Return of the Emblem Chapter Nine: Consolidating Forces

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Sounds good," Gar pointlessly added to Raquel's time frame. Some of the sailor guys were talking about a late lunch or early dinner or whatever. Didn't one of them in the wardroom talk about cooking? And Raquel went and confirmed it. "Best to get a good meal in early," Gar said half to the others and half to himself. Unfortunately he was too damned worried about other things to go snaking down on someone elses food. So he'd just settle for munching on something during his scouting trip. Make it all the more like a simple walk outside the city.

[Mercakete]

"What makes you think we're all going back right now?" Norbert asked them, slightly irritated, "Obviously it's nothing all that urgent, so I don't plan on leaving until I've gotten my own scores. It may be inconvenient for some people, I guess, but that's as much as I can gather without anyone telling me anything about just how urgent this actually is." The last bit was aimed at Shadrak and the other guy accompanied with a glare at the two before he returned his attention to the guild ladies. "So, if you're done with Aneda, I'm up next. I'm not about to waste all the time I've spent trying to get this done."

[Acacia Sgt]

''Yeah, even if we take into account that not everybody may be eating that,'' John said. ''That's not even enough considering how many of the sailors may want to as well. They'd probably have to conform themselves to their own cook's dinner.''

[ReformBlade]

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do..." Aneda said as she signed her name. "Anedaaa... Maeleth... Wwwwwwelnon! There, all signed up, I'll be back later, so sorry about this!"

The bard swallowed. All of it. The burning sensation came quickly, but he tried to drown it out with a cold glass of water. To be fair, it cooled his mouth down. However, he noticed that the taste of burning was all that was left in his mouth right now. "Well..." He said, licking all over his mouth, trying to see if he was right, "Yeah, yeah I can't taste anymore! Well that was a good run I'd say!"

[Phoenix]

Main Deck

"She'll definitely be finished before it's time to head out, so that's good, at least. But you're right, it won't feed us all. Hopefully we can all get something to eat before this goes down. Anyway, I'll get started on the cloak." Raquel replied to them all. She then went into the Dauntless and began rummaging through her supplies. She found a few cloaks, but no green ones. She fully expected this, and just took one of the ones that was large enough to fit Gar. It was brown ... for now.

Restaurant

Neela hung her head in remorse as Davod gave his damage report. "Um, Miss? I'm ready to order now." came the voice of an ignored customer.

"O-oh! I'm sorry!"

Back at the table ... Gabbie was caught between amusement and sympathy. The situation was hilarious, but Davod had still nearly burned his tongue off, it seemed. "Iiii really hope that's not permanent. Still fun to watch, though." After that, she patted him on the back a few times. "Great job, Dave. I didn't think you'd actually finish, honestly."

Warrior's Field

Talitha shrugged as she accepted back the pen and notebook. "Stuff happens, I guess."

"Oh really?" Mandy asked Bert, almost excited that they still had some more work to do. "Alright, then! We'll do you next. What's your preference, here? Testing or dueling?~"

"This is seriously more fun than you deserve." Talitha reaffirmed.

Shadrak glared right back at Bert, and then spoke up. "Since you want it blurted out thoughtlessly ... we've got a security threat looming. We're planning to deal with it 'preemptively', but with half of everyone unaccounted for, it's hard to make any real progress. This 'mage' here is one of their turncoats."

"Zachery's a turncoat?" Talitha asked, though she didn't really sound interested in the least.

[Snowy_One]

Robin sighed as she looked down at the bubbling pot before her. She had worked hard to make the food and carried back as much as she could have managed on her own, not to mention used the largest pot she could find. Yet already she could hear faint whispers from the crew about the 'delicious food' in the galley. She had no doubt at all that they were referring to her stew. What was she to do. Already she had barely enough for everyone thanks to the amount of food she could carry and, if she fed the sailors too, she would have to reduce everyone down to a single portion and STILL wouldn't feed all the sailors. At the best she could feed most of the group, whom she had intended to feed, and some of the sailors. She had no doubts that some of the party members wouldn't mind giving up their portions, but that was a band-aid solution at best. Still... she would have to do her best to portion it out.

[Mercakete]

"All I was asking for was how urgent it is," Norbert replied in return to Shadrak, a little more irritated at him than before, "And if it's some meeting or something, I can just ask about it later. Not like I'm the most important group member. I'll see everyone at the ship when I'm done here."

Then, to Mandy, he answered, "Which one's faster? Curious as I am about how you test for each area of combat, I apparently can't leave everyone waiting for very long, so if a spar's faster, I'll have to go with that." Blasted threat and its looming and this Zachary guy and his interrupting the testing and...

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Guess it says something that they're all pip and ready to dig in just based on smell," Gar chuckled. Raquel ducked inside the wagon to get his fancy new cloak ready, so in the interest of time, Gar would head back to where he last saw the good Captain and ask for a spyglass to borrow. As he walked back to the wardroom, Gar kept his ears open on anyone following him. But even with split intentions it didn't take him long to return. Captain Bogdan was still sitting pretty in the wardroom. "Captain Bogdan, do you have a spare spyglass we could use? I'll throw up some coin as collateral if you're worried about losing it." Gar chose his words oddly.

[Eail]

"Turncoat would be the simplest way to put it I suppose, but I've been planning on something like this for the past couple of months." Zach admitted "This group has just been the tipping point I needed to put a plan into motion."

"I actually came here to ask if you two might be willing to help us out. I may not know either of you that well but I know I can trust you, if need be I can pay almost any fee you'd ask me." He asked Tali before adding "Cervantes may be a sick son of a bitch, but he pays well."

[Acacia Sgt]

Raquel went inside the wagon, and Gar back to the wardroom, and soon both were out of the actual deck. Well, now was a good time as any.

''So, what do you think of Gar?'' John asked Veronika, glancing at where he had gone into. ''Despite having admitted he was sent to look for Raquel because of the emblem, he sure seems to have been admitted too quickly into this.''

[Phoenix]

Raquel's Quest

Raquel set the cloak aside and began looking around through her supplies and muttering the entire time. She eventually resurfaced with an old tome in hand. She needed a power source, so it was a must. She didn't find the other thing she was looking for, though. "I guess I'll have to find a tailor in town, after all ..." she said to herself with a frown.

Gar's Request

"Going sight seeing, Gar?" Bogdan asked from his seat. He pulled the spyglass right out from his coat after asking. Seemed he was willing to lend it regardless of the answer.

What's Best

"A duel's probably faster since Tali can figure out more of your scores at once. Try to last more than a few rounds, though, please? That would help immensely~" Mandy replied to Bert.

Talitha rolled her eyes at that. "I can get the scores in a couple of rounds minus magical power and resistance ... she just wants a longer fight."

"Shush! Now what's this about us helping you, Zachery? What's your problem with Cervantes, exactly?"

"You want these two girls to reinforce us?" Shadrak asked, raising an eyebrow.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"More like problem seeing, Captain," Gar responded as it seemed getting the spyglass would be effortless. "Gonna run a scouting trip on the bad guys, and no point getting close if I can help it." Probably more than what was needed but better to say than not.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Well...he seems honest enough so far, a good spy wouldn't have revealed that he was paid by someone else. I can't say that I trust him completely, but I think it's better that we keep him closer to us. If he's where we can keep an eye on him, he'll have less opportunity to cause...trouble," she said hesitantly.

Connor

"Well that could have gone a lot worse," Connor remarked to Davod. "We should probably be heading back soon- Raquel will probably need you to deal with the problem Valter talked about," he said, finishing his own meal.

Nadya

"Oh, someone who pays well is involved?" Nadya asked, her ears perking up. "This is startin' to sound a little more interestin'- maybe I should wait to get tested tomorrow..." she wondered out loud.

[Mercakete]

"I don't have a problem with a longer fight. I want to get as high of scores as possible," Norbert replied, before pausing and asking, "Are lower numbers or higher numbers better to have?" It sounded like higher was better, but he wasn't certain.

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

After a thorough investigation, Cecelia was satisfied that the cave was clear. That shrine was still bothering her, though. Why were these bandits praying to dragons? Were they simply that mad? Perhaps all forms of evil were banding together. The captain waved off the idea. That was a little too dramatic to be realistic. Though if these bandits were dragon sympathizers -- or worse, were trying to fight the Neviskotians' battle from within Ursium's boundaries -- then that was legitimate enough a threat to put more effort into snuffing them out. She arrived before Colonel Langley along with Fletcher. No doubt Beck had already given his report. Perhaps the dragon-worshiper had already been questioned, too. The captain saluted her superior. They'd already decided that Lieutenant Fletcher would give the report since it was his investigation to start with. Cecelia would fill in as she felt necessary.

[ReformBlade]

Done with the arena stuff for now, Aneda decided to do some investigative work. "Turncoat? Turncoat from what? And I assume you've vetted him...? I don't know about anyone else, but being introduced as a turncoat doesn't instill the greatest of trusts. No offense to your true intentions if they're noble, mister Zachary. If they're not, though, you';ll be in some heapin amount of trouble~"

"Ah.... I don't think it should be permanent. If I kept eating spicy foods yes, but uh... yeah." Davod said in an attempt to cheer himself up. You're crazy....

[saifors]

Outside Restaurant Earlier Dion found a good place to train which he did and ended up understand and know how to use his Elfire tome much more and returned close to the restaurant searching for mercenary work to test how powerful his tome was and to gain some money.

[Eail]

"Well to keep things short, Cervantes is the leader of a cult based in a manse close to this town. About a year and a half ago I joined on a recommendation from my teacher Kerrigan, I did it so he could be around more to teach me. Anyways, for a little over a year I played along with the cult and all that, mostly just sticking around to keep learning and doing mercenary work for them on the side. I managed to rise through the ranks fairly quickly thanks to my teacher vouching for me, and eventually I earned the right to "Gaze upon The Goddess" as they put it." Giving a deep sigh Zachary continued "It was a little girl, strapped down to a bed. Sedated if her eyes were anything to go by.... I've seen some bad things in my life and done some as well, but the eyes on that poor child are the worst thing I've ever seen. I managed to get myself out of there by saying I wasn't worthy yet and I have been trying to come up with a plan to save her ever since."

"After a while I was starting to grow desperate, and if Cervantes hadn't chosen me to go after your group I'd likely have tried to save her by myself and I would most likely be dead by now. This cult is connected to The Org that is after your group, I'm giving you all this information so that we can help each other, you all can get rid of some of your enemies and I can save the girl."

[Phoenix]

Raquel

Raquel decided to try one thing before leaving the Dauntless. She folded up the cloak and placed it in her lap after she sat down. After that, she took her piece of the fire emblem out of her bag and set it on top of the cloak. Then she just stared at it for almost a minute. "When it worked the first time ... I was kind of fed up with the situation. I cut loose and shouted. It kind of hurt my throat yelling like that, but the emblem responded to me." She continued staring at the small piece for moment, trying to figure out what she needed to do to get it to respond again. "Turn this cloak green." she requested. She fully expected that asking like that wouldn't work, and it didn't. She sighed. "Do I have to get extremely furious just for you to react? That's just too stressful for me ..."

She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was standing right outside in plain view and watching her before continuing. "Work." she ordered. No response. "At least glow or something! Come oooon! Urgh. I know this is kind of frivolous, but I have to get you to function somehow." Darnit. The dragon head said I shouldn't try to manipulate it, but just commanding it isn't working. It only worked when I got furious, and it only did something I was trying to do a long time before that. Is it a delayed reaction or something? I can't figure this out on my own!

Bogdan

"You are the one who'll be doing the scouting? Interesting." Bogdan replied, a bit surprised that he was getting that kind of responsibility right off the bat. "Try not to look too suspicious out there." he advised.

Gabbie

"Well no more for today. We've had our fun ... and Connor's roight. It's about toime to finish up here and head back." said Gabbie, her mood steadily declining again. Some cultists were going to be getting murdered over this nearly ruined outing ... soon ...

Reign

They couldn't have left the arena soon enough if you asked Reign. The environment was a little too high risk, and that Claudia girl was tough to deal with. It was a lengthy walk back to the docks, but Reign didn't really have much to talk about. His past was off limits with Tremere having Ursian influence all over the place. Details about the group were off limits pending an introduction. He wasn't terribly curious about Grant, himself. It seemed like it would be a pretty silent walk back.

Mandy, Tali, and Shadrak

"So let me get this straight," Mandy replied first, her tone becoming more serious. "Cervantes has a huge cult that worships a girl, but she's actually some plaything for the higher ups and Cervantes?"

"What do you want from us, specifically?" Talitha asked next, figuring it was probably reinforcements, but she wanted it fully clarified.

Everyone Else

Langley's battalion had achieved a relatively easy victory. There were still a few questions Langley had for the last people out, though. "Captain, did you find anything else inside; other exits, holdouts, or supplies not lost in the fighting?"

[Mercakete]

Brother

So, Zachary proved he could speak...and what he said was quite the disturbing piece of news. Did this sort of thing make Norbert angry? You bet it did. He didn't know where the manse was but that could easily be remedied. Even that one step was enough to get Norbert to stop thinking with his emotions and start using his brain, however, which prompted other analysis.

"You were asked to do what?" he asked, a deadly calm evident in his tone, posture and expression. He was chosen to come after us, huh? And this sick-minded creep is connected to those annoying pests that keep attacking us? That little drop there sounded like an accidental drop. That's the kind of story that riles people into action, too. I don't trust this guy or his story. I don't want anything to do with him. "You believe this guy?" Norbert asked Shadrak before mentally dismissing his question. Of course he would. Shadrak's not exactly brilliant.

Sister

"Nothing I haven't already reported. The only other point of interest was the dragon shrine Sergeant Beck should have already reported on," Cecelia replied.

[spoiler=OoC]I USED TITLES! AMAZING, YES?!

Edited June 3, 2012 by Mercakete

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"I'd wager no one was more surprised than me," Gar joked. "At least until the other apparent members of the group return and wonder why someone they've never met is out scouting." Gar shrugged. "Well, as long as the lady comes through for me with the cloak I should have all I need to be safe."

[Acacia Sgt]

''Well, he did say he was expected to send reports.'' John said. ''Doesn't sound like he's alone. In any case, the cult is currently a bigger threat, hopefully Reign gets back soon and with good news, and so does the rest of the group. It won't be long before nightfall.''

[Snike]

Grant nodded wordlessly to Reign, before following suit and exiting the arena. The walk to wherever Reign's group of mercenaries was residing -near the port, it seemed- was looking to be mostly silent. After a few minutes, the duelist pulled down his hood. While it did let him avoid detection, he wasn't as likely to be approached here as he would be closer to the coliseum.

***

The starboard breeze was rather nice, so Blake stood on that side of the ship for a few minutes more, taking in the ocean. Eventually, the swordsman returned to the Dauntless - He was far from the only one. It was interesting how many people convened around the wagon while on a 'break'. -, moved to the side of the wagon less occupied by, and proceeded to produce his combat team list from earlier. Time to play around with the teams once more, seeing as bloodshed was imminent.

[ReformBlade]

"That sounds... disgusting and yet convenient for you." Aneda cocked her head as if to question further but she could only sigh. There wasn't much she could ask that would clarify anything, she couldnt' exactly ask for proof and talking out loud about it, if it were true, could prove to be exceedingly dangerous. "And hey, Bert, even if he does or does not believe him, I'd still follow orders, and I doubt Shadrak would be making shit up. Unless he reeeeeaaaally wants a lance OR A MACE rammed straight through every orifice he has~" Shrugging and moving right along, "Just saying. You should probably not be doing all that guildy stuffs right now and get important employer things over with instead, yeah? Yeah!" Turning her gaze to Zaxh, Aneda smiled, "I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt right now, but I'm going to hold you to my earlier statement, 'kay? I look forward to working with you~"

"Aye, we should get going as soon as possible. Thanks for the meal, Miss, I'll try to repay you soon." He said, trying to assure himself more than Gabbie. Debts are baaaaaaad, Davod, very very bad, pay it off as soon as possible, do whatever it friggin takes! "I know, that's why I just... Nevermind."

[Eail]

'Well let's start answering questions again, too bad this is pretty much the third time for the same ones'

Starting with Tali and Mandy he spoke "That's right to put it simple. As for what I wanted you two for, I was hoping I could get both of you to assist us in the fight that's going to be happening later today. Like I said I can pay almost any price the two of you would name of me. Oh and Shadrak? Either one of these women could kill both of us with no trouble if they wanted, so yeah I do want them on our side."

Going onto to Norbert he continued " I was ordered to bring your group to the manse where a trap was going to be laid for you. As I have now figured out, it's because The Organization want's a particular object that is in Raquel's possession, I'm sure you can guess what it is."

And finally Aneda, the crazy lady that was still managing to be hot while threatening murder. "I look forward to working with you guys as well, probably a good thing considering I'm probably going to be leaving with this group once this is all over."

[Mercakete]

In light of the new information, Aneda did seem to have a point with regard to gathering when Raquel said to gather. After all, that order probably didn't originate from the shaman himself, as Aneda so colorfully pointed out. It almost sounded like she'd let him pulverize Shadrak if he really was just issuing out whatever orders he wanted to, too, which made Norbert feel a bit better about listening to his fellow pegasus rider's criticism. There was just something about that that made the rest of what she was saying easier to take in. Not that he wasn't still annoyed at the interruption to their testing.

Then Zachary started talking about his orders. "Well that inspires confidence," Norbert spat sarcastically, still kinda grumpy. Either this guy's arrogant as all get out and thinks we're morons or Raquel actually hired him. Merz I hope it's the former. It seemed like they wouldn't be testing anymore until this Zachary guy was dealt with anyway, whether Norbert decided to stick around or head off with the others. He was now thinking he should probably do the latter, which was only adding to his irritability.