Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Flight

[Toogee]

"I think it's a bit too wishful to think they're all out of ammo, but... Let's at least hope we weren't close enough. We didn't see their base, so I'm assuming we weren't." It was a hopeful thought, as they flew back. It would take something short of a miracle for them to be entirely out of ammo, if this really was such a problem. But, at least Jam was good at being positive. "That noise?" Eva asked, smiling, but for all the wrong reasons. "That was a dragon. Let's hope it's not working with the bandits... That would be the last thing we need."

"...You were supposed to say something that would make me feel better," Jam replied. "Like a billy goat or an echo of an avalanche."

As they drew closer to the camp, Jam could make out the sounds of the prisoner pleading for death.

"I was hoping they'd be done by now." The last thing she wanted to see before a big battle was a bloody scene to prelude it.

[Nanami Touko]

"Ah, sorry, Jam... I keep forgetting you're younger." Eva smiled more softly, and shook her head some. "Try not to worry about it. If it cared about us any, we'd have seen it by now. It's a dragon, they fly pretty quick... So if it wanted to make trouble, we'd be hearing about it. It probably just wanted to shut down Sasha." She patted the wyvern as they neared the camp, setting him down outside of the current interrogations. "I guess not," Eva responded, sliding herself off of Sasha and making her way around, to the captain. "Hey, uh, we're back... I can fill you in on what we saw, but if you want me to wait until you're done here, that's cool too."

[Mercakete]

"Hm?" "Ream him?" ... Norbert's inquisitive glare shifted into a more annoyed one. More weird magic... True, magic was handy sometimes, but it was still irritating to deal with. It was one big world of unknown to the rider himself, after all, so interacting with it wasn't his favorite thing in the world. Still, some was weirder than others, and he much preferred witnessing fireballs and healing light to things like mind reading. At least he could partially understand the former.

Norbert cast the bandit a glare before looking back to Shadrak with a nod. "Alright, but I'm going to keep trying a bit longer if you can't get what we want to know from him." Again, he glared at the bandit. "He doesn't get to shut up and die just because he wants it. We're getting that information."

Final threat in place, Norbert stepped aside to watch what was about to transpire. Part of it was to be ready with Splinter and Crunch in case something unexpected came up, part was because he wanted to know this information, and part of it was to get right back into the interrogation if that was necessary. Although...if a mind magic person couldn't get information out of someone, that person probably didn't actually have it. Still, he'd made himself clear and intended on following through on it: if the bandit didn't answer him, he could expect more violence. And this last round of not answering the question hadn't been addressed yet.

[Phoenix]

Mean Psychic

"Go ahead," the guard captain greeted Eva. He was curious about what Shadrak was up to, but an immediate report on their surroundings was just slightly more important given that they were only attacked a short while ago.

Shadrak took a silent breath as stepped in for Norbert. He had to be very careful, or this wouldn't work, but he still had to give the bandit some 'incentive' to confirm his suspicions, as well as go on to reveal anything they didn't have any basis for. The man wasn't sure what to make of Shadrak at first, and still had his attention mostly on Norbert. He expected to be struck the instant his new interrogator showed the slightest bit of irritation, and wasn't looking forward to it.

Shadrak's expression slowly changed to something more cold and unfeeling as he raised his hand slightly above the bandit's head, his palm, slightly open, his fingers curled inward like the talons of a raptor. The bandit winced in pain as dark energy began to force its way down onto his skull, bypassing the skin and causing immediate bruising around his temple. "Irgh! Stop," he cried out as the pain began to intensify.

"Hold on ... I've almost got it," Shadrak lied, "the name of your leader ..." Here was hoping that the name he'd heard yesterday was a relevant one, the leader's name or someone very high up the ladder, and not just a random bandit. "... it's Carlos Lich. That's the name." Shadrak ripped his hand away and began to pant as the dark energy dispersed.

"No ... no, you can't do that ... you can't know his name," the bandit shook his head in utter refusal, "you CAN'T know that! That's impossible! How can you know that?!"

It seemed like that part was panning out, at least. The guess had been correct. Anything further would have to be carefully worded so as not to tip his hand. "I can read you, fool ... and I don't care if I have to turn you into an invalid in the process, I'm sick of running around in the woods waiting to get attacked! I'm getting that information! All of it," Shadrak shouted him down. He began to lift his hand back toward the bandit in preparation to feign a forceful reading, again. In truth, he knew that any sort of mind magic would require tendrils, but those wouldn't cause much pain unless misused, and not enough to function as an interrogation tool. He was counting on the bandit not knowing enough about dark magic, or magic in general.

[Toogee]

"Ah, sorry, Jam... I keep forgetting you're younger." Eva smiled more softly, and shook her head some. "Try not to worry about it. If it cared about us any, we'd have seen it by now. It's a dragon, they fly pretty quick... So if it wanted to make trouble, we'd be hearing about it. It probably just wanted to shut down Sasha." She patted the wyvern as they neared the camp, setting him down outside of the current interrogations. "I guess not," Eva responded, sliding herself off of Sasha and making her way around, to the captain. "Hey, uh, we're back... I can fill you in on what we saw, but if you want me to wait until you're done here, that's cool too."

"It's not that I'm younger..." Jam thought to herself. She had more history with dragons than she ever wanted. Eva probably wasn't aware of how Jam came to the group

Having landed, Jam dismounted and stretched her legs. While Eva had to deliver her report, Jam wanted to keep away from the gruesome interrogation, so wandered to the opposite side of the camp. She happened to come across Lumi practicing her ice shield technique. The dancer watched as the shield came crashing down.

"For what it's worth, it looks pretty when it's coming down," Jam said to Lumi, trying to find a bright spot.

[Ether]

Dark magic might not have been Angelica's forte by any means, but she knew enough to know that mind magic did not work like that. Still, to a guy like that, it surely seemed mystical, and Shadrak's bluff appeared to be working, the bandit growing nigh-hysterical as Shadrak mentioned a certain name... Carlos Lich.

That was all well and good, since apparently the druid had hit the nail on the head, but how in the hell did Shadrak know the name of their leader? It couldn't have just been a guess, to hit on a given and family name in such a fashion would have been ludicrously lucky. Well, the man might spill, at any rate. The best thing she could do was watch the spectacle with an ever-so-slight grin on her face, as if she had witnessed this scene play out many times before.

[Nanami Touko]

"Alright... Well, there isn't much but trees and rocks for a good few miles, so..." Eva bit her lip for a moment, and sighed. "We went higher. And... We didn't get fired on. By anything. Didn't see our dragon friend either, but, there were some strange clearings to the north. Not sure if they're worth checking out, but it was the only noteworthy thing out there. Nothing else to tell you." It was a rather lame scouting report, all things considered, but perhaps it was a good thing they didn't get fired on. No more bandits in the immediate area.

Edited August 1, 2015 by I have opinions

[Mercakete]

Norbert wasn't a fan of mind magic, but he had to admit it was helping quite a bit. For now, he was content to stand back and watch. Shadrak had things under control, it seemed, and he didn't feel much of a need to brutalize the guy given what he was currently going through.

For now, he'd stay out of the way, for the most part, though he did shake his head and comment, "Should've just told us what we were asking for from the start." They'd have to use Shadrak's mind trick more in the future. This was a lot easier than trying to beat information out of people.

[Phoenix]

Flying Banditos

It was slightly disappointing that Eva took such a needless risk, but it was probably worth it now that they knew they at least had a few specific areas to search. It would take a while to get there on foot, but the real issue was any other bandits lurking by who might want to ambush them. Hopefully Shadrak could get a little more information out of the bandit they'd taken alive before they got a move on.

"If you didn't get attacked then either you weren't close enough to any enemies or they're doing what they did yesterday and just keeping an eye out so they can attack us at their leisure. Hopefully this poor bastard has something to say on the matter," he gestured at the bandit.

"Next, I want to know what happened to the pegasus knights," Shadrak began, moving his hand closer to the man's head, "recent memories can be a little trickier to grab, so this is going to hurt a hell of a lot more than the first go'round," he warned.

"No, stop!"

"Shut up and hold still," Shadrak snapped, I don't need you to say anything else since you're so stubborn and loyal. I'll tear the information out of you!" True to his false words, somehow, he unleashed another weak but concentrated dark spell right into the bandit's forehead, causing immediate bruising, and intense pain. "You ... captured the ones you could ... and ... and you're trying to ... almost ... almost ..." Shadrak made sure to alternate the intensity of the spell to cause a throbbing like sensation as he pretended to claw out the information he needed. He just had to convince the bandit that it would be over if he told him right now. By the gods, it actually worked.

"STOOOP!!! He wants his own pegasus knights! He just wants to get them on our side," the bandit quickly explained, causing Shadrak to relent. Doran was a little annoyed by the revelation since he didn't think that would work. Granted, soldiers usually weren't loyal to their country to the point of choosing certain death over a feasibly temporary defection, but most of those pegasus riders were from Ursaea, and these bandits had been picking off travelers coming to and fro for a good while now. This Carlos Lich couldn't expect this plan to pan out, could he?

"Go on," Shadrak crossed his arms, "since you're suddenly willing to talk." He sounded as if he was disappointed.

"He wants the pegasus knights to work for us ... any of the girls that won't cooperate get put to work in the base ... a-all of of'em so far. The pegasuses we can't train ourselves, we're gonna sell off for a profit. We need pegasus knights if we're gonna control the whole mountain. That's all there is to it, I swear!"

"A likely story," Shadrak said, just trying to sound like a benign contrarian. The current predicament of the pegasus knights was a little mundane, but at least they were alive. Shadrak supposed if anyone else wanted to know any other details, they could ask, then he'd try to figure out where the base itself was so they could confirm it. After that, they could leave the rest to the guard captain and get back to the others.

Edited August 2, 2015 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Norbert was suddenly very glad he'd found Rizen when he had. She'd been in more danger than he'd realized. That was when something occurred to him: they had pegasi with them... Was that why they hadn't been flat-out attacked yet? Because these bandits wanted to capture the remaining pegasi and maybe their riders? He'd heard of bandits doing something similar before -- that is, using winged mounts and being known for it -- but that had been...a month ago or so, and this was the wrong location for it. The one he heard of was run by a woman, and it was closer to Europa, if he remembered right. Regardless, this brought up another concern for him. Where was Star? Because if Lumi wasn't watching him, the bandits might be. Norbert wanted some more information before abandoning this vein, though.

"What's your group's name? Something to do with pegasi? And is that why you people used the tactics you did -- to get ours?" Norbert asked, not looking or sounding too amiable at the moment.

[Ether]

Angelica couldn't help but grin at the exchange. Wherever Shadrak had gotten that first piece of info, he had managed to string this man along on his ruse quite a ways.

[Phoenix]

Interview Continues

"I don't-" "Either way," Shadrak interrupted the bandit, raising his hand slowly, "we're about to find out," he concluded with a faint grin. "I don't ... I ..." the man stammered uncontrollably, "W-we don't have a name ... our leader-" "Carlos," Shadrak cut in, again. "C-Carlos," the bandit nodded reluctantly, "Carlos doesn't like s-stupid gimmicks like that. We didn't think we could take you p-people alive. Carlos said he'd let us decide how to handle it, but to get any pegaseses alive if we could. The wyvern, too. Carlos didn't see any problem with getting wyverns ... there just aren't any around most of the time ... and the only ones that are belong to those damn 'skotians."

"Huh," the captain glanced over at Eva, "maybe that's why you didn't get shot at ...? Then again, wyverns are tougher than pegasi so if they were willing to shoot pegasi to try and catch them, a wyvern shouldn't be a problem. Maybe not with a ballista, but still ..." Or maybe they mistook Sasha for a dragon and decided not to risk an overwhelmingly brutal retaliation. Either way, this knowledge might yet prove useful.

"Wait, why'd you shoot his pegasus if you wanted to take it alive?" the healer chimed in from a distance. "Is that just a thing, now? you could have hit a vital organ with that shot."

"How should I know?! I didn't shoot the damn thing," the bandit snapped, but his anger vanished just as quickly as it came.

Sight Beyond Sight

"They're ..." Joanna hesitated, "asking him questions. It's so hard to watch. Shadrak seems to even be enjoying it."

"So they're not in danger ... but they haven't found the rest of the bandits yet, either?" Amon asked, unsure of how to proceed. He wasn't surprised to hear about Shadrak torturing someone or even enjoying it, but admittedly he still held a somewhat negative opinion of the druid in general thanks to the incident in Europa.

"Gotta do what ya gotta do, I guess," Greta shrugged, regretting it had to get to that point, but understanding the need for expedience just the same. They didn't have time to go hunting for bandits in the woods for the next week, not with the wrathites on their tail, or worse still, setting up checkpoints ahead of them to stop them from reaching a ship. "We're still headin' east, so we're actually closin' some of the distance on'em. Just keep us updated and we'll send some extra help if it seems like they need it."

"It'll still take hours to get there," Amon winced.

"A couple at most," Haythem chimed in with a big smile from outside, "Isis is no slouch in the air. I just hope there aren't any ballista to deal with. We're a pretty big target up there."

[Mercakete]

No name? That was too bad. If they had a name, it could have been possible that he'd heard it sometime when he was bashing bandits for a living. As it stood, though, it wasn't looking like Norbert would be able to provide any background on the group as a whole. It was a long shot anyway, since they sounded relatively new. And yet, this lot also sounded pretty big, and even had a strong bond. Granted, it was a bond of fear, from the sound of things, but it was still strong enough to hold this guy's loyalty.

Normally, the rider would have asked more questions and milked this bandit for all he knew. Right now, though, they just didn't have the time. Most of their questions would be answered once they confronted the bandits anyway. And now, the healer reminded Norbert of another reason why he was rather ticked off at this particular band...and it showed on his face as it was talked about.

He also thought it was either ridiculously stupid or irksomely brilliant that this Carlos guy wanted Sasha. If the pegasi wouldn't listen on their own, he could herd them with a wyvern...if the wyvern proved compliant, that was. If not, he could have a bunch of dead pegasi on his hands. It wasn't as though trained wyverns were typically taught not to hurt pegasi -- not when such a predatory instinct could be useful on the battlefield. Maybe among some mercenaries like Eva, but not among most trained wyverns. At least, that was what he supposed. He hadn't met many Neviskotian soldiers and he preferred it that way.

"Well, your friends did," Norbert replied to the bandit's statement, a hostile hint to his voice and an angry glare and snarl on his face. His grip tightened on his maces, and he pointed a finger warningly at the bandit. "And you're going to tell us the location of your base. 'Cause if you don't, whether Shadrak's reading you or not, I'm busting your skull this time!" At this point, it was personal.

[Ether]

"Norbert, calm down. It'd be best if he would either admit it, or Shadrak could dig it out of him, but it's fairly obvious that death threats don't mean a whole lot to him. There are... other methods, aside from simply cracking his skull open." Angelica chimed in, moving in a bit closer. All of Shadrak's bluffing would be for naught if Norbert went and offed the prisoner.

"I know this hits home for you, being a rider. But try and keep calm. We can't rescue them if he's dead before he spills his guts."

[Phoenix]

Narrowing Down

"I-I can't just 'tell' you," the man said, his voice climbing considerably, "there aren't any landmarks or paths leading to it!"

"Every settlement, no matter how small, is itself a landmark," the captain chimed in from a fair distance away, "Our other scout here saw a few clearings. Would any of those happen to be where the base is?" He was speaking awfully casually, though to be fair, there were plenty of more aggressive types ready and willing to put more pressure on their captive.

"Now remember," Shadrak spoke before the bandit could respond, holding up his hand, smirking, and flaring his entire aura momentarily, causing an eerie darkness to outline his body, "there's no lying, here." There was no chance in hell he'd missed the irony in that quip.

The bandit squirmed in silence for a long moment, gritting his teeth and moving his head back and forth, as if he was struggling against a grotesque creature and being eaten alive. Finally, he hung his head and began whimpering. "It's in a clearing to the north ... once you get close, by air or on foot, you're all dead. It's just that simple, and I'm not saying anything else. I can't. I ... Carlos is the best thing that ever happened to us and he deserves better than to be outed by one of his own ... ... Just ... just ... kill me ... p-ple~ase ...."

Negative Review

"A clearing to the north," Joanna repeated the bandit's words. "There must be more than one because he refused to be anymore specific than that."

"A whole day and they're finally on the right track," Amon said, somewhat annoyed, but at the same time grateful that their efforts might still pay off.

"I need to have a word with Shadrak and Norbert when they return," Joanna noted, looking extremely uncomfortable. Amon doubted Joanna had the strength to put her fist through anything substantial, but to him, she certainly looked like she was ready to give it a shot. Those two must have really been giving their captive a hard time ...

"That's great news," Haythem called down, again, "now we know exactly where to go if things start getting dangerous ... and hopefully there won't be any surprises."

Edited August 5, 2015 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

"You know what? Keep out of this if you're not going to be helpful," Norbert snapped at Angelica, though the hostility he'd shown to the bandit had reduced to mere annoyance when it turned to the woman. Part of why he was letting his temper get the better of him, after all, was to keep the pressure on this guy. He couldn't be too nice -- not when it could cost them and the bandits' captives.

His attention returned to the interrogation as the bandit replied. After a few more prompts from the captain and Shadrak, the bandit finally told them where the base was...but the warning he gave afterwards was a little unsettling. He'd heard bluster before and he wasn't sure if this was that. There was also what he said after that...

Norbert couldn't help but think of his own loyalties that had driven him to lawbreaking. His curiosity was thoroughly piqued. His uncertainty and confusion were evident as his brow furrowed and his frown became more thoughtful. More slowly and far closer to a normal tone and volume, he asked the bandit, "What did he do for you? Were you a band before he came around?"

[Nanami Touko]

"Maybe," she said, thinking it over and wondering if that really would've stopped them. The captain mused similar things, Eva's annoyance growing a bit at the bandit. She didn't exactly feel like Bert was overreacting anymore, especially if they had any thoughts of trying to get their hands on Sasha. "If they try to take him, though, they're going through me, first. And if they're all as scrawny as this waste, I can promise I'm worth at least twenty of them." She grit her teeth at the thought of it.

"Telling him to calm down isn't going to do anything... I think I understand Bert more than I ever thought I would, for once." This was just getting her more upset, so before she started yelling at the scum too, she turned and walked away from the scene, resting against the ground away from all the taken down traps. Sasha slowly plodded over to her, his adrenaline not rushing from that dragon scream any longer, though he was still waiting for his promised snack.

"Soon, bud... Just... Things are a bit serious, right now, okay?" She pet his head as he brought it near, the wyvern settling down next to her. It made her smile, a bit, but it also made her worry more. If they've been doing this with pegasi, then a wyvern's just the next step, right? ...I won't let them get anywhere near you, Sasha. I promise. She sighed, and closed her eyes, leaning her head back.

[Phoenix]

Live and Let Kill

"There's probably a bit more he can tell us," Doran mused, "but we probably should just finish him off once we're done here. Dragging him along to show us exactly where their hideout is is too risky since he might warn the rest of them."

"We'll figure that out once we run out of questions," the guard captain decided. "Ask him how many friends he came out here with. Also see if he knows anything about that dragon. He mentioned the imperials so that's ... concerning."

"You think the dragon's with the Neviskotians that invaded?" Shadrak asked, turning from the bandit, slightly.

"You won't find wild dragons in Ursium anymore," the captain assured him, "it's only those working for the 'skotians that bother moving through these parts."

"Well," Shadrak shrugged and turned back toward the delirious bandit, "you going to let me do this my way for once or are you going to just tell us how many of your friends are still out here and what you know about that dragon?"

"We didn't bring enough men to deal with all this ... didn't know how many of you there were," the bandit began, looking like he was completely dazed, "they'll fall back and report to Carlos sooner or later ... ... and the dragon is a ... 'skotian. It's with the 'skotians. It's been snooping around the area and giving us dirty looks for days, but the rest of the 'skotians leave us alone, and we leave them alone. Their camp's somewhere on the far side of the mountain. They stay out of our neck of the woods and we stay out of theirs ... that way ... nobody dies."

The guard captain winced at that. It wasn't exactly collaboration, but the attacking forces clearly cared about putting the hurt on the local garrisons or enabling such an outcome more than anything else. Doran had a similar, but more angry look about the whole thing.

[Mercakete]

It was annoying that his own questions weren't being answered, but it wasn't worth pushing this guy anymore. More objective questions were both being asked and answered, so he decided to let the others handle this bandit for the remainder of the interrogation. As for himself, he walked over to where Rizen stood, took her reins, and then sought out his fellow pegasus rider. She needed to know the danger their mounts were in.

[-Cynthia-]

"I imagine I will have some words for them as well," Liam said seriously. It wasn't evident exactly what Shadrak and Norbert were up to, but it probably involved unnecessary violence.

"Well, are some of us goin' there or not? The longer we wait to decide, the later we'll be," Nadya pointed out.

[Phoenix]

Bad Ideas

"Back to the pegasus knights," Doran chimed in angrily, "do you know any of their names?"

"They're just grunts from your garrison ... who gives a damn what their names are," the bandit spat back, his posture and voice so weak, he looked like a dying man. Suddenly, as if trying to complete that look, he pulled out a small knife from his belt, and tried to gouge his own throat. The knife didn't have a hilt big enough for his large hand, and it was made entirely out of bone. Shadrak tried to stop him, but only managed to keep him from driving the dull blade a couple more inches into his neck, and as the bandit fought with him for control of the claw-like knife, he wound up stabbing himself a second time. The second wound was far more shallow than the first, but Shadrak was still frantic due to the first and, mostly successful, stab, which had left his neck bleeding profusely. "I'm sorry Carlos ..."

"What the hell, man?!" The bandit lost consciousness immediately and toppled over. Shadrak tried to keep him upright, but his weight nearly caused the druid to fall over, too. "You've got to be kidding me ..."

The guard captain winced a second time, though for an entirely different reason from before. He was dumbstruck for a few seconds, and then quickly shook it off and turned to the healer. "See if you can save him. We still need to find out why he's so confident in their defenses."

More Bad Ideas

By the time Joanna began to look for the others, again, the bandit was already out cold and bleeding out. The sight made her gasp. Amon had been trying to reach a decision about whether or not to have a few more people go to help them when Joanna's gasp yanked him from his musings with enough force to make him flinch. "What happened?"

"I don't know ... he's dying. The man they captured is dying, bleeding from the neck," Joanna explained.

"Merz, did they slit his throat or somethin'?" Greta grimaced. She somewhat regretted handwaving their activities all of a sudden.

"I'm sure there's more going on that I can't see right now," Joanna said, choking up, "but they're supposed to just find the bandits, not this. Please ... someone, please just ..." No, that wouldn't work. She wanted the others to go and make sure the search for the bandits didn't turn into another massacre, but for the guardsmen, that was the whole point. Few among them would be able to fathom the outlaws just surrendering while they had the high ground, and gaining a massive advantage over them in their own territory without excessive violence was a near impossibility. Still, it wasn't enough for her to just make sure their own members didn't participate. She wanted bandits to surrender ... and because of that ...

"I ... I need to go ... I need to convince them to surrender."

Oh here we go. Not again, Glen thought, turning around to object. He wasn't even sure where to start, really.

[Mercakete]

It seemed like he'd only just turned his back when there was a sudden commotion by the bandit. Urgh, what's happened now? Practically by reflex, Norbert was in the saddle and riding back immediately, rather annoyed by the timing of it. When he got back, the healer was on his way to help the bandit who was slumped over and bleeding from the neck. No one looked very happy about it either.

"What the heck happened here?" Norbert demanded, no less annoyed than before. He still had to warn Lumi about these pegasus-snatchers, too.

[-Cynthia-]

"Probably, that's usually why people bleed from the neck," Nadya responded to Greta casually

"Are you sure about this, Joanna? There is a reason we did not go with them in the first place..." Liam suggested gently.

Edited August 8, 2015 by -Cynthia-

[Phoenix]

We Have A Healer

"He stabbed himself," Shadrak grit his teeth as the healer arrived. Shadrak quickly got out of his way. "What's with these guys?"

"We were going to kill him anyway, but it would have been nice to see why he was so confident about us dying," Doran mused.

"Relax," the healer gave Doran a look, "I can save him. He hasn't lost that much blood. The question is do you think we can get anything else out of him?" He looked over to the guard captain, who slowly nodded. He figured they would try one more time ... after that ... well ...

We Have A Volunteer

"We can't have you go up there, Joanna," Amon said, though it was clear in his tone that he wasn't adamant, "and even if we did, how would you be able to get them to surrender? This is going to turn into a battle no matter what."

"I ..." Joanna paused trying to find the right words, "I can't force this on anyone else."

"That doesn't matter," Glen interjected, "you're either forcing someone else to try and make them surrender, or you're forcing us to protect you while you do it. Either way ... it's not an ideal situation for us."

"I'll go," Amon offered, "and I'll do what I can but ... I obviously can't promise anything more than that."

[scorri]

Lumi looked over at Jam and sighed. "Yeah, it looks pretty but it's not much help if I can't block anything with it, you know? I'm probably better off just sticking with a smaller shield. But... I've done this before. I just can't... Ugh." She looked around. "I guess I should call Star back. Things seem to have calmed down here." She put her fingers to her mouth and let out an ear piercing whistle.

Hoshi frowned and then nodded. "I will go as well. Perhaps we can come to a peaceful solution, but if not... Well, it would be useful to send more people in that case, no? The better the numbers, the better the chances."