Return of the Emblem Chapter Fourteen: Nine

[Snike]

"Right," Lane said, nodding as he remembered the reason why battle preparations needed to be made.  "As for Sirius, I'm helping Reign out with her. I also thought it might be good for her to see the Cathedral, while she can."  He was probably referring to the group's imminent departure to Neviskotia, but who could know for sure?

[Phoenix]

Streets of Europa

Tonya frowned. Morpheus figured out the bodyguard thing rather quickly. That wouldn't have been weird to Tonya, but his eyes were still even smaller than slits, so how he made that deduction was questionable. He and her employer did seem to know each other, at least. Maybe that helped the man along to the right conclusion.

"I suppose win or lose," Morpheus began, "we'll be redecorating this place. Do you know when Mystery and the rest of your group will be leaving?"

Tonya held back, even though she really wanted to know what the two were talking about. She didn't know how much this Morpheus character's bodyguard knew, but he was the model of good behavior. Not a question, greeting, or even a peep. Tonya knew it wasn't a competition or anything, but she didn't want to even feel like she was speaking out of turn.

Second Kitchen

Well that was awfully considerate of him, Suzume thought, smiling faintly. "Thanks," she said, glad they hadn't caused any property damage yet. Truth be told, Ernesta would come down harder on Gar than Suzume, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be held responsible for going along with his scheme like some kind of brain dead assistant. "Should we wait for Ernesta to get here or see what he does, first?"

The others were murmuring among themselves and weren't chiming in directly, but they seemed like they were hoping for one of Ernesta or Anna to swoop in and resolve the mess. Suzume wasn't used to being so dependent on others, but here she was doing more or less the same thing. Granted, she had an excuse for now; Gar's shenanigans were the type that were too dangerous to risk backfire. Best to try not to screw up her part, she figured.

Edited June 6, 2017 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

So Pavel's somehow in another organization where he can't talk about what he's doing. Great, Veronika thought to herself, coming to the conclusion that the disciples were probably not going to give her any real answers- though the mention of the name Naomi caught her interest. "Naomi is the one with the coffins, yes? Not to bring up old wounds, but a member of our group- a teenage boy- was killed by a coffin through his chest after what happened at Fort Danton. Since she isn't here to explain, I was hoping one of you could," Veronika mentioned, maintaining a casual tone for the moment despite the subject matter.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"You're welcome."  He almost felt like bowing.  "Yeah... as of now, I'm on the wait side of this."  This was too suspicious to be random chance.

[Snike]

"True enough," Lane agreed, before considering the exact time of their departure. "If nothing major happens, I'd imagine tomorrow morning. If she hasn't visited already, I imagine Raquel will come see you tonight, if you're wondering."

[Phoenix]

Streets of Runes

"I'd like that," Morpheus admitted, smiling somberly. "Mother doesn't want me going anywhere else until we've finished our work." That would take at least another week between the four individuals involved, so he was stuck within Europa's walls for the foreseeable future.

"I'll focus on my task for now ... and once it's over, once Obelisk is dead, I want to go where I want and do as I please. No more complicated plans or worrying about the masses."

Tonya tried not to smirk when she imagined a much older woman wagging her finger at Morpheus. When Obelisk came up, though, that was when she quickly sobered up. Was this Morpheus person conspiring with his mother to ... kill a god?

Dining Hall of Death

Dominik nearly frowned when it was revealed that one of his colleagues had taken down one of theirs in the past. That was what happened when Burke was running things. No holds were barred, not even Naomi's flying coffins. "I doubt there's anything to explain. If any of Thanatos' people are on the battlefield, you can be certain someone's going to wind up dead. We fight for our survival and we play for keeps." Smirking lightly, he continued, "If you'd like to exact your revenge on the poor thing, Naomi is here at this estate. You can find her in the infirmary on the other side of the building."

"Why's she in the infirmary?" Raquel asked.

Dominik sighed. "From what I heard, Samael showed up at the Valcyn residence. Naomi took matters into her own hands. She transported him into Purgatory just like she did with you people. Unfortunately, she nearly got herself killed. Again. That's why she's in there and why you won't have to worry about that light mage bastard anymore. There's no food or drinkable water in that world, so now he's fated to shrivel up or starve to death."

Jethro winced. "Right. That's what Cygnus was on about ..."

"Then again," Domink placed a hand on his chin, "Obelisk took over Purgatory, so he might find Samael out there and just kill him on the spot."

"Don't be so sure," Jethro murmured.

Hell's Kitchen

Gar and Suzume didn't have to wait long for a new development. When a small group of individuals came into the kitchen, Ernesta was right behind them, being led to the purported problem. "In the storage room, yes?" she asked, her single edged sword still sheathed in the offhand. She received a slew of nods and other confirmations. Looking to Suzume she continued. "You've been here for a while ... have there been any changes?"

"Um ..." Suzume hesitated, "it's ... covered in flour," she shrugged. That wasn't the most important detail beyond the implications, really. "Also I'm pretty sure the suit next to that demon is the thing keeping us from touching it."

"I should really see this for myself, shouldn't I?" she sighed. "So close to a full day without any problems, too."

Edited June 6, 2017 by Phoenix

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"If it's decided to leave it then the flour will be an easy track, or indication its teleported," Gar offered.  "It has some sort of invisible barrier that either gets overworked by multiple bits like flour or he deliberately lowered it to feign weakness for a stronger move later."  Gar narrowed his eyes at the door.  "Whomever it is, is completely relaxed in there."

[-Cynthia-]

Getting into an altercation with a heavily injured person wasn't on Veronika's agenda, but the news that Samael had been locked in Purgatory was more interesting. Well, that's one big problem we don't have to deal with... though there was some lingering doubt.

"If I remember correctly, our group ended up in Purgatory and we got out fairly quickly. Is Obelisk taking over Purgatory bad?" she asked- perhaps a stupid question but better appear stupid than have some lingering unknown threat.

Lysandra had been eavesdropping on other people's conversations and the news about Naomi piqued her interest. "Oh, the poor dear- she's probably hungry I'll bring her a plate," she said to no one in particular before bustling off to the infirmary.

[Snike]

"I'll mention it, in any case," Lane said, as Morpheus continued on to mention his mother's demand. Which made sense, given his prior actions. At least the vasilus on probation seemed to have accepted his temporary duties, and -more reassuringly- given up on scheming. Of course, what he said and what he would do were two separate things, but anyone was capable of change, so the healer decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "That sounds relaxing. I hope that day comes soon."

"Anyways, we should be off," Lane continued, as he started to walk towards past Morpheus and his guard- who he was almost certain was a rune knight. "Take care."

Edited June 6, 2017 by Snike

[Script]

Xenia

Now they were adding' Purgatory and Obelisk on the list of things they'd done.  She should have learned her lesson after the Fort to never get involved with Raj but this time no amount of gold would sway her mind.  "Yeah," Xenia said and stood up, "think I'm gonna come with you to the infirmary.  If I stay here I'm likely to hear stories of them shaking hands with Mercy, discussing philosophy with Truth and chatting it up with Nature."  Not that the destination would be better if the girl was awake...

[scorri]

Erion was shoved back unexpectedly by the stronger and heavier man, forcing him to take several steps back, completely losing the advantage he'd gained by closing in. "Ha... Nice one there. Thought I had you." There hadn't been an immediate follow up which means his strike with the dagger had done something at least. It wasn't going to be permanent (nor had that been the goal), but Erion knew that closing in again would be dangerous. Leo was expecting it now, or at least he should be, which meant he would have to get tricky. Most of his knives were upstairs with his gear which meant throwing them wasn't the best option. Not that throwing them was a good option anyways, given the non-lethal goal of this duel. Still... "Ah to hell with it." He dashed straight at the man, before dropping and doing his best to aim a kick at the knee. There was not much else he could do besides take Leo out with trickery as opposed to brute force. Not when it was a sword vs two daggers and just the two of them fighting. I really am more suited for sneakier fighting. The things I agree to for a cute girl...

As the discussion of what exactly they did for Thanatos was going on, Keeper was returning to the estate. He brushed himself off, and stepped out of the storage closet he'd gotten in the habit of using to warp in and out of, before pausing for a second. I've returned back to Weyland's, boss. Let me know if you need me to head out again. Making his way towards the kitchen, he slipped the mask off his face, revealing the tanned skin of a Rexian. With how much they were working out of Weyland's estate, he'd gotten out of the habit of always being masked around them. There seemed little need when no one here had a chance of recognizing him. He spotted Gabbie making her way into the dining hall and followed after, hoping that there would be food ready. It seemed he was right, and he quickly filled a plate before sitting down near Cassandra and Dominik, giving them both a nod before starting to eat.

Uri had been steadily eating, listening to the conversation but not having much to say until the mention of the injured woman came up. "Is there anything I might be able to help with? I know that Weyland has healers, but I could try and help her if they've been unable to do so. I might be able to do something that they couldn't."

[Phoenix]

Streets of Europa

"Farewell," Morpheus gave a minuscule wave with his free hand. Tonya noted that the man's bodyguard hadn't budged an inch yet. That was some dedication ...

Tonya waited until they were well out of earshot before finally voicing her questions. "If it's not a secret or anything like that, who was that guy? He seemed important, somehow." That bodyguard, of course. "There's also that stuff about the city and ... is he blind? I don't know where to start with him, honestly." Nor could she easily get her questions out in a coherent manner the more she thought about Morpheus.

Dining Hall

Dominik frowned at the Obelisk question. "I'll spare you the details but it's pretty serious. We don't have the power to take down Obelisk in a fair fight, but we still need to get control, again. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can get out of Weyland's hair, too. I'm sure he'll appreciate that."

Cassandra was surprised Dominik held back so much given how loose lipped he'd been until now. She supposed everyone had their limits. Still, Obelisk booting Thanatos and his disciples out of Purgatory was far more serious than the Destruction was implying, if only because Purgatory was a bottleneck of sorts, where all spirits passed through on their way toward the gate. If they weren't rescued by Thanatos or the gods, they would pass through into what was possibly oblivion. Like Thanatos, Obelisk could manipulate disembodied spirits. Having his foot in Purgatory meant others with that ability might have to intercept spirits in this world if they wanted to prevent Obelisk from capturing them, first. Cassandra wondered if Obelisk was gathering as many spirits as he could or only picking ones he found useful. She feared there might not be a distinction to be made there at all.

"At this rate," Dominik continued, "we're going to have to find a way to kill him. Even if he leaves Purgatory for a spell, he can just keep chasing us back out as soon as we kick off our shoes."

Xenia seemed to have had her fill of the extraordinary, and opted to leave with Lysandra to the infirmary, but not before unwittingly reminding Raquel of her time at the Grand Cathedral. More of the same, really. Extraordinary. "Heh," Raquel giggled, "that actually happened."

Uriel also seemed interested in paying Naomi a visit, causing Dominik to chuckle. "She's been taken care of. She's just resting ... not that she won't appreciate all the visitors."

Second Kitchen

Ernesta peeked into the room but didn't step inside. She could only make out one of the culprits, the demon hound. Stepping away from the door frame and facing back toward Gar and Suzume, she said, "What's it doing in there? With the demon, specifcally?"

Suzume shrugged. "He was vague, but he has 'plans', apparently. There was something about altering its body and mind ...?" she glanced at Gar for confirmation.

"Altering the body and mind. Is it ... an architect?" Ernesta asked, the question meant for no one in particular. "Regardless, I should handle this before Anna comes back down here. She'll do something ridiculous like use the Visceral, I wager."

Training Field

Pain. For a split second, that was all Leo could comprehend of the world. Now, he knew that there were healers to tend to any serious injuries, but he sorely wished he wouldn't have to even consider such a measure after what should have been a friendly sparring match. Dropping onto his opposite knee to spare the throbbing one more trauma, Leo pulled the sword close to himself to guard against any attacks that might come at his head, chest, and shoulders, though his leg was left fully exposed as a consequence. As far as he was concerned, he'd survive anything done to his leg in live combat longer than anything done to his more vital areas. It was a bad time to be wondering what the conditions of victory and defeat were in this particular match, and just dark enough to make it hard to tell if there was any superficial damage at a glance.

[Nanami Touko]

It was fairly exciting to see the two of them trading blows like this! Erion didn't seem like he could get the edge on Leo, nor Leo get a swing in on Erion. She would've started to pay more attention, but a swift kick from Erion ended her interest in their exchange. "S-Stop, stop!" She flailed a bit and stepped forward, hoping Erion wouldn't go for another. "I, I think that was a bit much! For something like this... I-It's alright, I've seen enough. M-Mister Leo, can you stand? My friend is a healer, I can bring you to him..." That... That had looked more than a bit painful. Maybe I should've specified... Oh, this is my fault...

[Snike]

"His name is Morpheus, and he's not blind to my knowledge," Lane said, as they continued down the road. "I can answer most of your questions, but, well, whether I should is another matter. It depends on how involved you plan to be in this situation."

He stopped, then turned the corner, where a series of street vendors came into view. "I'll just say that he's an acquaintance, and leave it at that for now."

 

[-Cynthia-]

"Well, good luck with that," Veronika said simply. It didn't sound like something her group could deal with and the Disciples didn't seem terribly interested in their help anyway.

"The more the merrier!" Lysandra responded cheerily. "Though I cannot promise a 'normal' conversation- Naomi is a unique young lady," she warned Xenia.

[Phoenix]

Streets of Europa

"I guess that's fine for now," Tonya shrugged. She didn't know how involved she would be in any of this. Lane might let her go at some point and hire another bodyguard. That seemed especially likely if she couldn't adjust well to a more defensive style of combat. There were more important matters to worry about now, like food. "Okay, I should get something I can eat on the go." Almost immediately she changed her mind, feeling it'd be better to be carrying as little as possible while walking around in the city. "On second thought, maybe just sitting down and eating quickly is the better way to do this." Never mind the infant ...

Training Field of Pain

"Nope," Leo said, his voice casual but heavily strained, "check back later," he added, forcing a smile.

[Snike]

"Whichever works," Lane said, as Tonya suggested both portable and sit-down foods. He wasn't hungry for the time being, nor were they in any hurry to return just yet. The delay only gave him time to think about what he wanted to reveal to his bodyguard, should she ask to be informed, as well as how exactly to explain it, should the time come.

[scorri]

Erion swore as he saw the result of his kick and quickly rolled away and stood up with his hands up, daggers on the ground. "Dammit, I would have sworn you'd avoid that. Never meant to hurt you. I'm really sorry about that. I just didn't see anything else I could do with your range and... Damn." He was very clearly frustrated with himself, both for hurting Leo and for causing Amalia to get so upset. This had been intended to just be friendly and now it was just a mess.

[Nanami Touko]

"Oh, oh gosh, uhm! E-Erion could you w-watch him, please? Ahhhh!" With more panic and some slight floundering, she rushed off in the hopes of finding Uriel. Though, she had no idea where he was, so it would be an aimless run around. "M-Maybe I'll run into one of the staff! Oh, goodness..."

[Phoenix]

Streets of Europa

Tonya was definitely leaning toward eating seated, with at least one utensil in hand. The prospect of soup in particular wasn't leaving her mind anytime soon, not while the newly appointed bodyguard was still feeling peckish. The smell of various meats and vegetables was wafting in from both directions, now. Quite the boon, even if the cooks hadn't explicitly been planning for or relying on it. Tonya felt her head turning by itself, honing in on the source of the most tantalizing scents. Soon enough, she was slightly off course. "Hey, how about that one over there?" Tonya pointed out what looked like a small restaurant with some sparse outdoor seating and no fourth wall to obscure the interior. She hoped it was where her nose was leading her. "They've got to have some soup or something I can eat really quick."

Training Field of Pain

Try as he did, Leo couldn't mask the pain well enough to keep Amalia from panicking, and since honesty felt better in the situation, anyway--he might actually need medical attention if he couldn't get up on his own in a minute--it wasn't worth trying to act tough. Leo was all muscle, but between those muscles were joints and ligaments, and those had comparatively low upper limits when it came to how much punishment they could take.

Since Amalia was already racing off for help, the ex bandit, tried to assure his sparring partner that it was only his knee that was hurting, not his ego or whatever good relations may have been there. "Don't worry about it. It's not the first time that's happened." It was the first time he'd taken a direct hit to the knee in that fashion, but not the first time a sparring match had made an invalid of him for any length of time. "At least you apologized; that rarely happens, hahah," he laughed, a wince and a smile fighting for dominance as Amalia ran. Seeing her running off reminded him of her excessive apologizing. Maybe that was just a thing with this group. It felt nice, if not a bit unusual. Leo had clearly been associating with the wrong people.

[Snike]

Lane followed Tonya's arm to see a small open air restaurant, which had caught her attention. It seemed innocent enough.

"Let's try it, then," he said, perhaps enticed by what was cooking, or perhaps by the chance to sit down and take in the street scenery.

[Phoenix]

Dinner At a Diner

Tonya didn't have to be told twice, and wandered over ahead of Lane and the infant vasilus. From what she could tell, the customers were all locals, plainly dressed and lightly armed, if at all. Pretty much everyone looked like they owned a piece of the place. Ignoring them for the most part, she made her way between the outdoor tables and into the main building. Once she was beneath its low hanging roof, she caught sight of a waitress doing her rounds. The bodyguard was noticed before she could decide whether to speak to that particular waitress or look for someone less busy.

"Oh hello," the waitress greeted, "please have a seat anywhere you'd like. I'll be with you in one moment." Merz, she was perky as all get out. Tonya was glad to not have that kind of job after all her hard work. Taking the woman's advice, she found a nearby table toward the right side of the establishment and waved Lane over.

Fortunately for the out and about pair and infant, the food was cheap--they'd paid in mere coppers, but delicious--Tonya suspected someone else in the city could convince people to pay in silver easily enough. It also hadn't taken long to get their orders. While Sirius negotiated as only an infant could, trying to get a share of the food for herself, Tonya ate her chicken soup as gracefully as she could manage while still keeping up a hurried pace. With nothing left to finish off on her end but a cup of water, Tonya started on that while carefully eyeing the surrounding patrons. With her stomach busied with the soup, the bodyguard had quickly taken an indirect interest in them.

Edited June 17, 2017 by Phoenix

[Snike]

Not wanting to appear rude, Lane bought a fresh bread roll and ate it as Tonya had her chicken soup. Provided, eating was a little difficult with a vasilus infant on his lap, but he managed. Once he was done with the roll, seeing as his bodyguard still had her water to finish up, the black-clothed man decided to occupy Sirius' attention before she squirmed off. He covered his face with his hands, and...

"Peek-a-boo!"

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Architect?  That was a terrible thing to hear.  Looks like he was right, as usual.  What a wonderful curse to have.  "Right," Gar confirmed Suzzy Q's words with a nod, but had more to add.  "Said the thing wouldn't survive past summer if he wasn't doing this."  Not like it was gonna survive past the day anyway...  "Just a disposable tool."

Xenia

"Which?" Xenia reacted instantly (after a week) to Raquel's indication.  "No, wait, I don't wanna know.  At all.  This Naomi may be unique, but not that unique."  Hopefully.

[Phoenix]

Diner

A small amused snort escaped her as Tonya downed her cup of water. Sirius seemed overjoyed with this game Lane was playing with her, laughing and trying to do something or other with her own hands. She was completely oblivious to everything else happening around her.

Second Kitchen

Ernesta considered the new information for a moment. "Well then it's probably not an architect, but someone with a similar level of skill, at least if they can figure out something like that." It was really a shame the demon or the voice, or both, had to pick the food storage room of all places. Now the staff and guests would have to share the main dining hall, tonight ... and they'd be coming for food soon. "It's too late to get dinner back on track so we won't rush things, here. Do you expect I'll be attacked if I try to have a word with this ... voice?"

"We could protect you," Suzume offered. More like, Suzume would protect her and Gar would just be distracting enough to keep some attention off Ernesta.