Return of the Emblem Chapter Eight: Affairs of the World

[Phoenix]

She's Famous

"Also, Gytha, you can't do anything to help Amon from prison." Raquel replied, adding to what Veronika had said, and sounding more concerned for Gytha than Amon. She knew what was going on there, and chances were, he was too far away to reach by any means in a feasible time frame. And that was when she noticed Bert. Had he been looking for her? He called out to Blake and said 'she's here'. She was the party leader most of the time, so it was most likely her. She was wondering how many more would be looking for her today.

Rasha listened to the ensuing talks, figuring she could take Raquel and Veronika to Commander Aziz once they were finished. It really didn't bother her, though she was beginning to wonder if this Gytha person had any sense of self preservation.

He's Famous

"W-w-what?!" her face went pale and she leaned back in terror, not that the man's visage was fuel for one's nightmares, but for her, meeting such a being had some horrifying implications. Oh no, did they kill me or something? No Burke was here so I ... don't think I'm dead, but .... "You're ... the angel of death ... right? So ... so what happened to me? What's going on?" she asked, shaking nervously and choking up quickly. She asked the question, but the answers she was predicting had her on the verge of tears. This was a nightmare, she felt.

It's Famous

"The Fire Emblem? The artifact of creation? They said it was used to forge the earth itself, long before the gods created the earthly races to dwell on it. Such a thing is myth, however." he said, pausing to reflect on something that had just gotten his attention. Worthington kept going on about something ... that was it! "Wait a moment ... the Fire Emblem ... is that the artifact the Wrathite's seek? Is that what Lord Wrath seeks?"

[Snowy_One]

Robin walked back to her room with haste with a bundle of clothes, having become drenched with vigorous and attentive care to the purging of scent and mire alike, held under her arm. They needed to be swiftly dried lest the hide, from which they had been formed with care, start to degrade. Entering within, she spotted the open window through wish sunlight poured through with sufficient volume so as to provide the necessary heat to dry her laundry. Laying it out upon the ground, she picked up her bow, quiver, and carving knife, her promise to Bert to spar not forgotten, as she went to sit outside of her room to wait for his due arrival. Pulling out a number of arrows, their blackened tips shining in the light, she started to unbind them so that they would inflict only blunt wounds and potentially provide a chance for Bert's survival in the event that she missed any shots. Yet as she piled the tips high, she noticed that small flakes had started to come off from the brittleness of the stone from which they had been carved. In dismay she looked unto her knife which, having been carved from the same material, was just as brittle. Worry came across her face for fear of her hard work being swiftly shattered in the event of Bert's mighty strikes coming down hard upon her only means of defense. The thought of how brittle her weapons were had not been forefront on her mind nor had the difficulty of replacing such a rare stone. Would that she replace it with more common chert, but alas, it was far too late for such a thing.

"<I made a promise and I will uphold it.>" she said with determined vigor. "<To shy away from such a fight for fear of my weapon lacking the quality to parry another is a sign of weakness, and I will do my best to ensure that I display no such flaw.>"

[Mercakete]

"Aye, I probably can't," she agreed with Raquel, "But at least I would've tried." To Veronika, she replied, "I don't think it's a normal one. Th' priestess sure seemed worried t' me. N' I'll let 'im go if he wants t' stay here, but fer now, he's me friend n' teammate n' I don't intend on abandonin' him when he might need me help. If he stays here when we leave... Well, it's his home, n' he has every right t' stay. But I'm goin' t' be a good friend n' comrade s'long as I can be, by Leviathan." She was downright determined now.

[Acacia Sgt]

''Yes,'' Sophia continued. ''Well, I didn't wanted to go alone, so I figured if I waited just outside the palace I could ask anyone else going there.''

''Couldn't you have just asked back at the guests' building?'' John asked.

''Well, I didn't knew what everyone else had in mind. Better to play it safe.'' She replied.

''Well, who knows how long it will take us sparring. You willing to wait that long?''

''Certainly.''

Soon they reached the courtyard, with nothing but the wagon to greet them. ''I'm heading to the stables right now, gotta check on Gil after all.'' He said before heading off into the direction he had seen them take yesterday, while Sophia decided to wait near the wagon.

Edited February 15, 2012 by Acacia Sgt

[Snike]

Good job, Bert. There was a maiden, right beside Raquel, Gytha, and the Skotian. There was no way now he'd get to speak with them alone. At least, not immediately. Blake frowned for a moment, then braced himself and approached the merchant.

"Listen, could we talk somewhere," Blake said, to Raquel, though he shifted his eyes to the maiden once. "In private?" Hopefully, she'd comply and then the man could get to the bottom of these shenanigans.

***

"That is what some people call me, yes," Thanatos replied. "Regardless, what's going on here is that I'm going to explain to you what happened to 'you'. Raquel Valcyn was rescued by her ragtag band of mercenaries almost two days ago, who managed to defeat Naomi here, and managed to escape Purgatory, my land, with the help of a vasilus probably known to you as Lilith. Now, her whereabouts are unknown to us at the moment. That should probably be a suffice summary of what happened."

[Phoenix]

Absolute Delay

"I'm pretty sure Amon wouldn't want you to get thrown in jail over this, but ... look, we're heading over to see about getting new weapons and supplies. Since you're waiting until noon, anyway, maybe you should come with us." Raquel suggested, seeing her current task as a potential distraction for the mariner. That would likely have to wait, though, as Blake had a request of his own. Rasha listened and even caught Blake's veiled request.

"Sure, take your time." she smiled, deciding to leave Raquel to her hunters for the moment. "I'll be at the entrance to the quest building when you're ready, Miss Raquel.

"Err ... okay." Raquel conceded. "Okay, if you want to speak to me in private, I guess that's fine." she replied to Blake this time.

Absolute Futility

The spy they had gotten the report from was lying dead a short distance away from them, and his killer, a woman cloaked in shadow was standing over him with weapons they couldn't see or even guess. This was bad, and it wouldn't be long before the slumbering Tide members that Amon hadn't knocked out woke up and added their strength to hers. Amon wanted Malik to just light the fuse so they could run, but he knew she could easily cut the fuse with her blade and then chase them down. Malik wanted to quickly take her out before ever lighting the fuse so they could still escape before anyone else woke up. Both realized that their desired approaches were ultimately futile and all it would take to undermine either was her speaking up just loud enough to wake the others. With the addition of just one swift Tide operative, their mission was terminated. Amon grimaced, feeling deeply hurt by his own failure to find all of the sentries.

Finally Malik spoke up. <"So ... what happens now?">

The woman's head tilted a bit, she seemed to be smiling, but it was too dark to be certain, and she was facing away from the moonlight. <"Well that depends. What are the two of you going to do, hmm?">

<"Amon ..."> Malik quickly got his partner's attention. <"We have to take her down ... now. If we don't, we both die here and they'll find out where Sanctuary is.">

<"That no longer matters, boys. We interrogated the spy after he sent off that report. He was caught shortly after sending that report, and killed by our expedition leader. The man lying before you is a Tide operative by the name of Kasiim. He only planned to pose as the spy and stab you two in the back once you let your guard down. From the looks of things he had you both fooled. You were dead men walking ... so I had to intervene."> the woman explained as if she was speaking to a couple of five year old boys.

<"Why did you kill him, then? Aren't you with the Tide?"> Amon inquired suspiciously.

<"Oh, I just wanted some leverage. I did save both of your lives just now, after all."> she answered, gesturing at Kasiim's corpse.

<"Cut to the chase! What do you want?!"> Malik exclaimed while still managing to keep a low enough voice to not wake the others.

<"Hold on."> Amon cut in. The woman said something that was still bothering him, he realized. <"What did you mean when you said 'that no longer matters'?">

<"Caught that, did you? Well the spy gave up the location of Sanctuary before they killed him. He wouldn't spill the information willingly, but mind magic works wonders, it seems. Druids are a force to be reckoned with. He couldn't pinpoint it ... your goddess is quite thorough, but we know for certain that Sanctuary is in the northeast, right next to the mountains. We just happened to be charting in that direction, but now we no longer have to worry about it. Sanctuary is here. There's no doubt about that. We sent word out to HQ as soon as we found out. This group alone already had about four different approach methods in the works that it plans to present once this mission is complete. This information is going to be all over, soon, and there's nothing you can do to stop it, I'm afraid. Sorry, but your mission was a failure before you ever got here. The best you can hope for is to force this particular group of Tide operatives to surrender.">

<"No ..."> Malik whined. <"No ... that can't be right. Urgh ... she's got to be lying.">

Amon just fell to his knees in shock. <"Lady Aisha ... I'm ... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."> he fell next onto his hands and knees and his head hit the dirt.

<"This Aisha must have amazing 'assets' to have the two of you on the verge of tears over a little thing like this. So, then ... your mission is a failure ... and the best you can accomplish now is destroying enough of our supplies to force us to surrender to the Sancturan forces in waiting. What are you going to do?">

<"Why ... why are you telling us this?!"> Amon shouted, his voice being somewhat suppressed by his position on the ground. It was still noticeably loud, though ... almost a miracle no one woke up.

<"I'm not big on rexian history, but there's one thing I'm certain of ... the Tide is a lost cause. Anything anti-Aisha is a lost cause. They will never defeat your goddess and claim this country's freedom from her. All they can do is murder her followers and piss her off. I know that war is coming, and I don't want to be on the receiving end of the desert goddess' wrath when she finally blows her top and buries them in some mondo-super storm that consumes half the desert. Make sense to you two? I'd like to take this opportunity to either change sides, or put myself one step closer to getting my butt out of Rex-Avaz for good.">

<"An outsider with common sense ... are you kidding me?"> Malik shot back, sniffling and fighting back tears. Both he and Amon knew that a lot of people were going to die because of what they had failed to prevent. <"If only you had done something before now ..."> he added bitterly.

<"Sorry, too risky. We were on the hunt for moles, but your spy thought it too important not to send his report, and he gambled with getting caught. He lost and paid the price for it. If I had done anything to prevent this from happening, they would have thought I was a Sancturan sympathizer. Not worth it, no thanks."> she explained, shaking her head during the last statement. <"Look, your spy is dead and you guys have a choice to make. I'm not going to stop you from lighting that fuse, but I am going to stop you from leaving if you don't agree to take me with you. So how about it? I tag along with you back to Sanctuary, and bypass getting locked up by those overly aggressive Sancturan soldiers?">

<"First off, we have no reason to trust you ... second, they'll lock you up, anyway."> Malik shot back, still almost spitting his words at her.

<"Sheesh, doesn't having a pair of breasts and a sweet face count for anything in Sanctuary? Aren't women treated just a little nicer there? Even a little?"> she asked, sounding a bit pleading and very disappointed by the news.

<"You're a Tide assassin ... you've got nothing to lose by staying with them. You'll just kill us as soon as we let our guard down.">

<"You paranoid little boy ... I would have let Kasiim kill you if I really wanted you dead. He had you two in his sights, and you had absolutely no hope of seeing your loved ones again. Like I said, I don't want to be on the wrong side of this conflict when the goddess finally loses her cool and lays waste to this entire desert, so I want you to take me back with you to Sanctuary. I'd like to get there before these guys do so I'm not thrown in jail right along with them."> she explained, pointing a thumb toward the sleeping Tide operatives as well as the unconscious ones strewn about.

Amon finally raised his head back up from the ground. Unlike Malik, he hadn't fought off his tears, and there was a drying tear trail down both of his cheeks. <"You have to help us. If we bring you back with us, you have to do everything in your power to make this right.">

<"There's nothing right about Rex-Avaz, little boy. That's why the Tide exists. But sure, I'll help you gain the upper hand. Tide base locations, the names of leaders and everything about our organization that I know. It's all yours if you want it.">

<"... fine.">

<"Amon, you can't just make deals like that!">

<"Malik, there's no time for this. Just light the fuse and let's get out of here."> he demanded, quickly getting onto his feet. To the woman he added <"You're riding without your gear, or not at all. Is that acceptable?">

<"Sure. Okay, then, light it up, Malik!"> she suddenly raised her voice. Malik flinched expecting the camp to wake up any second. It was now or never thanks to her. He lit the fuse, picked himself up, and ran. Amon and the woman weren't far behind. <"So what did you people come here on, anyway? A couple of horses? Then again, you got here pretty fast ...">

<"A mountain wyvern."> Amon answered while they ran. Just then Haythem came into view. Isis was there too but looked like a giant rock with the way she was sleeping. Amon waved to get his attention. <"Haythem! Wake her up! Wake her up! We've gotta go!">

Haythem did just that, but when the three of them arrived, it became clear that some explanations were due ... at least enough to sate Haythem until they were airborne. <"Wait, who is she? They didn't actually send a female spy did they?"> he asked, and then as she came closer, he was able to make out her face and figure. <"... oh my goddess."> he uttered in shock.

<"I'm Fizza, former Tide assassin and bearer of bad news. Who might you be?">

<"In l-! Haythem Aziz! Son and first born of Commander Adel Aziz!">

<"A pleasure ... okay so, take off the gear and ..."> she trailed off as she removed her wristguards, which were surprisingly heavy for some reason. Amon took one, and Malik took the other. She never handed them any blades or what they were expecting, only a harness, and a bag full of survival gear ... there was no way she killed Kasiim with a skinning knife. That was odd. Suddenly the bombs went off and screams and shouting from the camp ensued. Amon wanted to question her about the weapon he didn't see her hand over, but there didn't seem to be anymore time. They quickly boarded Isis and took off into the night sky.

Now was the time to ask. <"Fizza, where's the blade you killed Kasiim with?">

<"Oh you've got it."> she replied, not looking back at him to specify. He looked at the wristguard and noticed a chamber on the bottom of it. The chamber was underneath the surface of the guard, but there was a hole near the top of the wrist that revealed it. That explained the weight; the wristguard was made of lighter materials, but the chamber was entirely made of metal, and there was an opening in the chamber itself with a very small but long blade tucked safely away inside it. The wristguard was carrying a hidden blade in a chamber on the bottom side. With the arms positioned normally, such a feature could easily go unnoticed. This woman was more dangerous than he'd ever expected, and so her honesty was somewhat reassuring. He examined it further as they flew away from the encampment.

Absolute Horror

"What do you mean they rescued Raquel?" she asked. Something was not right about his reply. She was Raquel, but no one who'd been in the room seemed to acknowledge that. The prospect of what that might mean had her becoming frightened, again. Raquel had been rescued by her own mercenaries two days ago, but she wasn't rescued at all. She was still with Burke and this ... Thanatos person. As much as she didn't want to consider it, she had to ask. "So I'm ... I'm not ... I'm not Raquel? I'm not ... myself .... I'm somebody else?"

"Cassandra~" Naomi spoke up trying to cheer her up with her name. Of course she didn't stop there. Cassandra deserved a mirror at least. That could drive the point home, further. She handed her one off of the nightstand. She was reluctant to look at it, but did. Her appearance was so close to what she was expecting, her face and features were the same, but at least two things were eerily different. She looked like Gabriel and Dolan's artificial humans did. Her hair was pitch white, and her eyes were some shade of purple. Her irises also seemed to be far less circular than normal, a feature the artificials of Dolan also shared. No wonder she wasn't being acknowledged as Raquel. She no longer believed she was, either ... not if Raquel had already been rescued.

"Why? Why am I ... even ...." she couldn't form any other thoughts to finish her question. Naomi frowned a bit. She understood that Cassandra had some legitimate reasons to be 'upset', but she was hoping that she would cheer up at least a little. No puppies or other cute innocent creatures were destroyed in her creation as far as she knew, so it shouldn't be this dramatic, she felt.

[Snike]

The maiden left the meeting of party members alone, and so Blake waited until she was out of probable earshot, before speaking.

"... Actually, now that the maiden is absent, it may as well be in public," he said, as he glanced down the various halls just in case there was anyone listening in. "I have some serious misgivings about staying here any longer. Call me paranoid, but it feels like the Rexians are trying to manipulate the party in general, what with the luxurious treatment. Have they made any requests from you?"

***

"It's a little hard to explain," Thanatos said, as Cassandra gazed at her reflection in the mirror. "You remember Burke 'scanning' you back in the fortress, correct? Well, that 'scan' was basically to make a 'mold', which was used to create the body you're looking at. So basically, you're the same person as you remember, just in a different body. We did this because we need your help, miss. Time's running out for everyone, you see."

Edited February 15, 2012 by Snike

[Phoenix]

Raquel

"Well I was planning to leave, soon, but we still have to stock up on supplies, and while we're here, I did want to see if they would be willing to let me purchase weapons and equipment from them. Two days isn't that long to be completely out of it but ... I really want to keep my business from dying or being carried along by Weyland." she replied. He also brought up the topic she was hoping to avoid awhile longer by asking if she had had any requests aimed her way. Of course she had. "I guess I'll just say it. Aisha had me and Lilith in a meeting last night. She wants me to split my piece of the emblem a second time and give her one of the halves. She has no intention of offering anymore aid in the future--including Amon--unless I do it. I don't think she's going to try to take it by force, but the whole Amon thing really caught me off guard ... and it has me really annoyed. It's not like we can talk with Amon about this, either. He was at the meeting too, but got sent off on his mission before it ever came up. He probably doesn't even know about this." she explained to everyone present with her gaze aimed downward.

Rassandra

The revelation of the exact process that led to her creation was enough of a distraction to calm her a little, but it was the request for aid that really brought her fear and anxiety to an end. "I don't understand, what could you possibly need me for? And ..." she paused for a moment. "... why not just ask the real Raquel?"

"There are things only Raquel can do, and there are things only you can do." Naomi chimed in leaning forward in an encouraging manner, but she quickly backed down afterward. She felt a little rude answering before Thanatos did.

[Acacia Sgt]

Following the direction Bert had given him earlier, John made it to the stables. It didn't took long for him to find Gil, who, as always, was still just curled up and just lying there despite the hour.

<One of this days, I'll find out the reason as to why.> John thought, getting into the stall and proceeded to place his bag back. Then a grunt was heard.

Of course, that was Gil waking up. Turns out he wasn't quite sleeping anymore. ''Heh, you sure love to sleep huh.'' John said with a laugh. Another grunt.

''Well then,'' he walked out. ''You're not spending the rest of the morning here, so let's go.'' And proceeded to head back outside. The wyvern got up, and after grunting one last time, followed suit.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Well there's not a whole lot here for us in Rex-Avaz at any rate, but we can't leave until we can resupply. I'm a little suspicious of the Rexians myself, but they can easily overpower us so...best to act natural for the time being. We should try to find where there's a nearby port or somesuch, try and catch a ship back to Ursium," she suggested.

Nadya

Nadya found the stables fairly easily, locating Luca and handing him an apple. Handlers treated him all right I guess she thought to herself, looking him over critically before letting him out. Leading him outside the stables, she saw a familiar wyvern rider.

"Hey John. Takin' Gil for a ride? I was wonderin' what to do about that myself, don't want to ride in a sandstorm, but ridin' through the city might be against the rules," she wondered to him out loud.

Selene

"I thought it was a myth as well, but Lord Desmond seems to think it is real and thus so do I. Reports place fragments of the emblem in the hands of a merchant girl and a criminal organization. An artifact of such power could ruin Ursium as we know it if assembled in the hands of our enemies- or ruin our enemies in the hands of Lord Wrath," she suggested to Capaberra.

[Acacia Sgt]

Being addressed, John stopped, which made Gil do the same, and turned. ''Well, not right now, but that's the idea.'' He answered. ''Well, we'll find out when we try.'' He shrugged.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"Guess you're right...time to stretch our legs then, and if some doesn't like it they can just holler," she said to John while mounting Luca, before taking off at a moderate pace down the street.

[Acacia Sgt]

John watched her leave. ''Well Gil, let's be on our way.'' And they resumed the walk back to where the wagon was. <Well, hopefully we won't have to wait long.> John thought. <Hmm, I guess this practice for me it wouldn't exactly be sparring. More like parrying, hah.> He laughed.

Soon they came back to the wagon. Sophia had been waiting inside, sitting over the edge of the back opening. He brought the wyvern? She thought once they came into view. Well, I guess that means he'll do it by air. She closed her eyes. Hmm, the view from the air... it may be more interesting that way...

Edited February 16, 2012 by Acacia Sgt

[Mercakete]

"No thank ye, Raquel. I still need t' tell Synthia about Amon. She has a right t' th' information seeing as she's part o' th' team. I'll catch up with ye later, though," Gytha responded. That was when Blake and Norbert came up to talk with the group leader, too. She was going to leave then, but figured she'd stay just a little while longer out of curiosity.

Norbert's suspicions seemed to be proving true when Blake asked to speak to Raquel in private. The maiden left and then the mercenary made his concerns known. It seemed that the pegasus rider was right: they both had the same suspicions about the Rexian hospitality. Fair questions were asked and then the answers that were given only proved to darken Norbert's opinion of the Rexians further. Veronika spoke directly after Raquel. So, she's been wary of them, too. He found himself nodding in agreement in responce to Veronika's strategy. Next to speak was Gytha.

"I don't think ye should give anyone yer emblem," she said to Raquel, "Not even a piece o' it."

Though he agreed with Gytha's opinion, he was surprised by it. "I agree. You can't give away pieces to everyone who asks. They'll just keep doing it and walk all over you," he told Raquel before looking quizically to Gytha, "I don't get why you think so, though. You were willing to run headlong into the desert to make sure Amon was safe just a little while ago."

"Still am," Gytha agreed with a nod, "But it should be his choice. If he wants t' stay home, then he should stay home. If he wants t' come with us, he should come with us. I've alreada come t' terms with that. Sure I'd like it if he chose t' keep travellin' with us, but it wouldn't be right t' force him to. This is his home." She shifted her gaze back to Raquel. "So, let 'im choose. He shouldn't be bartered like some bit o' merchendise. We'll just have t' ask 'im what he thinks when he comes back 'r when we go get 'im."

"Go get him?" What? "The Rexians wouldn't let you out of the city, remember?" reminded Norbert.

"Aye, and I already decided I'd go get 'im if he's not here by noon."

"Merz, there's no dealing with you, is there? I already told you I'd try to fly out for a 'casual ride' later to see what happens. I don't want to think we're trapped until I've at least tested that," Norbert sighed.

"Aye, but I'm not worried about meself. 'Least not when me teammate's in danger," she replied.

"That's great when we're being attacked but he has other teammates looking after him for now, doesn't he?" asked Norbert, "I wasn't worried about Raquel because Veronika was watching her."

Gytha suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "I have t' do me best... I can't not," she replied with a sorry shake of her head.

"What happens if we leave him behind? He's going to be in danger again and you won't be around."

"It'll be more reasonable not t' worry then," Gytha stubbornly replied.

"Why isn't it reasonable now?"

"I'm close enough that I'm sure I could help. I can't give up yet," she replied determinedly.

"... 'Just a bit longer', huh?" Norbert asked before letting loose a sigh, "Treat this as a time where it's unreasonable to think you can reach him for now."

Gytha wasn't happy at all with Norbert's suggestion, but it would help a little. And really, what else could she do?

He left us as soon as we met up with his allies. She just doesn't see that, does she? Well, I don't want to bring it up. Too much hastle. Norbert thought before returning his attention to the situation at hand.

[Snike]

As expected, there was indeed a request made by Aisha, the head of state here in Sanctuary. It was essentially the opportunity of gaining the cooperation of the Rexians, which was not guaranteed in any manner, and a known Rexian loyalist, who could turn on them at a single command, versus no chance at cooperation and one less potential traitor. The decision seemed to trouble Raquel, so obviously Amon was friends with her, or something. In turn, this meant he had to choose his words carefully.

"I think based on my previous comments, you would know where I stand," Blake began, with the hopes that that wouldn't be misinterpreted or be considered too harsh. He sort of wanted to keep this job until at least after they left the desert. "But I'm just the hired blade. I am not being paid to give my opinion if it doesn't concern saving your life. It's your call whether or not you want to agree to the deal, and I'll respect it." There, that should do fine. Maybe he wouldn't be fired and left in this fancy prison.

***

"Naomi is right in this case," Thanatos said. "The Raquel with her merry band can't really infiltrate the Organization, or whatever they call it now, and potentially acquire a piece of the Fire Emblem while tracking their progress, due to paranoia on their part. Likewise, you can't really go to your employees, because they don't trust US. That can be rectified in time, but first we need to remove the Org. Which is where you come in. If you can infiltrate their leadership, we can string the whole group along like puppets and render them harmless to your former friends."

[Phoenix]

Raquel

That was a 'no' on coming with. Following that was a short cexchange between Gytha and Bert about the current situation, more specifically Gytha's handling of it. Raquel was a little surprised at Gytha's handling of it, as well, though even her current strategy, of simply waiting until noon before trying to get back out into the desert seemed pretty flawed. At least getting a flight capable mount of some kind and some supplies should have been her first priority in her opinion, but knowing Gytha, any journey not over the water was taking place on foot, supplies or no ... somehow.

Around the time their little conversation came to its conclusion, Blake offered a 'type' of input on the item request. Remembering Blake's warning about the rexians from just moments earlier, she concluded that he was against handing over the emblem as well. That was a little surprising, as she had expected a greater overall leaning toward splitting it with Aisha than withholding it and losing one of their own in the process. Although, the more she thought about it, the more she could see why Amon wouldn't be considered 'one of their own' by everyone in the group. It wasn't a secret that he was sent to retrieve the emblem and was a part of the group for no other purpose. The Sancturans were probably always like this, what with living in a relatively hidden city and answering to a goddess, but this same behavior didn't leave much room for trust on from either side. I wish Amon would get back here, already. Of all the people to be GONE right now. Raquel thought to herself while mulling over the opinions she'd collected thus far.

Gabbie

Gabbie finished her first panini and was well into the second when the waiter returned with a glass on a tray. He sat the drink in front of Aneda before giving a quick summary. "I give you an orange sharbat, a local favorite in morning. A specially blended orange juice with a modest amount of natural sweetners, a hint of mint, and a pinch of powdered Farida's wort. Don't let the name lead you astray, 'wort' is just a term for various edible and medicinal herbs; that one in particular helps wary travelers cope with the stresses and riggers of desert travel, overall promoting a positive mood." he explained all in several perfectly measured breaths.

"My drink is lacking a noticeable amount of that orange juice." Gabbie commented, with a phrasing odd enough to make the waiter chuckle.

"I suppose you'll be wanting one as well?"

"You read my moind, Servant Man~"

Cassandra

Cassandra was shocked but at the same time relieved. She remained silent for a moment, trying to review what she had just been told. Once she had an overall picture, she realized that helping them didn't conflict with her goals in any way, shape, or form that she could think of. The only true uncertainty she had concerned their methods. Her friends and hired mercenaries obviously didn't trust them, the last episode's battle assured that, but why not try to sort out their differences and work together? That question she was on the verge of asking before she thought back to all of the previous encounters with their enemy that they'd had. Sardis and his people new them too well, already. They had even kidnapped her ... the other her just by a simple shift in tactics. Even she felt it was pessimistic to think this way, but the group didn't seem to be doing much more than pissing off the enemy as opposed to actually defeating them.

Then something else occurred to her; she had been under the impression that Thanatos' servants were actually Sardis' people, just like Hayato, Silvia, and that thunder blade wielder. That clearly wasn't the case; Thanatos had just told her that they planned to undermine Sardis and the others, but needed her help to do so. Espionage was something her friends and mercenaries alike were probably incapable of at this point. She grimaced. As much as she didn't like it, there was no real reason to collaborate with the group on this. "So ... you want me to join Sardis. You want me to join up with him and get the emblem, somehow?"

Capaberra

"I see ..." Capaberra softly replied, having heard about the possible sightings. "So is this the 'artifact' Archbishop Worthington was so concerned about, or rather concerned about the order of Wrath seeking. I'm positive leaving such a thing in the hands of a criminal organization is an irresponsible decision, and perhaps to with a merchant, who may end up trying to sell it for some incredible price. What exactly do you plan to do about this?"

Edited February 17, 2012 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"I don't think witholding the emblem is a good way to foster any sort of cooperation, but we can make the decision on what to do with the emblem after we resupply. Let's get going," Veronika suggested to Raquel.

Nadya

Nadya trotted through the streets on Luca, ending up in something she assumed was a market. Seems like things are overpriced here too, wonder if Aisha sets them or the merchants get to choose? she thought to herself, casually examining the wares.

Selene

"Confiscate the pieces obviously. Unfortunately, a powerful mage from the criminal organization captured the merchant and teleported away when confronted. The merchant apparently escaped the criminals and somehow landed in Rex-Avaz...a tale which initially seems implausible, but given the nature of the emblem is probably true. If it has the power to teleport such distances, its power in the hands of Neviskotia or other groups could be disastrous," she said to Capaberra.

Edited February 17, 2012 by -Cynthia-

[Rothene]

Mireille looked up at the waiter and said, "I would also like one of that drink and the spiciest soup you can come up with." She had always been curious about trying spicy food. tales of its searing qualities only served to pique her interest.

[ReformBlade]

The waiter could have been telling her it'd kill her on contact, but she wasn't exactly listening too hard as the drink just looked way too enticing to her. Nodding once when she thought the man was done, Aneda took the drink and decided to test it with a sip at first. Nothing. Then a bigger sip which turned into a rather large gulp followed by a lazy look in her eye as she put it back down. "Oh that's good... What was this again? Guh, I need to like, find the recipe for this, or at least steal however much you've got back there, this stuff is... Great." It certainly was great, and while her worries weren't disappearing, she did find herself not worrying as much, perhaps she was simply deluding herself into thinking the drink was working so well. Either way, she was extremely content, leaning back in her chair. Orange...

[Mercakete]

"Well, I'm goin' t' go talk t' Synthia now. We might meet up with ye wherever it is yer goin' after I talk with 'er," Gytha mentioned to Raquel before beginning to head off towards the dining hall as her guess as to where the mage might be.

Veronika mentioned resupplying, but he wasn't sure why Gytha had been invited to come along with something like that unless they needed some extra muscle. But then Gytha had mentioned bringing Synthia along and to his knowledge, Synthia was more head strong, less arm strong. Maybe it was just meant to be a diversion. Gytha seemed kind of stressed, after all. "So, what do you plan to do?" Norbert decided to ask Raquel, "Did the mighty Aisha give you a deadline?" He wasn't exactly being respectful by calling the sand queen that with that tone.

[Acacia Sgt]

And now began the waiting game. Gil had walked right next to the wagon and resumed his morning nap, Sophia was still where she was, and John leaning against Gil.

<Hm, guess it may be a long wait.> John thought. <Maybe I shouldn't have gone here already. Oh well, too late for that.>

[Phoenix]

Hallway of Decisions

They were just about done, but there was one more thing to do, answering Bert's question about a deadline. There wasn't a definite one that she knew about beyond their inevitable departure. Surely they had to decide by then. "Well obviously we have to decide before we leave." she replied. "I'll be honest, what I'm hoping to do right now is just stall. They sent Amon on that mission to keep him out of direct contact until we decided, but he's going to make it back soon, and then we can talk with him about it. Until then we can try to stock up. Like Gytha said, it should be his decision."

Two More and the Spiciest

"The spiciest thing we have? Are you certain you would be alright with that? The archer woman from earlier didn't seem to handle the mild sauce well ..." the waiter inquired, thinking to the archer's hysterical reaction to the food. If so little could take down that other northerner, this woman was either a accustomed to spicy food already, or about to unwittingly land herself in the infirmary.

Methods

"Hmm, I suppose you are right. While I do partially agree with Worthington in that the Order of Wrath should not neglect its overall purpose, these are clearly troubled times, and action is needed. Pretending there is no problem or risk posed by these so called fire emblems isn't going to make the whole thing simply go away, after all." Capaberra replied, with an agreeing nod. "Now then, Rex-Avaz, was it? That is quite the warp. Do you plan to simply await their return or send a party after them? Despite the distance, I would personally go with the latter."

[Mercakete]

Norbert nodded in approval. "That's a good plan. I'd advise you ask him what he plans to do when we leave, though. I think it's best if you don't mention the deal at all. If you ask him if you should give Aisha a piece of the emblem or not, he's going to say you should since she's his first loyalty. The way I see it, he only doesn't have a say in if he stays or goes if he thinks he doesn't," the pegasus rider advised, "If he says he plans on coming with us without knowing about the deal, then it can only be bad for Aisha. If he says he wants to stay, then it doesn't matter since you're keeping the emblem anyway."

In the back of his mind, Norbert knew he should go look for Robin soon so he could let her know where they'd be meeting. He wanted to get this handled first, though. It sounded like they'd be going their separate ways again soon anyway.

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

Gytha found the dining area easily and sure enough, Synthia was in there, though she was talking to another member of the group. That didn't matter much, though, so the mariner just headed over. "Ahoy," she greted as she sat down next to Synthia. She had a lot on her mind, and it was apparent. by her tone, posture and expression, "Amon was sent off on a dangerous mission last night. I tried goin' out t' help as soon as I heard, but th' guards wouldn't let me out o' th' city. He's yer teammate too, so I thought ye should know."

[Rothene]

Mireille smiled firmly and said, "I'm sure I can endure it if it is too great. I'm mainly asking for the experience."

[Phoenix]

Orders

"Very well." the waiter conceded before heading back to the kitchen. He first returned with two more orange sharbats for Gabbie and Mireille, and then left to check on the chef's progress with the spicy dish. "It should be ready shortly, miss." he assured Mireille before heading back. With her paninis finished, Gabbie took a few minutes to enjoy her extra drink. She felt 'positive' afterward, more so than she already was.

Meeting the Commander

"I'll keep that in mind." Raquel replied, sounding a bit unsure about the suggestion. She and Veronika then made for the entrance of the guest building, and Rasha was waiting right there for them like she said she'd be. She seemed to be speaking with a guard, but casually broke off the conversation when she noticed the two women heading her way. "Okay, we're ready."

"We'll be leaving the palace grounds, just so you know. If there's anything you need to do before we go, or anything you want to take with you, you should do or get it now." Rasha warned.

"Umm I think we're ready." Raquel replied, glancing at Veronika first just to make sure nothing had suddenly come to mind. With that, they left, following Rasha's lead. Just like she told them, they soon left the palace complex. Raquel wondered which of the innumerable buildings they would be visiting to find this commander. None of them seemed to fit but she quickly reminded herself that they might be visiting the man in his own home for all they knew. In the end, they came to an unattractive but heavily fortified building that seemed to be a part of Sanctuary's defensive wall. Since there didn't appear to be a gate anywhere in the area, Raquel guessed the gate was probably inside the building itself. So the city was apparently more fortified on the west side than the others. She wasn't quite sure of that, since she'd only seen the western and eastern gates so far.

Rasha led them right inside and not a single guard seemed surprised or startled by their presence. Despite the outside, the interior of the building was less threatening and well kept. There was nothing too decorative or fancy beyond patterns on the walls, though. Rasha led them to the end of a hall with several benches and three doors. She motioned for them to wait there for a moment while she informed the commander. She left into the center door and held it slightly open since she planned to head right back out once she'd spoken to him. Raquel could only make out a few words here and there. "Okay, the commander will see you, now." she said, stepping back out into the hall but holding the door open for the two of them.

The first thing she saw upon entering the office was bookshelves. Bookshelves and more bookshelves. That was more reading than she could fathom one person needing. Behind the desk was a man dressed in heavy armor and a cloak who had a slight resemblance to Haythem. Of course Haythem seemed leagues more friendly by comparison. "Can I help you two with something?" Just as she expected, he even sounded disinterested and a little impatient.

"Y-yes. I'm Raquel Valcyn and I was told the military is in charge of ... weapon trade."

"You are an arms dealer?"

"Yes ..."

"... all shapes and sizes in the north, hmm? You don't much look like a merchant of death." While his comment was technically a good thing in the long run, she felt like she wasn't going to be taken seriously here and now. It wasn't really about looking one way or another, just stocking up, getting new items, and making a profit while the opportunity was present.

(Insert an antonym for 'Triumphant' here) Return

It was a long flight, and even by morning they still couldn't see Sanctuary on the horizon. It wasn't until the sun was close to its noon position that they ever found the city. Haythem's plan was to land in the palace area, but with their extra passenger, that could have proven to be a bad idea, whether or not her weapons were confiscated. it turned out he wouldn't even have a choice in the matter, as the wall guards flagged them down as they passed over. He turned Isis around and landed on the wall. There wasn't enough room for Isis' passengers to safely dismount; this was about seeing what the guards wanted, and then going about their business.

<"Head to the fort. We'll send word to High Priestess Lulu."> one of the guards instructed.

<"Word just gets around, quick, huh ... well you should probably know there's a problem and-" "Save it for the High Priestess and the Commander."> the guard interrupted. <"Fine, fine. Let's go, Isis!"> he ordered. She quickly leaped off of the wall and flew over to the fortress on the western wall. She landed in the middle of the archery range ironically. <"Heheh, sorry!"> Haythem apologized to the archers whose shots had been ruined by the massive flying animal. Everyone got off and then Haythem led Isis away from there.

Amon and Malik still seemed extremely depressed, and Fizza almost felt bad enough to try and cheer them up. Almost, but not quite. There were more important things to do right then, like making sure she didn't end up locked up like the rest of the Tide operatives she left behind would soon be.

Crackdown Continues

While Langley's troops prepared themselves, the bandits and Boris' units did the same. As Langley had feared, they weren't going to surrender. The forest escape route was just too tempting for them to give up so easily, even though most of them were going to die fighting back. Suddenly someone or something emerged from the cave. As the light from the outside struck, it was revealed to be a ballista being pushed out by about four bandits. Fletcher gawked at the revelation. There was little time to act; the last thing they needed was to lose a unit over the bandits getting off the first shot, and they clearly had no intention of surrendering. "Shoot first!" Fletcher ordered his unit. While the archers pulled back their arrows in preparation to fire, a slew of bandits came rushing out of the cave around the ballista and its operators. "Ballista crew takes priority!" Fletcher specified, just before letting loose an arrow. The projectile came whistling at the ballista, passed through the structure without touching anything and just barely struck the bolt loader in the chest, sending him straight to the ground. The other operators didn't have much more time to react either, as a random storm of arrows came flying through and skewering most of them. Only one of them survived, and he was not going to try operating the machine on his own. There were too many archers, so he just hid behind the right rear wheel and didn't show himself, again.

Meanwhile the bandits that had came rushing out of the cave scattered, making for the forest just a few yards beyond the cave. Miguel's men quickly went into action and began charging after them. They caught up, but just barely, and fighting broke out just at outside of the trees. Miguel wanted to find the bandit leader, but that was all but impossible in this disorganized mess. For all he knew, the leader had been cut down near the ballista, was engaging one of his men and already about to be killed, or possibly even still in the cave. It was frustrating, but the fight demanded his attention. He dodged an incoming axe and responded with a quick slash that sent his attacker to the ground with blood running down his chest and smoke rising from the wound. Several bandits hoping to surprise him abandoned their plans when they saw what had just happened. Miguel's sword wasn't just a steel blade, it was enchanted. Since no one felt like attacking him, he quickly attacked the bandits, striking one directly, and sending a blade of light at another who had turned to run. The former survived but fell to the ground, the latter was nearly split apart by the light attack. "Oh come on, where is your leader?!" Miguel called out while continuing his assault.