Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[Phoenix]

Nav Room

"Well we have Valter with us too. Admittedly, I don't really pay attention to his or Robin's shooting in battle. I'm too busy trying to dodge arrows myself ... and failing." Raquel replied, rubbing the center of her chest with with two fingers and grimacing at the spot. Reign looked away promptly as she did.

"Welp, I guess you'd better get to training them, heheh." Reign joked a short time later.

Main Deck

Talitha didn't provide any clue as to whether or not she would be giving party invites, and simply took off into the air. That left Bogdan standing alone, someone awkwardly. He sighed and began to walk away. "I'll be in my cabin." he informed those close enough as he passed.

Aft Deck

"It's not quite 'wishing'," Lilith said shaking her head a bit. "The emblem will respond to your strongest desire, and whether or not you know what that desire is ... is irrelevant. Griffin and I now suspect that the pieces are following the same principle as the whole did. Just look at Raquel. Whatever her true desire is, it probably has something to do with what the emblem is now doing to her right now. It's giving her a continuous supply of power that she can't even use. So, if I had to guess, I'd say that she's conflicted."

"Raquel really needs to hear this ... maybe then she'll start training. We've never had this kind of free time and she's just wasting it." Shadrak interjected.

Lilith shrugged. "To be fair, there's little I actually need her to learn, here. I only wanted her to develop a defensive technique to prevent it from being stolen by just anyone. She has you people to handle the rest, doesn't she?"

Plains

<"Heheh. Sometimes being an assassin is safer. People are less inclined to throw their weight around at you. Just look at these guys."> Fizza teased.

Malik rolled his eyes. Unfortunately, he had to admit to himself that if not for her extremely amiable behavior, he wouldn't take chances being snide with her.

Amon had a feeling the nomads might not know much about Seth Weyland, and so he through in 'Weyland Enterprises' as something of an afterthought, but they hadn't heard of that either, and so more explanation was due. <"It's a really big company in Ursium. I don't know much about it, myself.">

House

Katsu looked himself over slightly and shrugged. <"I feel fine. I can't say the same for the White Devil when I meet her again, though.">

[Mercakete]

Daichi's friendly demeanor shifted to a more solemn one at the last bit of what Katsu said. <"You're planning on hunting that one down, then, once you feel up to it. When you do, I wish you the best of luck...and I will see about supplying you with as many advantages as I can.">

He closed his eyes and went on, <"The demons are all of Kigen's problem. Anyone willing to risk themselves to destroy them -- especially one as well-known as the White Devil -- should be given the best chance possible to succeed. After all, in addition to the immediate effects of taking a powerful enemy so that it cannot harm us any longer, it would be a drastic blow to the demons and would raise the morale of our own forces.">

<"However,"> he continued, opening his eyes again, <"Before you did not succeed. You lived, but you could have very well died. This next time, you might not be so fortunate. You need to -- as you have likely already been -- reflect on your battle with her. Learn where you were weak, remember what you did well. Give yourself every advantage you can. In addition to improving your physical well-being, I suggest you train yourself emotionally. Be careful not to allow anger to cloud your mind when you face her or she may rob Kigen of an honorable swordsman...and Atsuko-san of a good friend.">

His serious air shifted again, this time to a more sympathetic one. <"You already know all this, I'm sure. You are a seasoned swordsman who has seen many battles and are skilled enough to have survived in combat against the White Devil. I am only worried for you since this is such a dangerous thing you want to do. I believe you can, though, which is why I think you should.">

Smiling a little helplessly, he went on, <"Ah, listen to me rambling like this... I apologize. I didn't come to give a speech, after all."> Shifting to a more cheerful demeanor, he continued, <"I came to let you know breakfast will soon be ready and to ask if you prefer training before or after you eat.">

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Arrow-dodging is a fine art," Gar said in response to Raquel's downtrodden remembrance of the arrow in her chest. "But I meant snipers in-particular, not bowmen as a whole. Now I don't know if he meant them in-particular." Gar shrugged.

[roymbrog]

Well, it seemed the order of the day was to act like a fool on deck. Synthia wasn’t very interested in participating, but she stuck around nonetheless. The ginger root helped with her seasickness immensely and she didn’t mind sitting outside for a while.

-----

Hmm… Aneda had told Katrina that the avian was Griffin, which made the other one his friend Lilith… The names sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place where she had heard them. Her family hadn’t been much of the religious sort. Anyway, she stayed on deck for a while when the sailors decided it was time to party or something. There was no way she was going out there with her two left feet, so she stuck to the sidelines like she had been doing.

[Phoenix]

Nav Room

"I mean anyone good enough with a bow or a gun to nail Sardis between the eyes at a twenty-five yards or greater." Reign clarified. "Always better to have two of those."

"Now is probably a good time to mention this so ... I think you should know that we need to capture Sardis, and not just kill him." Raquel nervously put forth. She already knew how Reign was going to respond to that one, somewhat.

"You want to capture this guy? I think you're making this unnecessarily harder for yourself. Hmm, I'm guessing you want to make sure you can find Jethro, right?"

Raquel nodded, her nervousness fading as Reign figured out her reasons. "Yeah. If we just kill him, we'll never know where he's keeping my father."

House

<"There was so much that went wrong during the battle. The rain ruined our footing out in the grass. The desperation and fatigue had us making constant mistakes. The fear that we were running out of time only added to it."> Katsu explained, holding his head down at the last statement. <"Looking back on the situation, our goal should not have been to kill the White Devil, only disable her so that the others could escape. We were so focused he and I on destroying her that we were too aggressive, and it cost us dearly.">

[-Cynthia-]

Aft Deck

"What sort of defensive technique are we talking about here? I don't think she appreciated the last technique you 'taught' her...though it has been useful," Veronika admitted to Lilith.

Plains

<"Eh I don't worry about that too much, Nadya doesn't take guff from nobody. Plus Luca's always there for an exit or a bite or whatever needs doin'"> Vadoma said.

<"If I could make a request of y'all...if ya see my daughter again tell her to come home. Whatever she's gotten herself into we can fix it,"> Marko said, looking at each of the Rexians in turn.

Edited September 25, 2012 by -Cynthia-

[Mercakete]

It was no wonder that this laid heavily on Katsu's heart, Daichi knew. He did feel sympathetic towards his loss, but there were other things to be done. "Katsu-kun..." Daichi stopped his sentence short and sighed. Then, he started again. <"Those were unfortunate circumstances. This time, however, you will choose your timing, being the hunter. Choose wisely. And I do mean it when I say I want to give you as many advantages in this as I can. ... In part, that is why I ask whether you prefer training before or after you eat.">

[Snowy_One]

"I'm not a knight! I wear think armor, yes, but that's because I like to keep me safe! I couldn't actually hit someone in a fight if my life depended on it! If I'm a knight I'm the kind of knight who is little more than a walking wall... And I DON'T absorb blows with my body! That's WHY I wear armor in the first place! And even if I did, my back feels like I'm lying on a bed of burning COALS right now! You can probably FEEL the heat coming off my body if you hold your hand close enough!"

Insensitive doctor! You've clearly never had a sun poisoning before or else you'd know not to treat this so minorly!

[Mercakete]

"Who does? Look, just shut up and do what the doc says, okay? No one wants to deal with your-- ... Hmm. Hey, Oscar, I just had an idea," Bert responded, getting tired of this guy's complaining, "Mind if I shut him up? I won't break his skull, I promise."

[Phoenix]

Aft Deck

"Well, if she found a way to make certain that it couldn't be taken from her while she was incapacitated, for example ..." Lilith began.

Shadrak was at a loss. "How would that even work? Do you have a way to keep your piece from being stolen?"

"Somewhat. It's fused with my clothing ... and in multiple areas." she answered.

"So to take your piece of the emblem, we'd have to take away your clothes ... Err-! Well that's a great emblem defense technique." Shadrak tried to recover.

"Not really." Griffin quietly chimed in with a smirk.

Infirmary

"In a second, Bert," Oscar began as he reached over for a bottle of medicine. "This ... is laudanum. If you're lucky it'll kick in before he hits you. Now open wide ..." Oscar began moving in with the bottle aiming to make Fred drink some of it.

Plains

<"Wait. She can't yet. She still has to ... err,"> Haythem began at Marko's request before quickly realizing this probably wasn't the best place to get into it. Too little too late, though. <"Sheee ... 's still helping them out a lot.">

<"How would you know?"> Malik interjected.

<"Well she is ..."> Amon said with a shrug before scanning Haythem a bit. He could tell he was holding back something but didn't want to pressure him. Chances were it wasn't for him to know.

Guest Room

<"Training. Yes, I think that would be excellent. Umm, it would be good to work up an appetite first, wouldn't it?"> Katsu responded, feeling that training before breakfast was the better option at the moment. <"How long do I have?">

[Mercakete]

As he watched, Norbert grinned at Fred, appearing malicious as his eyes locked on the man who was about to get a healthy dose of laudanum. He was already gripping his maces with his arms crossed, though the rest of his stance as he lay on his cot was relaxed. Heheheh... Doc wasn't kidding when he warned that guy. He should've listened. Oh well. The last two thoughts were thought in a sing-song sort of way.

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

Daichi laughed good-naturedly at Katsu's sudden and near-complete change in focus and attitude. <"Don't worry, don't worry. Breakfast should be ready soon, but I have already informed my wife that I wasn't done with my own training yet,"> he answered, before going on to explain, <"I prefer training before I eat, too. It only makes the meal more delicious and I find it easier to move and concentrate on an empty stomach.">

Then, gaining a bit more of a challenging posture and expression, <"I was hoping, if you were feeling up to it, that I could test your swordsmanship. I have several bokken you can look through to find one you would like to use, if you agree.">

Edited September 25, 2012 by Mercakete

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"So there's Robin and Valter for archery and the accented lass for gunning." Gar noted. "Saw the first-two myself, and I already vouched for bow-girl, and bow-boy isn't bad either. Didn't get to see gun-lass before she had a date with manse-floor though." Gar offered his opinions before switching tracks. "I should bring up that I was just told that Sardis' lackeys aren't the most talkative fellows, so counting on him blabbing out his biggest piece of leverage over you can't really be relied upon," Gar reminded her. "And that's not even getting into the difficulties of trying to keep someone with power tied down. That starts to require limb taking and that tends to make people unreasonable." Though Gar immediately realized another option once he finished speaking. "Oh, though I guess substituting swiping his piece instead of making him the armless wonder would work better."

Edited September 26, 2012 by Script

[Snike]

The discussion about keeping the emblem was over, and just as quickly, so was Blake's attention to the discussion. At least, he wished that that was the case, as he pulled out his tactics book and some loose paper. At first the discussion went towards the egg Griffin had in his possession, which was rather easy to tune out. What truly distracted the swordsman was the mention of Sardis, the apparent leader of the organization. Reign suggested sniping the druid, a tactic Blake agreed with, due to the villain's rumoured tendency to destroy tanks. Unfortunately, Raquel needed to capture the enemy spellcaster, and not kill him, so that was out of the question. This could be a problem. While the others kept talking, the mercenary began to scribble on his scrap paper, trying to figure out how to stop the juggernaut. Eventually, he came up with an idea, and put his book down.

"If we want to capture him, why don't we hit him with a magic seal right off the bat?" Blake asked, evenly. "That should stop his tank-destroying antics, and then all that would have to be done would be to subdue him, which could be done with weapons like quarterstaves or even blunt swords and lances. Then we can try and get him tied up, I guess."

[GoD]

Chelsea frowned upon realizing they were absolutely correct... she couldn't take care of it like they said.. and she was being a jerk to them.

And then the egg glowed bright red, maybe signaling that it would be best to leave it with John.

"......Um.... okay... sorry"- Cheslea looked downcast as she handed the egg to John.

[-Cynthia-]

Aft Deck

"So putting the emblem in your clothes- is that like magical sewing? Or something more complicated?" Veronika asked, trying the somewhat distressing image of Sardis looking for the emblem in Raquel's clothes.

Plains

<"I'd think her safety would come first before some job she has, but I guess young folk like y'all wouldn't understand anyway. No kids of your own I bet," Marko said rather sourly.

<"He's just worried about his little bird leavin' the flock, pay him no mind. She's a grown woman she can take care of herself,"> Vadoma said, prompting a glare from her husband.

[Acacia Sgt]

And in the end, Chelsea gave back the egg, though as previously noted, it was certainly a hard moment for her.

''I'm sure had the circumstances were different you could've kept it with no problems,'' Sophia tried to console her, but whether or not this would mean anything was yet to be seen. ''It just didn't happened to be the right ones for you.''

But overall it seems that was the end of it. The remaining people in the navigation room were jumping topics, but had finally settled with Sardis. As expected, it was about capturing him for information, but whether or not such feat could succeed was still on debate.

''Unless he happens to have their emblem piece with him. Then hope the seal can block it's energy too, though that may probably be unlikely,'' John commented. <I suppose now I should go ask about the glow, but first...> ''And speaking of, what are you going to do now with yours now that you know what you're subconscious has been up to?'' This last part directed at Raquel.

Edited September 27, 2012 by Acacia Sgt

[Snike]

"If it overloads, from what I've heard, seals explode, so it would still put a slight damper on his offense, to say the least," Blake replied evenly to John's observation. "And I guess the thing is, I'm not sure why they'd bring their emblem piece on the hunt for another piece, seeing as they appear to be able to track us without using it directly. That just strikes me as a bit of an unnecessary risk, I guess."

[Acacia Sgt]

''I meant that if the seal can even absorb the emblem's energy,'' John clarified. ''Considering they weren't made with it in mind. And well, if Raquel's glowing when they attacked the mansion is any indication, they do bring it to their fights. In fact, that may probably what Sardis used to bust the tanks, and way back, the ship at Sergio Port. And considering our fighting strength compared to him and his men, and his ability to tap into the emblem's power, they certainly don't see it as a risk.''

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Sheer arrogance?" Gar offered with a shrug. "It's been the downfall of many a man and most of those couldn't go busting tanks on their own. Granted that was really before tanks were a thing and--" Gar stopped as he realized the answer to something that had bugged him earlier. "Well that's one thing down. But back on topic sorta, since you're all the knowing and stuff I'll default to not expecting him to have the piece on him then. Armless wonder ahoy."

[Snike]

"If it can't, we're probably outclassed right from the start, since we have no way of checking his power. That doesn't bode well," Blake continued, thinking as he went. "And you're theorizing now. Didn't the emblem react when we were near Lilith's tomb? Just because it reacts doesn't mean there necessarily is a piece around. What that does mean, though, is that we have to be very careful when dealing with him, since we don't know the limits of his strength."

To Gar's comment about arrogance, Blake frowned. "Well, they certainly had the brass and the skill to launch a surprise attack on the estate of the top arms contractor in Ursium, and NOT get immediately routed. It could go either way with the arrogance, I guess. And I don't know much," the swordsman protested. "I'm just here to do my job."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Show's the arrogance of Mr. Weyland's security then doesn't it?" Gar said with a smirk. "Surprise and discipline can take the greatest of adversaries. The defense didn't believe they would be attacked, that anyone would run the risk of fighting with tanks. But Sardis-dumb-name swatted them aside like no one would believe. Sends a real nice message to me: 'We're here, we're strong, don't mess with us.' And other assorted boasts."

[Acacia Sgt]

''I'll give you that it doesn't just react to other pieces,'' John said. ''From what Lilith said it can be assumed it glowed because it reacted to her curse. However, she also said that apparently only that particular piece could keep it at bay so it could just be the exception, not the rule. It's highly likely that's also how Amon's trinket worked, considering Aisha must've based it on her own curse.

On the other hand, even if that were the case, then just what could Sardis has been carrying then that the emblem could react to? It hasn't been the only time it has glowed near Sardis, so if it's not another piece, then what do you think it could be? Far I can recall it has also glowed at Danton, the church, most likely at the port too, and of course the meeting at the manor, and out of those Sardis has been nearby in all but the church.'' <Say, back at the manor there was also...>

''Hmm, going back a little, the thing about the seal may work out after all. It did almost reached it's limit just by Raquel holding it for a few seconds. Though I wouldn't still count on trying, considering that we might end up with an explosion instead. Though if it knocks him out cold I suppose it'd help us either way.''

[Ether]

"I think what counts is who you are, Davod. What condition you have, where you're from, what race you are... why should any of that matter?" Faatina replied, with an inquisitive glance.

"You're you... regardless of that voice in your head. I mean, if it was telling you to become a mass murderer or a serial rapist or something and you listened to it, fine, but as is... it doesn't change who you are Davod.... if anything it's kind of interesting... I wonder what it would be like to have another part of me giving commentary on the choices I made..." Faatina continued, as she began to think it over.

"I guess it isn't something you can really imagine unless you experience it... y'know what..." Faatina noted, as she stood from her bed.

"Just walking should be fine... they just said not to strain it... and I'm getting bored. I'm heading up to the main deck, that shouldn't be too much for me to handle... and besides... even if I fall, you'll catch me, right Davod?" She asked, turning towards the man with a smile.

[Phoenix]

Nav Room

As the conversation continued on, Raquel kept to herself, trying to imagine how the final battle with Sardis would play out. What had her terrified is that attacking Sardis head on seemed to be the only strategy they could implement. To add to that, she felt weak trying to plan out so much after what had happened the last time. It seemed more powerful individuals like Lilith didn't have to plan much at all. In fact, the woman seemed frustratingly simple, trivializing most things without a second thought. Raquel didn't have the luxury of immortality and unfathomably powerful dark magic abilities, and so she had to 'strategize' like normal people ... normal people fighting superhuman bastards.

Soon, though, John asked her what she would do now that she knew a little more about her relationship with her emblem piece. She shrugged slowly as she replied "I'm not sure. I used to rely on that dragon head for advice, but it hasn't shown up in my dreams lately. Actually I don't think I've even had any dreams that that dragon wasn't in. It's weird. These past few days I even tried to take a few naps here and there to see if it would show up so I could ask him about the ... cloak attempt. I can only vaguely remember the older advice it gave, so now I really need help and I'm stuck with Lilith of all people ..."

"So wait ... it almost exploded just from Raquel holding it for a few seconds?" Reign asked when that particular bit came up in the conversation. Raquel nodded, having been drawn away from her thoughts yet again for a moment. "Well then, the way I see it, a magic seal is a good option for disabling him if he doesn't have an emblem piece of his own, and a good option for killing him otherwise." As soon as Raquel looked over, the expression of disapproval already beginning to form, he added "It's a last resort we're going to need if you want to keep this 'no casualties' trend you've got going. Besides, what are you going to do once you have your father back? Let him live? Think about it ..."

"Well ... it's not that I'm adamantly opposed to killing him, but I ..." she paused and sighed, letting her gaze fall to the table. "I'm an idiot. I wanted to rescue my father, put an end to Sardis' entire organization, and walk away with my hands completely clean ... but that's just not possible, is it? There's no way I'm going to be able to take him down without killing him and a whole lot of other people in the process, much less rescue my father."

Aft Deck

"It actually makes things less complicated. It acts on its wielder's will and takes the most effective path to your desired state. You don't always have to know what you're doing." Lilith explained. "For example, I'm at a loss for exactly how it's addressing my curse ... but it is. It isn't 'sewn in', just merged. They're simply one and the same, now, just like I did with Raquel's gemstone and her emblem."

"That's the most advanced magic I've ever heard of ..." Shadrak uttered.

"Like I said, you don't need the omniforge. You just need Raquel to focus on mastering her piece of the emblem."

"... well that's great for Raquel ..." Shadrak came back slowly. "... but we still don't have a way to actually beat our enemies, one of which looks like he might have arms made entirely out of metal."

"Tch," Griffin prepared to chime in again. "If there's anything human on him, thunder magic. Works every time." Shadrak wasn't completely satisfied with the answer. No surprise. Of course after that answer, his attention went back to the wandering child who looked similar enough to Lilith to warrant his attention. "Sooo, what's the deal with the little one over there? If you're building another Lilith, then you're missing a few parts."

"She's an artificial human, but we didn't make her." Shadrak answered.

Plains

<"Well, would it really be so bad? I mean sure she would live far away, but if she's happy and you know that you'll eventually have grandchildren and cousins and the like in other places, wouldn't that be nice?"> Haythem responded with an encouraging smile. <"And just think, what if she's out there right now doing something incredible that will benefit all of you too?">

Yeah, he definitely knows something ... Amon concluded while finishing off his meal.

<"Incredible like what? Getting rich?"> Fizza asked.

<"Maybe! I mean, that would certainly benefit the family, wouldn't it?"> he quickly answered while nodding his head repeatedly. He looked like an over optimistic person, but Amon could tell he was just playing at it. He knew exactly what Nadya was planning-though to be fair, that getting rich line would have fooled him at any other time. Was there anything that girl wouldn't loot?

He was also wondering why she would tell Haythem whatever her long term plan was when they had only just met. At first he thought maybe Haythem had been too pushy, but maybe he was just the first genuinely interested person and thought to ask. If I'd known we'd be running into her parents at some point ... ah it's pointless to think about it now, but it would have been nice to relay a message or something. Her father does seem worried.

House

Katsu nodded, though his smile had faded to something more sportsman like. <"Very well. A real sparring partner will be better than swinging at phantoms, definitely.">

Edited September 27, 2012 by Phoenix

[ReformBlade]

"I wouldn't wish this on anyone, though on the same side I may perhaps have it easy." It was a fleeting thought before he waved it away and returned the woman's smile. "But that is far and away besides the point. Thanks for offering words of encouragement and not feigned caring kindness only to get away from me at the quickest opportunity. Though there is the possibility that you're just a great liar but... Nah, you're too expressive for that I think." Smiling and holding out his hand, Davod wanted to help out. "Well I suppose I can try to catch you but I'm not the most physically fit, heh... Not that I'm calling you big or anything!" Oh for the love of... Did you have to add that? She probably wasn't even gonna go and interpret it that way but you just... uuugh. If there was an exit I would so be out of here by noooow! "Ah... just forget what I'm saying and let's just go outside, shall we?"

"Finally, I'll have another guided project to work on instead of just whittling aimlessly!" Nanahm exclaimed to the Robin in front of him. "If you just wanna give me some guidelines, any distinguishing features I should work in, I'll be glad to get to work on that figurine for you, and I'll even do it free of charge since you seem like a nice girl." Don't worry my lord Raguni, I'm trying to get a repeat sale, just have faith!

Sensing a bit of shyness from the new girl, Aneda put on her best smile as she joined her on the sidelines. "I take it you're not the most outgoing person on this planet, are ya? Well that's fine, that's cool, I'll just hang with you then and then we can be best buds!" Aneda ignored any other possible outcome, there was only the chance of making this girl more sociable. "My name is Aneda Welnon, I'm an adventurer if you will, I decided to pursue greater things than what was expected of me from my parents and sort of ran or walked away from home and the army I was in, ever since then I've kinda been all over the world, doing oddjobs here and there, exploring sights I've loved and some I've forgotten but still cherished, I've tried many things, especially things I've regretted but I wrote it off as a learning experience, so... what I'm getting at here is that if you've got questions or if you're just looking for a chum to talk to, I'm your girl, kay?"