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Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Revelations


Phoenix
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[spoiler=Dragon Hunt]"Still heading northwest?" General Mesoa winced at the news one of her scouts had brought her. She'd been worried for awhile now; the dragons, Boscov and Schwartz, weren't heading exactly where she predicted, and she wouldn't be comfortable until she learned why. She suspected their knowledge of the Ursian northeast was extensive, since, by heading northwest instead, they would easily evade notice from all but those who were actively searching for them. They would miss any rendezvous they likely had planned, but might buy themselves time to recover. The strike team she'd assembled would have to move quickly if they wanted to close the gap before that happened or the two found a way to cover their tracks altogether.

"Go tell the Major General that we're going to split the party and try to finish this. If we're unable to catch them in a pincer maneuver, we'll at least drive them back toward the plains, where it will be easier to bring them down."

"Ma'am," the scout saluted before trotting off on her pegasus.

"Elfriede, Elfrieda," she called over two young officers in green. "You two will be going with the Major General so you'd better get going as well."

Both of the sisters looked at each other for a moment, then the shorter haired one, Elfriede, replied. "You're sending us with the second team ... but aren't we your best fighters?"

"You two are among the mere handful of banshees with any experience fighting dragons. That's why I'm sending you with the dragon slayer, herself. I'll be taking the others who fought those two with me. Anything that clings to life can be destroyed with a bit of preparation and a direct hit from one of my spells."

"We understand, General."



[spoiler=Interference]The site had been chosen, a forested area, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. There was wildlife and vegetation everywhere, however, perfect for gathering the resources needed to sustain a large army that knew how to make use of it all. Empress Urd was pleased with the location, and had even sampled some of the food the area had to offer. There were one or two squirrels that would never make it home and some fruits that were no longer accounted for.

While the empress oversaw the construction of the siege gate intended for this part of the continent, Architect Valor spent his time exploring the forest itself, picking out decent spots for supply buildings and defenses that would have to go up virtually overnight once the gate was opened. It was difficult deciding such matters without exploring from the air, but visibility of the forest was heavily obscured from the sky, and he didn't want to risk alerting anyone to their presence in the region, even if there wasn't anyone around for at least a couple of dozen miles. Then again ... <"Hm?"> his gaze snapped to a direction somewhat west of where he'd been facing. <"What was that ...? It was as if a powerful dark presence was nearby and then suddenly ..."> The architect decided to head back and check on things at the camp.

When he returned, he found the empress sitting on a boulder. She was wiping her hands clean with a cloth after her snack, the remains of which were scattered around her feet, tiny bones and little else. <"Valor,"> she smiled at his return, <"Have you found a suitable location for my quarters? I would return to Tartarus the moment our army takes control of this region but I'm beginning to feel that it would be best if I remain here beyond that time. Fervor assured me that Leandros would be under my guidance and that I can summon him without the gate ... if I so chose. I would like to see this through to the end if I can. Freyya can watch over the little ones a while longer.">

Valor smiled right back at her. <"Milady, I suspect that you simply haven't grown tired of my company, yet,"> he said, approaching her and stopping just shy of their boots touching.

She slowly reached out to him, long, sharp, and very well kept nails donning each of her fingers. He leaned closer so that she could reach him, and as her palm gently pressed against his cheek, she said, <"You are a truly beautiful creature, Valor. I appreciate everything you've done for me during this expedition. I'll have you know that I'm considering keeping you around once this is over.">

<"Oh?"> Valor was genuinely surprised. He'd suspected he was just meant to be some kind of toy for her to address her boredom while out here, but perhaps she would make him a more official asset of the Devlinos family after this was over. That would be a great honor, even for someone like him, who was already quite well off.

<"Keeping you all for myself, I mean,"> she clarified with a mischievous grin.

<"Hah,"> Valor laughed at himself. Of course. Still, he enjoyed helping her satisfy her various whims and cravings. It was the least he could do for the mourning empress. It wouldn't preclude him from anything or anyone else, so it really wasn't a problem, he decided. <"I would be honored. In fact, since you've just finished with your meal and things here seem to be progressing just fine, why don't I show you some of the area? You can pick out your quarters and perhaps keep our skills sharp by removing a few of these unneeded trees.">

<"And then what?"> her grin widened and her eyes narrowed. Suddenly her expression changed entirely; she sensed something very close by that couldn't have been friendly. Valor sensed it too and moved between her and the presence as she got off of the boulder. <"What is that?">

<"Is that what I sensed earlier? Perhaps,"> Valor mused as he kept himself between her and the roaming sense of dark magic in the distance. Eventually, it appeared. In a puff of dark energy, a large black dragon appeared just beyond the rock. <"No ...">

"So this is what fallen look like," Schwartz greeted the two of them with a mischievous grin of his own.

"Relax," came Boscov's voice, "We mean you no harm ... at the moment." Boscov emerged and was quickly surrounded by fallen workers and warrors alike.

The empress and architect had been so preoccupied with Schwartz's energy, they hadn't noticed Boscov approaching from a different direction. That was when Valor realized that the latter dragon had rid himself of the excess energy in his aura, which made him much more difficult to detect. Valor was still just plain insulted that such large creatures managed to get the jump on them in a forest, but that was an issue for later. "What is it you want, beasts?" he asked them in common. That was the language they were accosted in, so at least a language barrier wouldn't cause problems here.

"We want to know what you're doing here, in Ursium," Boscov replied. "And why we shouldn't kill you all right here," Schwartz swiftly amended.

"Interfere with my expedition ... I will kill you. I will kill you and feed your mangled bodies to the hounds," Urd threatened them both.

Schwartz leaned back, feigning surprise. "You'll destroy me? You winged ones pack quite a punch when you try hard but you won't kill me announcing your intentions like that," the shadow dragon smirked. "Now listen, I've got no love for Ursium, and you buzzards might even make a good distraction for those pegasus grunts chasing us, but if you plan to extend this little 'expedition' to Neviskotia ... at any point in time ... well then, I might as well nip this little nuisance in the bud and slaughter the lot of you right here."

"Schwartz," Boscov grimaced. Perhaps a language barrier could have done them some good in this situation. There weren't a lot of fallen present, not by Kigenese standards, but a dragon's biggest weakness was a numbers disadvantage, if only because the stronger enemies could use the resulting chaos to sneak in devastating blows.

<It seems they're leading the natives to us,> Valor silently informed Urd, causing her expression to darken further. Any possibility of a peaceful resolution was long gone, but now she was furious, knowing that the location she had picked out was already compromised thanks to these arrogant interlopers. She wanted them killed and ground up into dog food, and no longer in that order.

<"Get them,"> Urd hissed her orders to the other fallen scattered about the area. They swarmed the dragons like crazed hornets. Even if they couldn't subdue the dragons on their own, Valor was already preparing to enter the battle, as was Urd. No matter which side won out in the end, it wouldn't be pretty.



[spoiler=The Just Interloper]The trip to the cathedral was uneventful enough. Actually getting inside, however, was quite the hassle, as there was still a large amount of people around. Once Blake had accomplished that, and had made it to the Hall of Wrath it only took a few minutes before he was escorted to the door of the Avatar's office. As the escort knocked, the swordsman continued to collect his thoughts. This was probably going to take a while...

"Come in," came Desmond's disinterested voice. The escort complied and showed Blake into the office. Inside, Desmond was staring down at a box on his desk, a relatively ornate looking thing with its various carvings and pale emerald hue. "What is it you want?" he asked, his voice becoming anything but friendly.

"Hello, Avatar. Interesting box you have there," Blake said, ignoring Desmond's blunt question for a moment. "I think you know why I'm here. How much of the conversation did you overhear?"

The escort disappeared behind a closing door, not wanting to overstay his nonexistent welcome. Desmond's irritable gaze was leveled on Blake, now. "Here is a hint: Exactly what makes you think I will allow you people to turn part of Europa--however small and isolated--into a warzone?"

"Among other reasons, the two to three emblem pieces. at the least on the wielder that they possess. Potentially one less wielder as a result," Blake said, flatly. "The capture or death of the man responsible for the destruction of the Celeste, two months ago, which aids relations with the public. Further information pertaining to said individual's organization, with which you may be able to root out any moles in the Order. Potentially some goodwill from the group I'm working with. The ability to control or limit the damage, by being present. And if you have the means to prevent the bombing, by all means. It is needlessly destructive."

Desmond slowly stood up from the desk. "The only reason I have not already dealt with these people is because I do not know the location of their hideout; I won't march warriors through the streets and tip them off before closing the circle. Find their hideout and carry out your 'rescue', but know this: I am not a respecter of persons and everyone involved here will be held accountable for their actions, especially Valcyn."

"The hideout has been found. However, the person who does know where their hideout somehow knows of the link, and thus will not be willing to tell me directly. However, there is going to be a signal sent from a short distance away from the complex. If the warriors wear cloaks, both to protect from the rain and to disguise their armor, the organization will not be tipped off until they're on the scene," Blake said, bluntly. This could be going better. "I'd rather have them there, even if that means swifter accountability."

While he waited for a response for that, the Ursian decided to inquire about the box. "... If you don't mind my asking, why does that box interest you? You never were one for fanciness over practicality."

"I do mind," Desmond replied. "And I don't think you understand fully just yet. I won't leave a situation this volatile to chance; I will be the one leading this contingent, which means all that we require is your presence at the site."

"I see," Blake said, mind racing. That would mean that the Organization cell will be dealt with, without fail. But, if Raquel and the others did go through with the bombing... "You of course mean, with Valcyn. Understood. Is there a chance that you won't kill their leaders outright, so that information could be extracted from them?"

How was he going to be able to stop the bombing? Trying to talk Raquel out of it already failed once. It probably would fail again because of the distrust between her and the Wrathites. Maybe tampering with the explosives? But that could just end up killing him, and rendering the arrangement void.

"If there is a way to safely restrain them," Desmond replied, his eyes narrowing, "I won't risk any of these people escaping and causing even more problems. Frankly, I would love to have one of them brought back here. Alive. But if I don't see that happening, I will make certain they are all executed on sight."

"Noted. I believe one of them is severely injured," Blake said, avoiding eye contact. He was not going to bring up the emblem, not while Desmond was already livid enough about the bombing. That left... "One last thing. I am going to visit the Archive of Truth before I return to accompany Valcyn. Is there anything that the Order requires knowledge about? I can act as a proxy to obtain that knowledge."

"The names of all potential and realized emblem wielders alive at the moment, as well as any information on their whereabouts," Desmond replied almost instantly. "That should save us some time if you can manage it."

Blake took a moment, to repeat the question to himself, then nodded.

"Understood. Farewell, Avatar," he said, before he began to leave the room.

"And be sure to tell the woman there to stay out of this as well," Desmond added. After that, he sat back down and went back to contemplating the box sitting in front of him.



[spoiler=Unforgiven]Cassandra had worked herself into a frustrated heap trying to figure out some way to lure Jethro into the net without giving away the fact that she had most of Raquel's memories or clueing him in on what to her seemed like a certain attack, and not just a probable one. When it came right down to it, even as supposed allies, they had nothing legitimate to say to each other. Perhaps they would if Jethro was curious about her origins, but if that were the case, he would have asked by now. Maybe he didn't want to know. That made more sense to her than him being too shy to ask; he wasn't too shy to injure her, she reminded herself.

"Are you okay?" came Silvia's voice. When she rounded the corner to find Cassandra hunched over with her forehead and arms against the wall, she knew something must have been bothering her.

"I'm just frustrated that I couldn't catch that woman," Cassandra lied easily.

"Me too," Silvia looked away, somewhat embarrassed. "That's two for two and I still can't beat her. Don't take it too hard, though ... she's clearly had some serious training and I get the feeling that despite how strong you are, you're pretty new at this. Am I right?"

I guess ... "Mmm ... I suppose? I was trained pretty thoroughly ...."

"You can't be more than a couple of months old, though, right? Er-never mind. It's really none of my business. I'm just saying, opponents like that one are going to be really tough until you've got more experience."

"I'm not really interested in overcoming strong opponents, really. I only wanted to stop her because-" Cassandra cut herself off, realizing she was about to reveal a somewhat incriminating ulterior motive none of her 'allies' should know about. "Because you were ordered to, right," Silvia finished the thought for her. She was wrong ... and yet right at the same time. Cassandra had her own reasons for everything she did here, but in the end, to maintain her cover ... orders were orders. "Yeah."

Silvia took a spot on the wall next to Cassandra, resting her back against it and crossing her arms, a dreadful look on her face. "I really wish she hadn't done that to Sardis. He didn't deserve that."

Cassandra made a bitter face, just out of Silvia's view. Of course he deserved it; he deserved far worse as far as she was concerned. Still, she could understand why Silvia would feel the way she did after seeing Sardis lying on a table, bandaged from head to severed thigh. "I don't ..." Cassandra paused a moment, still trying to decide if she should finish such a blatantly neutral thought. In the end, she decided to take the risk, if only because she was speaking with Silvia right now, one of the least likely to jump to any conclusions about her. Still, she chose her words carefully; Silvia was one of Sardis' staunchest supporters along with Hayato. "I don't think life is about what we deserve, Silvia. Sardis is just lucky to be alive."

"Yes ... he is." There was a long, strange silence after that. Eventually, Silvia came off of the wall and turned to Cassandra. "I'm going to go see him, again. Will you come with me, Cassandra?"

"What for?" Surprised by the question, she came off of the wall too, but made sure to do something about the awful look in her eyes first. Suppressing the bitter emotions she held for Sardis, she said, "Why me?"

"Because I ... really shouldn't be alone with him, right now. I don't want to be alone at all right now. It's too easy to start thinking about how I could have stopped all of this if I just hadn't gotten distracted."

Cassandra nodded. "Okay."

It turned out, though, that Silvia wouldn't have been alone with Sardis; when she opened the door into the room where Sardis was being kept, she and Cassandra both were dumbfounded to see Jethro standing over Sardis with a sword held dangerously close to fallen warrior's neck, ready to slit his throat at any moment. "What are you doing?!"

Jethro spared them a menacing glance at first, and then, as his gaze settled back on Sardis, he explained, "He asked me to do it. I don't really care why at this point. The truth is that I never forgave him for going after my daughter so relentlessly. I may be on your side now, but I don't think I'll ever be able to just let that all go. Believe me, I tried, and I thought I was making some progress, too, but I'm not. Since Sardis, the one behind it all, has a deathwish, and I can't forgive him for what he put Raquel through, no matter how much I try and pretend otherwise ... it might as well be me who ends this. Maybe once he's gone ... maybe then Raquel will change her mind about this."

As Cassandra took in everything that was happening, her body began to tremble uncontrollably, barely noticeable to Jethro or Silvia in the heat of the moment, but to Cassandra it felt like her body was beginning to shake itself apart. Sardis is about to die ... I don't know what to do. Should I stop him? I ... no, Raquel wanted him to go to prison, but ... ... I don't know. This is happening too fast.

"You can't," Silvia snapped rushing over to Jethro. She didn't try to get the sword away from Sardis, if only because the struggle might have caused the blade to do as much damage as a straight cut would have. "Jethro, if you do this, Hayato will never forgive you, and the first chance he gets, he'll kill you. Don't you see you're not going to fix anything if you go through with this!"

"I already told you, it's what he wants," Jethro snapped, "The little kigenese brat couldn't take me before and he sure as hell can't take me now, so I'm not worried about him."

"Cassandra, we have to stop him," Silvia said, pleading to her this time.

I don't know what to do. Maybe ... "This is a terrible idea, but ... but what did ... what did Sardis say, exactly?"

Jethro glared daggers in her direction, something almost as painful to her as being physically stabbed. Again. "If you really want to know, he told me that his death was inevitable now. Everything has come full circle and where I was once a victim, being hauled off as a ransom tool, I'm now in a position to end his life and free Raquel from this vigilante mission of hers."

"That's not going to work," Cassandra replied. She still remembered that the battle at the old fortress changed everything. "It isn't just about Sardis anymore, remember? Samael threatened to kill Raquel's family. Even if that doesn't include you, whether or not Sardis dies, this is far from over. He'll never let Raquel join us after that fiasco."

"Right. Because why bother with her when he has you?" Jethro hissed at her. "Not to mention, Samael's got quite the grudge against her for everything that's happened," he smiled grimly. "Maybe it really is hopeless." He slowly brought his sword away from Sardis and sheathed it on his belt, his smile replaced by a clear grimace. "I wanted Raquel to have a normal life, but neither of us can escape from this, now. I wanted her to at least join us so we could work together toward a common goal ... the goal I had all along and thought I'd never be able to attain ... buuut ... just like me, she couldn't forgive Sardis here," he looked down on the man as he began to open his eyes.

"This doesn't look like the other side of the Gate. If it is, then ... it isn't quite what I imagined," he weakly greeted them all.

"Sardis, listen to me," Silvia quickly said, kneeling down beside his face, "you have to hang on. I know this is the worst state you could possibly be in at a time like this but you have to stay with us."

"You do," Cassandra agreed. "Hayato seems to think Samael's trying to get most of your men killed. Even if you die and they all transfer to Samael's command, he still might let the people who had this done to you thin out some more of them before actually abandoning this place. I'm not sure why else we would still be here after being so easily infiltrated."

"This isn't the time for internal conflicts," Jethro muttered, clinching both of his fists. Maybe this was her opening, Cassandra mused. "I'm going to go have a word with him; I'll deal with Sardis when I get back."

"No you won't," Silvia warned.

"Actually, I'd like to talk with you in private, Jethro," Cassandra said, trying to sound cryptic, "It's about this situation, actually."

"Not interested," he immediately replied, causing her to flinch slightly.

"Well I'm interested," she demanded, "If you want this to get resolved without matters getting worse, you should hear me out." That barely fit with what she was actually saying, but hopefully no one else would notice in the heat of the moment. For now, she just had to get him to agree to speak with her elsewhere.

"Listen to her, Jethro," Sardis chimed in, as weak and feebly as the first time he spoke, and much to Cassandra's surprise. "Samael sees her as one of his own kind, someone to be taught, protected, cared for. She may be able to bridge the rift between the artificials and everyone else. We're supposed to thrive in chaos as we remake the world, not become its victims. In order for that to happen, we need to start caring for each other again. That's what he would want ... isn't it? Isn't that ... what he told you, Jethro?"

"Something like that, yeah. The artificials are supposed to be humans of superior intellect and lifespan, with individuals able to lead our forces centuries into the future, never losing sight of the our overall plan. Samael and Layla, though ... they could care less about us. I figured that's why you're here, Sardis. Even though you were once a fallen, he saw potential in you that the two of them just don't have. It's actually a shame that we're going to lose that ..."

"We won't let you kill him, Jethro," Silvia insisted.

Sardis smiled as he stared up at the ceiling. "Perhaps I'm ... just afraid. I'm in no position to defend myself, my people are to be left to a commander who sees them as little more than a nuisance, and it seems that Valcyn of all people is going to be the one to finish me off."

"Hey, you asked me. I'm just going along with it because it makes sense," Jethro raised an eyebrow at him. "Maybe I'll even get some closure."

"N-no," Sardis shook his head slightly, "I meant Raquel. Maybe I would rather be killed off by a real warrior ... and not by a frightened child."

"No, I don't want her to get any blood on her hands. She can't handle something like that," Jethro refused the very notion. "If you die, it's going to be at my hands. That's all there is to it. Cassandra, I'll come find you later on, after I have a word with Samael, not before." With that, Jethro made for the door. Things weren't unfolding anything like what Cassandra had imagined, and the situation was becoming almost desperate now, on multiple fronts. For now, she decided to remain with Silvia and Sardis.



[spoiler=Face the Night]Once the meeting had concluded, Blake took some time in the cathedral to inquire about the archive. He was directed to seek out the priestess Io. That should have been easy enough, but it took longer than expected to track her down. By the time that the swordsman had found the priestess, and they had made it to the entrance to the archive, an hour had passed.

From the entrance, he could see that the door to the archive itself was not blocked, but there were three knights in the area: one far to the left of the door and two to the right of it. That was not promising.

"I suppose I'll have to fight them to gain entry?" Blake asked Io, pointing towards the knights. "A group of companions of mine came through earlier, and that was how they were allowed in."

He must have been involved with the larger group that tore through this place earlier, Io sleepily noted to herself. "You could just offer a contribution of some kind," she offered with a shrug. "Or didn't they tell you? Even a one on one might be a bit much for most people ..." If he'd rather fight them, she wouldn't stop him, but that really did seem a bit much.


"Oh? They didn't mention that," Blake said, curious. "What would the contribution be in specific, some knowledge? I'd offer it, if I knew what exactly would work."

As much as a one on one might be a learning experience, it wasn't really the time for such things.

"Contributions come in all shapes and sizes," Io explained, suppressing a yawn. "Whatever you're willing to offer or share should be considered. You never know what might be deemed valuable here."

"I see...," Blake said, beginning to contemplate his options. "... Alright, then. I have something in mind. How would I then offer the contribution, in that case?"

"Very carefully," Io stated grimly, memories of the water mage's series of blunders coming to mind. As soon as she opened her eyes again, the doors to the archives began to open, slowly but steadily revealing Nyx and her pseudo throne of books. Sitting on the forward bench at the bottom of the throne was Nadine, who had a book sitting beside her and a strange metal object in her arms. She looked up to see who was coming in this time and was suddenly wondering why she was surprised it was another familiar face.


That was... interesting advice, but before he could react, the doors opened, and there, upon a throne-like structure made of books, was the woman who had to be Nyx, given what the others said. She looked awfully like Io, so much that Blake had to look beside him and back to the throne to make sure she hadn't just warped over there or something. Then, when he looked back, he realized that Nadine- Raquel's friend- was at the foot of the throne, on a bench. That was... surprising.

"Thank you for your assistance Priestess," Blake said, to Io, before he approached the archive. He nodded to Nadine before turning his attention to the vasilus. "Hello. I'm not sure how to offer up the 'contribution'. Should I say it or them aloud, or would reading my mind be easier?"


"You're welcome," Io smiled, fighting back her sleepiness just long enough to do so. After that, and as Nyx began to descend from the top of the mountain of books, she considered heading back. She hadn't actually left yet, though, not by the time Nyx's feet were on the ground.

"You just did," Nyx replied, grinning slightly as she approached him. "But first, tell me ... what is it you want? Why did you come here?"


So entry worked out well enough, but now Blake was being asked about what he wanted and why he came here. That was.. more complex, especially with Nadine here.

"I came here to seek out some specific knowledge regarding the emblem," Blake said, bluntly. "I need that information to save a friend at some point in the future, and I believe that my best chance to get it would be coming here."

Nyx glanced back at Nadine for a moment; the mage didn't notice, as she was back to inspecting the metal object in her lap. It looked something like a shoulder plate, and the material was black with gold trim, just like the armor of a rune knight. "If you'd rather, I can always find out the details this way ..." she paused, slowly reaching out toward him with her hand.

"That might be better," Blake said, seeing that Nadine hadn't caught on yet. "Go ahead."

With Blake in agreement, Nyx drew closer. Just before her hand came to the spot she wanted, she felt something that caused her hand to stop cold and flinch. "... Wrath," she hissed. She looked utterly disgusted as she said, "What did that little boy do to you?" A rhetorical question, but she wouldn't have minded getting some details. For now, she decided to just go through with the memory delve. Wrath's presence was all but infuriating, but it wouldn't hamper her in any other way.

"If you mean the Avatar, he placed a link on me," Blake said, glancing towards Nadine for a moment. "I'm a bit surprised you weren't aware of that. Regardless, the memory should still be around, as well as one of a message he wanted me to deliver, if you're curious."

"I'll do as I please," Nyx irritably replied. Apparently, she'd gotten the message from him, already. "You should know ... you're the first person this has ever happened to, at least ... that I'm aware of," she noted.

" Understood, and that's... interesting," Blake said, surprised. This hadn't happened before, to a vasilus's knowledge? He had to wonder if it would've been the same had he not intervened at the meeting. And why that was the case, seeing as this probably the first time the emblem was being contested.


While Nyx continued to sift through Blake's mind, there was a somewhat awkward silence in the archives, one Nadine thought she'd already gotten used to. Apparently it was different when it was just her and Nyx here. She turned the object in her hands so the narrow edge was facing up at her. She smiled faintly as she imagined a pair of emerald jewels embedded on its armored surface, like a pair of eyes for the face of a bird. Her attention was drawn back to the exchange when Nyx ended the silence.

"Hmph, I have little incentive to do the new avatar of Lord Wrath any favors, but I will help you, Blake," Nyx decided. "The power she held before likely supplemented and then eventually replaced many of your friend's bodily functions. Given enough time, it may even begin to sustain her completely. Abruptly separating her from that power could be the end of her, just as you fear. You'll have to instead wean her off of it slowly in order to allow her body to return to its natural state," she explained. "However ... I have my doubts that she will willingly choose this."

"Look, I know you guys are talking about Raquel, alright?" Nadine muttered. She wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or worried when Nyx chuckled at her in response.


Nadine was apparently aware that they were talking about Raquel, so that attempt at subtlety failed. She hadn't reacted to the conversation otherwise, though, so the Ursian man decided not to press.

"... You're right, she probably wouldn't choose to do that, willingly. Especially considering how she's reacted in the past," Blake said, as he remembered the battle with the Neviskotian rebels. "That's going to be a problem, considering the circumstances. But, there must be a way to convince her. It'll be hard to find, no doubt, but I'll find it."

He had to. The dependency wasn't an immediate problem, unlike the explosives, but it was just as serious. Though, he supposed, allowing the dependency to grow could also be a solution. But that meant...

"I have another question, about that power," the swordsman continued, shaking off that thought for the time being. "Is there a way to negate or temporarily disable some of the emblem-powered abilities? I ask this for a few reasons, but the main one is that I don't want to feel helpless against a wielder again, like at the fortress."

There was also the Dragon head to consider. It had acted in defense of them, but it hadn't followed along with Hypnos after the battle. What would happen later on, when the raid was to happen? If it appeared and attacked Raquel or the others, right now there was nothing he could do to prevent harm to them. And that gave him a horrible feeling..


"Convincing Raquel to give up something like that over health issues? Good luck with that," Nadine chimed in again, her frown hinting that it might be even harder than Blake was expecting.

"Unfortunately your little friend, Desmond, has the right idea," Nyx began her grim explanation, "The best way to suppress the emblem's power is to deal with the wielder. If you don't want to feel helpless against that kind of power, consider stepping out of the shoes of an ordinary man and into those more befitting someone in your situation."

"Are you going to ask him to join you?" Nadine raised an eyebrow. She'd asked, not only because Nyx seemed to do that quite regularly, but also because she herself had just received a startling revelation about her life ... that is, her life going forward. She spared the curved metal object another glance as she recalled Nyx's words. "If you want to change the hearts of other people, you'll have to guide them to that conclusion. It is impossible to truly control others, especially on a spiritual plane. You must walk the path of a commander ... so I'll start you off small and simple." Small and simple, yet the object she held in her arms had a spirit contained within. She thought she could feel it staring back at her through the metal. It was an eerie feeling, but probably one of her own making.

Nyx finally shrugged. "It would be interesting, especially in the short term," she admitted. "The emblem wielders have so much ... control over their destinies ... and yet, so very little, as well. The choice is yours. Continue as you are ... or derive power from someone or ... something, willing to take you under their wing."

"... Will it interfere with what's already been bound to me?" Blake said, referring to the link. That link was the only thing that stopped the Wrathites from going after Raquel and her family, so he couldn't just abandon it, as much as he'd like to.

"Well ... becoming my servant means your life belongs to me. It isn't just grand rhetoric, it's legally binding. I can remove or leave the link as I see fit after that. That's how things work among my kind," she explained. Then, her eyes narrowed. "I would remove it; the wrathites won't be allowed to monitor my activities or those of my people. I know you don't want your sacrifice at the ball to be in vain, but with the path you people are on, a confrontation with the wrathites is inevitable. That is, unless you actually believe you can keep Raquel from involving herself any further with the Fire Emblem."


"... I don't think we can avoid further involvement, not with how deep we're in already...," Blake said. Nyx was right: They were heading to a clash with the Wrathites, especially given Raquel's attitude, Sure, it probably wouldn't happen before the Organization was defeated, but it would happen. He'd be forced to go from basically spying on his comrades to actually fighting them, at that point, if he didn't join Nyx. In the meantime, there was no indication that the Wrathites would help with the wielders.On the other hand, if he submitted to the vasilus , then yes, the whole ball incident would be in vain. That was an issue only because it meant his employer's family would be in danger, and the mercenaries would be pursued by the Wrathites until at least the border, Which, while he didn't care much personally, wasn't fair to do to the others. The silver lining there would be that he would be able to be somewhat useful against the emblem wielder and the organization, and he presumably wouldn't be betraying the group to the Wrathites.

Then again, Blake wasn't even certain that he'd make it out of the building, if he did have that link removed. Time to ask a few more questions

"You're still reading my mind, correct? Is it possible for me to ask questions, that way?" he asked, conflictedly.

"It is possible," Nyx replied immediately, already having discovered the man's questions. "If you choose to accept my offer, removing the link will require little more than a flick of my wrist," a figurative exaggeration, but it was still a trivial matter for her, especially since Wrath wouldn't move against the process. "As for the timing. You must be here ... in this chamber. I have no intention of leaving the archives at this time, not even to travel the fairly short distance you'd prefer," she chose her words deliberately to disguise Blake's true intentions, "but I could exercise a bit of patience even though that 'link' is such a detestable little thing. I wouldn't expect a transition like yours to be a smooth one."

"In that case," Blake said, with a frown, "I believe you know what my answer is."

Nyx's neutral expression faded into a scowl. "I do," she replied, irritably. Nadine wasn't surprised, turning down Nyx seemed pretty popular, but in her case, she was glad she accepted. "I hope you're ready for them, Blake, because without the power and the resolve to oppose your enemies, Raquel will eventually be defeated. No ordinary man can protect that girl from what's coming ...."

The Operation Is About to Commence!


The Dauntless was in the workshop, and the Paladin wouldn't be ready anytime soon, so the only replacement Raquel could get in time for the mission was a regular old combat transport. It was nothing like the Dauntless or a regular supply wagon. It was meant to move foot soldiers and foot soldiers alone. Having been designed to get them to their destination without exposing them to direct fire, it had several layers of wood that could stop anything short of siege strength spells and cannon fire. This extra thick hull made the transport's weight considerable, and unlike the Dauntless, there weren't any devices in place to ease that problem. Fortunately, the horses that would be hauling this thing were well suited for it. Unfortunately, that meant Sandrock would have to remain at Weyland's estate until they got back. Raquel was riding Riley currently, figuring they could save space if she could move around on her own. She hadn't decided whether they would go to Ursentius after this mission if it was a success. She just couldn't think past this mission anymore; for her, everything was riding on it. She was at least thankful that the rain had begun to relent at least a little bit. Instead of hard rain, it had been reduced to light, intermittent showers, and the lightning occurred very rarely.

When Reign rode out of the stables on Sandrock, Raquel was almost amused, feeling she should have made that suggestion herself. Instead, Reign had apparently just decided to make sure they brought both horses. Normally, for something this dangerous, she wouldn't want them anywhere near the violence, and she wasn't planning on bringing them onto the complex grounds in either case, but during the retreat ... they would definitely need as many options as they could get.

"Hope you don't mind," Reign rode up beside her, "but I personally think my chances are better with Sandrock than without her. And I don't think anyone but you can ride Riley, so ..." With a small approving nod from Raquel, Reign was cleared to use Sandrock for the mission. "Heh, feels good being on a horse, again. Anyway, let me get this straight, we're going to all stay back at first?" That was still somewhat suspicious, if only because the rest of the plan was even more vague, but he already knew there was more to this than Raquel or Gar were letting on.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Gar and I have to make sure the bombs are ready before anything else happens or something's bound to go wrong. We'll ... try to negotiate," she added with way too much uncertainty in her voice. Reign figured she was lying or just didn't want to bother. "I don't think they're going to cooperate with us, but I'll try, first. Once we get my father and Hayato, we're going to try to fall back and set off the explosives and then ..."

"Take down anyone who comes after us ... assuming negotiations break down. Got it." He didn't like the plan, but as a former army officer, going along with things regardless of his own opinion was just natural, so he'd do that here as well and hope next time the situation wasn't quite so urgent, or the people getting bombed were the fallen or something.

He'd heard enough of the plan to be satisfied, so he nodded to Raquel and trotted off toward Faatina. "I think I'll keep riding Sandrock until she and Riley get hooked up to the Paladin. We seem like a good fit and I'm sick of going everywhere on foot."

Meanwhile, the Weyland employee who had been chosen to drive the transport, settled into the driver's seat and tried to prepare himself mentally for the possibility of combat. He'd been told that the transport would only bring them close enough to quickly reach it on foot and get back just as quickly, but he needed to be ready for any eventuality; there was a rifle, pistol, short sword, grenade, and a novel, all in orderly arrangement toward the right end of the driver seat.

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Erion leaned against the wall near the transport, turning the hair clip he'd been given by Jam over and over in his hands. He sighed, and shoved it into his coat pocket. He'd changed from his standard outfit of a brown vest with his red bandana, at least partially because he no longer had the bandana. His black coat, cut short in the front and long in the back, fit comfortably and served as an additional layer to mask the various knives he wore on his body. Pushing himself away from the wall, he walked over to Pips and swung himself up into the saddle. Nudging her over to where Raquel was mounted, he leaned towards her and raised an eyebrow. "You sure you're ready for this? I understand the plan I just..." He shook his head. "Never mind. I'll trust you." With a sloppy salute, he pulled back a bit, waiting for orders to head out.

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A Man Called Gar

Gar carefully walked out from the blind-spots of anyone looking for him. Fully covered by his cloak, even both hoods up. Each step was careful not to set off the ridiculous amount of explosives he was carrying. He'd finished the harnesses to latch the bombs to their target and went and retrieved the flowers(and gave a casual thanks to Suzzy Q) before readying the bombs and coming out. He just needed to be sure things didn't go off prematurely...

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[spoiler=Doubt']

"Okay ..." Raquel began, pausing to let out a breath she'd been holding, "Gar's trying to get a harness to buy us time. Basically, I'll be moving him right into the building while he has it and the bombs attached to himself. We're going to convince them that if they don't give into our demands we'll blow up ourselves and them along with us. The harness is only supposed to look attached though ... sooo ... once we get my father and Hayato, Gar's going to throw down the harness and I'll warp the both of us out right before it explodes. I know it's really underhanded ... but it could save lives on our side, so that's why I'm going along with it." She felt guilty explaining this part of the plan, but hopefully Veronika would understand why she wasn't announcing the brutal tactic to anyone who happened to be around. And maybe, Raquel realized, it was part of why Gar wanted her to keep quiet about it, too. After all, the plan in its vaguest form had met with quite a bit of skepticism and protest.

Veronika frowned at Raquel's explanation of the plan. Well, I can certainly see why this plan wasn't shared with everyone... "This plan would put your lives at the whim of whatever Organization members were around- if one of them decided to set the bomb off somehow then you and Gar and your father all die. Are you sure that they would not take a risk?" she asked, deciding to stick to practical rather than moral issues at the moment. Would my father approve of something like this? Using duplicity to save our lives over theirs?

"I thought it would be up to Gar when the bombs went off but I guess someone could always try shooting at us to set them off," Raquel admitted. "Still, though, there's no way everyone else would just stand back and let someone get everyone killed. If I can just make sure no one has a clear shot on us, that should be enough," she added, not sounding too sure herself. The idea was still in its conceptual stages, after all.

I'm not sure I would trust the sanity of people who would join a criminal organization. "So how sure are you about all of this? Not just the chances of success- but are you prepared to do what needs to be done?" Veronika asked Raquel. I can't imagine her agreeing to something like this when we first met- she's changed for better or for worse.

"I guess," Raquel replied weakly, not making eye contact. "What other choice do I have, let them escape with my father or worse, come after us again? I don't know what else we can do here that will keep the others safe ...."

"Well we do have to protect our own and I don't have any better ideas at the moment," Veronika admitted. "Just be sure that this is what you want to do- there won't be any room to turn back once you've started."

"I know," Raquel nodded, "I can't let this chance slip by, though ...." I don't know what else to do; I know they aren't all like Sardis or that unbelievable monster, but I don't know how else to protect everyone. We have a way now, to get my father out of there without having to risk anyone but myself and Gar ... I might regret this later ... but I knowI'll regret getting one of us killed when options like this could have prevented it.

"It's good that you have doubts, but try to put on a confident face in everyone else. The group will feel more at ease if their leader appears...strong," Veronika said, putting a hand on Raquel's shoulder.

"Yeah ... I'm trying to but it feels like I've never been closer to getting my father back and away from those people. It's making me so anxious, especially when I can't distract myself with preparations. Maybe I should get back to that ..."

Veronika nodded. "The closer we are to getting something, the more afraid we are that it will taken away at the last second. You do your preparations and we'll do ours- we're going to make it through this."

[spoiler=Dragon Hunt']

While some soldiers complained of trekking through the wilderness on what seemed like a fruitless search, Major General Selene Alexakis found it pleasant compared to the political squabbling that often occurred at the capital. Everyone here was bound to a single purpose that was for the good of Ursium- this is what being a soldier was about.

When the officers in green arrived, Selene knew that the their search was about to come to an end. "You Banshees certainly aren't averse to taking risks," she noted. "Have you two ever fought a dragon before?" she asked pointedly.

Operation

All they could do now is wait and be ready if anything went poorly. Gar, the explosives, the Wrathites, the Organization...this plan had far too many unknowns for Veronika's liking, but it was what they had. She looked into her sword, wondering if it would be painted red tonight...

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Bombardier

Erion saluting her, however poor the form was, reminded Raquel of Horizon and how things had been back then. Back in those days, she was likely the only one around that would have had an issue with setting off what was effectively an enormous bomb inside an enemy base, but now things seemed to be reversed. Was Gar in the military at some point? She just had to wonder about that, now. She was tempted to offer him a ride, but seeing how careful he was being, she didn't have any doubts that a ride on horseback would be a bad idea. The combat transport wouldn't be a smooth ride, either, but as long as the driver didn't rush things or hit any large bumps in the rode, it should be fine, she decided.

"It'll work out," Raquel assured both Erion and herself while taking deep breaths.

[spoiler=Dragon Hunt]"Ma'am," both sisters saluted in unison. "We were among the three teams that fought Boscov and Schwartz in the capital, Ma'am," Elfriede explained. "I don't expect them to be so careless around us next time, but we're refining our strategies as well."

"We'll try not to get in your way," Elfrieda added. "That said, we were instructed to inform you that the General is splitting the unit into two teams. We should be close enough to catch up to them, now, so the General wants to flank them."

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A Man Called Gar

While he could probably keep up with the currently available transport options by himself, that ability was restricted by all the bombs he was carrying. If one of those slipped off while he was running or walking in unstable territory this whole thing would go up before it even began. So with a careful measurement he stepped up on the combat transport and braced himself away from anyone else. No need for risks right now... "Let's make this ride nice and stable eh? No need for these to go off away from their target..." he cautioned the people around

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Cherish had made her way to the area where the transport was. Weyland told her it was her next job to accompany this group on some rescue mission. Whatever. It sounded sneaky and subtle, which was her thing. The benefit of working for someone was that they could point her to something to take and put a monetary value on having that. Since that's all she really cared about it just made her life a little easier.

Still, working with others was the unpleasant part. It would probably be a good idea to put on a bit nicer of a facade then when she was in the Dining Hall. The thief looked around to get a good handle on the people she'd be working alongside, wondering if any of them would want to talk but not wanting to initiate it herself. The less conversing she had to do, the better.

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Splinter

While Raquel continued to scan the area around the main entrance, seeing who all was coming with her, she noticed Gabbie, coming outside. She was wearing a dry, but clearly old cloak. "Is she coming with us after all?" We could definitely use the help, she told herself. At least one last look inside to confirm the locations of their targets. Before long, though, she began to doubt that was the case. When Tacito appeared, Gabbie mounted him and then immediately took off. Almost purely on impulse, Raquel called out, "Where are you going?!"

"My business, not yours," Gabbie called back as she passed swiftly overhead and flew off toward the city.

Raquel winced at the various prospects she was coming up with. Gabbie probably wouldn't interfere with the plan in any way ... but then again, she couldn't really be sure of that. Suddenly she wanted to get the group moving right then and there. "Everyone get ready! We need to head out as soon as possible," she called out again, seeing who else was still on foot and who was mounted and thus, already prepared to set out. Among those still on foot were Veronika and a woman she didn't recognize, the former she just assumed was trying to get everyone ready like she was. The latter was probably like Arietta and assigned to the group by Weyland at the last minute. She figured since they couldn't leave just yet anyway, she would at least go over and confirm that. "Excuse me," she waved at Cherish to get her attention as Riley came to a stop, "Did Weyland you put you with us?"

Whimper

"Simon, let me get this straight," Samael irritably began. "D-Darksider, if you would," Simon quickly interjected. "Simon," Samael countered, some weight to his voice, "You want to have Sardis moved to the Grand Cathedral for healing? Do you really think those robes can do anything for him in his condition? You risk killing him simply by moving him out of this room."

Simon suppressed his bitterness at having his given name used. He wasn't doing this for Sardis necessarily, but he supposed Sardis had never done wrong by him, and might even be grateful for the opportunity. "He could still die if he remains here, and I know you don't want to risk bringing the clergy here, sir."

"You don't know as much as you think," Samael scoffed. "At this point, I couldn't care less who you bring here, but I don't want Sardis moved right now. If he's going to die, I need to be there when it happens. The testimony of regulars won't satisfy my father, so until we set out, he stays here, understand?"

"I do ... sir," Simon conceded.

"If you go behind my back on this, you die. If you argue the point again, you die. Now go find something to do with yourself, Simon, and don't disappear on us again without prior notice."

Once Simon was outside of the room, he clinched both of his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. Then, after a moment, he relaxed. I'm so so terribly sorry, Milady. I was certain that Sardis would be a perfect candidate after that discussion with the armless woman, but Samael won't have him moved ....

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[spoiler=Is this a zombie?]

Reign shrugged when Faatina asked if he knew where to find what they needed. "I don't know where to look, but I'm sure one of the maids does and they aren't too hard to find." If Weyland's place didn't have some spare towels and massaging oil, then what place on this blasted continent would? As he quietly stepped out, he said, "I'll knock before coming back inside," smirked, and then gently shut the door.

He waited until he was a good distance from the door and then stopped in his tracks, taking a moment to scan his surroundings with his working eye. "This place has felt pretty deserted since last night. Ahem ..." It was time to try something he'd grown curious about over the past day or so. "If only there were someone around here who could help me find the things I need. Oh woe is me." It took exactly one second longer than he expected but when he turned around at the sound of footsteps, there was a maid. He would have been impressed if he wasn't a little nervous, now. He was in a hallway and should have seen her coming ... but he didn't. That meant there was some funny business going on here, or they were really good at slipping in and out of rooms. Probably both, really. "What a funny coincidence," he half feigned a smile as he greeted her.

"Can I help you with something, sir?" she smiled back. No telling if that was real or not.

"Yeah ... I sort of agreed to give a friend of mine a massage, but I could use some things, first. Some towels, massaging oil if you have any ..."

"Oh certainly. I can get all of that for you. Would you like it brought to the room or do you want to bring it back yourself?"

Reign shrugged. "... whatever you think is best, Miss."

After Reign departed, Faatina took a moment to slip off her armour, laying it out off to the side, along with her new blade. After a bit of deliberation, she had decided that the rest could wait until Reign returned... this place was a tad too unpredictable for the prospect of stripping fully and laying in wait to sit all that well with her... to be honest, it took the paladin by surprise that the thought even came to her head at all.

There was no use in thinking too hard about it, though. Having come this far would have been pointless if she spent too long dwelling on it and talked herself out of this. But all in all, too much thinking already, Faatina decided, giving herself a clap on the cheeks to clear her head.

Taking inventory of her situation with less worry, she was feeling better already. With her armour off, the now well loosened shirt she wore underneath fluttered about her as she took a few steps... taking a moment to undo her chest bindings, better now than fiddling with it when Reign returned, Faatina let out a sigh as the oppressive cloth was loosed from her. Well, all she had left now was a loose shirt and pants... but returning to the previous point of not wanting to sprawl herself nude across the bed in the case that someone else might arrive first and entirely misunderstand everything, the paladin opted to simply sit on the bed, legs hanging off the side, swinging lazily.

What to do in the interim, Faatina wondered, her eyes scanning the room. They stopped dead on the second bottle she had purchased a while back, the incident regarding the first perhaps the starting point, of all this.

'That only happened because I downed the whole thing without knowing it was alcoholic... if I only drink a little it should be fine, might ease my mind a little...' She pondered, before striking the thought out of her head. First off, if she took the edge off that way it would be practically cheating... and besides... she wasn't... overly familiar with Ursian proofs, and if she were to drink too much whilst Reign's own inhibitions were no doubt impaired and in such a potentially compromising situation...

"I think I'll keep myself sober, for now... someday I'll find the time for you..."

Eventually there was a knock at the door. Reign was standing on the other side with a few fresh towels draped over his right arm. Standing beside him with a tray with some massaging oils, two empty glasses, and a pot of water, was the maid he'd found a little while ago. "It's me. One of the maids is here too but she's just carrying a few extras ..." He wasn't sure what to expect when Faatina opened that door. Maybe she'd changed her mind and decided to keep everything on until the last possible second. Or, maybe she was about to put some things back on so she could answer the door. Maybe she was already comfortable on the bed and it would be up to him to let himself in this time.

After hearing the knock, Faatina stood up from the bed, and made her way over to the door. Pausing slightly just before it, she gave her head another shake, before opening it.

"Good, you managed to find your way back." The paladin noted with a light smirk... well, it was for the best that he had found a maid, he would've been gone for quite some time otherwise, most likely. Atleast it wasn't anyone they really knew...

There was still something of a mystery after Faatina answered the door, but that wasn't really important right now. "Had some help ... the hallway's so long it's hard to tell where you are most of the time and the little numbers are easy to miss," he casually noted as he entered the room, the maid following closely behind him. She only stayed just long enough to set the tray on top of the dresser, as Reign had informed her he could handle the rest. After that was finished, she gracefully bowed out and even shut the door along the way.

"Well this should be an interesting experience." For the both of us ...

"Interesting is a word, I suppose..." Faatina noted, as the maid made her departure. Regardless, they seemed to be just about ready to go, a bit of setup with the towels and the bed which took mere moments, and it seemed they were back to a prior juncture.

"Alright, we've got everything we need this time, so same as before, I guess. Turn around for a minute, would you? Atleast she closed the door on her own so no need to worry about that." Faatina added, stretching slightly as she spoke.

Back to the turning around thing, it seemed. Reign complied, nodding first and then turning to look at the door. He figured it was his last chance to mentally prepare himself ... this wasn't going to be some ordinary massage, after all. He was a mage trained at Horizon, that meant all the tools at his disposal would be going into this.

After checking to confirm Reign's compliance with her request to turn around, Faatina began to remove the remainder of her clothing. Stripping off her loose shirt and pants left the majority of her skin uncovered... a light chill assailed her as the last garments she intended on removing left her, as she placed them off to the side. Well, that was the difficult part of that, no turning back now, she reasoned,as she laid herself down on the bed, face down. Draping a towel over her backside in some small attempt to retain a tad of her modesty in that particular area, and giving herself a once over to check that nothing else that shouldn't be visible was, it seemed that all that was left was to call Reign over. Turning her head towards him, and verifying that he was still looking away, Faatina let out the breath she had been inadvertently holding, before calling out to Reign.

"Alright Reign, I'm ready. You can turn around now."

As Reign ended his silent one way discussion with the door and turned around, an interesting realization occurred to him, mostly thanks to his buzz finally wearing off in the time that had passed; it was, as far as he could remember, the first time he'd seen a woman's bare back like this. This episode was definitely going to be committed to memory, he decided, approaching the left side of the bed and beginning his preparations. He was no professional, but he'd gotten a bit of advice from the closest thing to one he could find in his spare time, and gotten some good tips. If he combined some subtle magic here and there he could probably make this a pretty good stress reliever for the Sancturan.

"The bed's a little wide so I'm going to have to get behind you," he noted, some concern in his voice. Normally it would have been fun to make suggestive jokes about a situation like this, but it felt like skirting some extremely blurry lines at that moment. "You trust me, right?" he smiled weakly.

"I kind of figured that would end up being the case." Faatina replied when Reign brought up the width of the bed, and what obstacles it might provide. He sounded... oddly serious about all this.

"That's fine, I trust you, Reign. Besides, if you try anything funny I'll just deck you, my natural barrier is stronger than you'd expect, I'll have you know." The paladin continued with a chuckle.

"To be honest I half expected some kind of dirty joke out of you when this was to come up... more than half, really... don't tell me I'm that appalling to look at."

Mmm, probably not the best time to point out that I'm capable of slipping through even another mage's barrier with ease, Reign told himself, chuckling lightly at the hypothetical confrontation. There was a hint of surprise that came with her next statement, but he swiftly composed himself again. "Maybe I was saving the dirty joke for when we were both in the bed." And with a cool oozing feeling spreading over his palm, Reign knew the trouble with his hands was now, if nothing else, minimized. This oil would work nicely. Now to move the tray close enough to be within arm's reach without spilling anything ....

"Knowing you, I would have figured there would have been one for before and after." Faatina replied with a smirk, glad for the banter, as it helped calm her nerves, before wondering what was causing Reign to delay. It appeared to be the tray he was holding, as he appeared to be looking for a place to rest it.

"You can move the bedside table if it'll be too far away where it is, you know."

"Need it within arm's reach so I guess we'll just have to avoid rocking the bed," Reign replied, the wording not lost on him. That one wasn't even intentional, either. He carefully sat the tray and all its contents right near the edge of the be

d, and then carefully went around to the foot of it. After some careful and slow climbing/crawling, he was behind Faatina, and her entire back and neck were easily within reach, as were the oils, the glasses, and pot of water. "You know, now that I'm actually back here ... it's just not coming to me," he admitted lightheartedly.

"A shame... oh well." Faatina replied with a smile... if she started slipping now there would be know comingn back, she'd have to try to match him blow for blow or she would never get anywhere... it was kind of fun, all things considered.

"Nothing, really? I don't know if that's supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing..."

"Probably a good thing. I need you relaxed for this, after all," Reign replied with a weak grin on his face. Now it was time for some magical shenanigans. As he got started spreading the oil over Faatina's back, he raised its temperature slightly. There was no reason oiling her up and warming her skin couldn't both be handled in a single step, and it was definitely good practice for him. He continued to gently spread the oil over her back, shoulders, and neck while keeping it at a warm enough temperature to be comfortable and relaxing until everything was nice and even.

As the cool oil made contact with her skin, Faatina shivered slightly, before the soothing warmth began to spread across her... so he was integrating his casting too, huh?

"Ahh... that feels good... magic sure is useful."

"Glad to hear it. Just let me know if I'm being too rough, here." Reign was planning on paying very careful attention to how Faatina's muscles reacted to his touch as a way of knowing if he was applying too much pressure, but a bit of verbal feedback always helped. He started on her lower back; shifting around in a saddle all the time probably wasn't doing that area any favors. He tried to ease the tension, starting gently at first with his palms to make sure there weren't any sudden contractions, a telltale sign he was being too rough.

It took a good deal of Faatina's willpower to not let out some sort of pathetic sound as Reign's hands made contact with her lower back... she hadn't expected him to start there, and had been inwardly hoping that he would start somewhere a bit less sensitive so she'd get a chance to acclimate... no such luck it seemed.

"Mmm... sure thing." She replied, allowing herself to ease into Reign's touch.

"Any requests?" The thought occurred to him seemingly out of nowhere, but it couldn't hurt to ask; she very well could have had a particular area in need of attention that she knew about, and he was almost finished loosening up her lower back. He'd be back, of course, no pun intended.

"Requests? Not really, no... just keep at it." Faatina replied with a soft sigh... after getting past the nerves and all that, this turned out be be an excellent idea, the paladin noted to herself, shifting her body slightly to allow Reign slightly easier access.

Reign nodded his reply, though immediately realized his face was out of view. "Alright," he amended, nodding again and continuing his work. Never spending too long on one area, or on one technique, the fire/water mage made sure to get around to Faatina's whole back, neck, and shoulders, and multiple times, watching and feeling for any signs of discomfort along the way. It may have been relaxing for her, but having to multitask in general while recalling various tips he'd received at home and trying to keep track of his own miniature spells was eventually going to take its toll on him. Maybe I should ask about a massage after this, myself, he jokingly thought to himself. Either way, this feels like a much better use of my time than listening to all the random crap going on downstairs.

All the while Reign was doing his thing, Faatina was relaxing and taking it in... he was surprisingly good at this, all things considered. After he was fully sober and had gotten his eye fixed, she'd need to accost him for a do-over... fully for comparative purposes, of course.

But the thinking of future plots would have to wait, it was taking most of Faatina's cognitive resources to avoid letting out a light purr or a moan... how long had it been since someone had taken time for her like this... it would've had to have been before her brother had passed...

Damn I really wish both of my eyes were working right now. I don't really need depth perception for this but ... I'm going to have all right eye memories. An inconvenience he wasn't quite sure of the depth of, no pun or odd phrasing intended, but it still bothered him for some reason. Reign was slightly more careful than usual approaching her shoulders and neck again, if only because he was getting assaulted by his own musings. Much as some part of him was telling insisting that he stop rubbing her back and shoulders and just rest his head there for awhile, he wasn't about to explain how he suddenly had a craving to use her back as a kind of pillow.

Eventually, he finished, once Faatina's muscles were about as relaxed as they could get without her being paralyzed. "If you're going to get up, do it very slowly," he warned her, his tone casual, but his face barely hiding some humor. "If you're not going to get up, though ... ah never mind. Bad time for me to be resting my head and neck anyway." Won't feel right napping until after this rescue mission, he told himself, his expression becoming somber all too quickly.

To be perfectly honest, that had no right to feel as good as it had. By the end of the massage, Faatina was feeling absolutely fantastic, and likely more flexible than she had in years... if Reign would agree to it this was definitely something she wanted to do again in the future. As she lifted her head a tad whilst Reign made his final rounds, the dryness in Faatina's mouth reminded her that sometime midway through she had taken to biting into her pillow to attempt to muffle the various pleasured moans that had escaped her as her willpower faded. Needless to say it hadn't worked overly well and she expected some kind of quip about it in none too short order, but it was a ship she would sail when it came about, and if she was honest, the bit of embarrassment from it was well worth the end result.

However, as things cooled down, as it were, Faatina was a tad confused by Reign's words as he was finishing up, but the one piece of advice he did give was sound enough.

"Well, it's not like I can get up in the state we're in now, anyway." The paladin noted with a light grin, though her confusion still shone through her expression somewhat. It was lucky for her that he had mentioned it, in all honestly... her thoughts were a bit more than slightly scattered and she would most likely have entirely forgotten that the second she would have lifted her front from the bed, she would have also become a good bit indecent.

"Head and neck, though? That seems oddly specific... what were you planning?" Faatina asked, deciding to at least attempt to sate her curiousity...

"Oh sure you could," Reign replied dismissively, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Well," Reign began, "I was considering taking a nap ... but given what Raquel's about to get herself into, I'd rather wait," he explained grimly.

"I suppose I could, if you're willing to face the consequences." Faatina shot back, returning Reign's smirk, before delving into the deeper matter.

"I don't know what to think about all that, really... all of these sudden risky plans and moving from skirmishing to straight demolition... something seems really off about all of this..."

"Makes you wonder if we're actually in the right or just turning into them. I mean Sardis blew up a ship full of potential enemies and now we're essentially doing the same thing. Not telling Raquel that, though; she'll freak the hell out, whether or not she agrees with that little analysis," Reign mused aloud as he slowly got up and off of the bed. He turned away so that his friend/client could make herself decent again.

"Yeah... I dunno, it just... doesn't feel like the same Raquel I met at the outskirts of Sanctuary... is any of this really necessary at all? I mean, if what I heard back there was right, didn't Anna basically de-limb Sardis in a skirmish? This all seems so... excessive. Honestly it almost feels like a storybook where the author decided that he didn't want his heroes to be, well... heroes anymore. Not that we were doing anything overly heroic to begin with but just thinking about this makes my stomach start to turn." Faatina replied, her face a grimace all the while... not the best of subjects to directly proceed after something meant to relax her but at least her complaints didn't seem to be falling on deaf ears this time.

Regardless of all that, Reign had removed himself from the bed and turned, allowing Faatina time to slip a loose shirt on and button the thing up enough to cover her chest.

"Alright, I'm decent enough, I suppose. You've seen pretty much everything else in that weird dragon fiasco anyway, so this is all I really need to cover if you want to get technical about it." Faatina noted, as it was kind of awkward talking to Reign as his eyes were fixed on the door. As the paladin awaited a response, she began looking about for some sort of pants type garment to slip on underneath the long shirt.

"Heh, feel free to refresh my memory whenever you want," Reign teased while rubbing his palms together. The oil did as much good for his hands as it did for Faatina's back and they felt much smoother, now. It was too bad it wouldn't last. He slowly turned around and said, "Anyway ... let's you and I do what we can to not let this go too far ... granted I don't know what that is just yet. We can stand around fretting over what Raquel might end up doing or we can try and help keep her on the right track ... or as close to it as we reasonably can. I'd like to be able to say I did something in the long run, regardless of how things turn out."

"She won't listen to me... I tried already. But you... well, you have history with her, she might listen if you're the one telling her." Faatina replied sombrely, ignoring Reign's jab for the time being as she located a pair of suitable pants and began to slip them on, before realizing her mistake and jolting upright, clinging the loose shirt against her chest with a deep blush on her face.

"Ah... d-did you see anything?" Faatina stammered with embarrassment. Of course something loose with a low neckline would, well... fall if she were to bend like that... perhaps she should have taken the time to replace her bindings first afterall...

'And here I thought I had been doing a good job keeping my composure...'

"Probably," Reign answered vaguely, though that bit of teasing wasn't accompanied by the usual smirk or amused tone. "I'll just turn back around so you can finish up." Then came the smirk. "I don't think just one person, be it either of us or someone else in the group, is going to do much of and by itself. When Raquel gets like this, it takes a lot to get her to reconsider things."

Reign's answer was just too damn vague to make anything out from... and at the moment she wasn't sure if the lack of his usual smirk or playful tone was a good or bad thing... well unless he came out with it, she'd probably never know... it wasn't really worth forcing since it was pretty much her fault anyway. Either way, within a few moments she had finished putting the pants she had selected on, and had rebound her chest, doing up a few extra buttons on the shirt for good measure.

"There... I'm pretty much fully clothed... if anything else happens I'm calling bullshit on the Gods." Faatina noted as she finished, thinking about Reign's words.

"So basically if we want to get anything done we'll pretty much have to find everyone else who thinks she's gone crazy and shove it in her face with the hope she'll snap out of it?" The paladin concluded... a bit of a rough translation, but...

"I wouldn't use the term 'crazy', necessarily," Reign noted as he turned back around, a thoughtful, distant look on his face. "She must have spent a long time convincing herself that Sardis and his men deserve to die for what they've done and whatever it is they're planning to do ... or she wouldn't be handling it like this. That said, I don't think there's anything to snap her out of just yet; we just need to help her find other ways to confront these people before she gets used to all of this." Reign spared the door a somber glance after saying that, remembering that he didn't have any solid ideas. To make matters worse, Raquel seemed pretty accustomed to life's most brutal philosophy, 'kill or be killed'. Like it or not, at this point they were probably going to try to pull off the rescue and demolition simultaneously. "Even if there's nothing that can be done about it today, in the future ... maybe it'll be easier."

"No one deserves to die by association alone... if that's the conclusion she's come to, then I stand by using the term crazy... but like I said, I have no idea what to do to get through to her... I mean really as far as she's concerned I'm a simple sellsword, right? I've told her what I think of all this, what else am I supposed to do? I can refuse to take part but if it's a demolition job then that won't really be a hindrance at all." Faatina replied with a sour expression.

"She seems so... amiable, so friendly, when it's not Sardis or anything related to him on her mind. But she's a completely different person as soon as he's involved... and if she doesn't keep that other her in better check, it's going to get her killed, be it on the battlefield or by execution... and it'll be sooner rather than later if she's escalating this far this quickly."

"It's all because of Jethro. She was only a few months shy of graduating from a military academy established specifically for mages," Reign noted. "When Jethro got her out of that and they ran away together, she got the chance to repress all of that training and conditioning they tried to put her through. It's obviously not completely gone, though. Jethro clearly means the world to her and until we rescue him she's not going to be able to have any kind of real life."

"So if this crazy plan goes without a hitch... then she might go back to normal after today? It's a little late to do anything about the mistake she's about to make but it's better than nothing..." Faatina noted with a sigh.

"No way this'll go off without a hitch. The best we can hope for is that we finally rescue Jethro ... and that we don't have to keep him restrained ..." Reign grimaced at the thought.

"If you can call it a rescue, that is. As far as I had heard, he was with them intentionally... Raquel is assuming some sort of mind control but what if she's wrong? What if he really has chosen to join them? None of this makes any sense." Faatina replied sombrely.

"When I met Colin, and took some time to talk to him, hear his side of things... is it so wrong that since then I've felt off about this whole thing? I like everyone here and I want to help Raquel get her father back, but... it all just feels so wrong... hell, when I first started talking to him and didn't straight want him dead, I think there were people who thought I was some kind of double agent... maybe I am naive and this is how the world works but... I just don't know what to think anymore."

"It's how a lot of people want the world to work ... but nothing's ever that black and white," Reign replied, serious as ever. "Believe me though, I know what that's like, having a word with the enemy and then starting to rethink things," he added grimly. "As for Jethro ... well, assuming he's with them for his own reasons, I guess the rest of us will have to figure out where to go next while Raquel tries to talk some sense into him."

"That's true, you did desert from the Ursian military, didn't you? You must have had a falling out of your own." Faatina replied as Reign brought up his own experience with the matter.

"I suppose I can't really say much about Jethro... I've never spoken to the man, now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen him either."

"You're not a male around Raquel's age so you'd probably get along with him just fine. About the only thing he and I ever had in common was hating this 'us versus them' thing Ursium and Neviskotia are cramming into their soldiers," Reign explained. "Maybe that's why he's working with Sardis. Those guys aren't gathering under banners and seem pretty open to recruits of all sorts." Though, given how many of them Raquel's been responsible for killing over the past couple of months, a recruitment campaign on a large scale on their part wouldn't surprise me at all.

"That makes sense, I suppose. An independent militia that doesn't follow either country and has outposts to work in both, without prejudice towards it's members... for someone looking to change things but who isn't nationalistic, it doesn't seem such a bad deal." Faatina replied.

"Overprotective then, is he?"

"Maybe that's why Jethro joined them," Reign frowned, "but yeah, she's daddy's little girl, though he's not as obvious about it as most fathers. You can still tell, though."

"Well, hopefully this can all be taken care of today, so neither of them need to go through any more of this... the rest of us could probably use a break too." Faatina replied with a sigh, eyeing the bottle that she had earlier strayed away from... suddenly she too was in more of a drinking mood.

Reign followed Faatina's gaze to the bottle; he almost smirked, but as the memories of her last episode with a bottle came to mind, he suppressed it. "Easy there. I know I'm not one to talk but I at least got a good grasp of my limits while sailing south down to Rex-Avaz."

"Hey you... the only reason that I got so hammered last time was because I didn't know it was alcoholic, and Ursian alcohol tastes... different. I just drank too much before I caught myself." Faatina replied, turning directly towards Reign with an unamused expression adorning her face.

"Heh, sure," Reign smirked, crossing his arms and leaning back slightly.

Faatina would not take this lying down, not this time... that smug smirk of Reign's was going to be wiped clean off this time if she had any say in it. Covering the distance across the room in mere moments, Faatina took hold of Reign's hand, walked him over to the bed and sat him down, before grabbing hold of the bottle and two small glasses... not typically designed for shots but they would do the job, and sat across from the mage in seconds flat, still wearing an unamused expression as two shots were poured, and one was offered to Reign, the one Faatina had poured for herself already downed in silence.

Reign stared down at his shot gently swirling the contents around in the glass. He didn't know what it was at first until he took a glance over at the bottle. His old buzz was long gone by that point but some gin might fix things. Still ... "This doesn't seem like such a good idea." Of course, going back downstairs fully sober would be an exercise in irritation if the same conversations were still going, so he decided he'd humor her at least for now. He knew his limits, so he'd just stop before he got anywhere near that point and then tuck her in once she passed out; his own humorous prediction. He downed the first glass and sighed.

With that, the shots began... but they didn't get much further than that. After downing her fourth and offering Reign his, the mage seemed to be rejecting the drink.

"What, you're done already, Reign?" Faatina noted with a light smile. Her cheeks were a little flushed, but aside from that, it wasn't really noticeable that she had been drinking anything.

"Someone's got to tuck you in after you knock yourself out," Reign shrugged, a faint smile on his face.

"Hmph... I guess we're finished,. then... no use continuing by my lonesome." Faatina replied, downing the last shot, since it was already poured.

"Would you look at that, awake and everything." The paladin continued with a smirk.

"That's good," Reign smiled faintly. He was glad she wasn't being too insistent about it.

"So I guess this is when we go back to trying to figure out what to do about Raquel, huh? No use sitting around here, I guess," Faatina replied, as she resealed the bottle of gin and put it back in it's resting place.

"Well, you're the one who knows better what goes through that head of hers... lead the way."

"As long as you're not expecting any immediate results," Reign shrugged. "She listens, she just doesn't always act on what she hears." That was definitely a problem when the advice was to avoid a confrontation with the organization.

As Reign rode his way over on Sandrock, Faatina gave him a light grin, before replying to him.

"Well, it's certainly easier and more convenient to get around by horse if you know how to ride. You can hop on with me after she gets hooked up, regardless."

***

It was just about time to move out, now. The transport was loaded, with Arietta inside, sitting in wait. The guard had taken the seat closest to the crawl space which would give access to the driver... if anything were to happen she'd need to be close by, after all.

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Reign in the Rain

"Thanks for the offer; I might take you up on th-waaait a minute," Reign feigned a sudden realization, "I see what this is," he smirked, thinking back to the massage from earlier that day. He gave Faatina a moment to figure out what he was getting at on her own.

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[spoiler=Dragon Hunt']

"Stay back and provide cover fire along with most of my unit if possible. Only the most seasoned warriors with the proper weaponry even have a chance of engaging a dragon in melee and coming back alive," Selene instructed the sisters. General Mesoa will not be pleased if I lose her soldiers needlessly. "Move out everyone! If we see the targets, do not open fire until I give the signal!" she commanded before flying off on her pegasus, Gorgotha, leading the vanguard.

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"Huh?" Faatina replied, somewhat confused at first.

"What this is? I don't even know what this is, what are you even..." The paladin continued, before her expression soured.

"You think this is about earlier, huh?"

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Stuff

"Well, alright, if you insist," Reign replied, ignoring the question. "It's harder to handle that sort of thing while on horseback, though," he noted.

[spoiler=Dragon Hunt]"Ma'am," the sisters replied in unison again before quickly readying themselves.

General Mesoa was preparing to set out as well. She wasn't a fan of aerial combat, but where dragons were concerned, it would likely come to that, so she had brought her own pegasus just in case. Normally it was merely for quick travel, but in this case, her steed would be carrying her during her attacks. Fortunately the flying mare wasn't easily spooked. "Time to catch those two and put an end to this offensive," the General told herself as she mounted up.

It wasn't long before both groups were airborne and gaining distance from each other as they moved to their respective flanking positions. There was a forested area several miles ahead of them that their targets could easily hide in, and since there was no other sign of them, that meant it was the first place they should look.

[spoiler=Leandros]"AAAAAAAAGH," Boscov loosed a painful cry as his eye was struck by an incredibly long whip saturated in dark energy. He quickly swung wide with his paw sending one of the fallen soldiers sailing into a tree, but he'd missed the foe who injured him in the first place, Urd. When another fallen leaped onto his snout, hoping to gouge out his injured eye altogether, he brought down a massive wind blade onto the warrior, cleaving him in two.

Valor was sent into a tree after a brutal hit from Schwartz and could barely move anymore. <"I let my guard down ... urgh ...">

"NOW DIE," Schwartz shouted, standing on his hind legs while he prepared to crush Valor between two singularities, each originating from one of his paws. Before he could unleash the spells, he was struck in the back of the head with what to him, felt like a very strong dark shot. It had to be, he figured; it'd ripped through his scales and drawn quite a bit of blood. Without giving his attacker another chance to use the opening he'd left them, the shadow dragon altered and then plunged the singularities into each other and used the resulting wormhole to reposition himself, vanishing into thin air.

<"Valor, move,"> Urd ordered from afar. She wasn't going to see him die here.

<"Y-yes, your highness,"> Valor weakly replied as he looked up to his savior and empress. That was when the unthinkable happened. Schwartz appeared behind her. There wasn't anything he could do. Even the feeble warning that did escape him didn't reach her before Schwartz slammed his jaws closed around her slender form and ended the battle.

The empress' gut wrenching scream caused all of the fallen and Boscov to stop attacking each other. "Thash righh," Schwartz slurred through his teeth as he carefully held the mortally wounded empress in his mouth, "checkmahe." Every utterance increased the empress' pain twofold, causing her to writhe. Otherwise, her arms, legs, and tail dangled.

"RELEASE HER," one of the fallen cried out uselessly.

"Not another step," Schwartz warned, his threat punctuated by more cries from Urd. "Don't make me finish chewing this tasty buzzard." He quickly glanced at Boscov, wondering why he was wasting time staring at him. The whole point of this ploy was to paralyze the fallen with indecision long enough for Boscov to wipe them out, or at least take out enough of them to make this a shoo-in of a battle. They didn't need to risk being injured any further with those Ursians hot on their trail. "Boscooooov," Schwartz hummed impatiently.

The wind dragon winced at the prospect once he realized what Schwartz was up to, but there was another problem. He was temporarily blinded on his left side. He could only deal with the fallen on his right, roughly half of them. The others would be free to pulverize him once his barriers fell, though.

<"L-Leandros ..."> Urd choked out as blood poured from her lips and tears fell from her eyes. <"Leandros, h-help ... me ..."> When the other fallen heard her words, their resolve returned, and though they didn't move against the dragons, they let their aggression show on their faces and in their stances. The tables were about to be turned and when that happened, they were going to be feasting on whatever was left of these interlopers later that evening.

As Boscov and Schwartz looked around, at the surprisingly confident fallen warriors scattered around the forest, and the sudden shift in the wind, the former began to suspect something was wrong. <"Schwartz, we should leave,"> he advised. It was advice that had arrived a little too late, however, as the second the words left him, he sensed a dark presence that completely eclipsed Schwartz.

<"Wha' the ..."> Schwartz could sense it, too. Suddenly there was a call, something primal and extremely loud in the distance. Whatever it came from, the dragons both knew the beast was larger than either of them. As the wind kicked up, they felt the enormous dark presence closing in on them from the air. Finally, an enormous shadow blotted out the sun, and several black feathers rained down over the field as Leandros flew over them. The two dragons looked at each other in complete shock. That was largest bird-like creature anyone had ever seen.

As the shadow returned, heading straight toward him, Schwartz swiftly opened his jaws and warped away, leaving Urd alone in the air and floating in a pool of her own blood for a split second. As she began to fall, several long tendrils raced down to take hold of her. They quickly wrapped around her body and began to force the creature's own life force into her body directly through the skin and cloth. She had barely enough blood left within her to survive, but her wounds were beginning to close rapidly. Valor was relieved to see that the arcdemon was willing to protect as well as destroy, but he became nervous once again when the tendrils flew away with his empress, disappearing above the trees.

High above the forest, Schwartz could see the flying beast nearly in its entirety and cursed whoever birthed such a monstrosity. The creature had a beard of sorts, made of fleshy, tendrils, each well over ten meters long. Its beak was a large, rigid, razor sharp device, useful for little more than destroying anything it was used on. Each of its eyes was accompanied by a somewhat smaller, less pronounced eye, and each of its four eyes had blood red irises and minute pupils. Its wings were utterly massive and cast a shadow over the entire battlefield they had fought the fallen on. Its tail arrangement stretched on for what seemed to be one hundred and fifty meters to him and could clearly move independently of each other. As the beast flew toward him, Schwartz could make out a few more disturbing details about the creature. It had not only thick scaled feet with large rending talons, but under its tendrils were a pair of arms roughly the same size and make as his own. Schwartz quickly concluded that this creature's only weak spot was on its back, and made it a priority to stay well above the creature.

Boscov meanwhile, escaped the fallen and flew above the trees to see the same dreadful sight as Schwartz. <"What is that thing? A demon? It's far too large .... Can we even destroy this creature by ourselves? No ... SCHWARTZ,"> he called out to his partner, <"we must retreat!">

<"I agree ... but I don't think he's gonna let us,"> Schwartz replied as Leandros climbed up to meet him for battle, easily outpacing the shadow dragon in the air. <"This is not good ....">

Unbeknownst to the dragons, Urd slept peacefully in Leandros' embrace, oblivious to the violence taking place around her. <"Leandros ..."> a small coo escaped her lips.

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Word had gotten around that Raquel was wanting the help of anyone who was willing from her group for this mission. Fearing her assistance was likely needed, Synthia somewhat grudgingly decided she was going to go.

"What are you going to do?" she asked Gytha. The topic had come up and Synthia had already given her own answer. She'd been expecting an immediate affirmation that the seawoman was planning on helping out, but instead, there was a stretch of silence. Moderately surprised, Synthia looked back to her chatting companion. Gytha wasn't looking at her. Rather, she was staring nervously down and to the side. For half a moment, Synthia was puzzled at Gytha's behavior...but then she remembered the fort incident. The mage took a breath which was meant to be used to berate Gytha and assure her that there was nothing to worry about, but she stopped before she said anything as a thought occurred to her. If that was what Gytha was worried about, then it was probably a valid concern, actually. The mariner was fairly erratic in her behavior... For now, Synthia decided to let the question hang in the air and watch to see what Gytha did and listen to hear what she had to say.

After a stretch of silence, the mariner got up with a quiet "'scuse me" and left. Synthia didn't say a word, watching Gytha leave. After the door shut, she watched it a while longer while she wondered what Gytha would do. Then, she sighed and began getting ready for the trip.

Gytha wandered around Weyland's estate relatively aimlessly as she thought about Raquel's next mission. The incident at the fort had been a disaster... But, then there was what Amon said before...

[spoiler=The Surf and the Sand (I can't believe I never posted this until now)]Today was going fairly well for the mariner. She rode with Katrina through the sky and had a nice chat from the onset of the day and then she had her daily practice with driving the wagon after the day's first break. Sandrock and Riley were needing another break now, though, so now they'd stopped for lunch. Gytha had been meaning to talk with Amon for a while now, but the last time she'd attempted it, the dragon incident had still been far too fresh. Perhaps now would be easier on him for catching up. So, the mariner woman began looking around for her Sancturan friend.

Noticing that the Dauntless had stopped during one of their passes, Haythem decided to bring Isis in for a landing and a short break as well. It may have been paranoia on his part, but he landed a good distance from the group just in case any had forgotten that they were traveling with a particularly large wyvern who would scout ahead from time to time.

Once they were actually on the ground, Amon, Haythem, and Fizza dismounted and Haythem stayed to tend to Isis while Fizza stretched close by and Amon wandered over to the Dauntless to make sure everything wasn't okay. If they were stopping to take a break, that was fine, but if Sandrock or Riley were injured ... well, that was something else.

It didn't take too much looking before Gytha spied the Rexian she was looking for heading towards the rest of the group. He'd been riding with Haythem and Fizza, so maybe they knew why they were stopping, maybe he didn't. Best to be informative. Smiling, she waved and met him along his way. "Ahoy, Amon! Stoppin' fer a little while. Th' horses were gettin' tired n' I'm sure ev'ryone's reada fer some lunch."

"Oh, alright." Nothing to worry about, then. Well, maybe ... "Should we really be stopping to eat? I mean, unless people are just going to go to their rations, we'll have to get a fire going and we'll be here for well over a couple of hours ..." he trailed off.

"It's a nice time t' eat somethin' -- get out o' th' land ship 'r off o' whate're they're ridin' n' all," Gytha replied, "What they eat's up t' them."

A bit less casually and more cheerily, she went on, "So, Amon, how've things been fer ye since we parted ways in Sanctuary?"

"Not so good, actually. Lady Aisha assured us everything would be fine, but the way we left things, it felt like all out war with the organizations was imminent. That's not exactly unlikely either; they all know where Sanctuary is now, so unless it magical moves somewhere ..." Having about summed up his thoughts on the matter, Amon said, "It may not be a direct help, but at least searching for another emblem piece for Lady Aisha gives us something to do other than panic. Haythem and Malik are handling this a lot better than I am, though. How have you, Raquel, and the others been faring? " He'd heard about John and Sophia already, but didn't want to mention it if it wasn't going to be brought up otherwise.

Gytha felt sorry for Amon. He was having it a bit rough based on what he said about how things were going back in Sanctuary. She was glad when he changed the subject, though. Maybe this would help take his mind off of Sanctuary's predicament. "Ah, ye know, 'bout th' same as always. Travellin' about, bein' attacked ev'ry now n' then... It was nice t' sail again. We shipped off from Port Temptress n' sailed t' Tremere, then t' Chousokabe. There were some fierce fights! Managed t' get some pay, too. There were dragons n' rebel forces n' we even helped t' capture a ship! Ah, I missed th' sea... Even just hearin' th' news at th' inns n' lookin' fer work aboard some o' th' vessels. Had a song n' some games, good, hard work... Ah, Amon, I wish ye could've been there. Have ye had th' chance t' sail th' waters yet?"

Wow, it sounds like things didn't calm down one bit after they left Sanctuary. I guess we've had it pretty easy by comparison, even with that incident a couple of days ago that united us. "Sail? Uh, no ... not literally, anyway. Funny you should mention that, though. Haythem came up with a pretty interesting song that used the word 'sail' a lot, even though we were flying the whole time. It's not quite a shanty but it still kept things interesting."

Gytha couldn't help but laugh at that. "HAHAHARR! He did, did he? I'm goin' t' have t' teach 'im a right shanty sometime! It sounds like yer travels weren't so bad! I'm glad fer that! Ye need somethin' t' smile about in this life, especialla in tough times," she noted before letting off a good, long sigh, "Ahh, it's good t' have ye back, me friend! Things weren't runnin' so smoothla with ye gone, with r'gard t' me, at least." A bit of a sorry look came to Gytha with that statement.

"It's good to be back, though it's not quite like before ... but ... what happened? Was it really that bad after I left?" Amon asked, worriedly. A part of him had regretted parting ways with the groups, so naturally he was curious about what they'd gone through between Sanctuary and the dragon attack.

"Well, sure woulda been easier with ye around in th' fightin', fer one, but personalla... Well, even if I didn't have trouble understandin' th' differences between sea folk and land folk, I'd miss ye. Ye were me first friend in..." she paused to think about it for a moment before guessing "five years? Anaway, b'fore, when ye were travellin' with us, ye'd help me understand what was goin' on by puttin' it in a way I could understand. Recentla..." she sighed sadly "I put Raquel's father in danger... That woman, Sylvia, was there n' I challenged 'er t' a fight. We were about t' negotiate with Sardis... Anaway, apparentla land folk don't have grievance matches."

Gytha now was at a point of just being depressed about the whole thing again. "I didn't mean t' endanger 'im like that... N' most everyone seems t' be... Well... Veronika still seems t' be trustin' me, but so did Captain Grater n' he still wound up leavin' me b'hind t' appease th' crew..."

Amon was sad to hear that no one had taken his place in carefully explaining things for Gytha, but he wasn't surprised after thinking about it. At least Veronika was handling things well from the sound of things. He had compiled a small list of responses in his head, but only one would win out in the end and it was thus. "Veronika's not going to make you leave to appease the group, and neither is Raquel. Just try to remember, you were here from the beginning. People like you and her have put more of yourselves into this fight than anyone else. That's why she trusts you." I can't help but wonder why she challenged Silvia. Why not Sardi-wait. Amon suddenly remembered being in the hospital in Europa. Silvia may not have meant to kill him, but Gytha's focus on her was starting to make more sense now.

Gytha gave a bit more of a hopeful smile. "Ye think so? Captain Grater used t' be one o' me father's crewmen, so that's why he defended me when half th' crew mutinied fer havin' a woman aboard. Probabla why he let me aboard in th' first place, actualla... It was me father who told me I'd be a part o' his crew. Heharr, probabla called th' favor fer me first voyage. N' even then I was too much trouble t' keep around. D' ye realla think that Raquel and Veronika value me efforts enough not t' do th' same?"

She was legitimately asking. The mariner hoped that it was true, but was a little reluctant to believe it after what had happened to her before. R'member, land folk think differentla than sea folk. Maybe it realla is true... Maybe they realla do appreciate me more n' I grieve 'em!

"I really shouldn't be speaking for them like this, but if they're the kind of people that I think they are, then yeah, I'm pretty sure they feel that way. I do too, obviously," Amon replied.

Gytha gave a large sigh of relief. "That's good t' hear. I don't want t' push everyone away. Just trying t' help, so it realla bothers me when I cause trouble. Katrina, Veronika n' Synthia understand, I think. N' if yer right, Raquel does, too," she replied with a genuine smile, "Thanks, Amon. I hope ye stay with us this time! It'll be fun t' get t' know yer friends, too! Oh, hey, d' ye still have that gem I gave ye?"

"The gem? Err-yeah, it's right here ..." Amon replied, retrieving it from one of the small pouches on his belt. He wanted to address the issue about staying but felt it could wait for a moment. Once he had the gem, he showed it to her. "It was the first thing I checked to make sure I still had after Schwartz knocked me out."

Gytha beamed at that, actually getting a bit bashful. "Aw, I didn't think ye'd care so much about it! I mean, it means a lot t' me, but I thought ye'd just leave it in a drawer somewhere. T' hear ye took it with ye and that it was somethin' ye checked even b'fore yer knives, well, I'm flattered! Hahaharr!"

"Heheh ... in all fairness, I knew exactly where the knife was ... but my pouch was open during that fight and I was almost certain it'd fallen out when I came to. I'd almost regretted taking it with me but, I'm glad I did, at least since I didn't end up losing it," Amon quickly explained. With that, he put it back into the little pouch and properly closed the thing. "I've collected a lot of things over the years, but it's only the really important and small ones I can take with me, heheh."

"Aw, Amon, that's realla sweet!" Gytha replied, feeling rather overwhelmed with the compliment, "That it means that much t' ye must mean ye realla value our friendship! Harr, It's good t' hear, even if I knew it alreada. Guess I just didn't figure ye valued it as highla as ye do."

Then, Gytha had an idea. "It is a nice blue, that gem. R'minds me o' th' sea. Ye remember what I told ye about me father, aye? Did I mention what me dream was when I was just a wee lass?" she asked, excited to return Amon's favor.

"You might have actually, but I can't remember for sure," Amon admitted. "Either way, I'd like to hear it, and you seem eager to tell me, heheh."

Gytha took a quick look around before grabbing Amon's arm and leading him to a more secluded part of camp. This was pretty sensitive information after all. Then, she quietly but excitedly began to explain, "As I told ye b'fore, me father's a pirate. I grew up in Stubbsgrit: a port run by pirates. Me father is Captain Reese Thirdgem: one o' th' most r'spected pirates o' our time. Growin' up, all I wanted t' do was sail with me father. He'd tell such stories when he was home! N' so would th' crew, 'r at least th' ones I met. They'd talk about their battles n' the places they'd been n' the treasure they got... Me father's th' one who gave me me pistol n' bandanna! N' there were a lot o' other things they talked n' sang about... Me father was out t' sea a lot o' th' time, but he'd always come back happy t' see me n' me mother. I realla looked up t' 'im."

The memories of her father were bittersweet to Gytha. On the one hand, she remembered the joy at seeing the Saltstraumen pulling into port and how they would laugh and tell stories. On the other hand, she wasn't a child anymore and had learned just what horrible things pirates did. It was why she defended against them now. "Anaway, I looked forward t' seein' 'im all th' time n' even more, I looked forward t' when I'd be old enough t' sail with 'im on his ship, th' Saltstraumen. I wanted t' live with th' crew, see 'im every day n' have adventures t'gether. Things didn't exactla go as planned n' now I protect merchants from pirates like him. I still get t' sail around n' have me own adventures, but never realla made true friendships...till you. N' as I got t' know Synthia she b'came a friend, too. N' travellin' with Raquel's realla given me stories t' tell! N' that blue gem...I got it when we were celebratin' a festival in an unfamiliar place as friends. I earned it meself. It was me first treasure."

The memory was endearing to the mariner and it showed clearly on her face. "In a way, it helped me. I've been bitter n' angry at pirates as a whole ever since I was abandoned by me captain n' crew. Gettin' that gem -- though I didn't realize it at th' time -- n' travellin' with ye n' Synthia n' Raquel helped me t' remember me dreams n' th' good memories I've had with pirates. It took me a long time t' figure it out, but even though they're no-good scallywags, they gave me a good part o' who I am n' I still care about 'em. I still don't know what I'd do if I had t' fight 'em, but at least I'm not just bitter against all pirates anamore."

As Amon listened, he began to wonder what Gytha was going to do with herself after the current crises had past and everyone was free to do whatever they pleased again. His first thought was of her captaining her own vessel and reforming any pirates she came across by force, recruiting some of them to her own ship along the way. "Well ... if you had to fight them, I think you would give them a sound thrashing if they didn't back down. Sometimes it just can't be helped, but maybe if you earn yourself a reputation, that will be enough on its own, someday. I don't know much about pirates, but I know that here on land, the mere mention of certain people showing up can humble people, and that's always useful."

The mariner smiled when Amon guessed at what she'd do if she encountered the Saltstraumen crew in combat. He probably didn't know just how fearsome they were, but the vote of confidence was immensely helpful just the same. Plus, it gave her some clarity on what to do if the event really did occur. In the end, she was a mariner protecting those who couldn't defend themselves, no matter who her opponents were; she was no longer affiliated with pirates, even if her own family was.

"A reputation?" Gytha echoed, "Ye have somethin' specific in-mind? I have a clean record o' bein' a good hire s'far." It sounded like he was eluding to becoming well-known for being a powerful adversary, but she wanted to make sure. I know if I managed t' defeat me father that'd earn me some fear. But could I...? Aye, if it came t' it, I could fight 'im. Winnin's a whole separate issue, though. I'd best focus on improvin' more than I do.

"Nothing clear and cut just yet. I only just got the idea, but in general you'd need to fight a lot of battles and not lose any of them, or at least not too many of them, and somehow make those public knowledge so more and more people know who you are." Amon explained. "I'd be careful about this sort of thing, though. You've got to be a friend of the people, a figure people can support, and pressure others to support. Those who don't have that support get the wrong kind of reputations and become 'infamous'. People like that ... they never get the help they need when things go badly ... and they usually die ..."

"Err what?" Gytha was good and confused now. What's he gettin' at? He want me t' become a queen 'r somethin'? Winnin' lots o' battles n' not losin' ana... Aye, that's ideal, but...there a point t' this? This certainly had strayed from her trying to show him how much she valued their friendship by explaining what that gem had meant to her in and of its self. Of course, this was also quite interesting and now she really wanted to find out just what her Sancturan friend had in mind.

"I'm really not the best person to be explaining this ... buuut Haythem looks a little busy. For now it might just be best to focus on actual training. The stronger you get, the easier all of this reputation stuff will be, later." Wait, did I just say that? Oh brother, I may have just opened myself up for another dangerous sparring match ... heheh ....

Why do I need a reputation again? N' what's Haythem got t' do with this? Ah well, not like trainin's a bad idea just b'cause o' th' people who insist in bein' unfriendla toward us. "Aye, maybe I should train more. Just been fightin' when called to, t' be honest," she replied thoughtfully before glancing back toward the Dauntless, "Hmm wonder how much longer it'll be b'fore we cast off again... Probabla not much time fer sword practice. Me wagon drivin' practice is over fer t'day, though. Hmm... Too bad th' land ship's main deck has that breech in it. Bit dangerous t' practice on."

"Well ... maybe some other time," Amon concluded. Whew ... hmm, I guess just getting a lot stronger would be enough, but if she really isn't comfortable with cutting down pirates left and right, being able to beat them without actually fighting is going to be pretty important ....

"Hm? Oh, did ye want t' spar?" Gytha asked, realizing that maybe that was what this was all about. Grinning, she went on, "Ahahahr! If ye wanted t' spar, ye just had t' say so! Ye were realla confusin' me with all that vague talk o' gettin' stronger n' politics n' battles."

... I guess I deserved that, given the wording I used. "In all honesty, I was actually just trying to think of ways to help you with your dilemma. If sparring helps, then I'll help with that too, though I've never been all that fond of fighting allies ..." Amon explained, scratching the back of his head a few times as he did.

"Hm? Oh, that's what ye were talkin' about. Most pirates I don't mind cuttin' down. It's just th' ones I grew up around I'm findin' it a bit hard t' fight with all I have. Don't worra about it, though. It's me own problem I have t' handle, not yers. It was helpful enough when ye said ye knew I'd give it me all if I had t' fight 'em," she replied with a friendly smile, "Haharr, what were ye goin' on about anaway with gainin' support n' never losin' ana fights anaway? Did ye think I had t' scare 'em off?"

"Well, in Sanctuary we'd rather scare people than actually fight them, but they attack us every chance they get. People are probably dying as we speak over there. Sorry ..." Amon forced something of a smile. "Maybe I was just over thinking this. I'd put in everything I had to find a way to prevent the violence I've seen, both out here and back home."

Gytha frowned at that. "Why don't ye just stay in Sanctuary if it bothers ye that much? I grew up around violence, so I'm used t' it," she asked. Though his suggestion got her thinking about another side of the scenario she hadn't considered yet. She'd been so concerned with what she'd do if she found herself on a ship facing the Saltstraumen that she hadn't thought about what the Saltstraumen crew would do if they found themselves pitted against her.

"Hiding from the violence won't put an end to it, though ... so there's no point in me just twiddling my thumbs back home. Out here, I can make a difference in the long run, even if it's only a small one," Amon firmly stated. "Lady Aisha entrusted the others and me with a mission that could eventually end all of the fighting back there. I'll do whatever I can to that end, even if fighting is becoming my least favorite activity ever ..."

"Never go t' Stubbsgrit, then, unless ye have to," Gytha replied with a frown, "Killin's casual there. Learned t' use a gun when I was small so I could d'fend meself in case Mother wasn't around t' shoot anaone who'd do me harm. All th' staff had weapons, too, in case a fight broke out 'r ana o' th' guests tried anathin' funny."

She decided to stop there since this sort of talk would probably bother Amon. Instead, she grinned again and changed the subject. "Anaway, I don't think I'll have t' worra about scarin' off th' Saltstraumen. If they knew I was aboard a vessel, they probabla wouldn't attack, n' if they did, they wouldn't do me harm." Her grin lost a bit of his vibrancy. "Can't say th' same fer whoever I'm protectin', but..." she frowned "Hmm... Actualla, I don't know th' whole crew. Guess it d'pends on who finds me first."

Amon wasn't sure if the Saltstraumen leaving everyone but Gytha alone was much better and wouldn't force a confrontation either way, but didn't say anything on the matter. He didn't like traditional criminals whether they were on land or at sea. "That sounds like an almost hopeless situation ..."

"Whether they feared me 'r just didn't want t' hurt me, I don't see how th' results would be ana different unless I had me own vessel," Gytha replied with a thoughtful grimace, "N' that's somethin' I don't think is possible."

"A ship is a pretty tall order, yeah ... that and a crew with mutual trust. So I guess it's an issue for later," Amon agreed, but only partially. He was certain she could get a ship of her own someday, obstacles be damned.

"Heheharr, that'd take either me bein' a more permanent, trusted member o' a crew n' bein' chosen t' captain a captured ship 'r me buyin' one meself n' hirin' me own crew," Gytha chuckled, thinking about how unlikely either of those were. After all, she changed ships very often and though she made enough money to satisfy her needs and a few wants, she'd have to change occupations to something with a better income to even begin saving for her own ship, let alone one that could challenge some of the bigger pirate ships. That wasn't even counting a crew's salary or ship supplies and maintenance. All in all, the notion seemed humorously absurd in Gytha's mind.

Thinking about that made her wonder about something else, though. "When yer mission's done, what're ye plannin' on doin', Amon? R'laxin' in Sanctuara n' enjoyin' that peace yer strivin' fer?"

"No. There's still Wrath to deal with, so I'd like to help with that if I can. Even then, Rex-Avaz isn't going to change overnight. We'll probably be resolving old issues and dealing with groups like the Tide and Horsemen for a few decades before things really start to resemble the kind of peace all of us want to see."

Gytha frowned at that. "That's too bad." It'd also brought to mind what Hypnos had said. "Ye know Wrath's plans, aye? At least, accordin' t' th' man who lives in Raquel's emblem. ... 'R, used to, I s'pose. I guess now he lives in 'er power 'r somethin'."

"I didn't get any details on that. I was mostly remembering what Lilith told us, before," Amon clarified. "Seems that much more real if she's not the only one worrying about it."

Gytha sighed. It was rather depressing news. "Apparentla when Wrath comes back, he does a lot o' destroyin' fer no good reason. Not onla wipes out people, but entire cultures n' societies n' whatnot. I'm worried... Those at sea 'r th' easiest targets fer somethin' like that...especialla what with all the sailors' stories o' all th' places they've been n' things they've seen. Cultures can't die if there're people t' preserve their memories... Accordin' t' Raquel's friend, we onla have so many months left b'fore Wrath shows up, too."

So those were the gloomy details of Wrath's return, were they? It didn't sound like the end of the world anymore, not quite, but it still made him wonder what would happen to Sanctuary, and the rest of Rex-Avaz. "I guess we should hurry up and defeat these other enemies hounding us then while we still have the chance. If we waste too much time dealing with them, we won't have any time left to try and figure out a way to stop this from happening."

Gytha shook her head. "I don't know exactla what t' do about it. I may never see me father 'r mother again if I don't go lookin' fer 'em. Then there's th' wonder if I'll even find me father out at sea 'r in a port somewhere in time. Leviathan could be helpin' Wrath fer all I know n' he rules th' seas. That'un does what he wants. N' can we even beat Wrath? I don't see a way we can win against 'im."

"We won't know for sure until we learn more about it."

"I suppose," Gytha replied uneasily with a deep grimace, "Just don't see how we can beat someone like that. Supposedla he's even more powerful than Leviathan, n' no one can beat him. Bit hard t' think hopefulla."

That was something that had come up before that had Amon wondering. Before long he was asking about it. "You know it's strange, you mention Leviathan a lot but you don't seem like you actually ... I'm not sure how to put it. You don't seem to actually like him. It's more like serious deference."

"He rules th' seas," Gytha replied, more serious than she usually was, but that was primarily because of talking about the end of the world as they knew it. "Everathin' in n' on it is at Lord Leviathan's mercy. It's in evera sailor n' his 'r her famila's best interest t' pay homage t' him n' hope he decides t' give 'em fair waters n' safe travels. Th' sea is wonderful n' I love it, but I also know it's a dangerous place, n' not onla because o' pirates n' navies. Th' sea its self can suddenla turn rough n' founder a ship. Maelstroms can swallow whole vessels. Th' wind can stop blowin' and supplies run low. Storms take ship supplies n' cloudy skies at night combined with 'em can make a ship lose its way until th' sky clears."

She sighed. "Leviathan is th' ultimate ally at sea. He's a fairla indifferent fellow, though, n' aloof, too. No real reason t' like 'im, just t' fear 'im."

"Well now I'm starting to see it," Amon replied. Leviathan sounded pretty different from Aisha; he didn't seem to bother with the direct approach as she did. He had mixed feelings about that, since he could probably eliminate piracy in a fortnight if he put his fin down, but might become something far worse than pirates by getting involved in everything.

"Doesn't mean he's not respectable, though. Seafarers o' all sorts revere 'im, n' fer good reason. Just knowin' nothin' is beyond his control in th' sea's amazin' enough. N' I can't realla say much bad about 'im. Never did me ana real wrong yet, n' even if he did, it's his ocean, so he sort of has a right t' do what he wants t' those who set out on it," she added, "Haven't met 'im either, so I can't say whether he's good 'r bad. Seems t' be neither, as I already said. Still, would be pretta amazin' t' meet 'im."

She smiled at that part. "Lilith said she's met 'im, n' it sounded like that death fellow Thanatos did, too. Didnt have much t' say about 'im, n' I can understand that. They've got a lot on their minds. Still, Lord Leviathan's th' king o' th' sea! Can't help but think o' what a wonder it'd be t' talk t' him."

I'd be hard pressed to call him good if he won't help people, but I'm sure there are people out there who'd be hard pressed to call Lady Aisha good for not turning all of Rex-Avaz into one big paradise with plenty of food and water, Amon mused. "You want to meet him in person? Huh ... I guess I've sort of been taking knowing Lady Aisha for granted, after all."

"Maybe I'd regret it, but it's hard not t' think about ev'ry now n' then," Gytha replied with another shrug, "He doesn't seem t' like 'r dislike humans one way 'r th' other. Doesn't surprise me since most o' us live on land n' just come out t' sea occasionalla by comparison. So I suppose it's best how things are, all n' all. Otherwise travellin' out at sea would b'come a lot harder n' it'd lose that special feel it has about it, with ev'ry ship bein' its own country n' havin' its own rules. Th' sea's dangers n' unexpected encounters... It's freedom n' it's a place where ye become a part o' somethin' ye can see fer yerself as ye live with th' crew n' have adventures t'gether. Heheharr, it's not unlike travellin' with Raquel! Onla th' sea's more...homey, t' me, I suppose." It was a little hard to describe exactly what she meant.

"Well I personally hope I don't ever have to cross paths with him, if only because my deference is mainly with Lady Aisha and I'm not sure how he'd take that, heheh," Amon nervously replied.



I've been with 'em since th' beginnin'... She settled on that thought for a few minutes. I know it's hard t' keep goin' like this... I seem t' cause a lot o' trouble fer Raquel n' th' others. It's a lot easier with Amon... This...feels a lot like after th' mutiny aboard th' Deadlock. I don't want anaone dyin' b'cause o' me... I don't want t' get in th' way fer bein' who I am... Her brow furrowed and her frown deepened. I just can't quit, though. That'd be th' easy way out. I have t' just keep doin' me best b'cause they're still countin' on me. I...still... She sighed. It's always hard t' say goodbye t' Amon. I'm scared, actualla. What if what happened then happens again? Amon was me first true friend after that...n' I'm leavin' 'im b'hind again. Can I realla do this alone? What if I'm too much trouble fer them t' keep, like b'fore? 'R what if I cause a situation where they die again? Gytha glanced out one of the manse's windows. I wish Amon was comin' with us... I can always trust 'im. He always looks out fer me. What do I do?

What felt like a long stretch of time elapsed as Gytha stood there, contemplating. Finally, her thoughts continued as her resolve rose up again. I guess there's nothin' for it. Raquel still needs me help. I can always count on Amon... I'd feel terrible if I wasn't just as dependable. I'll just have t' try even harder t' understand these Leviathan-forsaken land customs. Oigh, this'll be rough... Hope I can do it.

The mariner sucked in a deep breath and loosed a noisy sigh. "Right. ... Now, where am I?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Synthia had been waiting in the wagon for quite some time now, at least for this particular situation. Where's Gytha? Hmm... Maybe she's staying behind after all... Just then, she heard a distant "Hooooooooy!" Synthia gave a faint smile. Whatever Gytha had been wrestling with, it sounded like she'd gotten over it.

Sure enough, the mariner came running out of the manse with her things all packed and ready to go, though in all likelihood they'd be returning to the manse after this excursion. "Hoy, I'm not late, am I?" she cheerily asked those in the vicinity after coming to a stop from her dash outside, a wide grin on her face.

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Veronika looked up from her sword, drawn to the familiar and distinctive sound of Gytha's voice. "You're not late- we're still making preparations. Are you planning on coming along?" she asked the mariner. The plan was to keep the group small- but with Amon and a number of others leaving their group seemed to be getting smaller by the minute anyway.

[spoiler=Dragon Hunt']

Selene had been prepared for Boscov and Schwartz- they were extremely dangerous no doubt, but they were dragons and dragons could be killed. The Fallen were unexpected. Despite their savagery, Selene knew they could be killed as well although she had never had the pleasure. They seemed to be fleeing before some....great and terrible thing Selene could not even begin to describe.

Wrath, grant me strength. Do the Fallen truly have the power to make such abominations? The horrible beast gave her pause for a second before she could regain her composure. "FIRE AT WILL, LEAVE NONE ALIVE! DO NOT ENGAGE AT CLOSE RANGE!" she commanded. I need to search for this thing's weakness...but is it a greater threat than Boscov and Schwartz? Wrath guide me...

Edited by -Cynthia-
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"Heheh." Reign began looking around, rotating in the saddle at the sound of various voices. It seemed like they were just about ready to go but the combat transport wasn't quite loaded with passengers, yet. "Hmm," he held up his palm in front of his face, "I hope ranged attacks aren't a problem right now. I haven't really had any practice since the injury ...."

[spoiler=Battle Royal]"What ... is that thing?!" General Mesoa yelled in frustration as they came up toward the northeastern part of the forest. Her tactical assessment was grim already, but when one of their targets, Schwartz, was chased up over a kilometer into the air and blasted with a thunder spell to rival one of hers, she knew they would have to approach this from a different angle than they would have while dealing with the dragons. This was something on a completely different scale.

"Ma'am, orders?" the banshees under her command nervously inquired.

"Selene's units are keeping their distance. We'll do the same," she told herself. Addressing her units, she raised her voice again. "Don't pass up an opportunity to wound the dragons but do not get close to that flying monstrosity! Its range seems to exceed our own," she ordered. "Now the only remaining question is what kind of resistance it has to magic. If it's a caster like us then that would imply at least a simple barrier ... but we won't know for certain until someone lands a blow, and that could prove fatal for someone so bold in this situation. Perhaps one of the dragons will attack it for us. That would give us the information we need, and hopefully they'll be put down after that. I don't see us killing this thing here and now ... not by ourselves, but the knowledge we glean from this engagement will be all too valuable."

The banshee sisters and the rest of the unit under Selene's command kept to a safe distance while launching spells at Boscov at any opportunity that presented itself. The tactic was extremely frustrating for Boscov because he was too busy watching his own back to back up Schwartz and the fallen on the ground weren't proving to be much of a distraction at all. They seemed to be disappearing into the forest while he and Schwartz took all the fire. <"Dammit all, we're going to get killed fighting on two fronts like this ...">

Schwartz, still reeling from the pain of the attack, and rubbing uselessly at the thoroughly charred patch of scales on his chest, decided to try and link up with Boscov. He quickly warped to within a couple of dozen meters of the wind dragon and yelled, <"Forget this, we need to get out of here while there's other targets for that thing to go after!">

<"I know, but they won't give us enough room for you to warp both of us,"> Boscov noted grimly. Schwartz certainly didn't like that tone, but he had no time to complain about it, as a huge distortion in the air formed between him and Boscov, much closer to the latter. <"Whoa,"> the wind dragon yelped as the displaced air blasted him out of the way and Leandros appeared in his place, staring down Schwartz with murderous intent.

As the massive demon loosed yet another thunder spell, Schwartz yelled, <"No fucking waaaaay!">

"It just warped," General Mesoa said, leaning back in the saddle. "It doesn't matter how powerful our attacks are if we can't pin that thing down ...." She watched in near terror as Schwartz plummeted down to the forest and shaking up the trees he passed through. "KEEP YOUR DISTANCE," she repeated her previous orders.

"Let's try and get above it," Elfrieda advised her sister, who was steering their pegasus, Cypress.

"Alright, but if it notices us, we won't have anywhere to go," Elfriede warned. Their plan was risky, but from what they could tell, the creature didn't have any obvious defenses on its back, and so a closer look from above it could yield some useful intel. It was worth the risk for one pass ... and one pass only. After that, if it decided to launch a spell on them, Elfrieda didn't have any confidence that she could protect them from it.

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"Aye," Gytha gave a nod as she replied to Veronika. Her smile just as jaunty as ever, but her eyes were hardened and focused. "I'm not goin' t' miss th' moment when Raquel n' 'er father're finalla reunited. That's th' whole reason I've been travellin' with 'er: t' see that it happens."

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"If you're still accepting, I'll come along as well Veronika." Zachary said as he walked up to the swordswoman, tugging on a glove concealing his right hand, seems as though it didn't fight as perfect as the left one.. "I've just put Phee down for a nap, and I figure we'll have this all worked out by the time she wakes back up."

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Veronika nodded at Gytha. "We've been through a lot together, haven't we? I want to see this through until the end as well." Gytha's words struck her with the possibility that the mariner would be leaving if they found Jethro, but that was a bridge to be crossed later.

She smiled a little at Zach's confidence. "I hope you are correct- your presence would be welcome," she said to him. His magic will definitely prove useful if things do not go according to plan...

[spoiler=Dragon Hunt']

So this abomination warps as well- how does one trap such creatures? It was tempting just to stay back and let the dragons fight this monstrosity, but if any of these creatures were allowed to live they would slaughter more Ursian citizens. We must take risks if we are to prevent their escape... "AIM FOR BOSCOV'S WINGS! MELEE UNITS, FOLLOW BEHIND ME!" she ordered, before flying off towards the dragon. Wrath preserve us, they'll be too focused on fighting each other to notice us.

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The mariner nodded at Veronika's rhetorical question. As her words bolstered Gytha's hope, her grin grew wider. It's just like Amon said. I'm still a slight nervous -- we're goin' t' be goin' t' another base o' theirs, just like last time -- but maybe things won't turn out so badla.

As Veronika moved on to talking to Zach, Gytha moved on towards the wagon. This one wasn't the Dauntless, she noticed, but rather a smaller land ship...maybe more like a land dinghy...? It wasn't all that much smaller than the Dauntless had been, at least when comparing a smaller boat to a ship. Well, regardless, though she preferred to travel above deck rather than below, there wasn't much room for storage inside and felt it wouldn't be fair to have someone else watch her things the whole trip. So, Gytha entered the wagon and sat down by Synthia, cheerily greeting her friend with an "Ahoy!"

"Hello, Gytha," Synthia greeted as Gytha slid her bag under her seat. "You know, we're going to be coming back. You didn't have to take your things with you."

Gytha shrugged in response. "It's ne'er easy t' tell with Raquel. Decided I'd play it safe."

Synthia arched an eyebrow. "Then where's Maw?"

Gytha shrugged again, motioning lazily with her hand. "Ehhh, somehwere around. She may follow us 'r she may not. Didn't want t' be bringin' 'er t' somethin' like this when we're probabla comin' back."

What happened to playing it safe? Synthia smiled, amused by Gytha's strange logic. Though she was also glad that the mariner seemed to be feeling a lot better than the last time she saw her, the mage figured it was probably better not to bring that up.

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Cherish looked over at Raquel as she was waved at. "Yep. He said something about a rescue mission," She said. She was rather relaxed, which came from a mix of confidence and disinterest. "So what's the plan? I need to see which of my... specialties to prepare to use, or if there's not much a reason for me to be here. I can sneak and I can speak, typically in the process of trying to acquire things. People are just harder to sneak back out of some place with. Hard to carry. Make noise. Can't sneak too well most of the time."

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Prep

"We might not need anyone other than Gar and myself," Raquel admitted, glancing off to the side, "but we need to be ready for anything," including the wrathites. I hope Blake knows what he's doing. "For now we're going to try to force them to release my father and Jericho's brother. If things go badly after that, we're going to level the building on our way out and fall back. That's where everyone else comes in. If there's anyone else around trying to run us down, we need to ... take them down." Urgh, I hate talking like this, like it's no big deal. It's how they used to talk.

[spoiler=Battle]"They're moving in? That thing is still too close to Boscov! Banshees, full speed; I want hit and runs on that creature! Keep its attention off of the Major General's unit," General Mesoa ordered. It wasn't how she wanted to learn about the creature's defenses, but Selene's unit couldn't deal with Boscov and the giant bird at the same time. That was when she heard a frustrated roar that seemed like it would linger in the atmosphere and echo on for years to come, so loud it was unsettling even for her. "... Schwartz is in a rage," she concluded as she looked down at the forest below her.

Elfriede and Elfrieda flew over the massive demon at incredible speed and began looking over the creature's back for anything noteworthy. All they could see were feathers, though. "Wait," Elfrieda spoke up when she noticed something oddly symmetrical about the way the feathers lay in some areas. It was almost as if they were hiding some kind of cargo. "What are those rectangles on its back? They're huge ..."

"I can't take us any closer than this," Elfriede warned. That was when lightning and all manner of anima spells began lashing out at the creature below them. Most weren't even getting close but those that should have hit their mark were dispersed by what could have only been a barrier, and a strong one. "Tri-barrier most likely ... a really tough one. Physical attacks only," Elfriede concluded as they completed their pass over the demon. Linking up with the Major General was going to be difficult, she realized. They were in the middle of an attack run on Boscov and those ranged attacks weren't doing anything to draw the demon's attention, it seemed.

The ranged attacks weren't doing much to Boscov either, as he'd been putting everything he had into maintaining his barrier against the largest threat on the battlefield, the arcdemon. By the time the pegasus knights aiming to cut him down arrived, the demon was lashing out with some of its tendrils, trying to grab him and everyone else nearby. Boscov managed to avoid most of them, but as he turned toward the pegasus knights, aiming to quickly maneuver around them, one of the tendrils took his tail and hauled him in, his considerable weight seemingly a non-issue for the persistent appendage. Several others wrapped around his neck and torso, and pulled him right up against the demon's body. That might have been a blessing of sorts; he didn't have to worry about the pegasus knights attacking him from behind while the demon attacked him from the front, but Boscov soon realized that this was potentially worse. Already he could feel dark energy ravaging him and stealing his life force. Struggling wasn't doing any good and he couldn't sever any of the tendrils to loosen the demon's grip, either. All the while, they were on a collision course with the pegasus knights.

On the ground, Schwartz glared at the various fallen in hiding before looking back up at the battle through the gaping hole he'd left in the forest ceiling. <"Boscov ..."> The dragon huffed and looked up at the battle again. <"I've still got plenty left, but we need to get those pesky Ursians focusing on that giant crow and not us."> After a moment of thinking it over, he added, <"Or I could just try to kill'em all ... mass slaughter hasn't failed us yet.">

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"Well, it's not like we have time to practice. Trial by fire, looks like." Faatina replied with a smile.

"I tried learning how to shoot a bow once... not the greatest of plans. Seems I was never meant for it... I'll stick with close combat even if it's a bit more dangerous."

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A Man Called Gar

Why weren't they moving already grahhhh. Gar moved closer to the transport edge and shouted out: "Will you people quite your jawin' already and get a move on?!" he looked everyone over. "As much as I love holding more explosives than some of you weigh, it's hell on my back and if I waste too much stamina standing here doing nothing and collapse along the way and these things go off you'll get to enjoy the greatest heat you've ever known the half-second before you cease to exist." He half-assed a reason to get moving. "So hurry it up dammit!"

Edited by Script
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