Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Revelations

[Phoenix]

Infirmary

"If others in the group want to leave, that's fine," Raquel began, "I'll even make sure they know they have that choice ... but I can't. I can't get stronger if I run away after a close call like this ..."

"You don't need to be strong, Honey," Jethro shook his head.

"Yes I do! If I knew how to use the emblem in the beginning, Sardis would have never managed to take you away from me! If I had the powers I do now, I could have rescued you all by myself back then! I am not walking away now that we're so close to taking the fight to them and finishing this!"

He couldn't exactly argue with her hindsight. Such powers would have made Sardis and company's initial operations spectacular failures at best, and fatal errors at worst. He still wasn't convinced that Raquel continuing on like this was a good idea, though. Unfortunately, she didn't feel like staying behind was a good idea, either.

Training Room

"You're not trying to kill us ... that's good enough for us, isn't that right, Evert?" Evert's partner answered. "Some humans can't even get that one right," he noted with some very genuine, but deliberately timed scowling.

"Don't worry, Annelise, we're still friends." Friends ... that wasn't the word he had in mind. He hadn't had anything in mind in particular, that was just what happened to come out when he spoke. In hindsight, it seemed somewhat forward. Of course, he'd make no apologies if she didn't mind and would let the moment pass.

Steinn continued to keep track of Lilith until she disappeared again. He wasn't sure she was on her way out, but at the very least, she didn't seem to mind them.

Hallway

"Darn," Ryder snapped their fingers all of a sudden. "I should have invited myself into that. I love being an unwanted third wheel. Oh well ... off to Weyland's dining room." Catching up with Lilith proved all too easy, as she was walking, where Ryder had opted to jog. "If I had to guess, you're thinking of just giving him the old relic the rune is etched on. Am I right?"

"I take it you--rather--your mistress, doesn't want that?" Lilith replied, only turning her attention from her musings to spare the masked messenger a brief glance.

Ryder shrugged. "I think this decision isn't just difficult for him because of his personal pride, but also because he's probably assuming the money he'll be paid with is to compensate for the loss of his natural abilities." Ryder crossed their arms and sighed heavily. "He doesn't think he's going to be able to keep the rune once all is said and done, and that assumption is actually correct for, at least the time being."

"That's why I'm not so sure about this method," Lilith noted. "It's one thing to ask someone to sacrifice their time, but also their abilities, honed over years of rigorous training ..."

"If he finds out that he'd be allowed to keep the rune if he becomes a part of the system, he'll think my mistress is setting him up or some crap."

"Isn't she?"

Ryder gave a short huff and looked away. "You have no idea how sick and tired I am of hearing such things. No, Lilith, you're the one that should be offering to take him, not her."

Lilith stared blankly for a moment. As far back as she could remember ... not a single servant ... only friends following her of their own free will, and vasili assigned to her command by Wrath himself. She was a warrior, not a goddess. "This is Nyx's domain, not mine. There's very little I can do for him.

"It's only a legal matter, Lilith. It's really similar to naming Raquel a 'guardian of the emblem'. And if you handle it in the same fashion, there shouldn't be anything to worry about."

Lilith grimaced slightly. "I can't help but feel she's working some angle through your suggestions, Ryder."

"Always, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. If she intended real harm, there wouldn't be much talking involved, trust me."

"I believe you; I knew her back when she was far less ... subtle," Lilith said, giving a faint grin.

Main Hall

As they entered the main hall, Reign could see some figures outside. Curiosity rose and fell too quickly for him to stop and see who they were, though. he pressed on, keeping a loose grip on Faatina's hand. No need to take her to the floor with him if he got distracted by the rune job while running for the stables.

Dining Hall

"Pancakes are here and the coffee is done," Erica cheerfully informed the room. She'd stepped into the kitchen momentarily and just as quickly returned with the few orders that included pancakes. Once Gabbie's eggs were finished, she could take a little break ... maybe.

"Not as many as ya moight think, Connor; they're just depressingly predictable," Gabbie explained. As for how she was feeling, she wasn't sure exactly how much of that to go over with Weyland here. One couldn't serve two masters ... she'd heard that saying enough times to be sick of it by now, and here she was, trying to prove otherwise, if only subconsciously. "... Burke was in my head last noight, 'tinkering' as you moight put it. He's not gentle ... so naturally I've got a damn headache."

Weyland frowned but didn't say anything, himself. Gabbie would explain the finer details of her past, as well as the depths of her connections, when she was ready. To be fair, he knew plenty already, but since there weren't any obvious conflicts of interest, there didn't seem to be a need to do anything about it, and he trusted Gabbie more than most people, hence her rank.

Outside

"Your cloak? It's clean, right?" one of the women asked, too nervous to risk trying to look it over directly.

"I was just going to eat standing, but if you want to have a picnic, I'm fine with that," Suzume smirked.

"Sure, that sounds fun," another agreed. Just as she was about to do what her friend was too nervous to attempt, and take a closer look at Gar's cloak, she noticed an unusually dark animal in the distance, wandering around near the windows. Once it stretched and shook its wings once, she knew it was a pegasus. "Look! Look, everyone! Over there, past the tree!"

Suzume could only recall a couple of times when she had seen wild pegasi. They weren't common on Tracea. In fact, if she recalled correctly, the ones roaming that massive island were either escapees or deliberately dropped off their by foreigners for some reason or other. Of course, both of those sightings were the common white pegasi, not the less common beige, brown, or extremely uncommon black varieties. This black one probably belonged to someone, that or was unusual in that it liked to wander dangerously close to human settlements. "Does anyone working here ride a black pegasus?"

"Yeah but I thought they left, already ..."

[Ether]

"Do you promise?" Annelise whimpered, with a bit of a pout on her face.

***

"Hey, Reign... feel free not to answer, if it's not something you want to, but... well, I'm kind of clueless, when it comes to magic... what exactly... is it that you were offered, there? What do you think of it?" Faatina asked, timidly breaching the topic as they continued to run.

[Snike]

"You know, if they're on the backstep, you don't have to pursue," Ethan said. "You accomplished your goals apparently so there's no need to risk losing them for revenge."

***

"Excuse me," Blake said, as he approached the pancake announcer. "Would you know if there's any extra, outside of what's already ordered?"

[Snowy_One]

Robin didn't do too much as she just quietly nibbled away at her breakfast, doing her best to just focus on the food. After all, talking with ones mouth full very bad on the whole and a good breakfast was always good.

"<Wish I could make more food like this on the trip, but the eggs and meat would spoil quickly. Maybe I could get one of the mages to chill it, but I don't think any of them know the right spells. Never-mind having the time. Too bad Tia's gone. This would have been right up her alley. Maybe Conner can make something? I'll ask him later.>" she mused to herself as she calmly swirled her fork around on the plate.

"<Should try to talk to Gytha soon and see if... well... if there is anything to be salvaged. I screwed up so much, I don't know if there really is anything I can do to salvage or build upon now. Good to know I've been working and at least trying though.>"

[Phoenix]

Infirmary

"It's not just about revenge," Raquel insisted, "if we let them regroup again, sooner or later they're going to come after us."

"That's why you need to get rid of the emblem," Jethro gently broached the subject, again.

"No!" Jethro flinched. Not because Raquel suddenly raised her voice at him, but because in the instant she had, he thought he'd seen that phantom appear over her. It was so brief, so faint, he couldn't even be sure he actually saw anything at all. It was enough to put him on his guard, though.

Training Room

"Uh, yeah ... o-of course," Evert said, once again caught off guard. "So cheer up, okay? I'm gonna feel bad for smacking you with a ball if you're still all gloomy once the match starts," he joked ... somewhat.

"You're going to wind up collared if you keep falling for that," Evert's partner warned again.

Hallway

As far as what he was being offered, Reign was still piecing it together himself. It was all quite 'impossible' by modern standards. "From the sound of things, they're offering me a rune that will replace my psychic energy as the control medium. Psychic energy's the prevailing theory on how mages," and most everyone else for that matter, "control magic. If we didn't have that medium, we'd just be ordinary people carrying around useless staves and tomes." That was only the half of it, of course. The other half was almost depressing to even think about. "Apparently, this rune's a double edged sword; once I've had it long enough, I'll be nothing without it. That's a tough call to make on such short notice, so I'd rather eat before having to decide one way or another."

Dining Hall

"Oh there's plenty extra," Erica answered, "though, the pancakes were special orders, so if you want some you'll have to wait a few minutes while Johnny makes more."

[Script]

Xenia

"Could you please stop with that weird dragon... head thing."

A Man Called Gar

"Oh, it's clean enough, I never fight in it so it's fine," Gar shrugged at the thought. A black pegasus? Well, he really didn't care.

[Snike]

"Is that you or the dragon saying that?" Ethan asked, simply put.

***

"No, that's fine. Could I get a plate of whatever's ready, and a glass of juice, in that case? I'm bringing it to someone in the infirmary," Blake explained.

[Ether]

Annelise was feeling a bit better, now. Evert didn't seem to be lying, and didn't seem angry. Of course, there was another quip from the other man that drew a look from the Kestrelli along with a pout.

"It feels like I'm being mocked."

***

"I see... that's..." Faatina began, unsure of exactly how to respond. So in a sense, it was like an enchanted suit of armour, that offered great protection and increased strength and agility, but destroyed your muscles while you wore it... after a while you couldn't fight without the armour at all...

"It... certainly is a tough call. I don't know how I would respond, to something like that..." Faatina replied, thinking the problem over, before something dawned on her.

"Do you think they'd let you keep it, when all was said and done, if you agreed?"

***

With news that the coffee was done, Arietta made her way over to the kitchens, waving at the staff as she entered.

"Aye, how are y'all holdin' up back here? If y'could point me t'the coffee and whatever extras you guys always end up makin', I can make a plate up m'self."

Edited November 1, 2014 by Ether

[roymbrog]

Synthia shrugged. “Yeah, sure,” she told agreed with Veronika.

[Phoenix]

Infirmary

Raquel didn't realize what Xenia was talking about at first; Jethro flinching just seemed like a response to her. Had the dragon appeared again while she wasn't paying attention? Sure enough, the healer, Ethan, asked her if she was the one making these arguments, or if it was the dragon. That was all the evidence she needed. She didn't doubt for an instant that he was listening in on the conversation, and likely being put on edge by the suggestion of abandoning the emblem, but beyond that ... "This is how I feel," she told them, knowing that probably didn't carry much weight at the moment, especially when said in such a gloomy tone.

"As long as the organization's around and chasing down emblem pieces, I'll never be able to live my life without constantly looking over my shoulder, fearing the next ambush. Even without an emblem piece of my own, as soon as they catch me at a bad moment, I'm dead! There's no sense in giving them that chance, even if that means chasing them to the other end of Sardius and finishing them off. That's better than just pretending everything's back to normal and getting killed later on!"

"You don't think Weyland and I can protect you ..." Jethro concluded.

"No ... you can't. Sardis took you when he first showed up. He took me right out of this very building, and that monster, Samael, nearly killed both of us yesterday. That's why I can't just sit here and hope nothing happens."

Training Room

"No, Annelise, that would be me," Evert assured her. He'd given up on witty counters and the like, figuring he'd just get his partner back once it was time to switch up the teams.

"Are we ready, then?" Steinn turned to face the room.

Hallway

"Mmm, not sure," Reign admitted after thinking about it. "I am sure there are strings attached if that's the case. I'm starting to figure the reason Ryder was so pissed off back there is because he thinks--or knows; not really sure ... anyway, he thinks Nyx wants me working for her, even though I'm clearly 'not worth her time'. If I accept this offer, then I'm sure the only way I get to keep the rune is if I sign on with her. If that's the case, Ryder should take it up with her, since I didn't ask for this. I tend to stay neutral until I'm sure I'm not being set up."

As far as most in the estate were concerned, they had already left, so Reign wasn't too inclined to stop by the dining hall on the way out and kept his current pace.

Dining Hall

"Certainly ... what kind of juice does she want?" Erica asked. She figured the 'someone' in the infirmary was Raquel. She wasn't surprised that the girl would have wanted breakfast, having not been informed that she was in a coma not long ago.

Kitchen

"We're keepin' up. Coffee's over there," Johnny said, pointing his thumb toward one of the other workers. She was already pouring some mugs, most likely for the special orders, and others in the kitchen that could certainly use some. "And the extras are on the island," he added, pointing again. "Just let her get it for you since she's already serving," he suggested half jokingly.

"No no, by all means," the woman called back. Johnny was clearly just teasing her but in their line of work, teasing about extra work always carried the overwhelming risk of having to actually do that extra work. Things were relatively easy this morning, but she wanted to get out of the kitchen as soon as possible and she was nearly done.

Outside

"Then let's set up this little picnic riiight overrr-" the woman kept moving her hand around, but her finger never seemed to settle on any place in particular. She, like her other two friends were still distracted by the black pegasus wandering along the outside of the main building, keeping oddly close to the windows, and steadily making its way closer to the main entrance.

Suzume was looking around for suitable places as well, but in the other direction. She was already eating, however, and was on her third piece of bacon. Just before she swallowed the last of it, she noticed a strange looking wyvern looking down on them from the edge of the roof. "Is that the same wyvern that one girl was-"

"Oh crap, it's Ringo!"

"There," the other woman finally picked a spot. It was out on the grass and out of anyone else's way. They would also be out of the black pegasus' way, since it seemed to be mainly interested in the grass and bushes by the windows. She turned around at the mention of Ringo, but had to look up to see the wyvern lurking on the roof. "We should be fine as long as nobody makes any obvious signs like 'here's food, come get some', or anything like that ... I think."

Suzume started on her last piece of bacon while keeping her eyes on the wyvern. I wonder if its going to come down here ...

[Ether]

"I suppose." Annelise replied, as Steinn asked if they were ready to begin, and it seemed according to Evert, he was the one at the butt of those jabs... though she wasn't entirely sure, there didn't seem to be any point arguing.

***

"Yeah, that makes sense... the problem being that now they dragged Lilith into this, which would make it harder for you to do anything about your eye if you refuse, huh...?" Faatina replied with a scowl. What a convoluted little plot...

***

"Heh... well, good luck to y'all, looks like y'got the worst of it done with." Arietta replied, as she made her way over to the coffee and poured herself a mug, drinking it along the way to the breakfast extras.

[Snike]

"Do you know for sure that they know you're still alive? You had life-threatening injuries, remember," Ethan said, deciding to drop the dragon head point for now.

***

"She just wanted whatever's ready, so, maybe orange juice if it's available?" Blake asked. He wasn't sure, but it shouldn't matter too much.

[Phoenix]

Infirmary

"It doesn't matter if they think I'm dead right now if they come looking for this, later," Raquel explained, holding up her emblem piece briefly. Too briefly, Jethro noted; she didn't even give anyone a chance to even consider reaching for over it. "As long as they're interested in these, I have to fight them, too."

Training Room

"Time to get into positions. Evert and myself on this wall, you and Steinn on the other side. When I give the signal, the match starts," Evert's partner explained. Following the instruction, Steinn made for the other side of the training room.

Stables

"I've still got hope that I can get that fixed regardless," Reign said, though he didn't look to reassuring. "I know Ryder put it in her head that I should probably do something for her first, but it's up to Lilith what that favor is if I turn down this training job ... and that's assuming she wants something to begin with ..."

The equines were right where they'd been left, it seemed, though Sandrock was facing Riley's stall and sniffing around the gate's hinges. Suspicious, but Reign doubted she'd have figured out how to bust the stallion out of his stall if left alone. She wasn't exactly going about it in the right way.

Dining Hall

"Another orange juice order?" Erica asked, mostly rhetorically, "sure. I'll be right back."

[Snike]

"I'd disagree, if only because in that case the only thing stopping you from getting out is the thing that got you into this mess," Ethan said, shrugging. "But clearly there's an issue with it that I'm not aware of."

***

"Okay. Thanks," Blake said, as Erica left to get the plate. In the meantime, he decided to glance around the hall. Synthia and Veronika were over at a table, probably talking, but aside from that, not much was going on.

[-Cynthia-]

After obtaining some pancakes for herself, Veronika noticed Blake looking over at her table. She waved, signaling for the man to come over.

--

Connor frowned at Gabbie's revelation. "Can't we do something about this?" he asked, turning to his uncle. "We can't just let our employees be victimized by...vasilus cult things," he said, unsure of to describe Burke and the others accurately.

[Ether]

Following after Steinn, Annelise took position on the wall as well.

***

"Hmm, that's true. I guess all to do at the moment is think the offer over and see what happens..." Faatina replied, as they reached the stables. Hopefully seeing Reign's parents would help take his mind off of things, a little. It was all Faatina could really hope for as she unhitched Sharif and mounted up.

[Snike]

Aaand Veronika had noticed him looking around, so she waved him over. Alright, then.

"Something come up?" Blake asked, as he arrived at the table.

[Eail]

Well, food was finally here, so that was a nice change of pace. He was on his own for now, and had a matter that he wanted to take care of before they left for their little mission. Eating rather quickly, though still managing to maintain some table manners, Zach was... rather unsure what exactly he was supposed to do with his dishes. Figuring it was probably the right thing to do, he gathered everything up and took it back into the kitchen... probably receiving a look or two for eating so fast.

With everything else packed up into his bag, Zach kept his journal in one hand as he approached where Veronika was sitting, just as Blake was approaching as well. "I'm going to go check on the kid, I'll probably be there for a while if you need me. Look through all of this in the meantime if you get a chance, I've put a bookmark where I really started working on things last night." He told the redhead. "I'll find you before we head out today, if you don't do it first for me."

[-Cynthia-]

"All right, thanks Zach," Veronika responded, taking the journal. Quite the hard worker isn't he? Well, hopefully something useful comes out of it, she thought to herself before turning to Blake.

"Synthia and I were discussing leadership roles in the group and decided it would be beneficial to have someone in charge after me in case I am busy or...otherwise incapacitated. We thought you would be the best choice for this position," she said bluntly.

[Snowy_One]

"Wait. Zach as the second in command?" Robin asked again as she suddenly sat upright from her food, surprised at the news. "I did not expect that to happen for quite a while. I thought it would be Gytha or someone with a lot of political clout or something. Congratulations Zach?"

[Snike]

"So, you want me to be third in command, or second if Raquel ends up leaving? That's an honor, but I'm not sure it's a good idea, what with what's going on in here," Blake said, indicating his head and thus the link. "But I'm not really in the position to decide about things like that. I'd talk to Raquel, first. Just maybe not yet, since Lilith just woke her up a few minutes ago."

[-Cynthia-]

Well this is awkward... Veronika thought about Robin's interjection, deciding that she'd probably catch on eventually. "Lilith woke Raquel up? That's...unexpected, but good news. In any case yes, I suppose you would be either third or second depending on what Raquel decides to do. We should bring the matter up soon, but I suppose Raquel needs time to recover and speak with her father," she said to Blake, attempting to remain composed. I'd like to see how Raquel is doing, but I should give her some space- especially since we do have business matters we need to discuss.

[Phoenix]

Infirmary

"I'm not going to risk that," Raquel explained. "They know my name, my face, my family ... if I lose this, I'll be helpless ... and then, if they ever decide to come after us, we're finished. I'd rather just stay and finish this."

Jethro sighed, realizing that Raquel had made up her mind well before this debate had gotten underway. That left him no other choice then ... he'd have to accompany them and try to diffuse the situation along the way somehow.

Training Room

<Make certain not to use your wings during the opening charge; the displaced air could force the remaining balls right onto their side of the field,> Steinn gave a covert warning as they waited for the signal to begin the match.

"So Evert, how about I let you and your soon to be master have some alone time while I focus on Steinn?" the man quietly prodded.

Evert smirked. "Steinn, huh? I didn't know he was your type. I hear fallen princes are tough to get, though. You'll probably have to fight through a lot of fallen girls to even have a chance. Mind the talons, man. Mind the talons."

"Oh, shut up, already."

Dining Hall

"Well that would depend on Gabbie, here," Weyland noted, looking at the woman briefly. Sooner or later she was going to have to explain to Connor that she was as much a part of this 'cult' as Burke or any of the others, and willingly so.

"Don't worry about it," Gabbie said, the response coming out as a muffled groan. "It'll come in handy."

"Let's hope so," Weyland frowned. "I'd hate to think whatever he was doing had no positive effects whatsoever. That's just a failed unethical experiment and nothing more."

"Brace yourself ... Lilith and Ryder, are here."

Sure enough, as soon as Weyland looked to the entrance, Lilith had already stepped into view, and Ryder was close behind, tailing her like her own shadow. He imagined the former was here to check on her appointed emblem carrier and company. The latter could have been here about any number of things, though Weyland feared it had something to do with the Paladin.

"Good morning, everyone," Ryder greeted the room, in much the same way Veronika had earlier. "Is breakfast still on? I haven't eaten in days." Meanwhile, Lilith closed in on Weyland's table, or rather Weyland himself. She didn't look like she would actually be sitting down, herself. Erica returned from the kitchen around that same time with some coffee mugs, a glass of orange juice, and the food for Raquel.

Roads

And they were off, to another breakfast, and toward that now bewildered hub of chaos known as Europa. With only one stop to make, Reign's hurry was driven more by the knowledge that it would still take them about half an hour to reach their destination than anything else. His parents would be finished with breakfast well before noon, after all.

On the way out, he noticed some people, mostly women, standing around the main entrance. It must have been the same ones they passed on the way to the stables ... and Gar was with them. In fact, Gar seemed to be the only guy there. He couldn't help but smirk at the scene as they passed.

Edited November 5, 2014 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

"Raquel's awake?!" Why hadn't anyone told her? She'd asked to be informed if the merchant woke up, after all... Well, quick as a flash, Gytha was out of there and on her way to the infirmary, leaving her empty dishes where they were. With any luck, Jethro wouldn't have actually met up with Raquel yet. She'd been waiting for that moment for a couple months now, and she really didn't want to miss it.

[Ether]

'<Understood.>' Annelise mentally noted back, waiting for the signal to begin.

***

"I wonder what Gar's gotten himself into this time... I never know what to expect from that guy..." Faatina noted as they passed the group by, now finally on their way, and with one less stop to make due to that prior excursion.

"Man, I wonder what the odds were that one of Nyx' servants would arrive right then and there, saving a stop... well, I guess odds haven't meant much whenever Raquel's been nearby..."

***

After grabbing breakfast along with some coffee, Arietta moved to the dining hall and began to eat, arriving just in time to see the mariner woman sprint off like a madman.

"Any Idea what's up with her?" She asked, walking over to the gathering of what few authority figures this group maintained.

Edited November 3, 2014 by Ether