Return of the Emblem Chapter Nine: Consolidating Forces

[Ether]

After being briefed by Raquel, Faatina decided it would likely be best to get some practice in with regards to the new threat, especially since the work she had been expecting at the Guild hadn't come to pass. Un-hitching Sharif and donning her lance, Faatina practiced for a good while, focusing mostly on using the shield in-tandem with the lance she was so used to. After a good amount of time had passed, Faatina had decided she had trained enough for the moment, and made her way down to the mess hall.

As she arrived, it seemed the stew Robin had prepared had already been divied out, and Faatina gave a slight sigh. She supposed there was nothing for it, she would simply not eat anything for this meal if the sailor's meal had nothing to spare. It was at this point that a decent bit of commotion caught her ear, and Faatina noticed Talitha and Mandy were eating with the others.

"Talitha, Mandy? I didn't expect to have the two of you come here with us." Faatina noted.

[ReformBlade]

"Entrances...?" Aneda mused. It wasn't really all that much thought being put into the following suggestion, "Maybe we hsould infiltrate from multiple entrances? We'd obviously have to do some super planning, but uh... Yeah. Just throwing it out there I guess." And she went back to being all bored and listening to heated discussions and crap like that. Meh.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Hmm if one group pretends to go with this "deal", that would allow the other group to infiltrate easily. Of course, that would leave one group in the hands of the cultists, but if they don't know we're onto them we would have the advantage of surprise..." she pointed out with some hesitation in her voice.

[Mercakete]

"I haven't heard one complaint -- only compliments," Norbert replied with a shrug, figuring his own opinion had already been shared enough that Robin probably knew it. The discussion about the attack continued and Veronika made an interesting suggestion.

"Sounds risky," Gytha mentioned with a frown, "If anyone goes t' lower their guard, it should be volunteers, methinks, n' I don't want t' be among 'em."

"I'll go," the pegasus rider put in, "If we go with that plan, I don't mind dealing with some attention until the others can come in and cut them down. Raquel shouldn't be with us, though. Maybe we can have someone wear a cloak with a hood or something and pretend to be her until we're attacked."

"Should th' impost'r show th' enemies she's not Raquel when th' fight begins? Might let 'em know they've been crossed too soon," the mariner pointed out, still uneasy about the plan.

[Snowy_One]

"I volunteer as well. Rather, I will go where Raquel tells me to go. My hunting skills may be useful for the infiltration, but I may also be able to serve as a distraction. I might even be able to look like Raquel if she goes with the infiltration and we need a body-double for her."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"A distraction team would have to be durable, an infiltration team would have to be fast and very quick on the kill, my kind of job. Infiltrate through the basement, less guard to deal with if situation normal," Gar said qith quickness before going back to lewd thoughts again, but this time with a dash on insult to the situation that brought the birdy-girl.

[Phoenix]

Galley

"Thanks." Talitha muttered, slowly coming out from under her wings. She tried not to, but her habit of gauging people had her listening as John sat the bowl down. Yeah, some people can be a lot more cruel than these people. Urgh, what am I doing, right now? I don't want to act like this, hiding while there's a real problem to deal with ... but I feel so out of place .... She quickly began eating the stew John had offered, if nothing else, she could address one of her own problems, hunger. It would distract her from the others for a short while, too.

"I'm not really in charge of ... what people eat, so you can cook whenever you want to, Robin." Raquel gave some input. She then thought that maybe Robin would be reluctant to cook again without some reassurance that the hard work wouldn't go to waste, so she quickly added "This stew was good, so I'll gladly eat anything else you make for us." And last but not least, she added a smile for effect.

Talitha looked up at the sound of her name to see Faatina. It was difficult to talk, just then and she quickly gave up on words and gave a simple wave. Mandy did some talking, though. "Hi there. Your friend Shadrak talked us into coming back here to see what was going on for ourselves. Honestly, I'm not sure what to think just yet."

Aneda's suggestion seemed a little spur of the moment, but it gained momentum so quickly that it sounded official by the time Raquel was able to comment on it. "Robin, you're a lot taller than me, so while I appreciate the offer, we might need to find someone else. Besides, you'd probably do better toward the rear where you can attack at range, right?"

"Well it's stupid to send Raquel with the infiltration group without a human shield, and it's pointless to send her with the ... the uh ... let's just call it the 'assault team'." Reign chimed in. "I guess she could stay here, but wouldn't that be a waste of staff power? You do have a rescue staff, right? That could come in handy on either team now that I think about it."

"I honestly want to help, but I'm not going to be removed from the operation kicking and screaming. I know this is dangerous, and I don't want to force people to take shots for me." If Lilith were here, she'd probably call me a coward for not marching at the front of the group waving the emblem around and daring them to try and take me. Or something equally ridiculous.

"They do want you alive ... so that's something we might still be able to use, but I wouldn't count on it."

"Yeah Gar ... what's his name? Garfunkel? He's right about the makeup of the teams, but I need to add that we'll need dedicated healers for both, otherwise people like me will be getting bogged down with the job instead of focusing on offense." Shadrak interjected. "I can heal if necessary, but I'm of better use to any team on offense." he clarified so as to not sound too self centered.

Edited June 19, 2012 by Phoenix

[Acacia Sgt]

Seems a plan had been reached, split into two groups and use one as a distraction. It was already gathering support either way.

''If we do use a double, there is always the chance they could see through the disguise quickly enough.'' John said. ''Deliberately hiding her face would raise suspicions. Not to mention what information they have on her to identify her, even more so since she is a magic user. It would all tip them off that we already know and we'd loose the surprise factor.''

[Mercakete]

"I wasn't saying she shouldn't come. I was just saying I don't think she should go with the group meant to draw attention," Norbert clarified, "Though John has a good point..."

"Th' assault group'd better not be late if Raquel goes with th' bait group," Gytha added, crossing her arms.

"That's my worry, too," the pegasus rider added. But calling us the "bait group?" That's a bit...accurate, I guess. Though it could have been put in better terms, I think. Maybe "distraction group" or something.

[GoD]

Nearing the end of Battle Plan:

As Shadrak arrived with two women in tow, Chelsea felt her leg twitching violently, but the troubadour had no idea why her leg was reacting so violently. Then Shadrak explained who they were and why they were here. Chelsea's leg calmed down a tad, and she decided it would be best to talk with Shadrak a little later. Still the Half-Fallen lady WOULD receive her attention. Seriously, how often do you meet someone like her? The Half-Fallen woman was immediately awesome in Chelsea's books.

For now though, she decided to alternate between talking to Nanahm and contributing to the battle plan. As the conversation continued, she saw no chance to jump in do she spoke to Nanahm.

"So what do you think about all of this. I mean the attack we're about to launch these cultists freaks?"

And then came talk about the decoy team and the main force. In all honesty, she could agree that having Raquel in the decoy team would be bad choice, since she couldn't handle herself in a fight. The troubadour however.... she could manipulate light magic in some way to...

"Hey if you don't mind I'll be in the decoy team.. and I volunteer to be the decoy Raquel."

[-Cynthia-]

Plans

"You know they do have information on what Raquel looks like- and completely covering her face is rather suspicious. Not that I want to put Raquel in danger, but I think our chances of getting in are much better with the real Raquel," Veronika pointed out.

"I still think our best plan is just to get away from this port, but if y'all are insistent on fightin' don't stick me in the bait team," Nadya said without doubt.

[Acacia Sgt]

''Leaving port is not an option actually, at least ideally.'' John said. ''The ships are gonna stay here a few days due to repairs, and that's enough for the cult to attempt to bring the fight to us if we don't go. And trying to find another ship would mean having to hire a crane again to move the wagon and I doubt Raquel at this point can spare that much money again, at least on her own.'' He pointed out.

<Hmm, since they're after Raquel then regardless of which one she goes to if she does, she'd need to be protected,> he thought. <I suppose the infiltration team is going to see the most action, and they might need to be well-protected in general too. Well, I'll see first what Raquel decides to do for this battle.>

Two groups... they're bound to engage in combat regardless. Sophia thought. I can help no matter which one, so... Hmm...

Edited June 19, 2012 by Acacia Sgt

[Mercakete]

"How much about what Raquel looks like can they possibly know? Do they have a picture or something?" Norbert asked, "Even then, they don't know if she goes around in a hooded cloak or not, do they?" They can't know THAT much about her, can they? And besides that, I doubt an artist would have been able to draw Raquel in any sort of detail without her holding still for a while for him.

[Eail]

"Actually not quite, the only people that have actually seen a picture of Raquel are myself and Cervantes. The other members have only gotten a description of her, pink hair and the such" Zach clarified for Veronika

[Acacia Sgt]

''Remember that she got captured. They could've easily gotten a description of her, be it picture or written, during that time.'' John said. Then Zach spoke about how there was indeed a picture, but only he and Cervantes have seen it. ''Hmm, would Cervantes be waiting personally for the group or he would just leave it to others and we'd just be brought to him or something?'' He asked.

[Eail]

"Not a chance, he'd never put himself in any form of danger no matter how slim the chances are. He'll probably be in his room sipping a glass of wine waiting for the good news" Zach said

[Phoenix]

Thoughts and Speculation

Raquel's eyes would wander around the room, stopping at any person giving actual input into the plan, but so far, everything seemed to revolve around where to put Raquel and who to pretend to be her. It was a little irksome to have opinions and ideas of her own but not feeling comfortable enough to share them just yet. She got another volunteer for a double, but didn't say anything. She and Chelsea didn't even have the same eye or hair color, so Bert had better hope a cloak didn't get them stopped right at the front door.

The look on Gabbie's face suggested that she was getting a little tired of the double suggestions as well, but she'd find that Gabbie's reasons were different from her own. "Maybe I'm not seein' the point here because I'm not taggin' along specifically to protect Raquel-that's what the monkey's for, but what do we need a double for? This cult works for the real enemy, roight? If they wanted her dead, they would have sent an agent using the same crap Zachery here fed us, and then gotten her alone to finish her off, not lure us to the estate, so unless they just don't give a damn anymore, it's a safe bet they still want her aloive."

It seemed like Gabbie was missing something, which prompted a response from Raquel herself. "Yeah, but they could still capture me in the middle of the fighting."

"And take you where, Raquel? Back to their mansion-oh roiiiiight, that's where the foighting's going to be." Gabbie explained, giving Raquel an annoyed and condescending look for a second. "Look, we're marching roight into the enemy's home, so unless Zachery here is completely out of the loop, they've got nowhere else to take Raquel that we can't cover. Even if she is caught, if we get the Governor's support, we can block any escape routes from the place and finish this tonoight. Raquel doesn't need a double, just a bodyguard in case things get a little too chaotic." Gabbie finished. So basically she didn't like the idea of wasting the time on a double when at worst, said double would be grabbed and hauled off to some room ... or something. It crossed her mind that the organization they were fighting against might be somewhere nearby and ready to make a swift pickup if Raquel was captured, but that's what her escape route blocking comment was also thought up to prevent. The only loose end was Sardis. They couldn't really plan for his appearance, and hopefully they wouldn't have to worry about it.

"Okay, we get it." Raquel conceded. "I don't necessarily need a double, I guess. I could just 'be myself' during the operation." For all the good that would do. Hmm .... Raquel began imagining several different versions of how the attempt might go if she were more assertive in her approach ...

No cloak, and an abnormally large piece of the fire emblem shining in her right hand, Raquel flanked by a little under ten escorts approached the manse main entrance where several guards were waiting. One of them held out his hand urging them to stop where they were. "I'm here to have a word with Mister Krausche. Is he home?" Raquel inquired, in a genuinely dominant manner.

"And who might you be?" the same guard asked.

Zachery stepped out from the crowd and pulled down his hood revealing who he was. That seemed to be all the answer they needed, but Raquel still answered saying "I'm Raquel Valcyn, and I'm here on some business. I'll ask again, is Mister Krausche home, or not?"

"Yeah, head on inside."

Raquel grinned as they entered.

Several versions later ...

"I'm not only here to sell weapons and equipment. I'd like to speak with you about hiring some of these mercenaries. If it's alright, I'd also like to handpick these mercenaries myself." Raquel explained to both Cervantes and some others assembled with him. They were all standing just behind the main entrance, and Cervantes' face was inexplicably hidden by shadows.

"Why certainly~" came an obviously sinister reply from Cervantes, seeing the opportunity to pretty much spring every cultist in the manse on them at once. No matter how well Raquel's escorts were armed, they couldn't withstand an all out assault like that for long. A platoon of the 'mercenaries' quickly assembled in rows of twelve, and Raquel began walking up and down the front row eyeing them each with suspicion. "Hmm." She looked some more. "Hmmmm."

"Take your time, Miss Valcyn~" came another clumsily veiled comment from Cervantes. "We have ... plenty of time~"

"I suppose. Do you have anyone a bit more stocky?" she asked, noticing that for some reason, all of the cultists assembled had the exact same build and height.

"Perhaps. Cecil! Go bring me my top men. Miss Valcyn will want to examine them for herself, hmhmhmmm~"

Within a few seconds, the man had returned with a whole bunch of well armed cultists. The ones on the second floor were all armed with crossbows, and the ones Raquel had been examining pulled out various weapons, such as swords, axes, tomes, and small firearms. "So, you're showing your true colors." Raquel shot a glare toward Cervantes, who was now wearing a full suit of armor with the visor open.

"Indeed! Sardis will be most pleased when we deliver you to him on a golden platter! Hahahahahaha!"

"Fool." Raquel shot back as she held up her emblem piece. It's power activated and the shine nearly blinded everyone in the room but her.

"What are you waiting for, you fools?! Take them down, but don't shoot Raquel! We need her alive!" Shooting started, but with the combination of blinding light and the quick maneuvers of Raquel's distraction team, none of them were getting hit. Cervantes' armor fell to pieces and he was stabbed in the back by Gar before a single piece of that armor hit the ground. Bert somehow managed to get Rizen into the manse and flew her up to the second floor and began running over or brutally bashing people with his maces, which cleared out the shooters in short order. Cervantes, now bleeding to death on the floor whined "So ... so easily. How could-" he was cut off by the sound of an explosion somewhere else in the estate. "W-what was that?"

"Looks like the rest of your forces are being taken care of by our main force. We'll be rescuing that girl soon, and your sick practices are over." Raquel stated victoriously.

"D-damn you ..." were Cervantes' last words as he fell silent on the floor, much to Gar's confusion.

"Thirty seconds? Strange, I thought I got him in the heart ..." It's okay, Gar. Not a lot of this makes sense when you think about it ....

Hmm, it'll probably go different from any of those so ... discarding all of that. Raquel thought to herself before sighing. At least if I'm careful, the fighting won't start immediately. I'm not sure how to lead them on without them springing the trap, though. I'm also not sure when they'll spring it, exactly. I guess it'll be obvious if there's a whole bunch of armed people there waiting for us as soon as we go inside.

"Heh, well I guess as long as there aren't any underground escape tunnels or anything like that ..." Reign commented on Gabbie's little assessment. Hmm, waiting in his room? Reign thought, after Zachery's input. This is going to turn violent a lot quicker than I imagined if that's the case. Maybe Zachery can do some stalling for us.

I don't know about the governor's support, but Tali's a great shot, even at night. She and I might be able to cover at least one escape route. That's nothing like a siege operation, and we can definitely get away with it. Mandy thought.

Edited June 20, 2012 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

"Absolutely not," the pegasus rider firmly disagreed, "The problem with Raquel going in with us is that it'll take time for the other group to come around and attack our enemies from behind. As for a bodyguard, what do you all think the rest of us will be going for? It's better to have someone pretending to be Raquel who can actually fight in case the rest of us can't protect her. I don't want to deal with a hostage situation either. It's just a whole lot smarter and safer for her to not be part of the decoy team."

[Acacia Sgt]

''The decoy team may be the one to face the bulk of the enemies,'' John said. ''But at the same time, they want Raquel alive. So long she'd be there they wouldn't try to go all out in case they kill her by accident. Besides, her abilities may prove to be more useful to that group precisely since they'd be more enemies to fight, so they'd need all the help they can get.''

''If the other team is going to take longer to arrive, wouldn't it be best to ensure to buy the most possible time?'' Sophia asked. ''If they find out before they're in position to act it could be a problem.''

[Eail]

"I can probably buy us some time once we arrive at the manse, but it might be more difficult if the actual Raquel isn't with me." Zach commented

[Phoenix]

Galley Preparations

"Oh for gods' sake, if you people can't assemble an infiltration team capable of protecting even one person, then this mission's already a failure. It's risky, no argument here, but at least with the real Raquel in the infiltration team, they'll have to think twice about deploying firearms and ranged weaponry. That gives you a fighting chance. I'm pretty sure they won't hesitate to go all out against the assault team at any rate." Reign added.

"You really think they'll hold back if I'm in the group?" Raquel asked, still a bit worried about that, herself.

"Let me put it this way; if I was in their shoes, I'd lock or bar the doors behind you guys, and have an entire firing squad ready. If I found out they sent a fake, that firing squad would cut loose. They'd be positioned so you wouldn't have time to get to them, and with everyone on foot, your chances of scattering in time are pathetic. The main entrance to most manses I've seen are natural killing zones, so I'd expect the trap to be sprung there or close to it. Anyway, my point is, at least with you there, they've got to pick their damn targets." He then glanced at Zach. "How would you 'buy time' exactly?"

[Mercakete]

Norbert was still against having Raquel go with them, but he really couldn't argue with Reign's scenario. It was irritating, but all he could do was remain silent and listen for now. So, that's just what he chose to do.

Gytha, likewise, was looking at Zach, waiting to hear how he would answer Reign. For now, she had no input to give.

[Eail]

"I figure that we could have Raquel request a private meeting with Cervantes, naturally she wouldn't be going alone. I'd be coming with her along with atleast one of you. Cervantes would likely only have 1 guard along with us do to him trusting me, once his back is turned I zap him. After that we can easily fortify that room, while everyone else rushes to us." Zach said "It's the worst plan I've ever come up with mind you, but it should work depending on how we play our cards"

[Mercakete]

"I'm absolutely positive you've come up with worse," Norbert commented, "And don't assume you'd be the only one fighting if one of us is going with you and Raquel if it comes to that." The plan its self was good. It addressed his concerns so he didn't comment against it. Gytha also felt a little better about it with that idea put out there.

"I don't see how you'd define that as 'stalling'. Not the important thing, though. I'll go with you if it comes to it," he continued, "If that happens quietly enough, the other enemies could be waiting on standby for the order, too. We might not have to fight much at all if we do this right."

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"I'd rather Raquel bring a fairly large entourage personally. The cult already knows that she has mercenaries working with her- showing up alone or nearly alone would be more suspicious than not I think. We just need to delay them until the other group arrives or triggers an alarm, but I'd rather have more security around Raquel just in case."