Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika- Pre Timeskip

Before leaving, Veronika to decided to address a matter she felt needed addressing. "Gytha, I think it would be best if you stayed back to guard the Dauntless while we conduct negotiations," she said simply. She hoped the mariner understood the reason why and had no desire to get into an argument on the matter.

Veronika- Post Timeskip

"If they can't warp out, do you think we'll have enough time to get to them if we stay out here? Maybe we should go into the fortress- it puts us in more danger, but we're too far away here if Sardis tries something," she said to Reign.

Nadya

If Raquel gets her pa back, guess there'll be no need for this group to exist anymore. Wonder what I'll do then...could try workin' for Weyland I guess, he seems to have gold to throw around.

Connor

"If you're not experienced enough for a duel, are you experienced enough to fight in a real battle?" Connor asked Tia dubiously. "Maybe you could ask around for some combat training or something."

[Snowy_One]

"No Connor. What I meant is that the combat spells I know are defensive, focused on fighting groups of people, or are support-based. Not the sort of things that carry over into single duels well. I mean, can you imagine it? While I sit around working on conjuring up a massive wave of water that would be devistating against five people if I ever finished it, they rush up and slam me hard into the ground. Wouldn't work out well for me. In a battle I could stay back with someone to keep me safe so I could manage something like that, but I can't do that in a duel."

[Phoenix]

Dauntless

"If they can't warp out, this is essentially a 'break in and rescue the captives' scenario," Reign replied at first. "The trouble with going into the fortress is that they'll have all day to line up shots on us, size us up, and make their own little plans for if something goes down. We can't bring the Dauntless because just two arrows will put it out of commission permanently; one for Sandrock and the other for Riley. If we leave the Dauntless here though, we have no cover, so if we're going in, we need to keep from clustering together and keep ourselves spread out into our individual combat teams. It's that or get hit on all sides at once if they decide to. Your call."

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"If a single duel doesn't work, then try to set up a team duel I guess? Either way, I don't think they'll be inclined to change their minds unless you show you can handle yourself in a combat situation. The dream fighting didn't cut it apparently," he said to Tia, shrugging.

Veronika

My decisions killed John and Sophia... Veronika thought to herself with dread. "We'll leave the Dauntless here and spread out inside. With any luck, those with armor will be able to block at least some of the arrows from coming down." Maybe keeping Colin nearby will cause hesitation in firing upon as well- Silvia at least appears to care for his well being.

"Everybody needs to be ready to break into where Raquel is and then break the gate at a moment's notice. The faster we coordinate, the better chances we have of getting out alive," she said to Reign. How many more am I leading into death with this? she thought to herself, looking over the faces of the people she and Raquel had gathered.

[Snike]

The trek into the fortress- which actually felt like a military fort with regards to its' inhabitants, from that one time he was in one- was uneventful, to the surprise of few. It made sense for them to play fair, Blake thought, since they had the advantage. Anyways, they had eventually arrived at a moderately long hallway, absolutely littered with guards. This would be interesting, should things go south. At the end of the hallway, and through the door, was Sardis on one side of a conference table, a Kigenese man with an... interesting mix of red and white in his hair who was one of Hayato or Owen, and a man with a staff, who was the other. No Jethro, however. Curious.

Given that Silvia had warned them about Hayato, and how the Kigenese man was almost immediately sptting venom, the swordsman assumed that they were the same individual. That meant the staff-wielding man was Owen, for future reference. And with that done, time to respond to Hayato.

"Sorry about the delay," Blake said, in an even tone. "Your boss has quite the reputation. Practically everyone wanted to meet him, first, so picking just three to come along was quite the challenge."

[Eail]

Luka was trying to not be overly nervous as they entered the fort and passed by so many members of the enemy. It was such a terrifying experience for the boy though, especially once they actually entered the negotiation room, all these people looked scary.... hitting one of them over the head with his staff would probably not produce the desired results. Instead the boy simply decided to stay as close to the others as possible and keep his mouth shut, less dangerous that way.

_______

Zach was still near Reign when Veronika had come over, but it seemed like he really wouldn't be needed for the time being. "I'd say if you really want to give those doors a good smash, have us mages all hit it with as much Wind magic, or hey, even Earth if you can pull it off, as we can manage all at once. Might work, might not. Best thing I can come up with though aside from slamming a Wyvern against the thing."

Edited April 15, 2013 by Eail

[ReformBlade]

The magician was all too nervous with all that happened but finally calmed down a little, which went back up when she had volunteered to help out with a life or death mission. I can't back down now... it wouldn't be right, or fair... I could just politely decline that specific task, right? Actually no, that'd be extremely lazy and... I don't think I'd have it in me to do that. I can do this. "A soldier wins a war, then fights it..." I think the saying goes? I just gotta commit to it and make sure I do all I can. I'm no soldier, but Dad thinks i'm good, and that's all I need. Mushirah thought to herself, looking worried and pensive before looking over at shadrak, asking, "Hey um... how're you holding up, Shadrak?"

"Hmm..." Aneda was thinking again, or perhaps just incredibly bored as was evident by her intermittent spear twirling in her hand. "Hey Colin... Can't say we've talked, I'm Aneda, just wanna ask you some things here, don't have to answer of course, and you're free to ask back. First off, why this group? I mean why'd you join up or find your way into Sardis' group?" She didn't know anything about her current antagonist, so she figured it'd be frugal to at least try and come to an understanding of at least one of them.

[Phoenix]

Lion's Den

"I'm sorry we had to meet under these circumstances, but I've run out of time for alternatives," Sardis replied ... vaguely.

Raquel stepped forward and put her hands down on the table angrily. "Where's my father?! That's the only reason I'd come to a place like this!"

"Calm," Sardis said, raising his hand for emphasis. "Jethro is fine. He'll be here shortly, but there is something I need to discuss with you first."

My emblem piece, she figured. "Why do you want my emblem piece?"

"Raquel if you accept the offer I'm going to make to you today, you can keep the emblem piece; it will no longer be an issue. On top of that, you and Jethro can remain together."

What? "You can't be serious ..." Does he want me to join him?

Dauntless

"Think they'll let us in?" Reign asked Veronika. That was when Zach approached and mentioned using the mages to bring down the gate. He continued his previous line of thought by saying, "... because if not, we really will have to bring down that gate, first thing. We'll have to do it either way if they start a fight with us since they can just lock us inside otherwise. I guess magic would work, destroy the hinges and then knock it down with a good push, but an approach from here would be pretty hectic."

Meanwhile, Colin stood around bored and thirsty. That was until Aneda started a conversation with him, letting him know she didn't plan on interrogating him. Well that was a good way to start out. "Nice to meet you, Aneda. Well to answer your question, Silvia's a good friend of mine and they made me an offer. I didn't have anything better to do at the time, and working in the same organization as Silvia ensured I'd never have to cross blades with her. Good deal, in other words."

Not too far away, Shadrak mulled over how quickly they could bring the gate down in an emergency, since warping in wasn't an option with both Raquel and Luka gone. He didn't like their odds since from his estimates, by the time they got it down, there would be no one left alive to rescue. That was when Mushirah asked him how he was doing. Timing; he wasn't in the most optimistic of moods and knew it. "Well, I'm trying to figure out what we're going to do if this all goes south, but so far all I'm coming up with is 'charge the gate while under sniper fire' and it just seems insane. How are you; are you okay? I know this isn't exactly what you signed up for ...."

[ReformBlade]

"No, it isn't what I signed up for. Technically speaking I haven't even signed up... I could just walk away but I couldn't stomach that." She noted firmly. "Sure, this is crazy but I think that dream battle it... it prepared me for this, at no harm, too. I know it sounds weird, but it's true. Anyway." she paused then actually proceeded to answer the question, "I'm fine, for the moment. Who knows what's going to happen and I pray that colin person is telling the truth when he says they don't want violence. I know you have your misgivings, I'd honestly be worried if you didn't but still..." She smiled at the guy, "Just let me have my optimism, if only for a little while longer? And yeah, charging that gate will be pretty disastrous. I know I couldn't protect you fully before, and I feel bad, but..." Her voice trailed, not really sure how to say Oh yeah I fucked up, please trust me with your life again.

"Chasing after a girl? Well can't say I'm too surprised, she is a pretty little thing, ain't she?" Aneda commented with a wink, "but that still doesn't answer everything. I'm going to assume you were a mercenary, at least, beforehand? And if you don't mind my prodding further, is it only because of that girl you stay or was she just the bridge that lead you here?"

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"I was under the impression we were allowed in the fortress, just not in the meeting area. We should work out now who is going to bring down the gate and who is going to rescue Raquel. Some type of magic or explosives is probably the best way, but that's hardly my area of expertise," Veronika admitted. Maybe Raquel and the others are already under attack while we're discussing things here...but going in without a plan is suicide.

[Phoenix]

Dauntless Area

"Well in that case, let's gather up the combat teams, head over and ask them to let us in. We can place the mages right next to the gate since that'll save us time," Reign suggested.

Relatively close by, the discussion between Colin and Aneda continued. "More than just pretty. She makes us feel like we're more than just hired grunts ... really inspiring when we need it," he explained. "It's ... a bit of both though. I'm paid pretty well so I'm not just here because of her, but I can't imagine going anywhere else without her." I guess she's become something of a safe haven. No matter how bad things get, I can always go back to her and get that same warm greeting. She never changes. "Now maybe if I could take her with me~"

And relatively close by to that, the discussion between Shadrak and Mushirah continued. "Don't, that was literally a nightmare and I'm sure I would have gone down at some point regardless. It was too intense," Shadrak excused the whole thing rather adamantly. "You know what to expect this time, arrows and normal magic ... at least until the gate issue is dealt with, so don't worry about it."

[ReformBlade]

"'More than just hired grunts'? Interesting way to put it..." she thought out loud. "But if she hadn't come to you, if I'm getting this right, you wouldn't be in this situation, right? And how uh... How well do you know your boss? Does he socialize with his hired grunts or does he merely use you?" She thought about how she phrased it for all but a second, looking around before settling her gaze on Colin again, not amending it.

"I appreciate your vote of confidence, but for me that was the first... I dunno, REAL test of what I'm capable of, I survived but I couldn't do what I had set out to do." she noted with a huge helping of uncertainty in her voice. "I made a promise I couldn't keep." Taking a deep breath, even shaking herself to get rid of that bad vibe, "Not gonna lie though, I don't know what to expect with you people anymore. Makes this kind of exciting... You know, if it weren't a hostage situation..."

[Snike]

Aaand they were already into recruitment talk. Right, well, best get into the room. Blake walked past his employer and stopped a few feet away, facing the Organization members. He forced his expression to remain blank, even though the pressure was on. It sounded like things would be resolved sooner than expected, one way or another.

[scorri]

Marella walked in behind Blake, stopping right behind Raquel. From here, she would be able to easily grab Raquel and get her out of the way if she needed to. She casually folded her hands in front of her and watched the discussion unfold in front of her.

[Mercakete]

When she was addressed by Veronika, Gytha hurriedly got to her feet, standing at a loose attention. Upon receiving her instruction, Gytha immediately replied, "Aye, aye, ma'am!"

She didn't relax her stance until Veronika was taken aside by Reign and when she did, she seemed much more relieved and relaxed than before Veronika had talked with her. "Whew, I was worried somethin' bad was goin' t' happen..." Smiling, she commented to Kat, "Looks like I don't have t' worra as much as I thought I did. I get t' guard th' wagon.~"

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

After a moment or two of trying to regain his calm -- it looked like things were under way so that meant they would be waiting for now -- Norbert took a deep breath and slowly sighed. After a moment of quiet, he raised his eyes and muttered, "She'll have to prove to me she's someone I don't mind following or we'll have problems." So far all that one's shown me is that she likes telling other people what to do. I don't have any reason to follow someone like that: someone who doesn't care about the people she leads so long as she's giving the commands. If it comes to it, will she do what's in the best interest of everyone or will she just do what's best for her? She at least seems to care about Raquel, but that seems to be the only person she cares about. I'm not following someone who'll throw my life away because it's convenient.

[roymbrog]

“It’s that bad, huh?” Katrina had mumbled. Were things really that different between sailors? If so, she felt she would be just as much a fish out of water in that kind of world as Gytha was here.

Raquel and escorts left, and Veronika told the mariner to guard the wagon, a task that was received with gusto. “Man, I hope nothing bad happens. You think they’re going to be ok in there? I mean, not that we should worry or anything…” Should they be worrying? “Anyway, I’m going to assist you with the, uh… wagon guarding!” Yes! That was definitely something Katrina could do.

---

Well, Bert took the news… well. As well as to be expected, Valter supposed. He gave him a moment to cool down, instead watching the proceedings as Raquel and her chosen people left. Eventually the pegasus knight calmed some and gave his opinion on Veronika. It could be worked with, but if he had problems they were all going to have problems. “Would you like me to talk to her?” the horseman offered. If at all possible a diplomatic solution was best. He could tell her Norbert’s grievances and she could give some assurance that she wasn’t out to kill them all. It was a win-win.

[Mercakete]

"Th' more th' merrier!" Gytha happily replied to Katrina, "N' th' safer! With more people guardin' th' wagon, it's definatla safer."

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

Norbert shook his head. "Actions speak louder than words and so far she's just shown she likes to boss people around. I tend to become a thorn in the sides of people like that."

Norbert's gaze fell again as his temper began to slowly heat a bit again. "If you're going to lead you'd better be working for the best for the whole group and not just satisfying some stupid urge you have to get your way. And I mean the whole group, not just a select few you happen to like. Raquel put her in charge, though, so I don't have much of a choice... Normally, in this sort of situation, I'd just leave whatever I don't like that was put over me, but...I'd lose too much. So I'll give her a chance. If she proves to me with her actions that she's the sort of leader I can follow, we won't have any problems. Heck, things might actually get better. If she's the sort I can't follow, though...I'll just do whatever I think I should do regardless of what anyone says. And if they kick me out, fine. I'm not bending my knee to someone who couldn't care less about throwing my life or the lives of people I care about away."

The pegasus rider then looked over to Valter. "Don't tell her any of this. I want honest, uninformed results."

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"All right everyone, I have formations Blake has laid out! Spread out into your groups, those with magic users position yourselves near the gate! We're going in the fortress now, so get yourselves in position!" she commanded to the group, giving them their combat team assignments.

[Eail]

"It's just a bit early don't you think? Couldn't we be making things worse by rushing in when things have just started, I mean we might actually kill them all by doing this. They don't exactly need Raquel once the Emblem is in their grasp after all." Zach commented on the situation, not exactly approving of going in yet. "Thoughts, Reign?"

______

The offer to join was coming in so quickly? Things were already moving fast, faster than would be normal. Was it possible they were missing something? "Raquel, think. Don't do anything rash until all the cards are on the table." The boy said quietly to the other pinky

Edited April 16, 2013 by Eail

[Phoenix]

Killers

Well she wasn't planning on deciding one way or another until she knew what had become of her father, but she made a mental note of what Luka had said. She needed more information. She began wondering if this discussion was a part of whatever trap might be in store for them, but doing so had her thinking about their escape plan and how it would be affected. Remembering what Gar told her, she immediately tried to suppress those surface thoughts with an old shanty she'd heard aboard the Leverager. She wasn't remembering all of the words correctly, but at least her thoughts were on other things now.

"I am serious, Raquel. Please ..." he extended his hand out a bit, pleading with her to listen.

"... fine," Raquel conceded, but only to hearing the man out.

"Raquel, I want you, your companions and mercenaries to join us," Sardis stated simply. After a short pause, he stood from the table and said, "Join with us so that we can put an end to all of this pointless voilence."

"I just want my father back! Why on earth would I join you after everything you've put us through?!"

"... I've done terrible things to you, this is true, but if you become my ally, your lives will change for the better. The emblem remains in your possession, you and your father are reunited, permanently, the wrathites ... won't bother you again ... and that is only the beginning. I see no need or reason for us to be adversaries any longer."

"And how is that? We've killed dozens of your men, or did you forget that?" Probably not the best thing to bring up, she realized, but it was too late. She'd already made the verbal jab at Sardis. Hayato was now thoroughly pissed but managed to keep his arms crossed and not provoke a response.

"After Sergio, you ended up doing this organization a rather big favor by killing Dolin, and that was when I realized that Silvia might have been right about you people. We are all better off as allies. Why would I want to destroy such talented individuals? I mourn the loss of my subordinates, but the cost of vengeance is too high. I would rather see hostilities between us end and move forward with our plans."

Killing Dolin was a favor to them? How? Were they enemies?! "What plans ... or is that a secret until we join you?"

"There's no 'secret'," Sardis replied bitterly. "Look at the state of this world. Peoples of a common ancestry butchering each other over differences in perspective and opinion. And it's not just there ... everywhere you've gone, everywhere you've traveled, there has been utterly meaningless conflict and savagery, has there not?"

"It wasn't all meaningless ..." Raquel weakly countered with her head down.

"Ask the dead if what they died for means anything to them now. Their silence is your answer."

"You've got some nerve trying to defend the dead when you've killed innocent people yourself! Don't even try to justify it; I don't want to hear it! If you want to help rid the world of pointless violence then use that sword of yours and TAKE YOUR OWN LIFE!"

"... not yet. There is still too much that needs to be done."

"What ...?"

Dauntless Area

"Well, we were 'invited', so they probably expected more than just Raquel and the escorts to head inside. That means if we go in right now--before they spring whatever trap might be in store--we won't have to charge at that gate and take potshots from archers and mages the whole time," Reign responded at first. "Alternatively if we wait, there's absolutely nothing we can do to help them if the current exit plan fails. We just won't make it in time. Too far away, too many enemies to fight through, and so on. The danger with heading in right now is that we're the ones most vulnerable since we'll probably be surrounded on all sides and from multiple stories along the wall. That's why we'd need to spread out. If the exit plan fails, we're the only chance they have." I can't see us walking away from a battle today unscathed, though. It's just like before ... and I really don't want to focus it ....

"Maybe, maybe not. I got a really good offer so I might have taken it anyway. Silvia just sealed the deal," Colin answered her first question with a smirk. "As for socializing, he didn't always do it, but according to the rumors, things have been changing lately. He interacts with us a lot more than he used to. Don't ask me why, I really don't know."

When Veronika spoke up about gathering into teams and putting the mages by the gate, Colin winced. I guess I can't blame them for being cautious, but I hope nobody does anything stupid ....

Meanwhile Shadrak was still talking with Mushirah. "If that really was your first time, then I would have been pleasantly surprised if you did accomplish exactly what you set out to do. I mean, I've failed constantly, and on pretty simple things, so it really doesn't surprise me that defending is a rough start for you. After we're finished here, maybe we should grab a few of the others and get some defending practice in. That beats waiting around for real battles where a mistake could be deadly," Shadrak suggested. "Speaking of real battles, I still don't like this situation. We just sent Raquel into that den of vipers with just three other people and now we're just sitting here, a fifth of a mile away hoping nothing goes wrong." And scratch that; Veronika was having them move into the fortress, apparently. "Wait, we're going in?" he asked no one in particular.

[-Cynthia-]

Going In

"We're accepting Sardis' invitation to wait in the fortress while Raquel conducts her meeting. We have no way of knowing what's happening in there from here, so we need to go further in. I know it puts us in more danger if things go wrong, but if things go wrong we need to be in position to help Raquel," Veronika said firmly.

More danger to us is true all right..we better be able break down that gate quick or it'll be like shootin' fish in a barrel, Nadya thought to herself.

[Snowy_One]

"Maybe I could approach them and let them know about my mist skills and how it can help support them in battle? That's about all I can think of. I probably don't have much time though. If I go out there, will you support me Connor?"

[Eail]

"Well, you're the boss Veronika. So just give the word and I'll give it all I got to smash that thing in." Zach said, gazing at the fort before them. "Hey, Reign, do you need a tome for this before we start? I've got extra."

[roymbrog]

This was going to be complicated. “I suppose we’ll just have to see what she does, then,” Valter replied. “I won’t speak to her about it.” If she intentionally put the group in danger, he didn’t think he’d have much motivation to follow her either. He kind of did what he wanted anyway. It just happened to line up with orders from above. Along with not considering himself a proper member of the group, he didn’t consider himself to be under anyone else’s command either. Generally being accommodating helped. Just.. don't tell Bert that.

And then Veronika gave her first group order after promotion, and the horseman walked over to retrieve Phyllis before riding back over to Bert. Gabbie could join them on her own. So far the plan seemed to be ‘go in and make it harder for them to shoot all of us at once’. That… was rather meager. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to enact his emergency plan instead.

---

The combat teams were read, and Kat’s plan was kind of ruined. “Well shoot, I think I have to go with them, then,” Katrina said, a bit disappointed. Not disappointed that she was with another group, mind you, but that circumstances had changed so quickly. She had to go grab Volga, but before she did so she waved goodbye to Gytha. “Good luck!”

[ReformBlade]

"Do you like your boss? Or is it one of those things where you tolerate him for a good paycheck...?" So many questions to ask but friggin firecrotch over there wants us to get moving? Nah, I'mma take my time, got plenty of it. She made fuck all attempts to get in formation currently and stood her ground.

"I'd love to practice, but..." The call to arms, as it were, was... called... fuck you. and Mushirah tensed up again. "There's no time now. I just hope we know what we're doing." she nervously went on, taking another deep breath to calm herself down.