Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[Eail]

"Nice to meet ya Mireille, sorry about the grabbing thing. I kinda get a bit excited when it comes to magic and whatnot, sort of my weakness hehehe...." Zach awkwardly chuckled while trying to apologize. "But I don't think your armor would conduct electricity that well, doesn't look like it would at the very least. Then again I normally just punch straight through armor and take out a vital organ or two, so what do I know. Anyways, on to the dragon!"

[Snowy_One]

"I am curious, where do you want to go exploring Gytha? I do not know these port cities well, but you do, so where would you want to go in the first place?"

[Snike]

Blake frowned as he heard about how the indoors conditions hampered at least Nadya's proficiency last fight. Maybe that was why they did so poorly last fight.

"Was there anything else that made the fight so rough?", Blake asked next. "I doubt it was completely the lack of mounts that hurt our abilities."

***

"Very well. She's yours," Grant said, offering the mare's reins to Synthia. Now there was just the gelding to worry about...

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"I think I'll stay here and get caught up on everything that's been going on for the last few weeks. Being so far away from everything has left me a little out of the loop," Connor admitted.

Nadya

"Well splittin' the group probably didn't help much, though hard to say how it woulda went if all the enemies had been together too. Could probably use some more people with thick armor in this group- I wasn't gettin' hit when that Mireille chick was standin' in front of me takin' gunshots," she noted to Blake.

Layla

I wonder if there isn't some sort of spying magic on her somehow...nothing to be done about it I guess. "Well clearly Sardis doesn't trust you very much then. I'd have you transferred to be under my supervision, but unfortunately the emblem is Sardis's responsibility," Layla said, sighing. "Eventually I imagine Father will assign someone else to the emblem mission, once Sardis inevitably screws up getting the piece once again."

[Ether]

"You keep telling yourself that, bug guy~" Kit responded with a giggle, before growing bored of the whole thing. She had allowed herself to be preoccupied too long, and figured it would be time to depart.

"ANd here's why you won't get your studies~"

And with that, the fox woman dissipated into the rift of her own creation, warping well and away out of the guard's area of vision.

******

"Oh boo... it looks like that anomaly has made it's way into Weyland's building... how peculiar. Still, it would be a bad idea to mess around with that guy..."

[Phoenix]

Office

Gabbie was trying to tune out the conversation, and was doing alright for the most part. Connor's comment stood out among all the 'noise', however, and she decided to speak up. "Wait, if you're staying here, then ..." she paused to think about it.

"It's okay, Gabbie. We can keep an eye out for Connor while you help Raquel with the shopping~" Anna offered.

"Who says I want to help out with the shopping?"

"Oh ... um ... you want to stay here too?"

"Well, Connor here is the perfect excuse~" Gabbie admitted.

"I'm running out of people, so sure." Raquel replied to Luka. Four people was more than usual, but she was hoping to get done relatively quickly. "Wait a second ..." Raquel looked to Gabbie in shock, realizing what she was saying. "Seriously?! I've only got three helpers if you don't come with. It'll take even longer!"

"Well, consider this," Gabbie began an explanation Raquel wasn't looking forward to. "You're heading back to the Leverager first to get things you can sell, roight? John's probably gathered up most of the group there by now, roight? So you've still got ten or more people to conscript for your little shopping trip."

"You can't just help too, though ...?"

"Trust me, it's better if I stay here."

"Why?"

"Alroight, then. Don't trust me." Gabbie stood up from the chair, not saying anything else. Not entirely obvious if she was coming or not, but why else would she have stood up if she was so comfortable?

Docks, but More North

And then the fox woman disappeared without a trace. Well, that happened. "... huh. Well, can't catch'em all, right?" Lev commented with a grin and a shrug.

<"Fff .... so- ... d- ... urgh! URGH!!! URRRRGH!!!">

"Stomach trouble?"

The kigenese guard turned toward Lev and held out his sword threateningly, causing his other riders to pull out their weapons as well. "Get out of town, now! Go! GO! GOOO!!! Get out of here!"

"No can do, I'm looking for a ship. I was about to ask you about that ship, but then you decided to try and run us out of town for some reason ..."

"GOOOOOOO!!!"

Lev's expression became more serious. "I've got orders. If you really want to stop us ... strike. You're going to lose the arm you use, though, fair warning."

Street

"Maybe I would feel sorry for him and give him some 'food money' if he didn't waste what energy he has hounding me instead of trying to get something to eat. He didn't ask me to feed him, remember? He just wanted all of the money." Suzume countered.

"I've gone without food before ... and I can go a little longer if that's what it takes, but everything I went through must have been worth something. You spent a couple of days going after that bastard at most, and you walk away with everything? No, that's just not right, not after I caught him." the man said, shaking his head at the girl. He still seemed upset about the situation, understandably, but he didn't seem to still be trying to talk or force the gold away from her, so Suzume was less on edge than before.

When Bert offered him some food and supply funds, he sighed. "What are you doing, kid? I'm not so bad off that someone like you is trying to help me out, am I?"

"Well you're not getting this gold." Suzume called over, turning a bit to hide her money again.

"Oh shut it, I wasn't even talking to you, anymore." He sighed again looking to Bert. "You sure about this ...?"

Tavern

"You think so?" She hadn't considered that, despite the obvious division. She's nice to me, so that would be a step up ... though I'd rather not have to keep lying all of the time. Sardis might not treat me like a human being, but his no talking rule made it easier for me not to mess anything up. And ... who's 'father'? I wasn't surprised to find out Sardis wasn't the one at the head of this organization but ... now I'm worried. "That would be better than this ..."

House

The morning routines? That was even better than Katsu had hoped. She might even be able to watch his back to some extent, though hopefully it wouldn't come to that. <"Does she have a weapon of her own?"> he asked, hoping she wasn't just going through the motions. He had thought of perhaps purchasing a small concealable weapon for her for the trip if she was otherwise helpless, but he would have asked Daichi about whether or not that was a good idea first. Though from the sound of things, she could hold her own well enough. It was just a matter of figuring out how well.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

"Well, personalla, I like visiting th' markets n' anathin' a particular port might be famous for durin' th' day n' inns' common rooms at night. There's a lot t' see at th' markets n' at night th' inns're filled with sailors, music n' dancin'! Th' sailors're good fer askin' about news o' ships' reputations n' where they're bound n' who's hirin'. I'm alreada employed, so I wouldn't be lookin' fer work, a'course, heharr! Sailors tend t' have good stories, too, even if most o' 'em're just a bunch o' blowhards. Nice t' know what other ports're like, though, even if it is just a bunch o' scuttlebutt. It isn't like we don't have a tale 'r two t' tell either, aye? Hehaharr!" Gytha cheerily answered Robin, having fun just talking about it.

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

Norbert just shrugged indifferently. "Like I said, I've been there. No funds for food, maintenance, or even enough to get a seamstress to patch up my clothes. In jobs like these, you hit rough spots and if you don't weather it, you die. Has a lot to do with luck, I guess. Find the right jobs and employers and you eat. Have a dry spell and you starve. Consider this a lucky break or payment for not throwing grenades as people in the future or something. Even without this I have more than enough money to keep food in my belly. There's no sense in not helping someone out who'll use it to invest in his work and get a meal. I'm pretty sure you'll be responsible with it so go on and take it."

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

<"Yes. She stores her bo staff in my weapons room,"> Daichi replied, shifting to a more casual take on the conversation as he spoke with Katsu.

That was when he had an idea. <"Hmm... Actually... When she attends the morning practices, she pretends to be a boy named Chufu Haruo to protect her identity. Perhaps that disguise may help her as she travels with you, too. My role in her story is simply that I know Haruo's father and am observing his son's progress in learning the bo staff, so it would make sense that he would go with you to find Kikuko-chan. It would also explain his absence from the morning practices. I would only inform Sumire that she is going to be disguised, however, and not mention the name or anything about the practices... Hana should be able to continue to attend after she returns home, after all. I think Sumire will be glad of the idea. She wouldn't want it to be common knowledge that her daughter is travelling around Kigen doing tasks that women ought not traditionally.">

His confidence in the idea shrunk back a little as he added, <"Or Sumire might be indignant at the idea, forbidding her daughter from pretending to be a boy when she is in fact a young lady.">

Edited November 8, 2012 by Mercakete

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Sword-tactitian wanted an update on the Cloak and dagger plan. Which Gar was more than happy to provide. "Fifteen enemy combatants registered as opposing Dagger Team, in addition to the outside sentry. Enemy force was as followed: seven physical targets and eight magical targets. Six of the physical targets were melee, and one was an archer. Six of the magical targets were soft, five of the physical targets were soft. The remaining two magical targets were hard, the remaining two physical targets were hard. Shade Drake was responsible for exterminating the two hard physical targets, and..." Gar didn't know horse-girl's name, "horse-light-woman there eliminated one of the hard magical targets and I eliminated the other. Total targets killed in encounter by me were six. Seven if the outside sentry is included. Four more kills were added to my tally when we--myself, green-haired-spearwomen, other-spear-woman, and whip-guy--reinforced Cloak team. The rest of Dagger was rendered combat ineffective due to the clash with the previously listed enemies."

[ReformBlade]

"Well, we could go venturing into the market place, Katrina. I think that'd be the best course of action to rectify a grumbling tummy." Hannah neighed in agreement. "Aww... I'm sorry Hannah! i'll get something for you as well, I promise!" And with that, Aneda beckoned Katrina to follow as she made her way towards the sounds of marketeering. "Hmm... There's probably fish but that doesn't sound too appetizing this early. Maybe they've got snackier foods? I hope so. I just want something to eat and then get back to the others."

[Snowy_One]

Robin looked at Gytha for a moment, confusion on her face. Listening to Gytha's accent, though hard, was normally doable for the Skotian huntress. But with the sheer size of all she had just said, she simply couldn't decrypt it all fast enough to keep up with Gytha. "I am sorry. Common is not my first language and you said a lot there. Can you please say that again? Slower and clearer?"

[Mercakete]

"Oh, sorry about that," Gytha apologized, a little embarrassed for being unclear the first time. More slowly and being careful to speak clearly, she restated, "During the day, I like to visit the port markets and anything the particular port might be famous for. At night, I like to visit the common room of inns and the like to hear news, stories and music from the sailors who gather there. We have tales of our own, too, if we want to tell them."

Then, her accent thickening some again, she cheerily asked, "Was that understandable?"

[Snowy_One]

"Yes. Thank you. I do not know if going to the markets is such a wise idea. From what I have learned in the past people will assume that a country girl like me does not grasp what makes something quality and will assume I do not know the proper value of the item. It... is why I use stone arrowheads I make myself."

[Mercakete]

"Well, that's strange. Never dealt with that meself. Usualla th' markets're too busy t' bother with people who aren't interested in their merchandise," Gytha replied, a little puzzled by Robin's report, "N' when they're not, they call out t' try t' get yer attention but know better than t' press ye too hard if yer not interested."

[Phoenix]

Office

Raquel handed the dossiers back to Anna while Gabbie listened to the exchange between Gytha and Robin with a tired expression on her face. "... you use stone arrowheads because you can't handle a sales pitch? Ugh, I knew comin' with would be a bad oidea ..."

Raquel glanced over. "Why?"

"Because ... I'm gonna have to listen to these two the entoire toime and I don't think I can just sit back and not say anything."

"Fine, stay here then. I doubt you would have helped out anyway." Raquel replied with a bit of hurt look on her face.

"Not with a smoile, anyway." Gabbie clarified. As Raquel walked out of the building, Gabbie followed anyway.

Docks

"Sounds like a good memory," Reign said in reference to Gar's report. "Did you write that down or ... just keep it all up here?" he asked, pointing to the side of his head. A fair question considering the battle took place roughly a week ago.

"Urgh, I thought they'd be back by now. It feels like we're wasting time right now. We could be doing something productive ..." Shadrak moaned. "And nobody say anything about seagulls; I know someone would bring that up again." he added, his glare darting to various people.

Lance chuckled. "You people could help us with the crates if you're itchin' for somethin' to do." he offered.

Street

"Huh ... you know what? Alright then." the man nodded, accepting the gold. "It's been a complete waste of my time, but I'm still alive. I'll try again." He then turned to leave and took a few steps forward before turning back halfway to face Suzume. "Word of advice, girl ... stay the fuck away from my targets. The next grenade isn't going to be an accident." He ended that remark with a smirk. "Thanks for the help, kid." he said looking to Bert before turning back to leave.

Suzume gave an unamused look the entire time as she held her money close.

Other Street

If only Aneda could have actually reached the markets before being singled out by a pair of somewhat good looking kigenese men, probably locals. But no, she and Katrina would have to deal with them first. "Oiii~, is that a pegasus? You must be from Ursium ... or perhaps the better part of Neviskotia?"

House

Chufu Haruo ... that was a name Katsu immediately committed to memory. It would no doubt prove useful for her to have an alias for the trip. <"I understand her concern. It would be terrible if your daughter's reputation suffered for simply trying to help her sister the only way she could."> Katsu grimaced. <"I'll guard her alias as best I can, Daichi-san. I promise.">

Edited November 8, 2012 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

Office

"So, what's new with Weyland Enterprises? I hope things didn't shut down completely after the attack..." Connor said to Anna after most of the rest of the group left.

Docks

"The name's Nadya, not horse-light-woman. Though that does have a certain ring to it," Nadya said, after Gar said his piece.

Quite the memory Gar seems to have there...still not sure I buy his whole story, but I don't think he's withholding information for malicious reasons. Veronika thought to herself. "Sure, I'll lend a hand if it helps you all get on your way. We do owe you for the ride after all," Veronika replied to Lance.

Tavern

"Things will get better soon, you'll just have to stick things out for a bit," Layla said, coming over and patting Cassandra on the shoulder. "Just remember- what you're doing for the emblem isn't for Sardis, it's for yourself."

[Mercakete]

Do I really look that young? Norbert thought in minor irritation at being referred to as "kid" again. He hasn't minded so much the first time, but this wasn't the first person to refer to him as such either. Returning to a more comfortable talking distance to the others, Norbert decided to tell Suzume, "Just so you know, if he tries to throw another grenade at you, I'd say use your magic to make it blow up in his hand."

Any and all targets were free game until turned in as far as he was concerned. Aside from that, he still didn't think the man had been justified for throwing those at Suzume in the first place. He felt better than he had at the start of the conversation, though, even if he was a little irritated at the moment.

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

<"Thank you."> Daichi was in the middle of saying that when Hana rushed breathlessly into the room, turning sharply to gather some foodstuffs from the cooking area.

<"Hey, Haruo-san, remember to keep up your practice and to listen to what Katsu-san says while you are away! I will be giving an honest report to your father, you know."> the head of the Kazemi family informed Hana with a somewhat mischievous smile.

Hana had turned in surprise to stare at her father as he gave the instruction. At a bit of a loss as to how to react, her gaze shot to Katsu to judge his reaction to the hearty pseudo-reminder.

[roymbrog]

However much she may have wanted to squeal in excitement, Synthia kept herself composed. She took the mare's reigns with a smile. "Thank you, Grant. I'll take good care of her," she said. And then she was off because, well, she still had things to do and her list was now longer than before. The horse didn't have tack.

------

Katrina followed along while riding Volga. "Snackier foods? I think I heard of something called sushi, if they have it. Or maybe not, I think that had fish.."

Eh, they'd find something. As they neared the market she looked around for food stalls, but it wasn't long before they were stopped by some... rather handsome locals. They were talking to Aneda, but that was beside the point. "I'm from Neviskotia~!" she called cheerfully. Volga, glad for the sudden stop, took the opportunity to lie down.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"It's all stored up in my head, for the most part, gotta keep records and such," Gar answered Reign-guy's question first before answering Nadya. "Alright, noted."

Edited November 8, 2012 by Script

[Snowy_One]

"Ohka is not a port or trade city though. We have far less merchants, most having traveled from far away, looking to make sales to make the trip worth it in the first place."

[ReformBlade]

"I'm from Ursium, yes..." These men seemed to want something with Hannah which kinda sort of made her uneasy. "Are... pegasi rare or not allowed here or something? BEcause like, I can leave if that's the case. Please don't make me leeeeave, I don't wanna be unemployed again!" Whoops... Shouldn't go mentioning random crap like that. Oh well, nothing damning in what I revealed right? In an attempt to gain control over this encounter, Aneda used her brain muscles. "So uh... what brings you around here?"

[Snike]

"So basically, we lost sixty percent of our units on Dagger team before they joined up?" Blake asked, just to verify that his hearing was accurate. "Yeah, there needs to be more armored individuals around, if the casualty rate is going to be as high as that again." He paused, and then inquired, "How bad was Cloak?"

***

"You're welcome," Grant said, as Synthia left for other business. One down, one to go. Now, where to sell the other horse...

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Gar really wasn't the best to comment on Cloak, but he did so anyway because he was a helpful guy like that. "I couldn't comment on their targets before we joined up, and the rush to leave after the local glory-stealers showed up meant I didn't get much time to pick on the complete number of fallen. But what I saw were eleven enemies still in fighting condition. Two magic, six physical melee and three physical range. Both magic targets were soft, two physical targets were hard the rest were soft. Two guns were equipped, one was fired and hit a target--that light-magic-girl--not to be confused with Nadya here. Anyway Zachary operated on the bullet wound victim with success. Raquel was laid low by the arrow after our rejoin, as was the green-haired lancer woman from Dagger." Gar took in a deep breath after all that talking. "Gee what a mouthful."

[Phoenix]

Office

"Nope, in fact, Mister Weyland decided to move forward with a few shelved projects, and as soon as he fixed the house up, he held another military expo and showed the Ursian officers a new rifle design. I don't know all of the details, but apparently trained shooters can get off a shot every five seconds minus aim time. I heard some of the officers were all over it since it could let them outpace the Neviskotians during the opening stages of combat, but Weyland did warn them about the overheating problem. The barrels need quick cleaning like any other gun, but three shots in fifteen seconds before falling back to run maintenance and cool the barrel off is amazing. Our fastest loaders knocked the time down to nine seconds for three shots." Anna explained.

Markets

Well, it was back to the Leverager to tell the others about the meeting plans and then come back to the markets to get in some trading done. Once they knew which ship they would be taking back to Ursium, they could rent the crane with the money Weyland Enterprises reimbursed them for, and then get the Dauntless moved and await departure. Things weren't turning out quite like Raquel had wanted, but that was hardly a bad thing. She wanted this to go smoothly, but expected trouble. Instead she was getting a smooth ride and money from various people without warning. It was a good day so far, she felt, and grinned as they passed through the markets.

"See, Robin? No merchants pestering you ..." Gabbie spoke up as they walked around with her hands casually behind her head. "They've got more than enough customers already."

"It's because we're in the middle of the street. They're not going to run all the way over here just to drag us back there. At least not without help hired help. They have to keep an eye on their shops or things might start going missing." Raquel explained.

"Well they aren't calling us over, eoither ..." Gabbie noted.

"Like you said ... they have enough customers right now. This place is getting a little busier. I hope we don't get stuck in one place for too long ..."

Docks

"Ah, a volunteer? Didn't expect that. Well I've gotta get back to it myself so I could use a partner ... 'specially one that doesn't stink of booze. Follow me. I hope you can lift~" Lance teased as he began heading back to the ship.

Shadrak remained silent. This kind of work wasn't for him. He was a caster and scholar, not a ... lifter.

All in his head. That was impressive, but Reign didn't have anything else to say about that and simply nodded at the answer Gar gave him. He listened a bit longer and was reminded about how much of a mess that manse battle had turned into. Raquel could be killed so easily ... just a slight adjustment to the shot that put her on the ground ... "Off to help, too." he said before following after Lance and Veronika.

"Heeey, 'nother pair here ... give us something." Lance requested to two sailors standing next to some supplies that were intended to go up onto the Leverager. It seemed the unloading was done save for the Dauntless, but that's why they were working at such a fast pace, well that and the supposed fleet of rebels on their tail. They didn't really have a reason not to rush, at least not after the Dauntless was off the ship ... then they needed to get the hell out of Chousokabe, or so the crew felt. Bogdan seemed to be scanning the docks for something. "Would be nice if these were in smaller crates ... then we could just pass them up the loading ramp instead of having to go back and forth." Lance noted with a grimace.

"I hear ya. You two can handle a powder keg, right?" the man asked. Lance shrugged.

Street

"If I was close enough when he threw the first one, I would have ended up shocking him before he lit the fuse, or shocking him after he lit the fuse and scrambling to get to him and throw the grenade before it went off and killed him." Suzume assessed in response. "I really don't want to kill anyone just for being a jerk." she added, looking down at the ground.

"... okay, Tali? Tina? Can we just say that I won the race? I mean I did get here first, after all~" Mandy spoke up at random.

Suzume glanced over suspiciously. They were racing?

Other Street

"I must have startled you pretty good there," one of the men chuckled and scratched his head a little nervously. "I'm Yori, and this is my friend, Ryou." the man started over with a proper introduction.

The other man began leaning on the first and put his entire arm up on his shoulder while pointing to him with the opposing arm. "He's being modest, again. This is Katsuragi Yori ... nobility~"

"Alright, that's enough of that ..." Yori replied with nervous laugh. "We're just wandering the streets, getting a little fresh air before heading back to the house."

"He means mansion." the other one clarified with a smirk.

"Ahem. I was wondering if you ladies were from Tracea or not."

Tavern

"Okay, I'll try." Cassandra replied. What could she do with the emblem? What was anyone else after it trying to do? Was it really that powerful? She seemed to get a simple piece of it working, but forging various weapons on the fly wasn't going to help anyone beyond winning fights constantly. World domination seemed like a huge stretch, though, and that wasn't anything she would want, anyway. So would mastering the emblem do for her? She wasn't sure yet, but she decided to start giving it some more thought from now on.

House

Katsu thought to start referring to Hana as Haruo whenever Sumire wasn't around, and Daichi seemed to start it all off by doing just that, much to Hana's surprise, it seemed. It seemed to be his turn, and so Katsu played along just as planned. <"I look forward to traveling with you, Chufu-san"> Unlike Daichi, Katsu had a look of absolute sincerity in the way he addressed Hana. He was taking this as seriously as just about anything else he got involved in.

[Mercakete]

Gytha was fairly pleased to be in Chousokabe's bustling marketplace. It was neat to see all the different people going about their business. Something about the liveliness of the market always put her in a good mood. Right now, however, she made sure to keep an eye on Robin and to stick close to Raquel. She didn't want the huntress to get lost again.

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

"You're nicer than me, then," Norbert indifferently responded to Suzume before adding as an afterthought, "Congratulations on your capture, by the way."

Well, that seemed to be that, so Norbert mounted back up onto Rizen. It seemed like Valter was asleep. He wasn't sure what Faatina was planning to do. We should all probably head back. Not like I can buy lunch without going back anyway since I just gave away what I have with me... Well, I still have that sun coin, but I'd rather save that for later.

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

<He knows that name? Huh... That makes sense, actually... Hehe, Father... What a way to tell me I'll be travelling as Haruo...> Hana thought as her fear and anticipation melted into a smile which shifted quickly into a somewhat more determined look.

<"Yes, sir, Kazemi-sama! I'll do my best, as always!"> Hana replied to her father in a rather convincingly masculine voice. Then, "he" answered Katsu with a strong, polite bow, <"The honor is mine, Katsu-san.">

<"Enough of that,"> Daichi's voice pulled "Haruo's" attention to him, <"You'll have plenty of time to talk after you leave. Are you ready yet?">

<"Almost!"> With that, the youth resumed "his" hurry to finish preparing for the journey. Even the way Hana carried herself was more like how a boy would now, and it all seemed perfectly natural.

Edited November 9, 2012 by Mercakete

[roymbrog]

Ooh, so they were nobility. Or, at least Yori was. His friend hadn’t said anything about himself. It was nice they weren’t after Aneda’s pegasus, though. That wouldn’t have ended well.

Katrina climbed down from Volga to have a proper conversation, instead of yelling from the wyvern’s back. She was pretty ignorant of Kigenese social etiquette, so she just stood there and waved. “Hello~ I’m Katrina,” she said. Maybe they hadn’t heard her earlier, but she didn’t mind repeating herself. “I’m from Neviskotia.”