Return of the Emblem Chapter Nine: Consolidating Forces

[Phoenix]

Dauntless

"I remembered that I was going to ask my father if we could shop for some new clothes. At the time I didn't realize how dirty I'd feel living on the road and wearing the same thing all the time. Even in school I had three of the same uniform, so it was starting to bother me." Raquel explained in some detail before going into the crate. She regretted having to rely on a simple crate, but at least the Dauntless was usually guarded or rather 'occupied'. "It's not that I don't have a small safe, it's just I can't fit all the money Weyland gives us in it. It can hold about five hundred gold and that's it ... and it's a tiny emergency fund I set aside."

"You know, if things on this organoization hunt go sideways, five hundred gold isn't gonna save us." Gabbie commented, feeling contrary for no particular reason.

"It's about my business, not the Sardis hunt!" Raquel quickly came back. Oh who am I kidding, I'm not merchant, just a tech tester for Weyland trying to sell some things on the side. Well, now that I'm depressed, I guess we should get going ... She stood up with as much gold as she could carry. She took a bag that was next to the crate and poured the coins in, which prompted Chip to come out of hiding, but only his head peeked out of the bag. Once he confirmed that Raquel wasn't being robbed, he disappeared again.

Gabbie raised an eyebrow. "... vigilant little bastard."

Gundeck

Below decks there was little to be found but cold cannons, tons of ammunition just lying around, extra rope, a few chairs, six men chatting on the far end of the deck, two messing with one of the cannons, and an old playing card lying face down halfway between Veronika and the six men. So there was plenty, but nothing context normally focuses on.

"... and they wonder why we have lousy aim. We never get to practice because the ammo is 'costly'," one of the men at the cannon ranted.

"And we can't set off the cannons in port because all the women will do that reeeeeally high pitched scream thing they do while the men try to act like they didn't just wet themselves. Damn port regulations. Ever notice that only the kids seem to enjoy a good cannon fight?"

"Naivety can be so beautiful, I know~" the sailor replied giddily.

Edited August 5, 2012 by Phoenix

[roymbrog]

“Yeah, we should probably head back.” There wasn't anything else they needed in town anyway. Synthia left the medicine shop and retrieved Phyllis, who was sticking her nose a little too close to someone's flower pot.

OoC: Not gonna be here for a day, Merc. You can just take them back if you want.

[Acacia Sgt]

''Really, through all that time?'' Sophia said, a little surprised. ''Well, I understand that feeling. That's why I carry spares with me when needed. Though with everything that happened since the attack in Europa there was so much going on it made me forget about it, until the arrow shot brought it all back,'' she admitted.

Well, I stand corrected, it was a good thing Raquel came here after all, she thought after Chip did his thing.

Edited August 5, 2012 by Acacia Sgt

[Snike]

It appeared that the danger wasn't over for the mercenaries, judging by Reign's response. "I'll look into it," Grant said cheerfully. "Anyways, from what I understand, my cousin should be at the manse, so you should be able to find her rather easily. I'd say good luck, but really, you should be fine as long as you intend on honouring that promise like you say you will. Anyways, I'd better be on my way. Farewell."

And with that, Grant continued on his way, his mind contemplating a step into the danger zone once again.

***

Down the crates went, and suddenly, the spy was revealed. Blake ignored the displaced cargo for the time being and focused his entire attention on the boy with the short sword.

"Hello," Blake said plainly, "Any reason why you're spying on me? Not to mention, if you're trying to leave, you picked the wrong ship to stow away on, seeing as they crew will shoot you on sight." OK, so maybe they wouldn't, but there was no need for the kid to know that. Besides, maybe a little fear could get him to leave the ship instead of potentially getting caught up in a naval battle.

[roymbrog]

“I… I wasn’t spying!” Torin answered indignantly. However, his eyes widened at the threat of being shot. Were they that ruthless? “And, um, I’m not stowing away either, so please don’t tell them I’m here.”

[Phoenix]

Dauntless

"Okay, I've got plenty for clothes shopping. Are you ready to go?" Raquel asked as she stood up from the crate with the bag. She quickly put it over her arm and put the crate's lid back on. At the same time, Chip came out of hiding, climbed up her leg, and went into the bag of coins. "I'm not sure taking him with us is a good idea but ... it doesn't look like I have a choice now."

Streets

Reign gave a very small wave goodbye just before Grant left and then was back on his way to the governor's estate. Once he was closer, he began to notice fewer and fewer people out and around. Toward the manse, it was mostly guards patrolling the area. That wouldn't have put him off normally, but with so much extra security, he was just begging to be harassed coming around here. Fortunately, he made it to the front gates without getting accosted, but as soon as he made eye contact with one of the four guards at the gate, he knew 'I'm here to see the governor's daughter' wasn't going to cut it.

"What do you want?"

"I'm here to see the governor's daughter." Reign replied.

"... really? And who might you be?"

That condescending tone ... Reign grimaced and then decided to just go all out and explain everything on the off chance they would just check with her about it. "I met Claudia at the arena yesterday and made a deal with her, she gives me some information in exchange for a pegasus. The date of delivery was never determined, and so I'm here to work that out with her."

"Huh ..." three of the four guards huddled together while the fourth kept looking into the sky trying to find something, presumably other than birds. "The Mistress has been asking for one for some reason ..." "Exactly, but would she really expect some vagrant like him to be able to get her one?" "She should just be patient and wait on her father." "More importantly there's no way this guy can deliv-"

"Excuse me, guys? I'm on the clock here, so could you just tell her what I just told you and see what she thinks about it?"

"Fair enough. Wait here." said one of the guards before running off. That left the group in a bit of an awkward silence.

"... coulda sworn I saw a dark avian take off from the building, earlier ..." the fourth guard commented after his sky search had failed.

"The hood she brought in earlier? Huh."

And then the other guard came back looking distraught. "Daaaammiiiit! That dark avian we brought here earlier flew off with the governor's daughter! The servants said she asked him to, but we need to send out a scout to make sure nothing happens to her, since it'll be our heads the old man cuts off."

"So she's not here?" Reign asked for clarification. When the nearly panicked guard came back with a glare, Reign turned to leave. "Okay, well I'll just get out of your hair, then." It sounds like she's too impatient for a pegasus and just brought in a dark avian to fly her around. I'd still like to talk to her before the Leverager sets sail, so I'd better head back the way I came and keep my eye on the sky.

[Acacia Sgt]

''Yes, I'm ready,'' Sophia nodded. ''Well, so long he behaves I guess.'' She commented on Chip before getting out of the Dauntless.

It was outside that made her realize something. Wait, it would be only just us going? She thought. Not that I don't trust her pet, but I doubt he could do much if something were to happen. Well, once Raquel follows outside she'll comment on it.

(OOC: You know guys, I do think Zach and co. should've been long gone at this point. It doesn't matter if you have to wait for people to post, it doesn't change your time-frame even if other time-frames are moving forward. Therefore, I edited out my John sections regarding that group.)

Edited August 5, 2012 by Acacia Sgt

[Eail]

"A monocle and a top hat hmmm? Actually that doesn't sound too bad, maybe I will get a few of them. Bah, anyways let's get going, the shop is close by thankfully.

******************************************** AND THUS THEY WENT ****************************************

Arriving at the relatively large clothes store the small group entered. "And here we are ladies, the best clothing store in Port Tremere. You two can help me pick out Lia some clothes and you can get some for yourself if you want, I'm buying."

[Snowy_One]

Robin wasted no time. As quickly as she could she went into the store and started picking out clothes. A small dress of frilly white with a giant pink bow on the back, a small and sleek pair of clothes designed to hug the body, two pairs of poofy clothes... and none of them in her size. Rather, they were for Lia. Alongside those dresses she picked out a beret, a straw hat, and what seemed to be a small cloth headcovering... in the space of less than two minutes.

"Do any of these look good to you Lia? We will need to get you shoes as well, but let us handle this first."

[Snike]

It seemed that his threat had some nominal form of success. Time to press the advantage.

"Alright, then, Mister, if you weren't hiding behind crates to spy on me nor to stow away, why were you there?" Blake asked sternly, a frown appearing on his face.

[Phoenix]

Dauntless

"Okay, that's everything I need, I guess. I can't buy much, though ..." Raquel said to herself.

"Why not? You've got enough gold there to replace whatever wardrobe you had before becoming a merchant." said Gabbie.

"Well, I can't bring back more than I can carry. I guess I could bring Riley out and have him carry the bags ..."

"That black horse?"

"Yeah. Hey, why don't you come with us? You only seem to have just that one tunic, too."

"Wrong. I've got three of these, two are identical, but all three of them are the same color. I've just been alternating. That visit to Sanctuary was a loife saver 'cause I got to get all three of them cleaned~ But ... foine, I guess I'll go with. I'll meet you down on the docks once I deal with Ringo."

With that, Raquel nodded and left the Dauntless. "Just one thing before we go, Sophia. I'm going to go get Riley just in case there's too much for us to carry back ourselves." By 'too much' she meant each of them with a armfulls of clothing, not actually having too much to carry back. Raquel hated being weighed down by items, even a little bit.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

At some point Gar buggered off from whatever it was he was doing to go into town to complete his own set of tasks. Since he didn't need to wait on any sluggards, he managed to get his stuff started quite quickly. His first stop being probably the third best clothier in the city. Or just the third one he found. The prices were... well Gar managed to get a discount so the prices didn't really matter. He acquired what he needed and paid his special Gar-discount price and was on his way for his next goal.

[Acacia Sgt]

''Alright then,'' Sophia said. ''But wait, is it just gonna be us two going?'' Hopefully there was no need to relay the rest. After all, even if the cult was gone and the attack on the Arena was halted, that didn't mean the port was trouble-bound free.

-----

John and Gil had by now finished their breakfast, the wyvern now proceeding to take a nap, while John decided to check through his bags again. <Hmm, Gil's supplies have gotten a bit low,> he thought. <I don't think we may end up being chased by the rebels all the way to the north, but just in case, I better go to town and restock,> he concluded.

[Phoenix]

Raquel

"Gabbie's coming, I think. She said she'd meet us at the docks." Raquel replied.

Gabbie

"It has recently occurred to me that I'm fresh out of disguoises, and so I think looking for some in town would be a good oidea." she said, mostly to herself, but Connor was the only other person around.

[Acacia Sgt]

Well that changed everything. ''Very well, I'll wait here for your return then,'' Sophia said.

-----

''Alright, change of plans Gil,'' John said. ''You may end up getting some time to fly before we depart.'' At this the wyvern opened his eyes, and grunted, standing up. <Jumping at the first opportunity huh,> John thought. <Well, certainly will make things faster anyway.> And with that he mounted up and soon depart.

[Phoenix]

Ready Up

Raquel nodded and quickly ran off to fetch the more lonesome of her two horses. It turned out that Bert was serious about hitching Rizen up good after all, but the pegasus probably didn't know that he was completely out of commission for the moment. She decided to focus on getting Riley ready for their little shopping trip, so she wouldn't keep Sophia and Gabbie waiting too long.

Meanwhile, Gabbie went through her belongings, all of which were in Ringo's saddlebags. She got some spare gold out and put it into her waist bag before heading over toward the loading ramp, her aim to wait for Raquel and Sophia on the docks just as she'd said. Ringo wasn't asked, but followed along anyway.

Once Raquel was finished tacking Riley and getting him ready, she began leading him out of the holds and up to the main deck ... very carefully. The horse was excited to be getting out not once but twice now. He wasn't sure why Sandrock was being left behind, but he wasn't sure if she really cared or not. Sandrock was just happy to be not have to be pulling around gigantic vehicles for a change and was just hoping to enjoy her vacation while it lasted.

Once on the main deck, Raquel approached Sophia and said "Ready to go? Where's Gabbie?"

[Acacia Sgt]

''She already went down the ramp,'' Sophia answered. ''Well, let's get going too,'' she said before making her way towards the ramp too.

-----

John and Gil for their part were already on their way to the market.

[Ether]

One of them seemed overly enthusiastic, grabbing several pieces of clothing from the shelves and showcasing them to her, though none were to her taste. She cringed at the thought of the frilly dress adorned with some sort of garish bow nearly half her size sticking from the back. The overly poofy pieces were a tad better, but only just, as it seemed the main goal of them was to expand her appearance to nearly three times her normal width. Somehow, the most appealing of the bunch was what she could best describe as a skin tight leotard, though why this one thought it would be a favourable idea to dress a girl with the body of a young teenager in a piece of what could be almost called fetish wear eluded Lisandra.

The hats on the other hand were much more sensible, and though none were quite what she had in mind, they were by the far the superior of the twin efforts. Taking the time to look about the shop on her own, Lisandra came upon several pieces more to her liking, somewhat formal, but without appearing too stuffy, and with a delectable regal flair to them. Yes, these screamed class, rather than some sloppily thrown together mish-mash of several different styles as she had seen along the way. The fabric itself was breathable, yet warm, and felt pleasant to the touch, which was a welcome addition in her own humble opinion.

Now for some sort of headwear. Though it had not been in the original agenda, the excited girl's showcasing of several different hats gave her the motivation to at the very least give finding one a go. Eventually coming across a delightful wide-brimmed hat with a cheery plume sticking from the side, Lisandra found herself drawn to the piece of headwear.

************

"If it isn't too much trouble... I'm quite curious, since we never did get my testing done..." Faatina replied, with a bit of a sheepish grin.

************

"D'awwwwww, how sweet of you, Fox~" The woman replied with an extended drawl, flicking her tails about.

[Phoenix]

Raquel and Gabbie

"Okay, then let's go meet up with her and head out." Raquel replied. She led Riley along by his reins and down to the docks where Gabbie was waiting with Ringo. She seemed to be feeding him one of her rations and spoke on the subject as soon as the two arrived. "Gonna have to make a sloight detour whoile we're gone ... Ringo needs real food, and if I let him at that bacon in the galley, those sailors are gonna to be pissed."

"That's fine, I guess." Raquel shrugged.

"Well, I'm going regardless, but if you two don't mind, then ..."

Talitha

"Okay well ..." Talitha forgot about wanting to be polite just long enough to let her hunger take over and she put a strip of bacon into her mouth in the middle of her explanation. "I can't tell what your stamina is since you weren't quite pushed to your limit there, but your strength and accuracy seem to be around seven each, and your attacking speed is probably rank six ..." she answered the ones she was somewhat sure of while trying to remember the battle.

"Oh, you can tell how strong people are just by watchin'em fight?" a sailor chimed in. "If I punch the wall can you clear it up once and for all for these guys just how tough I am?" he asked with a playful grin. He was quickly smacked on the shoulder by the man sitting next to him.

"Doesn't matter how strong you are if you can't hit anything~"

"I can hit you, buddy, you can't possibly dodge me this close."

Talitha took advantage of the break in speaking that the sailors had created to chew and swallow.

Reign

It was going to be a long walk back to the ship, and the temperature was starting to go up now that the sun was climbing into the sky. He kept his eye on the sky and gave any passing bird he saw a moment of his attention to see whether or not it was just a normal bird or a dark avian at a greater distance. No luck at first, and being in a part of town with two and three story buildings and narrow streets limited his field of view. He wasn't expecting to be able to find anything until he got closer to the arena. Only in that area were there wide open spaces that would give him a complete view of the sky. The only other area would be the docks, but there were too many birds there to begin with ...

"Now I'm really starting to wonder if she really wants that pegasus or not. I mean, she probably does, but why not just ride with a dark avian if she's so impatient? She doesn't seem like an equine enthusiast. None of these questions are going to get answered until I find her ..." And so he pressed on.

Claudia and Volya

Volya, having lost yet another argument, flew Claudia down between the buildings of Tremere, and got plenty of attention in the process. "So this is what it feels like ..." Claudia said in a euphoric tone.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? If we hit something, you could be killed!" Volya scolded.

"But we won't hit anything because you're here. You wouldn't be scolding me about this if you had anything but my safety in mind. But you also want to let me fly because you ... feel sorry for me. Because I'm stuck on the ground with the rest of my people. That's it ..." Claudia replied, her voice quickly becoming saddened.

"Your people ... yeah right."

... why did he say that? Well, I suppose I'm bringing this on myself.

Le Fox

"If you say so. Speaking of dragons, they'll need to be readied soon. They'll be the vanguard of the formation and slow down the vessels trying to escape. Hopefully, for their sake, they fall back to the docks when given the chance." Though, I suppose it wouldn't be so bad if they threw some of their forces away trying to stop us. I can easily see us acquiring a few new vessels out of this little debacle if they decide to interfere.

[Eail]

Zach couldn't help but chuckle as Lia passed on all the clothes Robin had picked out, and soon the girl was already on a mission to find something that she did like. "Sorry Robin, but it looks like the kiddo wants to pick out her own clothes. Though I think we might buy that dress you picked out anyways, never know when we might need to look nice for a party after all." He said with a grin before following Lia, intent on seeing what exactly she would choose. Zach was pleasantly surprised with the almost military officer type uniform she seemed to have picked, and the hat matched it as well. "Nice choice Lia, I approve." He told her with a smile.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

His next task was securing his own source of rations because of a mix of not trusting Raquel's group to not try poisoning him, and in case Raquel's group did get poisoned he wouldn't be. Also he kinda liked cooking his own meals and other assorted less major reasons. Gar made his way back over to the market he bought his apples from before he even got directly involved with Raquel's problems. Those were better days. Since he actually needed to manage his funds well he didn't bother to impulse buy and slowly began comparing and testing the various prices and products on display, all the while keeping a note on the ever-passing time.

[Acacia Sgt]

''I suppose if it's not gonna take long,'' Sophia said. I think we still have time before noon. Hopefully we don't have to leave even earlier than that and in a hurry.

[Phoenix]

Shopping Trip

The time for Gabbie's detour came before they ever made it to a clothes shop, mainly because they reached the meat market first, and she was sure to let them know it. "Okay, now's as good a time as any." she clued them in. Riley felt anxious and was hesitant to continue ... this was a place of death. Ringo on the other hand was excited ... this was a buffet!

"So what are you getting for Ringo?" Raquel asked as Gabbie headed toward one of the kiosks.

"Well he already smelled the pork on the ship, so he'll think he's gettin' cheated if I don't get him some." she explained. "Goat's meat would be better, but this is a desert island, so I don't expect them to have that."

[Acacia Sgt]

''I think I'd rather wait here,'' Sophia said. She wasn't too keen on seeing all that dead meat at once personally.

Meanwhile...

John and Gil were making their way down the street. The purchases done, they were now looking for a good place to take off without a problem. <Now I can't say I don't spend my share of the money that much now, heh,> John thought. Soon though...

<Hm, is that a wyvern in the distance?> Really, the figure stood out in contrast of all the people around. Well, he'll soon be walking over, though it could lead to some space problems.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Gar picked out a good set of fruits and vegetables for freshness compared to price and worked his good talking things to knock the prices down a bit and walked away with an actual satchel of food instead of a pouch. That was a good start, now he just needed some meat so salty it would make sea-water look positively drinkable. Well, granted he had a pretty high salt tolerance and wasn't as bitchy about other people and salt water, but still, this was a random and pointless direction for thoughts or whatever to go. Gar headed around and began comparing meat prices like he had done with just before.