Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Not a normal dragon eh? Gar responded to that information with a smirk and a chuckle. It was all too interesting, that. Though that might have given Raquel a weird impression when she answered him. "Eh, well I've faced both of those things, and better, and worse," he shrugged at that. "And like he says threats and death are constantly hounding this little group. So what makes this all the worse?" Gar crossed his arms. "Well, since this is some kinda of mind and dream thing, and it involves other people, it'll probably involve their nightmares or whatever since your own don't exactly drive you or something." Gar looked at the head in faint hopes of a tell. "Not nightmares really apply to me, but that would take some rooting in my head and well I just have too many secrets to keep." He let out his latest observations with a shrug.

[Snike]

"Well, if we do it tonight I suppose I would join in," Blake said, thoughtfully. "Though if it does end up delving into other people's dreams, well, I can't say that people will still be able to tolerate me."

[Mercakete]

Maw had strayed some from the camp for a short while and had now returned triumphant with a field mouse hanging from her namesake. Fearing whose territory she may have trespassed, she was just happy she'd caught something to eat and now was returning to the relative protection the humans provided. As she trotted over towards the wagon to hide under it and enjoy her meal, however, she suddenly stopped, fluffed up, tensed up and hissed powerfully, dropping her catch in the process. There was something big sticking out of that contraption and it looked a lot like those things the humans sometimes rode on, one of which had tried to eat her a while ago. Needless to say, the dragon head was both unexpected and unwelcome by the silver tabby.

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

The top of the Dauntless had been taken up by the dead so Gytha couldn't go there to relax. Instead, she wandered some from the campsite and simply sat under the stars, pondering. I swore I'd never be a pirate. Is that what I've become, though? Bein' with this group, we've broken th' law with offenses bad enough t' earn us th' noose... Specifically, she thought back to that patrol they'd taken out and the leader of it she, herself, had shot. Grimacing and shaking her head lightly, she denied it. No, we were defendin' ourselves. It's not like we were... Well, they had been smuggling a Fallen into the country.

Try as she might to explain and reason away the thoughts, it only became more obvious. We were attacked b'cause we were caught smugglin' somethin' illegal inta th' country by a patrol n' we killed 'em n' finished th' job... I finished th' leader off t' protect th' others n' meself from th' consequences... The mariner heaved a heavy sigh. This is th' life I almost had b'fore... I thought I'd escaped it b'fore it was too late... How did protectin' a merchant lookin' for 'er father lead t' this? We're even bein' hunted by th' military... All we need is a ship...

Gytha shook her head again in some vain attempt to chase away the dreariness that'd settled on her. I need t' eat somethin'... Keepin' an empty stomach will onla make me feel worse. That decided, she headed back to camp. Though Robin appeared to be working on the beginnings of a meal, nothing was ready yet. So, Gytha headed over towards the wagon to see if she could find anything there. As she got beyond the fire and closer to the Dauntless, however, something caught her attention: Maw was hissing at something. Following the cat's focus of attention, the source was all too clear. "What's a dragon doin' here?" she wondered aloud. To be frank, however, it was unlike any dragon she'd ever seen before. It was just the closest thing she could come to in guessing what the thing was.

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"I'd probably increase the size and strength of the barrier it creates. I don't think I can make a barrier stronger than the one it can already produce though," Connor said to Tia. "Wanting to master all the elements is a pretty lofty goal- most mages I know of tend to specialize," he remarked.

Nadya

"Raquel decided not to stop for supplies, but we have some leftover from before- we didn't have to use most of our supplies on the ship. Like I said, we should be fine provided we get to somewhere we can restock within the next few days," she reiterated.

Veronika

"The dragon is an uh, associate of Raquel's related to the emblem," Veronika explained to Gytha as best she could, given that she herself didn't know what the dragon head was. "If you have need of me I'll do this...dream training thing," she said to Raquel hesitantly.

[Mercakete]

"Okay, whose bright idea was it to declare to everyone in the country where we are?" Norbert irritably asked as he and Rizen swooped in from above and landed near those gathered by the Dauntless. He rode the rest of the way towards them on the ground but was clearly none too happy about the music. The fire he could understand, but the music? He didn't see it as a necessity in the least bit. There was something else that demanded immediate attention, though. His expression shifted from frustrated to surprised as he saw the dragon head sticking out of the wagon. "Uh..." the pegasus rider shifted his attention to Raquel, "This him?"

Meanwhile, Gytha had her own question. "Dream training?" It was more like an echo, but she was still confused on just what was meant by that.

So was Norbert. "Huh? What?"

Maw had had enough of all this and simply picked up her mouse and fled into the shadows to eat in peace. Rizen was nervous since that thing sticking out of the thing Sandrock and Riley pulled sure looked like a predator.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Things got more crowded around the wagon--which was only natural after all even if the circumstances were supernatrual. Gun-lass and pegasus-guy joined the 'what the dragon head' game. Well the pegasus-guy first saw fit to complain about the music. "The music was totally my idea," Gar started up. "I was hoping to lure in some vagrants and rob them for money because I spent a not-inconsiderable amount recently and walking around with less money than it takes to buy a castle makes me antsy."

[Snowy_One]

"Asking for her jerky is not going to do us much good unless she brought a barrel full of it Shade drake. Even if we use it tonight, tomorrow we will be back to food rations. Hard tack and the like. Unless you like eating things like that and hoping we do not end up with worms eating them, I will need to hunt some more. Maybe get Bert or someone else with a steed to help me on the hunt, but a full deer will take time to prepare if I do bring one down. Are you up for that sort of thing?"

---

"I see. Maybe... Maybe we could change how it defends? Like, you know how you can block with a shield or parry with a sword? Well, maybe we can kind of 'parry' incoming strikes? Make a tome that will send out small bursts of water or... something... to strike aside anything that comes in a certain range of the caster? That would probably take less energy if only a few blows were coming in than a full-on shield and would probably be more effective against high-power blows since they get turned aside instead of full-on blocked! Would cause a lot of drain against smaller blows but... who knows? Someone else might improve on it or maybe it will be us ourselves!" she said as she gave a giddy laugh and sprang up quickly. "And you're right. I know it's lofty, but I see mages go about, their lives confined to one element. You tell a fire mage to try something that fire magic doesn't normally touch on and he's utterly stumped! I don't wanna be like that. While water is the best element and my own element I have so many ideas, some of which water just can't do, so limiting myself away from any one magic would just totally SUCK! I want to become the very best mage! Better than any before! I will travel as long and hard as I have to to learn and master the elements and understand just what they can do."

[Phoenix]

Campfire

Upon hearing about Raquel's missed provisions trip, Gabbie sat down and muttered, "Hurray, ration soup all around. Igh."

"I seriously doubt we can make anything with simple field rations," Shadrak said to Gabbie.

"You thought I was serious just now? Ugh ... go away."

Dauntless Head

The dragon grinned with a completely closed mouth at Gar's comment, looking less threatening without its teeth exposed, but far more silly overall. "I like secrets," he eventually said to that. Soon Gytha had returned and inquired about it and so had Bert, though he was sure to point out the music first.

Raquel nodded acknowledging Veronika while wondering what Blake was getting at, and then took her own turn explaining things for Gytha and Bert. "Back on the ship, he offered to give us some extra training if we wanted it. He also wanted to do it in our dreams, but we never set a date or anything like that. I thought that's why he showed up tonight, but I guess I'll never be sure one way or the other now. Like I said before, he almost never gives a straight answer."

"Maybe he's just erring on the side of caution. You know, like some of those Truth fanatics," Reign offered.

"Could be~" said the dragon itself.

"I bet that kind of response gets old fast," Reign said under his breath when he realized just how often Raquel must have been met with a response of that kind.

[spoiler=OoC Note]Snowy: Colin was asking for the jerky, not Shadrak.

[Mercakete]

Norbert sent Gar a quick glare, but other matters demanded a bit more attention than that issue at the moment. "Wait, so this is mind magic?" the pegasus rider asked, casting a skeptical look to the dragon head. I'm not sure how good I feel about this...

"So, we'll be dreamin' o' trainin'. Sounds fine t' me," the mariner replied with a shrug.

"It's not fine if it's mind magic," Norbert quickly commented before expounding, "It's stupid to let someone manipulate your mind just because they say it'll help you. You could lose your identity that way."

"He looks friendla enough," Gytha replied with a shrug. Then, suddenly, she addressed the dragon head, "By th' way, me name's Gytha. Sorry fer not sayin' so earlier. What's yer name?"

[Click This]

"Hmm?"

Mao overheard the conversation of food and rations over the campfire music and was mildly surprised. Why were rations even a problem? Such a big group with a large wagon shouldn't problems with those things unless they had rock-bottom resource management. She was alright with sharing her stash of food, but she wasn't down for it if meant people would starve without it... Of course, hunting was an option and that was what was being suggested now. Now, that was something Mao approved of. It was through hunting that she learned much of archery skills, and it was like a sport, so why not?

"If it's hunting you guys need, I could help."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"I like secrets too!" Gar loudly said with his arms thrown wide open. "We should get together, have tea and think of all the secrets we're not telling each other. My favorite at the moment is do you like sharing secrets?" It was a terrible long-shot but hey. Better than pegasus-guy glaring at him.

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

Connor furrowed his brow at Tia's suggestion. "That sounds more like a physical barrier than a magical one, but it's something to consider. In any case, I'm sure you'll be a great mage someday," he said to her. Not sure about the mastering all the elements thing, but having the determination is a start.

Nadya

"If people want to go huntin' when we stop to make camp that's their business, but the odds of two hunters feedin' thirty or so people with limited time and energy is pretty low, 'specially if we stick close to main roads. There's a lot of foot traffic in between here and Europa- not exactly prime deer territory," Nadya chimed in, finding people's estimates of their possible hunting success awfully optimistic.

Veronika

Veronika cocked her head at Gytha, thinking it a bit odd that the mariner would be so...cordial to a disembodied, unknown entity. Perhaps Bert has a point- this could be some sort of mind magic trap for all we know.

[ReformBlade]

More bickering kind of made Mushirah nervous, forced smile on her face as she tried to simply look beyond it all. New people, new world around me, gotta try and fit in somewhere... but still, I've never been a fan of all these pointless jabs. she mused.

That's all I got.

[Snowy_One]

"Thanks Connor. I'm sure you will be as well. You already have some skill. Just keep working on it, keep trying to outdo yourself, and always look forwards and you might even be as good as me one day! If that day ever comes though, we need to see which of us is the better! I hope it's you so I can get even better and beat you! What do you say to that?" she asked, sticking her hand out to shake in agreement if he accepted.

---

"I know, and it is a huge problem. Even with the Dauntless rations, I doubt we will last more than a week before we run low, possibly out, and then we are in big trouble. Hunting will be the only way to increase our food supply, but we have so few here trained to do so. We do not have much of a choice though. Besides, if we can extend our supply, it will make life easier or better for everyone."

[Phoenix]

Campfire

"Wait, you hunt?" Gabbie inquired when Mao volunteered. "Heh, I can't wait until this turns into a competition~"

Shadrak had a feeling he knew what Gabbie was getting at, and so immediately scowled at her for the remark.

"Competition is the mother of invention and innovation," Colin chimed in again. "And the sister of strife, but no big deal there. The less game around, the more interesting the competition. Go for it."

Dauntless Head

"My name is ... Dragon Head ... for now," the dragon answered Gytha. "That's what Discovery calls me, anyway."

"He means me," Raquel quickly clarified. There were enough questions flying around and the dragon's vagueness wasn't helping them keep up.

"If this was someone new I'd be worried too, but ... how many times have you seen this thing, Raquel?" Reign commented on the mind magic before asking Raquel for some details.

"It's fuzzy now, but at least five times," she answered. "I don't think it's a trap or anything. He's got ... no reason to do that."

"Not that I need one~" the dragon swiftly and playfully pointed out.

"Err-well you didn't do anything to me other than that over the top emblem training, so I'm not particularly worried about this being a trap."

Gar's talk of secrets and sharing them got a response from Raquel before the dragon head spoke again. "What are you doing ...?"

"Tea sounds nice but ... I don't have any hands," the dragon replied.

"You don't have much of anything really," Reign noted. Is this thing even tangible?

[spoiler=OoC Note: For SNOWY]Go back to my previous post and read the OoC note there.

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

Connor frowned at Tia's suggestion. "I don't think it's a matter of which of us is 'better' or not. Shadrak is better at using offensive magic than I am, but ask him to transmute an item and he'd just look at it cross-eyed. Neither of us are better, just different."

Nadya

"There are several towns within a few hours' ride of here and pretty much anywhere else on our way to Europa. It's smart not to stay in one place, but a food run wouldn't take us much time," Nadya stated.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"I'm trying to get the metaphysical dragon head inside your mind to open up, gosh," Gar explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Facing the Dragon Head he said, "You should probably rectify that lack of arms. They're spiffy."

[roymbrog]

Valter just kinda stood by while people asked questions. He still wasn't quite comfortable with the idea of a head sticking out from the side of the Dauntless, but eventually he came to terms with it. Odd things just happened with this group. "I know you're unlikely to answer in any way helpful, but what kind of training were you planning to give? It certainly can't be anything physical if we're doing it within a dream," he asked.

-----

Synthia was still practicing magic over the fire and listened to the conversations going on nearby. There was talk of hunting, and she had to wonder if Robin thought it would be impossible to find food between here and Europa. “Even if the group avoids towns, it’s not like we can’t send in a few people to pick up food,” she decided to chime in. “You’re making a big deal out of nothing. Hunt if you want, but it’s not like we’ll need to live off it.”

-----

“I have no clue,” Katrina replied to Aneda. “But just in case, you should be on your best behavior~,” she continued with a smile. “Wouldn’t want her coming out all snarky and stuff. I’m pretty sure it’ll be a girl, because most of the people who took care of her were. And… uh… Is something going on over there?” Partway through her thought Kat had noticed people gathering around the wagon some distance away. Odd.

[Phoenix]

Dauntless Head

"I've been looking into it," the dragon replied to Gar, though it didn't sound as genuine as it could have. Then Valter asked about the specifics of the training, to which the dragon smiled and said, "If you have something in mind, speak up. This is your training after all; I'm only here to assist however I'm able." And that seemed to be directed at everyone in general.

"You didn't already have something planned?" Raquel asked.

"Oh I can come up with training of all sorts. On a whim. It's no trouble. Once you all have something in mind, decide who will and who will not attend, and then go about your business. Once everyone attending is asleep, we can begin," the dragon head explained.

"You said back on the ship that you would help us fight better ... so clearly the training has to revolve around that."

"Yes I did, but if you have something else in mind now, I would be happy to help with that instead~"

"... like what? What could we need help with besides fighting?"

"If there's a special someone you'd like to confess your feelings to but don't quite have the courage, well, I can be a convincing actor ... or actress~ You can practice on me."

"Okay that's just dumb and pointless and we don't have time for it," Raquel decided.

"Time ...?"

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

The conversations with the head were painting a clearer picture. Granted it was hard to see that clear picture through the insanity of talking with a floating dragon head, but it was there and getting clearer all the time. Gar wondered how he'd accepted it all so easily? Sure, he'd been prepared for eccentric things, but here he was talking with a floating dragon head like it was an everyday occurrence. Had he really lost it that much? Well, it was probably those vasili--bleh, he shook his head. Vasli? Ugh, he couldn't he remember what they were called right now and--wait? A trickle of information clawed at his mind from that tangent. And it was interesting, very interesting. But well, that little nag was just such big thing even if asked. So, well, might as well tr something completely different.

"Well as much as I'd like to get all my blushy blushy feelings for a certain someone into the air, I'd rather do it to her in person." Gar gave his answer. "With a knife." Probably not the one anyone expected though. "But speaking of training of a sorts, fighting better that sort of thing, you see," Gar laid his hands out. "If I know me, and I know I do, it's that one thing that helps me is knowledge. Good old knowing things. Like knowing that I like tea. Tea's super." Gar imitated a drink of tea. "Delicious air-tea. So, what I'm thinking is that I may be convinced to go into this little mental model if you and I have a little chat session between the two of us afterwards. No one else, secrets optional."

[scorri]

Marella grinned. "Training in dreams, huh? Sounds like a good idea to me. I'm going to go find Rook and see if he's interested. Sleeping soon sounds like a good plan though. More training is better, right?" She wandered off to find Rook without waiting for a response.

[Parrhesia]

Rook was a bowman, not a hunter. So after enjoying... limited success shooting wary prey, he decided to cut right to the chase and go for a predator.

Ah... this would do nicely! Roasted bear haunches for all!

Rook didn't bother with subtlety. He just drew a long, heavy arrow and shot the bear in the arse.

Roaring, the massive beast turned and charged, but Rook was not a man to fear the forces of nature. He calmly drew and fired another arrow, catching the beast in the eye.

The bear roared again, pitifully smashing into the ground about a yard away from Rook. He pitifully swiped at the archer, who sidestepped back, took out his mace and smashed the beast's head open.

Yeah. Yeah, that's it. THAT is how you fucking hunt.

Twenty minutes later, Marella found Rook dragging a bear carcass out of the woods. "Hey, 'Rella!" shouted Rook. "Give us a hand, would you?"

[Ether]

And so the song was over, and Faatina gave a quick curtsy as such, only stumbling slightly as she did so. With that over with, the Rexian made her way in some other seemingly random direction.

Following said random direction, the Rexian eventually came across that new archer guy who's name resembled some sort of chess piece, if she recalled correctly. Not that she could be sure of such in her current state, nor sis she really much care. Regardless, archer guy was dragging along a bear carcass which he had hefted over his shoulder, sauntering towards the camp, his face locked in a haughty guise... or atleast that's what it looked like under the influence of alcohol. Either way, the man seemed to be having some trouble with the large beast, and Faatina decided to make her way over to the man.

"Ahn~ Wow strong guy, did you bag this thing all on your own~?" She asked, quite impressed to say the least. Maneuvering to the opposite side, she took position to help him bring the downed animal back to camp, gripping the carcass firmly.

"Hehe~ I'll help you out, but in return, you've gotta help me find the best part after we cook 'im, okay~" She added, with a giggle and a smile.

***********

What in the bloody hell was going on over at that wagon, Arietta wondered, as she made her way over to Valcyn, who was conversing with some sort of disembodied dragon head protruding from the side of her car- wait what the fuck?

"Valcyn... the bloody hell is this? For Wrath's sake woman how much bullshit do you get into in a single bloody day?"

[scorri]

Mar raised an eyebrow at Tina, but grinned. "Well Rook, looks like you don't need my help after all. Got yourself someone else to help. Reason I was looking for you is different though. It seems like there's going to be some sort of training exercise going on tonight in our dreams. I just wanted to make sure you'd be up for fighting with me in it."

[Parrhesia]

The staggering cavalryman did genuinely look as though she intended to hope, so Rook shrugged and allowed her. It was pretty easy to drag on with the weight distribution shared, and they could basically walk at normal pace. As for Marella; "Our dreams?" He spits, but smiles, ruefully. "Guess it's time for me to prove I actually can hit a target in my sleep. I won't ask for details... don't trust those bloody mages, not at all. What about you, Faatina? Or... whatever you're called?"