. And we're definitely going to be fighting the Dark Utka. They've got it coming, honestly. I'll explain the rest once we're on the deck." she replied to John before Davod came closer. It seemed he really did want to join them. "I'm assuming Gabbie didn't warn you about the dangers ..." she said in an unamused voice. She figured anyone who know what kind of insane crap they went through wouldn't take such a risk. But on the other hand, if people knew just how bad it was, it would be really hard to recruit more mercenaries. She had to take what she could get, and Davod seemed like a real team player. "Well ... either way, if you're willing to fight with us, then I won't turn you away." A roundabout way of telling someone they were hired.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya and Veronika

"Not to question the boss or anythin', but what were these issues on the Argus that were worse than gettin' involved in some kinda pirate war? Seems like gettin' caught up in scuffles that ain't our business may not be the smartest idea," Nadya commented to Raquel.

"Doing what is just isn't our business?" Veronika asked Nadya, glaring at her a little.

"Didn't seem that way to me- Mercy knows we don't ever seem to be on the right side of the law," Nadya said, shrugging.

[Phoenix]

Orders

"Okay, everyone. The captain said that having us aboard would be enough, so the Leverager is going to be leaving soon ... I think. What I mean is that we should hurry, so I'm going to take the Dauntless into town and purchase everything we need for the trip. Everyone who's not going to help me with that should go wait on the ship." she instructed, gaining a little more backbone as time went on. She quickly turned to Veronika, Gytha, and Blake, the only people who had been with her when she spoke with Captain Bogdan. "Can one of you take everyone else to the ship? It's safer than having them look for it themselves ... and the crew should at least recognize one of you so there shouldn't be any problems."

[-Cynthia-]

Ships and Shops

"Shouldn't we all stick together for time being? The Dark Utka would be pretty set on stopping us now given the chance and it's not like the Leverager is leaving without us. I think we should all go for supplies as a group," Veronika suggested.

[Mercakete]

Well, it sounded like someone else was going to join up with them and in due time, Raquel returned with news about a ship they'd be taking. Apparently the new guy was in, too, and now what would happen next was being debated. There was apparently more to discuss at a later date, too. Norbert didn't know a lot of what was going on, so as his eyes readjusted to the light again (he'd closed them while he was waiting for Raquel to return) he decided to just listen. Raquel was becoming more assertive and he was actually somewhat impressed by it.

"Yer call, Raquel," Gytha replied with a shrug, "If yer not worried about those scallywags n' don't think ye'll need me help with th' supplies, I could take th' others t' th' ship."

[Snowy_One]

A faint, queasy feeling came over Robin as she heard mention of the ship. She was a woman of the land and liked having firm ground beneath her feet, not roiling ocean. Still, this was part of the journey and she would accompany Raquel, even if she did find the notion of going on a ship sickening. That did not mean she had to go on right away though.

"Raquel... May I go with you? I do not want to be on that ship any sooner than I need to be."

[Phoenix]

Other Ideas

"Well I don't really want the whole group in one place while we pick up supplies. If I don't bring enough people, it'll take a lot longer, but if I bring too many, most of us will just be standing around with the animals and holding up all of the through traffic. The captain said he wasn't going to attack the Dark Utka's crew in the port because people like the guards might get in their way. I think it works both ways and we'll be fine if we just do this quickly." Raquel explained, still hoping to divide the group temporarily. As for the decision being hers, she certainly didn't feel like it was at the moment. People were more than likely going to just do whatever they felt like doing.

"I'm stayin' with the Dauntless. Doesn't seem too dangerous around here, but I've got a job to do eoither way." Gabbie chimed in right on cue. She figured she wouldn't be able to talk Gabbie into helping out, either, and now that wyvern of hers would be tagging along too. As far as Raquel was concerned, the mounts were only going to get in the way.

Raquel then replied to Robin, who had her own reasons for coming along. "I would really prefer it if anyone who decided to come along was going to actually help me load up the Dauntless," she said, to the group as a whole, and not just Robin. She went on addressing Robin directly. "We're going to be on the Leverager for weeks. Avoiding it for another hour seems kind of pointless to me but if you insist ..."

[Mercakete]

"Hoy, not pointless at all. Once yer on a ship, yer likely on it fer a long while. A lot o' sailors wait around in port until they're called t' ship out since they know they'll regret havin' gone aboard earla," Gytha put in before moving on to the issue directly relating to herself, addressing the group, "Well, those o' ye not goin' t' help Raquel with supplies, follow me. I'll show ye t' th' ship n' see about doin' what I can t' help ye with th' basics o' bein' on a ship, seein' as I'm not sure how many o' ye've been on one fer longer than a couple o' days." With that, Gytha began walking back towards the Leverager, expecting those going to the ship to follow.

This should be interesting... Norbert mentally grumbled as he began to walk after the mariner. Rizen followed along as usual. As he walked, some small thing caught the pegasus rider's eye: Maw trotted ahead of him until she was padding next to Gytha, having decided to follow the mariner this time.