Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[Ether]

Angelica couldn't help but chuckle at the proceedings... so many of them offering themselves up to Nyx... the offer seemed tempting enough, to be sure, but... well a lady has to maintain some mystique, hard to do that when someone knows absolutely everything about you. The most amusing to her at this moment was likely the thunder sage... she didn't know who taught him magic, but no matter who it was, they should have warned him that spreading himself too thin would simply cause all of his practised magics to suffer... Angelica supposed a vasilus might potentially be able to bypass that human limitation but with him simply asking for the knowledge, and not devoting himself to her in his entirety as some others had, chances are he would receive just that, knowledge he would never live long enough to put into practise.

'Not that there aren't things I'd like to be granted mystic knowledge of myself... but well, I just can't trust a woman I just met to keep my beans nice and sealed... especially not one who might just be more manipulative than I am...'

[ReformBlade]

Multitasking, Jericho liked that. He felt it was inefficient, and given the very very vague nature of which memory stuff was seemingly working, he was wondering if she was going to do something really awkward in general. "... Okay?" He said, getting at her, more than a bit apprehensive but still steady. Is she giving me the same thing or is she pretending to have a conversation with me while I'm not in it? Ugh the vagueness, whatever. This is why I hate multitasking!

Mushirah held her head down in thought, really trying to think of what sounded absolutely delicious to her right this instant when it hit her, "Fish! Er... fried fish I mean. W-with a rice pilaf... if it's not too much trouble?" She heard that she should be specific in her request but that wouldn't stop her from feeling nervous about asking anyway. Feeling like a freeloader wasn't a comfortable feeling for her, and she was given so much already that it was almost spoiling her fundamentally. However, her stomach gave her the urge to spit out one of her favorite dishes she could think of, one that'd remind her of her parents and living at home again.

[Nanami Touko]

As some of the group voiced their general ditaste to Eva's show with Angelica, she ended up keeping quiet for a while. She didn't exactly care about what they thought, but if it ended up annoying her new boss, it might affect her pay. That wasn't going to happen, so instead of protest, she stopped herself. She did manage to stick her tongue out at Shadrak. If he was always like this, she'd skip any parties he went to.

Any sense of relaxation she had slowly left as the doors did finally open, through whatever efforts were presented. And as they did, there was... A woman laying on a bench. A woman that bore a striking resemblance to the priestess who had been with them, though that didn't mean much to Eva. As talking proceeded, she turned out to be a goddess? Or at least some powerful being. There was talk of sharing memories for knowledge, but Eva was only there for the fighting that had already ended, and she had no interests in sharing what was in her head with both a stranger, and someone that was considered a goddess.

This lack of interest was compounded as Shadrak spoke up against her, and was consequently electrocuted, with some form of magic. Eva jumped back in surprise, glad that she'd managed to keep herself quiet this entire time, lest she say something to anger the being. A few more people ended up asking the goddess for knowledge, but she wasn't having any more of that. She spotted Erion leaving the room, and decided that it was a good time to hop out as well, following after him. The atmosphere felt a bit heavy, after having something like that revealed, so it took her a moment to think of anything to say. "So, uh... Goddesses, huh?" was what she came up with. It wasn't very intelligent.

Edited March 29, 2014 by I have opinions

[Eail]

Glancing at Jericho for a moment, Zach followed after the smaller man, stepping up to Nyx yet again.

[Phoenix]

Teaching

Nyx waited a moment, until both mages were right in front of her, and then she held up her arms, a palm for each of them. As Reign walked back into the archives and saw this happening, his expression became a mix of confusion and amusement. He stopped once he was almost shoulder to shoulder with Veronika and asked, "So she got another one?" He was also wondering why Zachary was at this again but perhaps he was just getting greedy.

From the looks of things, Nyx was a master of multitasking, since she seemed to be funneling mountains of information into Zachary's mind while absorbing everything from Jericho's without any sign of effort, strain, or error. Reign was impressed but also disturbed since the ease with which she did this would allow her to disguise any extra spells she cast on them. If she was up to no good, there was no way to tell at all right now. Though, that was obvious, really. The issue here was trust. Only the 'Darksider' seemed to trust her and yet half a dozen people had subjected themselves to this dangerous technique of hers already.

Both of Nyx's hands fell, the mental madness apparently over for the moment. Her golden gaze eased onto Zachary first. "Anima: fire, thunder, wind, ice, water, earth. You said that you didn't want to be my servant ... being one would mean actively relying on my power instead of your own, very unlike a mage." It sounded like she might have been teasing him, but things would still remain at least that vague until she drew very close to him, and gently, quietly spoke into his ear. "Right now, what you have is deeper knowledge of anima than any normal human, something that will eventually allow you to control it in ways you don't yet comprehend ... but do not do something so boorish as sacrificing your mother's teachings for a few tricks you'll never use. You are her legacy. I hope you haven't already forgotten that," she said, a bit of scolding in her tone.

Haggling

"So why are you talking to me, then?" Ryder cocked their head at her curiously. "Oh wait, I get it ... you couldn't get them over three hundred thousand either, could you? That's why you gave my mistress a go," Ryder teased her. "I'm still liking the sound of two hundred myself, and that's purchasing it regardless of whether there's any 'mystery gift' inside."

Ryder had a way of finding out whether or not the figure was solid throughout without damaging it, but was content with haggling for the moment. In the end, the figurine would be put to good use so long as they reached an agreement on the price.

Ordering

Fried fish and some rice pilaf," Damiana repeated with a nod, "got it. I'll be back as soon as it's ready." Now that Mushirah wasn't so outwardly distraught, Damiana felt more comfortable leaving her alone while she saw to other things, though she wouldn't be doing this for long, as Johnny and Erica would have an order this simple ready in no time.

Edited April 1, 2014 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

Archives

"I...hope this will not cause us trouble in the long term. If members of our group have a debt to some kind of goddess or minor goddess or whatever, then she could choose to call that debt when she wishes. We have enough to do as it is," Veronika said quietly to Reign.

Outer Chamber

"We ain't discussed prices yet actually. He's a very rich man who likes takin' big risks, so I bet he won't mind payin' the right price for the item. Two hundred ninety sounds good to me," Nadya said. If he ain't gonna move, then I ain't gonna move.

[roymbrog]

After quite a while of unconsiousness, Synthia finally began to stir. She stared at the ceiling for a good few seconds before attempting to sit up and wincing. Her head and side still ached, but at the moment she was more concerned with what had happened while she was out. The knights had been defeated, by the looks of things.

Katrina hadn't entered the archives with the others; she wouldn't have been much help in securing an emblem piece (unless there were more fighting, which didn't seem to be the case), and she felt somewhat guilty about the mage's injury. If Synthia hadn't gone out of her way to heal her, and if Kat hadn't run off alone, perhaps that wouldn't have happened. The wyvern rider sat against the chamber wall, uncharacteristically brooding.

OoC: apologies, just need to get something out no matter how bad it is so I will stop being inactive. inactive is bad

[scorri]

Lumi

"Oh! You're awake! I'm so glad. And I'm so so sorry. I just... I was distracted and didn't defend you as well as I should have and just... Sorry. Do you want some ice for your head? I've been trying to put some on it every once in a while." Lumi trailed off, realizing she should probably leave the other girl some time to speak.

Erion

"Hmm? Oh. Yeah. Minor goddess or something like that. Wants to mess around in people's heads. If she hasn't got an emblem piece, got no good reason to let her look in here. Seems like people are trading it for knowledge. Most of which doesn't seem worth it to me but... maybe they just don't care about their privacy as much as I do." He shrugged.

[Phoenix]

The Archives

"I wouldn't worry about it unless someone besides that Darksider guy and Nadine agreed to her servant thing," Reign replied. "They're already paying up their life stories for relatively small pieces of information so I doubt she can call in any favors later," he added, trying to picture how things might play out if she did. Of course, there's no telling if she slipped anything else into their heads that she could use to control them later, either. Still, she doesn't seem like the type to screw up our lives on a whim, not without a reason at least, he mused, glancing at Shadrak for a moment. That argument earlier had been a bit pointless, and it was odd that he wasn't more reverent of the daughter of his favored god, however unpleasant she might be.

"A mage's power comes from the gods," Shadrak spoke up, though there was a weakness in his voice and he was hunched over panting, clearly exhausted. "so what do you mean it's unlike a mage to rely on g- ... deities?"

"Shadrak, don't start an argument over nothing," Raquel pleaded, taking his arm to support him. She would have led him outside then and there if she could, but he wasn't responding to her subtle nudges ... nor the not so subtle ones.

"I'm just trying to understand, it's not arguing," he assured her.

"Not arguing? Good because you wouldn't survive another," Nyx teased, but she didn't bother to elaborate. Instead, she spoke to Jericho. "There's more than one thing you want, but which one will you prioritize here?" She must have meant his own request, because he hadn't received what Zachary had, neither the wealth of understanding, nor the short lecture.

The Outer Chamber

"Two ninety may sound good to you, but I doubt it's the right price," Ryder noted. "Why don't I take a look inside? If it's just a cast, I'll pay you two twenty for it. If there's anything interesting inside, two eighty. Sound reasonable?" Ryder held up one hand with the palm facing inward. There was nothing special about it that could be seen, but already dozens of tendrils were beginning to surface.

[Toogee]

Where we last left Eli, he had separated himself from the group in order to continue with their true objective: obtain the emblem piece. Consorting with deities with questionable motives was a waste of time at best. At worst, they would be enslaved and unable to fulfil their quest.It was time for Eli to man up and get this emblem himself.

If only he knew where he was…

The church was much bigger when he wasn’t following anyone. How was he going to find a “winged cleric” in this place? As Eli ventured further through the church, he eventually came across a random priest. An idea occurred to him: if this was truly a cleric, winged or otherwise, then he or she would be out healing the sick. After last night’s events, there would be plenty of that, especially in a church. All he needed to do was find out where.

“Excuse me, sir,” Eli said to the priest. “I’m here to volunteer my staff to aid those struck by the events of the night. Would you be so kind as to lead me to them?”

“I am such a badass,” Eli thought to himself as he followed the priest to the halls where the sick and displaced were staying. He felt like a spy on some incredibly confidential mission. He was glad this was in a church and not actually a combat zone.

[ReformBlade]

"Well since you apparently know the requests, I need to know before deciding, are all of them valid?" Things could either get trickier here on out or easier. Not at all due to what Jericho was planning on doing or what was going on, it was just chance in general. If the situation is the subject, he was extremely curious if she could do all of them, and if so, what the potential ramifications of any of them would be. "Which is to say, since you've seen them in my wonky ass details in my mind, can you fulfill each one in the way I'm expecting them to be fulfilled, and will you do that?"

[Eail]

Zach wasn't exactly sure how his brain was currently working at the moment, he knew things, but he didn't know things. He'd experienced some situations and tried a few new experiences, but hadn't at the same time. Things were being sorted, he felt off, this wasn't normal.

Yet he still found the ability to almost choke up at the speech Nyx gave him. "I...want to make her proud, do what she would want me to.... that's why I'll make the choices I will."

Edited April 1, 2014 by Eail

[roymbrog]

It appeared most of Raquel’s group had entered the archives already. If it weren’t for the fact she’d almost died, Synthia would’ve been somewhat bitter about that. As things stood she was more grateful that someone had stayed behind to look after her. Once Lumi realized she was awake, the girl began apologizing and asked about ice for her head. The mage frowned briefly. There wasn’t much the girl could’ve done against automaton knights with superhuman speed and strength. An ice pack for her head sounded lovely however.

Synthia opened her mouth to say as much, but though she was pretty sure she was speaking, she could barely hear herself. The mage’s expression swapped from confusion to dread as a hand went to her throat. Her neck was definitely sore, and she remembered being grabbed and shoved into the ground, but hadn’t expected to have lost her voice from it. Rather than straining herself further and probably still not being understood, she nodded at Lumi and began digging through her bag for her tome and pencil.

[scorri]

Lumi's pained expression deepened as it turned out Synthia could apparently not even speak. Quickly forming some of her ice in her hand, she molded it into a strip and wrapped it in a spare handkerchief she had in one of her pockets. Placing it on the mage's head, she held it there lightly, while forming a series of small ice chips, before holding them out. "Here, try sucking on these. The cold might help your throat some."

[-Cynthia-]

Archives

"That's good news I suppose," Veronika responded to Reign, trusting he knew more about this sort of magical thing than she did. She noticed Shadrak was starting up another argument with Nyx and Raquel's efforts to move him were unsuccessful.

"All right Shadrak, we're done here," she claimed, grabbing him by the hood and beginning to drag the druid out of the archives.

Outer Chamber

"Hold your horses there cowboy. How are we supposed to decide what and what not ya find interestin'? And how to do ya plan to check what's inside without breakin' it?" Nadya asked Ryder skeptically, drawing her hand holding the statuette back.

[Nanami Touko]

"Geez, so I wasn't imagining that..." Eva shook her head and sighed. "I'm glad that most of us aren't sharing our minds with that. I don't exactly have any deep, dark secrets to hide, but it'd just feel...wrong, to have someone fishing around in my head like that. Or at least I'm sure it would. Don't actually know. Don't want to know." She pushed Erion's arm playfully. "What about you? You said you care about your privacy. Got some terrible secret holed up in there?"

[scorri]

Erion shrugged. "I don't know about deep dark, but who doesn't have some secrets that they'd prefer to keep hidden from everyone? The ones pushed so far down that they barely remember they exist. The ones they can't afford to let themselves remember or else... Or else the guilt with just overwhelm them... The ones..." He'd been getting quieter and quieter and eventually just trailed off into silence, staring into space as he did.

[Nanami Touko]

Eva blinked. She then proceeded to lightly shake Erion's shoulder. "Oi, oi, Erion. You alright? I'm hoping you're just playing around and I haven't actually made you remember something you didn't want to." A troubled look showed up on her face. It'd be pretty rude if this was a joke. "Hey, come on. Say something smooth, or snappy, or...anything." A can of accidentally opened emotional worms wasn't something Eva knew how to deal with.

[scorri]

Erion blinked and shook his head. His eyes were still dull, barely seeming to see her in front of him, but he answered in a normal tone of voice. "What? Oh, no, I'm fine. Just... yeah, memories. It's fine, nothing that you did. Just... everyone has secrets. That's all." He half smiled at her and shook himself again. "Right. Now we wait for the rest I guess."

[Phoenix]

The Archives

"W-what the hell are you doing?!" Shadrak groaned as he was dragged off. Raquel gently released him since trying to support him by the shoulder would just end up with her on the ground eventually.

"Saving your life in all likelihood," Reign answered jokingly, though his expression hadn't changed in the slightest.

"Do you have to grab him like that?" Raquel asked in a subdued tone. It was a little degrading, she felt.

"Good," Nyx smiled at Zachary's reply. She was a mother too, after all .... "Anything that doesn't get in my way or sour my mood is 'valid', as you put it," she gave Jericho a vague yet promising answer. What could get in her way, really? They also had some clues as to what could upset her.

The Outer Chamber

"With tendril magic," Ryder answered innocently, leaving the hand right where it was. "It's quite handy to not have to bite coins to check for counterfeits ... especially with this thing," Ryder pointed to the mask briefly and then crossed their arms. "As for deciding what's interesting and what's not, I'm just wondering if there's anything inside at all. Just having a good sized cavity could make it useful to me or someone else in the future."

[-Cynthia-]

Archives to Outside

"Well, the hints weren't working," Veronika explained to Raquel in a resigned tone, continuing to drag Shadrak until they were out of the archives area. She stopped near to where Synthia was resting, although she did not release her grip. "Are you finished or do I need to keep going?" she asked Shadrak.

Outer Chamber

"All right, but it'll be three hundred if ya break it," Nadya cautioned, carefully placing the statuette in Ryder's palm. She felt instant regret as if there was some incredibly valuable item inside she could have just lost thousands of gold pieces. It will be nice knowin' if there's anythin' inside though- that woulda bothered me.

[ReformBlade]

He had tried to be clever about it but he quickly realized she wasn't going to give him too straight an answer until he, hopefully, gave his formal request. "Look..." Jericho started. "You know what I want, more than anyone here, probably even more than myself if you're so good at this thing which I'm not going to really question at this point. So really, i'm just going to beat around the brush and ask extremely fucking bluntly where the hell that brother stealing son of a bitch is! Just please, for the love of whatever the hell you want, I don't even care what just I want to fucking know where he is so I can just move on from this goddamn nightmare!" It was fairly obvious his cool had completely left him, but miraculously his actual volume hadn't risen as dramatically as he thought it was going to. "Please." was the last thing he said, gritting his teeth at the suspense. Finally, something resembling closure, and he was potentially gambling it all away in a fit of anger, a gamble he was completely willing to take.

[roymbrog]

As Lumi placed the ice on her head, Synthia sighed in relief. Yes, that was numbing the pain nicely. She also accepted the ice chips, though she wasn’t sure how much they would help. Turning her tome to one of the blank pages in the back, the mage wrote “Thank you” before holding it up for Lumi to see.

Movement by the archive’s door caught Synthia’s eye, and she watched as Veronika dragged Shadrak near where she was sitting. The shaman appeared slightly charred. She pulled her book back to write, “What happened to him?” before showing it to Lumi again.

---

Katrina was prompted to stop brooding by the wall by the appearance of Shadrak and Veronika. She didn’t remember her friend looking as if he’d been electrocuted before he went into the archives. Pushing herself off the wall, she approached the two a bit uncertain about what to say. “Um… There wasn’t fighting in there, was there?” If so, deciding to sit outside was definitely an addition to Kat’s ‘list of things I wish I hadn’t done today’.

[Nanami Touko]

Yeah, you're totally fine. "I won't pry. Don't think I'm close enough for any of that. Just make sure you're alright, yeah? Sorry for asking, an' all that." She set herself against a wall and observed Shadrak being dragged back from the goddess room. "He didn't get shocked again, did he? Looked like it hurt enough the first time," she asked at them, a slight tone of worry on her voice. This trip was starting to look like it wasn't going to yield much, from what they'd had to go through.

[Snowy_One]

*bad April fools joke*

Edited April 1, 2014 by Snowy_One