Return of the Emblem Chapter Nine: Consolidating Forces

[Snowy_One]

"Hey!" exclaimed Fred as Synthia turned about to leave the stable, only to be stopped by someone else outside. "Tomorrow? Sorry, no. Not good enough. I won't take an open-ended statement like that. I need some sort of insurance that you're going to come back tomorrow to help me get out of a life of menial labor. You saw how well I can fight! I can take the blows! I don't deserve to be here, sweeping up stuff that smells worse than my failed alchemy transfusions!"

---

"We should not need healers if we do our job right. I have seen this sort of thing done before. I have done it before with my father. One group setting up a distraction to draw attention while the other sneaks around. The first group needs to seem like an actual threat, which means having the muscle to sustain themselves as well as being large enough to draw their attention. The stealthy team needs precision and the ability to make one decisive strike. Unless the healer assigned to us is good with a lethal weapon, every additional healer we take will only make us more likely to be detected, as is anyone who is not skilled in not being seen. Once the alarm goes off after all, ALL of the enemy are going to rush inside to deal with the more immediate threat."

[Mercakete]

Gabbie's remark was a little irritating, but she did have a point. It was likely they'd be suffering some until the others could arrive.

"It's going to take time for the others to get to us, especially since we need to get the attention on us before the others can even enter the building," Norbert spoke up, shaking his head in disapproval, "I know I'd be grateful for some healing if I get worn down. I'm pretty sure the same goes for everyone else trying to guard Raquel."

Edited June 21, 2012 by Mercakete

[Snike]

Finally, the strategy began. Grant listened in on how the group was to storm the castle by using a basement entrance and a decoy Raquel, a point which was argued repeatedly until the only solution was to have Raquel herself go in as the decoy, which, in some ways, made sense. In other ways, it didn't, however, seeing as they could still aim for Raquel, albeit with a bit more care, and just fix her up after the battle. Regardless, that plan was apparently universally accepted, and discussion on the assault team changed how to silently kill a man, a lovely conversation around the dinner table.

"I'll go with the bait group," Grant said, smiling. "That is, if you don't mind. The cultists will hesitate before attacking yours truly, and if they do decide to try, they'll be surprised. Anyways, since the operation is literally cloak-and-dagger, why don't we call the teams Cloak and Dagger, respectively? Makes things a bit easier to remember."

Edited June 22, 2012 by Snike

[roymbrog]

“Woah, calm down, dude,” the mage said, clearly irritated. “Even if I'm not back, I'm sending the money with Torin. It's fine.”

Valter was a little peeved. Some stranger came over and yelled at his friend, not the best first impression. “I believe you mean transmutation,” he told the man curtly. Turning to Synthia, he said, “Do you mind explaining what this is about? What money?”

Synthia sighed. “Arena money. We had a bet, if he won I had to pay his entrance fee. He won. The guy has a barrier as strong as a cleric's.” The horseman thought for a moment. Synthia became impatient. “Hey, are we leaving or not?”

“Bring him,” Valter said simply.

“What?”

Valter ignored her, instead speaking to the knight. “If we got you out of here for a day, would you help us?”

[Snowy_One]

"Help you? I would be indebted to you! I can't stand being some beast of burden as a janitor for my life! It's humiliating and insulting. People look at you and assume you're some lazy olf who doesn't want to do anything beyond the minimal amount of labor to survive. It's humiliating and the hours and working conditions suck! So... yes. Yes I would love to come with you!"

Edited June 22, 2012 by Snowy_One

[Phoenix]

Galley

"I'm not sure when they'll be back, but I don't want to do this at less than full strength. I mean we won't really be at full strength splitting up like this but at least we'll have everyone available." Raquel replied to Zachary. "Do we really want the teams completely even though? One group might be fighting a larger force than the other, right?"

"Even is the safest bet for both groups, but I'm pretty sure the cultists won't respond in kind." Reign gave his input on that before responding to the name suggestions. "Heh, I know an Ursian colonel who would love to get his hands on you; codenaming was never his strong suit."

Edited June 22, 2012 by Phoenix

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"If they have a read on your numbers, then the infiltration group should have people equal to all your recent new hires," Gar threw in before the usual thought shift.

[Eail]

Without even having to think about Raquel's question Zach gave his answer "I'd say that our group will run into more enemies easily, if the sneak team can actually sneak then they shouldn't have many problems. Of course that doesn't mean they won't be needing fighters as well."

[ReformBlade]

Which team? Huh. I think I'd rather be murdering than trying to be all decoyified... "I'll go with the dagger team or whatever..." Said the Pegasus rider.

"I'll go there as well. Unless you want me on the other side that is...?" Davod questioned, seemingly unsure but it was more for everyone else to be ok with the decision instead.

[Phoenix]

Galley

"I don't have any problems with that." Raquel replied.

Shadrak sighed. He'd finally reached what he hoped was the right decision. "I'll go to team 'dagger', too. With enough firepower, we can get to Raquel's group and help them out that much faster, and in case Nadya needs help with the healing, I can help with that too."

[Snowy_One]

"The Dagger team sounds like it will be the best choice for me as well. I am a hunter and a sniper, not a decoy. Raquel, with your permission, I would like to join Dagger."

[Snike]

Grant bristled a bit at Reign's comment. "Just a way of speaking. I'd rather not let said colonel get his hands on me, since, well, joining the army would hamper my ability to compete in Neviskotia. Anyways," the duelist said, returning to a friendly tone, "the assault team had better hit hard and fast, so if that means bringing even numbers, well, so be it."

[Phoenix]

Galley

"That's fine, Robin." Raquel replied.

"If anyone's still hungry, I managed to throw together a few things at the last minute here, stir fry, a very small portion of mashed potatoes, what might be a salad ... of some sort ... I didn't make that last one actually so I don't even know ..." came one of the chef's voices as he leaned out from the kitchen entrance.

[Acacia Sgt]

Seems the ship's cooks had finished making their food. <Oh yeah, I didn't end up eating that much in the end.> John thought. <Hmm, doesn't sound like a bad alternative, although... eh, maybe not. I can just grab something else from my stuff.>

[Mercakete]

At first, Norbert wanted to get some of the food being offered by the ship's cooks, but decided against it. He was still hungry, yeah, but he'd already eaten at least. It wouldn't be right to take a portion for himself when others hadn't been able to eat any stew. So, he simply stayed put and continued to listen to the proceedings. It was somewhat interesting that Reign knew an Ursian colonel, but not enough for the pegasus rider to think much on it. He knew plenty of military, after all, though he hadn't talked with a good many of them in years.

Gytha felt she'd already had her portion of food and so decided to pass on eating the food the cooks had prepared. She was fairly neutral about the proceedings thus far with only the occasional agreeing silently to herself whenever someone voiced why they didn't want to be in the bait team.

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

Meanwhile, Rizen was standing around by the Dauntless, still frustrated and bored and there was no grass or any other plant to chew on. Her rider kept doing this. He'd fly around with her or they'd travel a bit on the ground and then he'd go off with other humans and leave her alone with nothing to do. That was completely unfair. Well, if that was the way he wanted it, fine. She would start spending time with the other equines while he spent time with those of his own species. She'd see how HE liked being ignored in favor of the new herd members!

So, with an indignant snort, Rizen walked with focused purpose down where she saw the horses going. Sure enough, there they were. The wingless ones were standing around, minding their own business as good equines did. Rizen herself wasn't exactly reputed for being a good equine. So, she walked right up to Sandrock, Riley, Sharif, Nesha and Luca and gave a friendly whinny in greeting. She could taste the revenge already.

Edited June 22, 2012 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Galley

Mandy glanced over to find that Talitha was just about finished with the stew. They had heard enough, so it seemed like a good time to decide what role the two of them would play in this, if any. She was hard pressed to actually participate in this operation without some kind of assurance the governor wasn't going to come down on them hard afterward. Thinking on that brought a single word to mind from before that she wasn't too concerned about at the time. "Wait ... duelist?" she said aloud, glancing over at Grant. "You wouldn't happen to be-" "Yeah, it's that ice duelist." Talitha finished, both the statement and the stew. "W-why are you here, exactly?"

Makeshift Stables

Things had been rather irksome down in the holds for Luca, especially since he wasn't getting much sleep in this constantly shifting place. Every time he closed his eyes, he noticed the ground wasn't quite the same as before and it was beginning to make him stomp on occasion. Riley on the other hand had overcome this already and was taking a nap standing up. Sandrock was trying to find room to lie down(the solution to Luca's problem) by the time the familiar pegasus arrived. Sandrock remembered Riz from before, but still stuck her nose a little closer to check, giving a few sniffs. Luca meanwhile blinked a few times wondering if she was instructed to come down here by her human or was just out exploring. Either way, there was no need to be rude, so he greeted her with a friendly nicker.

Edited June 23, 2012 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Interaction acquired. Already she was fraternizing with the wingless ones. This certainly was going well. Speaking of well, the wingless ones seemed to be in good health. That was good, of course. As only an equine could, the pegasus inquired how the others were feeling -- were they enjoying being stuck int his strange, shifting place? Were they not being allowed to roam elsewhere? It sure seemed boring. Maybe she was wrong and they were sick or tired. That wouldn't be good.

[Snike]

Before Reign could respond, it seemed that others had noticed his presence. Grant turned to see two women - one human, the other one Avian - Maybe that Avian/Fallen hybrid from the Guild?-- looking towards him. Evidently it was they who were asking the question.

"I'm here to represent the governor, who will not oppose the elimination of Cervantes, given the circumstances," Grant said pleasantly, before his expression grew sombre. "And to avenge a friend of mine, I suppose."

[Phoenix]

Galley

"So he's going to allow this, then. And he's not going to get involved himself ..." Mandy wondered aloud at the new information.

"It makes more sense to let us do it and have him pardon us after handing over substantial evidence of his crimes. He doesn't lose any men in the process, and no one suspects that he was after something else, like Cervantes' possessions or the property itself." Talitha commented.

"They're going to think that no matter what after he seizes the place ... Anyway, it sounds like someone you cared about is gone now because of Cervantes. If you're sure that the governor at least gives this operation peripheral support, then I'd be willing to help, too ... though I would prefer to not be caught up directly in the battle." Mandy replied, first to Talitha and then to Grant.

Unless they hang back and take down anyone that tries to escape, that's not gonna work. Reign thought to himself.

Makeshift Tables

The first thing Sandrock did was inquire about any potential dangers lurking around on the ship. She already knew about the dragons in the holds, but that seemed like a fringe threat after more than a day of little more than intermittent noises that were incomprehensible to begin with.

Luca on the other hand didn't even care about the dragons at this point, as he knew how to unhitch himself in an emergency, and if his technique failed he could just break the blasted thing. More importantly, he knew the way up to the main deck. If the loading ramp wasn't present, he'd make his last stand there and rally the other horses for an epic battle or something. Yeah he had this all figured out, basically.

Edited June 23, 2012 by Phoenix

[Snike]

"I am absolutely certain that he will support the mission," Grant said, his smile magically reappearing on his face. "Anyways, I'm unfortunately not the one who can pick where you go. That would be the task of Miss Raquel, I suppose." It would be nice if the pair were to hunt down stragglers or snipe the cultists, but it really wasn't his call, considering the circumstances.

[Phoenix]

Galley

A few sailors made their way by the tables and began completely blocking off the entrance to the kitchen while investigating the new meals. Reign spared the scene a single glance and then began thinking about something completely unrelated. It'll be nighttime when they have to do that sniping. I hope they're up for it. As for me ... well, I don't know, really. I've risked my neck enough for one week, I think. Ugh, to think I might have to lie low in a place like this for a good while someday soon ...

"I'll take any help I can get, but we're not attacking until after dark so ... will you two be alright? The only other thing you could do is pick off the ones that try to get away." Raquel asked, alluding to the darkness issue same as Reign.

"Well Tali will be fine at any rate. I could use some 'quick lighting', though if there are any extra magic users not going on the mission." Mandy explained.

Reign raised an eyebrow wondering if it was fate or just dumb luck dragging him back into this little operation of theirs.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Gar sighed as he listened to everyone talk. He searched one of his pouches, and once he retrieved what he wanted, he threw an eyepatch on the table. "Patch up, it helps get one eye attuned to night vision at least if no magical miracle happens," Gar said before turning his thoughts to naked pirate women.

[Rothene]

Ranyin and Mireille both said in unison, "Lead the way," before pausing for a moment at the timing of their response then following Torin. They both finally understood how restless or bored they actually were.

[Mercakete]

Rizen snorted -- as good a scoff as an equine could manage -- turning and raising her head as she did so and pawing lightly at the floor while she adjusted her wings. Clearly, there was no danger aboard the ship she could not handle if there was any danger at all. Though she adjusted her posture to ask the wingless ones why they were down here in this structure instead of outside roaming as they pleased.

[Snowy_One]

Robin stood up as she picked up her own soup bowl before looking over to see if any others had finished their food. "Are we done here for now? I cooked the meal and I do not have much further to add, as I suspect is true for most of us as well. We have our roles and only those who are not here do not, so may I, and we, go?"