Return of the Emblem Chapter Nine: Consolidating Forces

[Phoenix]

Raquel and Reign

"Alright, I'll keep this as concise as I can," Reign began. "The man behind me is a close relative of the governor. The governor's daughter, Claudia, decided she was going to inform the governor about the situation. He and Cervantes aren't on the best terms to start, and Cervantes is under suspicion for at least one disappearance if I remember right. He's at least willing to help us. The governor? Maybe, but I'm not sure to what extent just yet."

"So ... so the governor's siding with us?" Yeah, that was pretty much the only thing Raquel heard there.

Gabbie and Co.

Gabbie grabbed what was left of her food and carried it with her, planning to finish it on the way back. It brought her right back to her earlier point; she liked food she could eat on the go. Neela approached them and said "That will be seven gold, please."

"Well that's affordable. I thought this place was more expensive. Tastes expensive." Gabbie thought aloud as she handed Neela the payment, plus an extra gold coin as a tip.

"We aim to please, not to coin people, heheh." Neela explained nervously as she accepted the money.

Mandy and Shadrak

"The guild is somewhat along the main route to the docks, so you can put him back in the stables on your way back if you want. Otherwise, you could leave him with me. I've already got two to deal with. One more won't be a stretch, and if I really need help, I can just ask one of the guys." Mandy replied.

"Hmm." Shadrak pondered for a moment. "You're taking a ride back with her? Okay, how about you keep an eye on him, then? I'm not heading back to the ship just yet."

[Acacia Sgt]

<Well, he certainly brought interesting news.> John thought. <This can certainly help out regarding the authorities detail.>

-----

At the announcement that Reign was back, Sophia finally stood back up. Figuring the break might as well be over or soon to anyway, she walked over to the Dauntless where the others were gathered.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

So, the guy called Reign brought news that the city governor was possibly against the cult? Wasn't that a big convenience. Useful, but too convenient. Gar was gonna have to keep an eye out for any documents regarding a connection between the two. That meant keeping an eye on the guy behind the Reign guy in case he got too curious about any evidence. Course if he was legit that meant they had an exceptional out if they got any documents of corruption. And maybe that mentioned disappearance was the girl they were being sent in to rescue? That would make things almost too easy.

Aye aye, here he was being suspicious when he was even more suspicious. "Well, well, that's quite a boon you've managed to secure," Gar congratulated the Reign guy. "We may actually have a shot at pulling this off after all."

[Ether]

"Alright, then I will drop him off at the stables. Again, I apologize about all this..." Faatina replied to Mandy, before riding back off towards the Warrior's Guild.

[Mercakete]

It took a bit of time for Norbert to gain a grasp on his emotions and by the time he and Riz landed again most the others were already gone. Shadrak was the only group member still within sight but he was working on fixing that. Talitha was also nowhere to be seen. So, Norbert turned his attention to the only one left he recognized. "Planning on going back to the guild now?" Norbert asked Mandy, still acting a bit cautious, mainly due to not knowing how to pick up a conversation again without it winding up being at least a little awkward after that. He didn't expect people to understand, especially ones he'd only just recently met.

OoC: Cynthia, if Nadya's still there after this mini-TS, then please let me know so I can edit her in; was just assuming for the moment.

Edited June 5, 2012 by Mercakete

[ReformBlade]

"Well someone is bold, but I ain't complaining~. What kind of useless facts, might I ask?" She decided to ask as Hannah trotted along, snorting every so often. "Like... Cooking, or maybe collecting random crap? Perhaps dyes? Or maybe some sort of herbology? Oh I know I know, what do you know about Pegasi?!" Aneda almost shouted at Zach. She was truly curious as she didn't know all that much beyond the fact that they flew and that they were graceful and stuff.

"That is pretty... inexpensive... Not bad." Well at least you don't owe too much, mister burnt tongue. Davod smiled at no one in particular as he got up and stretched, waiting to head out.

[Eail]

'She is certainly eccentric isn't she? This is certainly going to be fun'

"Herbology? Only just a little bit, like what plants are safe to eat and which aren't, don't know much about dyes though. The pegasus though is an entirely other matter, incredibly graceful creatures they are. Herbivores, generally prefer the company of women compared to men, much faster in the sky than a Wyvern but a bit less durable. Fairly expensive and sought after by more than a few people as well." Zach responded to her questions

"Well I do know a good bit about cooking as well, certainly not as much as my mother did though, God rest her soul." He added as a sad afterthought.

[Snike]

After a few minutes of attempted team building, Blake lost his focus when Reign shouted his arrival. Alright, so what had he come up with that warranted such an announcement? Was it a weak point? Or maybe even an ally? The swordsman rose from his favored location against the Dauntless and advanced a few feet to where he could see the loading ramp. Behind Raquel's friend and at the bottom of said ramp, there was a grey-haired man patiently waiting. Maybe he was the representative of the governor or something?

***

Grant waited patiently as Reign ran up the ramp and began to explain things to the mercenary group. In the meantime, the duelist began to take mental notes of the area. The ship the group was residing in was the Leverager, a frequent visitor. Half the mercenaries present appeared to be sword fighters. Reign and the pink-haired woman he was speaking to both had auras, his of a strong fire mage, hers

of a novice elder magic practitioner. Whatever information Grant gained this way could be useful in the near future, assuming the sellswords weren't idiots who would try and kill him the moment he stepped foot on deck.

[ReformBlade]

"I'm not sure on the preferring women versus men part but the rest is general stuff I already knooooooooow, what else do you know?" She interrupted before getting the hint that apparently his mother was dead. Well that blows. "Sorry to hear about your mom... If it's a sore spot I'll uh... drop it I guess." Man, that boat is far away, why is it so far away this is awkward!

[Ether]

Reaching the warrior's guild at a good pace, Faatina returned the warhorse, before continuing along her way to the Leverager.

[Eail]

"Well I mostly learned what little I actually do know about Pegasi from an old book, so my info probably isn't that good. As for what else I know I consider myself a rather good historian for what it's worth, can't prepare for the future if we don't know the past after all." Zach responded. "Don't worry about my mother by the way, I've accepted the fact that she's gone. She wouldn't want me to mope about for the rest of my life, but it still kinda hurts every now and then ya know?"

[Phoenix]

Main Deck

"I wouldn't get my hopes up just yet. There's still a good chance they'll have their bases covered. It's a start, though." Reign replied to Gar. "So I take it he's another new hire?" he directed that question at Raquel. She just nodded in reply, and to that, Reign shrugged. "The more the deadlier."

Warrior's Field

"Yeah I'm heading back now. You can come and find us again when you're ready to get back to testing, though with Tali like this, it's probably better to seek out one of the regulars for the time being. It's almost impossible for me to get accurate scoring without her." Mandy replied.

OoC:

Unless anything in-between alters it, previous post still exists. Just moved up on the timeline.

Edited June 6, 2012 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Well, that answered his questions. "Alright," was his simple reply before he rode Riz the short distance back to his things, dismounted and started gearing Rizen back up. Evidently, he'd be staying a bit longer to accomplish this before going anywhere himself. Might as well go back to the ship...blast it all.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"At least the governor isn't against us, but you don't sound especially convinced. Do you think the authorities here in Tremere will be a problem if we kill the cult?" Veronika asked Reign directly.

Nadya

Nadya raised an eyebrow at Shadrak, she thought he'd want to be back for this cult thing, but she decided it wasn't her business anyway. "Well, I'll probably be back tomorrow for testin', but as y'all heard I got places to be," she said to Mandy before heading back to the Leverager on Luca.

[ReformBlade]

Aneda frowned but inevitably smiled. "Well, you're a good kid if you're gonna be that respectful to the one who raised you and brought you into the world. So you know what? I hope I don't regret the decision, but uh..." She patted Hannah behind her, "Go ahead and hop on. She won't bite, but don't annoy her! She doesn't like potentially bad men~."

[Eail]

"Really? Thanks then." Replied a midly shocked Zach as he managed to get himself onto the flying pony without making a complete ass of himself.

"I've always wanted to ride one of these, never gotten a chance though." He continued as he got situated behind Aneda. Hesitating a moment before deciding on not putting his arms around her waist, that wouldn't be need unless they really picked up the pace or started flying which he secretly hoped they did.

J-just for the experience of flying of course, not so he could get close to a pretty lady. Nope, Zachary Fairweather was a totally pure and clean minded individual.

'That's a load of shit and you know it is Zach, you can't fool yourself.' His conscience berated him 'Oh shut up you, when have you ever been any help to me?'

Edited June 11, 2012 by Eail

[Phoenix]

Main Deck

"I don't think they would be a problem for long. I'm more concerned with the battle itself. The Governor's 'support' obviously doesn't include a battalion, so you could still all get killed if the attack goes ... particularly bad, but don't mind me. I can be a little pessimistic when there's not enough information." Reign explained.

Somewhere In Town

Once they were outside the restaurant, Gabbie whistled for Ringo, and the wyvern attempted ... I say 'attempted' a takeoff. Unfortunately, more of the tiles on the roof gave way as his weight came down on them, and he ended up tumbling off of the two story building. He stretched out his wings and caught himself before landing on anyone, but Gabbie still ended up shielding Connor from a couple of falling pieces. "Yeah, that's what the tip was for. Okay, let's get the hell outta here." Gabbie insisted. Ringo quickly flew up to another rooftop and hid up there, being careful where he put his feet this time.

Somewhere Else In Town

Shadrak ended up heading back toward the guild. Mandy caught up with him, but didn't say anything at first. About halfway back to the guild building, she finally spoke up saying "So, why didn't you catch a ride back with your friends?"

"Heh, coworkers, not friends. I'm not going back with them just yet. I want to talk with that girl, Tali, first." he replied. He didn't even look at Mandy, though she was getting close to pulling ahead of him even with two equine's in tow.

"What are you going to talk with her about?" Mandy's teasing cheerful demeanor came back in an instant.

"I just have some questions for her. Until today, I didn't even realize halfbreeds exist. I want to learn all I can, and so I can't let an opportunity like this pass me by. And maybe if I'm careful, I can cheer her up a bit. Not every stranger she runs into despises the fallen, after all. Maybe I can remind her of that." he explained.

Mandy shook her head. "They probably should. While I hate that Tali gets treated like this by people who don't know her, it doesn't really change the fact that the fallen are more than just some fringe threat. If people start opening up to them, they'll take advantage of that, sooner or later."

"Have you ever even encountered the fallen before?" Shadrak asked, raising an eyebrow as he glanced back at her. "I have."

"Did you run into a cute one or something?" Mandy teased.

"Y-yeah, but that's not the point. There's a difference between being born a monster, and raised to act like one. Things go better when people can tell the difference between the two. I learned a lot in just a short amount of time. Fallen can be just as civil as humans, but they're encouraged to do anything but. That's all."

"I guess, but the majority of them still probably want to take over the place. One cute fallen isn't going to change that."

"Maybe not, but people need to wise up ... otherwise people like Tali and Siv are going to suffer for it, and they didn't do anything wrong. That's what pisses me off. All the collateral damage people cause without even thinking. Urgh."

[Ether]

"So I guess the rest of the way is on foot, huh? Oh well." Faatina noted to herself after stabling the borrowed horse, and making her way back to the Leverager. It didn't take her too long to arrive back to the ship, and luckily, it seemed Raquel was out on the deck.

"Oh, Raquel. There you are... I heard from Shadrak and some new guy that something was going on... I didn't catch the details, what's happening?"

[ReformBlade]

"Well that's enough dawdling I'd say, and we're gettin nowhere fast. Better hold on, we're goin up!" She leaned forward and gave Hannah

to go higher. Much higher. Into the sky, where they can't hear you cry. What? I'm just rhyming... FINE! It wasn't long before that ship thing was in view since, well, the distance itself wasn't that afr, but buildings and paths being blocked... auuugh. The rider felt the rush and had to comment. "The sky is fair, it's above everyone's head... No different!" Hmmm... that sounds familiar... No matter!

"Ha! I forgot about him! Good to know he's still around I guess..." Davod mused. "Nice save by the way."

[Eail]

And sure enough as soon as Zach finished his internal argument they took off into the sky and without even thinking about Zach pretty much attached himself to Aneda.

Daring a look over the side he was amazed at the view below him "Holy crap this is fucking awesome!" Feeling them gaining even more speed Zach somehow managed to squeeze himself closer to the pegasus lady.

'Wow, she smells nice~ ' 'Yeah that totally isn't creepy at all Zachy-boy' 'Oh shut up you, what do you know aside from what I know?'

Edited June 7, 2012 by Eail

[Acacia Sgt]

And not that soon after did the others began to head back.

<So I guess that's one less problem to deal with. At least we know the governor won't be completely against us.> John thought.

So he was able to contact with relatives of the governor? Sophia thought. Amazing, it probably was not easy. And good thing they also are not on good terms with them either. Looks like things were looking up after all.

[ReformBlade]

With that silly ship in view, Hannah came to an eventual stop aboard the ship, Aneda relaxed a little, letting out a rather big laugh as she leaned back again. "You can stop holding so hard, sir. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt since the take off was really out of nowhere, but really, wandering hands, dude, not cool~! I hope you don't do that with every girl you meet." Aneda forcefully removed the man's grip, "Really now...." She said as she laughed more.

[Eail]

"Hehe, sorry about that but I got a little freaked out over the sudden take off and well, you were kinda the only thing to hold onto." Replied Zach as he shakily made his way off the flying pony. "And no, not all the ladies. Just the ones that can have a good laugh every now and then and those I'm pretty sure wouldn't kill me for it." He added with a grin

[ReformBlade]

"Oh but of course, just do it when you can get away with it! Why didn't I think of that? Makes sense to me... Oh but there's that whole thing of, oh what's it called... Oh riiiight, right, personal space! That silly concept, how sillyyyy, what a SILLY person it was to think of something so positively silly!" Hopping off Hannah, still smiling a little, "Seriously, I don't know who you've met, and I know this was a weird occurrence..." Looking about and sighing before focusing again on Zach, "Do not make a habit of that. I'm in a group with mostly women, how do you think they'd take this? I ain't speaking for all of em but I doubt the first thing they'd like to know is that you're lookin to grope em. Me? I'm... indifferent, for all intents and purposes for the moment. I'm all for a little fun here and there, but not while there's real business to be taken care of." By this point, Aneda had crossed her arms, staring down (up actually) at Zach, "I'm just giving you a heads up. Do not-" She poked him in the chest, "-mess with me. OK? You respect me and I'll respect you."

[Eail]

Pretty much scared out of his mind Zach managed to croak out "Yes mam, I'm sorry. I swear I only did it because I thought I'd fall off otherwise"

'Oh god please don't kill me, I HAVE SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR.' 'That's a lie and you know it is butt-munch'

Edited June 7, 2012 by Eail