Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

He wants to what? These criminals must have little respect for us...they send an idiot to give us their terms. Veronika sympathized with some of bert's sentiments, but she did see an opportunity. "Quiet yourself Bert," she commanded, fearing the pegasus knight may ruin negotiations.

"Yes, you would be under heavy supervision under all circumstances. I would agree to you going without restraints if you consent to an additional weapons search," she said. Restraints would be more convenient so he could not escape, but we are bargaining on shaky ground as it is here...

[Mercakete]

"Why don't you?" Norbert sharply replied to Veronika, "Raquel's the one in charge around here -- not you. And until that changes, I don't take orders from you." He did, however, comply to the swordswoman's command after that in that he didn't add anything more to the conversation.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Same thing could have applied to our card table time, heh," Gar chuckled at Suzzy Q's joke. "Though with enough fun underworld jobs you tend to get a steady stream of income from all the employers who betray you. Almost worth it more than watching those smug faces become contorted into surprise when their pitiful little ambush fails." Gar looked down an alley for some reason and mentioned, "I"m pretty sure we don't go down any alleys." He pushed on. "Very sure." But it was around here somewhere definitly!

Edited February 14, 2013 by Script

[Phoenix]

Make Love Not War

"Hey, it's not written anywhere on anyone's itinerary to be 'taken hostage', so I'm trying to make the most of it as I do with all crap assignments that fall into my lap, and I think handing over my weapon--only one I have mind you--is perfectly reasonable, as is going on a date with Raquel if she's willing. So unless you're her lover or something, I don't really see the problem. What else am I supposed to do while I'm here, stare at people angrily? That's no fun ..." Colin ranted at Bert for a moment. To Veronika he said, "If you really want to pat me down to check for more weapons, be my guest. Just do me a favor and do it yourself. Last thing I need is to get handled by Raquel's wannabe lover over here. Or have Raquel do it ... either's fine."

Unfortunately for the flow of the conversation, Raquel was still in some form of shock and wasn't all there anymore. "I ... I don't even ..."

Alleys

"It must be great being so agile. I'm not really confident in situations like that because I don't have much choice but to 'bunker down'." She looked down the alley shortly after Gar did. "Have you ever been ambushed in an alley? To be honest when they aren't the deadend kind I actually kind of like them. Only three general angles of attack to worry about, harder to avoid my counter spells, and sometimes there's actually some cover to use." Seemed fine to keep the topic going until they found the place. Hopefully he wasn't lost.

[Mercakete]

"W-what?!" Norbert as actually taken off-guard with that one, though in hindsight, he really shouldn't have been. Of course, that made him awkward enough to wind up snapping at Colin again in indignant anger. "I'm not anyone's wannabe lover, you womanizing pinhead! And this isn't about your comfort, you stupid-looking low-life so stop pretending like it is! You don't get to make demands! You'll be lucky if Raquel doesn't have you stuffed into a crate for safe-keeping with your wrists and ankles tied, got it?!"

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"It's an agility born from terrible things. Though frankly I think I prefer its uses over brawn in the end either way," Gar mused at his own thoughts on the matter. "Been ambushed, done the ambushing and planned ambushes," Gar answered. "All three sides of a coin. Deadends generally aren't my preference in any case, someone who's cornered will fight back and all that. It can be useful, but I'd take my chances in more open spaces anytime. The definition of tedium is fighting a line of armor knights in an alley I swear," Gar grasped his head and shook it at the sheer stupidity of the time that happened. And that was just enough time for them to arrive at what Gar was hoping was his goal. "Spiffy, I think this is the place." Clean presentation, open seats, happy costumers. Why he could see those last two was wondering why it was so.. open. Wasn't that kinda gross with all the traffic going through? Well most market stall food vendors were like it, and if the customers were as happy as they looked something must be right.

Edited February 14, 2013 by Script

[-Cynthia-]

Not worth taking him at his word over the weapons, irritating as he may be. "You two can bicker later. Put your hands up and don't make any sudden movements," Veronika instructed Colin, moving behind him. I wonder what Raquel thinks about these terms...better to keep him disarmed no matter what we decide to do with him. she thought to herself.

[Phoenix]

Terms and Touching

"Tsk tsk tsk, I had your girlfriends here from the moment they stepped into the shop. I could have taken out one of them without them even standing a chance, but I didn't. Until I handed over my sword, I was also in an easy position to quickly slit a throat or two, but I didn't. I'm even resigning myself to being a prisoner of sorts until this situation is resolved. All I'm asking for is a chance to get to know your most interesting lady a little better. Is that so awful? Really ...?" Colin replied to Bert while putting his hands up.

And finally Raquel snapped the hell out of it! "Okay, I'm not really comfortable with the idea of dating someone who works for Sardis ..."

"How about being friends with someone who works for Sardis?" Colin immediately inquired.

"Out of the question," Raquel quickly answered.

"Hmm, that's strange. On good terms with?"

"No."

"Hmm ... well this is going to be awkward then ..." Jethro's going to have his hands full. "Are you sure you don't want to reconsider my offer? I do have some ... information I'd only be willing to divulge while ... comfortable."

"... urgh." I should have known this would happen. The others might offer to beat information out of him but that would just make us the bad guys. Oh my gods, I can't believe ... no ... is a little information really worth this ...? "What would I want to know that I can't learn at the meeting?"

"Plenty. I think the real question is, 'how much do you want to know, right now?' ... that's stuff you won't have to wait for ... unless you'd rather just stuff me up in a crate or something."

"Fine! But this is not a date ... by no stretch of the imagination is this a date. It's an interrogation."

"On the go interrogation. Isn't that what a date is half the time ...? Aaanywaaay, you've got a deal. Now seriously, where do you want to go?"

Into my dreams so I can get away from all of this for a little while ...

Arrival

The episode with the knights sounded horrible. "Too bad I wasn't there for that," she noted quietly. Knights were something she could definitely take the tedium out of fighting. To her, regular plate armor was nothing but a conductor she could use against her enemies. And so they arrived and Suzume found that the place wasn't half bad. Plenty of smiles so either the food or the conversation was good, but it was probably both. "Where should we sit ...?"

[Mercakete]

"They are not my girlfriends!" Norbert snappishly corrected. Raquel finally spoke up, however, so he listened to that exchange until it took a turn for the surprising. When Sardis' man mentioned he would be willing to give them information if he was comfortable, Norbert's immediate solution was to just beat the information out of him. Raquel didn't sound like she was for that sort of plan, but she didn't state anything outright against it. Not at first anyway. The surprising happened when Raquel agreed to dating the guy...except not calling it a date.

"What?! Raquel, you don't have to do this," Norbert exclaimed before hastily making the obvious point of her choice in all this. "It's not like we don't have the advantage here. And I've found discomfort to be pretty motivating in getting someone to talk when they don't want to." He cast Sardis' lackey a glare. I don't trust this guy... "At the very least, I like that idea that was mentioned earlier: assigning some of us to keep an eye on him, that is. The sooner we get some people watching him, the better, I think."

[Phoenix]

Stupid Sexy Colin

"We're no better than them if we start beating him up for answers. Besides, I'm not sure it would even work ..." Raquel replied, noting Colin's irritating calm. He was their prisoner now but couldn't care less due to this date thing. It's not a date! Okay, okay. It's an interrogation and so I'm going to need to make sure to learn as much as I can about my father's condition and what Sardis' plan are. Why did I have to open my mouth? If I hadn't said anything, he wouldn't have decided to start going with this date thing. Darnit!

"Advantage? By the gods, it's true ... anger does make people stupid," Colin commented as he waited for Veronika to finish checking him for hidden weapons. "You really think I would be the one passing this message along if it was going to be that easy?"

"No I don't," Raquel answered in a low tone.

"Sooo about the interrodation, I'm still waiting to hear where it is you'd like to be taken. I know you're pissed off right now, but I'm hoping to make your day better, not worse. You're being treated to whatever you'd like as well as some useful information if you don't whale on me too much, so I think you should just let this Sardis thing go for a bit and take advantage. There's no harm in that, is there?"

"I came out here to shop, not hang out with one of Sardis' henchmen and pretend that's perfectly fine and normal, darnit!"

"Shopping ... Heeey-well ... see, provided she doesn't confiscate all of my coin, I could pay for your things," Colin offered with a smile. "Again, I know this situation is pretty messed up, but I want to make it better for you."

"F-fine! Just ... just stop talking ... please." By this point, Raquel was more frustrated with the situation than with Colin. Her enemies were supposed to be trying to lop her friends' heads off and capture her for her emblem piece at every turn, not acting like the mages at the academy. Colin's shameless behavior was not only annoying her to no end, but also ruining her mental image of her enemies, and the more he prattled on, the more muddied up the image became. She couldn't help but wonder if that was his plan here and so tried to shut him up for the time being. He simply shrugged acknowledging her request and let the search for weapons continue.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika had never frisked anyone before, but the process seemed simple enough. She patted Colin down, making sure not to touch any especially awkward places. "Seems like he was telling the truth about the weapons at least," she said, listening to the exchange between Raquel, Bert, and Colin.

"You won't be harmed unless you make an attempt at an escape or act violently towards our group," Veronika promised Colin, partially in response to Bert's aggression. While his information could be valuable the Organization has a hostage of their own...having Raquel's father abused because of our lack of self-control is not acceptable. she resolved to herself. "There will be no restraints as we agreed, but you will be under constant surveillance and straying too far from our group could be construed as an escape attempt. Do I make myself clear?" she asked, ignoring his seemingly ridiculous attempts to court Raquel. Perhaps that's a ruse to get us to lower our guard... she wondered to herself.

[Mercakete]

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Norbert snapped at Colin's comment about anger making people stupid. Though as he listened to the ensuing conversation, he allowed his mood to simmer on the outside, he did take into consideration what the swordsman had said regarding him being the one to pass along the message. He was apparently telling the truth about not having any other weapons on him, but that certainly didn't make the situation safe.

Veronika laid out the terms of his capture (which was only somewhat less ridiculous than this date interrogation thing in Bert's eyes.) Why should we grant him anything? Then, a concern struck him "How good are you at fighting without weapons?" Norbert asked Colin, locking an accusing glare onto the man.

[Phoenix]

Stuff

He didn't answer Bert initially since Raquel had just silenced him, but Veronika's question was too important not to be answered, so he made an exception for that figuring Raquel wouldn't make a fuss. It was still a noticeably long pause before he actually answered though. "Not leaving without my sword, so I won't be straying too far away from her," he said, using one of his raised hands to point out Raquel, but only his hand moved, the arm stayed right where it was.

Raquel eventually inspected the blade Colin had handed her for the first time and realized it was actually quite a powerful imbued weapon. "You attacked us with this ...?"

"I'm allowed to talk again?"

"Urgh, never mind."

He simply shook his head at Bert's question, pointing to Raquel again with the same finger and a content grin on his face.

[-Cynthia-]

"We need to get moving. If Bert is right about the Wrathites, they'll know we're here and we should be gone before they arrive," Veronika warned. She figured Colin related matters could wait until later.

[Phoenix]

Weird Stuff

"Leaving already? Wasn't there some shopping to do?" Colin chimed in.

"That may just have to wait, I guess? I doubt the Wrathites would attack us in broad daylight like this, but they're also military so they could just wave around an arrest warrant and then we're the bad guys and I don't want to be here if they try that," Raquel replied.

Colin sighed. "Just as well, I suppose, but just out of curiosity, what were you hoping to pick up while you were here?"

"Provisions and replacements for worn out gear ... we've been leeching off the ship for awhi-urgh!" She cut herself off when she realized she was speaking casually with him and turned away. "Wait ..." Then she remembered that he'd offered to pay for her things and the line of questioning that came before. Was he about to offer to get them provisions now too? "You're not planning on taking care of that too, are you?"

"No. I was going to suggest restocking at the fortress itself. Sardis won't mind."

Hearing so much wrong with that three word statement, Raquel snapped. "... WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE?!!!"

[Mercakete]

Norbert wasn't about to trust their captive's answer -- or what seemed to be his answer. From what Norbert could tell, Colin couldn't fight without his sword. That was shelved for the time being, though, as the topic shifted to provisions and Wrathites, though not in that order.

"What needs replacing? If the issue's food, I know at least one of us can hunt. Water isn't exactly hard to find if that's the problem. The equines can just eat what's around as we travel, too, and feeding the wyverns should be as simple as hunting for ourselves," Norbert asked Raquel. He was refocussing on the Wrathite issue since he was reminded of it. "We shouldn't stay here any longer than we have to; the Wrathites are already on their way. Arresting us isn't something they have to do behind closed doors, either. They say you stole an artifact from Wrath."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"If my memory's correct we just choose our own seating and wait for a server to come ask us," Gar explained. Granted that was entirely reliant on his memories so not even a 50% chance of being right there. Still, there were open seats so there were no need for reservations and the customers clearly weren't snooty nobles. For no real reason Gar suddenly remembered he should have been looking for the blue-x dead drop locations. He gave a half-assed glance around and didn't see any. "Well either way staying out here gets no answers, inside away!" Gar said a tad louder than usual and marched on in. No one stopped him, or tried to um, what was it, that table serve thing? Well, whatever it was--bus?--well no one did that so Gar just went and grabbed a table without concern. Then he pulled out the chairs because grabbing a table was really not something a sober man would do.

[Phoenix]

Store

Colin listened to Bert's suggestion and then said, "OR, you could just send people the Wrathite's aren't looking for to get your supplies for you. I'd volunteer, but I'd need a list of things to get and a chaperone."

"Stop being helpful," Raquel snapped at him. "Besides, aren't the Wrathite's looking for you too? They fought you head on at Danton."

"And died. Sure we had to fall back, but the only ones that got a good look at me are dead, and I've still got my cloak. You've got my sword so they can't go by that either. As far as anyone knows I'm just another humble traveler with an unusually large amount of coin on him. At the very least it's better than you going; they'll be looking for a pink bombshell."

"Urrrrgh ..."

"You can always go 'hunting', but I prefer city food, personally~"

Restaurant

Once they were inside and Gar had claimed a table for them, Suzume sat down. "Thanks," she said since he bothered pulling out both chairs and not just his own. This is still strange for me. Though, I guess this is what it really means to move on, isn't it? I feel guilty just being able to do something like this after what happened. Mmm no, no no no, I'm not going to dwell on any of that right now. I'm not going to be the one to ruin this outing; that's on Gar and whether or not he wants to do that, hahah. So it was decided once and for all this time, no more dwelling on the guilt of being on good terms with Gar. No one was going to spoil this friendly outing but him or an annoying waitress who hadn't mastered tray carrying yet. "Seems nice so far."

[Mercakete]

"That depends on what's nearby," Norbert pointed out, first shifting unfriendly eyes to Colin, then turning them to Raquel more neutrally, "and on what risks you're willing to take. If someone found out the one you sent is with you, it'd complicate things pretty quickly. Sure there are ways to minimize the risk -- logical things like only visiting any one town once for supplies, for example -- but it seems pretty unnecessary to me when we're trying to avoid being found."

Of course the idea of keeping to the wilderness by route and by camp didn't bother the pegasus rider in the least bit. After all, he'd spent three years living in the wilds, so it wasn't a foreign concept. The fact that they had a huntress and people who could cook with them only led him to think it was the obvious decision. "As always, it's up to you, though."

[Phoenix]

Options

"Urgh, there's got to be someone who can make runs without causing any trouble ..." Raquel reasoned. Colin smiled innocently and she immediately said, "Besides you! Hmmm ... Gar maybe ... or Mao? Well, it's not just provision runs. I really don't want to go around camping if we don't have to. It'll take even longer to get to Europa traveling off of the main roads and we might even get lost. More importantly the Dauntless isn't built for off-road travel to begin with. We're just asking for trouble if we take it just anywhere."

"I know you're tired of hearing this, but you've got better options here," Colin interjected. "The fortress is a little under thirty miles northwest of here; you're going there anyway for the meeting, so you can resupply there and have enough to make it to Europa without much trouble." Suddenly Raquel regretted mentioning their destination and winced. "There's no way a group your size is going to evade the Wrathites for long anyway, so you might as well accept our help, or get right back on that ship and leave the country."

"I don't want your help; I want my father back," Raquel hissed at him.

Tag-along

"Well, we'll be going back on the road soon ... like in a few hours at the most, and so you'd need to come with us so Raquel could finish the repairs on your books," Shadrak explained to Tia. "I'm not sure how comfortable you are with the idea of a completely random road trip up toward Europa ..." Or how comfortable everyone else is with having an extra person around. Then again, it's a smaller person, so it's not like anyone's going hungry over it.

Rumors

As Anna made her way toward the northern edges of Sergio, she finished off her beef bun and wiped off her lips and fingers on the napkin that came with the order. Now she was thirsty and so stopped by what looked to be the last eatery in Sergio from that direction. She slowed her run down to a jog and entered the establishment, quickly approaching the owner. "Excuse me, could I have some water, please?"

"Just water? Alright, one sec ..." He turned to go deal with that, and Anna kept jogging in place while waiting around.

"Hey, lady, where'ya goin with all that stuff?"

"Business trip," she answered the man addressing him from a table. He wasn't the only one sitting there. His other three friends might have actually been bandits from the looks of them but who knew for certain?

"The roads are pretty dangerous these days, heheh ... not travelin' alone, are ya?" Well that was certainly suspicious.

"Silly, I always travel alone. That way there are no witnesses if something extremely bloody goes down~" she replied, winking at them and disturbing the entire group.

"Er-... uhh ... well that's nice. Power to ya, lady ... yeah ..." The man turned back toward the table with a flustered look on his face.

Since the guy was taking longer than she expected with her water, she decided to make conversation with the potential bandits. "So is there anything in particular I should be on the lookout for, or is thievery and banditry just peaking this time of the year?"

"Haven't you heard? Dragons," the man said, turning back to face her. He was far more composed and ominous now.

"Oh dear, what's going on?" Anna asked, genuinely interested in the news.

"Ursium lost Urcenter awhile back and shit's only gettin' worse. No one really knows how it happened, but now dragons are terrorizing the countryside, even past Central. They're attacking random people on the roads, hitting churches, villages, even forts if they're under guarded. The dragon slayers may be back in business, but I'm not gettin' much sleep at night. Me and my buddies have to make a livin' out here; we don't need dragons roasting everyone and everything in sight, you know?"

"Ohhh, yeah that's pretty bad ... and might actually put a hiccup in my schedule too. Shoot. I don't think I can chase off a dragon with just my crossbow ... hmm."

"You've only got a crossbow?" the man asked, looking oddly hopeful.

"Crossbow, ten knives, some grenades, an enchanted blade, a pair of prototype mines, three experimental projectors I was supposed to test at some point, and a gun. I doubt I could reach the gun in an emergency, though ... it's bound to be buried at the bottom of my pack by now, heheh."

"THE FU-... I mean nice! Heheh ... yeah, nice arsenal, lady. Wish I had half that much firepower, hahahahahah!"

"Doesn't everyone?~"

[Mercakete]

Norbert wasn't about to say it out loud but Sadris' lackey had a point: unless they were extremely lucky and took every precaution, they probably wouldn't avoid a confrontation with the Wrathites while they remained in Ursium especially if they planned on heading into a big city like Europa. Although he grimaced at Raquel dropping the name of their destination, it did help him feel a little less bad about having mentioned the Wrathites in front of Colin.

"The bad news gets worse," he mentioned, figuring there was no sense in waiting to say it now that Sardis' man knew where they were going, "From the sounds of it, those forces that are looking for us are coming from Europa. Apparently that's where the headquarters are, actually. We're going right into their jaws as it is so staying on the main roads is just begging for trouble."

For a moment, he tried to remember any other important details Erica had said. "Hmm they know your name, too, Raquel. That Major General she mentioned...Sellie? Something like that... No, wait, I think it was Selene or something. Major General Selene. Not sure if the name means anything to you. And Head Wrathite Bradford is the name of the guy who died, I think. The new guy's name is Desmond. I don't know much about any of these guys but Valter might. You should try talking to him about them sometime soon," he advised Raquel.

That said, Norbert figured he was probably more useful doing something other than standing around threateningly. "So, should I go round up the others and bring them to your meeting spot or is there something else you need me for?"

[Snowy_One]

A sudden glum tone overcame Tia as Shadrak spoke. "I've been on a random road trip for several years now." she said, looking down towards the ground before looking back up, the mad gleam in her eye once again. "But who cares? A road trip would give me plenty of time to learn and, who knows, if I get to finally work with some other mages, I might get some awesome work done! You'd be willing to help, right? Help me try out new things. I have tones of designs and ideas I wanna try out in my head. Like, say, an enchanted arrow that uses wind to ensure it never misses! Or using fire magic to roast a bird from the inside out. So many ideas, so many things to try, so little time! Well, wait, you don't happen to have someone who knows enchanting with you, do you? Cause I know water magic and can use a few other spells... slowly and in a cumbersome manner, but I can't enchant for my life."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Let's hope it stays that way," Gar idly commented. None of the other patrons payed them any attention--and Gar's glance over them didn't turn up any obvious threats. Still, something nagged at the back of Gar's mind anyway.

Eventually though a waitress walked over. "You two want menus or have you been here before?"

Well, Gar had been here before, but couldn't remember a damn thing and wasn't going to eat anything anyway, but Suzzy Q needed one. "Menus please," he answered for them both.

"Right-o," and she left to retrieve them.

That triggered another snag at the back of Gar's mind but he still couldn't recall it. Oh well. The waitress returned with the menus before being called to another table. All well enough, it'd give them time to decide after all. Weird that she didn't offer drinks though. Gar took one the parchments and feigned reading it.

[Phoenix]

Store

"Of course they're coming from Europa. That's where the grand cathedral is," Colin chimed in, feeling it was rather obvious. "You must have some urgent business if you're willing to take such a gigantic risk. Major General Alexikis is a dragon slayer, so she can probably beat you people solo, but she tends to bring a ton of soldiers with her. Head Wrathite Langley isn't just the head wrathite, he's an avatar of Wrath himself, or at least that's what the rumors rippling throughout the church are. Clergymen are scared out of their minds right now. You're pretty much screwed if you go to Europa without some sort of plan here."

"Avatar of Wrath? Isn't the acting archbishop the only avatar of the gods?"

"That's why people are so scared and why the church is trying to keep this under wraps for as long as possible. Wrath switching from one avatar to another isn't a sign of gentle change on the horizon. This country needs unity now more than ever and now this is apparently happening."

Colin was frightfully well informed, but that made some sense given what he and his colleagues had been able to pull off in the past and how they always seemed to know where they were while in Ursium. "Great ... Well, Bert, I guess it would be a good idea for us to get going soon, and I do plan on speaking to Valter about this. If you see him, please tell him to come and talk to me."

Restaurant

Suzume began looking through her own menu and was pretty thankful she had studied enough common to get by. Speaking was one thing, reading was another and her vocabulary wasn't particularly large just yet. "Hmm." Soon she glanced over at Gar. "Are you ordering more than just the water ...? I'm not sure what to get myself." She was torn between trying something new and looking for something vaguely familiar.

Near the Dauntless

"No, I don't think we have anyone like that with us yet," Shadrak answered after thinking about it for a second or two. "I guess it's about time to start keeping an eye out for one."

[Mercakete]

Norbert sent Colin a glare, though it was the harmless, irritated sort rather than the murderous sort. "Hey," he told the lackey, "Stop knowing so much."

Whether that was a serious statement or not, it was hard to tell. Either way, immediately after having said that, the pegasus rider mounted up onto Rizen and shot up into the sky. His first objective was to inform the group to gather at the tower. The only problem with that was that he wasn't sure where everyone was. Well, the first place to start looking, he figured, was the ship and the Dauntless' immediate area. So, that was the direction he flew in.