Return of the Emblem Chapter Eleven: Unleash

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

How did he get from where we were to all those places...must be another person with the ability to warp around or something. Would be convenient if he could just warp us to Weyland's, but I suppose magic doesn't always work like that, she thought to herself, wondering when the man in white would reveal his identity.

Nadya

"I ain't real interested in dream people and the huntin' party ain't back yet. Not that I expect much game around here, but...might as well do somethin' productive while we wait," she said to Blake, matching tent poles once again.

[Mercakete]

Gytha was actually pretty happy her question had been answered, even if it had been off-handedly. He's not a dragon n' he's not a human... Wonder what he was. Suddenly, however, there was someone else there. Not knowing if he was actually supposed to be among them, Gytha cast Raquel a look, somewhat nervously waiting for some indication of who the man in white was and if he was supposed to be there.

[Phoenix]

Dauntless

The grip on Kit's tail finally released and once Ayano had exited the Dauntless there was no sign of her anymore.

Camp

Reign continued to help out, glancing over at the campfire every so often to see if there were any obvious developments. During one such glance, he spotted yet another person he didn't recognize and paused. "... where did he come from ...?" he asked those nearby, though it was mostly a thought said aloud.

Gabbie eventually got back into her bedroll in order to take a nap since food was a long ways off and she liked the idea of waking up to a ready meal, but she found herself unable to sleep at all at some point. She felt as if she was forgetting something. It was a much stronger nagging feeling than usual. She opened her eyes and looked around only to find much of the same. Aside from a few new people there was nothing out of the ordinary ... oh and a black pegasus. She decided to try and go back to sleep again but it just wasn't working. Something was bothering her a great deal right now.

Campfire of Gambits

"Hello," Hypnos casually greeted the man in white at first.

Raquel flinched. "What the-" She stopped herself since it immediately occurred to her that this man had shown up before and that ... frankly, she should be used to this sort of thing by now. Kit pulled that same stunt earlier that day, and a similar one during the previous evening if she recalled correctly.

Before she could ask who he was or learn anything about these supposed guards, Hypnos began addressing the man's initial questions. "Discovery was placed into a situation where making the final decision was simply too difficult for her. A man named Cygnus has convinced Jethro to fight alongside Sardis and the others. Discovery couldn't make the choice she desperately wanted to, and the dragon took action in order to fulfill two of our goals--one of mine and one of his--at the same time. It was a risk, a gamble even. I had a suspicion that Discovery's body still wasn't ready for this and so I talked him down before she fell," Hypnos began his explanation. "It will take some time to explain why this happened, and most of you won't understand."

"Then why don't you help us understand? We've got all night," Shadrak practically demanded, somehow managing to put some emphasis into his already crossed arms.

"If that's what you want, very well, but before I begin, it's best to finish with any other questions you have. This will be a lengthy explanation and I would prefer not to juggle more than one topic."

Raquel had questions, but the more pressing ones now, were for the man in white and not Hypnos. Her questions for Hypnos also seemed as though they would be answered by the explanation he was planning to give regardless and so they could wait for now. Turning her attention toward the man in white, she asked, "Who are you, exactly? What guards are you talking about?"

[Parrhesia]

Rook casually strolled nearer the campfire and sat down on a fallen log. Unsheathing a dirk, he began to sharpen it, listening intently. He might as well know what he was fighting for, after all... this didn't seem like just any contract.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Gar smirked at the Dragon Head's reveal of his form. Well that was certainly an interesting longshot that was halfright. And then the flop in white came in and ruined everything. Gar pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance as the man in white spoke. "Oh Gods, your organization has a vasili too doesn't it? Possibly even you? Everything's just pain after pain isn't it." Gar grunted before replying to the Dragon Head. "Ha, so what she said at the fort was right and you did mess everything up? Pain." Gar made a disgusted noise at him. "He's part of our glorious fort enemies. Another faction, since we clearly saw how well they got along. Probably part of that one guy who offered that challenge, possibly even their leader from how he's acting. I'm willing to bet Ms. Invisible over nowhere would have been how it got relayed--somehow--to challenge-guy, so she's been following us since that port at least." And she's damn lucky I never tripped over her when I was skulking around the ships.

[ReformBlade]

The first thing that came to Aneda's mind was "A hassle." as she sat down next to Calumeina, "There's very little organization, until very recently we didn't even have a recognized second in command, and beyond that everyone just sort of does what they want as Raquel doesn't really care to discipline anyone on anything as far as I can tell. Truth be told, once we hit the city, I'm leaving this place as soon as possible. I can't outright say it's been horrifically bad here but I'd rather go somewhere where I'm not just sort of shoved aside."

Meanwhile, Mushirah was listening but couldn't entirely comprehend the conversation at the campfire and decided to just take her leave of that, instead thinking about how she could try to improve her odds of helping people out, going right to her tome and feeling it could be improved. She sought out Connor, the kid who was able to apparently improve equipment for the group, "Um, hey there... I'm not really sure how you do things or what the price is or whatever, but, could you take a look at my tome and possibly improve it? I know I should improve myself more, but better resources would help out too."

[Snowy_One]

"Why not do both?" asked Tia, coming up behind Mushy. Her talk with Kit over, she had jumped down from the top of the Dauntless and had been coming back in to help with the categorizing. "Hey, sorry Connor. I have a thing about magic. I love learning about it a lot and hearing about that was kind of... Yea. Anyways, Mushy was it? You want to get better, but you need a new tome and want it improved, but you can also improve your technique. Tell you what? Why don't you let Connor improve your tome, and I'll be more than glad to see if I can help you with the actual magic?"

[Snike]

Blake followed Reign's gaze to see the man in white had suddenly returned.

"He was here earlier today," the swordsman said, returning to his work. "Didn't seem like an enemy, anyways."

***

"I am aware of Cygnus, and as for the rest, well, let's leave the ethics of forcing a choice, for later," the man in white said, before choosing to respond to Gar. "If the 'Organization', as it's colloquially known, has a vasilus within its ranks, I would not be surprised. As for your other assumptions, three out of four, since I'm defining faction as another group entirely. Very good, especially given your youth. I am not part of that organization, though some of my subordinates do work with them. Now, back to guards. I sent one of my subordinates to keep an eye on Caterena. Another has already offered her services as a tutor for Reina, an opportunity I'm sure she'll be thrilled about if she does favor earth, as Samael said. They're both quite capable, and worst comes to worst, I can personally intervene at a moment's notice. I was not sure what you wanted to do about Vasquez, but he should be fine, especially given he'll probably around Caterena for the most part. Anyways, I suppose most would call me the Angel of Death, so, you can address me as that, if you people wish. Are there any other questions?"

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"It's fine," Connor replied to Tia. Seems a little presumptuous to assume she knows more about magic... he thought to himself. "I can take a look at your tome and see what I can do. If I can improve it, I'll charge you for materials and give you back the upgraded version as soon as I can," he informed Mushirah.

[Phoenix]

Campfire of Angels

Raquel couldn't follow everything Gar was saying and so her reaction was noticeably delayed as she tried to piece it all together. Looking right at the white haired man, she asked, "Wait, you mean that girl that's been in the Dauntless ...?" Then it came to her. 'From the Hidden comes the Impregnable'. That phrase had to be talking about that girl. She was literally hidden most of the time and until the fortress incident earlier that day, they didn't have a clue she was there. Following the instructions John and Sophia relayed, it made since that the girl could at least overhear that phrase being said and do whatever mumbo jumbo she needed to summon that armored scythe wielding maniac. Things were starting to make sense but were also confusing. If that girl was the man's method of keeping track of them, then that meant she was at least loosely connected to the organization they were fighting since he was the one helping them with the trap back in Danton.

"You look better in black, though seeing that you seem to be in the mood to save lives rather than end them, I suppose it's fitting," Hypnos commented. "I sensed dark energy in Sardis' mind, in Jethro's mind, and in the minds of several others while I was there. Neither I nor the dragon could take the chance of allowing Discovery to be manipulated by those people. We couldn't be certain what the purpose of that hint of energy is, but the fact that it was in both Sardis and Jethro--not just one or the other--is alarming. I apologize for the lack of warning, but an alliance was simply out of the question once we noticed it."

Was Hypnos suggesting mind magic was involved? This question was on both Raquel and Shadrak's minds once he mentioned the dark magic. Does that mean that my father's being manipulated by them and not doing this willingly? Raquel was hoping against hope now. She wanted this to be a rescue mission like she'd always thought it was, not a a haphazard attempt to convert her father back to right and sound thinking.

When the man in white revealed one of his more famous titles, Raquel and Shadrak froze, the latter wishing he hadn't heard what he'd just heard. What in the actual hell is going on here?! Why does all this crazy stuff keep happening to us?! It's like the whole world, just wants to get us on our hands and knees, and shove as many immortal badasses in our faces as possible! Freaking Lilith?! Freaking Obelisk?! Freaking Thanatos?! We are in WAY over our heads here! He suddenly wondered how Mushirah was handling the revelation but when he looked around for her she was already gone.

While Raquel was grateful that she wouldn't be running all over the capital region trying to track down and protect everyone she remembered caring about, she didn't understand just one thing, and she spoke up about it rather quickly after the man's explanation. "Why are you doing this? If some of your people are involved with our enemies, why help us at all?" Is he playing both sides for some reason ...?

Shadrak meanwhile was starting to wonder if Kit had anything to do with any of this. She seemed more like a wildcard, so he doubted it, but after everything that was coming to light, he couldn't rule out much of anything anymore.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Greeeeeeat," Gar hung his head at all the new information. He tried to keep a mental tune, but it was distracted, far from perfect. Not only was the Great Failure here, but if the danger was mind magic, that significantly increased the danger of any possible further confrontations--especially if they found Ornstein. "Now I really regret selling off all that liquor. We could all use a drink once this is over with." Gar regretfully patted the pouches that once contained sweet delicious think-no-mores and sighed. "Sardis is probably a Fallen anyway, so it'd be more concerning if there wasn't any darkness on his mind. Anyone else specific you sensed?" Well, whatever. If anything this made Gar's little plan all the more interesting. He'd need to talk to some people too then.

[scorri]

Lumi frowned. "Aw, it can't be that bad. You seem like a great person. Why would anyone want to shove you to the side? As for organization, pfft." She waved her hand dismissively. "Who needs it? I'm sure it wasn't all that bad. Everyone here seems nice at least."

[Snike]

"Black would have given me away, thanks to the 'legends', so white it was," Thanatos said, shrugging. "Nice catch on the dark energy, though. I noticed it in Sardis' mind, but I did not think much of it before just now. I can probably figure out for sure why that is present if we capture one of those affected. I do hope Nyx is not responsible, however, otherwise this will be even more of a fine mess. Anyways, to get back to the point, Valcyn, I am protecting your family and friends because they're innocents in this conflict. Samael crossed the line there, and I was not about to stand by there and let him murder those people. As for why I would help your group, there are multiple reasons I cannot say right now out of respect for others, but the main one is that our interests are mutual. To clarify, we have been trying to find the leader of the organization for a while now, so as to eliminate them and from there neutralize their power structure. That is why some of my men work with them. Then your group came along, and you seem to be doing a fine job of vexing the organization. Even just keeping your group alive is working to our goal, though if we actively worked together, it would probably be better off for both parties. Which is why I am here, to propose an alliance. Whether you feel it is worth it is your decision to make, however, so take your time with making a decision. There is no rush."

[Phoenix]

Campfire of Proposals

"It's true, the fallen have a dark presence almost constantly, but I felt something orderly rather than disorderly which is what concerns me ... and what I suppose ruined any chance of the negotiations going smoothly. I did sense one other you knew with it as well ... that woman in black." Hypnos replied to Gar. Then he said, "But you just revealed yourself anyway, hahah." That was likely aimed at White Angel.

Raquel felt a bit used after his explanation, but at least he was being helpful with regard to her family. She wasn't expecting that. She also wasn't expecting such a straight forward proposal for an alliance either, though in light of that, helping out with her family issues made perfect sense. So did Shadrak's response, but Raquel felt it was rude, pushy, and opportunistic all at the same time.

"Your subordinates are strong right? Strong enough to singlehandedly protect Raquel's family from Samael, apparently?" Shadrak began. "How is that exactly ...? Special training? Weird vasilus magic? Because if you really want to help us, there's no reason you can't do the same for us." We're in way over our heads and need every advantage we can get if we're going to really fight back and beat all of these guys. Lilith wouldn't bother, but maybe he will since he's not focused on Wrath.

As much as she wanted to interject, she couldn't help but stay silent for a moment. How was he going to respond to that?

Edited June 22, 2013 by Phoenix

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Orderly huh?" Gar commented. He twirled the flute around as he thought about lady in black. It seemed the most obvious, and the most delicious. "Well if whatever's happening's contagious keep an eye on me since I got this flute from'em and all." Gar felt the burning need to annoy Shade Drake after that though. "Ha, if such a powerful source appeared and was so consistent in its appearances whatever's behind all this would just go to ground and nothing would be solved."

[Snike]

"Not in front of organization agents who may have been looking on from the fortress, which was the point," Thanatos said sternly, though he smiled a bit. "But yes, it is irrelevant right now, I suppose. As for your semi-demand, yes, it involves some advanced mind magic, which is bad enough for most people. In addition, there are a few reasons I cannot or will not do that, namely that if the organization notices a staggering increase in this group's strength, they will start asking my subordinates questions, which in turn puts one of them at even more risk than they are now, which they in particular do not deserved. Then there is how your group has not agreed to working with mine, and I have some reservations about some of your allies' ability to be responsible with power. I could bolster the group a small bit, I suppose, but at the same time, I already am assisting with a few of my subordinates, so I'm not sure that's necessary. Speaking of subordinates, though, glad to see you could make it, Ayano. Anything to add, or are you just here to terrorize the gentleman in the dark blue robes?"

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

So Jethro has some dark magic in his mind? That explains a lot...still not sure about our new 'ally' here though. "So...who are your subordinates? What do they do? What's your interest in the emblem?" she asked the man in white, who was apparently Thanatos. I always pictured something more...intimidating, but appearances can often be deceiving.

[Phoenix]

Campfire of Oh Shi-

"We already can't find these guys unless they come looking for us, so what difference does it make?" Shadrak replied to Gar. Next, Thanatos addressed his semi-demand and stated not one, not two, but three reasons to shut up and be grateful. Shadrak couldn't help but nod in agreement with at least on of the man's points ... not everyone in this group was responsible with power. Just thinking of some people with a huge power increase put a distraught look on his face. Of course that look didn't go anywhere, since the moment Thanatos mentioned Ayano, she appeared behind him, and what was worse, was that she had a blade to his neck. She lowered it as she appeared and took a step back as Shadrak began to stagger toward the fire. "W-whoa whoa whoa!"

"It's not my place to judge," Ayano said quietly.

"What were you doing behind me?! What was with the sword?!" Shadrak spoke up as he regained his footing. He'd come pretty close to tripping into the flames but managed to avoid that.

Ayano looked at her sword for a moment, and then lowered it again. "I was practicing approach and kill tactics. You were annoying me, so you made a perfect target. I've been doing that to you a lot, lately ... usually while you're ranting." She sounded extremely bored while explaining herself.

"Is ... she one of your subordinates?" Raquel slowly and cautiously asked.

[Mercakete]

Gytha was surprised and a little distressed with that display. "Hoy, I know he's not exactla th' most tactful one, but that coulda realla hurt 'im. If yer just practicin', why pull out th' sword instead o' somethin' less lethal?" she asked Ayano with a concerned frown.

[ReformBlade]

"Oh dear." Aneda started, pulling Calumeina into a halfhearted hug, "Your naivety is refreshing to say the least but if you only knew how many times the group has been stabbed, burnt, cut, zapped, and generally almost murdered, you'd take back that organization part!" Letting her go and resuming, "And sure everyone seems nice, but again, myself included, very little professionalism has been exuded here and... we're not exactly up against average jerks either."

Taken aback with a twinge of irritation at what Tia called her, Mushirah decided to hand over her tome first and let Connor work his magic fingers over it (Mmmm...), "Ah it's... It's Mushirah, but yeah, I guess I could use some help but I was probably gonna ask Shadrak to maybe help out with that, but right now all I could do is discuss it with you, not really do much..." she looked to her tome then back to Tia with an apologetic smile.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Because if our confrontations are reliant on them we'd best do nothing that would stop them from confronting us ai?" Gar replied but it was TOO LATE. As Ms. Invisible was now practicing her killer moves on him. "Man, you're like, the world's punching bag aren't you Shade Drake?" Gar looked over at Ms. Invisible. "I'm surprised we didn't run into each other on my attempts on him."

Edited June 5, 2013 by Script

[Phoenix]

Campfire of Frustration

Ayano shook her head at Gytha before saying, "If I make a mistake, or fail to anticipate his movements, I could accidentally slice his throat clean open. Being able to hold back, and wait or move with the target until I can take their life on my exact terms is important. There isn't any better practice than this. You saw what happens when I can't make a clean kill ..." The situation with Sardis might have gone better if she could have taken him down with just one strike, but that wasn't how things had played out. To Gar she said, "Don't be. I don't like bumping into people."

"You both practice trying to take me out?! What the hell?!" Shadrak exclaimed. He figured Ayano was just cold and indifferent about the whole thing but hoped Gar was at least joking about that.

[Snowy_One]

"That's just fine. Maybe, by discussing it, we can figure out something you can attempt when you get your tome back in an improved form! Knowledge is power after all, even if you don't have your tome on you. So, why don't you tell me how you typically utilize your magic to start?"

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"We've had to deal with mind copies, real doubles and now the threat of people possibly being under the influence of mind magic. Not having a plan to fight anyone and everyone is just unprofessional," Gar chuckled.

Edited June 5, 2013 by Script

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

Veronika scowled at the situation. "I don't think death threats on our group members are a good way to start off an alliance," she said to Thanatos, looking back to Shadrak worriedly.

Connor

"She uses magic defensively," Connor said, answering Tia's question after paging through the tome. "I can improve the defensive capabilities of this tome for...30 gold- you'll be able to stop physical blows by quickly creating barriers of force. Are you interested?" he asked Mushirah.