Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[Phoenix]

Pervading Memory

Gabbie didn't think she wanted to return to her original home; it was too far away and overrun by what she considered to be something on par with the fallen. Still, the assumption on Robin's part did bring back some memories, of her time as a child, before her family and a huge number of people from her homeland set out to escape the violence. In the end, though, they only ran into more violence.

If we could have just-Everything but her eyes froze, and those quickly shut as she tried to block out a painful memory that was clawing its way to the surface. Eventually, it broke through, that man pointing a pistol at her on a rainy ship deck as several giants stood by, grinning like the sadistic monsters they were. It was the same image over and over again, that man with his gun, ready to kill her where she stood while the others watched. No amount of pleading ever helped; he still pulled the trigger and ended her life every time with barely any hesitation.

The image played over and over again, gunshot after gunshot, causing sweat to break out just above her brow and by the time it was over, Robin's hand had found its way to her shoulder. Her ears, fortunately, hadn't been so caught up in the brutal flashback, and so much of what Robin said still came to her even though she was intensely distracted. Still, she took a moment to catch her breath, panting as she wiped her forehead. "I am home. Have been ever since Weyland took me in ... and what's your interest in helping me out? I'm not nearly as bad off as some of these people following Raquel around." She wasn't sure if that was actually true now that her memories of the past were plaguing her constantly, but she still had all the support she would ever need.

[Eail]

Letting out a small sigh, Zach stepped forward to the mind reader, this was starting to seem like a deal that just wouldn't end up going well no matter what. "Thought I'd be used to the idea of having my mind read after hanging out so much with Kit, guess I was wrong."

[Snowy_One]

"The same motive as it would be for anyone else in this group. You are a part of the group. I am sworn to protect Raquel. Helping people who protect Raquel helps us all. Ignoring, or hurting, them hurts us all. But it is even more basic than that." said Robin, her tone simplistic and casual, as if she had been asked to explain the most obvious thing in the world. "When I was hunting, I would see a lot of animals. All of them were concerned with one thing, survival. Survive, reproduce, repeat. But human beings are capable of so much more. We help each other out because we are human. I may not be part of your group, but I am human. How can I willingly ignore someone who is hurt, even if they are Urswine?"

[Phoenix]

Ulterior Motives

"I don't waste time reading minds," Nyx clarified as she grabbed Zachary by the skull, a much different approach than what she did to Simon it seemed. After a tense moment, it was over. She withdrew her hand. Everything Zach had ever witnessed or done, even things he couldn't recall, all of it was a part of her, now. "I devour them."

Shadrak's curious expression faded, turning back into a glare as she made her apparently profound statement. Before he could ask about it, though, Raquel spoke. Too bad for him it had nothing to do with her mind snatching. "What's going to happen to Hypnos? I know I haven't ... 'contributed' anything yet," she held her arm at the bicep and avoided eye contact at all cost, "but ..."

"He'll stay with me for the time being. He lost his body through little fault of his own, so once I can create a new one for him, he'll be free to roam again. Until then ... you'll have to find someone else to share your body with ... if you're that lonely," Nyx replied, choosing her words quite intentionally. "I'm not going to demand something of you people for every scrap of information," she held her hand up in a loose halting gesture, "after all, you did bring Hypy right to me. Our reunion would have taken far longer if you hadn't. It might not have happened at all."

She had more to explain but it was Shadrak's turn apparently. "You could be a little more grateful, then, and not steal the memories of anyone besides Raquel who asks you for something," Shadrak said, trying not to let his ire slip through.

"No. Pay close attention, Shadrak, because what I'm about to do is going to shake you to the core of your being ... in all likelihood," she warned, almost grinning before her gaze shifted to Zachary. "I devour lives for a reason ..." Her eyes locked to his and it almost seemed as if that ever present glow had intensified, slightly darkening the rest of her face. "Now I know you, inside and out. If you'll make the same choice the Darksider did," she nudged her head back at him with a smirk, "you'll reap the same benefits."

What's she doing? Shadrak raised an eyebrow at the scene unfolding in front of him and the others. He wasn't shaken yet--he didn't think he was at any rate, but this was far from expected.

I wonder what these benefits are, exactly, Greta thought. Plenty of others were thinking along similar lines.

True Motives

"The hell is an Urswoine? Well, I don't exactly loike the oidea of bein' so closely involved with a group led by mortals. When things go wrong ... they go very wrong," she said in a low, ominous tone, that image in her mind coming back, but far less intense than before. She was able to endure it without any signs showing up on the surface, but she still felt sick to her stomach. "I'm just here to keep Connor safe, that's it."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Heh, yeah, slavery sure does provide everything you need, Gar thought and laughed and laughed and laughed.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya simply waited for this to be over, she could negotiate with Nyx after whatever this was resolved itself.

Raquel almost seems sad Hypnos is gone- one would think she would be glad of a foreign presence being removed from her mind, Veronika pondered.

[ReformBlade]

Well this was taking a turn for the needlessly dramatic in Jericho's eyes. "Benefits, you say?" He asked, curiosity piqued. "And what if he doesn't? What then?"

[Snowy_One]

"You will not keep Connor safe by keeping enemy blades away from him on your own. There are many blades, and only one Gabbie. If you want to keep Connor safe, help the group keeping him safe. Even... Even if it is just by staying out of their way. I have no right to tell you such things, I know, but still..." Robin sighed deeply as she slumped down as well. "You are more important to the group than others, including me."

[Phoenix]

The Messenger

"If he doesn't choose to become my servant, then that's the end of the matter," Nyx answered the second question. "I'm neither interested in persuading nor coercing individuals into my service. The offers tend to stand well enough on their own ... though they haven't always been enough to sway the proud or the committed."

"And now I'm curious," Nadine muttered. "What are the benefits of serving you, exactly?"

"This is nearly the end of the last era, which means I no longer have any need for the dying. You can go ahead and figure out what that means on your own, but know this ... unlike the gods of the Four Orders, I am not paralyzed by ancient agreements, I am not so hindered by distance, and I am not slow to react in a crisis. My people have always had my support. Even those who've died long ago will never be claimed by the gate as long as they remain loyal," she gently raised her palm to her chest. "Years, perhaps centuries after this generation is dead and gone, they will return."

Malik's eyes widened in surprise shortly before Amon's did. It seemed a little different due to how vague Nyx was being, but what she was planning on doing ... it was so similar to what Aisha wanted. Amon still suspected that Aisha needed the Fire Emblem in order to resurrect all the Sancturans who had ever died, and so wondered how Nyx was able to get around the problem.

A figure appeared from the darkness clad in armor and a hooded cloak, approaching the archives from dead on. Reign spared the masked figure a glance, but then looked back to Nyx, trying to make sure he didn't miss anything. If the newcomer had something to say, he'd pay closer attention then, not before.

"Sooo basically, you're like Aisha," Fizza said, casually pointing at Nyx while Malik fumed at her, "except you don't rule with an iron fist, apparently."

"Aisha doesn't have the ability to save her people, yet she promised them that she would before realizing the limit of her powers. So no," Nyx's expression darkened all of a sudden, " we are not alike."

"Please don't compare my mistress to that woman," the cloaked newcomer, Ryder, said, stopping very close to Nadya. The messenger then looked to Nyx for some kind of confirmation and received a slow, assuring nod in return. "You were selling something, is that right?"

"It's alright," Nyx assured Nadya, "This here is one of my servants, running messages for me and others willing to pay enough. I figured Ryder might be interested in purchasing your piece, if not as a keepsake, then as an opportunity for personal profit."

Nadine was slightly impressed with Ryder's outfit, if only because she liked the creepy mask they were wearing. "So servants get moral support whenever they need it, a nice uniform possibly, and a ton of 'ghost brethren'," Nadine said, noting some odd similarities between her stated version of those benefits ... and being in the bloody army. "This sounds like what I already have, honestly."

"Well I wasn't asking if you wanted to become one of my servants," Nyx teased, "but if you change your mind, be sure to let me know. You have more potential at my side than in the Ursian military," ending with a small nod.

The Lone Wolf

"I don't really care who's more important than who around here," Gabbie waved her hand dismissively. "Besoides, lone wolfing it's gone well enough so far; he's not exactly a priority target just yet, and when the situation changes, so will I. Honestly I can't actually do much more for Raquel and her friends than I'm already doing ... unless you think fake smoiles and forced friendships are worth something. I don't ...."

[Snowy_One]

"Lucky you. Being the lone wolf has resulted in me being seen more like the lone <*****>... Errr... Female dog?" said Robin before shaking her head. "Maybe I just have a really low view of myself, but it does not matter. Would a fake handshake and smile help? Maybe. I doubt it would hurt Connor's chances of survival though. Wish I could give a fake smile. Bah. I was just in a happy mood chipping rocks and taking a nap. Now I had to go and ruin it for you."

[-Cynthia-]

So sellin' it to another seller? Works for me. Never dealt with a guy in a mask before, but if I wanted to do legit business I wouldn't be sellin' stolen goods. "Pleased to meet ya Ryder. Is there somewhere we could go that's a little more...private?" Nadya had no desire to discuss shady business with whatever folks had tacked themselves onto Raquel for the time being.

[ReformBlade]

Holy hell... Is she seriously granting immortality? And in return she wants submission. Moral quandaries, why must you get in the way of fun? Jericho mulled over what she had said, not really giving it much more thought than that, viewing things as plainly as he did. "If you've already mentioned it, I apologize, but what exactly does being your servant really entail...? I guess what I'm curious about is how much do you scorn people who falter?"

Meanwhile, back at Weyland's, Mushirah's tossing and turning finally woke the girl up, beads of sweat on her forehead that she lethargically wiped away in a haze. She couldn't remember much of what had transpired in the dream but could definitely feel pangs of disappointment and regrets lingering, things she'd rather forget and move on from. She tried to go back to sleep after that, shifting in the bed a few times to try and reach a comfortable position again, but couldn't actually fall back asleep despite feeling just as groggy as before she fell asleep the first time. Stretching out before sitting herself up, she came to the conclusion that she wasn't gonna be going back to sleep as easily this time, so she decided to actually try and leaf through Shadrak's notebook. "Whattaya got in here?" She mumbled, barely coherent enough if a person could have heard it, a rasp in her voice that she tried to cough away.

Not completely satisfied with her letter, Aneda still figured it was best to end it before she got more emotional over it, wanting to actually keep her end of the bargain up for Fyodor. Perhaps I should ask Kat to write somethign as well and we can send one together? With that unusually happy thought in her brain (for the moment), Aneda found her way to the dining hall, not entirely looking forward to talking to anyone so much as making sure there were other people around so she wouldn't feel isolated and ignorant, the latter being an all too prime feature she seemed to flaunt in her eyes.

[Toogee]

Eli was beginning to wonder why they were still here. The item they fought to get was not here but on a different floor. This goddess was offering immortality in exchange for servitude. Or slavery. He wasn't sure which. This was clearly a dead end and he had no interest in selling his soul. Eli did the sensible thing and started walking out of the archives while the others contemplated the price for their freedom.

"This won't lead anywhere good," he thought to himself.

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

After the "diplomatic meeting" (for lack of better words) had ended, Jam went back to her room to see if she could make any progress in her staff training.

That didn't last long.

She decided a snack break was in order. A quick trip to the kitchen yielded an apple. The dancer proceeded to tour around the estate while she ate. Considering a number of people were gathering in the dining hall, she decided to stop there first. There wasn't exactly a cheerful mood among those inside, so Jam didn't plan to stay for long (didn't want to catch whatever gloom was hanging over everyone). But first, the dancer went over to the new peephole installed during the meeting to see if she could peek outside.

[Phoenix]

Obey

"Alright then," Ryder nodded, turning around and making for the entrance.

"Being my servant entails little more than doing what I ask," Nyx answered. "If a person can't do something as simple as that, then they're wasting my time and my affection. Scorn is somewhat pointless, though ... so if someone can't be bothered to obey me after coming into my service, then I'll simply cut them off. If they regret their decision later, then they'll have to return to this place and prove that to me," she pointed at the ground. "Gods help them if they die before reaching me again ...."

"Do you ever give suicidal orders?" Nadine chimed in curiously. She wanted to really gauge the difference between Nyx and the military before making any decisions herself. Reign could already tell that she was interested, and if she kept getting responses like she had, she'd take Nyx up on the offer. She wasn't motivated by honor or duty, so if she could trade her seemingly dead end career for something greater, she wouldn't hesitate.

"That hasn't happened in a long time," Nyx thoughtfully noted, "but if I did, you'd best follow it. I don't ask those sorts of things of my own people without a reason. Besides, dead or alive, both have my support."

"Why not just revive people on the spot instead of letting them die?" Nadine asked, frowning at the thought of just waiting around for centuries to be resurrected.

"This is neither the time nor place to be doing such things. Though, this era is unique ... if a servant of mine born roughly around this time dies through little or no fault of their own, I'll gladly restore them. Otherwise ... best to wait with everyone else who's come and gone." Nyx glanced off to her right. A bench, similar to the one she was using as a throne, sat a very short distance from the bookshelves facing toward the center of the archives. She beckoned it and it slid toward her, shrieking loudly as it did. Once it was close enough, it turned to face the entrance and came to a stop at the base of the mountain of books and Nyx took a seat leaning forward with her legs crossed. "If you want to understand, you may always question my orders if time permits, but you may under no circumstances disobey them."

Nyx was starting to sound more strict than Aisha, but at the same time, Amon kept in mind, that she was merely pointing out that if she gave an order, it was to be followed to the letter. Most organizations, especially military ones, were like that, if only because too much leniency invited disaster, while discipline left far less room for problems. She still hadn't explained just how often her orders would come down, but he doubted she was going to. She'd effectively explained this three times now and avoided that little detail during each explanation, he noticed. He wasn't sure what to think of the comparison to Aisha or why Nyx was apparently stronger, but he decided to wait before asking. Others were asking questions and he didn't want to add to the confusion.

Malik on the other hand only kept his questions at bay because the ones Jericho and Nadine had asked had answers that he was just as curious to hear. After that line of questioning ended though, he had some things to ask, specifics about Aisha's power in comparison to hers. If he could figure out the differences, perhaps he could help his queen gain such power and keep her promise. He knew that it was her ultimate goal and despite being an apparently fallible being, he was intent on helping her if he could.

Fizza was liking the sound of Nyx's offer and was tempted to shove Zachary out of the way. She had a nagging feeling that Nyx wouldn't let her be an assassin anymore, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions. It all came down to this question, 'can I still fight?'. If the answer was yes, Fizza had no other issues with the offer. She'd grown up in a subservient role and wasn't uncomfortable remaining that way as long as she could do what she was best at.

Greta nodded a few times during Nyx's explanation, feeling she understood the need for absolute loyalty. Still, it didn't sit well with her, if only because she wasn't familiar with the woman or her personality. She'd watched her carefully through much of the questioning and found that she had subtle, almost benign, mood swings. Those made her worry about Nyx's temperament outside of more formal meetings like this one. Not knowing what kind of person they were really dealing with was frustrating and made her nervous. Greta just couldn't in good conscience accept Nyx's offer right now, even if her 'support' meant she would be back in business with a new wagon and wares in no time.

Confuse

"What are you talking about?" Gabbie asked, confused as ever. She spared Aneda a glance as the latter entered, dropping her confused expression momentarily to do so, but then it was right back to staring confusedly at Robin.

[Snowy_One]

Robin shook her head in annoyance as she looked up. "Nevermind. I did not come to you to unload my problems onto you. I just wanted to try and help." she said before sighing and standing up, looking to both Aneda and Jam. Jam was over looking at the bullethole as well, just as Robin had been doing a few moments ago, obviously confused as to how it had arrived there as well. Getting up Robin quietly walked over to her.

"I do not know how it got there either. Walls are thick, though, so it did not go through to the other side. That is why it has a large crater as well." she said to Jam. "Do you know anything about it by any chance?"

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya turned and followed Ryder. Becoming a servant of a vasilus or god or whatever Nyx wasn't particularly interesting to her anyway.

Veronika frowned as people seemed to be considering Nyx's offer more than she thought was wise. If she demands absolute service then we are in a lot of trouble should her interests ever conflict with ours. She stayed silent on the matter for now however, getting into an argument with Nyx wouldn't help anything and she felt she had little right to tell anyone what or what not to worship.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"When this inevitably blows back on everyone who accepts this loaded offer I'm just gonna laugh myself sick," Gar commented on the continuing circumstances while keeping his mental song going.

[Phoenix]

Argumentation

"Loaded offer ..." Nyx repeated, sounding offended. Her expression told the same story, but soon, almost immediately, her face and tone returned to normal. "I've never heard it worded quite like that before."

"It is kinda hard to trust you," Greta quietly chimed in. She'd found the courage to say that much but quickly felt herself slipping back into a more quiet and passive mindset. Even if Nyx acknowledged her she doubted she would be able to say anything else for now.

"You're not the only one who finds it difficult to trust others. My offer is only available to those I know personally. After all, if I didn't know my people and what drives them, what makes them who and what they are, what kind of goddess would I be?"

"You're not actually a goddess, though," Shadrak irritably but carefully noted. "You're a vasilus ... there is a difference."

"A difference you're clearly unaware of, boy," Nyx hissed and stood up, causing Shadrak to uncross his arms and lean back a step. He was at what appeared to be a safe distance and yet she still managed to startle him with that snappy response of hers. "Don't argue with me until you know what you're talking about."

Well ... that went well ... Shadrak told himself, swallowing some of his pride in order to keep from getting too angry himself. Holding both hands up defensively, he said, "I'm not trying to offend you or anything like that. It's just that ... you're claiming ... outright claiming a rank that doesn't belong to you, with no obvious merit or anything. It'd be like if I started calling myself a 'king' out of nowhere just because I had a handful followers. It's not just having followers that makes a king or a deity what they are." He tried his best to explain himself without angering her, but he'd still done or said something wrong, apparently, as a torrent of violet lightning lashed out and ensnared him before he could react. The source was a small glowing mass of energy floating close to Nyx's outstretched arm. Having never been struck by this kind of spell before, he was completely caught off guard. AAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"AaAaAaAaAaRrRrRr-"

"Shadrak," Raquel called out, having snapped out of her depressed thoughts. Right away she could tell that Nyx was using the dark thunder spell on him. Too much exposure to it would kill him, but having someone shield him from it wasn't practical right now. Even if someone could, Nyx could just turn up the heat and overwhelm them both.

"A god is born wherever idolatry takes root. There is no merit. There is no purpose. There is no price. Worship my father all you want, but he won't protect you from me, nor will his offer trump my own."

"Stop, please," Raquel pleaded, trying to reach out as the lightning continued to dance wildly between Nyx and Shadrak. "He's not trying to start a fight over this! You're going to kill him, please stop!"

The lightning finally ceased as Shadrak began to crumble to his hands and knees. That was unbelievably painful, so much so that he was surprised he was still conscious ... alive for that matter. Panting heavily, sweating, and giving off traces of smoke, he coughed out a weak, "What w-was ... that for ...?" As he did so, Raquel raced over and knelt down beside him.

Sitting back down and crossing her legs again, she smirked. "I told you before. I always win my arguments."

Well yeah ... if arguing with you means getting shocked to death, I can see how you never lose, Greta thought to herself, leaning away.

Since Shadrak's suffering didn't faze him in the slightest, Reign thought back to the incident in Tremere and the 'goddess' they had rescued, supposing that it really wasn't too difficult to make a new deity.

The pain Shadrak had just experienced, Amon knew, had to surpass his own during last night's blatant backstab, but he still hesitated to move when Nyx lashed out. He could justify it; he had no way of defending Shadrak proper and would have, at best, traded places with the druid, but still, not doing anything just felt wrong. Even Raquel had the courage to 'say' something.

<Idolatry ... hmm,> Malik took some of what Nyx had said to heart as well, wondering if--despite how irksome the thought was--the sancturans had done something similar to Queen Aisha without realizing it. To him, it was still true. She was a goddess, a goddess with merit, even, but knowing that Nyx was somehow more powerful in this area had him thinking about Aisha's situation harder than ever before.

Negotiation

Ryder led Nadya away from the archives, going around to the other side of the outer chamber. There was another door in front of them, exactly opposite the entrance they used to reach the outer chamber, but they likely wouldn't be using it. "Is this far enough?" the cloaked figure turned and asked her.

Investigation

An almost too subtle knock came to Mushirah's door, fortunately the maid's voice was (relatively) loud and mostly clear. "Are you awake in there? May I come in?"

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika's eyes widened and her hand went to her sword as the argument between Nyx and Shadrak intensified to the point of violence. Ugh, there's no way we can manage to fight a vasilus... she thought to herself, feeling too helpless to do anything. When the attack seemed to have subsided, she made her way over to the druid.

"Let's get out of here Shadrak," she suggested, extending a hand to help him up.

"Yep, this should work. So I'm guessin' ya want to see the object itself?" Nadya asked Ryder. That mask is gonna make him real tough to read- probably intentional on his part.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! Everything went even better than Gar could have imagined. Shade Drake being a meat head sure came in handy sometimes! "Aye aye aye," Gar crossed his arms and leaned back against a wall. "If this is how she treats normal people who disagree with her I don't think I can imagine how terrible the consequences for the servants who disagree with her are. And I can imagine some truly awful things oh yes indeed." He didn't address her, specifically. Better this way. Sing a song~

[Phoenix]

Your Reward

"Well then you have a poor imagination," Nyx quipped. "On that note," her gaze fell on Shadrak, who was still struggling to get back to his feet with help from Raquel and Veronika, "Why don't you consider what I told you a moment ago?"

Shadrak coughed, fearing the liquid pooling on his tongue was blood, but quickly pushed the thought away. There was no way she'd caused internal bleeding, no matter how strong the attack was. If anything, he'd just bit his tongue or something and didn't realize it yet. "About Lord Truth's offer not 'trumping' yours? Why the hell ... would I choose you ... over him? Especially now?"

"You're not certain of it yourself, are you? Are you an exemplar of my father's? You see, that's the inherent problem with following one of the four gods ... people are so unsure of where they stand much of the time that the organizations of the orders became a sheer necessity. You could always follow me, however, and know with absolute certainty ... or you take a gamble with my father and hope you make the cut in the end ... though if I know him, you have a lot of growing to do still, and not much time left to do it."

"Are you saying ... that I'm going to die soon ...?" Shadrak asked, panting as he finally got his footing.

"I probably did burn a decade or two off of you just now," she acknowledged, putting a hand on her chin to think about it further, "but I was talking about this situation with Lord Wrath. You may not like me much right now and I'm certainly no fan of that attitude of yours, but you're practically wasted on someone like my father. Think about it," she urged him with a pitying smile. "One last thing before you people start funneling out of here ..."

Nadine bit her lip, not liking the idea of being shooed out of the archives before she had a chance to thoroughly investigate Nyx's offer. If it was about to be withdrawn soon because of Shadrak and Gar's respective bullshit, then she was going to be furious.

Amon hadn't gotten what he came here for, which wasn't the emblem piece, but information about them. This was quite realistically all for not if they didn't at least leave with a better understanding of the artifact fragments, and with that realization weighing heavily on him, he considered interrupting her to ask about it. In the end, he stopped himself, deciding to wait and see. After all, she wasn't forcing them out just yet, more like she was giving them an opening to leave if they wanted to once she said whatever it was she had to say next. Given her apparent agenda, anyone else could stay if they had something to contribute. Contributions, Amon suddenly remembered, those weren't exactly something he was comfortable giving, but he'd already gone over the gist of his life story earlier, so he supposed this was only a more detailed account. Still ....

"Raquel," Nyx called out the group's de facto leader. "Some of your own people fought Koray and Tuncay, and in doing so gave me some valuable insight into their current strengths and weaknesses. As a thank you," she paused to hold out her hand. A second later, a faintly glowing symbol appeared just a few inches in front of her hand, extremely intricate in its design. "This is for you."

"What is it?" Raquel asked, not trying to hide how distrusting she had become.

"It's an iron rune, a complete one at that." With that said, she let her hand fall and the glowing rune vanished almost immediately. Raquel wasn't sure any human being was supposed to memorize an entire rune in just a few seconds and also didn't see how mere a glimpse of it was any kind of reward. "I don't want to draw this on something right now anymore than you want to," Nyx noted, alluding to something all too familiar. "If you want it, come over and receive it. If not, there's the door," she gestured to the entrance.

Your Item

"Indeed," Ryder nodded.

[scorri]

Hoshi started at the gift. "Uhm, Raquel, if you don't want to take it... I will. The things I could do with one of those... Please. Don't turn this down."

[Toogee]

Robin shook her head in annoyance as she looked up. "Nevermind. I did not come to you to unload my problems onto you. I just wanted to try and help." she said before sighing and standing up, looking to both Aneda and Jam. Jam was over looking at the bullethole as well, just as Robin had been doing a few moments ago, obviously confused as to how it had arrived there as well. Getting up Robin quietly walked over to her.

"I do not know how it got there either. Walls are thick, though, so it did not go through to the other side. That is why it has a large crater as well." she said to Jam. "Do you know anything about it by any chance?"

"Oh yeah," Jam replied. "That's Stein's reply to some diplomat from the king. He and all the men he brought with him ran with their tails between their legs." The dancer smirked as she recalled the events, taking another bite of her apple.

[-Cynthia-]

"What's that rune do?" Veronika asked, attempting to ignore all the other things Nyx was saying. She had no desire to incite some other kind of religious argument or whatever was going on.

Nadya reached into her pocket and pulled out a small package which she carefully unwrapped. Inside was a small, ornate figurine of a dragon entirely made out of gold and studded with gemstones. The figurine resembled a long snake and had several Kigenese letters etched into it.

"So...ya know what this is or would ya like me to explain it?" she asked Ryder, prominently displaying the figurine.

[ReformBlade]

Jericho watched things happen, and with all the things he was hearing, he wasn't really convinced of joining, and even more convinced he wouldn't be allowed to anyway. "Right." he said to himself. Opting to stay out of whatever proceedings that would inevitably happen, just backing off for the moment.

Mushirah heard the questions loud and clear, though she was still a bit out of it and as such her own voice wasn't as loud in response. "I-I'm awake!" Scrambling, she righted herself up in the bed, closing the book despite wanting to give it more time and attention. "Please come in." she said after a moment,