Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Flight

[Snike]

"Don't worry about it. Just keep her safe," Evelyn said, as she turned to face the door.

Pete, in the meantime, moved up, ready to leave. There wasn't much else to be said, after all.

[scorri]

"I... uhm, ok. And that's good. Uhm, we should probably not stay in the city too long. After what we did... Uhm, yeah." She fidgeted a bit and sighed.

[Nanami Touko]

"Duh, hahaha. We just assaulted the Wrathites, the church, and killed one of their leaders. Well, he seemed like a big wig. Whatever, I don't want to think about him." Alastor was still the big annoyance to Eva, so she stopped thinking about him. "Hope that group comes on through soon... I doubt we'll be safe here for long, if the news from the cathedral spreads quickly... Want me to carry you again when we have to run? If you can keep up, that's fine, too." Eva laughed a little, teasing at Hoshi's size.

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"I-I know...sniff... It was just so scary, an-and I couldn't do anything at all..." Tia kept holding onto his robes and crying into them, no doubt staining them, probably to the chagrin of the man. "I'm so sorry... I wish I could've helped..." Tia knew she had to figure out how to do something now, or she'd just be a liability. But what? What can I do?

[roymbrog]

With so many of their group gathered here now, it was becoming more dangerous to linger, but they couldn’t leave until everyone was out… Valter could only pray the warpers moved quickly to move Amon and the others. It should only take one or two more…

At Joanna’s question he turned to face her, and this time she had his undivided attention. “You’re right -- It’s not. We were supposed to meet with Amon’s friend, Haythem, and his wyvern would fly you out of city limits. The rest of us were going to join up with Glen and the wagon. Once we’re out of the city we’re heading south, towards Kigen,” he explained.

There was more to be said on long term goals and what exactly they were doing in Kigen, but there would be plenty of time to tell her about that later. Right now, the words he couldn’t find in the cathedral were starting to come to him, albeit only some of them. He hesitated for a moment, transitioning between an unsure to slightly pained expression, before speaking again. “Listen, Joanna, I… I’m sorry about what happened, in the Cathedral. I knew violence was inevitable when I walked in, though hoped it wouldn’t be. I’m not asking you to forgive me or accept my actions; in fact, you shouldn’t. But I am sorry I caused you pain.”

[-Cynthia-]

"Let's get this over with," Nadya said, moving into the warp area. She was unsure about this new method of transportation, but being attacked again was highly unappealing.

At least he appears to have some remorse, Liam admitted to himself as Valter apologized. "I still have not seen Joanna's emblem piece which was supposedly taken from the Wrathites. It is of vital importance that it be in her possession and no one else's," he stated firmly.

[Toogee]

Jam had clenched her eyes during the entire warp process. She only opened them once the outdoor air touched her face. Thankfully, they had all made it out the same way they came in. All her body parts were her own, with the possible exception of her arm. That changed when Tia let go to run for Shadrak.

"We're OK too you know..." Jam thought as Tia confided with Shad

Though the warping was out of the way, Jam remained unusually quiet. The look on the prince's face laid heavy on her mind. The dancer simply walked away from where they landed to avoid running into the last bunch of warpees.

Edited August 30, 2014 by Toogee

[Afterglimmer]

Luther stepped forward as the acolytes announced that they were ready. While the acolyte didn’t sound confident, there wasn’t a better option at this point. The hunt for their group was already underway if the poorly-disguised newcomer was to be trusted. Amon seemed to know her, so the thought was pushed back for now. All that was left was to wait for the others to step forward so they could be warped out. At this point, there was no point in worrying about the acolyte’s ability with what might be a small army breathing down their necks.

[Phoenix]

Recovery

Shadrak tried to see things from Tia's point of view. At the very least, he concluded, she wasn't quite as used to violence and death as he was. He was no veteran, but Shadrak had seen more than a few dozen corpses pile up around him and those he generally fought with. This was nothing new, and there was no chance this would be the last time it happened. Making a mental note to take off his vest once Tia was done crying all over it, he said, "It honestly might be best if you stay off the battlefield in the future, but it's good that you want to contribute there, too. It might be better to help Greta with her merchant thing in the meantime, though. We're going to be avoiding battles when we can, especially in Ursium, so there's no need to try and find a role in combat right now. Just go'head and let it out. We'll figure ... figure something ..."

Joanna's gaze fell; they were definitely going to be sleeping outside, but the mention of a wagon hinted at at least some preparation. As humble as she was in most matters, Joanna absolutely loathed sleeping directly on the ground. With hair as long as hers, every morning she woke up to the daunting task of combing through all of it. If she had dirt and possibly even bugs to contend with as well, she might actually have to enlist help, a somewhat embarrassing prospect.

She was a little shocked when Valter said she shouldn't forgive him. It was true, a lot of people wouldn't, especially any relatives or close friends Alastor might have had, but she wasn't just a part of the Order of Mercy, she was a die-hard altan adherent, and forgiveness was not something she felt she had the right to withhold from anyone. Shaking her head a few times, she said, "I forgive you, Valter," with words clearly meant to preemptively bulldoze any argument.

Final Landing

"Well, thank you for choosing us, and I hope you get to your destination safely. Have a good one," the first acolyte said before giving his staff a good couple of twirls, slamming the tip down precisely on the ground, producing the light glyph, and then with greater speed than his first attempt, sending the remaining rescuers into town in a brilliant display of light.

"Glad that's over," the quiet acolyte murmured.

"Is there anything else we can assist you with?" the first acolyte asked Evelyn.

Shadrak saw the light, but he didn't sense it in time like Joanna had, and he tried his best not to fall Tia as he was knocked over by Fizza. When the light faded, Shadrak was on the ground, and Fizza was standing in a position she'd taken up to keep herself from joining Shadrak on the aforementioned ground, not unlike a combat stance, but useless in an actual fight. "Hah, funny warping into you."

Can't win, Shadrak muttered to himself. "Why's that?" he growled while making sure Tia hadn't been injured by the warp.

"Oh no reason~"

Amon had come out more or less alright, but closer than he'd like to Liam. It seemed that in aiming the group away from where the last batch had landed, while the group itself was simultaneously moving to avoid that same spot, they had narrowly avoided more collisions. "Everyone alright?" Amon asked. Well obviously Shadrak and Tia weren't ....

[scorri]

Lumi nodded. "Hopefully things will come out ok." As she said that, the rest of the group arrived. As they did, she turned to Liam who she'd ended up nearby in their attempts to move out of the way, and said, "I know you weren't talking to me but our group didn't get the emblem. We sent one of our number to go get it. Theoretically we're meeting up with him and our wagons and mounts after this. At least, I think that was the plan."

[Mercakete]

From the looks of things, there weren't any more falling members to worry about, so Norbert and Rizen glided back to the ground and touched down. As Rizen folded her wings, Norbert asked the group as a whole, "Alright, that's done. So, are we getting out of here now or what?" He was a little more impatient, irritable, and unsociable than he usually was, but that was just because of the metal that was digging into his side and the potential of enemies bearing down on them at any given moment. They weren't that far from the cathedral...

[roymbrog]

Valter wasn’t surprised by Joanna’s response, but he didn’t look happy about it. “Joanna, you-“ he started, but cut himself off and sighed. He wasn’t going to change her mind, and he didn’t really want to, but it was still discomforting. “Alright,” he said eventually.

To Liam’s implied question, he clarified what Lumi had explained. “She’s right; Malik split off to find it. If all goes well, we’ll meet up with both him and the emblem piece soon.”

[Snike]

Pete nearly collided Lumi when he was warped, but managed to steer himself away before that could happen. Once he regained his balance though, he took a look around. It looked like everyone had made it intact, though evidently the wagon and the other mounts outside of the hothead pegasus knight's were nowhere to be seen. That was to be expected, though.

While the others continued to talk, and prepare to actually leave, the axeman kept an eye out for any wrathites. It would suck if they got caught now that they were free of the cathedral, after all.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

Nadya landed with little incident near to where Shadrak and Tia were. Tia was whining for some reason or other and Shadrak was suggesting what she could do in the group.

"Not that anybody asked for my opinion, but maybe she should just go home. We have enough problems without worryin' about some kid," she pointed out, feeling as if someone needed to state the obvious.

Liam

Joanna predictably forgave Valter- Liam trusted that his own silence on the matter reflected his opinion. "Then it appears our next course of action is to leave and find this 'Malik' person," he stated. Whether we will stay with them after that remains to be seen...

[Nanami Touko]

"Guess that's all of us... Offer's still there, Hoshi, take it or leave it, 'cause we'll be leaving pretty quick, I think." At least everyone almost looked fine, save for Shadrak who was now on the ground. Wonder who was just warped in on him... I don't recognize her.

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Tia didn't have much else to say so she just continued to cry into Shadrak, an action of which was quickly stopped as someone warped in on him and he was knocked over. She stumbled, but managed to keep her balance, a little bit confused as to what had even happened. She quick brought hands to her eyes to try and dry herself off, sniffling as she looked at the situation. "Who's that?" She didn't expect an answer, it was just what her mind jumped at. Of course, Nadya had to add to the situation with her opinion. Normally Tia would've spouted something back, but as she thought of something to say, an answer didn't come. So she looked at the ground instead and continued to sniffle.

[Ether]

"Well, seems we're all here... we shouldn't dawdle." Angelica noted... there didn't seem to be anyone missing, though there was an addition.

"Well well, it looks like Fizza showed up in the end after all..."

[scorri]

Hoshi gulped, looked around and then quietly sighed. "I... uhm, I think I can keep up. I don't want to, uhm, add more to your burden. You, uhm, have enough as it is."

Lumi meanwhile nodded. "Right, Malik, that's the name. Couldn't remember." Pete appeared, almost on top of her, and she grinned at him. "Got my arm fixed! You ready to move out? I don't remember where we're supposed to be meeting people, but getting out's probably the best idea."

[Nanami Touko]

"You? Add to my burden?" Eva laughed almost too loudly. "You look like you're barely breaking one hundred pounds! I could carry you all day and I wouldn't feel a thing. If you say you can keep up, I won't grab you up, but if I see you start to fall behind, you'd best watch out. Don't want to lose our leader, after all." Eva grinned playfully at Hoshi, and giggled.

Edited August 30, 2014 by I have opinions

[Snike]

"We're meeting them outside of town, I think," Pete said, still looking around for threats. "Southern side, maybe? Regardless, I'm ready if you're ready."

[scorri]

Lumi nodded. "Ready to go. Lets start. Others will follow, don't you think?" She started to head out, headed towards the outskirts of the city.

Hoshi nodded and stammered, "I... I, uhm, that would work I suppose. I... yeah. It looks like others are heading out. Should... should we follow?"

Edited August 31, 2014 by scorri

[Nanami Touko]

"Yeah, everyone's here... I guess we should start. Stick close to me, alright? We'll follow Amon's lead, once he moves." Eva looked over at him, wondering when he was going to. Everyone seemed like they were ready to walk, at least. How long until the Wrathites catch up to us? Can we make it out of the city before then? Guess we'll have to try...

[Afterglimmer]

The landing went off with little issue as Luther appeared near the warrior and his friend. The others were preparing to leave; seeing as everyone was now accounted for. The two nearby mentioned where they were heading; so there would be no need to ask where they were headed. The mercenary followed the others who were already moving out. The more distance they can between them and the cathedral, the better.

[Phoenix]

Heading Out

Fizza gave a light wave at Angelica and then turned toward Amon to see if there was anything else that needed doing before they left.

Going on foot wasn't the ideal way to travel right now but he'd been mentally preparing himself for that and much more as the mission dragged on. All things considered, a hasty seven mile march wouldn't be so bad. They had enough of a head start on their would be pursuers to not have to just run and hide first. "Okay, let's get going if no one's hurt."

It was a little too insensitive to go into some of the details of why he wanted Tia around for the time being, at least in front of her, Shadrak decided, hauling himself off the ground. Not that Nadya would approve anyway ... "She's not exactly safe wandering around on her own. Even if she could handle traveling alone, Raquel still hasn't finished with her books as far as I know, so ..." and suddenly, he couldn't help but wince for bringing that up.

Rendezvous

Amon had been a little worried that, essentially walking, wasn't the best way to handle this 'escape', but with the group fully recovered, Joanna ... somewhat disguised, and Fizza along to help again, the odds of them even being accosted, much less confronted with force they couldn't handle, was slim to none. Still, occasionally, or whenever they reached any sort of downward incline, Amon picked up his pace, hoping to make good time heading for the outskirts. The closer they got to the southern city gate, the more often the Sancturan found himself jogging and checking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't unwittingly pulling ahead. They were keeping pace.

Eventually, they made it to the rendezvous, and Amon was surprised to have spotted the wagon long before picking out Isis among the various boulders. there was almost no grass in this area, which was curious in and of itself, but these boulders didn't exactly belong here either. Amon wasn't complaining, though, as they made the giant lump that was Isis less conspicuous. "Oh hey, y'all made it," Greta greeted the conquering heroes.

"Where's Malik?" Amon immediately asked Haythem when he didn't see the red haired Sancturan anywhere. He could worry about being introduced to the new faces later. Right now there was the success or failure of Malik's part of the mission to worry about. If by sheer bad luck he had failed to get the emblem out of there, this might have all been for nothing simply because they wouldn't be able to convince Joanna not to go back for it.

Haythem broke off his discussion with Glen for the moment. "He was here a few minutes ago," Haythem shrugged. "Said he'd be back once he took care of something. He ran off over there somewhere," he explained, pointing eastward. Amon leaned that way but couldn't make out anyone close by, not in this darkness. No movement, either. He'd have thought the rain clouds spreading the moonlight over the plains would have made it easier to see, but he just didn't notice anyone out there.

"Hmm." Only a few possibilities, but no way of narrowing them down without more information. "Did he get the emblem?"

"Yeah, and he still has it. It's in this weird box. I figured he ran off to find something to open it with since Glen didn't have any ideas."

"That box can't be forced open," Joanna noted with some concern as she pulled back the truthian robe's hood. It wasn't the best fit with her wings stuffed into the outfit as well, flight feathers scrapping the ground the whole way, but at least she wasn't immediately identified as an avian this way.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya raised an eyebrow as she walked. "And ya think she's safer with us, between Wrathites at our back and headin' into the Fallen? If she wanted her books back from Raquel, she should probably stick with her," she noted aloud, finding this whole arrangement a bit strange at this point.

Liam felt some relief as the emblem piece was apparently in a box that only Joanna could open. That should deter thieves- unless this Malik just runs away with the box...

[Mercakete]

"We're not stopping here, are we?" Norbert asked Amon as he rode up beside him. It was dark, but his tone indicated his mood well enough: it was a bit sourer than usual. Truth be told, his injury had been aggravating him more and more and he was getting impatient with the slow pace. As far as he was concerned, the sooner they found a safe place to set up camp, the better, and not just so that he could finally tend to his injury. "This place isn't safe." Already, he was looking around to see if the others were getting their mounts ready or getting into the wagon.

[Nanami Touko]

Along the course of their seven mile march, Eva ended up picking Hoshi back up. The woman didn't seem to show any signs of being more tired than necessary for such an action, but Eva felt kinda bad about being on of the few people that was entirely healed, and not doing anything to help those out who were hurting (and she was not going to ask Norbert if he wanted to be carried).

But she was light, and it didn't hinder her marching, so Eva didn't mind. Felt kinda nice to help someone out in a way that didn't require her to have to hit something with a sword. Not that she'd prefer it this way, of course...

As they came upon the mounts and the wagon, Eva quickly looked around for Sasha, a smile starting as she made our her dull green brick of a wyvern. "We're here, so I'm gonna let you down, Hoshi. And you might want to take a few steps back." She let the mage down and took a few steps away, herself, making sure no one was behind her. Then she whistled at her wyvern, and he immediately sprang up. It only took a few bounding steps before he was in front of Eva, though as he made to stop, he pushed his head into her and shoved her over. She laughed, he began sniffing her, and she pet his head. "<I missed you too, boy. But there's no time to catch up and relax. We need to get flying.>" For whatever language comprehension wyverns had, when Eva said flying, Sasha's tail began to slowly wag left and right. "First, though..."

She got herself up and made a beeline for Angelica, grabbing the girl by the wrist and starting to drag her back to her wyvern. "You, me: talk. Get on the wyvern." Sasha stared at Angelica and began sniffing her, confused by who the new person was. Since she was with Eva, she definitely was not a snack, Sasha decided.

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Tia made no comment other than "my books aren't important anymore," as Nadya and Shadrak had a tiny back and forth. She knew why she was here. Shadrak was the only person that could help her get her magic back, and if that wasn't possible, she could learn how to do something from someone else. But fighting was just so...terrifying. How could she do what the others did, if she cowered now, at the first sign of a fight? Even Jam, someone barely older than her, had managed to bark at some of the biggest foes in that cathedral fight. There'll be something... No one's useless if they try hard enough...

Edited August 31, 2014 by I have opinions