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Post by Steinerman on Feb 3, 2011 0:38:24 GMT -5
Nicole fished a handkerchief out of her pant-pocket and used the dry cloth to mop up sweat from her brow. "wait..." she asked, "you said 'if' you find your destination. You don't know where it is?"
Michael looked on curiously, he too had wondered that. So he stayed silent and waited for Rua to answer the young trooper.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Feb 3, 2011 2:50:01 GMT -5
Rua momentarily froze up at the engineer's remark. Well, time to get the embarrassing moment of the day out of the way. Relayia looked about and nudged his cheek with her head. "Well... not exactly. No one does, really, but I have an idea on what to look for. I'm..."
He sighed. There was no easy way to explain it. "I'm looking for the Guyana Prospect."
The Guyana Prospect was supposedly a settlement in the pre-Empire days, before Zailleon had united under the banner of House Stamarin, back when this region was home to nomadic tribal clans, like the one his family line of Dragonheart had apparently come from. The Guyana Prospect was said to have struck riches and made itself prominent outside of the kingdoms of the era--and then promptly disappeared.
It didn't help that it was so far back, before S.R., and no records of it existed anymore. Hell, while this land belonged to the Empire, it was so remote that not even the military had any really detailed maps of the region. Most simply considered the Guyana Prospect a myth... but Rua had found evidence in some old maps and documents that hinted otherwise. And if he found it, then there was no telling what he may discover there.
Most other people would think it foolishness, however.
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Post by Steinerman on Feb 3, 2011 14:49:22 GMT -5
Nicole's expression stayed mostly blank, though a little confusion was thrown in. "Errr...the Guyana Prospect?" She questioned curiously, having never heard of it.
Michael looked curious now, and replied to fill in the blanks for the young soldier. "Ancient settlement, pre-S.R." He calmly stated, his now-curious eyes locked on Rua. "I am intrigued, most of the scholars whose work I read seemed to think it was in a completely different area. Though they were all just guessing." He admitted with a shrug.
"What leads you to search for something that many think doesn't even exist?"
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Feb 3, 2011 18:10:09 GMT -5
""If I can find the place, I figure I can make enough cash to give me a bit of a vacation from ruin-hunting for a while," he explained. "I'm sure the archeology community would pay pretty handsomely for a discovery like the Guyana Prospect."
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Post by Steinerman on Feb 4, 2011 17:08:20 GMT -5
Michael nodded thoughtfully, "I imagine they would." He agreed.
"But you have repair equipment, food and survival gear to last you a while, yes?" He asked, feeling rather like a worried parent as he did so.
"If you need anything, our convoy may be able to supply it."
There was a somewhat muffled snort from Riley, "Unless it's decent-tasting food." She mumbled softly.
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BD
Squire
Stay Classy, Ymaggion
Posts: 26
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Post by BD on Feb 7, 2011 22:18:13 GMT -5
Kite was a bit taken back by what he saw in front of him. These people weren't dangerous or with evil intent, yet Valtheran was so absolutely convinced that these people were the greatest threat to their sovereignty. He watched the engineer, noting the scars on her face before turning to the pack he had placed down by the bag. He ran over and picked it up, rifling through the contents to find his canteen as he took a swig of water before putting it back.
"So, I have an honest question here. I'm on my way to the capital; I received word that there was a noble with a son in need of some training in the blade that specifically requested me. Is this going to get me there the fastest, or should I just eat the toll and head out to the sea to take the boat?"
He undid the straps on his sword array as they hit the ground with a loud "thud" as he smirked and turned to the men.
"After all, you all look a little better versed in traveling than me."
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Post by Steinerman on Feb 7, 2011 23:49:59 GMT -5
Michael answered immediately, his voice sure. "If you stick to the highways themselves, it's definitely as fast, if not faster, than taking passage by sea. And," he said with a wink, "You save money on the travel fees that are charged for sea passage."
He turned to face the highway in the distance, "The only worry on the Highways are the bandits and biker gangs, but we just started our sweep, so they're mostly going into hiding about now."
He turned to cast a mock glare at the young engineer, "And our food tastes fine." He corrected, amusement clear in his voice.
Nicole glared up at her commander, it was a common joke between the group that their unit cook couldn't...well, cook. At all.
"Sure, last night it was only burnt halfway instead of all the way. Marcy is slowly getting better." She shot back.
Michael chuckled, his attempt at humor had brought about one of her usual retorts. But it got her talking, and it was a good start to his not-so-subtle attempt at making her more comfortable around others.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Feb 8, 2011 18:31:59 GMT -5
Rua snorted at Riley's joke, but otherwise kept shut until it wouldn't be rude to interrupt again. "I should be pretty well up on supplies," Rua replied to Saint finally. "The only thing I'm unsure of is the region and I'm sure you've got better maps of it than I do."
Not that that was saying much, when it came to this remote wilderness.
"Once I get my bearings, I can get where I need to go," he continued with a chirp from Relayia, "I know what to look for, and from there I think I can find the Prospect."
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Post by Steinerman on Feb 13, 2011 1:09:03 GMT -5
Michael eyed Rua carefully, he didn't like the idea of anyone going out on their own to something that might or might not be there. And yet...he didn't want to coddle the young man. Rua seemed capable enough, young, yes. But capable.
Worry and contemplation danced across Michael's face as he mulled it over. Eventually, he seemed to come to a decision. he gave Nicole a wave and spoke, "Nicole, you have one of those radio freqs on you?"
Nicole nodded and fished a solid looking plastic card out of her utility pockets upon her belt. She tossed the plastic card to Michael, who caught it easily and moved closer to give it to Rua. "Admittedly, radio might not work. But this card is two-fold in purpose." He said, extending his hand and the card in it.
"The two radio frequencies listed there are priority Convoy SoS, we monitor them very closely, if anything goes wrong, try those. We might be able to pick up a transmission."
"The second purpose," he continued, indicating a small indentation on the card, which gave the impression of being some sort of button. "Is magical in nature. It sends out a magical pulse that one of our mages is specially aware of, he can generally track it anywhere. If anything goes wrong and you can't get the radio to work, use that."
He didn't bother mentioning that the Order didn't usually hand out those cards, as they were expensive to make and utilize, requiring an Order mage to essentially spend several days making the card and attuning it correctly so he could tell when it was activated.
But he didn't like leaving others to travel the wilds alone, especially the brother to Kalia Dragonheart. So in this case, he was willing to use the rare device.
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BD
Squire
Stay Classy, Ymaggion
Posts: 26
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Post by BD on Feb 16, 2011 22:03:25 GMT -5
Kite observed the interaction between Michael and Rua, amused at how affable an elite military group could be. The card troubled him though. He shifted his eyes to his bike, keeping a careful eye on the parts going into the bike. He didn't like the chance of being tracked; it could undermine his whole ability to travel.
Either the officer is worried about him as a threat, or there's something compelling him to protect Rua. So here's the question, which is it? This is intriguing...
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Feb 18, 2011 13:28:27 GMT -5
Rua accepted the device, giving it a curious once-over before nodding. "Kalia told me about these things, once," he told Commander Saint as he put it away in his satchel. "Didn't think you'd part with one so willingly, though."
Relayia chirped in agreement.
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Post by Steinerman on Feb 20, 2011 16:55:47 GMT -5
Michael chuckled softly. "Normally we don't. Call it curiosity, if we have to come rescue you...I might get to see the Guyana Prospect. I take an interest in history, and it would be a momentous occasion to personally see that fabled settlement."
Across from them, Nicole glanced on warily, she was quite sure her commander had another reason for taking extra precautions in Rua's case. The man must be special, she decided. He mentioned someone named Kalia...
Her eyes widened in understanding as she realized who Rua was related to. Though not the most famous knight of Stamaria by any means, Nicole would have to be deaf to have not heard of Kalia Dragonheart.
Now her mind raced along several paths at once, working out the reasoning behind the secrecy. She knew Michael was well-aware of Kalia and her skill in battle, and held the woman in much respect, though he'd never met her. She was sure he knew who Rua was...and yet he hadn't mentioned the man's sister even once.
Her eyes immediately tightened on Kite.
Sarge was skittish and the Knight-Commander isn't mentioning her name. They're worried about this guy...Kite.
There was a soft mechanical whirring sound as she casually flexed her right arm, loosening it up in preparation for...well, she wasn't sure what she was readying herself for. She decided to watch Kite attentively, making sure the man didn't try anything. If her commanders didn't trust the man, neither would she.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jun 27, 2011 17:18:38 GMT -5
The dragonet suddenly yelped at them, spreading out her wings before leaping into the air, chirping as it flew short circles around Rua and Michael. Rua looked up at the creature for a moment and let out a breath.
"Relayia's right. It's not going to get any cooler out here while we're standing around," he remarked, turning his gaze back to the Commander. "I think we should get a move on to whatever camp so we can get my maps and Kite's part."
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BD
Squire
Stay Classy, Ymaggion
Posts: 26
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Post by BD on Jul 24, 2011 19:11:55 GMT -5
"Whatever you guys think works, I'll follow along," Kite said, clearly trying to avoid rocking the boat.
I don't really know what they think of me at this point. It looks like the officers and Rua want to trust me, but the commanders still have skepticism, so I can't just pull one of my classics out of my ass like normal. Looks like i'm going to have to go with the deep cover approach until I can build enough trust for them to take the rifle sight off of me.
"Lead on then."
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Post by Steinerman on Jul 24, 2011 20:26:21 GMT -5
Michael clapped his hands together, "a good idea, this heat is quite vicious, especially when one is wearing armor." He said with a smile. A nod to Nicole and the young girl producing a small radio from her belt and spoke a few words into it.
Several moments later an armored Humvee drove around from behind a nearby dune and pulled up. "We can place your bike in the back of the machine and give you a lift to our convoy." Michael said, nodding once again at Nicole. A few words into the radio and a pair of Order members hopped out of the Humvee and jogged forward, ready to help with lifting the bike if need be.
Michael then turned his attention to Rua, "If you would follow along, we can get you those maps back at the convoy as well."
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