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| Cairns on the Wine River [FIN]; [ST05][Signups Closed] | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sat Sep 17, 2016 1:22 pm (8,269 Views) | |
| Anci | Fri Oct 21, 2016 7:19 pm Post #151 |
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The last obstacle Alex mentioned seem to be absent. Either that or the gang was perfectly content to let her be. The Dark District had likewise done so, with no small thanks owed to Drote. Now with the run of the place to herself Anci poked around, Alex was planning to rig up a pump. Some work would be needed it looked like if they were going to do something like that. Looking around Anci was more worried about how they’d keep it from any of the other gangs out here. It was too far from the Castle itself for them to do it all the time, and splitting up for lengthy periods of time seemed like a good invitation for disaster. Drote brought up the existence of underwater caves. Nobody else had mentioned them, it was possible they weren’t common knowledge. “Please take me to them, Drote!” She beckoned her spindly legged summon to follow, coercing it by tightening on the wiry prison it wore. A warble rose from a series of holes in the spherical center of it, Anci didn’t understand the melodic hooting but what it wanted or felt didn’t matter. She felt it straining to break free and go after her and Drote whenever they stopped looking at it directly. Wherever the caves were though, Anci would be the odd one out. Drote would be fine with the water, the creature from the otherside would be fine with it, Anci wasn’t able to breath in it though. Nor could she see very well, having gone off of the scant ambient light from the distant Light district. Now things were positively dark, but she hadn’t wanted to bring a torch or a lamp and increase the chances of her being spotted or accosted. Anci produced a rolled piece of iron from her person. It was bent and rusted, thrown out for whatever purpose it had originally been forged for. She touched it to the rune that flared to life with a light bright enough to hurt her eyes before tossing it away from her. The pain had been small, fleeting, but another critter from the other side had been pulled through. It started off as a small growth. A four-chambered cube that was expanding and contracting, beating like an organic heart. Each pump caused the iron rod to deform and twist around, flaking off the rust across its surface. Crooked offshoots of metal extended outwards, forming a large but light skeletal frame. Already she could see its bones retracting and extending, as if it was flexing its rapidly manufacturing form. Thin membranes of silvery liquid flowed from the spine and outwards, giving it a triangular body shape. Before it had fully formed Anci reached in, peeling back a cold and soft layer of organic-metal and gripped hard onto one of the organs inside. She didn’t have an academic understanding of how they functioned or what they were, but Anci had an instinctual awareness of them. She could safely stay inside of this creature but only if she removed this organ. The sister to it produced oxygen, the one she ripped out induced a chemical reaction to break things down for digestion. If it could melt down metal, she didn’t care to see if it could eat through living tissue. Also Rasaki was a little nervous too. It started thrashing though, even in its half formed state. Anci tossed it at the water and held up a hand to Drote to stop him from trying to protect her or attack it. “Hold on! Let it go, it is just growing.” She was referring to the silvery metal bindings specifically. They were interlacing themselves around the skeletal structure since this creature’s tissue was too soft to manipulate from the outside. The front of the triangular pyramid was opening and closing, a yawning maw. A dangling structure wobbled in front of its face, the dull sphere blinked to life with a bright light that made Anci wince and look away from it until her eyes adjusted. Prying the jaws apart with the metal bindings Anci gave out a little groan. Having to ride inside of that just to go exploring some saves seemed a little more than she signed up for...but undiscovered caves might pose a big boon to the other pariahs. Enough so she’d suck it up for the time being. OOC
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| Alexandra | Fri Oct 21, 2016 9:25 pm Post #152 |
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Alex examined the foes and hoped that Mira, Zuraw and Lorica could form up a strong front line for her safety. Lorica tore after the bandit's leader. Alex gave a quick order. "Let's keep the harm to a minimum, but let's keep ourselves safe as the top priority." Alex dipped into her well of power, taking only what she needed. The gestures and incantations came quick. The image of a phoenix, the true flame, rose above her. A quarter of their number was slowed instantly, but it would soon grow. Mira stepped out and laid into them with fury, leveling heavy kicks into their guts. If they produced weapons, Mira bullrushed them straight to the ground. Alex kept herself light on her feet, but with only one arm she was down quite a bit. Beside the towering, flaming figure and the supernaturally quick and combat-hardened Zuraw, Alex didn't seem quite so threatening. She kept between the two, the few times anyone pushed through Alex responded with a quick kick, either a proper straight-leg kick or rushing up quickly and delivering a knee to the chest. It wasn't perfect. She found herself bleeding in short order, but the fight stopped. Lorica quickly and single-mindedly took the gang's leader away for shopping or something along the same lines. Alex canceled her spell and quickly sought out some basic information. "I'll handle your initiation into our group. Uh, where do you all...live? Do you have money for food? What can we provide to make this smoother? We've got excellent fighters already, so I'm sure if anyone was able to pursue a profitable trade, we could provide protection at the very least. We could even give one of you a part-time job at our shop, or maybe even see about teaching additional alchemists." Alex smiled at the small group. Mira was apologizing to one of the folk she had handled quite roughly. "Either way, we have healers and I'm talented with arcane technology. Please come by if you need any aid. We all need to work together to get anywhere in this town." OOC
Edited by Alexandra, Fri Oct 21, 2016 9:40 pm.
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| Storyteller[ST] | Fri Oct 21, 2016 10:04 pm Post #153 |
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Glug The Ethereal Plane is a caring friend, Glug. It can be even better friends if you do more business with it in the future. For now, you share a memory with the Ethereal in order to turn the odds more in your favor. Nothing happens immediately, so you have no choice but to flee. After a long minute or two you might even be wondering if the Shadow Plane ripped you off. You turn a street corner and Sheriff Ithuen Bearkiller is standing right there. When the wind blows, the grey coat draped over her shoulders doesn't move. Her hat is covering her eyes, but you can still see the big, toothy grin appear on her face when she sees the bounty hunters pursuing you. "Should I apologize? Y'all look surprised," she calls out as the hunters wheel to a stop. "I thought it stunk round here, is all. Sheesh, though... I don't recall letting lynch mobs run around my town. How big should I make that fine?" "He's a zakona! Glug Photall, one of the first!" Ithuen lifts her bottle to her lips and takes a long drink. "That's profiling. Not every goblin is Glug [removed]ing Photall. Idiots." The mixture of bewilderment and anger on those bounty hunters' faces is priceless. "Get outta here," Ithuen says. "Don't mob up in my town, running after random people and calling them zakona like some kind of barbarians. This ain't some free-for-all hunting ground." "Heh, are you sure about that? Both things, actually: that this ain't some hunting ground, and that this is your town," one of the bounty hunters says. The others, shooting glances at each other, cover their weapon handles with their fingers. Tensing. Ithuen hands her almost-empty bottle of whiskey to you, Glug. You can keep it. "Ladies and gentlemen, whatever it is you think you're gonna do, I wouldn't. Goblin, go ahead and walk on. These fish got no respect. Sorry you had to deal with that." She winks at you, and mutters as you pass: "You owe me one." Glug, you're safe and sound now. With the Sheriff-of-the-Dispatch on your side, the odds were greatly evened. You weren't able to get that bounty, but you have a strong suspicion that coming out of this unscathed was remarkable. Like fate itself had changed. That alone is a win. Lorica and Carmen The gang you're fighting turn some mocking words in Bridgetongue toward you, Lorica, seeing as you're now defending the girl you just defeated in a duel. The Paladin looks stunned by everything happening, standing next to you with a firm grip on her weapon and her head and shoulders a bit slumped. She makes no attempt to stop you from assisting in the fight. Afterward, you take her to the Howling Dogs for drinks and a chat using Czajka as a translator. Her name is Neriah, and she's some kind of mutt with angel-blood mixed in. Not unusual in a place like this. [Paladin Neriah has joined your posse.] Surprisingly, it turns out that Czajka encouraged Neriah to join you. You thank the bounty hunter but urge her to take her own advice. The half-demon goes serious and looks away, not dignifying those words with a response. Her silence is neither agreeing nor disagreeing with you. You take your new faction member out shopping for a new outfit and to get cleaned up at the public sauna, then head back to the Castle. After encouraging her to pick a room to live in, you take her to the Main Street Apothecary to chat with Carmen, Ansgar, Tanya and Caedis. With Carmen translating, you ask her a couple more questions. Carmen, Neriah says: "If you got a mount, you're higher up. You can move quicker, patrol more ground, other things. Don't have to be a horse, but most likely will be. There's tons of feral horses in the backswamps. I got mine just off the west side, they like to graze by that spring you stole from me." Her tone isn't exactly amicable when she brings up the spring. "But I seen folks on the wargs or the cats too. Or the bugs or birds. We got a few boars round here might hold that big human arse of yours, and fits your demeanor too. Whatever it is, if it'll let you ride it, it's yours." Lorica, you ask her if she can help you get an animal and teach you to ride it. Carmen, she says: "I don't have any choice, do I? I sure as hell hope I'm on some kinda payroll and not a prisoner of war." Carmen and Ansgar Czajka looks to you, frowning almost imperceptibly. She hides most of her serious expression by pulling up her scarf to cover her mouth and nose. "Yeah. I remember you. Disguises won't work on me." She gestures for you to take a seat. Ansgar keeps watch. "I've given it some thought and I think I know what to tell Yevhen now. Thanks for keeping to your promise." The bounty hunter rummages through her pockets and puts a generous [2 money] on the table. "You ready?" When you're ready, she starts dictating. You subtly correct her spoken grammar to make her seem more educated. Czajka's Message to Yevhen Keter and Yurim You both instruct your new footpads, the Friends, to act as spies and report back to the Pariahs about goings-on in town. You also promise to train them to be more effective in all facets of their trade. You introduce them to your headquarters, the Castle. Thankfully they already have a place to live in town, so they won't take up much-needed space in this former barrack. They promise to help you guys out as best they can. [The Friends are a small gang of untrained cutpurses. They're local, but not very good fighters and don't have much in the way of supernatural abilities. They make decent mundane spies. This subordinate faction will operate in the background to your benefit based on your general directions (they are currently acting as your eyes in town).] Tian You give up your memory with Claire, and knowledge of your true name, to the Ethereal Plane in return for valuable information about what is necessary to free Bacek from imprisonment. You also share all the information you gleaned to your cohorts, albeit not the means you used. You will have a nightmare the next time you sleep and wake up chilled. That was a large deal you just made. More deals and you might start having a bad time. Anci You summon another horror from the Other Side. Drote flinches and moves to attack, but you stop him. He begins to understand the purpose of the strange creature's existence: to dive into the underwater caves in the area. The enkaida looks excited to go exploring. He leads you a short distance from the spring, to an indent in a nearby stone cliff. Another "spring" is here, but it's fractured into the rock. There's an opening just large enough for you and Drote to fit. It's pitch dark in here. Good thing you summoned a light. The initial entrance is narrow and cramped, but Drote looks confident as he half-swims, half-crawls through the flooded rock corridor, leading the way. His vocal valves are just as capable of use underwater as above-ground. "Wow. Nice. Big place. It goes. Far." The narrow passageway opens up into a vast flooded landscape. Small aquatic cave animals, white and eyeless, flit around you. Mats of darkplants form something like a kelp forest deeper below you. "Happy," Drote says. There is no evidence whatsoever that these underground caves are used by people like you. Just as your enkaida friend said, they span a huge distance both outside of and into Nine Angels. Places that the locals might think are springs might actually be entrances to this cave system. You suspect that these would make a fantastic escape route if things ever got really bad. Assuming all of you escaping had a means to breathe underwater and light your path. Further adding to this is an interesting find that Drote is excited to see. He practically makes a whirlpool around you with how quickly he's swimming circles. "Up. Up. More up." You follow his directions and emerge from the water into a secluded alcove lined in bioluminescent darkmoss. "Safe. Good. Like," Drote says, curling up in the mats of plants. "Tired... I will. Hide here. And come help." He nods at you. "If friend. Needs help. Go to spring. Splash. Will help." [You've discovered an unclaimed location: the Hidden Cave. It has no features besides being difficult to access and extremely secure. You can utilize this location as much or as little as you want. For now, this will be where Drote beds down to avoid the circus search parties.] [Drote makes an extremely good Water Explorer, doesn't he? He can quickly and effectively traverse any waterbody.] Tanya Farethi leans back from Caedis, troubled by his question. She tries to respond, but can't seem to beat an uncontrollable fit of stuttering. She clatters her double-jaws together, wringing her hands. "I-I-I-I'm just t-trying to survive. Thriving is above m-m-my status. I won't t-try anything. I promise." Alexandra You give the order to minimize harm, but keep the Pariahs safe first and foremost. Because of that, you only badly injure a couple of them and no one is killed. Having defeated the Outer Street Paladins, Lorica leaves you and you take to dealing with their integration into your faction. You find out that the Paladins already have places to live on their own, and can find their own food and basic amenities if left to their own devices. They are capable of working part-time jobs at your businesses, or doing anything else that you ask them that's within their basic skills. You're quite diplomatic with these folks, Alex. That helps. [The Outer Street Paladins are a small gang consisting of a half-dozen horsemen and a small youth gang of footpads. They're local, but not very good fighters and don't have much in the way of supernatural abilities. This subordinate faction will operate in the background to your benefit based on your general directions (no orders currently, so they'll do the same thing as the Friends).] Arthur You take to the city as a fly dragon and do not return. [Arthur has some exciting things happening in real life and won't be able to continue Cairns. Good luck, Artie!] The Interim You finish up your current business and settle back into what might now be starting to feel like routine: building influence, collecting money from the Main Street Apothecary, and training your goons. In these fairly uneventful few nights, have you done anything with that spring you claimed? Also, did you go get a mount? Paladin Neriah encourages everyone to have a mount, even just for the practical benefit of being able to move through the city quickly. Even for people who can teleport, having a trusty steed is often a matter of status in Nine Angels. [Design a steed in Discussion if you want one. A mount can be any species that makes sense for the setting, but horses (loshadi) are most plentiful. If your mount is a horse, it can have 1 supernatural adaptation, nothing too crazy powerful. The local loshadi are known for having adaptations to life in Gloomwood such as phasing, becoming difficult to see, reduced weight for everything it bears, absolute clearsight, or danger sense. You're not limited to these abilities, they're just examples. Think about how a local animal might magically adapt to the backswamps. Non-horses don't get a magical adaptation.] [It is encouraged to give your mount a name and a distinct personality and temperament. Your steed probably complements you in some way.] While you folks are going about your life, your spies are keeping you updated on the general goings-on in town. News Updates Everyone Carmen, you and Ansgar are once again holding the fort at the Main Street Apothecary. Tanya, are you there too? Or anyone else, for that matter, and for any reason? If you are, you hear a horrible crash down the street. Ansgar rushes outside, turning left, and stops in his tracks to gape. There's a burning wagon on a cross-street just up the main drag. Based on the damage and the condition of the horse that was pulling it, it must have rolled violently before something inside caught aflame. Three well-dressed people come galloping in on horseback. Surrounding the wreckage, they have weapons in their free hands. All three of them are humanoid in shape, but they're covered in thick, wiry fur. They have long snouts and keen wolf eyes -- one or two or three pairs of them. Some have structures almost like horns curled around their canine ears to funnel sound. Most distinctively, they're covered in markings flashing with patterns of colored light. Signalling to each other, most likely. "Someone's hurt!" Ansgar turns to you, Carmen and the others, and runs back inside. "This is very bad. Those wolves are like Zuraw. Probably more somewhere. Quickly, summon the others. You have that parchment, right?" Someone in a heavy coat and cloak has fallen off the wagon's driver's seat and is sprawled face-down on the street as a crowd of prying eyes gathers. The wolves don't dismount. "Oyyy, lucky man! You lucky enough to still be alive?" The man in question groans, limbs twitching. "I think his luck's about to run out." Another wolf laughs, blowing the mana smoke off the white-hot crossbow she had propped against her hip. "Shoulda run out a long, long time ago." The driver of the wagon manages to push himself up until he's kneeling. Slumped, but upright overall. He has a hood over his head and a black, opaque, bloodstained veil sewn into it that covers its entire opening. Every surface of his body is covered by heavy cloth with the exception of the occasional scorch and laceration. "You must've thought that was pretty [removed]ing funny, huh Korso?" The third wolf tightens the circle he's riding around the wreckage. "Back at Starek. That riot was way too convenient for that sand-eater pigskin, wouldn't you say? You picked the wrong side. You can't run from us." One of the wolves is dismounting. "Let's strip him before we kill him. I've been dying to see what he is. What kind of fool hides their own species?" From the other end of the street, the direction of Howling Dogs, you see Czajka walking down. She's got her eyes fixed on the situation, careful as she approaches your store and pokes her head in. "Hey. I think you should get your other people right now. This looks bad. I'll see what I can do." With that, she walks toward the carnage. Her forearms are turning pitch black, fingers lengthening into twisted, demonic claws. Gashes spilling sickly green and purple light run in spirals up her unholy arms. The man they called Korso, having managed to push to his feet, is backing up toward the burning wagon behind him in order to put more distance between himself and the approaching wolf. A thin spiral of unholy energy flies a few inches from that wolf's head, wiping the grin off his face. Czajka's standing in the middle of the road, one hand lowering to her side. "Town of Nine Angels don't like dogs very much," she says. "They make too many messes trying to mark territory. So what the hell's a pack doing here? You bounty hunters or something?" If you're in hearing range, you can tell that she's stalling for time. At least in the case of the wolf that wanted to strip Korso, it works. "Do we [removed]ing look like bounty hunters, you dumb imp?" He grabs his lapels and resettles his suit to illustrate his point. "Are you that Czajka?" "Sure am. Who're you?" "Some people you're gonna see a lot more of these coming weeks," one of the mounted wolves says, fighting to keep her angry horse standing in one place. "We're government contractors, just like you. Working with the Wine River Transport Company at this here juncture." "Oh, good. Now I don't feel bad for shooting that spell at him." There's no way she'll be able to delay them for much longer. What do you do?
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| Glug Photall | Sun Oct 23, 2016 3:33 am Post #154 |
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He couldn’t believe his luck. He stopped dead, looking that woman from the Howling Dogs in the eye. He was close enough to spit. Was she going to turn him over to them, or was she going to arrest him herself? No, she couldn’t officially arrest him. Ithuen wasn’t actually a constable…Glug had learned that much when he was snooping around the city for information. But she could perhaps claim the bounty as her own. He had gotten the feeling in the Howling Dogs that Ithuen wasn’t someone he wanted to cross, and he got that feeling again now. Miraculously, however…she spoke up in his defense. It was…bizarre, to say the least. His skin had gotten him into more trouble than it was worth more times than he could count; it’s why he stayed away from cities most of the time or kept his head down and his mouth shut when he couldn’t. It was especially bad in and around the smaller towns, such as that gathering hosted by the now-dead Master Gooding. Granted, he’d actually been the culprit there, but he’d gotten the people at the gathering so discombobulated that nobody knew what the actual truth was. Those two men, though…they’d almost taken Glug to the sheriff in the local village simply because of what he was. And here was Ithuen “Bearkiller”, as the locals called her - a woman with whom he had no real connection - defending him. It was…mind-blowing, to say the least. Compared to that, the attire she wore being unruffled by the wind was completely insignificant. Glug only half-turned to see the bounty hunters out of the corner of his eye. Hidden beneath his cloak, his hands moved toward his bow and quiver when the hunters’ hands moved to their own weaponry. But he turned away to accept the empty bottle, something he could probably use later - maybe to collect rainwater or something when he was really thirsty - and pocketed it. “Fish”, she called the hunters then…he recognized that word. It was a stranger to the area, someone who didn’t belong…basically. Bridgetongue. Glug tipped his hat to Ithuen and slipped past her, letting her handle the hunters. He nodded ever-so-slightly as he passed, acknowledging the fact that he definitely owed her for this. He was still reeling even after getting off of that street, crossing another, and turning down a third. He still couldn’t believe his luck, and then he realized something: the whole place around him felt…different, somehow. He couldn’t explain it. The only reason he could think of was… …huh. Well, now…ain’t that something… Had that really been the reason? Could it have? He’d heard it was sentient, but hearing rumours and experiencing them for oneself were two different things. Guess I should thank you, ethereal…nice to have a hand in things that ain’t my own, even if I can’t see it… He’d also heard dealing with the ethereal was dangerous. But for the time being, he was just glad to be out of that situation. Then he had another thought, and he glanced around discreetly before pulling out the parchment and communiquill. He scribbled over what he’d written earlier and wrote another message below it. Bounties too dangerous. Bounty hunters doing sweeps. Ithuen may be ally. With that, he put the things away once more. Hopefully, Tanya would get the message and relay it to the others before anyone else decided to take a bounty for themselves. As for himself, he didn’t want to go back to the Castle just yet. He figured he should hurry on toward the general vicinity of the Dark District but without looking like he was hurrying on to it. He took an indirect route, making it look like he was just meandering through the city. At one point, he stopped at a stall in front of a shop. Someone inside the shop was shooting looks of mixed rage and hatred at the back of the stall owner, who smiled horribly at Glug when he stopped. The silver-haired old woman was selling numerous small items of supposedly magical quality, but it was the scrolls that he found most intriguing. While most of them were written in Bridgetongue, a few were written in Imythessian Common; one was even written in Elvish. He couldn’t read the Elvish one but the three that were written in Imythessian Common he took. One would be a complement to the Find Familiar spell that he already knew - Summon Familiar. It would allow him to get his horse back, hopefully still saddled and ready to go. The other two he would look at later. He slipped the woman a few coins and quickly moved on. He had soon reached the dark district and started listening to all the reports coming in from the spies that the other Pariahs had picked up. He would have to be more careful in the future. Bounties clearly weren’t his thing. However, he needed to get a steed. From the look and sound of things, that would give him a social advantage here in Nine Angels. So that night, he practiced the words and motions of the Summon Familiar spell that he’d bought. When he thought he had it memorized, he put the scroll away. It didn’t take him long to complete the spell, although it felt rather weak to him. Two more tries…he could feel something happening. Finally, on the fourth try, he felt the air shift as though parting. Out of the shadows and gloom of the night stepped a rather annoyed-looking horse. It took Glug some time to calm the horse, but once he did, he scowled deeply. He had not been very well-cared-for at all. He spent an hour washing and brushing the horse. At least it didn’t’ have any sores or wounds; that was the one good thing about it. But now he had a steed, and that would give him a quick escape if he needed it and make him seem a little more important than he actually was. The less he looked like Glug Photall, the better - and to date, nobody knew that he had a horse. He kept the horse on the Castle grounds but hidden in one of the many rooms. It wasn’t a native horse and he didn’t necessarily like the idea of standing out, but it’d be useful if he needed a quick get-away. He spent some of his notes on some feed for the horse and collected what water he could from the spring that the other Pariahs had captured. Over the next few days and nights, he spent his time memorizing the words and motions of the other two spells. He was starting to grow in his knowledge of magic, which was not something he ever thought he would have personally had need of. But considering the loss of his enchanted arrows, he would take whatever advantage he could get. He had known one spell before only because he’d seen it performed so many times that, when he’d finally stolen a horse, he’d managed to practice it himself. Now he had a way to summon that horse as well, and his knowledge of spellcraft was slowly expanding. Even if he only knew four spells, it might be enough for him to get out of this entire situation with his skin intact…maybe. When he wasn’t practicing his spells, however, he was acting as a scout and a watchman in the night. He’d sleep in the afternoons so that he was fresh at night, and he’d get something to eat at the beginning and at the end of this cycle. His post was on the roof of the Castle, crouched and ready to fire at any moment. He’d found some lamp oil that he kept ready, along with a striker that would allow him to quickly set his arrows alight; he might not be able to make them explode, but he could at least set anyone on fire that dared to set foot on the piece of ground held by the Pariahs - and signal any of the Pariahs that were nearby and awake as well. But it was late one afternoon, just after Glug had awoken and was washing his face, that Saul whinnied violently. The horse had been like that in the beginning, when he’d first taken him from the corpse of the half-orc he’d killed, but he’d broken the stallion after a lot of hardship. He’d only kept calling him Saul - the name the half-orc had croaked out as she lay dying upon the ground - because it was what he had responded to before he’d come along. He hadn’t whinnied like that since Glug had broken him and started to retrain him as his own steed, and it drew the goblin’s eyes to him now. The Clydesdale was a breed of Striberg’s, a perfect draft horse for the area as well as a war horse to boot. Unfortunately, the horse had never been trained in combat and Glug had never had the opportunity to do that; he had only dealt with animals on occasion. But the horse was drawing away from the window now, and Glug went to it at once, staying just outside the ray of light cast by it. Except that there shouldn’t have been any light - not in this place. Yet there it was…a…map of some kind…he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Yes, that was exactly what it was: a map of Nine Angels, matching (mostly) the one they’d been staring at every night for the last week. Something pointed to the shop they’d secured - an apothecary. Glug’s brain worked furiously, and he knew it could only mean trouble. He glanced at the horse but didn’t even bother to dry his face or his hands on his way out. He grabbed his weapons and donned them as he rushed into the heart of the city. It didn’t take him long to reach the place, but he stayed in the shadows, just out of the line of sight of anyone there. He drew his bow and readied an arrow quickly, quickly assessing what was going on. Wolves on horses…that was something he really never thought he’d see. Wolves scared the shit out of horses, and werewolves were ten times worse. These were some seriously scary fellows if they were able to tame horses…perhaps they were local breeds, somehow aligned with the Shadow Plane? That would have made more sense, perhaps…a little, anyway. Still, it was bizarre to him. He didn’t know who the Flaming Maiden was, but it didn’t really matter. If this guy the mounted werewolves were tormenting was enough of an ally to warrant the aid of the other Pariahs, then he was an ally to Glug - however temporary that might be; the Pariahs needed all the help they could get at the moment. He aimed an arrow carefully at one of the werewolves from behind; he knew it wouldn’t kill the beast, but the arrow would fly right through the flames coming off of the top of the Flaming Maiden’s skull - and that would hurt like a son-of-a-Drow, even if the wound wasn’t permanent. If the opportunity came, he would take his shot and then move on, changing his position, staying just out of sight so as to (hopefully) remain the wild card in the fight. OOC
Edited by Glug Photall, Mon Oct 24, 2016 12:27 am.
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| Lorica | Sun Oct 23, 2016 8:40 pm Post #155 |
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Lorica smiled at the angelborn, the expression sharp as a blade. “Hey, don’t stare at my ass if you don’t plan on making a move. I hate a tease.” She scratched at her chin, her mirth fading. “I’ve seen what you all call ‘horses’ in these parts… It’ll probably be okay. I can probably handle that.” Her voice wasn’t as confident as her words would suggest. “As for pay, you make yourself useful, you reap the rewards. Keep making comments about my figure and all you’ll get is a mouthful of broken teeth.” Lorica stood up suddenly. “Well, no time like the present. Let’s go find me a mount sturdy enough for my girth, eh?” She linked one arm with Neriah and dragged her out of the shop. “Let us start at the spring, okay?” Since they no longer had a translator she stuck to small words, speaking slowly, enunciating clearly, and avoiding contractions. “It will be fun.” It wasn’t. Neriah took them to the spring, hunting for an appropriate animal in the surrounding wilderness. It didn’t take long for them to find one of the boars the waif had mentioned. They were bulky creatures, their squat frames thick with muscle. The biggest ones were nearly as tall as her. They had a pelt of coarse black hair that melded quite nicely with the Gloomwood flora. A pair of curved tusks jutted out of their snouts. Curiously, the teeth swirled in a corkscrew fashion, with narrow strips of translucent tissue along the grooves. She quickly learned this was a defensive mechanism: the boars could make those tendrils of flesh burst into blinding light, either to temporarily blind predators or cause darkplants to unfurl their leaves to soak up the illumination. Neriah failed to mention this, so her first attempt to catch one of the swarthy swine ended in her being flash-blinded, which the angelborn found hilarious. Eventually the dancing motes faded from her vision and they tried again. Once they caught the suid, the real work began. Lorica had no idea how to sit on the boar, much less guide it. Although her instructions were interspersed with insults, Neriah proved invaluable. The Keeper got thrown off the large pig too many times to count (each occurrence tempting her to treat the Pariahs with a nice meal of pork chops), but the Paladin kept nettling her, refusing to let her stop trying. She got the impression that her complete lack of skill with the animal was offensive to the girl. Eventually she managed to gain a semblance of control over the animal. At least, she could point it in the right direction and not fall off as it charged forward. When it got up to speed she basically had to lay across its spine, sitting on its rump and with her head up at the peak of its shoulders, fingers wrapped in its thick fur. When it was moving slower she could sit upright without losing her seat. She wouldn’t want to take a long trip on the thing, but it would be sufficient for patrolling the Dark District. “Thanks, Flappy,” she said to the Paladin as they rode back towards the Castle. “This will help out. We will be able to control the spring, use the water.” Upon returning to their base, they found the Pariah’s resident goblin trying to fit a Clydesdale through the main entrance. Lorica erupted into peals of laughter, nearly falling off the boar. “Really? You’re gonna put a horse in there? How about not. I don’t want the whole place smelling like shit.” With that she asked some of the Paladins to help her turn a nearby dilapidated building into an approximation of a stable for all of their mounts. When the alert came across the enchanted quills Lorica was reclining in the Castle’s antechamber, repeated throwing her dagger at the door and bored. As soon as someone mentioned what was happening she darted outside, grinning. She hustled over to their stables and hopped on her boar, who she’d taken to calling Idiot because, well, it was a pig. The suid didn’t seem to hold the name against her, in any case. She glanced back towards the Castle. “Sparky, can you hold down the fort? I need someone I can trust to hang back.” She had an ulterior reason for the request. The message claimed their enemies were werewolves… she wasn’t completely sure how the knight would react to her kin, especially if they were a part of Lantos’ pack. With that she took off, tugging on Idiot’s coat to guide him towards their alchemy storefront. The scene outside was chaotic, to say the least. There was a flaming wagon lighting up the scene. Czajka was confronting a trio of werewolves. Like Zuraw, they had glowing strips of bioluminescence running along their bodies. Unlike her, their figures were bestial, covered in a thick pelt of wiry fur and with canine snouts. Lorica drew the boar to a halt, sliding off the animal’s broad back. She could ride the swine, but she didn’t have a hope of fighting from its back. Upon seeing Glug had his bow up and aimed, Lorica rested a hand on his arm and pushed it down. “Not yet,” she murmured to the goblin. “Only shoot if you have to.” She glanced around to see which other Pariahs were present. Ansgar was here, along with Tanya Anci, and a woman she didn’t recognize who appeared to be on fire. The latter was in the process of creating a massive column of fire, drawing attention to the confrontation. Lorica had to fight to keep herself from screaming in frustration. “HEY! Put that out! Do you want to bring every [removed]er in Nine Angels here? I don’t know who the [removed] you think you are, but if you don’t stop the light show I’ll do it for you.” It might be too late already, but she was hoping that she’d shut down the beacon as quickly as she’d made it. They were still zakona, after all; they didn’t want to draw every single bounty hunter in the surrounding areas down on them. With those fires (both metaphorical and literal) put out, the Keeper was finally free to focus on what should be the real threat: the werewolves. She cleared her throat, adjusted her hat, and stepped forward to stand alongside Czajka. “You all look familiar,” she said, smiling. “Is this a beta parade? It must be. None of you animals look strong enough to be alfha. They don’t get stuck with dirty work.” Lorica swung one hand out, gesturing at the street. “You’re not from around here, so I’ll forgive you for not knowing: this is our territory. Not Wine River’s. Not the government’s. Ours.” Her smile faded, replaced with a stern grimace. “Which means that we decide who lives and who dies. Plus we perform public services. For example, when a dog goes rabid…” A knife appeared in either one of her hands as if by magic. “We take it back behind the shed and put it down.” “Now are you going to play by the rules, or am I gonna have to see how many times I can cut you up before you stop healing? I’ve been dying to find out.” She was hoping the rest of the Pariahs would spread out and surround the werewolves to strike if they turned violent. |
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| Mobster Man | Sun Oct 23, 2016 9:16 pm Post #156 |
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Yurim spent his little free time getting a mount, what he wanted was a brave and swift black horse, what he got was a horse that seemed to have a personality switch. When he was dressed up as Yurim it would act a bit... confused, despite it's ability to walk through solid objects sometimes it would just bump into objects... multiple times before finally phasing through it, but when he was the One Shadow, the horse seemed to gain intelligence and move properly, but that still didn't stop it from accidentally kicking over something that it should have phased through. He decided to take his horse out for a ride when he got the message on the parchment. He read it and clicked his tongue, "Come on Inconditus." Yurim had not known at the time, but he had named his horse 'Confused' in old Tarasian, which fit his mount perfectly. He rushed back home and changed clothes, putting on his clean suit, a top hat, and donning his mask. If this was going to be their big public reveal then he might as well come in as the One Shadow. He made sure his white gloves were were nice and snug and re-mounted his horse, but instead of running straight there, he made a detour to the nearest large shadow. He entered it with his horse and appeared behind their new store. He waited for a bit before getting off his horse and motioning it to stay hidden. The One Shadow skulked in the darkness for only a few moments before assessing the situation, Lorica had things covered for now... so it was time for Yurim to get into a new position. Yurim would slink around to the side, try to get closer to the fallen man, the burning wagon gave off plenty of light... which meant plenty of shadows from the scattered remnants. If the werewolves decided to make this violent then Yurim would just rush the fallen man and try to take him into the shadows where he could safely transport him to where his horse was, he figured there wouldn't be a fight if their prey disappeared like smoke. |
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| Alexandra | Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:23 am Post #157 |
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(OOC note: My computer ate a longer post...when I killed it. This will suffer bad.) Alex hurried away from the scene of the small fight. She had Zuraw help her tend to her wounds before spending the rest of the night categorizing all the runes she knew with Mira. The elemental looked concerned, but assisted anyways. Alex winced suddenly as pain shot up her right arm. "I'll be fine, Mira. Go hit the rehearsal tomorrow with a fury." She looked back on her scrawlings all across the walls with her tired, dark-rimmed eyes. She put her charcoal down and sat heavily in her clean blanket pile. "Release, Mira." The next day, Alex tracked down a horse. She couldn't find a real draft horse for whatever reason, so she picked a smaller half-draft with chestnut fur, a darker mane and a white spot on its face and white "socks" or so Alex had called them as a kid. She crawled ontop of the massive horse and set out into the dark district. She and the horse searched about, and very slowly she acquired a crude mass of pipes other pump parts to employ. She returned home and got onto her trusty runner, then tied the horse to the back. Alex acquired some alchemical sealants and a few members of Neriah's old gang. She splashed the water a few times at the spring and moved to calm her horse when Drote burst out. "Okay, here's the plan. We'll assemble pipes on the surface. Drote, you'll sink it as far as it gets and fit it to the walls. The runner will form the core of it, but we'll have a manual pump too so it doesn't just have to rely on mana. The spigot will need to be high enough off the ground we could load a tank on the back of a wagon." The work was grueling, and Alex every so often made an excited modification until the massive structure was put together over the course of a few days. She tested it and filled a pair of empty goatskins with water. She mounted her horse who she had named Zenka and took the big mare down to the howling dogs saloon. She handed the goatskin to Czajka. "Try it. Pure water, a bit of a special item I've started sourcing. Thoughts?" Alex flinched as her right arm burst out more pain. She managed a weak grin. "Hate to say, but I need your help doctor Czajka. I've got a bit of an issue. Hell, I could use your help in general. This...place is in need of help. They aren't clearing that forest for nothing, and all the scum of the world has gathered here." Alex left the Howling Dogs saloon and waited in line to speak to Ithuen. As soon as she got her opportunity, she offered the water. "I got into the water business. What do you think, Ithuen, build a utility in Nine Angels?" Alex sat down and stared at the woman across from her. "You look like you've been in as much shit as it is possible to be in. Sleeping only a few hours a night? Gods, do I dream of a restful night. But it ain't happening any longer." Falling into the cadence of the area had come easy, although her accent remained. "What's your plan for clearing up this town? Are they going to send reinforcements before this place devolves into bloodshed night and day?" Alex looked out the window and her heavy eyes fell on the symbol in the sky. She rose. "Looks like a bunch of toughs want into the alchemical business." Alex hopped onto her horse and started off, at a middling pace that her skill tolerated. She produced her mask and puled it on. She appeared around the corner, and her eyes settled on the flames. With only one hand, she commanded the fire. It rose into the air and faded as it was starved. Her eyes were bright with inner fire. "I'm sick of all this [removed]ing fighting. You guys want to hurt someone? You think that's smart in this town? There's so many assholes out to capture and kill every other asshole here it just is not a good idea to start even more bullshit! Alex shouted. She called on her power. The frigid Balefire night was displaced with waves of pure heat coming off her body. "Look, [removed]ers. Let's make this real easy. Put your weapons down, hands out and lay in the muck." Alex raised her lone arm, and pointed her finger straight down. Edited by Alexandra, Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:23 am.
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| Keter | Mon Oct 24, 2016 9:44 am Post #158 |
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A large shadowy creature, something native to Gloomwood referred to as an Umbra, with black swirling markings dancing across its dark blue fur. Normally they were not creatures large enough to ride, but this one seemed to genetically trade out the full scope of its natural ability for raw power. How curious its existence to have the power that could likely set it as alpha among its own, but then to be domesticated into a riding beast that had difficulties being sold due to its limitations. Supposedly people wanted a shadow-casting creature that could freely summon darkness to do with as they pleased, but to Keter it was an agreeable arrangement. Once in the shadows, he could shadowshift with it through other shadowy spots until they got to their destination. Maybe it was no horse, but its apparent feline nature would lend itself to being a helpful companion if it came to fighting, with powerful jaws befitting its size. Keter had taken to calling the creature, "Malam", a name with which the umbra did not appear to mind. Things were building up surprisingly well in the short amount of time they had spent so far. Revenge upon Krupin, or whatever his real name was, remained the staying force that kept the Black Monkey in Gloomwood this long but he gained this sense that once his personal quest came to an end, it might be a good idea to return here to settle down. There was no telling how much time they really had before they would be done with this mission of theirs, nor if their foe was even aware that they were a real threat, but that seemed to matter little. As Keter tended to Malam he nearly became blinded by a sudden brightness overtaking everything in an instant. A bright light burned through the comforting darkness of Gloomwood, casting its imitation sunlight and piercing through the shadows. Though it took a moment for the Black Monkey's eyes to adjust to the stinging new light, when he did he could tell that it looked vaguely like a Nine Angels map. Think that might be for your party? The shade clicked. "I can't think of anybody else that crazy." Keter replied. Keter recalled the piece of paper he had folded up and shoved into the pocket of his coat, supposedly magical and capable of sharing whatever was written on one piece with the rest of the group. Sure enough once unfolded, and by the light that pierced through the endless night of this wondrous place, there appeared to be some things written on it in the common writ of Imythess. It was something that Keter was struggling a bit with learning how to read, but he could make out a bit. Get to the shop. Keep I'llgetothatlater. Three somethinglong attacking-- Audfein Korso! The Shade exclaimed in his mind with a worried tone to its clicking, Help him! Rarely did the Shade ever ask for anything, never did it demand something of its host, and never would Keter have imagined to hear his shadow with a tone of plea asking for somebody to be helped. Because of that, Keter wasted no time in agreeing to the request and hopping onto the back of Malam who quickly summoned forth darkness for them to begin traversing through. The rider and beast shifted through the shadows and to the shop in an instant, bursting from the darkness and to Audfein as abyss appeared to be breaking loose. I hate to say this, but don't let him know I'm here, either. The Shade added quickly, Maybe he'll figure it out and keep it to himself. "Korso?" Keter asked, realizing that the answer was obvious as soon as he asked it, "Hop on and I can help you escape them." The scene was so charged that Keter barely noticed his fellow Shadowdancer lurking nearby. Regardless of the allies present, if Audfein decided that the stranger riding the large cat was the better gamble for this mess, then the Black Monkey would waste no time in getting him out of there as quickly as possible. OOC
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| Inferna | Mon Oct 24, 2016 1:42 pm Post #159 |
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Carmen spent the quiet days after translating and delivering Czjaka's message mostly in the shop, establishing a rapport with the locals, and getting them used to the new owner's presence. She conversed more with Ansgar, learned some tips on basic alchemy from Tanya, and tried to avoid the vampire as best she could. She also made good on her promise to Ansgar, and embellished his room to his liking (which was a little too practical for her) before working any further on her own. The others in the group were slowly purchasing mounts for themselves, having been told in no uncertain terms that the group wouldn't be taken seriously on foot. With Ansgar escorting her, Carmen visited several stables until finally setting eyes on a stallion whose coat shone like liquid gold. The stable owner was prattling on about how the beast could summon a field of anti magic, but Carmen hardly paid him any attention, far too enamored with the horse's aesthetic to care. She bought him, traveled with Ansgar until he found something to suit his tastes as well, and together they returned to the apothecary and their work. Days later, when things seemed to finally be settling down, there was a crash in the street. Carmen hurried to the door behind Ansgar, but didn't leave the shop with him, instead peeking out around the doorframe to watch what was happening. The sight of the crash, the fire, the battered driver and the circling lycanthropes sent a lance of fear down her spine. Her breath quickened, her small fingers tightened their grip on the wall, and her eyes grew wide with dread. "Who are they?" she asked Ansgar when he returned, but he wasn't sure. What he did know is that they were dangerous, he as no match for them alone, and while three re in the street, even more likely lurked nearby. She rushed to her quill, the one Tanya had given, and slapped the runed parchment down on the countertop. "This is intolerable," she said as she wrote. "They have to look at the parchment to know anything is wrong." She kept her voice hushed to avoid unwanted attention from outside, but her trepidation was evident in her tone. "If they don't look at it, and there's no reason to think they will, it could be hours before anyone comes to help." Trouble at the shop. Werewolves. Wine River. We need your help now! -Carmen "It is done," she said, turning back to Ansgar. Czajka was there a moment later. She whispered a warning, as dire as Ansgar's, perhaps more so, given her more intimate knowledge of Nine Angels and its people. Carmen swallowed down worry as a solid pit formed in her stomach. Would the others see her message? If they did, would they even come to help, or leave her to fend for herself? She had no way to be sure. You need me, said a wrathful voice inside her. "Not yet," Carmen said aloud, looking down and away from Ansgar. To him, she was clearly speaking to herself, not unlike an escapee from an asylum. Look at that woman! She can't fight them alone. The others won't get here in time. Even if you get your new boyfriend to help, Czajka will die. And so will he. "He's not my boyfriend," Carmen hissed at herself. "He's kind, is all. The rest of them couldn't care less about me. He does. I like him. Can't I have friends? Remember what happened to the last one? "Don't you dare talk about him!" Carmen ran to her violin and snatched it up. Then she looked up at Ansgar, her eyes trembling as she lay the instrument's bow to the strings. "Ansgar, I'm going to give you a gift. It's a secret of mine. I need you to keep it until you find the death you're looking for. Is that something you can do for me?" "Thank you," Carmen whispered. She lifted the bow of her violin and placed it on the strings. With a curl of her arm she played a long, forlorn note, and spoke assuredly, "Where there's smoke. . .there's fire!" A jet of flame shot from the tip of the bow and coiled, wrapping itself around Carmen. The jet grew, spinning her around like a top, faster and faster, enveloping her in a cyclone of fire. She felt her feet leave the floor, the tempest lifting her into the air as she twirled. The heat burned her clothes and her hair to ash, leaving her naked, but wreathed in an inferno with streams of red and orange, blue and white. The fire grew closer to her skin, coiling tightly to her body until it settled to form new clothing and armor, boots and weapons. Her pale skin freckled, her eyes took on an orange hue, and her head erupted with tongues of flame where her hair ought to be. Cinder squeaked loudly as the powerful winds pulled him from his soft bedding in the shop's back corner. A gout of flame shot him in the chest, and his tiny body swelled dramatically as he spun out the door. In the blink of an eye he was the size of a dire wolf, snarling with sabered teeth, his enormous claws digging deep into the cobblestones. The spinning stopped, the fiery tornado ceased, and Inferna's feet found themselves back on the floor. Inferna spun her weapon, a sword with blades at either end that glowed with brilliant energy, and she bolted out the door and leaped atop Cinder. The massive animal surged forward, bounding until it stood beside Cjazka. Inferna raised her right hand in the air, and from the mine clearer strapped to her arm erupted a huge stream of oily flames. The torrent shot higher and higher into the sky until the long gout had risen above any tree or building, its brightness a shining beacon against the dark sky, visible for miles. Then the fire curled and arched, sculpting in the heavens. In an instant the massive mid-air conflagration had taken on the rough shape of a map of Nine Angels, its Light and Dark districts visible in whorls of white and orange flame, with a thick, blue-hot line of fire, a Scorchline, running straight through the city. A track of smoke pointed from the burning symbol in the sky straight to Inferna, the shop, and the confrontation on the street. Just as she'd intended, the others began to arrive swiftly, drawn by her beacon. One of the first had the audacity to threaten Inferna; words that she wholly ignored. If Lorica was fool enough to attack her ally, her ashes would sprinkle over Nine Angels like autumn snow. More and more of the Pariah's appeared; the goblin, the monkey, a shadowdancer (of whom Inferna wasn’t even aware), and even the fellow fire-sculptor, whose power made Infera grin with delight. This was enough, she thought; surely the rest are coming, and Inferna lowered her hand. The flaming signal in the sky sputtered out and its smoke wafted ever higher toward the clouds. "Between you and me," Inferna said to Czajka after Alexandra and Lorica shouted their warnings. "I hope they choose to fight. " Edited by Inferna, Mon Oct 24, 2016 1:43 pm.
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| Anci | Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:53 pm Post #160 |
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“One last thing, Drote. If there is splashing, make sure it is me or a friend. The circus is probably going to offer notes to find you. I will come back later on, take care!” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Lore and a new face, Neriah, were pushing the need for mobility. It made a lot of sense if they were going to hold onto the spring at all. The others had mostly managed to find something rideable. Having a little bit of skill at tending animals, and a bit more fresh experience from her few days at the carnival, Anci offered to help look after the others mounts. In particular Anci had a great interest in Alex’s horse. Everything just seemed to go…right for it. Every time she saw it scuffling at the dirt she found a truffle. Once it knocked over a rock and there was a red-skinned fruit under it. Firm and fine except for a bit of dirt on it. If only the horse could talk, Anci wanted to know how many deals with the ethereal it had made for the luck it had. Carting off with a small package of the curious edibles, it felt a little like she was stealing from the horse. It had been the one to find them, or make them however it worked. If it got to only eat treats it’d be hard to get it to go for the regular treat. That and Anci needed something to bribe a critter she had found. The horse had been lurking around the area, first time she had seen it was when it was on a roof a few nights ago. It took some time to track it down, this time it was rooting around inside of an empty building. Slowly and cautiously she got it's attention and used the pilfered truffles and apple to win it over. Looking over it as the four pronged tongue snaked out of its very narrow mouth and snagged the apple from her hand, Anci decided it was weird as far as horse went. She had seen them a fair bit in Imythess and elsewhere, but never one that looked like this. The legs it had didn’t end in hooves, but long splayed toes. It didn’t trot or gallop so much as waddle and hop around. First time she watched it crawl up the wall and onto the ceiling to sniff behind a tall pile of rubbish in a room was when Anci decided she was going to need a special harness made. Maybe something for nausea too from the potion shop. Aside from checking up and helping out from their growing bestiary, Anci worked on training their aggressively recruited underlings. Most of them seemed to just be thieves of different sorts. Menacing in a backstreet sense, but numbers only counted for so much when it was more of a head on fight. To help mitigate this Anci applied her wide training in combat to train them with whatever weapon or style of combat they had an interest in. While their martial styles were different, she figured she could pass on some helpful techniques or regimen to get them into shape ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The pariah’s had bought a potion shop and hired someone, Anci had never even been there. For a bit she had some time all to herself, so it seemed like a good idea to her to check out what the group had invested in. After she coaxed her horse to come from the side of the Castle. It had a frustrating obsession with the top of the building. Anci was fairly certain it was just trying to harass Carmen, but the lure of another Alex-horse provided apple was more tempting than whatever trouble it was trying to get into. The trip to the potion shop brought her deeper into Nine Angels than she really wanted. As dangerous as the dark district could be, there was safety in how relatively quiet and empty it was. The minotaur was gone, but with his antlers Ansgar made an amusingly close exchange. “How are you holding up?” She sized up his change in clothes and grinned. “Just could not stay away from honest employment, could you?” Inside the shop she started poking around, she didn’t recognize anything here. Some of the concepts she had picked up about what alchemy was sounded familiar to her, sharing some attributes with the methods of divination she had dabbled in. As interesting as the field of alchemy might be, the former owner looked far more interesting. "Do you drink blood for food?" Anci leaned down to get an angle, not even attempting to hide her staring at Farethi's mouth. "I have not met a vampire before! Not one who has a mouth like that! How does it work?" Balefire was full all sorts of unusual types. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Seeing the threadbare state Farethi existed in and feeling a little guilty over the inquisitive badgering she had given the woman, Anci took a run through the Light district to pick up some far less ragged threads for her. Even if she rejected them, she might at least appreciate footwear that wasn’t about to fall apart. Anci didn’t wear her buccal mask and had her cloak covered, instead having taken up something of Farethi’s dressing habits. Drab and multilayered to avoid notice and to keep a little warmer while out and about. It would be a cruel twist of fate to get accosted while shopping for a gift. [barring Nothing Bad Happening] Exactly who was on shift at the shop wasn’t something Anci knew, it was possible to find out where Farethi was with the enchanted paper Tanya had handed out awhile ago but she wanted to surprise the vampire. If she wasn’t at the shop, Anci could just leave it there with a note for Farethi to find the next time she worked. Making her way through Nine Angels there was a loud crash, some shouting. It was too near the potion shop for her comfort. Anci kept the enchanted paper folded up and tucked on the inside of her shirt for quick retrieval. She wasn’t aware of the others making any big moves, the paper was all clear. As she looked a fanciful script etched itself on the paper. Anci hadn’t actually used the thing before and only now realized with a sense of horror that she couldn’t read the damn thing. Not very well. She could make out trouble, something about help but the rest was nonsense to her. Anci recognized the name though. As far as Anci knew, there were two places the Princess would be. Back at the tower or at the shop, with the proximity of the crash she had a feeling she knew. Pushing froggu through the streets she urged it up a wall where it clambered up onto a roof. The buildings flanking it were taller than this one, which is what Anci wanted. Here she could overlook the street the potion shop was on without being visible to the wider area. Unbuckling herself, Anci slid off the saddle with a practiced ease that was more from her skill in acrobatics than any familiarity in riding. Pulling the mask out of a saddle bag she pushed back the hood she had on and strapped it in place. Looking over the edge she could see Czajka in a stand off with some werewolves. Nobody was killing each other yet at least. The other Pariahs were all trickling in from across the city. Someone somewhere had recruited a fire elemental it looked like, probably Alex was Anci’s bet. She fished out an iron marble from her pocket as Alex and Lore threatened them. Anci could only make out four of them, but the shadows suggested there were more. Without a trace of a silvered weapon among the bunch, the werewolves might call their bet. Anci touched the marble to her chest, planar energy from the otherside infecting it. The metal cracked in her hands, a dark and glittery liquid oozed out of the fractures in rhythmic pulsing. Each beat caused it to grow and expand, the surface flowing and shifting into a rounded and organic styled shell that would belong to some monstrously oversized sea crustacean. Now Anci stepped forward with one arm suspended above her head where the metal shell floated even as its surface flowed freely and ever changing its form. With her other hand she pulled and undid the knot that held the drab cloak and shawl in place, letting them fall off of her. In the bright and flickering light from all the flames her feathered cloak shimmered erratically in a multitude of colors. She didn’t bother shouting or threatening any further, the glittering display should be enough to get their attention. The bovine sized projectile she held at the ready was enough of a threat. OOC
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| Tanya | Mon Oct 24, 2016 4:51 pm Post #161 |
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Farethi was so unnerved by Caedis' accusation that Tanya decided to forego any further questioning. "All right. I trust you. But let's see if we can get you thriving after all. Just watch, this'll become the most profitable potions shop in Balefire. Probably in Imythess, for that matter." She gave the shopkeep an optimistic smile. "Now, Caedis and I had better go get ourselves a couple of mounts so we're slightly harder to rob and murder. Come on, Caedis." Caedis looked reluctant to leave the shop, but he followed her out and through the streets. The horse salesmen were prevalent, but many of the horses looked like it might well have been a few months since last they ate. Tanya checked each horse and moved on from most of them after only a few minutes. The fourth they visited was hardly different. The horses either had patches of hair peeling off or had it painted on. None looked like they could carry their own weight, let alone that of a rider. She tutted and turned to leave. Something snorted behind her, blowing her hair forward. She whirled around, falling into fighting stance. A huge black mare stood directly behind her and Caedis. It had gotten within inches of them without either hearing it. Madame Tanya quieted her heart and looked at Caedis. The vampire had dealt with the shock even faster than she had. He was staring into the horse's eyes. After a few seconds, Tanya coughed deliberately. "Caedis? Is there something you want?" Caedis slowly turned his gaze away from the horse. "Yes." He looked back at it. "Neuros." "Neuros?" "The horse's name. Come on, Tanya. Give the man his money." The horse salesman looked at Tanya hopefully and held out his hand. Tanya's lips tightened. "Madame Tanya. And if you have a favour to ask of me, you will ask. Understand." "Please, Madame Tanya!" The alchemist relented and, after a spot of inconsequential haggling, handed over payment for the horse. Caedis hopped on it immediately and they rode it to the next shop on their list. They were spared the trouble of checking all the horses this time. Their arrival spooked a white mare in one of the stalls, which reared back and lashed out with its hooves. The real selling point, however, was when a couple of ranch-hands tried to restrain it and it blasted a jet of concentrated air at the first one to get close, knocking him backwards and leaving him covered in minor wounds. Madame Tanya and Caedis exchanged a glance. "Caelum?" "Caelum." Madame Tanya approached the ranch hands who were trying to calm the beast. "Once you've quieted her down, take this. I've got someone coming along who'll take her off your hands." She passed over a few notes and told them to watch out for an air elemental before taking out her runed sheet and writing a message to Caelum. Come down to the street two north of our shop. There's a surprise waiting there for you. With that done, only Tanya herself needed a ride. But the last one was by far the hardest to find. After another two hours of searching, she gave up and settled for a sickly, starving stallion. She paid the owner a paltry sum and led it through the streets. It followed her on shaking legs. Caedis tried to cheer her up. "Think about it! Everyone wants good strong horses. So maybe the scrawny weak ones are actually the best, but no one knows because they never get bought. Who knows?" Tanya chuckled. "Trade you, then." "I couldn't do that! If I had a better horse than you, it would completely undermine your authority. You'd seem like an utter buffoon!" She raised an eyebrow at the magnificent black horse he was riding. "Mm. Good call." She let go of her own mount's reins for a moment and it walked headlong into a wall. For a second, a spot of blood was visible where it had impacted the stone. Then the blood disappeared and it resumed walking. Tanya stopped dead in the street and looked at it. She raised a hand to her own head. When she looked at her fingers, they were wet with blood. Her lips began to twist in a smile. "Caedis, can you come here a second?" The vampire rode over. "What is it?" "Bite my horse. Just for a second." Caedis shrugged and hopped off Neuros. He approached the grey and bit into its neck with his fangs. As soon as he did so, he yelped in pain, letting the horse go, and grabbed at his own neck. Blood seeped through his fingers. "What in the abyss was that?" Tanya grinned. "A survivor's tactic. You were right. This scrawny weak ones sometimes are the best." She looked at the horse. "Now all you need is a name. Let's see..." Caedis scowled. "How about [removed]? Suits him well." "Not bad. But I think I'm going to go with Dorian. There's just something about him..." A few days later, Tanya, Caelum, and Caedis were returning to the store from a trip to the springs to fetch fresh water when they came across a group of werewolves threatening someone right outside the store. She gestured for Caelum and Caedis to rein in their mounts just out of sight. As soon as she recognized the figure being attacked, she scribbled a rapid note to the other Pariahs. "Get to the shop. Keep unseen. Three werewolves attacking Aufdein Korso." She continued detailing the situation as it developed. "Czajka is buying time. They work for Wine River. Not after us. Yet." Her first piece of advice was obeyed. Her second was ignored in a dramatic way. "Dammit," she cursed under her breath. "All right. Let's get Aufdein out of there." She let the other Pariahs keep the werewolves occupied while she and Caedis made their way to Mr. Korso. If they could reach the salesman unobstructed, they would hoist him up and get him away from the fight before his wounds worsened. Keter appeared just as they arrived and offered to escort Korso away as well. If the salesman opted for the shadowdancer's offer instead, Madame Tanya and her employees would cover their retreat. |
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| Tian | Mon Oct 24, 2016 8:20 pm Post #162 |
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He was still sore, but he had still won, too. In the future, though, he decided if he was going to try and catch and tame a wild damned horse he would do it the proper way. Shifting through the shadows onto the damned beasts' back had resulted in two hours of being clobbered and bucked, yanked and jerked and rattled around while the damn thing had screamed in protest at the mistreatment. And, once he had broken theb astard - if broken you could call it - he had discovered that he did not have a friend in the fiery eyed black stallion. Oh, no. It had been one of the leaders of itsw pack, apparently, and it was very displeased to be disturbed by human hands. Tian had named it Jackass, because, well, it was. A jackass. It required care and precise movements to avoid getting bitten when he tried to mount it; the upside was, the son of a bitch also bit at anyone else that came within range. He could control the foul tempered brute, now; it had been shown who was master there. It had taken a few tries, and a little blood to manage it. It also kicked like a mule. It, he, whatver - Tian had never been comfortable on horseback, but he could do it if necessary. Blessedly, it would not always be necessary. The previous days had been...bad. Oh, he knew it would be - he had, after all, made a deal with something he did not understand. A dark mood threatened to crush his normally jovial spirit. So far he had not let it succeed. He had little doubt it was a byproduct of making the proverbial deal with the devil. He was also sure the other was as much. His....dreams. They had always been dark and unpleasant, or at least had been for many hundreds of years. He wasn't sure that he wouldn't rather have the old dreams back - the dream of a lovers embrace as a knife was plunged into an unsuspecting back, angled upward to punch a hole through her heart. He had had that one so much he could replay it by day any time he wished (which was never). No, the new one was...strange, and even more unpleasant. All them ore unpleasant because he did not understand it at all; flickering fragments of something he could not understand, and yet he knew, on some deep level, that it was what he had lost. It cut like a knife, even though it was so little compared to all the rest. And so he stayed away from most everyone else. He had told them what they needed to know, and he himself had settled in to try and decipher the meaning of that cryptic knowledge. Days passed, and he was pretty sure he had worried it out... ....and then, everything caught fire. It was madness, and madness was not what they needed right now. They had things to attend to, and a bunch of flea-bitten curs did not figure into that equation anywhere. He stuffed the paper back into an appropriate spot, and then shifted. It wasn't far, really, and when he arrived he arrived on a scene of chaos. Tian hung back for a moment and assessed the situation quickly, noting those who went forward and those who hung back. He made a snap decision, as was his wont, and moved again, this time in a manner that would be advantageous for that certain style of entrance. Firelight offered wonderful shadows, and the dark clad human was good at being intimidating when he wanted to. The goal, he decided, was to continue to buy time. If the mangy freaks decided they wanted to dance, between him and Lorica they would have their hands full even if the pair couldn't kill them. Pain was a useful tool, after all. The others could focus on getting Korso, if thats who it really was, away. If they had to, they could flee on their own. Tian stepped out of the shadows, his own face consumed by them except for his eyes. The stance, the step, they all suggested a certain amount of...amusement. But not so much as a trace of fear. Unlike Lorica, he did not brandish any weapons; sometimes, confidence when apparently unarmed was even better than waving a knife in someone's face. Of course, sometimes it also made people think you were unarmed and easy prey. It was a game of chance, really. Kind of like cards, or dice. Well, then, its time to toss those dice. Now, now, Princess, he began as he came abreast of the situation. His tone was offhand, even conciliatory. Towards Lorica. Everyone should have a fair shake, even a bunch of mangy mongrels like these. They can't be held to account for their ignorance. He glanced at Princess Pissed - Lorica - and grinned. Of course, no one could see the grin, but the manner of the enchantment he had woven about himself changed subtly. They could not see it, but they could feel his amusement even if there were no facial cues. As if he didn't know, he turned to look at Czajka, and grinned apologetically. This was felt more than seen. These mutts giving you problems, miss?[-/color] He turned his attention back to the wolves. Looks like you aren't very welcome in these here parts, pards. Perhaps mosey along? He was ready. If the bastards wanted to play, he had a few dozen knives that he was just dying to stick in them. |
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| Storyteller[ST] | Mon Oct 24, 2016 11:15 pm Post #163 |
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Content taking place prior to the current situation. Click to step through tiiiiime. Everyone Glug and Yurim, you both stay hidden, ready to act if things go downhill. Lorica, Zuraw stays back at the Castle as requested. After trying to stop Inferna from firing off her beacon, you approach Czajka, taunt the werewolves and declare that this is all of your territory. Alexandra, you roll in and issue your own threats to the wolves, becoming increasingly angry. Carmen, you and Cinder have transformed in front of a horrified Ansgar. Lorica's urging threat falls on deaf ears, and your beacon goes through. While it's the reason several of your comrades are here, it's also visible to anyone in the area. Anci, you add further threats with a spell from beyond hovering above you at the ready as you remain on your strange mount. Tian, you join in with the threatening talk. The werewolves' eyes are hard on you all, but they glance occasionally at each other's markings. Different designs for each individual are flashing with rapid mixtures of colored light. Having galloped in alongside Alexandra, Ithuen swings her leg over the saddle and hops down from her mount before it's fully stopped. "Takes a lot of nerve to admit you're government contractors after doing that in my town!" she roars. "Someone rescue that man. Now. You wolves stay where you are. Dismount, drop your weapons, get on the ground. You're under arrest. If you make me draw my weapons, you're [removed]ed, plain and simple. We'll stretch your silver-burned hides off Pureblood Point and your alfha will tuck her tail in shame. Or his tail, whatever." While she's speaking, three of you move to save Mr. Korso: Yurim, Keter, and Tanya. It takes two of you to hold him up, propping his arms over your shoulders. You notice that his arms feel strange. Rigid and multifaceted. "Gods alive," Aufdein Korso tells the three of you, "thank you. Thank you. Looks like I'm--" He interrupts himself with a pained noise. Clear blood runs down what appears to be a broken leg. "I never wished to trouble others with my personal quarrels. I'm so sorry." Neither Ithuen nor Czajka have calmed down in this time; they're still staring at the wolves. The two that need to dismount have done so, but they're taking their sweet time putting their weapons down, flashing signals at each other. "Stop that [removed]ing brightspeak!" Ithuen barks, stepping to the forefront of the group. Her order doesn't help. "You can't win," Czajka says, speaking evenly. "Don't try it. There's only three of you." The corner of one of the wolves' mouths quirks up. A stifled grin. A twitching finger. Nothing about this feels right. Your instincts are screaming. Your heart beats like a drum. But before you can do anything more, everything happens at once. Instantaneous. The white werewolf grabs her crossbow in a flash, whirling into a braced, almost kneeling posture even as the tip of the weapon spirals with gathering heat mana. She fires a bolt of energy toward Korso and the group around him. Blossoming into white flames, the ensuing explosion is near-deafening and shakes the ground with raw force. At the same time as this opening strike, the grey werewolf howls as flesh and fur consume his clothing and warp his bones. His howl echoes, long and mournful, across the city. The black werewolf, covering the actions of the other two, transforms mid-sprint and sweeps across the entire cluster of Pariahs with wild blows -- then crashes shoulder-first into the ground, bearing a hissing gash. Ithuen Bearkiller skids to a stop post-charge, spinning a pair of axes gleaming silver and covered in rivulets of dark red blood, face plastered with a toothy grin. With her arms spread out, the veritable armory of axes strapped to the interior of her coat-cape are visible. While she did grab first blood, the black werewolf is quick to recover from the hit. Meanwhile, the grey werewolf snorts and rears its massive bulk upward, smashing Anci's launched spell clean out of the air hard enough for it to shatter against the mud. His body is tilted to take your arrow head-on, Glug, setting a patch of his fur on fire; he doesn't seem to care. As the white werewolf charges another shot, the black one charges Czajka, Inferna, Alex and Tian. The former's relentless unholy spells sear its flesh in spiraling shapes that heal almost as quickly as they form. All three werewolves' movements are intensely planned with rapid-fire brightspeak and brief mouth-word commands. They're acting in such a way that they're both attacking and covering each other's weak points at the same time. Are you that coordinated, Wine River Pariahs? The grey werewolf smashes its paws into the ground, lips peeling back to reveal crowded rows of serrated teeth, four eyes smiling as if they've already won.
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| Mobster Man | Sat Oct 29, 2016 1:42 am Post #164 |
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Yurim wanted to spit hate filled curses at the blasted woman that made a god damn signal beacon, he wanted to yell at her, tell her she was a damn fool. Every curious soul and zakona hunter would hit this area, now they needed to either cut and run or deal with the wolves. He rushed over to Korso and helped move him towards their shop, but when the howl was heard he whispered, "Keter, take him inside." With that said he turned drew his daggers as the charging werewolf was brought low by a silver axe. Yurim quickly assessed the situation... his allies had no silver, Bearkiller had silver, hell Czajka could probably cook'em with demon fire or something. The problem was the fact that one of them was ranged with a funky looking crossbow, yeah he wasn't going to let the beast casually fire it's shots. Yurim gave a sharp whistle, his horse phasing through the building run near Yurim. Yurim hopped onto the horse's back and rushed towards the dancing shadows of the fire, as soon as he saw one large enough he would jump into it and appear in the nearest shadow of the crossbow wielding werewolf. Yurim would draw his Daggers of Torment and begin his attack, he didn't need to do anything fancy, he just needed to get his daggers deep into it's flesh, anything to disrupt the werewolf's concentration. |
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| Keter | Sat Oct 29, 2016 8:21 am Post #165 |
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This was a bad surprise if ever there was one, and if it were not for the Shade's rarity of request Keter would never have risked his neck for a man who was a stranger to him. Yet there was no time or place to waste focus on the path during the heat of battle, only the immediate situation and the goals therein. The large cat that Keter had rode in on, possibly sensing the coming danger, retreated from the scene and to how far the Black Monkey could not say, only that it was out of sight. Keter and two others diverted their attention to Korso, trying to move him out of the way of danger as quickly as possible. Unfortunately the hunters were keen to focus on their prey, with one turning quickly to take aim at her quarry. Keter reacted more than planned, the muscles in his arm cascading in reaction as the werewolf's finger began triggering the launch of her projectile. It would be fast, faster than even him for all of his considerable speed and reflexes, so at the base of his mind he knew that he needed to react before it ever took to the air. The Black Monkey would attempt to deflect the arrow upward as Surya might once have knocked away arrows from a similar position, mitigating the damage as much as possible. With the fires and the shadows dancing around that section of Nine Angels, Keter would waste not time in diving for any shadow large enough to accommodate himself as well as Audfein Korso, to shift through the shadows with his new companion and to hide him away from the scene of violent chaos. That howl might prove dangerous even if they did attempt to flee, but with the shadows on their side it might prove at least a slight boon to get ahead of any more hunters. If none of the shadows proved viable, then Keter would just run the new acquaintance to the closest cover he could find and then just keep running. There was no point in wasting time against new enemies with largely unknown capabilities, and the Shade would possibly never forgive a single request being ignored for the sake of battle. For now, a tactical retreat appeared to be the wisest answer. OOC
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8:40 AM Jul 11

