Fire Emblem: Wretched Whispers, Act 3: Resurgence

[Xinnidy]

"Well, it seems you are pretty charismatic today, Melanie. It's like you've met a dreamy prince." Magali joked, it was spirit-lifting to see the girl so happy. Magic truly meant a lot to her. Walking their way towards the city proper, Magali found herself glancing to every seemingly-important building with subtle curiosity. So, this is the capital, huh? I wonder how it'd have been if I were born here... Maybe not that well. I know those were horrible years. Still, Magali couldn't help but wonder.

"That's a church, Melanie." Magali remarked at the girl's inquiries, "Though... I suppose the proper name would be cathedral, it's so big. I'm sure one like this would house a bishop, since we are at the capital." Magali understood the differences well enough, reminiscing the one she used to frequent with her parents. Hm, I suppose I do miss that the most. Everybody was rather nice to me there. It wasn't a career she was exactly keen on pursuing, especially in Angala. "Want to take a look?" She asked Melanie.

Edited May 25, 2016 by Xinnidy

[Refa]

"Ancients, huh? I wonder what they were like...it'd be funny if they were dragons!" Artemis giggled, picturing the thought of dragons creating such small items with their huge bodies. "It's weird, though. You'd think if these gifts were so valuable, people would have kept a better hold on them! They should have spent less time fighting and more time looking after their priceless artificats if you ask me. Wait, what did you say? I thought this was the Fire Emblem! I know this is a priceless stone and all that, but I can't help but feel cheated," she said, pouting at the unexpected revelation. "But wow, I didn't know these artifacts had such a legacy behind them. They sound like the stuff legendary heroes find on their quests to save the world," She said wistfully, not even paying attention to whatever else the archaeologist was saying until she got startled by the commotion. "Oh, I think that's Peter. He's a member of the mercenary group that I kinda got caught up in. Well, I better go see what he wants. Nice talking to you, though! I feel like I've got a much better grasp on what the Fire Emb...er, Lazarus Gem is now. I'll be sure to keep it safe!" She proudly proclaimed as she went to see what Peter wanted.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked after she had snuck up behind him. He looked pretty startled as he turned around, so she continued, "Bet you didn't expect to see me at the library, did ya? I'm more educated than I look! Although I guess all mages are supposed to be pretty book smart," she muttered, trailing off as she noticed Sierra running to the library. "Oh hey, Sierra! It's kinda funny how we all met up in the same place at the same time. You here to read a book too, huh?" She asked, referring to Peter. He probably wants some help looking for a good read. I do have pretty great taste, after all.

[eclipse]

Peter hadn't expected Artemis to still be at the library, so he jumped a bit when the younger girl spoke up. "GAH, you're going to give this old man a heart attack!" he yelped. He noticed the angry looks around him, and sighed. "S-sorry about that," he said in a voice more suited for a library. "There's somethin' I'd like to talk to you about. And the boss, wouldn't do this without her blessing. You busy right now?" he asked shakily. Though he wanted Artemis to get out RIGHT NOW, he needed to keep calm. He wasn't sure who wrote in those scrolls, but if the authors or agents were anywhere in this library, it would probably end very badly.

I really don't want to mix Sierra up in this, but if she decides to come along. . .how am I going to get her to leave?

Edited May 25, 2016 by eclipse

[Percivalé]

Vale was talking to himself again. It was primarily things on his mind, which mostly consisted of things he heard from others this time rather than his own insecurities. After the last skirmish, he went most of the remainder of their trip without talking much to anyone. He considered opening up to more of the Hollows at some point, but he spent so much time strategizing in his mind who he would start with and what he would say to them that in the end he could not summon the energy anymore. Was he not just a mercenary, after all? He was a disposable, an expendable; he was merely here to have money and someplace to sleep.

He tried to convince himself of that, of course, but it didn't work. He liked these people. It felt nothing like his experiences with his previous employers. Yes, even that one.

He sighed to himself.

They were in Tairell now, and the first thing he thought about was their market. Most of the others had already scattered while he was brooding, so it looked like he'd have to explore the shops by himself this time. He hoped he'd finally run into one of them just to find an excuse to talk to them--to his dismay Declan seemed long gone by now, and he felt bad for not having spoken to Mel in a while. Ah, perhaps he would stop by for a hello at some point... he strode further through into the northern part of the square.

[Oersted]

Lugos had stopped dead in his tracks the second he saw his father's name etched on the tombstone. It was almost surreal how different being here in person felt compared to sitting at home and reading a letter with his father's last words to him on it. Lugos turned at the sound of another voice, surprised to see someone he didn't recognize. Not that her appearance itself was any less surprising. He restrained himself from asking, "Sorry, do I know you?", instead answering "Quite," in response to her feelings on the plague's immense death toll. Silence reigned for a few seconds before he spoke again, attention locked back on his father's grave. "It's my father's. Though, I thought he was just a simple messenger between Sloktan and Angala who delivered the message and then flew straight home." He paused to take in the condition of the grave again. "But that clearly wasn't the case."

He turned to the other man present. "Excuse me, but can you tell me what you know about Alton Ovidio?"

[charlie_]

Friendship

The gravekeeper listened to the conversation closely, mouth slightly agape. "You're Alton's boy?" he asked, moving closer. "Was it Lugos? Sorry, my memory is a little hazy. But anyway, he was a good man - I knew him personally. When I first met him, my son - he was only a young lad at the time - was really interested in his wyvern. They aren't awfully common around here, and before I could stop him he asked if he could ride it." A small smile had found its way onto his face by this point.

"I expected him to say no, but he just grinned and asked me to help Tomas up. Your father took him for a short flight around, and he loved it. I let him stay in our home for a short time as a way of repayment, and we ended up becoming friends and were on good terms whenever he visited." His smile wavered for a moment, but quickly returned as he crossed his arms. "Is there anything else you want to know?"

Exploration

Taima, Orpheus and Wolfgang didn't wait around for very long after John's departure, and quickly went about exploring the side streets. For the most part, there just seemed to be a lot of houses with little of consequence, although the streets were fairly lively up until a certain point.

At the far corner, there was an short, pudgy man whacking away at a sign that read 'Lenny's Repairs', which drooped on one side whenever he moved his hand away. He appeared to be trying to nail it firmly onto to the door, where it seemed to have come loose, but all things considered It wasn't a particularly great look for a repair business. He wasn't on his own however; an even shorter man - perhaps no even 5 feet tall, lent back against the wall as he spoke to him. His attire seemed to be that of a mage, although he didn't seem to be carrying a tome with him.

Further down the street however, the Hollows couldn't make out anything or anyone moving. There was nothing obstructing their passage, but it seemed like there was an unwritten law to stay far away from there. If they really wanted to continue they could, although there was no indicator of what they'd find down there.

The Square

"It's not for sale." Calden had a small crowd gathering before him by the time Vale had began looking around. "What I do have, is weaponry." His voice was exasperated, having repeated himself half a dozen times already. He was an arms merchant, not a damn fruit vendor, and he was so tired of saying it.

Most of the other salesman were either already occupied with customers or watching Calden's frustration in bemusement, aside from one who caught Vale's eye and waved him over. "Hey there, are you looking for something?" He had a small collection of weapons on display, mostly basic blades and spears, but there were a couple of stranger weapons, like a heavily curved blade and a tall sleek spear which stuck out a bit.

[Shin]

Putting John to the back of his mind for the moment, Orpheus gave the street a curious look over, not terribly impressed at all. He'd expected hooded rogues with daggers, fortune tellers with crystal balls... maybe even a drunk tramp just asking for change. The duo at the door didn't seem to having much luck with their sign. Judging from their attire, Orpheus was pretty sure that they were cheese salesmen or something, he'd never seen such a shoddy attempt at such a simple job. He couldn't make out much about the sign, but it looked pretty poorly made.

Pointing over at the two of the, Orpheus decided to share the sight with his companions.

"Those guys should really get someone better at fixing stuff to help them out. Some people just don't have the mindset for it, better off selling turnips." he remarked, completely oblivious to the words written on the sign. The street was empty beyond a certain point. It didn't appear to be by chance, and that made it even more tempting to check out.

[Ether]

"It really is impressive, isn't it?" Celestia noted, looking up at the building along with Melanie and Magali. It was nice to see everyone happy for a while, so things like this were a nice break from the toil of war.

[riariadne]

Hallowed

"I don't believe we've met, though I know vaguely who you are. My name is Shylah." She walked slowly back and forth. "I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Are you from Angalan, then?" She looked up towards the wyvern hovering nearby, eyes a deep blue now. "I've been to Angala many times... more than most places, I think."

Art

Sierra smiled when she and Peter found who they'd come looking for "Yay, hi Arty!" she spoke cheerfully, before quieting her voice to a whisper- though a fairly excitable whisper. "No, I just saw Peter coming to meet you and wanted to come say hi! Are you guys doing something secret? I can help, I'm good at keeping secrets!"

[Nanami Touko]

"Ben, of course, I 'ave my princes all here, zough I suppose zat would be princesses," she said, without mention of who they were, still marveling at the structure. "A... A quoi? Ca-tee-dral?" That was a word she'd never heard before. Church, she had. "Donc, c'est like one zose, er... Religious places, non? Incroyable. I would never 'ave guessed zat zey would make a building so big for somesing like zat." But did she want to go inside? "Ben, ehm... We could? What about you sree? Magali, Celestia, Deeana? I would not want to waste votre time avec somesing like zis, if you are not eenterested."

[Grace]

Diana poured over the details of the cathedral's design in intrigue. Looks real nice... I wonder what it looks like inside? Diana, upon hearing Melanie's question, spoke up immediately. "I'm interested. I have not really been much into religion, but I do not completely reject it. I am curious about all the ornate symbols they have erected though, and maybe there may be some more inside."

[Xinnidy]

Princesses? Magali raised an eyebrow at Melanie's comment, "Is that so?" Magali chuckled, she really had her mind in one of those fantasy stories, didn't she? "Well, if you are all interested, then there is no point in just staying here, is there?" Magali stepped with a single skip, positioning herself at the fore of the group. "It is a long while since I've stepped in one, so I want to as well." Magali reminisced on the unique atmosphere of the church she attended in Angala, it was so peaceful, temperate compared to the hot, bland life of a farmworker. "If you are fine too, Celestia, then I'll lead the way~." She was actually looking forward to it, now.

[scorri]

"Hmm, yeah, at that point I'd almost fix my weapons myself before handing them over..." Taima shrugged. "Not that I have any need for that right now. How about you? I might be able to help if you do. Sorry though Wolf, don't have any idea how to fix tomes." She grinned at him, clearly teasing at least a little. "Bit disappointing here though, not much of interest over here."

[Shin]

Most of Orpheus' weapons were in fairly good condition, he seemed to spend more time receiving attacks than actually dishing them out. That was either a sign of how well spread the work was within the group, or one that Orpheus was being used as bait once again. Surely the latter couldn't be possible, there was more to him than just drawing fire away from the delicate mages!

"Most of mine are pretty good, I could probably get another couple of battles out of them at least." he replied, the chances were that they'd probably break his weapons rather than provide a meaningful repair. His curiosity was still getting the better of him, the empty street was still baffling. Ignoring the bumbling blacksmiths for now, he pointed ahead at the street. "Hey, Taima. Nobody seems to going that way. It's not even that it's empty, people are avoiding it. It kind of makes me want to see why."

[scorri]

Taima grinned. "Well it certainly could be interesting if nothing else. Sure why not?" Without waiting to see if Wolf was coming along too, Taima started to head towards that end of the alley.

[charlie_]

Holy Place

St Tero's church looked pretty large on the outside, but the inside was still a little overwhelming. It towered far above any of the other buildings surrounding it and this was still evident when you stepped inside and looked up. The floorspace was fairly open at the entranceway, but eventually gave way to a huge number of seats before an elevated area with a podium on it. The walls were lined with paintings of all sorts of people, animals and magic and lit by a few torches placed sparsely around the room (although more were unlit). There was still plenty of light coming through the stained glass windows however, so it wasn't like there was any problem with vision inside.

It seemed to be fairly quiet today, with individuals scattered around the room, ocassionally filtering in and out and the stage empty - aside from a pudgy pianist practicing a slow tune. There were a couple of men and women with staves deep in either concentration or conversation, and a few seemingly unoccupied - including a a smiling old woman who moved to greet the girls as they entered. "Good morning children." Never mind the fact that some of them were a little too old to be called that. "Are you in need of treatment," She gestured towards her staff. "Or is there something else I can help you with?" She stood still, dressed in light blue robes matched by the rest of workers, waiting patiently for their answer.

Silent Streets

Orpheus and Taima's search seemed unfruitful at first. They passed a few closed shops, but there was little else of note aside from a couple of badly smashed windows - some of which appeared to be businesses, but mostly were normal homes. There were no people in sight however for most of the way, aside from a figure in one of the upper windows watching them pass by - although he ducked away as soon as he thought they'd spotted him. Weird. The street had been one linear pathway so far, so if they wanted they could keep going or turn back with little issue.

[Xinnidy]

Magali took a deep breath as she entered the holy building. It did have a nostalgic feeling for her, even if she'd never been to this one before. It's a cathedral, alright. It dwarfs my old church back in Angala. She looked at the stained glasses with a sense of admiration, scanning every symbol for a meaning.

"...Ah. Good morning, sister." Magali bowed briefly, "No, we're not in need of treatment. We just came by to appreciate." She cast a glance besides her, "It has been a while since I've been to a Cathedral, and this is the first time for one of the girls, so I thought it would be a nice experience."

[Nanami Touko]

Celestia was being a bit quiet, but everyone else seemed interested in heading in, so Melanie hopped along and wandered inside-- which brought to her eyes an astounding sight. The inner decor was marvelous, from the massive pillars reaching into the ceiling, the paintings lining every wall, the stained glass shining brilliant colored light into the building. The other girls had walked in but Melanie was stuck with her mouth agape, staring at everything very slowly. She didn't even realize they'd been addressed by someone, completely stuck in her own little world.

[Refa]

"Something you want to talk to me about? Are you sure you got the right person here? Well, if the boss needs to be there, it must be something pretty important. I guess I could go now..." She said apprehensively. It wasn't that she wasn't interested in helping Peter out, but she really wanted to find out more about her stone and what it did. Enter Sierra, stage left. Arty, huh? That'll take some time to get used too. "O-oh, is that so? I'm not exactly sure what we're doing, so I don't know if it's really a secret or not."

[Oersted]

"Yeah, it's Lugos," he affirmed the older man's questions. He smiled a bit as the man told him about how he'd become friends with his father; it definitely sounded like something his father would have done. "You mean he wasn't frightened by Kralle up there?" he gestured upwards at Kralle, whose attention seemed to be constantly switching from Lugos to the grave and back. Most of the village kids had been scared of the wyvern when they first saw it; it had taken a bit for that fear to turn to curiosity. Lugos struggled to think of another question. "I guess I'm curious as to what he did while he was here and what he talked about, I don't know much of anything about his past or his interests."

Giving the man some time to think on the very broad question he'd just posed, Lugos addressed Shylah. He was curious as to how she knew him but not so much as to actually ask. "Yeah, I'm from Angala but I lived right on the Angala-Sloktan border for almost all of my life so I haven't seen much of it." He wondered if he considered Angala his homeland at this point, he was willing fighting against it after all. "Really? What's it like compared to the other places you've visited? Or is it not much different?"

[Bluedoom]

Wolfgang silently followed the duo as they made their way into a very quiet street, with almost no sign of life, except for a small movement that Wolfgang caught a glimpse of that sent shivers down his spine. Were they being watched?

"Maybe we should check these houses out... I wonder what happened here? Was this recent?" thought out aloud as he walked towards one of the buildings with a badly broken window.

[Shin]

The person above in the houses was doing a rather poor job of remaining stealthy, if anything he was drawing more attention to himself by being suspicious! Surely it would be less shifty to just watch them? Stopping in the middle of the street, Orpheus pointed at the window he'd just ducked from. There was no point trying to ignore it, problems never went away if you pretended they weren't there. Someone was definitely there, and Orpheus had a few choice words for them.

"Hey you, window pigeon!" Orpheus shouted, keeping his arm raised. "I'm going to start charging if you keep watching us like that! If you find us so interesting, you should come down, otherwise I can come up and visit you!"

The empty street was getting stranger and stranger, what exactly had they stumbled into?

[eclipse]

"T-that's great," Peter said hastily. He took a deep breath, and hoped that the other patrons didn't care about the impromptu meeting in the library. He looked at Sierra, and sighed. "I guess you can come along too," he said reluctantly. There was a saying about how to keep a secret between three people. . .no, it wouldn't come to that. If Sierra was trouble, the boss would've told her to get lost. . .right?

"Let's go."

[riariadne]

(Sorry for the delay, been working with scorri on how to move forward for a while)

Serious Matters

Sheikah wasn't terribly difficult to find, wandering around while looking at what seemed to be a city map and nearly walking into the group. "Sorry! Didn't see you all..."

"Hello, boss! Oh, I guess you're not really my boss. Everyone else just says that. But for now you're in charge of our mission, so you're boss to me!" Sierra saluted at Sheikah briefly. "There's something important Peter wanted to tell you about!"

"Is there now?" Sheikah asked hesitantly, seeming to be a bit exasperated after a month of Sierra. "Well, I wasn't doing much other than thinking of heading to the palace a bit ahead of time to confirm some details of our stay, but I guess that could wait."

--

Travels

"Haha, Tomas has always been a curious one, even now. Some children are just like that." The gravekeeper smiled. "Your father was a kind man. He was sure to do his job first, but when he had free time he spoke fondly of you often. Your developing was something he was especially proud of, especially since you learned it on your own. Those were happier days for us all..."

Shylah seemed to be lost in thoughts of her own until Lugos responded. "It's not dissimilar to Sloktan in how people act, but how they think... here people are careful because the times have been rough to them. But in Angala people are careful because it's the way of life to stay guarded. Only Irska seems to be lively, but that's just what I heard, seeing as my last visit wouldn't support that much. Perhaps we just live in a time of paranoia, and all places are much the same." She shrugged, closing her eyes. "You are a mage? Of what school?"

--

Warmth

"Ah, then welcome. Saint Tero's offers shelter and kindness to all. Is there anything you'd like to know about the Cathedral, or would you rather spend time here on your own?" the elderly woman asked.

--

Suspicion

Despite Orpheus's threat, nobody emerged, though a small puff sound could be heard. Whoever was there didn't seem to want any prolonged trouble...

[Grace]

"I would like to spend time here by myself, sister. Thank you for your offer, though. Diana replied to the lady. Her eyes drifted around the cathedral as she walked though it. This place is very interesting... and it is quite nice here.