Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Flight

[Phoenix]

Ursaea: Southern Gate

"No, she didn't," Doran scowled, "these bandits really like taking down our fliers and they're surprisingly good at it. So like I said, you'd better watch yourself up there."

Fortunately, the trip to the southern gate had been relatively smooth, but unfortunately, as Shadrak noticed, they arrived to a bit of barely restrained contention between Norbert and one of the guardsmen. "There are an awful lot of you going with them," Haythem said to the entirety of the patrol.

"Of course," a guard called back, "we're going to pay them back tenfold for ambushing our people and humiliating us like this."

[Mercakete]

Norbert's jaw clenched as he thought about the pegasus knight who had helped him. Unlike many of the other guards stationed here, she had been more concerned with justice than with her own, personal interests. Many of the soldiers turned a blind eye to his mistreatment, or shied away from getting directly involved, even when they could have intervened. This woman had been determined enough to break into his interrogation and give her testimony in spite of what it could have meant for her. She openly rebuked the unfair way they had been treating him...

I never even knew her name...or got to thank her... The rider's intense, fiery glare was fixed on the ground. She doesn't deserve this... She didn't deserve to be killed like that! It-- He paused. Thinking about it like this, he actually had something in common with the woman. It... He raised his glare to Doran again. ...wasn't a fair fight... The difference was that Norbert had lived.

He was livid...but for now, there was more to address. The rider shook his head. "We're not going to be in the sky when we get close to their base, you idiot. Fighting bandits at night in their own territory is stupid, so we'll be using the wings to save time, but we're landing when we get close enough to where you think their base might be. If this group of bandits have ballistae and expect attacks from above, they won't be looking down. And if they do, we'll have tree cover. I'm not going into open air and we're not taking a road! And if they have ballistae, they have somewhere to put them, so we're probably dealing with high walls and a big base with a lot of well-established bandits. But that's all we can plan for with what we know. You had some scouts come back, right? Tell us what they found out so we can get this overwith, and I mean useful things like what kind of weapons they use, if any of them have wings, if they go by a certain name, and where you think their base is and I'll need something more specific than 'somewhere in the mountains!'"

[Phoenix]

Ursaea: Southern Gate

"Looks like I'm not telling you much, orphan trash, because they didn't find out anything useful. They came back before they got very far or ran into anyone," Doran replied dismissively. "This is a scouting mission, so that's what you people need to do, scout. If you're so interested in the weapons they use, we're pretty sure they're using swords, axes, and bows since that's what survivors of the road attacks told us and what we generally find on the bodies that turn up. Hope that tree cover works out for you."

[Mercakete]

"It will; this isn't my first time hunting bandits in the mountains," Norbert snapped back. Still, he had to admit that the new information was at least a little helpful. Ambushes typically happened on roads, so staying clear of those should help. Still, the sort of bandits that used axes and bows typically didn't ride flying mounts. That is, at least in Ursium. He still figured that they may be dealing with pegasus-riding swordsmen. It was just plain easier to fly through the mountains than it was to walk, and most of the casualties had been to flying combatants. "And I don't buy that you don't have any better way of narrowing down the search area. Where about was it that most of your flying scouts were killed?"

[Phoenix]

Ursaea: Southern Gate

"As if I'm supposed to care what some orphan prick does or doesn't believe," Doran rolled his eyes, "We only found two riders dead. The others just never came back. We're assuming they all died based on that." Sure, they might have been captured, but the chances of surviving a fall from general scouting altitude while up in the mountains was somewhat low. Even if they wanted to take someone alive, they would have to force them down softly, somehow, and as far as the guardsmen were concerned, 'soft' was not a word that so much as belonged in the same sentence as 'bandit'.

"Right," another guard concurred, "the ones we found probably didn't get very far in their searches since we were trying to check every feasible area and we found them pretty close to the city. If we knew where the rest of them died we would have found the blasted hideout by now. I'm willing to bet those bandits are sniping down our scouts and then hauling away the bodies, either to their hideout, or somewhere else to throw us off. The fact that we found two of our dead scouts so close to the city more or less proves that."

"It doesn't prove anything, but the point is we have no idea where they're hiding and the bodies we have found aren't telling us very much," Doran concluded.

"Bandits one, guardsmen zero," Haythem said under his breath.

"This is just sad," Shadrak shook his head.

[Mercakete]

"So you all just want us to do your jobs for you because you can't handle it on your own, huh?" Norbert summarized, "And before you go on about not being a scout again, I mean that it's your jobs to protect the people who live in Ursaea! And I'm not even going to get into other things you're supposed to be doing or not doing that you've ignored. But you know, I'm not going to expect that you'd own up to any of that. So, if we have the entire mountain range to search, we'd better get to it or we won't be done before autumn."

Well, he was annoyed, but if there was no more information to be had, there was no point in waiting around. So, Norbert turned Rizen towards the mountains, about ready to take to the sky.

[Toogee]

Jam watched as Norbert had his confrontation with one of the guards. They learned that some of the scouts were found close to the city, possibly carried there. Did that mean bands of these bandits were already waiting in the forest? Could they be walking into something regardless of mode of travel? There was another curious detail Jam noted, one she said aloud in order to break up the tension between Norbert and the guards.

"What about the pegusi? Were they found with the scouts?" She wondered if the pegs were captured alive, perhaps to be sold for profit. The missing scouts themselves could have been met with the same fate...

Edited April 28, 2015 by Toogee

[Phoenix]

Ursaea: Southern Gate

"The hell would you know about my job?" A rhetorical question on Doran's part, and one he'd be following up instead of addressing the blonde woman asking about pegasi. There were more than enough other patrolmen for that. "My job is doing whatever our dear commander says; protecting people only works when they're around to be protected. Now go find that blasted hideout, already so we can avenge the people they killed. That's my assignment today and I'm damn well going to do it."

One of the other patrolmen addressed Jamilla. "Yes, but ..." "Clearly tampered with," another patrolman completed the thought for him. "Probably rolled over."

"Or moved," said the man who felt the bodies were being moved closer to the city.

"Well, Fizza, Shadrak, Ingret," Haythem turned to face the lot of them atop Isis, "it's not safe to bring her any further, at least not while there could be ballistae being manned up there. Maybe at night, but I can't really see where I'm going in total darkness. Isis can, but she doesn't know what to look for ... ... neither do I, come to think of it. Maybe Greta was right about that signal."

"Thank you for the ride, Haythem," Shadrak said, restraining some irritation meant for someone else. "You should probably just stay here. I can't see Isis being much use up there with so many projectiles to worry about, anyway."

[Toogee]

Though Jam appreciated the response, she was a bit confused by the answer.

"I don't get it. How do a bunch of bandits manage carry bodies, pegasus bodies no less, so close to the city without anyone noticing? Not even a trail left behind? They can't be that far away."

The dancer had the urge to look around. Were they being watched?

[Mercakete]

"There are probably a lot of them," Norbert irritably reminded Jam, "And a lot of people who have to be strong to survive moving a pegasus and its rider through land that's not being properly watched by its guardsmen -- especially at night -- isn't impossible, especially if they're doing it to make a point. Maybe something along the lines of 'this is our territory, so get tough or get out...or hire a bunch of mercenaries from a merchant because you can't find us yourselves.'"

He'd remained where he was in case something useful came up, but in the end, he was only further convinced that sticking around was wasting time. He wouldn't say it aloud, but he did agree with Doran on one point: that they should get moving. "Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to get airborne already so that these bandits can get some cold, hard reality smashed into their skulls: even if this place does belong to them right now, it won't for long, because people are finally wising up and doing something about it...or, I guess, in this case, finally being told what they're in armor for because they couldn't figure it out for themselves. And maybe at least one of them still doesn't know, but that's beside the point. Now, anyone wanting to get this done, let's go! I'm tired of just sitting here and waiting!"

All that said, Norbert and Rizen launched into the sky and began flying towards the mountains, not particularly caring if anyone followed. A head start in scouting was a head start in scouting, and he'd just fill anyone in if he found anything before they did.

[Toogee]

Jam still didn't see how that many bandits could pass through the forest together without leaving any sort of trace. Norbert must have been right: these guards didn't know anything. Looks like it was up to Team Wagonless (we need a new name) to save the day.

"I don't think he's waiting for us," Jam said to Eva as Norbert sailed towards the mountains.

[Nanami Touko]

Eva had almost fallen asleep standing next to Sasha, as Norbert continued his crusade of anger against the guards from the town, only to be awoken by the sound of wings and Jam's words. "Wha-- huh? Oh, uh, oh, oh!" She shook her head and woke herself up, scrambling back on top of Sasha. "R-Right then, we should get going. Get on, Jam." Angelica was still sitting normally, but Eva had a feeling that if they were going to take off again, she'd be switching herself around, and Eva would probably have to deal with that.

[Toogee]

"I never got off, silly," Jam laughed, still sitting behind Eva. "You sure you're up to this? Wouldn't want to crash into a mountain or something."

[Phoenix]

Ursaea: Southern Gate

With no better options at the moment, Shadrak decided to fall in with the patrolmen and head up the mountain with them. If the group decided to help out, he would be in the perfect position to help from the get-go. If not, he would try to catch a ride down the mountain with one of the fliers. From what he could tell, Fizza had the same idea, as she was following close behind him. "Come on, Ingret," he called back to his bodyguard. It felt nice having someone around whose first priority was his safety. He wondered how long he would be able to enjoy the extra security.

"Since I have to wait around, anyway, do you mind if we wait here at this gate?" Haythem asked Doran.

"Sure, but don't get mad at us if someone starts taking shots at that over sized wyvern of yours," Doran pointed at Isis.

"They wouldn't really do that would they?"

Doran shook his head. "I don't really know, and I don't really care. That's for you to figure out." With that, he left, aiming to catch up with the rest of the patrol.

[Nanami Touko]

Eva shook her head again. "Right, okay... Leaning was a bad idea. No mountain crashing, promise." She figured it'd be at least polite to bring it up, since Angelica hadn't actually said anything. "Hey, uh... Do you want to move before we take off again, or are you good?"

[Ether]

"I'm about as good as I'll get." Angelica replied with a bit of a scowl, showing quite obviously that her mood was not the greatest.

[Nanami Touko]

"Feisty," Eva said, without any tone of playfulness. She knew Angelica would probably try and get back at her later, but right now they had to move! So, a few wing flaps later, and Sasha was flying after Bert, Eva doing her best to keep her wyvern not that close, lest his pegasus freak out about the lizard 'chasing' it.

Edited May 3, 2015 by I have opinions

[scorri]

Lumi had been staying quiet through the exchange, but as the other fliers took off, she quickly followed them, not wanting to miss out on any of this.

[GoD]

Getting off... I think Isis might be annoyed by how long I took to get this post done~

When they had arrived, instead of dismounting off of Isis immediately, Ingret chose to remain there and listen in on the conversation occuring between the scouting party and the guards. Ingret had to confess though, he really disliked riding mounts; it was less that it was uncomfortable and more that he hated heights. "Well, I'm grateful that sir Haythem ordered his wyvern to walk, it made the trip much more bearable. Still I much prefer walking or running than riding, it's just not my forte."

After some time passed, Ingret had enough of listening to the guard blather on. It seemed as though they held nothing actually useful in regards to the bandits, well nothing that could have been found out by checking the bodies themselves. One thing was sure, the bandits were either extremely cocky, or just that smart. "Still even if these people are nothing but buffoons, evading the garrison for this long is worrisome... I would very much like to challenge their leader. He would appear to be a clever opponent."-thinking this, the knight grinned, his hands twitching and his eyes closed. But a few seconds later, he opened his eyes, his hands curled into fists and his grin replaced with a frown.

"No, right now my priority is protecting Shadrak. That is my mission, and I shall perform it to the best of my capabilities."

It seemed as though the time he had to think was coming to an end, as Shadrak had asked him to dismount and Haythem was getting ready to leave.

With a grunt, Ingret gathered his equipment and left the wyvern's back and nodded to Shadrak. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm am ready to go anytime you are."

With that said he turned to Haythem and nodded at the young man. "Thank you very much for escorting us all the way here, Sir Haythem."

[Phoenix]

Fare Thee Well

"Oh, it's no problem," Haythem gave a small wave as Ingret joined the others. "Good luck." Now to find something to do while he waited to hear back from them. He supposed he could escort Greta around like he was doing before, but that wouldn't be quite so easy this time around, not with Isis here. He couldn't chance leaving her by herself this close to Ursaea. Even if she had a massive and obvious harness around her torso, some idiot might decide to attack her anyway and get a mob behind them. There was no way he was leaving her alone right now.

Signs of Foul Play

With Norbert having taken the lead from the start, both groups wound up following him. Making their way up the mountain off the beaten path wasn't easy, nor was keeping up with the pegasus rider, but they were managing. One of the first places they decided to stop, however, was one of the sights where a scout, along with their pegasus, was found. The bodies had since been removed, but there was still plenty of evidence of the tragedy left behind.

"Huh, just like the report said," Doran crossed his arms. There were old signs, dried blood mostly, of a carcass being dragged to the spot, probably by a small group. It had clearly been moved from somewhere higher up on the mountain and left closer to the city. Looking as far past the trees as he could, Doran could still see bits and parts of Ursaea, though little more than the defensive wall that keep these bandit savages out. They were still pretty close to the city, so he doubted the bandits' hideout was anywhere nearby.

"So far so good. We haven't been attacked, yet," a patrolman noted.

"This is still going to take awhile. I think we should start looking for a place to set up camp," another chimed in. "We're definitely going to be out here all night."

"Captain," Doran called over to one of the more heavily armored patrolmen, the leader of the patrol, "it's a bit too early to start thinking about that, especially since we're basically in their territory, now. I suggest getting as far as we can, before it gets really dark out here, and then securing an area we can easily defend for the night."

"Scout boy," the captain turned his sights on Norbert, "have any input here? You and your people are the ones we're following around out here."

[-Cynthia-]

Back at Camp

After brushing and patting Luca, Nadya found herself with little to do back at the camp. Normally, she wouldn't have minded the quiet- but this was the uneasy quiet of half their group scouting bandits while Ursian forces were probably searching for them. She decided that talking to someone might calm her nerves.

"Howdy Amon, got a minute?" she asked the Rexian,s tanding near him.

Liam noticed that Joanna appeared to be awake following the discussion earlier and took the opportunity to sit next to her in the wagon.

<"How are you feeling? Anything I can get for you?"> he asked. She must be stressed with these humans pushing her to use the emblem with everything else going on...

[Mercakete]

Norbert had landed Rizen a while ago and was riding her at a walk to try to keep the sound of her hooves to a minimum while keeping an eye and an ear out for bandits. The others had caught up a while later and now he was being referred to as "scout boy." Do I really look that young? Norbert wondered, seemingly for the umpteenth time. People seemed to call him "boy" a lot.

He irritably looked over to the captain. "Making camp too early and especially somewhere like this is stupid. If they've dumped a body here before, they may visit this place again. And the longer we're in one place, the easier we'll be to find. We need to quietly blend in, not put our stamp on the map. You lot can do what you want -- I'm pressing on, at least until I've found a good spot to call it a night. And in case you're wondering what that looks like, look for somewhere with either a rock face, a lot of tall, thick plant life, or both that don't show signs of having been disturbed in a while. And by 'in a while' I mean you can't tell anyone's been there. It probably means it's not a point of interest to the bandits, and they won't be able to see you from afar if they happen by."

There was only one more correction he had to make. "And my name's not 'scout boy.' It's Norbert."

[Phoenix]

Somewhere In the Woods

The captain noted Norbert's name, but didn't feel a strong inclination to use it right away; scout boy was working just fine, and wasn't intended as an insult, after all. "Like I said," Doran irritably said, "the we shouldn't be stopping too early." Much as he hated to be in agreement with Norbert, it was better for them to agree on something than to disagree just for the sake of disagreeing and getting into some pointless argument. "You should go ahead and get moving, again. We'll catch up and get your attention if we need you." Though slightly condescending, there was no animosity in his tone.

Camp

Amon certainly had a minute. Several hundred, probably. "Yeah, sure. Is something wrong?" Nadya didn't seem overly worried about anything, but there was definitely something there.

Meanwhile, not too far away, Joanna stood in place, staring down at the box she'd been given. Shadrak had definitely left her feeling obligated, but she wasn't going to act on that feeling just yet. Learning to use the fragment she was given wasn't going to be the end of their struggles, and it might only complicate matters if they weren't careful. Still, she had decided to at least try it ... only not right now.

<"I'm fine, Liam. I'm just not sure how to be a responsible guardian and use the emblem for something good at the same time.">

[Toogee]

Jam had to agree with Norbert, though for different reasons. She would never camp out where a body laid, especially if the blood was still staining the foliage. That was just a bad omen, kind of like sleeping in a graveyard. Needless to say, she stayed with Eva on her wyvern.

[Mercakete]

Norbert gave Doran a small nod. He still hated him and wanted a fair fight against him, but the situation was too dangerous for the rider not to be objective at the moment. To the guards on the whole, he said, "Like I said, I'm going on ahead. You're the ones who insisted on coming here, so if you're going to stay for any length of time, don't make it a waste. Learn something useful and let us know what you find. It's pointless otherwise." Just because he was being objective didn't mean he was inclined to hide his annoyance.

Norbert was already riding Rizen further into the woods, but kept her at a walk, trying to keep her hoofbeats light. She was carrying more weight than she did the last time they went bandit-hunting, but it wasn't too difficult to compensate for that. The only concern he had was if anyone had his or her ear to the ground, and even then, he was taking that into account.