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Return of the Emblem Chapter Fifteen: Alliance


Phoenix
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"Wah... Hey, Jam. You, play messenger? ...No thanks. I already got you into enough trouble before. I don't think I want to go through a round two of that." Remembering their lovely encounter with commander Kozel, and then thinking about Jam stuck in that sort of situation again... It was a terrible thought. "If we're not pressed for time, you could ask Angelica to do so once she's back... I don't know where she went off to, but it's been an hour or so. She can't be away that long, right? And she's good at that whole acting like a spy thing..." Eva wouldn't be able to manage it if her life depended on it. Not only did she stick out like the sorest thumb, she'd probably lose whoever this woman was.

 

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One Moment

<"One moment, please,"> the receptionist said, making her way out from behind the counter and toward the right side hallway. The meeting room set aside for Weyland's special group wasn't far from there.

Let's Go

The common speaking guard turned toward the bowman on horseback, then approached him and quietly passed something along in Kigenese. The bowman wasted no time in leaving the small gathering and heading back into town ahead of the others. His destination was all too likely different from theirs. The common speaking guard then nudged his head toward the gate as the other two guards stepped around to the sides, flanking the four foreigners. "Whoever is leading, best you get moving."

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While Jam didn't like the idea of going through capture again, she also didn't like being typecast into the role of potential hostage. 

"Come on, you don't really think they sent the exact same douche down here. There's more than one Skotian soldier."

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"I suppose I may as well." Angelica replied to Norbert, soon further spurred on by the impatient Kigenese guard. What a bother... a shame really, what she wouldn't have given sometimes for the days when she worked solo and didn't need to worry about attachments like this... plenty of fond memories leaving upstarts like these unconscious in a ditch, left in an compromising or embarrassing position... still, the consequences of such a thing were too high to attempt it here... as cathartic as it might have been.

"<Let's get moving then.>" Angelica added in Kigenese as she began the trek towards Weyland Enterprises... wondering for a moment if they had actually thought any of their conversations had been secret. It was always fun to fish out that level of discomfort, if nothing else.

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Decisions

"Would it really have to be the same guy for you to get captured, again?" Malik asked, partly teasing.

"We could hire a local to find out where they are for us," Amon quietly put in, "Better yet, maybe we could get the girl they sent to tell us where they are. They don't have to know she pointed them out for us. That way if they don't agree to meet with us here, we still have a rough idea of where they are."

Malik shrugged. No objections.

"Excuse me," the receptionist stood near the door to the meeting room, "Your guest, Kazemi Daichi has returned."

Both sancturans winced together. "We're not even close to ready to leave," Amon muttered.

"Should I bring him here or would you like to speak with him out in the lobby?" Not the receptionist's problem, obviously ...

"... bring him back here," Amon decided, sighing as he tried to find a way to explain the situation. One way or another, the situation with the Ursians and the Neviskotians was likely to come up.

About Halfway

The three remaining guards began their escort of the emblem wielders and avians, not letting them get much further than arm's reach as they made their way through Arugai's streets. Occasionally another batch of guards would strike up a conversation with their fellows, and get the gist of the situation before letting them go on their way. Rarely did they actually have to come to a full stop for the exchanges. Just about everything was happened in passing as they approached Weyland Enterprise's Arugai branch.

Eventually, they passed by a larger group of guards, near what very well could have been a barracks or a government official's building. The name on the signages was worn and not giving anything away besides. The brief exchange with this particular batch of guards ended with the escort count getting upped from just three guards to eight. The latter five trailed a good distance behind the main group, but there was no mistaking that they were now acting as escorts as well.

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Being processioned around like this was nothing but uncomfortable, but Norbert projected a predominantly dismissive air. He was hoping to diminish their appearance as prisoners, but he sure felt like they were on the cusp of becoming those. It didn't help when yet more of the local guard started following them around. So much for a clean slate. Hopefully, people wouldn't make the wrong assumptions about them in Kigen because of this.

For now, his focus was largely put toward keeping Rizen calm. She was already a little on edge, and would occasionally mutter a light, quiet rumbling sound from her throat, or snort, give her head a shake, and shuffle her wings. A couple times, Norbert had hooked his fingers around her headpiece and given her some reassuring strokes or pats. All in all, though, she was tolerating this. Bert's efforts to keep Rizen calm wound up helping calm Norbert's own unease, too, which was a welcome side-effect.

Besides all this, there was Arugai itself to take in. He'd hardly had the chance to earlier, and now that he was taking a look at it, Norbert was somewhat astonished by how unusual it all was. Sure, different parts of Ursium could vary quite a bit from each other, but all this was on a whole other level. All they had done was cross the strait, and suddenly, the buildings, the people -- everything about this place was just...bizarre. The word "foreign" came to mind, but Norbert nearly scoffed at that. Of course it's foreign. We're in an entirely different country. Vaguely, he wondered if Neviskotia was as different from his home country as Kigen was...and that led to wondering how Raquel's group was doing. At least Veronika would be feeling at home when they got there. I wonder if Ursium was just as strange to her as Kigen is to me...

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Jam scowled at Malik after the tease. She was never going to live that incident down. Any effort to get back into the fight would be met with a mention of her capture, most of all by her own inner voice. That made her even more mad. 

"Hey, he had powers and a dragon! He could have captured any one of us! Now shush before you insult Kamikaze Dyed Chi and ruin the whole mission."

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Meeting Room

"... kami ... what?" Dyed chi? Malik stared at Jamilla, wondering in bewilderment if she was talking about Daichi or ... someone else entirely.

Reception

The woman arrived back in the main lobby and approached Daichi. She smiled and placed a hand on her cheek, looking slightly embarrassed, probably on the group's behalf. <"Things are a little frantic right now, but I was instructed to bring you back to the meeting room, Kazemi-san.">

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Given the nature of these messengers' task and Daichi's current, mission-focused state of mind, the use of the word "frantic" was somewhat alarming to the Hikibain, but it only lasted a fraction of a moment, and had only resulted in his fingers shifting a little bit -- his expression and posture hadn't changed. Once the moment had passed, though, he relaxed again. Even if something was amiss, it was far more prudent to ask a group leader about it rather than this representative.

Daichi gave the woman a nod. <"Very well, then. Lead on.">

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"What? Is it really Day Chi? Die Chi? Eh, you think he's OK with first names? I'm pretty sure I got Kamikaze down."

Jam brushed herself off to be more presentable. This meeting was in the bag!

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"Ka, ze, mi, Da, i, chi. Kazemi Daichi. Kazemi-san. Even I can get it right, come on." Eva rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling at Jam's shenanigans. "And it's not about you or who caught you the first time, it's about sending anyone alone. I wouldn't want to send Malik off tailing this person any more than I'd want to send you. We can't afford anyone getting into trouble like that... Not when things are so fragile for us moving around." There was also Canaan... They really couldn't afford to get into any sort of trouble around here. Kazemi could only keep them safe from so much.

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Welcome Back

They had to clear from the door when the receptionist arrived with Daichi in tow. Since the door was already opened, she simply stood to the side and welcomed him into the meeting room. She was being nice and formal, but the sancturans were just standing there a very short distance from entrance, not quite sure how to proceed. Amon knew he was acting leader for the moment, and would have to decide how to address whatever concerns came up.

"Hello again," Amon smiled apologetically, "I hate to say this but we're not ready to head out just yet."

Welcome Back?

Standing just outside of Weyland Enterprises like this was starting to get really awkward for the young woman. She'd decided not to stay inside the building for safety reasons. Weyland Enterprises was a company based in Ursium. The foreigners in charge of these establishments were known to be eccentric, and had an aura of danger about them. The building was inviting enough, but just the same, she wasn't being paid enough to risk being interrogated. Staying in there too long would see her escape route cut off. Just the same, standing out here was starting to get really awkward ...

The street's through traffic was normally nothing special, but after a while, the messenger woman noticed a rather strange sight. Not only was it a pegasus knight, but there were two avians, as well. They had to be avians; the guards wouldn't be fooled so easily, she thought. Did that mean this group was from Ursium? In fact, wasn't there a rumor going around about a pegasus knight blazing a trail panic through the streets earlier today? What were the Ursians thinking? Either way, this particular pegasus knight was likely on his way to his nation's embassy. The armed escort suggested as much, at least. Or perhaps not? The woman took a step back to make room for the group as they came up the road ... and then another. Were they coming here, to Weyland Enterprises? She gulped, wishing she didn't stand out so much. Only now was it dawning on her that these Ursians might be connected with the same group she was hired to speak with.

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"Miss Anna did deliver my message, then," Daichi commented. Though obviously unhappy with how slow the group was being to mobilize, his demeanor wasn't at all harsh. However, he was quite focused. "What happened to delay you? Is everyone alright?"

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Well, despite the annoyance of even more guardsmen following them along the way... did these buffoons really have nothing better to do with their time than harass non-Kigenese? Eventually they did manage to make it to the gates of Weyland Enterprises... hopefully Kazemi was either still around, or not far off.

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The Woman

"Some of our people are still out running errands," Amon began, his thoughts quickly settling on Joanna. She was doing more than just running a mere errand. Something was up with the emblem, and Amon doubted it was anything good. There was also the issue of that wom-

"Did you see the woman outside?" Malik suddenly chimed in with a question of his own, "Is she still out there?"

Yes, That Woman

"Weyland Enterprises," the Common speaking guard read the signage slowly as he tried out the words, "So this where you came from? Should be interesting." He noticed the young woman near the entrance. She was obviously trying not to stand out, but it was having the opposite effect. Aside from wondering if she was instructed to wait there by someone, or was there on business of her own, the guards didn't particularly care. "You four should wait here," the Common speaking guard instructed the rearguard as they caught up to the group.

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Daichi gave Malik a somewhat puzzled look. "Yes, there was a woman who appeared to be waiting for someone. She said that she was not one of yours, however. Does she concern you?"

~~~~~

So, Weyland even has a building out here... Guess that's not too surprising. But if that was the case, then why send us instead of the people he already had out here? Norbert wondered. He was glad for the chance to get away, but it was had to understand Weyland's choice just the same. He was also a bit annoyed that he hadn't been able to leave Weyland and his company behind when they crossed the strait. At least this explained Anna's presence a little bit, and there were no maids out here...probably...

As he thought about it, though, Norbert's expression soured. Knowing my luck, they're all just undetected and waiting... Waiting for just what, though, was likewise a mystery.

At least Weyland's stables were in view. The rider wouldn't be able to leave Rizen alone before taking care of her regardless, but he wasn't sure he'd be allowed to break off from the others just yet. Uncertain, but not expressing it, Norbert turned his attention to the Common-speaking guard. "I'm going to stable my pegasus. That alright with you?"

Edited by Mercakete
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Once the avians had excused themselves from the meeting room, Pete decided to follow suit, albeit for a different reason: he had decided to go double check that he was in fact prepared to leave at a moment's notice. That took... Longer than expected. In any case, he was returning back to the meeting room when he saw that Daichi had already returned, and was in the middle of a conversation with the Rexians.  The Ursian man hung back, at least for the time being, to see what the fuss was about.

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Delays

Concern was one way to put it. Amon wondered how Malik was going to handle Daichi's question. The Sancturan was fairly certain the Hikibain, burdened by the urgent news he had for the Emperor of Kigen, wouldn't appreciate yet another hold up. There was a slim chance they could handle this before Joanna and Greta returned, but at the rate they were going, it was a slim chance, indeed.

"Yeah, she brought us a message from a group that's trying to meet with us," Malik explained, "She's waiting out there for our response. We need to deal with that somehow before we head out, too."

Amon couldn't help but wince at the last part. The honesty was good, but bringing attention to the delay itself didn't feel necessary. The implication was already there.

Sanction

"Go," the common speaking guard nodded. Then he motioned for the original two guards to close up their formation a little. It may have been due to the fact that they were about to head indoors. The rearguard that had grouped up to follow them at the halfway point in their trip stayed put and took note of their surroundings. "He can catch up. Take us inside," the guard demanded of the rest of them, leaving Norbert for the rearguard to deal with.

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"Why?" Daichi asked. Folding his arms, the Hikibain went on in explanation. "There is no more urgent mission than the one we are currently on. I have already sent messengers with letters to the Neviskotian and the Ursian embassies warning them about the demons' plans. Unless meeting with this other group pertains to your current mission, you should not meet with them. You can send the woman back with a polite refusal and continue in your efforts to prepare everyone for our journey to Kayoyama. Unless there is some other reason why it is necessary to meet with this other group, of course. Who does she represent?"

~~~~~~~~~

Norbert gave the guard a small, reflexive nod, then a glance at Angelica and the Avians before guiding Rizen to the Weyland building's stables.

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Stepping inside of the Weyland Enterprises building with their unwanted entourage in tow, Angelica walked over to reception with an exasperated expression on her face, leaning onto the counter after a moment.

"Is Kazemi-san still around here, by any chance?"

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On 4/22/2018 at 9:32 PM, SnakeMomMelissa said:

"Ka, ze, mi, Da, i, chi. Kazemi Daichi. Kazemi-san. Even I can get it right, come on." Eva rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling at Jam's shenanigans. "And it's not about you or who caught you the first time, it's about sending anyone alone. I wouldn't want to send Malik off tailing this person any more than I'd want to send you. We can't afford anyone getting into trouble like that... Not when things are so fragile for us moving around." There was also Canaan... They really couldn't afford to get into any sort of trouble around here. Kazemi could only keep them safe from so much.

Jam reluctantly nodded; she wasn't sure she agreed. She was getting sick of Neviskotia and Ursian forces dogging them the entire journey. The dancer wanted to go on the offensive and get them to back off. But Daichi pointed out that there were more important matters at hand. He decisively made the decision, unlike the wishy-washy "should we, shouldn't we" discussion the group was having. Jam was turned to his line of thinking: meeting with their foes wouldn't matter if they were eaten by bird people.

 

"You know, I agree with...Ka...ze...mi...Da...i...chi," Jam commented, being very careful with the pronunciation of Daichi's name. She winked back at Eva in thanks and continued.

"None of this matters if we're all eaten by bird people. If Ursia and Neviskotia know what's going on, and they still want to go after us, that's on them. Now let's go tell that messenger girl to go pound sand and we can be on our way to KaYoMama."

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Daichi adjusted his position to focus on all present instead of just the two Rexians in front of him. He'd initially thought he was just speaking to the group leader and a trusted aide, but it seemed that everyone here had a voice. And this woman... The confusion only lasted a moment before he figured that she was just having a difficult time saying Kigenese names, as was further evidenced by her slight misspeak of Kayoyama's name. He'd said the name rather quickly, so that was perhaps his fault. Maybe she misheard him. But just prior, when she was breaking his name up so much... Wasn't that something some girls did when they liked someone? The intonation had been different, which was what had caused the confusion to abate so quickly. Though her saying of "pound sand" was likewise unusual. <Why would they tell her to "pound sand?">

There was something else, though. Daichi returned his attention to Amon. "Ursians and Neviskotians are chasing you?"

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Well. Cat was out of the bag now. Jam would've almost been cute were it not for spilling that. Eva couldn't exactly cover that up, or if she could, she couldn't think of a way to do so. Trying to be as stonefaced as possible, maybe Malik or Amon had a way out of what Jam had just said. As long as they don't find out about Canaan, right? Geez... And here Eva had been, looking forward to speaking with Kazemi again.

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Details Are Important

Amon sighed, figuring with that revelation, he'd have to address Daichi's question of why they couldn't just try to slip away from their northern pursuers in more detail than he'd initially planned on ... though maybe he could take this one step at a time until the Hikibain was satisfied. "As much as I want to just get going and not bother with them, they're definitely going to come after us if we do that. If they sent that messenger, then they already know where we are and probably have other people keeping an eye on this building. I want to handle this peacefully if we can ..."

Show Them

The receptionist nodded. "He just returned, actually. You can find him in the meeting room just down the hall. The same one your group has been using.

The common speaking guard looked almost surprised that this bunch had been telling the truth. "Show us," he said, though he was looking at Angelica and not the receptionist.

Joanna wasn't sure what to expect when they reached the meeting room? Who all was there, and what would come out of the exchange? It seemed like the best they could hope for was Daichi assuring the guards that he had the situation handled and politely order them elsewhere, but she wasn't certain how things worked in Kigen, or who could order whom around. Then there was the matter of leaving Arugai altogether. Greta's wagon wasn't back yet, which meant Greta herself was also still out somewhere in the marketplace. At this rate, they would be held up until sometime this evening, and it was usually a bad idea to travel at night ...

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"You are on an important mission," Daichi replied, both calmly and seriously. "As one of the Hikiba, it is my duty to escort you to the emperor as quickly as possible. Hindrances to this mission will not be permitted. If this group insists on harassing you, I will speak with them myself." <I thought it was only the Ursian and Neviskotian militaries who can in with those two ships, but perhaps I was mistaken.>

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