Return of the Emblem Chapter Fourteen: Nine

[Phoenix]

Streets

"It is nice out," Raquel admitted. To think, she and Morpheus were battling it out with Lilith in the sky above this city not too long ago. They were pretty high up, so she doubted anyone would recognize that she was one of the participants. Her hair was also a different color at the time. "Is Weyland's home one of those fancy mansions in the outskirts are does he have a place here in the city?"

Dining Hall

A talk with Sardis and his cohorts? This should be interesting, Dominik mused. He spared Jethro a glance before leisurely making his way out of the room. I'll get it done, though I think our likely explanation is that Jethro's been spending a lot of time with the emblem. Not as much as Raquel, obviously, but ... there it is.

People were filing out of the room and Jethro was left wondering who was staying and who was going. Frankly he didn't have any desire to go back to Ursentius without his daughter. He glanced at Cassandra, looking back to the door before their eyes could meet. He didn't suppose she would be coming with them. "I've got a question for you," he said, turning to face her, "why are you here and not with Samael and the others?"

Cassandra frowned. "It's not like I'm on their side or anything. I guess I'm like a spy. We got separated on that day, when he tried to kill you."

Those weren't pleasant memories for either of them. "Thanks, again," Jethro said.

Stables

"Couldn't care less about horse talk," Olga called back, "just wanna find Niko."

The second slice was his, and the inattentive horses hadn't gotten Robin's attention, yet. Excellent. Chip began tearing into the slice, trying to eat it as quickly as possible. His hunger was finally starting to leave him.

Courtyard

Nadine led them to the ruins of the armory. It seemed what weapons had been saved from the fire, those with no wood incorporated in the design for the most part, were bundled together in massive piles based on type. There were bent and shattered weapons sticking out of the rubble of the armory clear as day. They had been left there for the time being, as serviceable weapons had priority. Next would be the salvageable ones, and lastly, the scrap that littered the inner armory. There were a few tables set out with various arms laid out on them, but for the most part, it was anyone's guess who they belonged to.

James spotted his bow, quiver, vest, and knives resting together on one of the tables and began a brisk jog straight toward them. "There they are," he said, a big smile on his face.

"Don't just run over there and take things," Nadine warned him, "you'll get smacked over the head and thrown right back in a cell. Let me hand them off to you so no one suspects anything."

"Oh fine," James stopped and began tapping his foot, "but let's hurry. I've been unarmed and practically helpless for way too long, now."

I'm sorry, got somewhere to be? Nadine thought to herself.

House

"There aren't a whole lot of ways to counter a magic seal," Anna noted, "but maybe he'll come up with something, granted. I'd still rather have one and not be able to use it to much effect than the alternative." Anna's eyes narrowed. "Also ... who's his father? Is he important?"

"Definitely," Gabriel frowned. He got an annoyed look from Anna. It was true, he could have given them some of these answers before they arrived, but he didn't feel he should be the one to do that. He wouldn't lose any sleep over her annoyance either way.

[Snike]

Agreed. Just taking precautions.

Thanatos continued on once he left the dining hall, and only stopped just before the main doors.

"Hmm, that was fast," he said quietly to himself, before turning around to Morgana and the mercenaries. "If you have any objections, or reasons to delay, now is the time to state them. Otherwise, I hope you're ready to go back to Fort Nature."

***

"He lives on the outskirts," Lane said, his frown having melted away after a moment. "So by that standard, it is one of those fancy mansions. I wouldn't say it's your ordinary mansion, though."

[Thany]

(seems like a decently sized armory, i just hope my lance and bow are in here) :as Thany looked carefully inside the armor to try and spot her weapons:

[KentaEzren]

"Seems bizarre. Usually theres counter to a weapon.... How can we fight off someone whos weapon has no counter?" Kenta asked in confusion.

[-Cynthia-]

"He will be very important in the days to come most definitely...but explaining his role in all this would take a great deal of time. For now, just be aware that Samael or Sardis or anyone else you may have met is not the leader," Lysandra said carefully.

[Snowy_One]

Robin got out the third, and final, piece being willing to just hand it over now to the monkey. "Yea. We need to. But I do not know where else he could have gone. How can one sheep be so hard to find? Maybe he climbed up a tree? Is out in the courtyard? Is about to take over an entire nation? I have no clue."

[Phoenix]

Streets

"I bet it's full of neat trinkets and secret passages," Raquel mused aloud. "There's probably a big underground complex, too. I wonder how big a secret you could keep hidden in a place like that ..." Not even remotely paying attention to her surroundings anymore, Raquel followed beside and slightly behind Lane, her body more or less guiding itself along.

Main Hall

Morgana appeared to be only half listening. She had a hand on her chin, as if she was considering something important. Cassandra guessed she was trying to get her story straight in case she was asked for details about when and why she came to Ursentius. She was the most well known of Thanatos' people, a public figure, so Cassandra could understand the extra precautions she took in her day to day life. That didn't mean she was going to let her go messing with her father's memories, though.

"So who's going, exactly?" Jethro asked as he and Cassandra caught up to the group, "and what's going on with Raquel, right now?"

Stables

No longer feeling hungry, but not stupid enough to let any of the horses have his bounty, he took the third apple slice from Robin and began looking for a way to climb back up to a safe height. It would definitely take some doing.

"What was that last one?" Olga called back, slightly confused. While she waited for a reply, she glanced around, trying to pick out the horse snouts sticking out from the stalls. If Niko were actually in one of these stalls, he would have to be in one that was empty, for the simple reason that these things were usually locked to keep the horses from nudging them open and wandering around the stables unsupervised. The empty ones were sometimes locked, too ... but sometimes they weren't. Sometimes, Olga noted, it was more trouble than it was worth to lock every single unoccupied stall.

Armory Ruins

Nadine approached the table, and James followed her, a little closer than she'd liked. She could practically feel him breathing over her shoulder as she picked up his things, and when she turned to face him to hand them over, she had to take a half step back to keep from bumping into him. "Try not to lose it next time," she teased him, a mild jab being just about the only way to make his hovering more bearable.

"Thanks," he smiled. He nodded and began putting his wearable equipment back on as he headed back toward where the boss was standing.

"Who's next?" Nadine sighed, "get over here and tell me what's yours."

"Go on, Thany," the Boss said, nudging his head toward the table, "it'll be easy to tell your lance and bow from the rest up close."

Zachary considered Veronika's situation for a moment. There were serviceable swords all over this area, some of them were even a decent fit for her. Others were just plain better fits, but he wasn't going to go that far aloud. He wondered briefly if it would really be so bad if she asked for one of them. Even if she had to pay for it, surely that would be better than walking around completely unarmed, right? Zachary cleared his throat, trying to subtly get the 'skotian noblewoman's attention.

House

"It's our weapon, not his," Gabriel reminded Kenta, "though I wouldn't say there's no way to counter magic seals. Deliberately overloading one is one way to ruin someone's day, and depending on the size, you can always stay out of its range."

So they weren't even going to be getting the condensed version, were they? Anna's expression soured as she wondered just how long an explanation could be. They were on a somewhat tight schedule, so pressing Lysandra on the matter right now, for information that might not prove useful to the immediate mission, didn't look promising. "I suppose we'll just ask Samael or Zerachiel for a condensed version after we beat them," she sighed. "Anyway, if you really don't know where Reina is, then we're going to have to have Gabbie track Samael for us and try to catch him in route to wherever he might be headed next." Another wrench in her plans.

"So we're going to try to catch him alone?" Gabriel asked, wanting to be sure of the current plan.

"It'll be easier to avoid casualties if we don't take them both at the same time, yeah," Anna nodded gravely. She'd thought long and hard about this, but the odds of a group as small as Raquel's bringing down two powerhouses like Samael and Zerachiel, and not seeing any casualties on their side, even with her help, was slim to none. Their best chance to strike would be while the two artificials were separated from one another.

[Snike]

"I will be taking these two, Morgana, your daughter and a servant of Nyx back to Fort Nature," Thanatos explained to Jethro. "Raquel and said servant are currently heading this way, so I'll pick them up and bring them here before warping to Ursentius. You won't be coming along, at least initially, as I want to check on your eyes, among other reasons."

***

"Most of that sounds more like what you'd find in a castle than in a manse," Lane said, glancing at Raquel for a moment. "But you're right, it would be interesting to see what he keeps away from the world. That and his library."

***

"Hopefully Gabbie's hanging around the fort, then," Axel noted. Otherwise, they'd have to leave everything to chance.

Edited April 4, 2016 by Snike

[Thany]

"Alright boss. now lets see where it is..." :as she walks up to the table and carefully examines it. making sure that she does indeed find her lance and bow.:

[KentaEzren]

"Good point," Kenta Nodded, "Should we split up and try to find him? That would be faster."

[Phoenix]

Streets

"It's probably too much to hope he keeps novels in that library, isn't it?" Raquel frowned. She supposed she wouldn't have time for much reading anyway, but she--at least back when she really was just an upcoming teen--had somewhat bad luck tracking down her preferred books, particularly novels. She decided she could settle for an instructional tome or something magic related.

Archives

Hypnos and Morpheus just stared at each other while their mother and Nature conversed in the background. Hypnos was smiling nervously, and Morpheus' gaze was the definition of contempt. Hypnos eventually broke the silence proper, after a few force chuckles. "You've got a spirit spring, now ... and we don't have to unite just yet ... that's something to be happy about, isn't it?"

Morpheus sighed. "Mystery and I together are strong enough to defeat Obelisk. Instead of helping us, Mother and that goddess separated us and are following some other, less reliable plan. Sometimes I wonder if the gods are really interested in dealing with him. Sometimes I wonder if Mother isn't still trying to find some way to save him. And then of course, there's you." Morpheus shook his head. "We just wanted the pain to stop ... but the emblem did this to us, instead. I'm not sure what to make of the situation as a whole, but I see your childlike innocence and it makes me cringe. Is this what we're supposed to be like? I've always wondered and the question still gnaws at me."

"Neither of us is really Hypnos, you know that," Morpheus' reflection told him, "we're each carrying something different from the other, but neither of us is really complete. I don't like the thought of becoming something else after all this time, but I'm sure that once we unite we'll be a more ... mellowed Hypnos."

"I don't want to change," Morpheus murmured bitterly.

Main Hall

"My eyes?" Jethro cocked an eyebrow at Thanatos. "How do you know about that?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Morgana asked rhetorically, an edge of impatience in her tone, "Cassandra was there when you were injured. Naturally Thanatos would know about it."

"And so do you, apparently," Jethro eyed her thoughtfully.

"Word can travel," Morgana said dismissively.

Armory Ruins

The boss made his way over, as well, figuring he'd grab his quiver if it was being kept around here. Nadine waited patiently for Thany to point out her items, all the while thinking back to the deadly fiasco earlier that morning.

House

"She should still be at the fortress with everyone else," Anna frowned, hoping but knowing full well that might not still be the case. The sheer size of Ursentius made it impossible for Gabbie to cover all of it at once with her ability, or so she said. Either way they would be moving her around while tracking the artificials once they returned.

Anna shook her head at Kenta. "First off, splitting up with our current numbers is probably the best way to get people on our side killed right now. Second, you do realize that we're trying to hunt down two extremely dangerous men, right? Are you really sure you want to be involved in that?"

[Thany]

"There they are!" :she pointed to a killer lance, and the short bow thats just a bit away from it: "im impressed they are still in good shape after being taken away from me. hopefully thats the last time that happens."

[Snowy_One]

"That he might have gone off and be well on his way to becoming the ruler of Ursium." said Robin as she, hopefully, extended her hand to Chip to both try and offer help and see if he was willing to trust her.

"By this time next week us humans will be hearded around by sheep, shorn for our hair, and forced to worship the great sheep-lord Nico."

[Snike]

Axel shrugged, but didn't offer any more commentary.

***

"In any case, time to go retrieve Raquel," Thanatos said, before turning towards Cassandra. "Cassandra, I'd recommend stepping out for a minute, or at least until Raquel's off to Fort Nature."

He didn't see a reason to elaborate further, so, a moment later, the vasilus vanished.

***

"I wouldn't know, myself, but he might just have some in his library. After all," Lane began, as he looked down an alleyway, and froze. A moment later, he immediately turned and headed straight down that alleyway and towards the figure waiting there. "Thanatos."

"Afternoon," the Angel of Death said, before shifting his attention over the servant of Nyx's shoulder and towards Raquel. "Your companions are heading back to Fort Nature, Raquel, so I am here to bring you and your... acquaintance back to the manse, so you can go with them."

[Phoenix]

Alleyway

With her surroundings reduced to little more than splashes of dull tones, colors and textures of little consequence, Raquel turned as Lane did, and found herself face to face with the Angel of Death, again. Her thoughts of browsing Weyland's library, and even of meeting the man himself, all but vanished. "Are we staying there long, or just heading straight back to the capital?" Raquel asked. They certainly did get around quickly. On the bright side, it was incomparably faster going there this way than walking.

Main Hall

"Step out?" Jethro looked to Cassandra curiously as Thanatos vanished.

"She and I don't exactly get along," Cassandra answered, her tone suggesting their problems had less to do with compatibility and far more to do with unfortunate circumstances. "I'll go back to the dining hall, I guess." She stopped midway through her turn and glanced back at Jethro. "I guess we can talk after Thanatos checks on your eyes ...?"

"Yeah, sure," Jethro nodded, still wondering about that.

Stables

Olga imagined herself as queen of the sheep, her inevitable post in a country led by Lord Niko, then quickly came back to reality. "Belo would organize a resistance and my reign with Niko would be over in a month or two. I'd be executed by thunderbolt, he'd be cooked and eaten," she said, loosing an exaggerated sigh.

Robin seemed to be out of apple slices, so Chip didn't see any reason to stick around, but apparently the archer had other ideas. Perhaps she wanted something in exchange for the food? That was ... typical. He decided to get onto her arm before the horse got impatient with him. He would decide what to do next based on what his current carrier seemed to be doing.

Armory Ruins

"Here you go," Nadine passed Thany the two weapons. "You should be fine as long as you don't get captured, again."

"Hey, there," the boss pointed with a heavily bandaged hand toward the table, "those quivers."

"Got it," Nadine said, retrieving those as well.

[Snike]

"You'd be staying for a minute, at most. Just long enough to arrange the second warp. Your two companions need to be heading back there soon, after all," Thanatos said, indifferently. "Not to mention something else has come up, which may tie me up for a while."

"Something else?" Lane asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing which concerns either of you at this point, in any case."

[Thany]

"im never letting these weapons out of my hands ever again. i might go insane if i lose em again." :she said as she placed the lance on her back and twirled her bow around with her finger, while she walked back a bit:

[KentaEzren]

"... On second thought, splitting up isn't such a good option. Ann, I've dealt with a lot of things in times like this. Being a hitman and a thief wasn't what i wanted to do for work, but I had no choice. I have a grandfather that may need more support with Mortgage back in Kayoyama, so I've done jobs to raise money. No matter what the reward was, I always felt sin weighing me down for all the actions I've committed. I decided to change a finding of work when i was asked to assassinate the little girl of a wealthy man. I could do some bad things, but killing youth is where it crosses my line. Every moment that i see a young person in pain and suffering,,, I see a young child in agony because his parents were killed trying to protect him from assassins. This is why I've chosen the path to flush out the evil, because the world doesn't have enough good people in the world, and it feels like I'm the only person who can, because of the path I chose tells me so. This is why I've joined the fight." He had sighed, running his hand through his long hair. "How can i not be involved with this conflict?"

[-Cynthia-]

"It takes a brave person to admit their past, but what is done can never be undone. We have all made mistakes; the most we can do is learn from them," Lysandra replied to Kenta with a small nod.

"Speaking of group size, how many people do you have? Hopefully more than just the five of us," Lysandra asked Anna.

[Phoenix]

Alleyway

So they were just going to be passing through, it seemed. "Okay, then let's go."

[spoiler=Hallway]

Dominik wouldn't have needed to see Colin leaning up against the bedroom door to know where his destination was. "Yo," Colin gave a microscopic wave as Dominik approached.

"And what pray tell," Dominik greeted, "are you doing all alone out here?"

"Nothing much. Kinda bored, actually ... wishing I had something to do besides pick on Weyland's maids."

You play a very dangerous game, messing with those maids, Dominik mused. He supposed he wasn't playing it safe either, teasing Morgana every other breath. "So I take it Silvia's in there with Sardis right now? Don't want to be a third wheel?"

"Yeah ..." Colin frowned. "I miss the old Silvia, even if she was a bit too perky." He supposed a woman her age, being as cheerful and upbeat as the Silvia he knew, was just a fantasy, one brought about by their mysterious leader out in the east. Once Thanatos and his people got a hold of her, the veil was lifted and it revealed a very different Silvia, one whose past was far more unsettling than he would have ever suspected.

"I kind of miss her, too," Dominik smiled, "but the real woman's not so bad."

"At least back then her thing with Sardis felt more innocent," Colin said, feeling his brows dip inward slightly. "Anyway, I take it you're not here to make small talk. What's really got you over here?"

"Just double checking something," Dominik said. "It's about Jethro. Did Sardis or anyone else who knew about the emblem mention ever Jethro as a possible wielder?"

Colin shrugged. "I didn't hear anything about that."

"I should still check with Sardis, but thanks." Dominik approached the bedroom door and reached for the handle.

Colin came off the wall in an instant. "Hold on, wait a second. You should knock first, just in case."

"Oh there couldn't possibly be anything inappropriate going on in there," Dominik shook his head in amusement, "Sardis is bandaged from head to toe. Or rather head to groin."

"... point," Colin winced, "but still ... just knock, first."

Dominik gave the door too gentle raps with his fist. The door opened a few seconds later. Silvia was on the other side, staring up disinterestedly at the visitor. "More questions?" she asked.

"Just one, today," Dominik held up a finger. His expression gave his unspoken apology.

Colin winced again. Every time he saw Silvia now, his mind dragged him kicking and screaming back to that moment when the truth came out. Silvia wasn't the cheerful, upbeat woman he'd always known her as. She only became that way as a result of some especially powerful mind magic. The real Silvia was not cheerful, not upbeat, and she wasn't even an ally. Silvia, the way she was before he'd met her, was an imperial infiltrator, a Neviskotian spy that had worked her way into their organization. She had only been flipped later on, though he wasn't sure by who. All that was left of the old Silvia was an affection for Sardis that some people might mistake for obsession.

Silvia stepped away from the door to let Dominik in, waited to see if Colin would follow, and then shut the door once she realized he had other plans. Inside the bedroom, Sardis was lying helplessly on the bed. He was indeed covered in bandages, but only around his head, shoulders, and lower torso. His chest and back were exposed. The covers seemed to be pulled down off of him. "Good day," Dominik greeted him. "Were you changing his bandages again?" he glanced accusingly at Silvia.

"I did that earlier," Silvia replied curtly.

"Noted. So Sardis," Dominik turned his eyes on the bedridden warrior, "I've got a question for you. It's about Jethro." Sardis simply nodded and waited for the question. "The emblem ... was he ever able to use it? Did he seem like he might be able to at any point?"

"... so it's finally happened, has it?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Dominik shrugged.

"Raquel kept the emblem with her for months before we found her. Jethro was with her that entire time. He wasn't as close to it as she was, but the fact remains that he was in close proximity to it. If you want proof, you needn't look any further than me. I had an piece of the emblem, too ... before I passed it on to Cassandra. I was only able to track down one piece before everything fell into chaos."

Dominik smirked. "I thought you people thrived in chaos."

"Only while it's outside our own gates, Destruction ... only while it's outside." Sardis eyed Dominik carefully. "Is Jethro here?"

"No, you can't see him," Dominik shook his head. "Some other time, maybe."

"... if that's how it has to be ..."

Armory Ruins

"That everything?" Nadine asked.

The Boss smiled and said, "Everything that survived the battle."

"Alright, then we're done here." She glanced at Veronika. "Mess Hall?" She had said that was their next stop after picking up the missing weapons.

House

Anna sighed, not taken with Kenta's answer. If he really meant well, that was fine by her, but she still found his selective openness and insistence unsettling. Gabriel didn't seem to mind, though she took him for the type of person who could cope with anyone quite easily. As for Lysandra's question ... Gabriel seemed to be on that one.

"It's more than just us," he said, "though we had a casualty not too long ago and I'm not sure how that's going to affect the mission."

"Us?" Anna asked, echoing a word that stood out from before, "so you are coming along, Lysandra?"

Edited April 7, 2016 by Phoenix

[Snowy_One]

Robin gave a small and surprised squeak followed by a smile. Chip seemed to be attempting to be friendly towards her! "That is a good boy Chip." she said calmly and with a soothing voice; hoping she had finally tamed the monkey a bit.

"And Olga, you undersell the great Sheep-Lord and his vast armies of sheep, cows, horses, pegasi, and even pigs." she said with a small laugh. "Do not worry. We can check elsewhere. Just after I see if Chip is willing to be friends or not."

[KentaEzren]

Kenta had nodded on what Lysandra had said. "I think me and her may get along just fine..." He thought.

[Snike]

"Very well then," Thanatos said, before he put one hand each on Lane and Raquel, and the three vanished from the alleyway.

***

Thanatos immediately stepped away once they reappeared at Weyland's manse.

"Alright, well, without further ado," he said, as he appeared to fade out of existence. "Welcome back to Fort Nature."

Then, in an instant, Morgana and the mercenaries disappeared.

***

Lane, alongside Raquel and her mercenary companions, appeared in the courtyard of the fortress, just outside of the barracks. He began to look around his surroundings, and as a result did not speak up immediately.

***

Seeker, where is Samael specifically?

***

Axel wondered which would be more of a hassle: protecting Lysandra or working with this Kigenese fellow? He kept those thoughts to himself, however.

[-Cynthia-]

"That's the plan. Hopefully we'll finally be able to get ready for this mission...there have been a lot of other distractions today," Veronika said with a small sigh.

--

"Probably wiser to work together, yes? We seem to have similar goals and fighting them alone would accomplish little," Lysandra replied.

Edited April 7, 2016 by -Cynthia-

[Nanami Touko]

"I'm sure he'll be delighted," to see me, not to hear about what I've done. She had her medication anyway, so at least she could deal with it, for the time being. Other than that, she'd put up with the pain, and she was sure the next thirty days would fly by. "Welcome back? But we're still--"