Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[roymbrog]

Chieko grimaced when Gabbie ordered, but wrote it down anyway. That was not the way to eat white rice… “Alright, your food will be ready shortly and I’ll be right back with your drink,” she said, before returning to the kitchen. A minute later she returned with a cup of fragrant tea. “Chamomile is supposed to be pretty good for headaches. I hope this helps.”

-----

"Here you are," the shopkeeper said, handing Faatina a taiyaki. He too looked expectantly to Tali and Mandy.

OoC: Lack of tiiiime, will post again later with things

[Eail]

Am I learning Chi? Screw it, MONTAGE

"Some kind of natural energy.... utilizing it to repel attacks, very interesting." Zach muttered. "How can I control this energy to use it? Is it one of those inner peace types of things?" He questioned, trying to attune himself to whatever energy it was that the dragon spoke of

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=JU9Uwhjlog8

Edited November 29, 2012 by Eail

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

In spite of all signs to it, boredom passed the time, and as Gar was getting ready to return to the ship, he instead ran into Raquel and her tagalongs. But well, Gar's plan was to meet them, but Raquel said see him back at the ship. Argh, oh whatever. "Yo," he said to them once he got near. "Place is clean and such."

[-Cynthia-]

Meeting

"I certainly wouldn't oppose another escort if everyone is amenable to the idea," Veronika said. We have enough enemies that extra security couldn't hurt, that's for certain.

"What sort of new tech do you have on board right now Captain Delan?" Connor asked, his interest piqued.

Edited November 29, 2012 by -Cynthia-

[Phoenix]

Trading

"Place is ... clean?" Raquel echoed in confusion. Was that fancy talk for 'there's no one shady around' or was he a health inspector at some point? No, that was stupid, it was probably closer to the former. Though now that he was back, there was less to worry about at least regarding John, though he would probably be upset just knowing she gave him the chance. Then again, he didn't really need to know about it, did he? "Well, either way, since you're here, you can help out too ... unless ... you're still busy ...?"

Meeting

"As long as Weyland's payin' the usual rate, I ferry or watch your backs; it's all the same t'me~" Daniella replied.

Deciding to focus on Connor's question, Delan said, "Well for one, the ship's rigging is completely different from anything you'll find anywhere else. There are even a few retractable areas to increase the width of the sails. We also have some handy rune designs aboard. Flooding countermeasures, mostly. I would be more than happy to show you more, whether or not you'll actually be setting out with us."

Outing

"Well, maybe I wanted two instead of just one~" Mandy teased. When asked which variety she wanted, she actually decided to go with two. "See? Tali and I will take one of each!" she said, handing over the coin for the extra two to Faatina. Paying for two was generous but she couldn't let her pay for four.

Tutoring

"Inner peace?" Fyodor echoed amusingly. "When you wield thunder, you wield chaos incarnate. The stronger your spell, the more chaos you bind up. You only find peace when you let go and relinquish that power," he explained. "To use the shield, you'll have to get well acquainted with the nature of your powers. Understand not just what it does, but why. When you understand your power, you understand your current limits, and you begin to get a glimpse of your true potential. I want you to start practicing daily. Instead of striking at foes, guide your power around your body. Let them touch nothing but the air and never forget how it feels to be encased in a circle of power, a power that can both save or destroy you. That is the best place to begin." Fyodor ended with a nod.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Yeah I mean, I wasn't expecting a city going through turbulent times to have such shiny streets but these are actually clean enough to eat off of, I've seen worse tables even," Gar capitalized on Raquel's confusion with a stupid joke because he was kind of a jerk like that. But unto serious matters. "All dumb joking aside. My time here was almost too neat. Which is a bigger tip-off that something's going down. But with the aggravates and all that the merchants probably aren't gonna try and do any swindling and risk a huge panic, so things are probably safe." He finished off his half-assed report. "Since I've got what I wanted done for now, I'm free to help out. Just don't ask for heavy duty lifting, ok?"

[roymbrog]

The waitress eventually returned with the group’s orders. Bert, as per request, received the cheapest meat item on the menu, a beef bowl which consisted of cooked beef and onions over rice. Gabbie got her rice abomination, Valter his soup, and Synthia her cabbage pancake, which she poked at with a chopstick. It did not look like how it sounded on the menu.

[Mercakete]

When they got their food, Norbert was pleasantly surprised. This was just the sort of food he liked. He'd been expecting some sort of fish since they were in a port and seafood was more readily available than cattle, but he was far from complaining. Actually, he was even smiling happily at the dish before him, taking in the sight and scent.

"Hmmm looks good. Smells good, too," he contentedly commented before noticing the lack of apparent eating utensils and asking the waitress, "Could I have a fork, please?" He hadn't quite registered just what the sticks by his plate were used for. He figured they were just there for some sort of Kigenese decoration or something.

[-Cynthia-]

"Cool, I'll be interested to see what you have on board," Connor replied. Maybe it'll give me some ideas for some new upgrades, hmmm anti-flood runes...

"Well if Weyland's footing the bill, it would be up to someone representing Weyland Enterprises whether to pay for two ships, not mine," Veronika said.

"Ask Anna whether that's in the budget for this trip, she usually handles that sort of thing," Connor suggested.

[roymbrog]

“Oh, there isn’t one there?” Chieko blushed, embarrassed. She must have forgotten to set them over here. “I’ll get one, just a moment.”

As the waitress left, Synthia peered over to Bert’s corner of the table. “You know those sticks they have there are for eating, right? Though I don’t know why anyone would prefer sticks to forks…” Indeed, her attempt with chopsticks wasn’t going so well. “Maybe I should ask for one too.”

Valter was quite content to use chopsticks and was busy trying his noodlely soup. Synthia wondered how he even knew how to use those.

And then Chieko returned, with utensils for them all. “I’m very sorry about that. Here you go.”

[Phoenix]

Markets

"Mmm, okay, not heavy lifting, then," Raquel agreed. That was when she heard a rumble off in the distance. She looked up but the sky was still clear ... relatively. Then the rumble came again. It was thunder. "... noooo," she pleaded futilely, hoping she could talk the approaching storm down. It wasn't long before she heard another one, much louder than before. The people around were starting to investigate too, but they didn't look nearly as distraught as Raquel now did. "No no noooo ..." The storm clouds were actually moving closer. "W-we have to hurry. If it start pouring we'll never get out of here tonight, much less finish our preparations!"

OoC:

Last Raquel post pre-shopping unlock and miniTS.

Meeting

"After I finish one escort, I drop anchor and entertain maself while I wait for Weyland's people to find me another hauler to escort. I get paid at the end of each route by the local branch," Daniella explained. "I'm pretty sure they'll just have me assigned to watch you people and Delan here."

Anna slowly peeked into the room and said, "I'll let them know you're guarding the Prometheus this time ..." She paused to look to Veronika and Connor before adding, "... if that's your decision?"

Restaurant

"Thanks," Gabbie said before she downed the beverage, not caring whether it tasted good or bad. Then she proceeded to shovel the rice in until about a third of it was gone, then she stopped to rest and lied back down on the table with her head on its side.

[-Cynthia-]

Making Arrangements

"Yes, I believe it is," Veronika said, with Connor nodding in agreement. Feels like we hit a security jackpot here- no pirates or whatever is going to attack a frigate and whatever high tech ship we're on. she thought to herself.

"So what's our next step here? Raquel and I would like to leave Tracea sooner rather than later. We do have to move the Dauntless however; and your ships probably have preparations of their own to make," she said turning towards the captains.

[Mercakete]

Norbert looked over to Synthia, quite confused by her claim. "They eat with sticks?" he asked. Around that time, the waitress returned with forks. "Thank you," he replied, receiving the more familiar eating utensil. After the waitress left, he asked Synthia, "How do they eat with those?"

Valter was displaying just how, though to him, it still looked like there was some trick to it he wasn't seeing. While he waited for an answer, he began eating his lunch. It was the best thing he'd eaten in a long time. It showed too, as he savored it and relaxed into his chair, even closing his eyes. A small hum even escaped him.

[ReformBlade]

"Well damn. You guys do have it rough, dontcha?" After thinking about it for a long time (hue), that's the only response Aneda could come up with really. "Wish I could help out but I don't think I'll be staying here very long. Maybe if I stop back in here or something? I hope to do that, I wanna meet Fyodor again~. He's such a nice guy, I just wish I can find a man half as nice as he is one day..." Snorting louder than intended, she tried to cover it up with a cough but that never ends well. "Ah crap, what was I talking about...? Oh yeah, well, I guess I'll apologize for my fellow Ursians and whatnot. We're not all dicks. Just most of us~!"

Meanwhile, Nanahm decided to check out some marketplace stuffs and he found something that piqued his interests, an odds and ends shop. (Running short on time, I'll leave you with the suspense)

[roymbrog]

“I know it involves holding one like a pen…” Synthia said, still fumbling with the two sticks. Her limited knowledge was based on observing Ranyin, but it wasn’t helping much. She eventually gave up and grabbed a fork. “How on earth are you managing that?” she asked Valter. Did all that fancy etiquette stuff involve chopsticks?

“Because I’m left handed,” he replied, leaving Synthia pretty confused. What did that have to do with anything?

[Mercakete]

Well, that didn't help. It wasn't like it was essential to learn, so Norbert dropped the stick-eating discussion in favor of enjoying the meal he was eating. The rice was interesting. He'd had rice before, but not like this. The rice he was used to wasn't nearly this sticky. It was kind of a nice change, he supposed, and it did compliment the beef and onions. The thing about onions, though... The word "onion" really did sound like "Ranyin." Thinking on it, he hadn't seen the short mage in a while and being in port provided a good opportunity to practicing that technique they were planning on trying.

"You know, I haven't seen Ranyin around. Do any of you know what he's been up to?" the pegasus rider asked before taking another bite of his meal.

[roymbrog]

Synthia paused from her food (it was strange, but good) to answer Bert’s question. “I saw him earlier. He said he was going home,” she said, and sounded disappointed by it. Sure, he left her a nice parting gift, but she would have rather had him stick around. She could understand the feeling of homesickness at least a little bit, though.

[Mercakete]

"He left?" Norbert asked, a little surprised. He hadn't been expecting that answer. After the initial surprise came disappointment. Along with that, he wondered why the short mage hadn't said anything to him. "I wish I could've said goodbye. Well, I hope he has a good life." With that, he went back to eating his meal, enjoying it slightly less than before. It was still delicious, but the news had dampened the mood some.

[roymbrog]

Well the news of Ranyin's departure was a bit disheartening, but Valter wished him the best of luck. “He’ll get home safely, I hope. His family probably missed him,” he said, looking at Synthia. She pointedly refused to make eye contact. That wasn’t a cause he wanted to pursue at the moment anyway. Gabbie probably didn’t want to be bothered either. That left Bert. “So, how are you enjoying Kigenese fare?”

[Phoenix]

Trading

In her hurry, Raquel ended up going over her budget, but perhaps it would be worth it in the long run, because she managed to find some powerful new rings, amulets and new solutions, as well as some newer firearm models. She likely had the necessary license to buy and sell these types of weapons in Ursium, but said license had she gotten it, would still be back in Ursium waiting for her. Of course the exchange wasn't in Ursium, nor did their rules of trade apply for the moment, and so Raquel made the deal and got rid of quite a bit of old equipment in exchange for a lot of new guns. She was hoping she could sell them to not just the party, but to any sailors they might come across who wanted newer better models.

It still wasn't raining yet, and Raquel wasn't losing any time. Once the gun deal was made, she moved on to try and find some other traders who might have some interesting items in stock. She found just that in a seller who had somehow gotten his hands on about fifteen special shields. Through some investigating, she learned that the shields were called firewalls and could protect from both physical and magical attacks. Apparently they had been designed and pushed into service by Neviskotia's own Grand Marshall. How he got his hands on some, she wasn't sure, but it was too good a find to pass up. She inspected the shields thoroughly before agreeing to purchase them from the man.

And lastly she came across something she'd only heard about previously. A merchant was selling both guns and projectors. As far as Raquel knew, projectors were basically the magical equivalent of flintlock firearms on the small scale, and cannons on the larger scale. Some even looked vaguely similar. Unsure whether or not she could sell them, she spoke to the man for a short while to learn more. In the end she decided to get about a dozen of them. They were useful enough and even she was tempted to bring one back to Weyland to have it modified to serve as a backup weapon for Chip. With the shopping done and the storm clouds approaching, it was time to head back.

ITEM GET!

Tonic

Catalyst

El Amulet

Warrior Ring

Rod

Flintlock pistol

Firewall

UPGRADE GET!

Dynamic Tome

Crippling Weapon

Sapping Tome

Warden Weapon

Advanced Barrier Weapon

Advance Shield Tome

Bulwark Tome

Meeting

"I'll go let the boys know we've got work; make sure they're ready for the trip. Give us three hours and we'll be ready ta set sail," Daniella explained.

"We already delivered our cargo and weren't asked to take anything back, so we'll be ready to head out as soon as the Dauntless is transferred. I would think that the next step is to find Miss Raquel and acquire a crane. Apparently we can't set out for another three hours, so you should have time to prepare," Delan added.

"By the way, I heard thunder not too long ago. It's gonna be a bit rough if that storm comes through here while you're movin' the metal wagon, so I'd get that thing moved now, before somethin' stupid happens," Daniella advised. "Don't wait around for Raquel, just get it done."

Talking

Another one gone? Well that was alright, Gabbie supposed. They had a way of replacing the lost. Even Amon wasn't needed, though she was starting to miss the pliable scout guy, among others. Her headache wasn't gone yet, but she was too hungry to let that keep her from her food. She finished off the rice rather quickly and then lied back down.

Other Talking

"It's alright," Ryou replied. "For all intents and purposes, we are winning. The problem now is just forming a government that accommodates the various peoples here and building a military force strong enough to protect them. Once that's taken care of, we can formally declare our independence."

Edited December 1, 2012 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

The gathering storm clouds had Gytha worried. It wasn't advised to set sail in a storm. Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal since that just meant staying in port until it was gone, but she wondered just how much Raquel knew about that. They'd made a good haul, it looked like, so now was probably the best time to tell the merchant. After all, what was obvious to her might not be obvious to others.

"Hoy, Raquel," the mariner spoke up, "Storm's brewin'. Looks like we'll be stayin' in port a bit longer than we thought, dependin' on how long it lasts."

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

Norbert felt a bit sorry for Gabbie. That looked like one bad headache. Valter was curious about his opinion on the food, though. Either that or he just wanted to talk. Either way, Norbert just answered, "It's not as different from Ursian fare as I thought it'd be. The rice was a surprise, though. Can't say I dislike it. Actually, this is probably one of the best meals I've had. Robin's stew was good too, but this is is a different kind of good." Apparently Robin's stew was worth mentioning, possibly another favorite.

Edited December 1, 2012 by Mercakete

[Snowy_One]

"I agree with Gytha. Even if the storm does not hit us full-on, it will make travel difficult and trying to outrun one is near-impossible unless you have a pegasus on an open sky with infinite oats. Better for us to hunker down unless you want the ship to have a mast torn down or something."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Go away stupid storm, I don't want to waste money buying a second set of perishables waiting you out, Gar angrily thought. No Captain--well no Captain that the group would employ--would be daft enough to sail into a storm they could avoid. Which meant hunkering down. Which meant all the spoilable food Gar bought and was planning on making his meals of the next days was about to go to unintended use of eating on the island. Great.

Well, at least besides that Raquel had a bunch of pistols in stock now. Which meant if Gar's miserly ways changed--haha fat chance--he might grab one. Well, after rigging up a holster and other necessities first.

Gyntha and Robin were bantering to Raquel about the storm. And Gar felt the need to weigh in. "Storm cover could be good shielding for slipping out of the sights of whatever enemies have you on their watch list though," Gar advised. "That's all up to whatever Captain's been hired. But if said Captain wants to move before the thunder and lightning hit they're gonna want that weird wagon thing moved fast."

Edited December 1, 2012 by Script

[Phoenix]

Walking

Raquel had been hoping that she could finish up her shopping, get the Dauntless moved, and set out before the storm hit, but it was wishful thinking at best. Still, it might have been worth noting that the storm wasn't heading directly over them, but it was still coming, and she was worried that the dockers would try to weasel their way out of moving the Dauntless over if it started to rain soon.

"Let's just get back to the ship and unload. The faster we work, the better our chances of beating this thing before it gets here." If whatever captain Veronika chose wasn't willing to head out immediately, Raquel could live with that, but the Dauntless had to be moved over immediately. They were holding up the Leverager and giving their enemies time to catch up to them. That made her wonder if Bogdan was going to set out in the storm or not ... probably before if he could. Filat and his crew were already out at sea, just waiting, after all.

Stalking

It was dangerous, maybe even stupid, but it was the first time they had encountered one of their primary enemies without them knowing about it. John had spotted Burke of all people. Sophia wanted to go back and inform Raquel but John wouldn't let her go alone, and with Burke on the move, they risked losing him if they headed back then and there. It was frustratingly difficult work, but they managed to tail him through the town for over an hour. That was when John began to get suspicious. Burke had made plenty of stops, but all of them arbitrary ones. Was he on to them? They hadn't been lured anywhere secluded, so John wasn't terribly worried about being attacked, but there was always that possibility. Burke was a homicidal maniac, after all, but at least if he did attack them, the guards would come to their aid.

As the storm began to get closer, Burke headed for Chousokabe's outskirts. There were almost no guards in that area and John and Sophia were reluctant to follow him that far. Either he was about to warp away, leaving the port town behind or he was on to them and luring them into a trap. Either way, they couldn't travel past the buildings, or they would be spotted at this point, so they watched him as best they could. If anyone was going to go back and warn Raquel now that they had a definite location on him, it was John, since he could fly and be there in no time, but leaving Sophia alone near this maniac? Before John could decide whether or not to chance it, Burke stopped and turned around. Sophia gasped. "Does he see us?"

"I don't know," John answered, squinting to try and confirm it.

"You know, light doesn't usually follow me around so much," Burke spoke up. "I was curious to see how far you'd go." He crossed his arms and turned to the side, leaving his left shoulder to face them. "Well, here I am. What is it you want?"

"Light?" John echoed. He must have sensed Sophia's aura this entire time. But that's strange. Doesn't he recognize us? Gil's hidden but you'd think ...

"Yes, light. Don't tell me you only know how to repeat things you hear ..." Burke retorted. "What do you want?"

"N-nothing!" Sophia quickly answered. If he didn't recognize them, he probably wouldn't attack, right?

"... hah ... hahahahah ... and here I thought Raquel's people actually had some backbone," he mocked, shaking his head as John's eyes widened. He did recognize them after all. "You two had best run along, then," he added, uncrossing his arms and shooing them away with his hands.

There was no going back now. They had a fair distance so maybe he could get some information. John had Sophia hop onto Gil and followed suit as a precaution. If Burke decided to come after them, they could get away as long as they were at a very good distance. "There's something I want to know, first!"

"I could not care less about what you 'want'." Burke answered rather unsurprisingly.

Nothing to do but continue the line of questioning and hope Burke would just humor them. The information they could glean here was important enough to take that risk. Unfortunately it was all sort of coming out at once which was only going to serve to aggravate the man. "Are you allied with Sardis? Why did you spare us and then leave us to fend for ourselves in Purgatory? What are you doing in Chousokabe, and why aren't you attacking us?"

"Hu-" "And what do you know about Raquel and the fire emblem?" he accidentally interrupted.

"Huh ...? Well where do I start? How about we make this interesting? If you want the answers to those questions--you or Raquel--you can just beat them out of me. That's fair, I think."

"Beat them out of you? You mean like a duel?"

Burke nodded saying, "That's right. If you win, I'll answer your questions. If you lose, you ... well you just die, I guess." Nothing to do but shrug after that revelation, and so he did.

"That's not fair!" Sophia spoke up.

"And why not? You idiots are risking your lives already, aren't you? Information is power," Burke warned, pointing a finger at them. "If you want answers, fight for them. Otherwise, run back to your pink headed master."

"Hmm ..." John was thinking. Some serious something was about to go down. "Do we have to fight you alone, here and now?"

"No, but be warned, lapdog, if you bring yours, I'll most certainly bring mine~"

"W-wait," Sophia spoke up again. "When would this fight take place?"

"Whenever and wherever you want. I'm not real particular. I know where to find you people. Just talk behind my back long enough, and I'll be there to skewer it shut~"

Well that was suspicious as all get out. "What do you mean by that?" John asked. Maybe he meant ... Gar? "Do you mean Gar?"

"... him and a couple of others you probably aren't suspecting~" If the kid was going to be this suspicious, might as well take advantage of it. He'd either take him seriously or not. Nothing lost, either way.

John wasn't sure if he was lying or not. That was just great. The one thing he did answer and he had to be all coy about it. Gar might have worked for Burke, but it seemed unlikely. If he did, though, he might have just been a decoy. He had to admit that with Gar around, it was more difficult to focus on other issues. But ... Burke could have very well been the person Gar would eventually contact. "How do we contact you?" If Burke's answer had anything to do with Gar, he would know once and for all.

"Just gather everyone together when you're ready and say this ... 'From the Hidden, comes the Impregnable'. Think you can remember that, lapdog?"

Not surprising Gar wasn't mentioned specifically, but with everyone gathered together, the real mole would definitely be there to ... to what? Signal Burke, somehow? Maybe someone had a device that could signal him somehow. That was something to keep an eye out for. "'From the hidden, comes the impregnable', I'll remember," John answered. Good, now once they were ready they could summon Burke, defeat him, get some answers, and then have a better chance against Sardis and the rest of them. He wanted to catch the mole first to prevent any backstabbing during the fight, but that might not be possible. As long as he was the one guarding Raquel, that should be enough hopefully.

"Good. I'll be on my way then. Try not to die before I get the chance to kill you myself, lapdogs~" And with that, Burke vanished.

Again with that term. Oh well. It was about time to head back.

[-Cynthia-]

Preparations

"All right, sooner rather than later works for me. Should we arrive at your ship after three hours? It would be helpful to know your ship's location first obviously," Veronika said, turning to Captain Delan.

"Anna was already preparing the crane I think, so it should be able to move out pretty soon," Connor said.