Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[Snike]

"Woah, woah, woah, slow down and start over," Axel said, as Raquel practically flew out of the carriage and up the stairs. "Blake was left at the gate...? What gate? Why were you down there? And I can confirm Veronika's story. Bert's relatively fine, though he might not be soon. Ernesta's straightening him out as we speak. Lastly, you're speaking to Zero-Eight, Arietta. From what you're saying there's an imminent attack? From what? Explain, so we can set up accordingly."

***

The door was locked, but the hatch was not. Linnet managed to get up there and was unharmed, so it evidently was safe. Blake went up next, and, to his surprise, the city was relatively still, though screams and shots could be heard every moment or so.

"What we can do now is work on getting down from here, and perhaps go help a bit more," Blake said, as he began to look around. "Would there be any ladders around here, or perhaps some rope? For emergencies?"

Edited December 17, 2013 by Snike

[Mercakete]

Gytha wasn't sure what Haythem wanted, but she'd heard her name. The next thing she knew the painter from before was asking...something... He'd been told that he had to tarnish something for some reason, apparently, and he said something about a ride home with his presence. If he was rising home, she assumed his presence would be involved. And all this was to fulfill a contrast so work for Raquel. Raquel wants him to tarnish somethin' on his way home? Gytha's brow furrowed. Well, Raquel dealt with some pretty strange things, so maybe this had something to do with that? He also asked if she'd be willing to have him along.

"I don't know why ye have t' tarnish anathin', but if ye want me along n' it's for Raquel, sure, I guess. Ye need a guard 'r somethin'? N' can it wait? We're all headin' back t' Weyland's. Maybe I could take ye home from there, but somethin' important's happenin' n' I don't know if Raquel needs me around for it 'r not."

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

Siv's weak comeback was irritating, but he ignored it; it couldn't hold his attention what with Ernesta's reply. "What, so I was supposed to let her throw that fireball at me? I tried to take it from her, but she just started holding it tighter. I didn't want to hurt it, so I let go."

Another Fallen -- Great, like we needed any more of those -- came into the room at some point while he'd been distracted, apparently, and now Siv was handing the baby off to her. Subconsciously, his glare intensified. "Shouldn't be raised by humans?" Also, apparently, it was a girl. She was given to us by Lilith! That stupid, little twerp doesn't have a right to say who should or shouldn't be raising her -- she's not hers! She thinks she owns everyone, doesn't she? His jaw clenched as his anger grew. He also had shifted to tightly holding the grips of his maces, though he wasn't planning on taking them from his belt if he didn't have to. Oh, I just want to rip her wings off! She's not even actually a Fallen -- she's a Vasilus!

He stopped himself there, though, and took a deep, long breath through the nose before slowly releasing it through his mouth and closing his eyes. Ok, calm down... She said something about this lady being one of Steinn's, and he's actually composed, so she at least shouldn't kill her while she's watching her. They'd better give her back to Raquel when she comes back, though; she has enough to deal with without Lilith asking how she lost her egg.

[Ether]

"Is it true that this hatchling was taken from Miss Valcyn, Siv?" Annelise asked, getting bombarded by a large amount of thoughts all at once... she really didn't have time to be watching a hatchling at the moment though, so she hoped to get this sorted out rather quickly.

***

Arietta was taken aback for a moment, before straightening herself out and clearing her throat. Soon after, she began speaking, surprise still fairly evident in her voice.

"Aye, Zero-Eight. Demon shocktroops, storming the gates. Most likely target is Steinn, which means they'll try t'culminate their forces 'ere. Blake stayed behind at th'North gate t'get it closed and help the guards there, that's what's got Raquel all riled up." She reported, before turning back to Raquel.

"That's a job fer your people, aye? My place is 'ere defendin' boss's place. Don't get yerself killed."

***

"Looks like quite the mess, huh?" Angelica noted to Morgana, after the latter just nearly evaded being mauled by a pack of hell hounds. All of this hovering wasn't doing her any favours, the wind adept needing to constantly adjust the wind flow in order to keep herself airborne without the velocity she was used to. The Professor had mentioned a Volya... could it be the very same that Gar had made note of from back in Tremere? Well, it didn't really matter, she supposed. On the other hand...

"So she's here too, huh? I didn't even notice at all... I know that's her thing but it's damn scary to think about."

[Toogee]

All around Jam, people were talking about taking the fight to...whatever was roaming the city. She heard rumors of demons, but how could that be possible? Then again, how were bird people possible? Then talk came that the fighting would come to those within the mansion they were staying at. The dancer knew that they would be in need of whatever fighters they could muster.

"Come on, Alphy. We need to get to the mansion too!"

She dragged him towards one of the carriages and entered, awaiting it to join the caravan to the mansion. While she waited, Jam rubbed her hands together in an attempt to speed the recovery of her magic.

"Come on magic..."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back at the mansion, Eli was currently sleeping through the chaos in the city and the drama downstairs. He'll probably get up soon for a water or something...

[ReformBlade]

Things were happening around Mushirah but she kept to herself for the most part in a desperate attempt to stay calm and collected. The initial wave of stress had subsided, but she was still feeling on edge. I just want to be safe... what am I even doing here? It wasn't entirely intentional but she couldn't really help the doubt from settling in.

Jericho and Aneda, back over at the estate, were both fairly certain that leaving Greta would be the best choice at the immediate moment. She seemed like, if she wasn't already, she was gonna just sleep it all off. Disturbing that rest would just be rude and pretty unwarranted by either of them. On their way back to the main hall, Jericho inquired about what it was like to ride a flying beast, to which Aneda replied, "It's... not as thrilling as it sounds, actually. I dunno, maybe being around one for so long has taken away the luster, or perhaps i'm just depressed and downplaying everything..." Yeah I'm just depressed, I'm pretty sure I still love flying and its freedom but I just don't want to go offer him a ride at the moment since that's what they always fucking ask for. "Anyway, it's extremely convenient, I'll give it that."

"Oh I'll bet. Wish I could ride one one day... Imagine, raining fire down upon some jackasses who clearly deserve it while I laugh triumphantly on my righteous steed!"

"I'd rather not think of more violence given past circumstances."

"That's fair. Violence divides people."

Yeah, sometimes permanently... Aneda thought morbidly as her face cringed.

Edited December 17, 2013 by ReformBlade

[Eail]

Alphonse let himself be dragged along by Jamilla. They needed to get back to the mansion, that was where Greta was, and Alphonse was damned if he'd let anything else happen to her. "Jam, the second we get back to the mansion, find Greta. If it's already under attack just stay with me and we'll go together..... if that's the case help me find a sword as soon as we get there. It won't be as good as my blade but anything will do."

______

Zach followed behind Haythem and the others, constantly trying to form a spark in his hands. Slowly the feel of his magic was coming back, but unless a tome was found for the young man he'd be practically useless in battle. Perhaps he'd try to get one of those amulets like Reign had around his neck, for just such an occasion in the future.

[Phoenix]

Main Entrance

Haythem got in the carriage after Nadya, muttering to himself for not rushing over to help her in when he had the chance. Eventually he started to dwell on Weyland's estate, or rather the people there. "I sure hope Amon and Fizza are okay ... err-Malik too, heheh. Isis'll be okay, I'm sure."

Shadrak could already tell he and Mushirah would have to take a different carriage, so he started heading toward one, glancing over his shoulder occasionally to make sure she was still following. Once he found one, he offered to help her inside. They had room for two more, and with the party being in a hurry, those spots would likely be filled in no time. "Well ... now we wait, I guess. The first thing we need to do when we get back is get our tomes, and try to absorb some of their power so we can get our barriers back up," he explained to Mushirah, trying to plan ahead.

Weyland, Steinn, Gabbie, and Chie also got into a carriage, and since they were full, it took off immediately. Meanwhile, Athrun got into a carriage and waited for Evelyn, Eugene, and Ethan to join him. The few other guards would have to catch one of the others, it seemed.

City

"Urrrgh," Morgana groaned as she hovered there above the snapping hounds. They had just as soon forgotten about the inexplicable death of the other hound and went back to focusing on their real target.

"Don't worry about it, Morgana. She is very closely tied to the Raquel situation and I have been traveling with this group for a few weeks now," Ayano explained.

"If you think that makes me feel any better about this situation, you're wrong." Having said that, Morgana turned her attention toward Angelica. "And you just ignore her for now." As if to make that more difficult, Ayano began to cleave another hell hound's head off, getting blood all over the place, and startling the other hounds. "Better yet, tell the prince there's no one left guarding this area. Maybe he can pick up some reinforcements on the way. I'm sticking with my plan and searching for survivors."

"There probably aren't any survivors for a couple of miles," Ayano noted. She reached that conclusion because there were busted windows and broken doors, meaning the demons knew full well how to break into people's homes. There wouldn't be anywhere for anyone to hide.

"Just keep hacking up those dogs while I search."

Tower

"There's a ladder, but I think it's shared between posts," Ken explained, sounding distracted by other thoughts. He was trying to remember where it would be precisely if it wasn't already here. Jessica knew it didn't matter since they would just have to jump down if they wanted to get any further. Where the ladder was specifically was irrelevant at this point; it wasn't where they needed it to be.

"Just brace yourself for the landing, I guess," she said as she climbed out onto the roof with them. "It's not that far down ... but brace yourself just the same ..."

"Ladies first," Ken half seriously said, holding out his arms and presenting the edge of the roof to her.

"Fine by me. I've had enough of this tower," she muttered as she approached the edge and tried to pick a decent landing spot. There was a bit of random crap lying around that made it a bit more difficult than normal.

Dining Hall

"The proper thing to do would be to not allow the situation to escalate this far. It's not her place to be throwing fire spells around regardless, however, your behavior is a catalyst for violence. Do you honestly believe she would try something as silly as 'punishing' you if you had behaved more maturely? In either case, this fight is finished. We need to get going now."

Meanwhile, Siv continued her exchange with Annelise. "I don't know. I took it from a different human. Maybe it was this Raquel, but I don't think so. Just don't give it back to them." Then, suddenly, quickly snapping at Tia, Siv said, "It's not Raquel's child! That's impossible!"

"Now now," Fizza chimed in with a smirk on her face. "I'm sure with those fancy emblem powers, Raquel could start laying eggs if she really wants to. Anything is possible with this almighty trinket, supposedly ... or Aisha sure as hell wouldn't be bothering with it, jewelry collection or no ...."

"Urrrrgh," Malik groaned.

Other Main Entrance

"Bert's here?!" Raquel yelled. "He's been here this whole time?! Since WHEN?!"

"Oh, that is so wrong," Nadine mumbled.

"Oh my gods, I've pretty much killed Blake over this ..."

Should I try to get a hold of my brother for you?

I- ... what? Just be quiet! "Listen, I don't care who, but someone needs to go back to help Blake with me. Please, I don't want anyone else to die." She tried to remain quieter and calm while she pleaded, but she was panicking once again just the same.

Reign was on his way back and came into view not long after Raquel's pleading got under way. "Well, this sounds bad," he muttered to himself. When Nadine glanced over, he looked the other way to avoid eye contact. He thought it'd be much easier with only one eye showing, but no, not really.

Edited December 17, 2013 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"The estate has a lotta guards, it'll take a while for anythin' to breach the estate," Nadya replied to Haythem, trying to sound nonchalant. If whatever's attackin' can warp inside the walls won't really help a whole lot though...

Veronika

Demons? I didn't think they came this far north. "Bert's been back for the last hour or so at least. I'll try to gather whoever's in the dining hall and we'll move out soon," she promised, sprinting her way through the estate back towards the dining hall, shoving her way past some unknown employee of some sort.

There seemed to be some some of argument centered around Siv. I don't have time for this shit. "HEY! LISTEN UP!" she called out as she entered, hoping to gain the attention of the room. She had to pause for a bit after that to catch her breath.

Edited December 17, 2013 by -Cynthia-

[Snowy_One]

Suddenly Robin came out of the kitchen, rushing over to where Nika was and standing at the ready and attention. "You called Nika? I am here, ready to listen!"

---

"Mmmm... Seeing as I am talented with the staff, a guard would be nice. Would a strong and capable woman like you be willing to protect me should a fight arise?" asked Alex, trying his best to look charming and smoulder at her for approval.

[Mercakete]

Gytha cocked an eyebrow at the painter, wondering what was wrong with his face. "Like I said, depends on Raquel. Don't see why I couldn't protect ye, but maybe ye shouldn't go on ana missions right now. Ye look sick 'r somethin'... Well, now's not th' time fer that anaway. Come on, let's find a carriage."

Gesturing for Alex to follow, Gytha climbed in after Haythem and Nadya. Before the painter entered, though, she whispered to the other two, "I think he got hit on th' head 'r somethin'. He's talkin' strangela n' his face twisted weird. Nadya, when ye get yer staff, maybe ye should wave it o'er 'im; I think he might have a concussion."

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

"I was trying to bring the situation down," Norbert irritably stressed. He had to admit, though, it was entirely possible that his behavior was partially to blame for it getting as far as it did and so stored what Ernesta said in the back of his mind. The fore returned to the female Fallen as the younger told the older specifically not to give the baby back to them.

"That's not your call!" he angrily informed Siv, his grip on his maces strengthening again. Before the situation could get any further, though, a loud call blasted throughout the room and Norbert turned his attention to it. Turned out it was Veronika. She looked a bit winded. That combined with that yell caught his intrigue. What's wrong? Something must've happened...

[scorri]

Erion

Hearing Raquel asking for people to help rescue Blake, Erion stepped forward so that he could be fully seen. "If you're needing someone to help in a rescue attempt, I would be glad to help. I have a horse in the stables if you're hoping to travel faster than a carriage would be able to and I know how to take care of myself. I'm well versed in moving quickly and unnoticed in a city as well." He glanced at the others around him and then gave a mental shrug. "I can understand the desire to not abandon one of your companions as well as the urge to do anything you possibly can to save them. I will go to rescue him if you will allow it, but perhaps it would put others more at ease if you remained here?"

Hoshi

Arriving at her room, she stepped inside and quickly located one of her more powerful tomes. Quickly inspecting it, she nodded to herself. It would do the job in protecting her. As she was about to head out, she hesitated. She'd never been fond of the idea of fighting. Perhaps... perhaps it would be for the best if I were to remain here. Away from the fighting. ... No. That is a cowards thinking. I have been welcomed here when my family would have cast me out. They are my family now and I must help protect them. Straightening her back, she headed back out towards the main courtyard.

[ReformBlade]

"Yeah..." was Mushirah's single response to anything that might've been said to her as she got inside the carriage with her date's help. Seems reasonable enough, have no power, go get some power. Looking to Shadrak, she gave a weak willed smile. We just keep throwing ourselves into danger, or at least they all do. How long can we keep this up? Patting the seat next to her she urged the guy to sit next to her.

Seeing a Veronika run by already let Aneda know something was up as she started heading off to follow the lady, the shouting she heard moments later only confirmed it as she picked up her pace to catch up to her, not running like a rude person but hustling all the same whilst Jericho instinctively did the same thing. "The hell?" he commented under his breath, earning a shrug from Aneda. She made her way within earshot of Veronika at this point and just sort of hung out. Info would come her way if needed.

[Balcerzak]

Tipping the hat

"Hmm, well I reckon Gar ken take care of hisself, but I agree a regroup would definitely put the mind at ease. Let's head on back, then, and see what's up," Sinbad concurred, as Gytha apprised him of the situation, then went about retrieving his belongings and preparing to depart. The whole Weyland entourage had had quite the array of carriages, and he wasn't particularly attached to any one in particular, and just figured he'd get in on whichever one had some room to spare at the moment.

Tagging along in after the Prince

Theodore had been more than a little surprised at the flight theatrics of the prince's dance partner. Such a thing was not unexpected for the professor, but... Shaking his head, he'd followed along on the discussions, then proceeded to follow along with the prince's group. It looked like he'd be taking the last carriage, with a few of the guards, as he certainly wasn't about to presume to butt himself in and ride with Athrun himself. What an exciting night this was turning out to be, though.

[Phoenix]

Main Entrance

"So do you two actually have a plan or are you just trying to be calm for our sake?" Chie asked Weyland and Steinn as their carriage approached the estate's main gate. Once they were clear of that, it was a lengthy trip back to Weyland's home.

"We had several plans in place, but until we have a better idea of how the enemy plans to come at us, we won't know which one to implement," Weyland explained. "So, it's a bit of both. All of our plans may end up becoming useless in the end, so I'm trying to come up with a new one to suit this situation based on what we know thus far."

"All we seem to know is that the city is under attack, and Steinn thinks that's just a diversion."

"It is," Steinn interjected. "But the fact that they even need a diversion suggests they absolutely cannot afford to be routed here, which suggests Valdimarr is involved. It's difficult to sneak this far north without being noticed, so the bulk of their forces are likely demons, just like the last time."

"The problem is your brother is probably expecting something crafty from you," Weyland noted. "They will try to compensate for their lacking numbers, won't they?"

"There's only one Valdimarr, so short of bringing in several powerful allies, or summoning an archdemon right on top of us, there isn't much they can do to completely overwhelm us. I believe we can repel this attack as long as we make it back to your estate before they arrive and make some final preparations."

"Here's hoping ... I'd like to make it out of this one alive, frankly."

"As would I."

Shadrak was still caught up in his own thoughts, trying to recall everything he knew about these sorts of enemies. That was when he noticed Mushirah patting the seat next to her. He figured if he didn't sit next to her, someone else would once the carriage filled up, which after the way the night had gone so far, made him a little irritated to think about. He carefully switched from sitting across from her to sitting beside her, smiled awkwardly, and then began to drift back into battle musings.

Haythem meanwhile was also thinking about the battle, but he was less focused on how to win and more worried about how the others would hold up until they got back if the estate was attacked before they returned. That was as real a possibility as anything else, really.

Dining Hall

"Aggression and hostility rarely bring a situation 'down'," Ernesta noted, and then Veronika rushed in and demanded the room's attention. She already knew this probably had something to do with the fallen. The staff had been a little on edge about the next potential attack for a good while now. "I truly hope this isn't about what I fear it is ..."

I hope the food's done soon. If it doesn't get here before Ernesta drags us off ... hey, wait, what's going on? Suzume thought as Veronika came in.

"Well, it would be Lord Valdimarr's call, but he isn't here yet, so I'm trying to-" Siv went silent for a moment, having been startled by Veronika like some others.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Amon asked, standing from his seat again, only this time, he knew he wouldn't be sitting back down again. This looked all too serious for that.

Other Main Entrance

"I ... uh ..." Raquel had already accepted Erion's help in her mind, more or less, but she was extremely reluctant to just stay put. Still, after what Nadine and Arietta did to her in the carriage, she couldn't help but fear they would just tie her up if she tried this again. "Blake is only out there in the first place because I was trying so hard to get to Bert and got us into that situation."

"Maybe you'll listen to reason next time, or better yet, maybe you'll listen this time and not make things worse," Nadine cut in. "Why don't you let one person go look for Blake instead of dragging half your so called friends with you and risking all their lives? If you really don't want your friends to die, then stop putting them all in harm's way!"

"I'm not trying to put anyone else in harm's way! I wanted to go by myself, but no one will let me," Raquel fired back. "You can't just tell me to stay put and then jump down my throat when I ask for help! I can't just sit here and hope Blake makes it back in one piece, and I won't!"

"A fine mess this is ..." Reign muttered while glancing at the door. He was considering getting a drink while he still had the chance, though what he really wanted was to lie down and rest. That would have to wait, though, he figured.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"All right," Nadya answered Gytha. Probably more likely drunk than havin' a concussion- that wasn't exactly a crazy party back there, she thought to herself. Better grab my staff first thing... she decided, beginning to plan out her future actions in her head upon her return to the estate.

Veronika

"Demons are attacking the city, Blake's back at the North gate holding them off. Raquel wants us to go help him. Everyone from our group, grab your weapons and meet outside the estate entrance as soon as possible. If you're not from Raquel's group...well do whatever you think is best," she said, unsure of what to do with Greta's group and the Weyland employees. Not enough time for a more detailed explanation and I don't have the information anyway.

Edited December 17, 2013 by -Cynthia-

[scorri]

Erion

"Then let me go. One person has more of a shot at slipping through unnoticed that a large group and just me going means that I could bring him back on my horse, without needing to worry about a carriage. You're pretty clearly the important one 'round here, so it stands to reason you wouldn't be the one they want in danger. And 'sides. Seems to me we'd want most people to stay here and watch out for this place if all the yelling is any indication. Shouldn't you be taking care of your people here as well?"

[Mercakete]

As she stood at her post, Cecelia's attempts to steel herself and stifle her desire to assist her fellow soldiers were successful, but uncomfortable. Having a thought, she told Amber, "Private, go see if you can find the Colonel and ask her if we have any new orders. I don't think we will with how many of the royal guard left, but it's foolish to assume so."

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

There was no thought before Norbert ran headlong in Veronika's direction with the intention of reaching the stables per se. The thinking happened more during it. Blake's fighting off demons all by himself?! Not if I can help it! This is EXACTLY why we shouldn't let those tailed monsters hold on to that baby! They think everything belongs to them anyway and once they have it, they won't give it up, even to the rightful owners -- or in this case, caregivers!

[Snowy_One]

Robin was off in a heartbeat! Her bow was on her followed by her quiver as fast as she possibly could manage before tearing out to the front of the estate at the entrance. This beat being excluded and sitting down in empty hallways by a longshot, and best yet, if someone wanted to disagree or mouth off to her, she could simply shoot back. Maybe not the best, but still...

---

"What about me?" asked Tia, looking up to Veronika as she held her book close, an eager look in her eyes. "I want to help too, but I wanna become Connor's assistant too, so does that mean I have to listen to your orders and head out front, or do as I see best and head out front?"

[Ether]

"I am unable to care for the hatchling as of this moment, as Milord will require my assistance, in all likelyhood. It would be best if she was kept safe with the non-combatant humans, for the time being." Annelise stated, as Siv began speaking of Valdimarr... figures.

***

"Alright... I'm sure I don't have to tell you this, but don't get yourself killed, Professor Wyght." Angelica noted, before firing herself off back towards where the Prince and his guard would be.

[Toogee]

Alphonse let himself be dragged along by Jamilla. They needed to get back to the mansion, that was where Greta was, and Alphonse was damned if he'd let anything else happen to her. "Jam, the second we get back to the mansion, find Greta. If it's already under attack just stay with me and we'll go together..... if that's the case help me find a sword as soon as we get there. It won't be as good as my blade but anything will do."

"You got it," Jam replied. "And I won't be much good out there without my magic... or in this ball gown. Let's hope we get time to prepare." The dancer could not recall a time when they had any ample time to prepare for a confrontation. There's a first for everything, right?

[Snike]

Evelyn held the carriage door open for the healer and Eugene, the former of which immediately accepted and got inside. Now all that there was left to do was hope her comrade would hurry up and get in, so they could be off.

Once inside, Ethan began to absorb the energy from the light tome, replenishing his aura. Hopefully it wouldn't see much use, either way.

***

"The gate's about fifteen minutes away. If it was being attacked as you passed by, it's either been dealt with, or overrun by now," Axel said, bluntly. "There's nothing you can do right now, other than hope he makes it out alright. See, sending people out to help him will either be a waste of time if the gate's been managed, or putting them in harm's way, if it hasn't. Remember what happened last time you tried something like this? More to the point, we're going to be under attack soon, and running out and playing hero is just going to leave you wide open for the real threat of the night. Which reminds me, I don't really have the time to waste trying to talk you out of this. Gotta go get the estate ready. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get my crow repellent."

And with that, the armored man turned around and left, heading straight for the dining hall.

***

"Who says chivalry's dead?" Blake asked, rhetorically, as Linnet offered to allow Baker the 'honor' of being the first to jump down. After approaching the edge himself, he frowned. Jumping down from a roof. Great. Hopefully he wouldn't trip, once it was his turn to drop.

Edited December 18, 2013 by Snike

[Phoenix]

Main Entrance

"Yes, Ma'am," Amber replied before hurrying inside. Oddly enough, one of the first--somewhat relevant--things she saw was the Lieutenant Colonel. He was walking alongside a couple, Joshua and Carmen. She was sent for the colonel, but there didn't seem to be any harm in seeing what the second in command was up to on the way. "Lieutenant Coloneeeeel, what are you doing? Also, do you know where the Colonel is? Also also, do you know if our orders have changed?"

"I'm having a word with Miss Illia and her dancing fiend," Miguel began, causing Joshua to have a good laugh. "I haven't seen the colonel in awhile but she's probably in the ballroom ... and I haven't heard anything about new orders. I doubt we'll get them either. They want these people to remain calm, so the last thing we're going to do is deploy a bunch of soldiers right in front of them." Glancing at Joshua, he added, "No offense ... people just tend to get worried in situations like these. Some panic and ..."

"Oh I understand full well, Miguel," Joshua reassured him.

Back outside, Eugene boarded the prince's carriage and shut the door behind him. Not a second later, that carriage was on its way out with the others. It was a particularly fancy march to battle, a rescue battle no less.

Dining Hall

"Not again," Amon muttered.

Ernesta sighed when Veronika confirmed her suspicions, and then squinted as Bert took off running. "We'll have to postpone this, then. Bert, stay put for a moment; you'll accomplish little to nothing by rushing off on your own. Suzume, if you're willing to help, I want you to accompany me. I need to make sure the others are ready for this."

"Okay ..." Suzume didn't feel like she had much of a choice, really.

Meanwhile, Siv glared at Annelise. "Non-combatant humans?" Siv didn't like the 'human' bit in that, but she supposed no direct harm would come to the child, and she could probably take the child back herself if worse came to worst. "... very well ..." she mumbled relenting for a change.

Other Main Entrance

"Urgh, I can't do that," Raquel repeated as Axel turned to leave. Well, if he didn't have time to talk her out of it, she wasn't going to give in. "Okay," she began speaking to Erion, trying her best to compose herself. That was when Nadine noticed her boot prints on the stomach of Raquel's dress. She felt she did what she had to, but she hoped no one thought someone had been kicking the crap out of Raquel at some point. "You can try to find Blake, but I want to come too. I just need a minute to get my things." I can use the emblem I guess, but I'd rather not use it unnecessarily, so I need my staves.

I get the feeling there isn't much time left before things become even more violent. Discovery, be very mindful of your choices here ... things could turn out very poorly for you tonight if you aren't careful, Hypnos warned.

The Walkway

Jessica took a deep breath and then leaped down onto the walkway, rolling once she landed to absorb the impact. Her ankles definitely hurt after that one. She tuned out the landing aches and got out of the way so Blake and Ken could come down next.

"Did you hurt yourself?!" Ken called down.

Jessica couldn't tell if he was genuinely concerned, just curious, or trying to be funny. "I'm fine, but you'd better soften your landings or you're going to have some really sore legs in the morning." With that, she turned around and began scanning the area, looking for anything they could use. She liked her usual weapons, but her pistol was out of shots, and her sword was too short to fend off those nasty looking hounds with.

Back up on the roof of the tower, Ken said, "You going next, or should I?"

[scorri]

Glancing at those who'd been encouraging Raquel to stay behind, Erion sighed. "Fine, you go get whatever it is you need, I'll wait here."

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

Veronika looked at Tia blankly for a couple seconds. "I don't understand the question and I don't really have time to debate this. You can come with us or you can stay behind, but if you're coming with us you better get moving quickly." She then clapped her hands loudly. "All right, time to move out!" she said, before making her way out of the dining hall back towards the front entrance.

[Script]

A Man Once Called Gar Also other people

Gar left. He left the ball group, he left them in the line. He was no stranger to absolute boredom, he just preferred it to be on his own terms. He slipped out without anyone noticing, really it was better that way. He headed back to Weyland's, switched out his clothes and retrieved his gear. There was something else he wanted, something that no doubt would be quite uncluttered at this time. Deducing as best he could by a combination of pestering people and random guesswork, he found who he needed: the kiddo who scrapped up his armor. Now he had another task for him, working so hard on the wagon. "Hey-o," he waved, "hope I'm not interrupting anything but I got kind of a peculiar request for you."

Connor was working dutifully on the Dauntless, wrench in hand when suddenly a voice started talking to him out of nowhere. He jumped slightly, he hadn't noticed Gar approach at all. I was either really focused or he was really quiet...maybe both. He turned towards Gar to address him. "You should probably wear safety goggles if you're going to be in this area- you probably don't need them now, but I was welding earlier and it's a good safety precaution. Anyway, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Good to know," Gar thanked him for the tip. "If you aren't too busy I need something." Gar pulled out his loving old knife. "Old Stabby ain't gonna cut it till I find him a mate, so I need something else to cover until then. A nice set of stilettos will do the trick." Gar returned his knife to its holster. "And since you did a bang-up job on the armor I came back to see if you could make'em."

"Well you're in luck! I've been working on throwing knives for the past few weeks and I think I finally have a functional prototype for you to use. All of the weaponry's in the storage area though- you can wait here it shouldn't take too long for me to get it," Connor offered.

"Sounds good, one thing first," Gar retrieved the flintlock pistol given to him back during the fort tussle. "Shoulda returned this earlier, but now that things aren't so immediately deadly it feels like the time."

Connor took the pistol and stored it in his belt. "Thanks for your honesty, Raquel's so worried about other things I doubt she would notice missing merchandise. Anyway, I will be back in a couple minutes." Connor traveled to the storage unit in the right wing of the estate, deposited the pistol, and returned back to the Dauntless workroom with the stiletto knives. "I'll have to ask you to cover some of the research and materials costs, standard procedure," he explained upon his return.

Honesty? Heh. Gar smiled as the kiddo left and returned. "Totally fair," Gar dug out the coinage and eyeballed an amount that looked sufficient. He'd need to play rearrange with his gear once later.

Connor accepted the gold and handed Gar the knives in exchange. "Pleasure doing business with you. Let me know how they work out next time there's a battle, I'll make adjustments if necessary," he offered.

"Will do," Gar nodded as he took the knives. They were nice and fancy and well-balanced. They'd serve well, for now. "If you see Raquel you might make mention of the returned pistol, I'll probably just forget." Gar shrugged before poorly situating the knives on his person. He'd have to do this soon.

"Uuuuugh," Anna groaned as she entered the workshop. "I'm so behind it's not even funny. Hey, Connor, I got the supplies from town. I'll have them moved over here in a little while. It shouldn't have taken this long but that Bert situation took longer than I thought it would. He's not the only new employee, though. I'm pretty sure this Suzume girl's going to work out just fine."

"Oh, Suzume's here? That's spiffy," Gar said when the red-haired woman came in.

"Good news on the supplies- Bert's a new employee? Not that he isn't capable or anything, but hiring Raquel's people directly seems a little unorthodox," Connor noted.

"Yeah, she's pretty interesting. Bert too, but it's going to take some work with him. Technically he wasn't one of Raquel's anymore; he quit just before getting arrested, but I didn't find out until I spoke with him. He owes Weyland twenty-five thousand in legal fees, so he's going to be working for us for awhile to try and pay it off," Anna explained. "He's definitely one of the more expensive hires ..."

"So, where's Suzume at?" Struggling with his gear could wait until he gave a hello. He was all ready to head off as soon as he was told.

"In the dining hall," Anna answered offhandedly as she started thinking about the new transport parts and how they were going to be used. She then added, "Ernesta'll be by soon to show her to her room, so if you don't find her there, check the second floor of this wing."

"Alrighty then, I'll be off, thanks both of you," and Gar left for the dining hall. Wherever that was!

Here! Apparently, as he saw Suzzy Q and he kinda ignored everything else. "Hey-o, can't believe we beat you here."

(Wagon Storage -10 (73)

Combat Knife moved to Wagon Storage

Throwing Knives -40 (33)

Connor Upgrade Stiletto -30 (3))

Edited December 18, 2013 by Script