Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[roymbrog]

“Sure you’re not~ “, Synthia said, looking up from fumbling with a pair of chopsticks. “But really, it can’t be that expensive…”

Valter had had just about enough of that by this point. “Or you could just not pay for that one,” he said, still looking at his menu. “I don’t think she’s in desperate need of funds.”

[Mercakete]

Norbert sighed as he straightened up in his seat again. "No, I said I would, so I'm going to," he replied before he picked up his menu and began looking it over. His brow furrowed as he attempted to read some of the item names. How do you even pronounce most of these...?

[Snowy_One]

"I am ready, and I do, but there are many parts to a good arrow that I need. Twine, some wood, and maybe some fletching would all be nice unless you want me to pluck Norbert's mount for my feathers. Plus, while I make and trust my own arrows, having surplus arrows is nice. Even if they are of lower quality than what I make."

[Eail]

At Fyodor's amazing feat Zach unknowingly stepped back and gasped at the technique.

"T-there's no way! The legendary dragon technique?! He can't seriously expect me to learn that can he?"

Collecting himself the young mage stared in awe at the dragon before him. "The legendary Thunder Shield? Sir, you don't think I could really learn that do you, I mean I've never heard of any human managing to do it! I'm just some backwater hick from Skotia...."

[Phoenix]

Heading Into Town

A getaway plan, huh? That plan probably didn't include helping her, Raquel realized. It wasn't worth bringing up at the moment though since she really wasn't expecting another visit so soon despite having already encountered the woman twice. Gytha and Robin seemed to have been on edge enough at the time to keep her away for a little bit longer this time around. Hopefully long enough for them to find a ship and leave Chousokabe. So she took Riley's reins since he was missing her quite badly, and let Nadya hold onto Sandrock a bit longer since she seemed more at peace with the situation.

As she started heading off of the ship, she got Robin's response. "You could always just buy better quality arrows to supplement your homemade ones. I see them all the time."

Five Captains, That's It, We Get No More ...

"Well," Delan began. "We have a woman cooking the meals, so they know to behave, I'd say."

"She's probably some surly old hag," Morse asserted.

"Heheh, oh don't be so sure~" Delan warned teasingly.

"Surly old hags'll show you the time of your life if ya let'em." Daniella chimed in smugly. Unsurprisingly Morse was disturbed by the image that induced. "Guess I'll go next. There have been a few episodes where one of the new boys thinks he can talk the captain into invitin' him into her quarters." Her legs had been crossed and she took a moment to switch them before continuing. "I'll spare ya the details. Once they leave, that thought never crosses their minds again~ If you people are comin' with me, then I'll talk to the boys and let'em all know what's what. Okay your turn, Morsel~"

"It's M- ..." Duh, she already knew that. "Hmph. I imagine we would all have to set our crews straight just to be safe. If things got out of hand, I would administer the same punishments I do for ordinary offenses, and believe me, that's good enough to send the message loud n' clear," Morse explained.

Borgia, realizing it was his turn said, "My crew is 'tame', but the presence of so many women might be tempting. I suppose laying out the terms clearly and firmly will have to do, and punishments follow as needed."

"I see you two are about hopin' for the best. That's cute, but I'm pretty sure these people aren't going to feel better about one of their girls getting manhandled just because the culprit got keelhauled half to death," Daniella interjected. "What they need to know is that the ladies won't be bothered, period."

"Mmm, yes, I can guarantee that," Delan spoke up, nodding as he assured Veronika and Reign. "We've never had any incidence and I'll have a long talk with them beforehand, regardless."

Just then the door opened, and another captain stepped through the door. He had a thick beard and was drunk off his ass, holding a big mug he probably got from a pub. "... am I late ...?" he asked, looking around the room with an eye half closed.

What's it matter now? I'm liking these other two, here, Reign thought in response.

What's on the Menu

Gabbie collapsed into her chair before composing and grabbing a menu. "Hmmm ..." She tiredly looked the thing over, trying to tune out the headache as best she could. "What is this ... a thousand ways to prepare roice and noodles?" Her head quickly hit the table and she dropped the menu, deciding to mull over her options somewhat privately.

Sundah-Grasshoppah

Fyodor cracked his neck before responding. He really wasn't used to moving around so much, at least not lately. "Humans can learn it ... it's just most thunder mages are too busy focusing on killing instead of protecting. The same can be said of those dragons serving in the military. Their only defense is running away, and they prefer to use their powers for nothing but 'offense'. But thunder magic is not offensive in nature. It's not necessarily defensive, either. It's the act of restoring balance, and so you can use it for either or, or both at the same time if you know what you're doing," Fyodor explained. "Hmhm, besides, you're young. You have plenty of time to figure it all out. Why, I learned this technique almost eight hundred years ago ... it's been quite useful~"

[Snowy_One]

"Higher quality arrows come from the person who made the arrow, not the material. People who churn out arrows in large amounts do not care so much for the balance or how sharp the edge is. It is like your horses. You can have a vast stable with many horses of good quality, or a few horses whom you tend for of immense quality. Plus... I admit, I am a lousy shot with metal arrows. The heads mess up my aim as they are heavier than my stone ones."

[Phoenix]

Heading For the Markets

"Well, like I said, I see quality arrows all the time," Raquel replied. Ironically and fortunately NOT the ones I'm usually getting hit with. "You can have 'immense' quality and quantity in merchandise; there's no natural law saying otherwise. I think you might just be used to seeing 'spec'd' work. Those kinds of arrows are made to exact specifications so the entire stock gives consistent results in the field. The military does the same thing. There's not a lot of need for the perfect arrow when over half of them will miss and the ones that hit are lethal enough already. Still, there are craftsmen who sell some of the best arrows I've seen, and that was back in Ursium, not a kigenese colony with all of this through traffic."

Edited November 28, 2012 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"And ya can have a lot of great horses and a lot of great arrows- or make a few shitty arrows and mistreat one horse. I've known hunters who couldn't fletch worth a damn, so they bought arrows in town. Smaller suppliers don't always make better products- that's just what they want ya to think," she interjected.

Veronika

"Yes, you are. Take a seat please," she gestured towards the newcomer. I could just send him out...perhaps he'll come up with some miraculous deal though. Let's see we've covered space, security, the women issue...not sure what other information we need to make a decision. "Reign, do you have any more questions for the captains?" she prompted him.

Edited November 28, 2012 by -Cynthia-

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Gar's trip to the market was boring. No sign of the Guild, the dead-drop symbol, and the salespeople he talked with were so without feature of interest that he forgot even what gender they were. Those he sold his victory wine too didn't ask questions. Those he bought food from didn't try to swindle him when he checked for rotten fruits. It was so dull.

But wasn't that better than walking into an inquiry of where he got such expensive liqour? Better than haggling and drawing attention debating the price of bruised apples?

Yeah, but damn was it boring.

Maybe the Leverager would be under attack when he got back.

Edited November 28, 2012 by Script

[Snowy_One]

"I know that smaller suppliers do not mean better quality. What I do know is that people who I trust make weapons I trust to preform certain ways. I focus a lot on making my arrows good, so I know that they are good arrows of great quality."

[Ether]

"I suppose that would make sense, wouldn't it?" Faatina replied with a slight pout as it seemed the man would not reveal how we shaped the pastry to the interesting choice of some sort of fish.

"It sounds good though~ How much?"

[Phoenix]

Shopping Trip

They had just about reached the markets by this point, and Raquel's focus began to drift from the conversation at hand to finding some traders that might be interested in what she had to offer as well as those who had new and useful equipment she didn't already have in her inventory. It was harder than she expected with so much focus on decor. "Hmm, where to start ..."

Meeting

"Mmph," the captain groaned a bit before sitting down.

When asked if he thought there was any more they needed to look into with the captains, Reign looked to the five captains and asked, "Are any of you in need of new weapons or equipment and not having an easy time finding the right sellers?"

"Hah," Daniella laughed before swinging her finger toward him a few times. "You're funny; making a sales pitch in the middle of what's essentially another sales pitch."

Reign sighed with conceding smile. "I try. On a more serious note, though, I was wondering what your interest in us is. You and Captain Delan seem like the only ones who really want to take us to Ursium at the moment."

"Screw Ursium," the drunken captain spoke up. "I want to take the two of you to the bar."

"Well," Delan prepared to elaborate. "I'm optimistic. Helping Connor get home is an unusual opportunity for all of us. The boy will inherit the company and assets one day, and it's nice to be able to help out however I can along the way. I also hear he's rather talented and the trip will give us plenty of time to discuss the naval prototypes I have aboard my ship as well as familiarize him with that aspect of the business. It's a rare opportunity indeed."

"You people and W.E.'s heir are a breath of fresh air after all of the boring escort runs I've made in the past couple of months. Never hurts to be in good with the Weylands, either," Daniella explained.

[roymbrog]

The baker beamed. Wonderful, an interested customer! “A mere 2 silver each.“

-----

“Well, if you feel like prolonging your suffering…” Valter replied to Bert while glancing at a rather smug Synthia.

By then Gabbie was face down on the table, and Synthia temporarily abandoned her Bert bothering crusade to find out why. “Uh, Gabbie? You alright?”

And then the waitress came back, because this post is almost over. “What will you all be having today?”

[Ether]

"Ah, okay~" Faatina replied, before turning to Mandy and Talitha.

"Did you guys want some too?"

[Phoenix]

Gabbie

Hearing a voice, Gabbie stopped lying on her forehead and instead rolled away from the voice so she could see who was talking to her. "Bad headache ..." she answered in an exhausted tone before closing her eyes.

Mandy and Talitha

"Sure, I'll try some things at least once," Mandy replied, digging around for a couple of silver. She seemed able and willing to pay for her own.

"Mmm, I guess I'll try it," Talitha reluctantly decided. Mandy then started digging for two more silver for Talitha, deciding to treat her just in case she didn't like it.

[Mercakete]

When Gabbie just sort of fell into her chair, then let herself fall on the table, what Norbert would have said was voiced by Synthia. Apparently she had a headache. Well, there was tea right there. Maybe Gabbie was just hungry, so ordering something could help with that. Deciding to leave her alone for now and not really wanting to bother with the menu items, Norbert just said to the waitress, "I'll just have your least expensive meat dish."

Well, now it was the others' turns.

[Ether]

"You guys don't need to worry about it, I offered, didn't I?" Faatina noted, before handing six Silver to the shopkeep.

[-Cynthia-]

Showing them the Door

I worry for Weyland Enterprises if this is a man they trust with their cargo. And the other two haven't been very talkative... Veronika thought to herself.

"Anyway, seeing as we have two captains interested in this opportunity and three apparently not, I think it might be for the best that some of you are allowed to pursue other opportunities. We only need one ship after all. Captains Borgia, Morse...other captain," she said, gesturing to the drunk man, "it was a pleasure meeting you. Safe voyage," she said, getting up from the table and opening the door.

"Would you bring Connor in please? His input could be relevant to our choice," she said to Anna.

[roymbrog]

A headache. That had to suck. Whatever sympathy Synthia felt, however, was immediately overshadowed by the process of food ordering. “I’ll have this thing with the vegetables and stuff. Uh, this,” she said, pointing to the menu.

“Okonomiyaki?”

“Yeah, that.” Impressive. It wasn’t the most expensive item on the menu.

Chieko wrote down both Synthia’s and Bert’s orders. Valter ordered some soup, and she wrote that down too. “And, um, you ma’am?”

-----

“Thank you,” the baker replied, taking the coins. “Would you like the ones with bean paste or custard?”

[Snike]

No enemies. Good. Blake returned to the group, only to catch the tail-ends of the conversation. Reign and Veronika were to go meet the captains, it seemed, which left him with the other group, that was to help Raquel with the markets. This was fine by him, given that this way he'd be closer to his principal. What was less acceptable, at least, given the opinion of other members of the band, was the allowance of Gar to go off on his own. John would blow a gasket when he heard about this, but, well, that would have to be a bridge crossed later on. For now, the swordsman accepted the bagged goods from Raquel, and followed along. After Nadya mentioned an escape plan, he transferred his burden from his left side to his right, so that in the event of an ambush, the Ursian could access his weapon more readily. Aside from that, however, the mercenary continued along the merchant's path, ever-silent.

[Phoenix]

Meeting

"Sure thing," Anna replied, putting back on her usual face. She went back out into the lobby to fetch Connor. "Connor, Veronika wants you in the meeting. They've narrowed the choices down quite a bit~"

By the time she and Connor returned, Morse, Borgia and the drunk captain had stood up and begun funneling out of the room. The drunk captain stopped on the way out to let Anna and Connor through and turn back toward the table. He winked at Veronika and Reign and then left and that did not slip Daniella's notice.

She smiled as Anna went back out and shut the door behind her. "Heheh, he likes ya ... both of ya~"

Reign raised an eyebrow and then his stomach churned. Time to take his mind off that and help out a bit. "Connor, this is Captain Daniella, and that's Captain Delan. One of them is going to ferry us back to Ursium."

Delan stood up so fast that Reign flinched, having nearly forgotten how tall the man was. "Connor Weyland, I presume? A pleasure," Delan greeted, extending his hand over for another shake.

Restaurant

"... some white rice soaked in soy sauce-no chopsticks, dammit-and whatever drink will make this wrathdamn headache go away ..." Gabbie replied in a half dead tone.

[-Cynthia-]

"Hmm," Veronika said simply in response to the drunk captain's wink, frowning before returning to her seat.

"Pleased to meet you Captain Delan and you as well Captain Daniella," Connor said, shaking the man's hand. Not exactly a small guy is he? "So you two will be taking us back to Sergio, right? What are your vessels like?" he asked out of interest.

Not sure how much say to give Connor here, though they're both acceptable enough options I suppose. Not sure about Captain Delan referring to half our group as 'little lady friends' though...I haven't been called a little lady since I was eight. Veronika thought to herself.

[Eail]

It sort of made Zach feel prideful to know that Fyodor though he would be able to learn the technique. "If you think I can learn this technique sir I guess there's a chance it could happen. What's the first step I need to take in learning this?"

[Phoenix]

Two Ships, One Looks Like Weyland Got His Hands On It, and the Other Looks Like The Guardian Corp Got Their Hands On It

"Well I think only one of us is supposed to be takin' ya back to Ursium but with a V.I.P. like you aboard, I'm sure Mister Weyland wouldn't think twice about assignin' an escort," Daniella replied.

We did get attacked on the way here ... by a whole damn fleet. I don't think that's worth bringing up given the circumstances we were facing, but until we've parted ways with Bogdan and Filat, they're still essentially after us, Reign thought to himself.

"Well to answer you question, my ship's a windjammer, designed for secure cargo runs. A lot of Weyland Enterprises' new improvements and add-ons get tested on my ship before they decide whether or not to use them," Delan explained.

Then if was Daniella's turn. "My ship's a war galleon. We've got more guns than any ship you'll see in the Ursian fleet. Anyone goin' up against us is either stupid or has a whole fleet of backup."

Training In the Mountains? No Not Enough Time For That ... Unless ... Montage

"It starts by understanding one very important fact about nature," Fyodor began, leaning in toward Zach and the others. The guards leaned in toward the center even though they didn't have to to hear this loud and clear. "Everything around us has power ... a force all its own. So does your body. So does the power you wield. All of these forces interact with and repel one another. Understanding it, you can amplify that force, and use it to protect yourself and your allies."

"What force?" Keichi chimed in curiously.

"Only the gods understand it fully, but you can think of it as a ... natural repellent of sorts. Start observing your surroundings. Notice how reluctant the environment is to dissolve into and merge with itself. There's more to it than just solidity. The shield is just a pure expression of that force."

[Ether]

"I'll take the bean paste for mine, though I'm not sure what they would like." Faatina replied, looking towards Mandy and Talitha.