Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Revelations

[scorri]

Once Kat had been given a plate, Erion headed back out into the dining room, in time to hear talk of sniping. "If you're looking for bow users, I'm a pretty decent shot. I can also throw my knives pretty accurately, though my bow has more distance, so it might be more useful that way." He shrugged, and sat down at a table close enough to hear what they were saying but not at the same table. Waving Kat over, he grinned at her. "Right then. Time to dig in. While we do, if you don't mind, wanna tell me how you got involved in all of this?"

[roymbrog]

Synthia’s frown deepened as she considered what Gytha had said. They didn’t really have a chain of command; at least not one people actively listened to. Her solution to the issue may not have been what the mariner would have suggested though. “Then perhaps we should give Blake an actual position, something like a staff officer. He’s already taken it upon himself to strategize for us. May as well make it official.”

---

“Ah, but surely you’re more tricky than a tree. A couch in disguise though, I could understand that,” Katrina said, though her sagely nod was somewhat ruined by the smirk she still wore. One of the kitchen workers had thrown a plate together, and she took it with a nod of thanks before following Erion to the dining hall. She set her plate across from him and sat down, with the slightest of frowns beginning to form once he’d asked his question. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to answer, just that thinking about it reminded her of things she’d rather not think about.

“Sure, though… It’s not the best of stories,” she said. “I’m just here as a mercenary, really.”

[scorri]

"Ah... Well, you've got me pegged I think. Tricky through and through. If you stick around to get to know me, you might find out just how tricky I can be. And maybe I can show you how comfortable tree branches can be, if you want." He grinned at her as she sat down and started to eat. "Hmm, fair enough. I'm mostly here because a dragon destroyed my group's wagon. Well... I suppose the story as to why I was with that group in the first place would be the more interesting one since you folks saw the whole dragon thing. But I stuck with this group because... well, a couple of things, but the main one was I needed money to send home to my family. And I'm able to get paid with this group, unlike the group headed to Kigen. Greta had been paying us but... After she lost her wagon... Woulda felt bad continuing to ask for pay, you know?"

Edited October 19, 2014 by scorri

[Mercakete]

Gytha nodded. "That'd fix it, s'long as people followed that chain o' command once it's put in place. Seems like people in this crew just prefer t' do whate'er they want, sadla. Can't say I'm entirela exempt, but I'm not takin' pay either."

[Phoenix]

Training Room

<"While on offense,"> Steinn began quietly, <"try to judge their speed, reach, and footwork. There are a lot of ways to avoid being hit. Speaking of which, there is one more rule I should warn you about, it is possible to deflect one ball with another. Only a direct hit to the body or limbs will take someone out. Defensively, focus on one of two tactics, evasion or catching. Only attempt to catch a ball if you are certain you will catch it. Don't attempt to catch one if there are two or more bearing down on you.">

"They're strategizing," Evert's partner warned him. When he shrugged, the man asked, "Do we have a plan or ...?"

"You know how to play the game and it's a pretty small pair of teams so just take them both out. It's not like we can form much of a strategy with just the two of us, and even if we could, those two can probably eavesdrop on us. Better to just play it by ear."

Dining Hall

Ernesta passively observed the dining room until Erica wandered out of the kitchen, a few moments after the most recent mercenaries. "Is there some reason there's no one waiting on the guests?" she asked the cook.

"Yep," Erica smiled nervously, despite the sureness in her tone, "I take it you haven't been to the other dining hall this morning."

"No, I've been with Master Weyland all morning," Ernesta replied, already seeing where Erica was going with this. The dining hall they were currently in was specifically for guests, while the other one was the one primarily used by the staff. That never stopped some people from wanting to eat in the slightly prettier dining hall, but it did mean that if they weren't expecting any guests, or the guests were as whimsical as the current bunch, it was unlikely they would be too concerned about it. Add to that the recent tragedies and perhaps, they were also still coping with their losses. It wasn't something Ernesta would be too harsh on them for, but she did wish the professionalism in this place wouldn't dry up at the first sign of trouble or hardship.

"I'm here to take orders if anyone would like something specific. Kou's going to help me ..." Erica paused to look over her shoulder. He was still in the kitchen, it seemed. "Once he catches up, that is."

"Very well," Ernesta said, deciding to let Erica handle things from here.

Outside

Reign quickly turned Sandrock around and began heading back to the stables in a hurry. Even if this would only take a few minutes, he didn't think leaving the horses out here was a good idea. They would just have to wait in the stables until they came back. Meanwhile, Lilith headed straight for the main entrance, her focus, mostly on the emblem piece she sensed nearby. She ventured into the main hall and found it empty. This of course, didn't last very long. Lilith had just enough time to identify the hall she would need to use, the one off to the right, before one of the maids appeared. The maid was Tamara. She'd sorely wished she wasn't the only one around, but it couldn't be helped.

She stepped closer and welcomed Lilith with a bow. "Good morning, and welcome to Master Weyland's estate. Did you have some business here this morning?"

"I'm here to see someone," Lilith answered, then her gaze returned to the hall, her body swaying toward it as she readied to take a step in that direction. "She should be in this direction ..."

"Is it Miss Valcyn?" Tamara hazarded a guess as she cocked her head at Lilith.

"Valcyn ..." Lilith repeated the name reflexively. Thoughts of the red ship flashed in front of her for a brief moment, then they vanished. She shook off the memories and nodded to Tamara.

"She's currently unconscious in the infirmary," the maid regretfully informed her.

"I know," Lilith nodded again. "I'm going to wake her up. She won't be harmed." Lilith couldn't promise that, but the chances of her actually hurting Raquel in the process were quite low. Still, she didn't have complete confidence in some of her more obscure, and unpolished abilities.

"Very well, then. This way," Tamara conceded. She began leading Lilith down the hallway.

Stables

Reign rode in and quickly hopped down from Sandrock. Rather than guiding her back into her stall, he simply hitched her to the outside. It would save some time while keeping her from wandering around. "This could work, just need to figure out the right approach," he mused to himself. Once Faatina had made sure Shariff was taken care of, it was a going to be a hurried trip to the infirmary, which unfortunately was on the other side of the estate. They could still catch up in within a couple of minutes, but not by walking.

[Ether]

"<Understood.>" Annelise replied, waiting for the signal to begin. If there was anything else to be noted, Lord Devlinos would note it.

***

Hitching Sharif nearby when they returned to the stables, Faatina caught back up with Reign.

"We should get going, huh?"

[Snike]

Well, it looks like he wasn't needed as a guide, after all. Blake continued to follow Lilith, as she in turn was led by one of the maids down to the infirmary.

[Snowy_One]

"May I please have some sausage and fried eggs for my breakfast? It has been far too long since I have had some eggs and it would be very nice to have something different from the normal grains for breakfast. Also, do you have orange juice as well? If not I will be happy with a cup of water."

[roymbrog]

“How tricky you can be, huh?” Kat said, a faint smile returning to her face. It soon disappeared at the mention of Schwartz’s attack, however. That was when Marella had died. “I… didn’t see the dragon thing, but I wish I had been there…” she said, eyes downcast. Katrina looked back over at Erion when she dropped the topic.

“Yeah, I can understand that. I’m here for similar reasons, actually. The guild back home was having some financial trouble, so I started taking jobs aboard ships.” Only one, actually, but that wasn't important. “Ran into these guys in the islands south of Skotia. …It’s been a long trip,” she finished with a mild chuckle.

---

“Well, it might help if someone they actually respect is in charge,” Synthia noted. She couldn’t think of anyone who clearly disliked Blake, so that was already one point in his favor over her. The mage was definitely getting ahead of herself here, though. All the relevant parties needed to be asked about this first. Veronika had returned to the dining hall, but was currently in conversation. “I’ll ask Veronika about it when she’s done over there.”

Edited October 20, 2014 by roymbrog

[scorri]

Erion hesitated when he saw the look on her face when he mentioned the dragon attack. Too late, he remembered that one of this group's members had died in that as well. It seemed like she'd been friends with that girl maybe. He internally cursed at himself for not remembering that beforehand. "Oh, you from 'Skotia too then? Always nice to meet someone from the same country. Though I haven't been back in years... Heading up there with this group'll be the first time I've been home since I was 12, I think. Somewhere around there."

[roymbrog]

“Yeah, born and raised there. Technically this is my first time out of the country but it’s been about two months now, so…” Katrina said. It would be nice to head home again, though. Even if the reason was to warn about demon attacks. She took a few bites of food before continuing to speak. “Wow, you’ve been away from home a while, then. You been sending money home that long?” However long that was. How old was he even?

[scorri]

"Yeah, something like ten years at this point I guess. Dunno exactly but it's somewhere around there. Been sending money back to my family as soon as I could afford to. Got lots of siblings, so need to help them, you know? That's why I left in the first place actually. Because there were so many of us, we weren't having an easy time supporting all of us... So since I was the oldest, I left home, stowed away on a ship, ended up in Kigen. Spent a while there, ... joined a thief gang cause, well, who would hire a 12 year old foreign brat? Was pretty much my only option. But it let me send money home so I did it. Eventually decided I wanted to try and head home to check on my family and started heading north." He shrugged and continued eating. He wasn't ashamed of his past but he also wasn't sure how people would react to hearing about it. He didn't want people to start thinking that he wasn't to be trusted. Just because he was a thief didn't mean he was going to start stealing stuff from his companions.

[Phoenix]

Training Room

"Alright, now back up to the opposite end of the room and wait for my signal," Evert's partner instructed. "Once I give the signal, we'll rush in, grab whatever balls we can, and the game will start."

<What is that?> Steinn's gaze shifted from the men to the wall off to their right. "Hold a moment," he said, raising a hand at the two, "there's someone here, someone that is ... difficult to measure." He only just noticed it; he sensed a wielder of magic very close by, different from what he was used to. He wasn't sure how they got so close without him noticing them, and seemingly without concealing their power. He felt he might need to see this person for himself if he was going to get a better read on them.

Evert and his partner traded glances, but Evert spoke first, "All right, sure."

Infirmary

Once they reached the infirmary, Tamara knocked a couple of times on the door. "There's a visitor here to see Miss Valcyn." Again Lilith suppressed her memories of the red ship and focused on the moment. Tamara wasn't sure if Ethan was in at the moment, but someone likely was.

Halls

As Faatina and Reign ran down the halls, the latter wondered just how much of this they were going to miss. He supposed it was fine as long as nothing bad happened, but he also wanted to catch Lilith before she left, and hopefully without having to wait in line. After passing the dining hall entrance, he realized they were actually making good time, though he doubted they had any hope of catching up before Lilith actually reached Raquel. The time it took to get the horses back inside all but guaranteed that.

Dining Hall

"Sausage, fried eggs, and some orange juice, certainly," Erica repeated, committing the order to memory. "Anyone else?"

A few moments later, Suzume returned with the others, dressed in her normal attire. It was much cleaner than it had been when she last wore it, and the wear and tear from the fighting in Chousokabe and the journey aboard the Prometheus were nowhere to be found. "Thank you," Ernesta greeted them."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

By the time Suzzy Q had returned, Gar had finished up with his own breakfast meal. Which allowed him to take in the view completely undistracted. She'd gotten her stuff repaired and cleaned, or just replaced with something similar. Either way, she was looking nice. Best not to disturb her before food, considering how desperate they were looking earlier...

[roymbrog]

Oh wow, that was a long time. That put her around his age, then. When Kat was twelve she probably spent more time playing in mud than trying to earn money. “So you’re a thief turned mercenary, huh? You might get along with someone else I know,” Kat said, chuckling. Her father’s right hand woman had a similar past, so the revelation wasn’t fazing her much. That and she was just naturally trusting of people.

“So what part of Neviskotia are you from? I’m from Lukin port,” she said, before a minor realization. Her expression became a bit sheepish. “I know I sort of met you yesterday morning with Eva, but I don’t think I’ve caught your name.”

Edited October 20, 2014 by roymbrog

[Snike]

OOC: Need to check something with duck, so just Blake for now.

The maid stopped and knocked at the door as Blake caught up. No immediate response from the inside suggested that Jethro was either not there, or in the middle of something with one of the healers. Regardless, it meant that they'd wait little longer.

Eventually, though, the healer from the previous night spoke, from on the other side of the door. "... Can't imagine she'd want to see guests, were she conscious, but come in, nonetheless."

Edited October 21, 2014 by Snike

[Ether]

It was certainly a strange presence, and had appeared so suddenly. It didn't carry the same oppressive hostility of Valdimarr's, but it undoubtedly dwarfed him in terms of power... such an odd thing.

"What should we do, Lord Devlinos?" Annelise asked, edging towards her scythe.

***

"Do you think we'll make it before anything happens? It looked like Blake was going with her, but..." Faatina trailed off, as they continued heading towards the infirmary at a run.

[scorri]

"... Ah. Right. That thing. Sorry, bit out of it this morning I suppose. I'm Erion. You're... Kat? I think I heard someone call you that at some point? I'm from a small town nearish the capital. Probably never heard of it. Most people haven't. Nothing really special comes out of there to be honest. Well, except for me of course." He kept a straight face for as long as he could before breaking out into a smile.

[-Cynthia-]

Robin had apparently overheard them talking about her and joined in. "Well as long as you're sure you can do it, there should be no problem. There won't be much time for hesitation if we're in a situation like that," Veronika warned. I wonder how awkward this might get... she thought to herself, remembering that Robin and Zach were former lovers or something to that effect.

[Eail]

"My spells can be just as accurate as any of your arrows, and if a human shield is being used even considering firing in that instance is incredibly risky for any of us." Zach replied.

As for food...

"I'll take some pancakes and bacon if that's okay, along with some coffee."

[Phoenix]

Training Room

"This likely doesn't concern us," Steinn noted. He was still curious, though. Given the seemingly limited range at which this magic user could be detected, he was doubtful he would be able to observe them while confined the to training room. "Let's go have a look."

"One of you mind explaining what the issue is?" Evert asked, smiling weakly. "This place tends to attract all sorts, lately ..." Evert was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that a battle over the leadership of an entire foreign country took place in the conference room. This was rather mundane by comparison and could have barely held his attention if not for the fact that it had the other team calling a timeout before the game even began so that they could investigate.

Infirmary

Tamara gently opened the door to let Lilith in and held it for Blake once the vasilus was inside. Lilith expected to come in, and see Raquel lying on the bed with the emblem clasped in her hands, but her assumption had been wrong. The emblem wasn't on her. Plenty of energy was stored up within her body, but it wasn't the source. The source was coming from the man across from her. It took only a split second for her to take in everything she was seeing and sensing.

She glared at Jethro and Ethan, and took a couple of purposeful steps toward them before reaching out with her offhand. "Give me the emblem," she demanded.

How? How does she know about that? Is it glowing? Jethro wasn't sure how to respond. She might have been bluffing, even though that seemed incredibly unlikely in this instance. He didn't feel like he had much to lose by testing that theory, though. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Lilith sighed. "I see where she gets it, now," she groaned, rolling her eyes. Her arm stiffened as she began to focus. She couldn't see it, but she could still sense it on jethro's person. Jethro soon flinched as he felt the emblem pull away from him through his pants pocket. He couldn't exactly hide the fact that he had it, now, not with it glowing and creating a sharp bulge in his side. In the end he had to let it roll out of his pocket and watch helplessly as it flew into Lilith's waiting hand. Her eyes shifted between the two men a few times, eyeing each with suspicion. "In the event I can't safely wake her up, I'm going to hold onto this.

Main Hall

"Doubt it," Reign said, picking up his pace just slightly. He wasn't running as fast as he possibly could; that wouldn't give him enough time to react if someone got in the way, but he was well past jogging at this point, as well. They would be coming up on the main hall soon, the halfway point in this little race. He could already see it, in fact. Beyond that, the halls converged into a small point, where he could just barely make out figures in the opposite hall. "Just the same, let's try not to miss the whole thing."

Once they were past the main hall, it was clear that they had at least missed whatever pleasantries--if any--had taken place, as two of the three figures in the distance had disappeared into a door on the left. The remaining figure had closed the door behind them and started off down the hall toward them. Reign began carefully shifting toward the right side of the hall so he could pass her without slowing down.

Dining Hall

"We'll have whatever you're making back there," one of the women spoke up when Erica approached them. They knew that if Erica was out of the kitchen, she was either taking orders or trying to snatch up volunteers and there weren't nearly enough people trying to get fed in this particular dining hall for the latter.

"It smells like some kind of pork and ... eggs?" Suzume chimed in. She would have preferred something else, but didn't want to trouble the cooks. She'd eaten all sorts of things while traveling around Tracea. She didn't anticipate any nasty surprises like awful taste or allergies, even if some of the spices and seasonings were foreign.

"Mhm," Erica nodded. "Pancakes, bacon, and a coffee," she repeated to herself after Zachary's order. "Aaand anyone else?"

Edited October 22, 2014 by Phoenix

[Ether]

"Understood." Annelise replied, turning towards Evert and the other man, who still seemed confused as to the goings on.

"An incredibly potent magic user just appeared incredibly close by, and neither Lord Devlinos nor myself noticed until now, which is... disconcerting. It's unlike anything I've ever felt before." She explained, before grabbing her scythe and waiting to see how Steinn wished to go about observation.

***

Well, it looks like they wouldn't miss too much... with the door only just closing, or so it appeared, they would be close enough that if anything did happen before they entered proper, they'd likely be well aware of it.

[Snike]

As Blake entered the room, Lilith immediately demanded the emblem from Jethro and the healer. What emblem? To the swordsman's surprise, his queston was answered moments later as Lilith used some sort of magic to draw an emblem fragment from the former's pockets. Wait, why did he have one?

"Where did you get that, and how long have you had it?" Blake asked Jethro, a bit too surprised to be polite.

"I wouldn't advise you to try that," Ethan said, surprisingly calm in the face of the vasilus. "There's a reason why she wouldn't naturally wake up for the next few days, so circumventing that with magic is a bad idea. As is taking the piece away: how do you think it got here?"

[Mercakete]

Gytha then wondered if their orders had been forgotten, or if she'd misunderstood the question before. Back when she'd been asked if she wanted anything special or if the food they were already preparing was okay, she'd said she'd just have what everyone else was having, but their food hadn't been delivered, and some were already eating. She asked Erica, genuinely confused, "Hoy, 're we s'posed t' go get th' food ourselves?"

If that was the case, it was different from how meals were normally served here, as per her experience.

[Snowy_One]

"<As I recall I bested you multiple times as a kid in accuracy.>" snipped back Robin, forgetting for a second that speaking in Skotion would not stop Nika from overhearing the comment. It didn't matter. She wasn't being hostile and even tried her best to convey a happy, somewhat jovial tone. Not like a one-ups-man-ship but a call-back to friendlier times.

She had to try to be nice after all, and even if she did want to be nice, it was important to put a conscious effort in.

"It does not matter though Zach, as I agree fully with you. Even if I was to be so much more accurate as to dismiss the idea of you striking first, there is no way to ensure I will be there, my path will be clear, or that an arrow will be the best choice. I think we should plan out both ideas. After all, if I should miss, having a second to fry the target will be very important, and that is assuming I shoot first."