Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[Mercakete]

Well, that was successful. Norbert even gained more information than he thought he would. "Connor?" he echoed, "That kid who can change leather into metal? Huh. Well, I guess that kind of puts you with us since he's travelling with us. Name's Norbert. This is Rizen." He indicated the pegasus when he introduced her.

[roymbrog]

What? “You’re hiring?” Katrina asked. This could be good news. But… they were headed towards Ursium. Hmm. “I mean, I’d need to discuss my salary and stuff first, but yes. I actually am in need of a job at the moment. I’m sure Aneda and John could vouch for me too.”

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Whoever goes out there is painting a big target on their back," Gar said. "But, I do have an idea about dealing with the kid." Gar reached around into his coin pouch and pulled an assortment of currency out into the open. "They're probably paying some orphan brat a pittance to do it, so we pay a whole lot more back to get him to stop."

[Snike]

Zach immediately passed Blake's request off to Robin, which was unfortunate because the swordsman did not really trust the archer to comply with said request, given that she had just expressed a desire to accompany the thunder sage. But first, there was Raquel to attend to.

"No, you really need to go to the Prometheus, not the Leverager," Blake explained, even though his companion gestured for him to follow. "Look, I can't in good conscience let you risk yourself in combat. Especially given the results of last combat. We're your mercenaries, Raquel: we can handle the fighting. It's what we were hired for. Now, can I trust you to go up to the Prometheus, or should I escort you there myself?" Urgency be damned, he needed to make sure his employer was safe.

[-Cynthia-]

Jogger

Veronika arrived at the Prometheus and saw a significant portion of the group near the docks outside the Prometheus

"The Leverager is going to be under attack by rebels, gather up and get ready to move pronto!" she yelled at them, skipping the pleasantries before moving on-board to check if there were any stragglers on the Prometheus.

Well that sure sounded urgent. Nadya thought to herself, sighing a little at the prospect of another possible brush with death. She hopped on top of Luca. "Time to earn our keep...when are we gonna get paid again anyway?" she wondered aloud to herself.

[Phoenix]

Raquel

"I can't just hide in the Dauntless while the rest of you risk your lives, Blake. Don't you know how guilty I feel knowing that this wouldn't even be happening if I had just gotten the Dauntless off of the Leverager as soon as we got here? People are about to be killed over this; I can't just sit back and hope for the best!"

Shadrak and Gabbie

When Veronika arrived and told them to get ready for battle, Shadrak was partly glad to hear it and partly not. On the one hand, asking Katrina to help out now would be as easy as breathing. On the other hand, Raquel wasn't with Veronika when she arrived which meant she was in danger ... aaagain. "Yeah we're definitely hiring. First job, help us get rid of these guys attacking the Leverager." With that, Shadrak pulled out his tome and began heading back at a fast pace, though he didn't break into running. He preferred the badass speed walk, and one had to admit, the way it made his cloak flow was just right~ Katrina could watch him walk off like a badass or offer him a ride.

Gabbie wasn't surprised to see people mobilizing, but she didn't quite catch what Veronika had said from where she was. As the woman came onto the ship, she asked, "I take it there's a big ass foight brewin' and we're needed?"

John and Sophia

"I'll do it. I should be okay as long as no mages show up," John reasoned.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, watch my back please, but yeah."

[Mercakete]

Veronika ran past them, yelling off orders to mobilize and help defend the ship they had been on before. "What? Again?" he groaned. Sighing, he grumbled to himself, "We're not even sailing with them anymore. Why do we have to go fight with them again? They handled themselves fine before we ever came along; they'll be fine..." The orders likely came from Raquel, though, so even as he grumbled, Norbert mounted up onto Rizen to head out back to the Leverager.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Good luck, or something," Gar shrugged before handing the coins off.

[-Cynthia-]

"Yes exactly, we need to organize ourselves before reinforcing the Leverager. Do you know if anyone else is on board? I don't want to leave any combatants behind, but we need to get to the Leverager soon," Veronika said quickly to Gabbie.

[roymbrog]

Veronika rushing past towards the ship caught Valter’s attention. It must have been something important, he thought, which was confirmed when she relayed news of the attack on the Leverager. That was certainly something to hurry for. He quickly mounted Phyllis and rode to the center of the dock further down to wait for whoever else could leave at the moment. Charging off alone was generally a bad idea.

-----

“Um, ok,” Katrina said a bit dumbfounded. That was fast. Of course, knowing he rebels were attacking alone would have compelled her to help. She owed the Leverager crew for the free ride.

Katrina climbed onto Volga’s back just as Shadrak began walking off. ….That was way too slow. “Hey, this is urgent! Come over here and I’ll give you a ride!” she called, then turned to Aneda beside her. “You should probably see if you can carry someone over as well. I’ll meet you at the ship.”

-----

“What? Why?” Then Bert had pretty much the same response. Synthia groaned. She had already stabled her mare too. Running all the way over there right now did not sound like fun. Plenty of mounted people around, though. “Hey, can someone give me a ride?”

[Snike]

"And you don't think I felt guilty back on the evening of the manse battle, when you were carried onto the Leverager, one of the unconscious and bloody among many? Because of my failings with the teams and the fact that I wasn't there?" Blake asked, even-toned despite being a bit frustrated. "Look, regardless of whether or not you feel guilty about this, it isn't your life that is the target of the enemy, Raquel. Please, for your sake, go to the Prometheus. It might make you feel horrible, but it keeps you safe, and that will give us a peace of mind."

He really couldn't argue much more without risking that he may arrive late, so without further ado, the swordsman took off towards the Leverager.

[Eail]

Zach

Good, it looked like Blake was coming along after all, probably wouldn't have ended well if it had just been the lone mage going. Hell it probably wouldn't end well with both of them going but atleast the odds might look a little bit better. Running along side his companion Zach still managed to dig up a smartass remark. "Well, at the very least we're gonna look cool if we die doing this eh?"

Luka

Before his conversation with the other Pegasus Rider could continue it appeared that events were finally starting to run into motion. The man had gotten on his own mount and was about to ride away, but it seemed a few of the others might need some help. "I can help you if you want Miss." He said to Synthia. "I'm sure Rika can carry both of us back to that boat to help, but I think I might need your help with directions." Talking while he got onto the flying pony, holding his hand out to help the girl up.

Edited December 4, 2012 by Eail

[Snike]

"Speak for yourself. I don't plan on dying, myself, so I'm not going to think like that," Blake said as he continued to hastily advance towards the docks. " Anyways, just try to stay behind me as we start fighting. I can take the melee units."

[Phoenix]

Raquel

... dammit. Raquel didn't want to just stay back and wait; that wasn't her place anymore. She could help, so why was he trying to make her stay back? She didn't like the idea of being shot again anymore than he did, but that was a risk everyone was taking in every battle. In the end, she decided that the decision on whether or not she would get directly involved in this one could wait. She wasn't going to be of any use at all without her staves and those were in the Dauntless. No one was fetching them for her, so she had to go back to the Prometheus and hope to make it back in time. She started off, only jogging so she wouldn't tire herself out again, but she had barely recovered from the last run.

John and Sophia

Bribing resources in hand, John took a deep breath and headed down to the docks. Gil and Sophia followed, but only to the bottom of the loading ramp. The sailor pulled out his musket and set up at the top of the loading ramp. He had no intention of shooting the kid, but if something else decided to pop out of the shadows, it was going down. Or at least he was going to try to take them out. No telling how intact his aim was with the booze from earlier still in his system.

John made sure he had his helmet on, so even if someone took a shot at him, it wouldn't take him out of the fight instantly. He still had to be on his guard though. Gil started following again once John was too close to the shadows and the strange boy for his liking. "Excuse me."

The boy ignored John and put out yet another lamp. The area was getting quite dark now and there was a dark patch from there all the way to the Leverager's docking area. The boy turned and ran over to start putting out more lamps off to the side. He carried a bucket that was now only half full. He didn't have a tome on him, so he probably wasn't a mage, John figured. Following him over to the next lamp, he stopped the boy from dousing it by grabbing him by the wrist. "Is someone paying you to do this?"

The boy shook his head. "It's my duty," he replied blankly.

Oh hell, what could that mean? Brainwashing? Abuse of gratitude and loyalty? John didn't have time to think about it, but he was seriously doubting the bribe was going to work. "I need you to stop dousing these lamps. We need them on."

"Big sis doesn't want them on, though. She told me to douse every last one," the boy pleaded.

"Big sis?" John echoed. A rebel? "Who's big sis?"

"She's over there," the boy pointed into the dark abyss that was now that area of the port. "You can ask her yourself. I have more lamps to put out."

"No!" John didn't let the boy go, but quickly lowered his tone so he wouldn't startle the kid anymore than he already had. "I need you to stop. I have a lot of gold here for you if you do."

"... t-talk to big sis," the boy reluctantly repeated.

Shadrak

Shadrak stopped, surprised anyone was offering him anything. No sense in turning her down. She was here to help now after all. "Alright, let's go," he said as he approached.

Gabbie

"Not really. I figured anyone who wasn't here was at the Leverager. I've been chattin' with the ship's cook. Noice girl; little naoive. Anyway, see ya at the voilence." Gabbie let Ringo finish off the jerky before having him take off. She herself had to put the food she was holding away and hope it didn't take damage during the fighting.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Hope your nickname is Sharpshooter Steve," Gar passed time as the sailor grabbed a rifle. Other-Girl and Armor-Guy-John's wyvern stopped at the bottom of the brow, while Armor-Guy went off to the kid. Money didn't exchange hands. This set off alerts in Gar's head immediately. "They're already here," he said with an even voice. No kiddo would take money for putting the lights out, then refuse being offered money to stop. They were here, keeping an eye on the kid and probably those two as well. "Figure it out Armor-Guy." He couldn't yell it out and risk triggering the trap.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Script

[-Cynthia-]

"All roight- err right," Veronika quickly corrected herself, taking Gabbie's word on the matter as truth. She then made her way off of the ship, looking over towards the group around the docks- who seemed to be messing around with mounts and such for the moment.

[roymbrog]

Oh hey, and her request got an offer. Synthia had no idea who the pink haired kid was, but she wasn’t about to turn down help at the moment. Taking Luka’s hand she climbed up on Rika’s back. “Thanks. I’m Synthia, by the way. The Leverager is in… that general direction,” she said, pointing. “Huge thing, can’t miss it. Will probably have people attacking it or somesuch.”

-----

At a command from Katrina, Volga crouched down and moved her wings for boarding a second passenger. Meanwhile, the woman who had rushed by earlier to deliver the news walked off the ship, and Katrina considered taking another person. She was probably tired from running over here. “Everyone else seems to be ready. Do you need a ride too?” she asked Veronika.

[Eail]

Zach

"You got it partner, I can take out things like Wyverns or Knights easily. Might as well get to work."

Luka

"Luka, Luka Rendvault, a pleasure. Well Miss Synthia I suppose we should be off then, no telling what might happen." Patting Rika for a moment he then called out "Hold on tight!" Before having his mount take flight, aiming towards the direction she had pointed

[-Cynthia-]

"Yes that would be helpful, thank you," she said to the somewhat unfamiliar wyvern rider, making her way onto the wyvern's back behind Shadrak. Hopefully I'll be able to see the battle situation from up here- make sure none of our group ends up separated.

[Snowy_One]

As soon as Raquel had started to jog off, Robin was there beside her, easily keeping pace. "Raquel, be careful." she said, speaking while running. "We swore loyalty to you and are here to protect you. Battles get messy. People die. And if one of those people is you, everything we have fought for, all the people who have died protecting you and all the people we have killed defending you, will be for naught. I am not saying you should not fight just... Be careful."

[Snike]

Well, Zach suggested that they get to work. The problem was, well, there was no work to be had yet. The docks were abandoned except for a few forms who seemed to be conversing in the distance.

"On your guard, I guess we got here a bit early," Blake said, as he drew his sword. Most of the lamps were doused at the moment, which meant that there was probably some mischief afoot.

[Mercakete]

So then the other male pegasus rider bolted into the sky. "Whoa, hey!" In a moment, Rizen had followed and she and her rider were flying beside the younger rider and his pegasus. "Hey, are you able to fight?" he called over. The fact that both pegasi had their wings spread kind of forced some distance between the two, so talking was a bit awkward. Norbert was a little concerned, though. He didn't know if the pink-haired guy knew how to use a weapon and he'd just sort of charged ahead of everyone else. It was better to move as a group at least at first.

[Phoenix]

Bogdan and Lev

Bogdan knew the fighting was underway when the enemies on the smaller ship started chucking grenades onto the Leverager. They were getting them in through the gun ports and up onto the main deck which had Bogdan's men scattering and frantically trying to get rid of them or find cover. Within seconds there were dozens of explosions on multiple decks and in the air. People had been killed on both sides in the chaos.

"They know we have no intention of boarding them, so they're trying to whittle us down at range. They might be suicidal, but this is going to be a lot more difficult than I imagined. Get the rifles and tell the boys on the gun deck to open fire on that ship as soon as they can!" he ordered. It was dangerous shooting them that close and a fire could easily spread to the Leverager, but if they just sat there exchanging musket fire, the rebels were going to win via grenade induced attrition and Bogdan was not going to let that happen. He was willing to bring the biggest guns to bear to win this battle.

Lev meanwhile was running interference, coordinating hit and runs and picking off any enemies aboard the rebel ship that weren't prepared enough to deal with them.

Raquel

"If you're all going to protect me, then protect me, but what good am I if I just sit around and do nothing?" She followed up the rhetorical question with, "I'll be careful, but I won't hide while the rest of you put your lives on the line. Not while I can at least help."

She was relieved that despite her sluggish pace, they had reached the Prometheus. And wow, everyone was on their way out, already. "Err ... I need to grab my staves!" Raquel told Robin, deciding that she was going to go ahead and join them in battle even though she would be lagging behind quite a bit.

Gabbie

Gabbie took a slightly longer route back, flying out over the water at first and going around so she wouldn't be as easy to spot until she got in close. From that height she saw something quite alarming, the lights near the leverager were mostly out. It stood out too much and had her wondering if the enemy was going to hit them from the shadows. Also strange but not very surprising, was a smaller ship that had rammed the Leverager. There were some armed men gathering for a fight and at least ten wyvern riders in the air preparing to rain down hell on them. "Okay, yeah ... stayin' away from that one," she decided aloud, focusing her attention toward the dark areas instead.

Shadrak

"Veronika, what was the situation like when you left?" Shadrak asked, trying to get a sense of what they were in for.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Well, shit. The attack reignited with grenades bouncing up on the Leverager's deck and a good chunk of casualties hitting the wood response. Gar was completely useless in this situation, so he headed down the brow and stood next to Other-Girl. Armor-Guy hadn't made a move. Which in the growing chaos was probably a bad thing.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Script

[roymbrog]

“Alright, here we go!” With everyone up and boarded, Volga took the cue to take off. A few powerful wing beats later and they were in the air, heading off towards the Leverager. Katrina just hoped they’d make it in time. Volga was admittedly not the fastest wyvern ever.

-----

No telling what might happen? If Synthia had to hazard a guess, it would probably involve a lot of bloodshed and general violence. Bert seemed to agree, as once they were off he decided to question Luka’s fighting capabilities. Really though, she was right there. It wasn’t like she was going to let the guy suicide while she was riding his pegasus. Distance minded, she called over, “If you’re so concerned about it then maybe you should watch our backs.”

-----

Robin and Raquel returned while it seemed everyone else was taking off. When did they get so many flyers in the group, anyway? Regardless, those on foot were definitely going to be left behind at this rate. Valter rode a short ways back towards the ship to where Robin and Nadya were waiting while Raquel apparently got her staves. “Did the two of you run all the way over here?” No duh. “We can give you a ride back,” he told Robin, looking to Nadya. Did she mind?