Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[Phoenix]

Streets

"I'm Suzume. It's ... nice to meet you all." she finally introduced herself.

"Suzume, huh?" asked a guard that just stepped into the conversation.

"Mmph." She didn't like where this was going.

Tavern

Cecily shook her head replying "If things even look like they're about to go south, we slip out."

"I didn't know there was anyone else ..." Cassandra admitted. She was thoroughly surprised to learn that there were even equal ranked colleagues running around. The organization wasn't so ... uniform as she originally believed. Not even as cooperative. Ripper's approach startled her, but hell, her own father had done more harm to her than he did, so she quickly calmed down. Ripper was ... sort of like an incredibly large dog. Looking at it that way, she managed to make a small grin, though she wasn't sure about petting him just yet.

"Sardis, she's sowing insubordination in your project~" Colin teased.

"Enough, Colin." Sardis tried to calmly silence the swordsman. "Gaining Cassandra never changed my goals. It only sped up the process. The next time we face Raquel will be the last. Her attempt to 'fight back' is ... barely an interruption, though I admit we've taken more losses than I expected initially. It's of little consequence now, though, and though you fail to see it, I see a great opportunity that all of this violence has proven for us."

"You want to convince them to join us ... like with Jethro." Cassandra clarified.

That came out sooner than Sardis wanted; he didn't expect Layla to buy into it and so he added "Has anyone or anything overcome them yet? I think they could be quite useful."

House

Someone interested in her ... <"Suspicious friends, perhaps?">

Salon

<"Well, that seems to have worked out."> Svan quietly noted. Still she hadn't opened her eyes or moved at all.

<"Yeah ... sure."> Bryn felt like she had indeed over exerted a bit ... not with yanking her sister's hair surprisingly, but with just being excited in general. She began rubbing the side of her neck as she stood there. Ida was off to get her things, so there wasn't much left to do but wait.

<"... what in Corvus would you do with an assistant?"> Helga inquired after some deep thought.

<"She's an assistant. I'm sure I'll need help with something around here, sometime.">

Helga sighed yet again. <"You really shouldn't just hire someone on a whim ...">

<"I won't have someone helping me with a problem rewarded with less than nothing.">

Edited October 31, 2012 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

"Sounds Kigenese," Norbert remarked probably unhelpfully as his countenance shifted into his normal glare as he glanced at the guard. Then, perhaps a little more helpfully, he asked him, "You need something?"

Though, perhaps that was rather unhelpful, too, given his irritable tone.

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

<"Suspicious people in general,"> Daichi clarified, grimacing a little uncomfortably, <"She doesn't go into the village very often, I believe; she likely does not have any friends there.">

Edited October 31, 2012 by Mercakete

[Acacia Sgt]

''Well, not exactly,'' John answered. ''But Connor came across us and it looks like his uncle does have a branch in this town, and they can help us.''

[Snowy_One]

"I did nothing." said Robin stoutly, as if the fault was entirely upon the merchants and not upon herself. "Ohka has dealt with merchants in the past who try to demand too much money for products that are of low quality. They do not make the things that they sell, they do not test them, and they break quickly upon use. I make my arrows myself because I can not get good ones from merchants, same for everything else I own, and buying from them costs far too much to be worth it."

[Eail]

Zachary

Zach gave a nod at Raquel's words, she was right it was time to leave one way or the other. "Sorry Raquel, I didn't intend for stuff to go like this. Let's get out of here before anything bad happens..." He muttered staring at the soldiers ahead of him. Starting to walk back towards the rest of the group, intent on leaving this situation behind him. There wasn't anything else he could do at this point anyways, and finally reeling in the "Defender of the Weak Zach" he did realize how stupid it was to try to protect Kit, she could definantly handle herself.

Luka

Not exactly understanding the situation at hand the pink haired healer had chosen to stay quiet and simply observe what was going on. He did decide to try to jump in on the talk of transportation however. "It is quite possible that we could board a ship back for Ursium with Weyland Enterprises, Master Connor. I don't really follow the shipping schedules but there might very well be one that is leaving today."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Most of the previous conversation Gar couldn't really interject in, but there was one thing. "Don't dodge the bullet, dodge the gun."

"Hey armor-guy," Gar greeted when he touched down. After a quick question by Veronika, Armor-Guy--who sadly would now be known as John--said that they had a ship and stuff. Yay.

[roymbrog]

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll take each other out,” Cloe said, then snickered perhaps a bit too loud. Well, at least some of the situation was being explained to them, if indirectly.

-----

“So because of a few bad experiences you hate all merchants?” Synthia questioned. She would never do such a thing, obviously... Actually, that was probably exactly something she would do. The mage sighed, she didn’t feel like giving any advice right now. “Nevermind. If you want to go back to the ship, just follow this road to the docks. You’ll see it.”

-----

Hearing his name roused Valter, who looked around to find that… no one was actually talking to him. False alarm. A guard approached, and that may have been cause for actual alarm. Maybe it was time to leave.

[Snowy_One]

Robin shook her head. "I do not want to go back to the ships. I want to find Raquel. But if I go off on my own again I will get lost in this... field... of people. I would rather brave the merchants again than end up being left behind."

[Phoenix]

Street Talk

"Need something ...? A statement. That would be a good start. What happened?" the guard asked, his tone deepening.

"I was attacked, I defended myself. Of course this happened about ten times before he stopped attacking. It could have been thirty times before any of you showed up, though." Suzume explained, sounding extremely disappointed.

"Why does everyone bring that up?" the other guard spoke up in the background.

The first guard sighed. "Can any of you people verify what she just told me? What did you see happen?" he asked, glancing back at the fallen mercenary for a moment. He seemed pretty well defeated which seemed pretty unlikely unless this girl was a mage. He went with that assumption for the moment, but didn't see a tome on her which was curious.

"I saw a huge guy trying to take down a young woman, and getting shocked every time. Eventually he just couldn't take anymore and collapsed." Mandy said with a shrug.

"Anyone else ...?"

Preparations

<"You're certain?"> Katsu wasn't going to push the questioning beyond that. Daichi might not have been home much, but it wasn't right to stress that here, even though the information was extremely relevant. He could just ask the sister, he realized a moment later. People Kikuko knew from that town might be behind it, and I must start there if nothing else turns up. Going in blind and just asking around is dangerous, though. If someone there is keeping her, my presence might backfire and cause them to go to ground ... Katsu's speculation wasn't doing much to boost his confidence.

[roymbrog]

Valter rode a little closer to give a proper reply. “That was pretty much what happened,” he said, verifying the girl’s statement.

-----

If Robin wanted to find Raquel so badly, it was just a simple matter of waiting. Why did she insist on wandering around town? Synthia didn’t understand. “Look, I’ve already given you advice, several times in fact, and you don’t listen to me. I’m leaving, follow if you want,” she said, walking off.

[Mercakete]

"I didn't see the actual fight," Norbert decided to contribute, "but when the crowds started clearing, I asked Suzy-May what happened. There were some people by that guy" he indicated the fallen combatant "but she kept away from him. Looks to me like she's telling the truth: she only fought him to defend herself and stopped when he left her alone...which looks to be forced. Jerk wouldn't let up on his own." He cast the unconscious man a glare, not yet realizing he'd just butchered Suzume's name. Northerners...

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

Daichi's frown deepened for a moment at the question. <She's been alive for ten years...and I barely spent any time with her...> <"I..."> he began, but then decided to remain silent. <I wish I could have gotten to know her better... I would love to spend more time with my family. To watch my children grow... I sacrificed that opportunity when I became a member of the Fire Tusk, however... And why? For the protection of my country and for the honor to my family. Both are good things, but...would it have been better to forsake their honor for my own happiness? No, that would have been selfish... I..suppose I made the right choice when I accepted the position. I hope it brings my family happiness and prosperity.>

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Hmm, we should probably wait at the Leverager for Raquel to pick up the Dauntless. I don't know where the Weyland Enterprises building is and wandering around an unfamiliar port seems like a poor plan," Veronika said to the group, the Leverager coming into sight.

Connor

"Well if we're ready to leave, we can lead you all back to headquarters," Connor said, eager to get out of this situation. "Gabbie, if you fly low and slow on Ringo everyone should probably be able to follow you- you do know the way back right?" he asked her.

Tavern

"Oh, don't say that, I don't think we have a job anymore if our boss dies..." Clara said quietly.

"Are you really that impressed by a bunch of mercenaries? You can pick people like that off the street, dime a dozen. You would be able to see that if you stopped playing with them and just decided to kill them," Layla replied to Sardis, sighing heavily. "You can have one last chance to get rid of them before I ask Father if I can take this into my own hands. I'd have the emblem piece in less than a week," she said confidently. Ripper sat down at Cassandra's feet eventually, tail wagging and looking up at her expectantly.

Salon

Ida came back out quickly with a small bag full of styling implements. <"Oh I can be very useful! I can help you with armor fitting, any styling needs, laundry, scheduling any appointments you might have, that sort of thing,"> she said quickly, attempting to justify herself to the Finnians.

[Snowy_One]

Robin watched Synthia walk away, shocked at how rude the woman had just been to her. If she had just flipped her the bird she wouldn't have been surprised. Almost instantly Robin opted to attribute no value to her suggestion. First Nadya, and now her. I still don't even have a clue where Raquel headed off too, though. And judging by what happened last time, I'll just get lost more if I try to hunt her down. Guess I really don't have a choice then.

With a scowl on her face she turned about to head back towards the docks, a noticeable disdain on her face, and her body hunched over, clearly unhappy with how things turned out.

[Phoenix]

Leading the Way

"Yeah, I know where it is. No way I'll get lost in a place loike this. We can just go back on foot if they don't want to do any runnin' or joggin', though. No rush." Gabbie replied and then made her suggestion.

"Shouldn't we hurry? You made it seem like this was really urgent." Raquel frowned in confusion.

"Oh I just loied to get you to come along. Doesn't feel so good, does it?" she teased. "But yeah, that business has nothin' to do with us and we really need to get goin'."

It's not like I was manipulating everyone-I just needed to find a way to contribute before coming out with that information. What good was it knowing they had a useless mage sitting around? "Fine, but I'm not going to be taking you as seriously from now on unless I hear it from Connor too." Raquel warned.

"'Connor, is there really another archer about to shoot me? I don't trust Gabbie to tell me the truth.' I cannot wait to hear that loine. Let's go."

"Urgh."

The Wait

They were almost back to the Leverager, and the crew seemed to be running crates up and down the loading ramp in turns. It looked like supplies going down and provisions going up for the most part. Getting up the ramp might take a little longer than usual. They could probably slip inbetween some carriers, but barring that, they would either need to wait until the transferring was done or just wait around on the docks themselves. Reign wasn't feeling particular so leaned on a dock post for a moment, deciding to just wait around.

"We should probably wait for them to finish." Shadrak suggested.

"Way ahead of you." Reign noted in a boring tone.

The Testimony

That was all the guard needed for the moment. "Don't go anywhere. I still need his side of the story, but we likely won't be making any arrests. This is just petty." the guard replied before turning to head over to the injured man. Another guard stayed by the group to keep an eye on them, but he was barely noticeable standing where he was. The indifference also helped, and Suzume stopped paying attention to him and started focusing on Bert. "It's 'Soo ... Zoo ... Meh'." she slowly corrected. Best to wait until after the guard captain had fallen back before going into that.

Meanwhile, the guard captain approached the downed man and he began to pick himself up. "You like picking on little girls, hmm?" he asked, lifting up his chin as he did so.

"She owes me money and won't pay up." the man defended.

"Be very careful what you say. I'm not having a very good day with those imperial jackasses running around and picking fights all over town. I might just take that out on you."

"What the hell for?!"

"Because I don't like you. Do I need another reason?"

"Yes! Look, officer, that woman just stole my livelihood right out from under me. If you should be putting the screws to anyone, it should be her!"

"Hah!" Without warning the guard sent up and landed a swift kick to the side of the man's head and sent him to the ground in a dusty heap. "I warned you ..." the guard said, wagging his finger at the man. "Tsk tsk tsk. I'm not in the mood, today." He turned and began to walk away which cued the other guards to follow suit. The man struggled to pick himself up for all of two minutes afterward.

"Wow, I'm glad he didn't take it out on Suzume, here ..." Mandy noted as she watched the guards leave.

The Debate

"Do not underestimate them; these people are unique, and I would rather see whether or not they can be of use before dealing with them, but I want Raquel alive. Don't even think about approaching her. This is my mission, and I'll be the one to handle it." Sardis retorted.

Being at the bottom of the steps made it less awkward to sit down, and so Cassandra did just that and began to pet Ripper on the head. The natural fear was beginning to fade enough for her to do that at least. "H-hi." she tried to smile more genuinely at the wolf, but she was still nervous.

The Other Wait

<"What's wrong?"> Katsu asked as Daichi began and then cut off. <Oh no, I still managed to do it, didn't I? Well that was tactless of me.> <"Don't worry about it. I can ask Kikuko's sister for the information like you suggested."> That was probably just another reminder, but at least it was a vaguely positive one.

The New Job

<"Hah!"> Bryn seemed satisfied with that.

Helga sighed yet again saying <"Well I'm glad you have an eye for good help, then. Now find something to do while Svan and I finish."> With that, she followed Svan's example and closed her eyes so she could relax while the work was done.

Bryn shrugged and leaned against the wall for the time being. <"Hmm, I guess that means you'll be coming with us to lunch."> she realized.

Edited November 1, 2012 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"Gabbie wouldn't actually joke around in a combat situation Raquel. She's just trying to lighten the mood a little," Connor tried to reassure Raquel, forcing a smile. Things must be a little awkward between them- what with Gabbie thinking Raquel was an intruder and the assault and all.

Nadya and Veronika

"Howdy y'all. What's goin' on, we leavin'?" Nadya asked as she returned with the horses to the Leverager, noting the crates going up and down the ramp.

"We're waiting until Raquel gets back here, Weyland Enterprises might have a ship for us," Veronika answered.

"Ah...well we might as well enjoy bein' on land while it lasts," Nadya said, patting Luca on the rump.

Tavern Tales

Ripper closed his violet eyes and accepted Cassandra's hesitant pets happily, giving a wolf smile back.

Layla mock yawned loudly, covering her mouth with her hand. "While hearing about your exploits with merchant girls is fascinating Sardis, some of us actually do have important matters to attend to. Cassandra and I are going to have a little talk now, girl-to-girl," she said, walking over towards the staircase and smiling at Cassandra. "You three, make sure we are not interrupted," she ordered brusquely, waving her hand towards the three pegasus sisters outside the tavern door. Clara responded by making a strange shuffling motion that looked as if she was doing something while she looked towards her sisters for guidance.

Salon Stories

<"Wow, lunch with the Finnians? I'm so honored!,"> Ida said genuinely.

Yeah, yeah new girl gets all the breaks. I'm gonna be stuck here for the next few hundred years. the middle stylist, Dagny, complained mentally, rubbing an oil on Svanhildr's wings to make them shine.

<"Is your daughter all right milady? Her eyes have been closed for quite some time..."> Gerda said, finishing the last cuts on Helga's hair.

[Mercakete]

Guess I said her name wrong. "Soo...zoo may?" he attempted to imitate, hoping he got it right this time.

The pegasus rider was distracted from that, however, when the guard began causing a scene talking to the guy who'd just recently been blasted by Suzume. When the guard kicked the guy in the head, Norbert stifled a laugh. He had some mixed emotion about it since it didn't seem entirely fair, but then again, the guy had already heard their testimonies and they all matched. Besides, he figured that guy deserved it. Maybe that'll teach him a lesson. That feeling came back, though, and he couldn't quite feel as good as he'd have liked to about the guard's treatment of the bounty hunter.

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

<"No, no it's fine,"> Daichi hastily tried to reassure Katsu, even offering a smile, <"My family and my country benefit from the work I do. I may not be able to spend much time with them, but at least they have honor and the opportunities and privileges that come with it.">

Then, turning to call over his shoulder, he asked, <"Sumire, how long do you think it will be until the rest of the supplies are ready?">

<"I have them now,"> she answered as she set a neatly-wrapped furoshiki down onto the table along with a canteen full of cold, clean water, <"Inside are a few bags of raw rice, a knife, a metal mug and a small, metal pot for cooking. There are some nuts wrapped in a smaller furoshiki inside as well.">

[Phoenix]

Leading Some More

"Right ..." Raquel somewhat agreed. Gabbie always seemed serious during battle, so she had no reason to suspect it would get that bad.

Gabbie began leading Ringo along by the reins while heading back to the W.E. building in the markets, just expecting everyone to follow along.

Waiting Some More

"Hmm, where is everyone else? Did they all just wander off? They couldn't have all gone with Raquel. I didn't see Faatina or Bert with her before we left. Not Synthia either ..." Shadrak noted.

Talking

"Close enough," Suzume gave up. "Anyway, thanks for vouching for me." she said to the group in general.

"The truth is the truth. That guy was a brute and had it coming." Mandy replied.

More Talking

Conscripted again. "Yes, ma'am." Cecily accepted the order and began heading over to block Sardis and the others from the staircase once she was there. She expected Clara and Cloe to follow her lead, nervous or not.

Even More Talking

<"I-I should still speak with your eldest daughter before setting out,"> Katsu said to Sumire. He wasn't sure if she'd been listening in on the conversation or not, so wanted to either let her know or remind her. He was hoping deep down that Hana could tell him something, anything that might help.

Talking Continues

<"Don't get too excited,"> Bryn warned. <"Dear Mother can turn any outing into a nightmare.">

<"Hush, you."> Helga said. Gerda then asked about Svan, who was indeed still sitting perfectly still with her eyes closed. <"Oh Svan?"> Helga's brow raised. <"The girl gets lost in thought sometimes.">

<"It aids concentration ... tuning out one or two senses temporarily."> Svan briefly explained.

[Mercakete]

Norbert nodded to Mandy's answer at first but stopped when she mentioned he had it coming. There was something about the phrasing that bothered him. "So... What was the job he tried to take your pay for?" he asked somewhat carefully. Maybe I'm accepting her story too readily...

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

<"Hana-chan?"> Sumire asked, a frown appearing on her face, <"I...suppose, if you'd like to, though I do not believe she will be of much help. She is a fairly useless child... I apologize in advance for any disrespect she may show you.">

Sumire's husband, meanwhile, was also frowning, though not in response to Hana herself. <Hana is a wonderful child... She only does not think the way Sumire does. I wish Sumire and Hana could come to an understanding...>

Sumire gave an exasperated sigh before continuing, <"Ah, she wasn't home the last time I checked... Such an irresponsible girl...">

<Ah, I forgot about that! She still isn't home?> <"You may wait for her here if you would like,"> Daichi offered Katsu.

Edited November 1, 2012 by Mercakete

[Ether]

"Y'know, it's hard for me to believe you want to help me when you seem so eager to spring your blades... seems like you really are the same as the others..." Kit replied with an exaggerated tone of dissapointment.

"Let me guess, next you'll offer me a free pair of fancy new handcuffs or a paid visit to the local spa for an on-the-house twelve sword acupuncture session?" Kit continued, eyeing the guards with interest.

[roymbrog]

Well, the guards were pretty cruel, Valter noted. “Hmm. I don’t think it’s wise to get involved further, Bert,” he cautioned. “The others probably have a lead on a ship already. We should leave.” Getting back to Ursium unscathed took priority over… whatever this was.

-----

They had a job now, best get to it. “Come on, Clara,” Cloe said, giving her sister a gentle nudge. She followed Cecily over to the staircase to begin guard duty.

-----

After a minute or two of walking Synthia looked back to see if Robin had decided to follow, which she hadn’t. Hopefully the girl had just gone back to the ship. The mage wasn’t taking any blame for letting someone get lost on the island. Anyway, back to the matter at hand. As Synthia entered the market she began looking for the produce stalls. After the last several days at sea it would be nice to have something that wasn’t salted, dried, or spiced to death.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya and Veronika

"I ran into Robin near the market- said she was lookin' for Raquel. I offered to lead her back here, but she wanted to wander around instead for...some reason," Nadya said, shrugging.

"We should probably gather people up soon- I'd like to be ready to go once Raquel locates a ship. Maybe our fliers will help to locate some of our wayward group members," Veronika said, looking pointedly at John.

Tavern

"All right then, come along dear," Layla said to Cassandra, going inside a room upstairs and clapping her hands together once. Ripper opened his eyes and bounded up the stairs, standing by Layla dutifully.

"Oh...right," Clara said, standing by her sisters near the bottom of the stairs and trying her best to assume a guarding position.

Salon

<"Oh I'm sure it will be lovely, heh,"> Ida said nervously. Going to have to learn to be less nervous of Lady Helga when I'm Miss Brynhildr's assistant...

<"Oh well I'm sure that's very useful sometimes,"> Gerda said noncommittally, considering the matter resolved.

[Phoenix]

Along the Way

Just before entering the markets, Gabbie spotted Robin in the distance. Alone. "Interesting~"

"Wait, is that Robin over there?" Raquel spoke up, seeing her too. "I thought I told people not to go anywhere alone. Why isn't anyone listening to me?"

"In the girl's defense, you're a lousy leader. I can never tell when you're giving an order or just making humble suggestions." Gabbie replied. "So is she coming with?"

"Yes!" Raquel ran out in front and called out "Hey! Robin! Come here!"

Leverager

Well, that was his cue, John noticed. "I'll handle that." The wyvern rider and his passenger took off within a few seconds and flew into town.

Before long, one of the crewmen came down the loading ramp inbetween two sets of carriers and approached the rest of them. It appeared to be Lance, one of the cannoneers. "What are you people doing back so early? Chousokabe getting too dangerous for you already?"

Shadrak sighed. "We're waiting."

"Find a ship?"

"No."

"Find a Crane?"

"No."

"Find anymore seagulls?"

"No."

"... oookay ... ... alright then." Lance having failed to make any conversation with that one, moved on. "So are the horses doing any better, Nadya?"

Streets

"It was a standing bounty for a criminal who just so happened to be in the area. He was after this criminal for months, or so he says. I was only after him for three days. He thought that made him more entitled to the reward money than I was. After I caught the guy, he demanded that I hand him over to him so he could turn him in for the reward money. I refused. He followed me the whole way to the police building trying to change my mind. I refused. He begged them to give him the money instead of me and they refused. They told him to ask his girlfriend for the money since she did all the work. That alone ruined my day somehow. So he followed me out here arguing the whole time and I finally decided to just make a run for it, but he grabbed my wrist and I shocked him and kicked him in the chest. Too many people noticed and started crowding around, so I couldn't get away, and not a one of them thought to help. I hate these people." Suzume explained, becoming sadder and sadder toward the end of the explanation.

That was curious. "He didn't ask for like half or something?" Mandy asked.

"I was thinking about sharing some of it with him. I'm not starving ... but neither was he. He just wanted all of it for some reason, and I was done being nice and cooperative once he started yelling ... which was all too soon. I don't think he liked that I was able to haul that guy in so fast."

"That is pretty humiliating." Mandy nodded in agreement. Oddly enough, the man in question was almost back up on his feet, but he was groaning quietly and nursing his head wound. The guard's boot was armored and some blood was drawn from that kick of his.

"He's getting up." Talitha warned.

Tavern

As Cecily and her sisters got into position, Cassandra stood up and followed after Layla. Sardis raised an eyebrow as all of this happened. "Cassandra ..." he spoke up firmly, causing the artificial girl to freeze a quarter way up the steps. He looked at her expectantly, but didn't seem to want anything in particular. What could it be? She didn't have the emblem piece anymore, he did. Maybe it had something to do with Layla. Before she could really figure out what he wanted for certain, he nudged his head dismissively toward the up top of the staircase. She continued on without much hesitation.

I hope I'm not getting caught in the middle of all of this. I think I already am ...

It wasn't long before Colin took his drink and headed over to the staircase. Cecily moved forward just enough to remind him that they weren't letting anyone else go up there. That didn't seem to be his purpose, though. "So ... how's life been treating you?" He was looking to Clara at first but he had eventually tried to make eye contact with all three at some point during the greeting.

House

<"If you think it best I wait for her, then that's what I'll do, but ..."> Katsu stopped to think on his point a bit more before actually making it. He figured that in the end, he wouldn't lose very much time waiting for her as long as she came back by some reasonable hour, but he could always just go find her and speak with her on his way to his next destination. It didn't seem all that appropriate thinking about it though. <"Never mind. I can wait awhile longer. If she does know something, it could make all the difference.">

[Snowy_One]

Robin - Along the Way that Intersects with Raquel's Along the Way

Robin scowled as she walked along, heading back to the docks. If she had wanted to wait by the docks for Raquel she would have done so in the first place. She contemplated kicking a small rock along, but decided against it. She was in a bad enough mood without a stubbed toe or anything.

Then, as she walked along, she suddenly heard Raquel's voice. Instantly she perked up and turned around, looking about, finally spotting the pink hair of her employer.

"Raquel?" she asked, shocked. Dumb luck? She didn't care. She was happy. She turned about and rushed over. "Raquel! There you are! I was looking for you. I was worried when we got separated and did not know where you were."

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"Well, maybe she's helping to build a good rapport with everyone here by not being too demanding? It's one organizational style to use for managing larger groups of people," Connor piped up to Gabbie in Raquel's defense.

Veronika and Nadya

"Be careful, if you get lost just come back here!" Veronika called after John as he took off, feeling a little guilty sending him out. Well as a mercenary he is probably used to navigating ports, she reassured herself.

"I think the horses liked gettin' a little fresh air after bein' on a boat for so long. Certainly didn't mind it myself...kinda a shame we're gettin' back on the ocean so early. Say, speakin' of horses, did you see a guy named 'Grant' takin' any of the horses from below decks out? I heard they're his- if he's not takin' proper care of 'em, the two of us are gonna have some words," Nadya said to Lance in a warning tone.

Tavern

"Oh things have been good enough here, rather quiet and the accommodations aren't quite as nice as our last location, but I can't complain. Besides, the three of us get to be all together again- nice change from some of us getting solo assignments," Clara admitted to Colin.

Layla shut the door behind Cassandra as she entered and took a seat at the nearby desk chair, leaving Cassandra to take the bed in the small space. "Dealing with Sardis is always so exhausting- I'm sure you're glad to get a break from him too. So how have things been for you? Heard you were spending some time with Burke and Naomi, that must have been...interesting," she said, giving Cassandra a small smile. Ripper occupied himself with rubbing against Cassandra's leg, miffed that the previous petting session was interrupted.

Edited November 2, 2012 by -Cynthia-

[Phoenix]

Rendezvous Near the Markets

"That's what extra pay is for, Connor." Gabbie half seriously replied as Robin approached. From what she could hear, the girl had gotten separated from the group. "Sounds loike someone needs a signal flare."

So apparently Robin had been looking for her. Well it didn't matter now, but she could still explain what happened. "Well, like I said before leaving, I was trying to find a crane to move the Dauntless and find a ship while I was at it, but we got held up. Right now we're heading over to the Weyland Enterprises office in the markets to see if they found a ship we can take back to Ursium."

As Raquel explained the situation, John and Sophia passed overhead atop Gil. He came back and landed a moment later. "I see you found Robin. We found Veronika and the others. They didn't have any luck finding a ship, and now I'm looking for the others."

"Oh, okay. Well we're going to the office and we'll head back to the ship after that." Raquel replied.

John nodded. "Okay, I'm going to get back to it, then." And with that, they were airborne once again and off to find more stragglers.

Waiting By the Leverager

"Grant? Hmm, where do I know that name ...? Was he that other mage that helped you people out with the cultists?" Lance began thinking.

"Uh, did you see anyone leave the ship with those two horses?" Reign asked, trying to see if maybe eliminating the name issue would speed up the process. After all, if anyone left with the horses, it was Grant, and if it wasn't, well then they might very well have bigger problems.

"Yeah," Lance nodded. "Must've been him. We wouldn't have let some complete unknown waltz onto the ship and make off with two horses, ours or not. We know better."

"Right." Reign said, though he followed up a second later with a shrug. Didn't matter much to him.

Talking In the Tavern

"Yeah it's nice to have family close by." Colin agreed. "You know, I keep telling Sardis we should all band together and spruce this place up, but he thinks it'll attract too much attention to the place. I'm just talking about interior decorating. We don't have to get the town sign back up and clean up all the buildings. Just figure we might ... you know, put up some new curtains, fix the wood paneling on the walls and floors. Put up some new wallpaper. Doesn't have to be a wasteland on the inside too, right?"

"We don't do manual labor." Cecily stated with a disinterested look on her face.

"Heheh ... managerial position for you three, then~"

Meanwhile upstairs ... "Honestly? I'm a little overwhelmed," Cassandra answered Layla while glancing at Ripper. She began to pet him again as she continued. "I can use that emblem piece but I don't know why it's just me, Sardis won't tell me much of anything-not even about that, and I've got a feeling that since the ... real Raquel still matters to him so much, I might ... I might be expendable at some point. It's probably a good thing he doesn't let me talk much, or some of that might slip out ... heheh." I need to be really careful here. I don't think she would mind much if I admitted right out that I hate Sardis, but my reasons are completely different from what she might think they are. I don't think it makes sense from her perspective that I ... basically want to kill him. That's too extreme-I've only technically known him for a week. On the other hand, Burke basically advertised me as an assassin ready and willing to kill on command. Maybe it's not so extreme in that sense ...

Edited November 2, 2012 by Phoenix