Return of the Emblem Chapter Nine: Consolidating Forces

[roymbrog]

So they had won, that was good. Considering there were only, what? three people in the infirmary? everyone else must've been alright. The horseman chuckled bitterly. “Remind me never to volunteer for something like that again...” Valter sat up, and turned himself around to get off the cot. “Since I'm awake, I suppose I'm free to go then?” he asked the surgeon.

Edited July 11, 2012 by roymbrog

[Phoenix]

Cabin

"You must be swift; once the repairs are complete, we leave. You won't have time to unload your vehicle after that." Bogdan replied sternly.

Filat thought that was a bit too stern and decided to expound on the urgency with some more detailed possibilities. "There's a particular outcome we want to avoid ... that is ... being completely boxed in at port. It's probably the only thing worse than being intercepted out at sea. At least out there we have some room to maneuver. Now we don't know for sure that they would send an entire fleet to secure this cargo, but we need to assume they will and take every precaution."

Infirmary

"If you're that eager, sure, but it's already nighttime. You might as well go to sleep." the man replied. "You too." he added, glancing over at Reign. No response or reaction whatsoever. "Hmph."

[Acacia Sgt]

Well, he decided to try in the end. ''Gil?'' He asked, and waited a bit.

No response.

<Well, that settled it.> He thought, bringing his attention back at the stars. Though that didn't last long. <Hmm, maybe tomorrow I should make up for tonight. We may have further business tomorrow with the authorities most likely. And I'm sure Gar will be bound to bring out those bribe logs. But if not, I can probably have Gil fly around, perhaps a bit inland. Or maybe I'm just over thinking it, I doubt he'd hold a grudge over it. Hmm...>

Edited July 12, 2012 by Acacia Sgt

[Ether]

Faatina simply couldn't sleep. Whenever she began to rest, her thoughts drifted to the fight that day... if only she had been stronger, if only she had stayed behind... perhaps she could have done something...

Stepping out from her bed, Faatina donned her armour. There was nothing for it but to keep herself occupied, perhaps the facilities at the guild would be open for use? Only one way to find out, she reasoned, as she set out into Tremere.

[Phoenix]

Arena of Masters

"So my friend, where are you planning to spend all of your earnings today hm?" asked a suspiciously friendly man sitting behind a desk with a lot of organized gold in front of him, and a cloaked man close by. It was a dark avian with barely visible white eyes.

"We've only known each other for a short time, and already you're calling me 'friend'? I'll have you know that this money is to fund my journey through Sardius, not to gamble with."

"Of course, of course! Though you know you could make a lot more by this time tomorrow ... quite easily, I might add." the man replied, hinting at a plan of some kind.

The dark avian shrugged. "I've more than I'll need, already ..."

Le Guild

With the others leaving so suddenly, Mandy and Talitha had little left to do but head back themselves. Perhaps they would be able to check on the group the following day. That's what Mandy kept telling herself while sitting in the manager's office by herself. The manager may have left for the night, so explaining the situation at the manse would have to wait. She took the free time to snoop through his files. She didn't suspect he was up to anything illegal, but part of her job was confirming such things.

Talitha was outside on the roof of the main building, also by herself. She kept an eye on the surrounding area. People were coming and going during the daytime, but at night, an individual was fairly easy to spot with there being little other movement. The outcome of the battle occupied her thoughts for most of her time up there, at least until a person caught her attention. He was down the street and wearing a heavy cloak, making his way down some dark alley. It was a common sight, but she didn't know that and grew suspicious. Flying off to investigate would have to wait, as yet another person appeared, though coming from another direction and from another road altogether. It was the rexian woman from Raquel's group, and she seemed to be getting closer. Unable to help but wonder why she was showing up at this hour, Talitha leaped off the roof and began to glide down quietly, aiming to land a little ways from the entrance, where the woman appeared to be heading.

Somewhere Else

A man wearing heavy robes made his way down a dark alley and opened the first door he came across. He stepped into the back entrance of a building and shut the door behind him. There were a bunch of ruffians inside, and most of them were fiddling with their weapons and acting intimidating for no apparent reason. The man took off his hood and seemed to fit right in, a tall gruff looking man with a sinister grin on his face. That got their attention if his entrance alone didn't. "I've got some good news and some bad news, boys. The bad news is that we're not going to get paid for all our cooperation, after all. The good news? ... we can still take it from the arena treasurer's cold dead hands, hahahahahah! I know where that bastard is right now and he's vulnerable!"

"You know where he is?" echoed one of the thugs.

"Of course I do. He's at the arena right now, counting up the earnings ... and taking his own little cut, I'm sure. Not sure why he's there later than usual, but it doesn't matter."

"You know we can't attack the arena! The nobles will butcher us all! They won't just kill us; they'll rip off our fingernails first, then our toenails!" a now rightfully scared thug protested.

"Not sayin' the next few months won't be tough ... hell if you're that scared, take your cut, and buy yourself passage off this rock, but me ... I want more. These stupid morons think that having an army of hired muscle makes them the law, but there's only one law in Tremere ... 'survival of the fittest'. That's what the Arena of Masters is all about, dammit!"

"That doesn't make any sense; they're obviously surviving better than we are, though to be honest ... never did meet a noble who could do well in a real fight ... but they've still got that army of hired muscle you just mentioned. What about them?" a different thug spoke up.

"I've got even more news about that. Something went down tonight on the outskirts of town and those stupid sons'a bitches have a whole battalion looking for something or someone and the patrols out tonight are pretty light as a result. The arena's probably well guarded, don't get me wrong ... but I don't think they'll get the reinforcements they'd need in time to stop us if we take them right now. If we gather everyone for this, we can overpower them and kill our way to the treasurer in one push. Plus, the more men we have, the more coin we can carry. And the grand prize? If we take the treasurer alive, we'll be able to gain access to a lot more than just today's spoils~"

"You sure about that? You sure we won't get boxed in by another patrol?"

"I'd stake my life on it, now are you in or are you out?"

"I dunno ... what about the treasurer's bodyguards?"

"We'll bring the good stuff just in case. I'm saving my blunderbuss especially for one of them, but we need everyone for this."

"We're hitting the arena! Of course we need everyone!" a disgruntled thug chimed in nervously.

"Oh gods, we're all gonna die when the nobles get wind of thiiiis." a thug told himself while his legs shook ... he couldn't pass up that much coin, though; he just couldn't ... "I'm in ... but after tonight, I-I'm done. I'm b-buying my way out first thing in the morning ..."

[Ether]

As Faatina made her way towards the guild, she couldn't help but take in the sights of Tremere at night, this time more thoroughly than when approaching for the mission.

<"The sea really is pretty, isn't it?"> Faatina noted to no one in particular, as she looked out over the water's edge. She heard a noise, though slight... it was almost like... something in the air? Far too quiet, must be a bat or something, she reasoned. As she made her way closer to the entrance of the guild, she finally noticed the figure before her.

"Talitha? What are you doing out here?"

[-Cynthia-]

Cabin

"I understand. One other matter, the girl we rescued from the cultists...well she isn't natural. I don't think she should be of any danger to the crew, but I thought you should be informed so that there are no incidents," Veronika said.

[Phoenix]

Cabin

"What do you mean 'she isn't natural'?" asked Filat.

Not Cabin

"That's what I was going to ask ..." Talitha muttered as she landed in front of Faatina. "I come out at night to be by myself ... and to memorize the layout of the places I visit. What are you doing out here with a barely healed bone fracture ...?" she answered as nonchalantly as usual.

[roymbrog]

“Oh...” Valter wondered how late it was. Everyone else was likely sleeping, it wouldn't be worth it to get up, he figured. “Yeah, yeah, I'll just stay here...”

And now all my peoples are asleep

:3

[-Cynthia-]

Cabin

"She's...a magical construct of some sort, not my area of expertise. Not sure why the cult had her made really and I don't want to find out," Veronika said darkly.

[Ether]

"I couldn't sleep... I guess I felt guilty... if I had been stronger, we might not have taken so many injuries..." Faatina began, trailing off as she looked to the ground dejectedly.

"I can still walk on it, and it's not like I'm going to manage the rest that doc ordered... may as well not waste time." Faatina continued.

"So, does only Mandy do spars, or do you think I could have a round with you?"

[Phoenix]

Cabin

"Amazing ... I hear it's difficult to create humans with magic." Filat replied.

"Very well." Bogdan added, figuring there wasn't much else they could add to their illegal cargo to make the situation worse. "What are you planning to do with her?"

Researching That One Woman

It turned out, Lilith had kicked a lot of asses and taken quite a few names during the Legendary Rebellion, but Shadrak already knew about that; he and his master had gone over that story numerous times before looking for clues. He wasn't learning anything new about her as a whole since the stories were so vague and disturbingly verbose at the same time. He arrived at the loading ramp leading up to the Leverager and shut up the book, then let out a heavy sigh. "An entire paragraph to describe how she looked when she was soaring through the air into battle and how the light reflected off of her armor ... I'm not learning as much as I hoped I would. Guess I should have expected as much ...."

Guild

"Might have been interesting to spar with people if they didn't think I wanted their heads as a trophy. I don't know, maybe ... but shouldn't you be taking it easy? You don't have to lie down for hours, but you're not going to be able to get any stronger if you break that thing again by pushing yourself"

Marching in Darkness

The march began-though it was less like a march and more like a bunch of dudes sticking to the shadows while making their way toward the arena-and everyone was along for the attack. There were just too many of them for Talitha not to notice as they passed by the guild. They seemed to be ignoring the two women for the most part, but she still said "Where the hell are all those guys going?" in response.

[Ether]

"Sure is a big group for this hour..." Faatina agreed, as Talitha noted the men slinking through the shadows.

"Anyway, I guess you're probably right... but I've never been one to sit around... bro was always on me about that too..." Faatina said with a somber expression, trailing off a tad before shaking her head and coming back.

"But there isn't anything to be done for it... I guess I just can't sit still like this."

[Mercakete]

Well, Valter had laid back down in the infirmary to rest instead of going to where they'd been allowed to sleep on the ship. Good choice -- less crowded. Norbert was still out cold laying where he'd been rested, Raquel was in a similar situation and Reign looked like he was going to stay where he was. The surgeon, meanwhile, took a seat. Guess he's not too concerned about 'em. Gytha guessed as she set the vulnerary down. "Need me fer anathin' else?" she asked him. If he didn't, she was going to leave sick bay.

[-Cynthia-]

Cabin

"She'll stay with us for tonight at least. Tomorrow...we'll probably drop her off here. Traveling with our group is not a good place for a child," Veronika said, her mind drifting back to Sammy being impaled by the coffin.

[Phoenix]

Cabin

"Very well." Bogdan replied.

"Oh, and Miss Veronika, if you want to have that cleaned and mended, you should talk to one of the crew in the morning. I would do it, but I'm a little busy, heheh." Filat added sheepishly.

Infirmary

"Mmm, that'll be fine. I'll keep an eye on them for a little while ... and I'm sure our nomad friend doesn't plan on going anywhere." replied the good doctor. Reign didn't react at all, not even sparing the man a glance. He wasn't really even in the room at the moment. He was off somewhere else, in his own thoughts.

Main Deck

Shadrak thought of heading off to bed, but wanted to check on Raquel, first. She was nowhere in sight; in fact, very few people were. "Urgh." He began making his way across the deck toward the Dauntless. When he peeked inside, he saw Connor working on something and Gabbie lazing about beside him on the verge of falling asleep. He decided to leave the two be and not get their attention. He could always ask someone else where Raquel was. John was close by, so he approached him next. "Hey, where's Raquel?"

Guild

"I'm probably not one to talk, but why just sit around outside? Tremere's not safe at night. There's more gangs running about than anyone can keep track of. I'm pretty sure the only thing keeping them in line is how sadistic the nobles are when they capture people." Talitha replied.

Arena of Disasters

Around the same time, that huge group of shady figures arrived at the Arena of Masters, not far from the guild building. The guards at one entrance stepped forward to intercept the group. The situation was tense, with the guards knowing full well something bad was about to happen, but playing along anyway. "The arena is closed, gents. You'll have to come back tomorrow." he spoke up, trying his hardest not to sound nervous, but the cold sweat was a dead giveaway. There were no fewer than forty of these guys and only four guards at this entrance. They didn't have a chance on their own and backup from inside wouldn't get there until they were long dead. Every second they didn't sound the alarm, their chances of survival grew slimmer and slimmer.

"Yeah, I know the place is closed ... but I need to speak with the Treasurer. Is he in?" asked the lead thug.

"He's not here. Try somewhere else." another guard replied sternly.

"Oh really? My sources say he's here ..." the thug replied casually as he scratched his head. It was all feigned, and he was about ready to start the massacre.

"Your sources are wrong, sir. Now if there's nothing else ..."

"Oh right ... there is one more thing I forgot ..." the thug spoke up, and then he yanked out a small hand axe from his cloak and slashed one of the guards in the face. The man fell back and the others went for their weapons, but were overwhelmed in a split second other axes and daggers. Every guard at that entrance died in record time. "Not much noise ... good. That was very good, boys. That bought us a few minutes. This is going to go much better than I thought it would, hahahah."

Edited July 14, 2012 by Phoenix

[Acacia Sgt]

John's thoughts were interrupted once more when he noticed Shadrak was just arriving on the deck. However, it didn't turn out to be some idle observation as he approached him.

''She's in the infirmary,'' he answered. ''Though unconscious, didn't looked like she would be waking up soon. By the way, it sure took you a long time to head back. Something happened?''

[Phoenix]

Main Deck

"Well, I walked for one. I also stopped by the cultists' library while I still had the chance. I wanted to find out more about Lilith from this book ..." he explained as he took out the book again. "... but it's the same old story, just more annoying since I've already heard it a hundred times. I really don't trust what she's told us so far ... it doesn't make sense."

[Acacia Sgt]

<Investigate on Lilith huh.> ''Well,'' he said. ''I wouldn't be surprised. After all, the saying of 'history is written by the winners' exists after all.'' He eyed the book. ''Considering Lilith was against Wrath, after she lost the Ursians would write it as they saw it or were told, and thus that version of the events is the one that got passed down and be spread.''

[Phoenix]

Main Deck

"That sort of implies that she's one of the good guys, but I'm hard pressed to believe that just yet." Shadrak replied. "We found her in Purgatory and the second we woke her up, she just took charge and started pressing us for information without giving us much in return. She's letting Raquel keep the emblem so long as she learns to control it, but I can't think of one good reason why she would do that. She doesn't even seem to like Raquel, so why is she helping us like this? I think she's hiding something-using us maybe-and there's no way I can trust her until I find out what's really going on. If Raquel's not going to try and figure out what it is, someone has to, right?"

[Ether]

"I can't just take it lying down Talitha... since I left Sanctuary to live on the outside, all I have is my strength. I don't own anything with any value, I don't have a home... if I'm not strong, I'm worthless." Faatina replied, clenching her fist with a slight of anger, as she slammed it against a nearby support beam.

"So I can't just take this lying down. If Tremere is dangerous at night, maybe that's just what I need... what worth does a mercenary have if she can't fight?"

[Phoenix]

More Than Just A Scuffle

"You seem to handle yourself pretty well. No need to go around proving it. People around here can be pretty desperate when they run out of money and you won't be doing your employer any good if you get in over your head trying to prove something to yourself." she replied pityingly. "Maybe it's not my place to say things like that, since I go out of my way to prove I'm not a monster, and when that doesn't work, I start thinking about cutting off my tail. It's stupid. It's not like my tail did anything to deserve that." It would have been nice to continue that little discussion ... there was some bonding going on, maybe, but Talitha noticed that the shady figures were all pouring into the arena entrance. That was all she could make out from down the street. "... the arena's closed ... what the hell?"

[Acacia Sgt]

At this John stood up, might as well.

''I don't see how it implies she's good or bad, only that Ursium's side of the story was the only one many got to hear until she woke up,'' he said. ''Obviously she has her own version of the events. Whether she's lying or not telling it all from us is another story, so yeah, feel free to investigate. Doubt you'll find much though though. Other than registered chronicles or those who write them or read them, only those who were around back then are bound to know anything. And they could likewise not be telling you the truth like you say Lilith is doing. Come to think of it, when Lilith allowed Raquel to empower others, it seems the process involved placing a copy of her memories into Raquel. That would be a good start as any I'd guess, though you need Raquel awake for that though.'' He shrugged.

Here he resumed his gaze of the stars. ''Whatever intentions she has with us, it certainly isn't something for the short-term. She has done things like taking us out of Purgatory, for Raquel to keep the emblem if only for a time and a requirement she can't refuse anyway, and allowing her to empower us in battle. And her intentions do seem to be to finish what she couldn't back then. She did left to check on her old allies or so she said. Who knows how long that will take, or whether she will return afterwards, but considering what she said about taking the rest of Raquel's piece, it might come sooner or later.''

Edited July 14, 2012 by Acacia Sgt

[Ether]

As Talitha pointed it out, Faatina turned toward the arena, where it seemed that some shady individuals were gathering en masse.

"Well, it looks like that warning came a little late, huh? Chances are, whatever is going down over there isn't something we should let happen." Faatina continued, giving her lance a flourish as she readied it.

"So, you armed, or do you need me to buy you some time?"

[Phoenix]

Main Deck

"Well the book didn't help at all, so the sooner she comes back, the better. Better to ask the woman herself, at least I think so. The problem is I'm worried that if I don't know more about her, she can just keep dodging my questions and I won't have anything to counter with." Shadrak replied, putting the book back into his cloak and putting a hand on his chin as he contemplated his options. "If she really wants to use us for something, then she should at least explain how we're supposed to do that, and not lead us around with questionable information."

Main Arena

"Lances have reach, so you can probably keep people from getting too close, but with just a combat knife, I'm history. Yeah I need just a minute to get my bow." Talitha assessed before running off into the guild building.

As she entered the building, she got some welcome attention from one of the members loitering around. "What's up? Someone picking on you out there?"

She ran right passed him saying "There's a bunch of guys breaking into the arena, I'm getting my bow and anyone else who can fight!"

"Everyone's asleep, though. Are you sure you can make it in time?" he asked despite the distance.

"I'm gonna try!" she shot back as she left earshot and disappeared down the hall.

Waking people up was costing time, and she decided to head back ahead of the few people that were getting ready. At least they would have some backup eventually, but she wasn't planning on letting Faatina head in there alone; the conversation she had just had with the woman had her worried, so she was more concerned with making it back to her before anything happened than waiting for everyone else. To make matters worse, she couldn't find Mandy anywhere. She hadn't thought to check the manager's office and so she left the guild building without knowing for certain.