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BattleMaster => Roleplaying => Topic started by: Gabanus family on August 30, 2017, 09:43:55 AM
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- Goriad II started his career in Talerium on Atamara and when it sank moved to the Assasins on the Colonies. Now he has arrived in the far south of BT. He has quite the back story, but I never saved his RP's, so I wish to start now and also retro-actively shed some light on his past again through the current RP's. -
- I mainly prefer to write smaller RP's, because a) I think people tend to read/like those more and b) time. This way I can easily write several a week -
- Each heading is a new RP, but I'll copy paste them below each other as a 'story' so to say -
- Any remarks, suggestions etc are most welcome :) -
At the docks in Rines
Goriad II finally arrived at Rines and as he stepped up on the docks he looked around. "What the hell," he mumbled "these bloody architects lack creativity, it's the same old !@#$ as Ash'rily over here," he said as he began to raise his voice. Dock workers continued their busy routines, but some children stopped their game and stared at this new stranger who was talking to himself out loud. "What is an Ash'ly?" one of the kids asked. Goriad always traveled in rather common cloth, so generally none adressed him 'properly' nor did he care much for it. "Ash'rily, what do they teach you here at school," he said "the biggest city on the bloody island...well its sunk now, good riddance," and he walked on, but the kids would not let him go. "Was it the daemons?" one asked and Goriad had already lost his patience and so he took out a curved blade, seemingly out of nowhere "nobody knows what sank it, now leave."
"Sure glad they sank that hell hole in the south at least. Finally got that bastard on a different continent than myself. Hmmm, didn't he die here, I should definately visit that place once. It'll be fun to carve a knife out of his bones, hehe," and so Goriad II moved on, mumbling to himself and smiling. "Now let's get a map, where to go"
In the city of Rines
Goriad II made his way to the city gates and as he walked through the streets he got an aweful feeling. "This city is nearly a copy," he thought "It's not just the port, it's everything." On his way outside of the city he passed through a map maker. The man asked 3 gold for the map of the entire continent. "3 gold?" Goriad II asked, "no my friend, you seem to be mistaking as I'm sure you said 2 gold was more than enough." As he reached for his money his purposefully opened his coat, showing a short piercing dagger. "Yes yes, 2 gold, that's what I said."
Goriad II opened the map, "Are you sure this is the map of this continent?" and the mapmaker nodded, somewhat intimidated. "This is just some jacked up version of Atamara!" he now started against the poor man, further raising his voice, "Are you trying to scam me, you bloody fool, you made a mistake!" The man started to make wild gestures, "No Sir, this is Beluaterra, but this and Atamara were said to be the twin islands, that is before the daemon invasion caused some of our cities to sink last time, I swear to you."
Goriad II just looked at him bewildered, "If I find out that you scammed me, I'll know how to find you" and he moved onwards.
Goriad arrived at the city of Grekh
Goriad II finally arrived at the city of Grehk. "So this is the famous city that my uncle so badly wanted but never got? I like it already, what about you Sigmund?" he said with a smile to his scribe. The scribe, around mid fourties, quite tall for a man, had been with Goriad II for nearly 18 years. He followed another, who did not quite managed to catch up with his master, but Sigmund had no difficulties and had actually enjoyed the many adventures. "Well technically he failed at getting Riverhom my Lord, I believe they call this..." he paused for a moment as he took out the map they had acquired earlier in Rines "they call this, Grehk, with some weird silent h in the middle."
Goriad II just stared at him, "Well if it's silent, then just drop it, I don't like the silent types." He was in a good mood, back to what seemed like familiar lands, but without the things that haunted them and him for so long. "Let's go inside Sigmund, Grek, the symbol of his failure, I love it!"
Captured in Grekh
Goriad II was walking through the streets of Grekh when he noticed the trail of some beasts that had made their way inside. "Sigmund, look, 4 legged for certain, relatively heavy, look at the imprint in the mud here," he said as he pointed to a muddy area that looked like to be the beginning of a small street, either unpaved or simply covered in mud due to the poor maintenance. "Several even, I count at least 3, equal of size, probably lone males," he continued. "let's have some fun shall we," and he moved to follow the trail, with Sigmund following him as he had grown used to his master's ways.
As they were following the trail a thought suddenly hit Goriad II, entirely unconnected to their hunt, but he was afraid he would forget it again. "Sigmund, none of these nobles have answered my questions have they?" Sigmund a bit confused, as he was not expecting this topic during the hunt took a few seconds to reply: "No, none of them, perhaps they have yet to receive them." Goriad shook his head: "Nah, I bet these are those proper noble kind, you know the once we used to raid into submission back at home." Sigmund smiled, "Yes that could be." Goriad II now started smiling as well: "Once this hunt is finished, write these noblemen in the most poshy way you can, do it Cagilan style heh, pompous bastards."
Just as Goriad II finished these words, he suddenly noticed several people in their area, trying to hide themselves, poorly, but he had failed to notice them as he was busy with the hunt and his conversation, he had let his guard drop. "Sigmund, move into the next house, no questions, then double back around the back and sneak back to our camp. Safeguard the gold my friend, I'll distract them. Sigmund who now too saw them did directly as ordered. As he made his way out, Goriad II was less fortunate and decided to surrender without bloodshed. No need to risk his life here, he'd find a way out soon enough he thought.
-
Training day at Cjelegy
As Goriad II sat in Cjelegy with his new men, he decided it was time to see what they were worth, since no movement would be made today. "Listen up you dogs, let's see if some of you have the potential to be wolves!" he said loudly as he stepped out of his tent. "Sigmund, do you think they're ready?" he said with a smile to his former captain, "Not quite, most of them will be dead before the month is due probably given the looks of them," the man said with a crooked smirk. "Well, if you lot prefer to live, I suggest you pay some attention as I teach you how to hunt, like true wolves," Goriad II continued.
The men put on their light armor and some of the men looked slightly bewildered and eventually one of them raised a question: "My Lord, we've already received training on how to fight on the battlefield, why degrade it with hunting?" and this was followed by several nodding men and agreeing sounds, while many others remained silent. "Allow me to explain this to you in a simple and clear manner boy!" he started "You see, those fools who stand on the battlefield tend to die by the hundreds, facing their opponents head on and then yelling rubbish about honor and dignity, but I've been in wars, and the honorable often die." He paused for a moment to let the silence do his talking, but then continued "For instance, can you tell me boy, where is Sigmund," and only at that moment did the men realise that Sigmund had disappeared. They had paid so much attention to Goriad II, that they failed to notice his aid to have walked away.
"You can't? Fools, lesson number one, always be ready to hunt and always assume someone is hunting you!" and the moment he had finished his words, an arrow flew right into his armor, piercing through his shoulder and the man screamed of pain "You're lucky boy, if this arrow didn't hit either your heart or your head, that means Sigmund let you live this time. Now for the rest of you, are you finally ready to learn how to hunt?"
Ranting just before a battle
As Goriad II was relaxing just before the battle, a messenger arrived and he had Sigmund read the letter to him. "Mind your tongue young Goriad. Especially when stating a blatant intent to disobey orders," before Sigmund could finish however Goriad II interrupted him. "Mind my tongue, mind my tongue, my tongue is the last thing he should worry about! And did he call me young? By Obeah, tell me this is not some old fool who was appointed because his father was someone, or did something? Sorry Sigmund, go on" and Sigmund continued:
"While I still breathe, and the title of marshal remains mine, command of this army is mine. That being said. I had not seen the scout reports of incoming enemy forces. All Nobles who are in Cjelegy or can arrive by next turn. May do so. All others are to finish a refit in Rines, and rally in Cjelegy while we prepare to march north."
Goriad II just laughed for a moment: "Go tell that pompous old fool that I will obey his orders as long as they make sense. I promised Lady Rania my service and she'll have it, but I won't follow some idiot who doesn't even bother to read his scrolls before bloody giving orders. We'd kill fools like that in Talerium and take their place, Sigmund what happened to our old home?" and Goriad lost sight of the point he wanted to make as his mind wondered back to an earlier time at a different continent in a different land.
"Just tell him that I'm here to serve Lady Rania and Obeah and that I'll protect our realm or something, now is everyone ready for the hunt or what?" Sigmund sighed, "I'll think of something milord, and yes, everyone is ready. It promises to be a good shooting practise I believe," and Goriad II nodded.
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Twisted hunting at Ajitmon
Goriad II received Vahanian's last orders and listened to Sigmund reading it out loud. Once he had finished Goriad II smirked for a moment and with a rather suspicious grin said to his friend: "Very well, let's get a move on then shall we Sigmund. And be carefull when navigating. It's best to avoid these nasty creatures as the Marshal ordered, we wouldn't want to hunt them on our own now would we?" Sigmund smiled back at his master and ordered the men to pack and move. Goriad II had ordered his 6 scouts to move forward and locate the location of the beasts to them, as well as any decent ambushing location in the area.
By the time the party arrived at the border of Ajitmon, 4 of the scouts were already waiting for them and reported that the beast were relatively close by and had been attacking some farmers in the area. Another reported 2 ambushing locations, of which Goriad II chose the latter. It was a perfect spot located upwinds of the monster layer with a road leading in between two forest ridges. Any scent coming from the area would certainly be picked up by the monsters and so Goriad II ordered his men to cover themselves with mud and leaves, to take up a more natural aroma, several miles before reaching their destination. Five of the men set up the camp and guarded it, while 38 were led by Sigmund to the forest ridges and hid themselves, ready for an ambush.
Meanwhile Goriad II took 4 men to the farmers who had been terrorized and offered to protect them as they brought their piece of theharvest to the main village. The farmers were very happy and under the guidance of Goriad II and his 4 men, two of the farmers hopped into their cart and rode down the road. As they finally reached the ambush location, Goriad II ordered both carts to stop and stepped in front of them. The two farmers, curious as they were joined him, only to find out that this noblemen was staring at nothing in the ground, but it was too late. The moment they realized something was off, Goriad II had already taken out two of his 3 Talerium raiding blades and stabbed both man in their guts, precisely so that they would bleed well, but not die for quite a while.
His men looked somewhat shocked, but Sigmund quickly arose from the treeline, ordering the other men to halt. Within in mere seconds they had placed the farmers back on their carts and tied them up so they wouldn't escape. A scent the beast would surely smell and come to investigate.
The plan worked as 5 bearlike creatures approached the site of the men, cautiously at first, but once they spotted no danger they rushed to the men to eat. Just as all 5 were present, Goriad II opened fire, followed by his 42 men including Sigmund and within two rounds of arrow fire all the creatures had fallen down, dead.
As Goriad II approached the ambush location, he ordered his men to lift up the bears and use their claws and teeth to mame the men, especially the location where he had stabbed them. By the time they had finished, some men were vomiting, but the two farmers missed a hand or two, and were mamed over quite extensive parts of their body, giving none a clue that this was anything more than an attack. Goriad II rode back to the village, declared that the monsters had attacked them, that the farmers had been killed, but the beasts as well.
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Goriad II decided to greet one of the new nobles, a Lady Jarra
Goriad II was sitting in Ajitmon. He had spend the last few days training his men, teaching them one hunting technique or another. After the initial training, none of his men got wounded anymore, although none spoke up against Goriad II or Sigmund again either, rather they listened carefully.
As he woke up, quite early as he often did, he looked at Sigmund but noticed that they no further orders had been given. He sighed "Sigmund, we're going to end up killing him, won't we?" he softly said and Sigmund shrugged his shoulders and slowly shook his head left and right "We could wel do milord, but it wouldn't sit so well with Lady Rania I think." After hearing that Goriad II stood up from his desk, opened the flap of his tent and walked outside "No, I suppose it won't. Perhaps it's time for us to take some distance from the old fool. Get a pen and paper Sigmund, and ask her if we can form a second army away from him, by Obeah!" Sigmund smiled, "you're getting the hang of it," and he was met with a smile of his master who only nodded.
"As you write the letter, I think I'll be looking for lady Jarra. According to one of the scouts she has arrived. Her banners were spotted a bit south of here near an open plain, joining the main camp. We should teach her not to do that too often Sigmund, she'll make herself a target."
And so Goriad II rode towards Jarra's camp. He was hardly wearing any armor, but was rather dressed in a black cloack, which covered his 3 raiding blades, his throwing knives under his sleaves and a blowpipe just behind his right shoulderblade, with several poisonous darts lightly sown into his collar. By the time he arrived at her camp he unseated his horse, a proud and loyal beast he brought from Atamara itself. He tapped the horse on his back so he would run towards the camp, which startled the guards, a horse with no rider, and most of the followed the horse. This allowed Goriad II to sneak into the camp to greet Jarra, nearly privately, save from most likely her captain and perhaps 1 or 2 guards. Normally he would have quickly killed the guards, but today he came with good intentions.
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Goriad II arrives at Jarra's tent
Roleplay from Jarra Bennet (1 day, 11 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
"So you're saying that when the Blue Fist smashes the Daimons or undead, or whatever we're fighting right in the face, they will already be scattered due to many volleys of arrows, and I will be behind the line anyway, so no need to worry, right? Do I follow?" - Jarra asked her captain curiously but then noticed that she's distracted with neighing sounds outside and soon shifts her attention above Jarra's shoulder to the entrance of their tent.
Young Lady swiftly turned around and scanned the visitor with her eyes. It was a cloaked man, roughly twice her age, dressed in dark colours. She then turned back to her captain and said:
"Maura! I told you already not to receive your scouts in my tent! I just had my boots cleaned. Do you know how hard it is to clean the mud off lamb leather?"
"But m'Lady, he's..."
"Yes, I'm sure he's very capable scout, he certainly looks very imposing, but he would be equally capable outside, I believe?" - Jarra cut her off in mid-sentence, but Maura continued persistently:
"M'Lady, what I wanted to say is that he is a nobleman. Sir Goriad II Gabanus, I believe." - to that words Jarra suddenly envied her captain's strong, motionless, dark effigy of a face, for she felt the skin of her own face getting as red as the finest Nothoian wine, radiating heat in the process, and her eyebrows twitching uncontrollably.
"That's preposterous, how would you kn..." - now she didn't get to finish the sentence as her captain cut her off:
"Our scouts don't use horses for the same reason bandits don't use horses - too expensive to purchase and too expensive in upkeep. And certainly neither our scouts not the ones of other Lords would use deception to get into our camp, common men get beheaded for such tricks. Altough not of the finest silk, the cloak of our guest is very well made and dark, inconspicuous clothes for a noble who wants to travel all by his lonesome are much better choice than a blue dress..." - saying that Maura looked at her lady making sure that she didn't caught the allusion and continued - "As for the precise identity of our noble guest - only Sir Gedrid and Sir Goriad are roughly that age, and Sir Gedrid is presently in Avengmil. It's all common knowledge to noble commanders and their captains." - saying that, Maura bowed slightly towards Sir Goriad II and finally let go of the hilt of her scimtar, making Jarra realise that she was ready to unsheathe it the second she heard the horse outside.
Young Lady exhaled, still facing away from Sir Goriad and after a couple long seconds turned to face him:
"Sir Goriad. How splendid to finally meet you in person. Your letters suggested that you'ra a rather extraordinary person, but I failed to imagine quite how extraordinary in fact. Please take a seat."
Jarra waved around and shouted some commands, having wine, cheese and fresh fruits fetched, while Maura had guards posted outside the tent, leaving her lady and her guest to their privacy.
Goriad II acting as his strange ass self
Goriad II looked amusingly as the young lady and her captain went back and forth, untill Jarra too understood who he was and she welcomed him, offering him a seat. "Goriad is my father," he said just as the captain left "but she's a keeper you know, not all captains have their whits about them I can tell you that," he continued with a smile, but rather than to sit down he walked towards Jarra, looked her in the eye for a moment and then walked around her in a circle, examining every part of the young lady, her perfectly clean boots, her fine clothes and a relatively tall length for a women, making her about as tall as himself, but he could spot no weapons. Jarra was still nervous and the twitching of her eyebrows had yet to stop and Goriad II walking around her, closely, no doubt did not aid in putting her at ease.
He had been silent for a while as he examined her and then suddenly made a sound "Allow me, milady" he said as he approached her from behind and took her hair in his hands. Jarra was nearly frozen, but Goriad II made no further inappropriate moves, but only put up her hair. He placed one hair pin after the other in Jarra's beautiful fawny hair, untill he had created a nearly perfect knot, held up by an array of about fifteen hairpins which were shaped in a nearly perfect circle. As Goriad II finished he walked towards the chair she had offered him and he sat down. As he had taken his seat, he pulled out a throwing knife from his sleeve and held it in the hair "Now for step 2, let's teach you how to use them."
Jarra had a confused look on her face and was entirely obblivious to what Goriad II in reality had actually done. She felt her hair, and touched the hairpins and no doubt wondered why this strange noblemen had just spent two minutes redoing her hair, her beautiful hair. "Hehe, that's one of my sister's tricks, few if any will know of it," he continued as he leaned back "No guard will touch such a beautiful noble lady like yourself, especially with those rediculous fancy blue gauntlets and you are showing everything, meaning there are no places for you to hide weapons, none will search you and so none will ever suspect you to bring 15 throwing knives with you, now will they?"
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Jarra nearly kills Goriad II?
Roleplay from Jarra Bennet
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Jarra looked as Goriad II circled her watching her intently. Is he trying to charm me or take a measure of me - she thought. For a lingering moment she felt like a riddle someone's puzzling over, and she couldn't help but glance several times at her curious guest. He was not classically handsome but you couldn't say that he's ugly either. Certainly he had manly features, what with his nose clearly being at the wrong end of a clout more than once, his rough hair and those sapphires of eyes looking right through her.
Don't be quite girl, you're making a fool of yourself, look at him, this man is a warrior, he's not here to do your hair, he clearly came here to talk about strategy and war, and battles, and swords, and pikes, and perches, and trouts, and... n-not the trou...
"Allow me, milady" said Goraid II - interrupting her stream of thoughts and taking a hold of her hair - as she frozen completely dumbfounded. After a couple of minutes Jarra felt her hair heavier than usually, much heavier. She heard him saying about learning how to use them - this man must be insane, I don't need to know how to use hairpins, my servants do my hair for me, and as it appears sometimes mysterious knights do my hair for me, but I... she felt her hair and found very slim but surprisingly comfortable handles, more than dozen of them. She looked at the knife Sir Goriad II held and immediately understood. Jactosh's heel! I have whole armory on my head! - she was unsure if she hadn't said that out loud, she couldn't tell from her guest's reaction. He laughed briefly and said:
"... that's one of my sister's tricks, few if any will know of it. No guard will touch such a beautiful noble lady like yourself, especially with those ridiculous fancy blue gauntlets..." - she looked at her gauntlets, I won't take fashion advices from a men in black cloak - she thought as Goriad II continued - "... and you are showing everything, meaning there are no places for you to hide weapons, none will search you and so none will ever suspect you to bring 15 throwing knives with you, now will they?"
She took a brief while to ponder.
"So..." - she reinforced her pose and made the best attempt of appearing completely unsurprised - "so I assume you're going to teach me how to handle those knifes, -ehm, daggers? I have to warn you, I'm not completely green, I've watched Maura train the other day and I know just how t- HYA!" - she attempted to slide one of the blades out of her hair and point it at the cloaked knight with a preposterous battle shout, but she just slipped her fingers off the blade instead of handle and ended up cutting her fingers and almost hitting Goriad in the face. Her confident look immediately slipped off her face as her cheeks started radiating red colour once again. She could barely hear one of the guards through the embarrassment - "M'Lady, are you allright?!"
"I'm fine!" - she shouted at her guard and sucked at her finger to stop the bleeding. She then turned to Goriad II - "Sir Goriad, I don't believe there's much to be hunted in field tents. I think we should better continue it somewhere more private. Maura says we should be breaking camp before long, won't you invite me to accompany you during the travel?"
Goriad II as gentlemenly as he'll get:
"so I assume you're going to teach me how to handle those knifes, -ehm, daggers? I have to warn you, I'm not completely green, I've watched Maura train the other day and I know just how t- HYA!"
Goriad II made a quick movement as a simple reflex and blocked Jarra's attack with his left hand while with his right hand he quickly drew a small pointy dagger from his waste, but managed to stay his hand about half way through the motion, realizing he was not at risk here. Before Goriad II could say a word however a shouting from the guard came and the reply from Jarra "I'm Fine!" she yelled after which she sucked her finger as she apparently cut herself.
He chuckled a bit, a thing he did not do often, but this mix of ladylike innocence, the blushing and the failed attempt to impress him were quite amusing to him. The chuckle lasted for a couple of seconds during which Jarra attempted to change the conversation ""Sir Goriad, I don't believe there's much to be hunted in field tents. I think we should better continue it somewhere more private. Maura says we should be breaking camp before long, won't you invite me to accompany you during the travel?" Once she finished he stood up, kneeled in front of the young lady and took her hand. He sucked out the last bit of blood from her finger before he tore a small piece of cloth from his undergarment and placed it around her finger.
He chuckled again, "You'll cut yourself a few more times. If you're afraid to do so then hunting is no matter for you," and he stood up and lifted up his shirt, showing a scar which ran from just below his shoulder all the way to his stomach "often it's someone else however trying to cut you." He smiled again as he thought back to the battle the got him the scar.
"It would be my pleasure if you would accompany me, but would Maura let you leave with such a dangerous man as myself?" he said as he smiled again, it seemed he was in an unusual good mood, a thing he did not quite notice, but Sigmund had. Sigmund had followed him to the camp a bit later as several letters arrived, including two from Vahanian, but upon hearing his master chuckle he decided it was best not to sour the mood with such matters, by now he knew better. And so he waited a bit outside together with Maura, who knows what they were talking about, but when Goriad II and Jarra walked outside the tent he greeted his Lord and informed him that the men were ready for travel. "Good Sigmund, if Maura will allow us, I will take Lady Jarra ahead of the army for a short while."
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Goriad II beating up a commoner
Goriad II had arrived in Rines and emediately went to th recruiting halls to get himself some more men. He inspected the lot, and ultimately took nearly all of them "We'll weed out the weakre ones Sigmund, but we can use some more men," he said as he paid for the men.
"Gentlemen, as our first order of duty, I want you to find me a man called Bobbo. He's one of them commoners who call themselves adventurers and this one disrespected me, so we will correct him. Let me know once you tracked him down." It took well over an hour, but some of his men had found a tavern where the man had been spotted, so Goriad II rallied his men, apart from the 3 wounded he left with the healers and 5 more he left to guard his belongings. Before he arrived at the place however, some of his men had already captured the man and brought him before Goriad II.
"Well Bobbo, first you offer to sell me magic scrolls and then you choose to ignore me in stead? Haven't they told you it's dangerous to ignore a Lord, he may consider it an insult," and before he had even finished speaking, the first punch hit the man in the face, and another and as he fell to the ground Goriad II placed the front of his boots in the man's side. "You have two options, you can apologize to me once you wake up and come to fall under my protection, or you can continue to disrespect me and then I will not be as friendly as today."
With those words Goriad II not only ended his speech, but the man's conciousness as well as he placed a last kick on his head, leaving Bobbo lying on the floor like... a dead fish. Or whatever.
(Ooc, this is the actual text I got when doing it...damn that's brutal, but couldn't resist keeping the fish part in: "Your men spread out and quickly capture Bobbo, bringing him before you. You punch the scoundrel, stomp and kick, until he eats the dirt, lying straight on the ground like... a dead fish. Or whatever. You surely are feeling better now).
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Waking up after getting wounded
Goriad II woke up once more this morning and the pain had been much lessened since he was first struck by the beast. As he had ordered his men to advance, he suddenly noticed they were alone and as he looked back to see where the banner of Jarra had been the two units clashed and Goriad II was not paying his usual attention. As his men did as instructed and opened up their ranks to lure in the beasts and cut them a thousand tiny cuts, their lord did not move as his attention had been towards the back. A giant creature, which looked like the mix of a wild boar and a grizzly marched one of its tusks at Goriad II. He turned around too late and was hit in the side and while he managed to ultimately kill the beast with some well placed strikes, he was bleeding badly. As his men heard his cursing mixed with a scream, they turned around and took their Lord of the battlefield who fell unconcious around half way in the retreat.
He sat up in his bed as he called in Sigmund "Get me Jarra in here, now!" His captain wanted to question his master's orders as he had just only come by, was half naked with his wound wrapped in cloth, but he dared not say a thing. "Get him cleaned up," Sigmund said against some of the soldiers, but his master countered his orders "No, I want to see her the consequences of failure of following orders. It's best to learn it young as we did, don't you think?"
Message of Obeah for the peasantry
It was early afternoon in one of the towns in Ardmore. The weather had well, the soon stood high in the sky and the townhall had been very crowded on this pleasant day. Many spoke amongst themselves about the forces of Obia'Syela whom had been rumored to have entered the area and started claiming the lands as theirs. The village had not been reached yet, but they knew it would be a matter of time until the invaders would arrive and so many had gone outside to discuss their future with their fellow villagers.
In the mids of this activity a man moved up to the announcement booth of the local governers, a small hightened spot which was also used by local entertainers, but this was nobody they knew. He was in his fourties and looked as if he had been to war, but he was no noblemen, that was for sure and there were no troops, so who was he? "People of Ardmore, listen to me!" the man started "Soon the men of Obia'Syela come here to demand your loyalty, to demand that you bow to their Goddess, Obeah..." he paused a moment "The Daisha are not pleased with this herecy and we must not relent!" and as he spoke he heard some rare cheers from the crowd while most were silent. "Yes, yes! Come here my brothers, those that follow the Daisha, those that hold our faith high, join me here and show your fellow villagers how strong you are!" and he pointed towards those that cheered "Yes, show the unity that Daisha gives us all" and slowly the group on the hightened platform grew slightly. Some men, old and young, women and even some children, certainly a group of 50 assembled on the platform while others did not join.
"Aaaagh! noooooo!" cries were heard from the public below as about 20 of the 50 men on the stage slit the throats of the other 30, even the children and then suddenly another man approached forward, a dark cloack wielding two curved blades. "Thank you Sigmund, now allow me," he said with a smile to the first announcer.
"The faithful of Obeah know, only she can rid us of the daimons, only her return will save us all. Those who vehemently would oppose her can only be purged by death! Those of you who doubt, you can still be reasoned with. These lands are yours to work on, as long as you accept our rule and pay honor to Obeah! Together, our faith will call the coming of the Veiled Goddess, those who oppose her coming will die!"
Roleplay from Jarra Bennet (15 days, 10 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Jarra was just reading the scroll with Sermon in Keffa when a heavy knock on the doors was heard. She turned her attention to the entrance and when it opened two infantrymen could be seen, not ones of her own - this much she could tell by the lack of blue gauntlets. She turned her attention back to the reading at hand and after a short while her captain indicated that those men were Forest Hunters and forwarded a message that Lord Goriad II is requesting her presence.
Jarra's reaction was ambivalent, on one hand Lord Goriad was trully extraordinary and after events in Melegra and on their way to Ajitmon she was certain that if there was adventure to be had in these wild lands, there's neither better nor safer place to have it than close to this inconspicuous noble hunter; on the other hand however she was certain that the man didn't became who he became by exercising forgiveness and mercy, and she did cost him a pound of flesh. Was it a misplaced letter or a misunderstood order? She couldn't recall, perhaps it was all because of her own injury - she pondered, rubbing the little red star on the left side of her forehead.
There's no point in guessing with that man, he could call me to rearrange my hairstyle for all I know - she thought to herself immediately moving her hand over to the "hairpins" in her hair-knot, even though fewer than originally they still weren't so neatly arranged.
After half an hour of dressing up and making arrangements she stormed out her hut and not a minute later she was already mounting her magnificent destrier. Silly choice - most would think - for someone so poorly armoured, courser would be much more suitable. But ever since her adolescence in Fatexna she had a way with beasts and whatever natural advantage she possessed she was never shy to use it, so she took the strongest, fiercest, most ferocious beast she could find.
On her way to Goriad's camp she encountered Maura and a dozen of her men escorting several peasants. Two of her men she noticed hauling firewood behind the squad, another two carrying big wooden logs. One of the captive peasants was shouting:
"No tribute to false idols! No tribute to false lords!
The true lord comes from the portal
to visit mortal plane
true lord really is immortal
his power never wanes!
NO OBEAH, NO OBEAH!"
Jarra stopped to enquire about the scene:
"Heretics?" - she asked and Maura nodded in response - "What will happen to them?"
"They will be sternly reprimanded." - Maura replied - "Most of them will have to pay fine, double taxation. The most vocal one will be flogged."
Jarra seemed satisfied and continued towards Goriad's camp, deliberating - why would my men carry the firewood? Why wouldn't they have the peasants carry it for them as part of the punishment? Oh, nevermind, it's not even that cold tonight.
Upon arriving young Lady was met by Sigmund, who had apologetic face while motioning towards his Lord's quarters, she couldn't understand why untill she entered... whatever she was expecting, it wasn't that.
During the long silent seconds Jarra's eyes opened as wide as her facial features allowed. Her slightly opened mouth wanted to form a proper greeting but could only mutter out:
"L-Lord Goriad..."
Bloody Handprint
Goriad II was sitting upright in his bed, giving orders to servants, soldiers and going through the great many letters he had received untill he heard several men approaching and entering the tent, bringing Jarra with them. She was well dressed as usual, but also had some of his 'pins' in her hair, fewer than he had given her, and not as neat, but she war them. ""L-Lord Goriad..." she finally muttered, before she went silent again.
"Jarra, just the one I was waiting for," he said with a sly smile as he ordered everyone else to leave the tent "Sigmund, none enters, do you understand?"
He got up from the bed, grunting from visible pain but still he got up. As it was summer he only had some cloths on that would resemble a medium sized under garments, although for some reason he was wearing light armor covering up his thighs and also his forearms, although he wore no further clothing on his upper body, just the pads with wolven ornaments.
"The consequences of failure are dire Jarra," he said as he now follow had stood up "I want you to understand that," and Jarra looked quite concerned as she didn't know what exactly Goriad II was capable of and would do. He then placed his hand on his bandages and tore them of in a single yank. Blood started to seep through the wound once more, although it was further covered in herbs as well. "A single failure of an inquisitor, can be the death of another," he said, now smiling. "I was looking back to see where you were and let this bastard surprise me, but they can't kill me this easily."
He placed his hand on his wound, taking up the blood seeping through it on his hand and ensured his entire hand was covered. He then moved to Jarra, placed his two hands on the sides of her head and said "Do you understand the consequences of failure?" As he released her, the right side of her head, her cheak and all, were now covered in a single bloody handprint.
-
Roleplay from Jarra Bennet (9 days, 16 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
"The consequences of failure are dire Jarra," Goriad II said as he stood up from his bed "I want you to understand that," - what does he mean - Jarra thought watching him walk towards her. He then placed his hand on his bandages and tore them of in a single yank. At the sight of uncovered wound Jarra went a bit dizzy but she swiftly came back to her senses when Goriad placed his hand on his wound, taking up the blood seeping through it on his hand, ensuring his entire hand was covered. He then moved to Jarra, placed his two hands on the sides of her head and said "Do you understand the consequences of failure?" - the metallic taste of his blood found it's way to her mouth, it was soured with herbs. Her mind was blank, single out-of-context thought that went through her mind was that it's curious how in shocking moments like this one all narrative in your head stops and gives place to a deeper and much less loquacious part of your self. As he released her, the right side of her head and her cheak were now covered in a single bloody handprint.
It took her a while to shake off the initial shock and when she did the question her host asked out loud was still present in his stare. "I-I d..." - she stuttered trying to answer, quickly she closed her eyes and clenched her teeth - "I do." - she repeated in calm voice. Seeing the wild, feral flash in his eyes she instinctively wanted to step back but fought off the impulse. "My unit will join you in line from now on. I can't say what really happened last time, I was recently injured..." - she motioned towards the little star-shaped cicatrizing wound on the left side of her forehead, and mid-motion her finger caught on one of her 'hairpins', when a silly notion crossed her mind - pointless, you silly girl, this may well be the second best warrior you ever met - she thought to herself waving the tought away and continuing - "... the monster group that injured you, I've ordered my men to form hunting parties, I've led one of them myself, the beasts are all dead. One of them would make an astonishing winter-coat, I tell you." - she laughed studying the reaction of the... half-naked huntsman lord before her, however hard it was for her. Is he suppresing a smirk? - she thought, suddenly outraged and narrowing her eyes she pointed towards the long scar going over his chest - "This one, whatever caused it, looks much worse than the other. Mind to share the story?"
- Several days later
Sounds of metal clanging on metal pierced the ears - whatever does he think - steel clanged again - I'm not one of his soldiers, I'm a noble lady - and again - I'm going to show just WHAA... - Jarra landed flat on her ass with Maura standing above her, lowering her scimtar.
"M'Lady, are you certain that's wise? I can't see what would you need that for." - Jarra's captain offered her hand - "Perhaps you could take a break. We can resume training after dawn."
Altough Maura knew her lady's stubbornness, the new scroll with written history of the first days of the Heralds of Obeah just arrived from temple in Rines, compliments of brother Imra. Jarra hesitantly complied and not an hour later she had her nose burried in the ink-scented parchments. It was already well after dusk when Maura led one of the Forest Hunters into the room: "My Lord Goriad II requests your presence, Lady Jarra." - he said, bowing slightly.
Of course he does - Jarra thought and said - "Tomorrow I move out to Rines, as per orders... his orders. Tell him I'll be... " - she looked to Maura and recalled their last meeting - "Tell him we'll be joining him tonight. Wait! On the second thought, we'll arrive there before you, so I'll tell him myself." - she stormed out the door just as she stood, without overcoat, and with scroll still in her hand.
Another meeting with Jarra?
"the monster group that injured you, I've ordered my men to form hunting parties, I've led one of them myself, the beasts are all dead. One of them would make an astonishing winter-coat, I tell you." Jarra said to him and Goriad II could not help but imagine how her blue puppets were busy slaying the beast, making loud noises while 'sneaking' up on their enemies. "This one, whatever caused it, looks much worse than the other. Mind to share the story?"
Goriad II's eyes narrowed a bit "Then where is my astonishing coat Jarra?" he said with a very slight smile on his face "And this one, it was a short battle, I think I was only 11 or so when that piece of !@#$ thought I wasn't studying my military strategies hard enough. He was perhaps the greatest swordsmen of that time and the coward self proclaimed warrior King thought it a good idea to fight a boy to teach him a lesson!" and after Goriad II spoke these words they were both silent for a while untill gave a small pinch to Jarra's cheeck "A good thing I'm a more lenient teacher isn't it"
-- Several days later --
When Jarra arrived at Goriad II's camp he had only be warned of her approach just before she arrived by one of his scouts and as such he only had time to walk out of the tent when she arrived "Jarra, perfect timing," he said "Maura, please go with Sigmund, he'll make sure you have something to drink this night. Jarra, you with me" he said, but when she dismounted her horse he suddenly noticed the scroll. "Ah you have some news for me, good, what is it?" he said as he pointed towards the scroll further inviting her in.
Jarra explained his error, that it was not a message but in stead a scroll of the faith. "I see," he replied, "Much of that is quite clear and can even be considered with logic only, while some of it requires faith and trust in the experiences of others. Why do you have that scroll, do you ponder some questions then?"
Roleplay from Jarra Bennet (4 days, 7 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
"Much of that is quite clear and can even be considered with logic only, while some of it requires faith and trust in the experiences of others. Why do you have that scroll, do you ponder some questions then?" - Goriad II said pointing at Jarra's scroll.
"Oh that?" - she replied - "Oh no, that's only historical. History of the Founding of Heralds. Tells of the great battle between our Oracle and Akkan, and daimons' smithing by Obeah. There is the inaugural speech for the Veiled Goddess and her Heralds here as well. Do you think it really happened like it's written? With the overlord Akkan and enthralled daimons, and the crowd, and Her Holiness indecent, and..." - she noticed Goriad half-amused half-annoyed - "Forgive the zeal. Feeling comes with understanding, not the other way around. I have a beautiful copy of Sermon in Keffa back in my place, if you'd like to talk about Veiled Goddess, I can go and fetch it." - she grabbed her destrier by the mane and the beast neighed, but Lord Goriad stopped her mid-motion and she returned her hand.
"There is much I still don't know. Before I came to Obia'Syela I only knew reading, riding and broiding." - she said looking at her host expectantly and handed him the scroll.
Goriad II's sermon on Obeah
"There is much I still don't know. Before I came to Obia'Syela I only knew reading, riding and broiding." Goriad II escorted Jarra further into his camp, leading her away from her horse "I have a copy of that scroll with me as well. I have no reason to doubt Lady Rania would lie much, so assume the majority of that sermon is truth. Magic is strong here, but never forget the power of the sword as well or you will be dead before you found the strength of magic."
Rather than leading her to his tent and his scrolls however, Goriad II was leading Jarra away from his camp and into the treelines "Do you see these trees? They do not grow anywhere on the colonies, I know because I've been everywhere on that forsaken island, nowhere! But in the lands of Atamara they were as abundant as here," he paused for a moment "While much of this island is the same as my homeland's, there are clear differences to it. Here the daemons invaded the human world seven times now, on Atamara we did not even believe they existed, none had ever seen them. Imagine that!"
He kneeled down, took a small dagger and carefully plucked some flowers "These were my favorite back home," he said as he held the flowers near Jarra, but as she went to reach for them he took them back "Painfully poisonous of course if you know how to process them. If you boil the stem for about an hour with some stomach acids from a human the heat and acids will cause an interesting reaction with the plant and it will create a most deadly and painful poison. All you have to do then is extract it from the stem. As I said, all here is as I remember it, but here our north stops at Melegra, here many of the great southern cities are no longer here, swallowed by the ocean, all the consequences of the deamon invasions from what I've read."
He smiled for a moment as he placed the flowers in a bag "There is something about this part of the world that the daemons come here but nowhere else. Here the veil to the Netherworld is weakest. The rest is simple logic as well. We know there is another world, for it is where these daemons keep coming to strike at us, even if we kill and banish them from our world, there will come a time when they return in strength again, when the veil is at its weakest again. It is only logical that if there is one other world, that there will be others as well, such as that of Obeah. We also know that the deamons demand human worshippers and that this not only strengthens them, but also weakens the veil that keeps them in their world. So we know that the human worship to these deamons opens the way for them to come to us and thus we cannot doubt that the same will work for Obeah. If enough of us pray for her coming and weaken the veil to her world rather than to that of the Netherworld, she will come and only she will solve the issue of the deamons for all times. Her power will strengthen the veil to the Netherworld and will close their path to our world for all times. An alliance between our world and hers, to cast off the Netherworld foregood."
He looked up for a moment "You see, it is not only faith, much of our faith to Obeah is simply logic and logic cannot be refuted. The faith aspect is that we must trust Lady Rania on her world of the presence of Obeah she felt and the events in Keffa, but so many people have seen it and she swears it, who are we then to doubt it still?"
Ranting against Vahanian again
Goriad II was just finishing to get the blood of his blade which he had used to cut open the shot down beasts, not to take their coat as Jarra had suggested, but to cut off it's head and carve out it's skull. "This will make a fine ornament for the tent don't you think Sigmund?" he said with a sinister smile "Yes milord, quite fine. Also I have a letter milord, from Vahanian." The smile disappeared from his face "What does the foolish old crow want this time," and when he read the letter he laughed in disbelief "You have got to be freaking kidding me Sigmund, are we here at a children's feast or what? I was expected to know !@#$ !@#$ when I was 8!'
Sigmund had turned quite, he was one of the few that knew how the education of Goriad II had been and he did not wish to remind his master of it as it would only severely sour the entire mood and escalate the situation "Not everyone knows how to hunt as well as you do milord, but should we not focus on those young enough to still learn?" Sigmund ultimately replied. His master just nodded "Perhaps we should, alright send him a reply and be done with it. We need his Templars in Ardmore."
As Sigmund started dictating a letter to the scribes in his master's name, Goriad II placed the beastial head on top his tent entrance "May you visit our enemies in their sleep" he whispered as he walked back inside his tent.
Checking the army
As Goriad II made his way to Ardmore he ultinately arrived at the planned resting location several hours away from Ardmore. "Set up camp here," he said and while his men were still busy several of his scouts arrived one by one untill 5 out of the 6 men he employed were present. He had sent them to scout out the different noblemen inside the inquisition as was most pleased to hear that all were underway.
"Perfect!" He said as he nodded "Perfect...they might be worth their spot after all, but we'll see how the excursion goes won't we Sigmund?" He now looked over his shoulder to his captain who was ordering his men to take care of the horses. "We'll see milord, but what of this PanHilda who Erheas wanted removed?"
A grin appeared on Goriad II's face again. "Well did he have him removed already?" He replied to which Sigmund answered with a firm no "Then that's his failure not ours. As long as he's an Inquisitor he's our responsibility, so he joins where we can keep him safe" Sigmund just smiled "He won't like it," he said supressing a laugh "Ha, no I suppose he won't" his master replies joining in on the laugther.
-
Marshal vs Marshal, the great feud!
Vahanian had enough
Roleplay from Vahanian Blint (2 days, 15 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Vahanian was surprisingly calm for the amount of fury that his words seemed to echo. He sat in a field chair sipping tea as Baldwin handed the challenge to a messenger.
"My Lord, forgive me, but you do realize you may lose this duel." Vahanian's eyes were not focused on any single thing, but had a bit of a glossy look to them as his mind wandered.
He finally returned to himself and his eyes cleared as he looked at Baldwin. "Aye, I may. But that proves what? That Goriad can beat a man twice his age? That he has spent more time in an academy with teachers than on a battlefield fighting alongside men and women who accomplished things beyond him? Even if I lose, I win. Sure, my respect might fall a bit in this realm, but ultimately I care about the respect of two. The Grandmistress and Obeah. Beyond that they can all go to hell."
Baldwin was surprised at how sound the logic was.. He didn't know quite what to say. Vahanian took another sip of tea and said "besides, Leatho has orders, if I am to fall at the hands of Goriad II he is to hunt down and execute every living member of his bloodline. Every last one." Baldwin was a bit shocked at this. Vahanian saw that shock and grinned wickedly, "Don't worry Badlwin, Leatho is the most capable man I've ever met. He would easily cut through that family line."
Preparing for the duel
It was early morning and Goriad II stood up from his bed. Sigmund had been standing in front of his tent for at least half an hour to help his Lord ready for the duel. When he heard his master getting out of bed, he entered and was met with a slightly annoyed Lord "Calm down Sigmund, this will be only a minor hunt, no need to stress. Here take off the bandages will you," and Sigmund did as he was commanded. As he went to reach for new ones he was stopped by Goriad II :"No no, I want him to see why I got wounded these last three battles!" Sigmund looked at him "You mean by going into battle again too soon while the wound from that first battle isn't healed yet milord? I can still clearly see where the boar pierced your stomach as well as the stitches."
"Yes yes, but the stitches are holding it together again now, plus I'm fighting an old man, not some beast, relax Sigmund. Here take some wine," he said as he poured a cup himself as well. Sigmund signed, but let his master be "Milord, what armor do you wish to wear then? I suppose the..." Goriad II just stood there smiling "Do you need to ask Sigmund? Give me the light wolf armor" and then Sigmund paused for a moment "But milord, that is pure decoration, it doesn't really do anything. It won't even cover up your wound at all, it'll be visible to all and easily hit."
Goriad II now sighed and shook his head "No your place Sigmund, this is Vahanian we're talking about, why put on armor? No, I want him to see the wound, I want him to smell it even as I dance around him and make a mockery of him. Let him try to punch me here," he said as his finger went over his still stitched up wound.
When they arrived at the location where Vahanian told him to go, there were several nobles and their men present already and Goriad II was still joking around, it was obvious he wasn't taking any of this serious, he didn't take Vahanian serious. Not even when they entered the fighting pit which had now been formed by the people joining, a large circle for both men. "So Vahanian, you brought your sword and shield?" Goriad II laughed again "I'll make it easy on you old man, I'll just use these two," he said as he took out two smaller curved blades. The swords were good in quick combat, but it would be difficult to pierce Vahanian's armor with them as they were not made for stabbing, or even straight up slashing, but Goriad II seemed to be unphased. "This way you'll have a chance,"
Roleplay from Vahanian Blint (1 day, 20 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
-Part 1-
Vahanian woke with the sun, he walked out of his tent and stretched his muscles and listened to the sounds of the early morning. He turned as the sound of boots on grass covered in dew announced the approach of Baldwin. The man handed Vahanian his cup of tea and the two stood side by side as friends on the hilltop.
"Bring everyone today, Baldwin. Armed and ready." Baldwin nodded and said "Do you expect trouble my lord?" Vahanian shook his head as he sipped tea, "I don't know, but I know enough to never underestimate Goriad." Vahanian finished his tea, went to relieve himself and returned to his tent. He began to dress, and Baldwin soon entered the tent to help strap on his lord's armor. There was not a lot of chatter to be heard in the camp, it was quiet save for the sounds of men preparing. Everyone knew what was at stake and everyone was ready.
Vahanian strapped on boiled leather and scale armor, it was lighter than plate but still offered some generous movement. It was the armor he was most comfortable in. He pulled his sword from it's scabbard and began setting to it with a wet stone, honing the blade until he was satisfied with it's edge. Baldwin cleared his throat and Vahanian said "Relax, he will not die by my hand this day. But I would be stupid to go into battle with a dull blade." Vahanian repeated the task with two of his daggers. The first was a normal curved dagger, that he kept strapped to his thigh, the second was his unique dagger he used to peel the citrus orange fruits he so loved.
When he was prepared he stood, and walked out of the tent outside, his men stood on either side of his tent, forming a long lane for him to walk down towards his horse. 20 men on either side and each of them was wearing their light leather armor, a short sword on their hips and a quiver of arrows on their backs. As he walked down the line they all nodded at him and muttered phrases like "My Lord", "Sire", "Marshal". He was filled with pride and honored to be their commander.
He rode towards the arena that had been selected, an open clearing of sand and dirt. His men filled out and formed a semi circle on one side of the arena. Shortly after that several nobles began arriving, their units of soldiers. forming the edge of the ring. Vahanian stood on one side of the ring waiting for his opponents arrival.
Goriad II arrived and entered the ring, clearly not taking the matter seriously which didn't surprise or bother Vahanian. Goriad II called out
"So Vahanian, you brought your sword and shield?" Goriad II laughed again "I'll make it easy on you old man, I'll just use these two," he said as he took out two smaller curved blades. The swords were good in quick combat, but it would be difficult to pierce Vahanian's armor with them as they were not made for stabbing, or even straight up slashing, but Goriad II seemed to be unphased. "This way you'll have a chance,"
Vahanian who'd brought a shield decided then and there he wasn't going to use it. He turned to Baldwin and handed him the shield. He walked forward and looked over Goriad II, he noticed that the man's unhealed wound was exposed. "Mistake." Vahanian thought and made a mental note. He walked forward a bit and looked over his opponent and his soldiers. Then he called out and the grounds grew quiet:
"Baldwin, should I fall and this whelp kill me, kill him first. Then I want you to kill Sigmund." Baldwin stepped forward and said "Aye My lord, t'would be an honor."
Vahanian looked at Goriad II's eyes and saw nothing but a jovial nature. He said in a quiet voice to Goriad II "Prepare yourself whelp."
Roleplay from Vahanian Blint (1 day, 19 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
- Part 2 -
Vahanian stepped backwards and returned to his original spot, he drew his sword and took his ready stance. Goriad II walked up opposite Vahanian and took his stance. Vahanian thought back to a conversation he'd had with Baldwin on their journey to the arena.
"My Lord, he will no doubt try to goad you into making a mistake. You mustn't fall for them. He will be tricky and slippery. You need to engage and end the fight quickly. He is younger and unfortunately probably has more stamina than you. On the other side, you have the experience he does not. Use that, use what you know and trust your instincts."
Looking at Goriad II now, Vahanian knew that everything his captain had said was true. A noble from the crowd stepped forward and said "This is a fight until first blood or surrender. Combatants, prepare..... FIGHT" As soon as the noble had called out the word 'Fight' Vahanian charged forward. He let loose with an onslaught of strikes and slashes. For a brief moment he thought, but couldn't be sure he saw a flash of panic on Goriad II's face. Goriad II danced and dodged around parrying strike after strike, until he spun a way that Vahanian didn't expect, and caught Vahanian off balance. He kicked Vahanian forward with a boot on his back, and charged after him. Vahanian stumbled and a gasp went up from the crowd. He hit the sand with one knee, flung sand backwards with his left hand hoping to hit Goriad II in the face, he missed, and hit him in the chest. He spun in the sand and drew his dagger off his thigh and blocked and parried the incoming strikes from Goriad II. Vahanian stood back up and pressed the attack once more.
His strikes were targeted and precise. He wasn't wasting energy on wild strikes of brutal strength. He didn't need to. Vahanian started a feint and Goriad II went for it, Vahanian spun around the man's back and for a moment they were back to back. He continued in his spin until he was on the other side of Goriad II and with the hand that was holding his dagger he, in rapid succession, slammed the butt of the hilt and then his fist into Goriad II's exposed wound. A cry of pain leapt out of Goriad II's mouth, and his right arm dropped the sword he was holding. Vahanian faced the dazed man and with brutal strength kicked him in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards and fall to his back. Vahanian walked over and stood over the man, flicked the other blade from his fallen opponent's hand and held his sword point at Goriad II's throat.
"Right where you belong, on your back and at my feet. Whelp. Now Yield." Vahanian's voice was dripping with lethality and hatred. Goriad II squirmed in pain and stared defiance up at Vahanian through eyes that were readily fighting back unconsciousness. Goriad II didn't say anything, just stared defiance back at Vahanian. Vahanian, with all his speed and might dropped a knee onto Goriad II's wound, casuing another cry of pain and him to roll onto his stomach. Vahanian grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head back and whispered "I want you to know that you live this day because I allowed it. You do not have my permission to die, yet." He pushed Goriad II's head into the sand and stood, sheathing his blades and turning his back. The same noble that started the match re-entered the arena and said "Lord Goriad II is unable to continue the match, Templar Marshal Vahanian is the victor!
Vahanian returned to Baldwin and said, "Come, let us leave him in the dirt."
Goriad II's point of view
"This is a fight until first blood or surrender. Combatants, prepare..... FIGHT" He was ready to fight, well fight, he was ready to play a bit with the old man. He smiled and in his mind he was going over the different possible ways he could emberass his enemy when suddenly he was met by a sword already. Vahanian had started very aggressively and charged at him. He wasn't expecting this, but managed to parry his attack just in time and the next. Goriad II was showing off his blades and nearly danced around with them, goating his opponent still with smiles, small words "Is that all huh," and Vahanian continued and came at Goriad II who continued as well: "trying to get me off guard huh, you're too slo..." too busy with his game, he had failed to recognize Vahanian's attack as a feint and suddenly found him back to back with his opponent failing to finish his sentence and before he ever could finish he was hit with the back of the hilt of Vahanian's dagger.
The pain he had been used to by now, it had been the same pain he had suffered the last 3 battles, still he could not ignore it and as he screamed 2 thoughts went through his head, nearly intertwining. "That old bastard, I will get him!" and "How could I be this blind, I am not him!" As he was kicked in the chest he only barely understood what was happening as the pain still held him in his grasp. Several stitches had once more opened and blood started to sip out of it after the kick, but Vahanian wasn't finished yet as he held his sword point at Goriad II's throat.
"I made the same mistake he did, I am not him!" he kept repeating to himself as he looked at Vahanian. He no longer thought about the battle, he knew he had lost, in stead he thought back to his youth. "High and mighty will he fall" it had been his motto always whenever Ginas had him beaten for whatever reason, yet now he had been arrogant himself and fallen because of it. ""I want you to know that you live this day because I allowed it. You do not have my permission to die, yet." Vahanian said and as he walked away Goriad II only mumbled "He did not have mine either, he was mine."
-
The arrival of Empress Maya of the Shatttered Vales
All day servants had been running around in the Lord's estate in Avengmil. Farmers brought in additional food for a feast, servants running around with the decorations. Goriad II had even ordered a group of peasantry to make a flag resembling the family crest of the Tandaros family, a serpent mingled in itself with black and purple. It had been finished just in time and he had it hang behind the head of the table and placed the Gabanus family flag next to it, the Wolf, as he often saw himself as well. It was perhaps the only part of the Gabanus family which he truly liked, the only sense of belonging to what destroyed his childhood.
The dining hall in Avengmil had not yet been used under Goriad II's rule and for a long time people wondered why he had it built in the first place, but as they finished with the preparation it actually looked like a proper hall. Jarra had joined him some time ago and seemed to be in her element, much more than Goriad II. She had brought him a present, a set of blue gauntlets to which she was met with a rather surprised look from Goriad II. Normally he would have scolded anyone who did that, but for some reason he did not wish to offend Jarra and her gift. "Jarra, I do have gauntlets, I just chose not to wear them. I made the mistake of growing arrogant and misunderestimated my opponent, a mistake you can never make. My wound should have never been visible to start with, the old man has more spirit than it seemed. But I think they would look beautiful on Sigmund," he said as he turned to his trusted advisor. Sigmund could not reject his Lord or the lady and graciously accepted, as far as he was graciously that is. "Now, if you one that bring that coat you proised me, I shall gladly wear it," he said now smiling "Now, let's go meet Maya...by the way, this is important Jarra, Lady Rania nearly begged me that we use her titles when we address her. You know how I think about this, but we shall honor the request for this one time, I expect the same from my inquisitor."
As Maya arrived at the estate, located near the south of the region, Goriad II rode out on horseback to welcome her, followed by Jarra. "Empress Maya, I have heard the greatest of stories, please be welcome to Avengmil. I have a nice trip in mind." Although Goriad II had promised Rania, he refused to wear some highly ornamated dress like those pompous court nobles as he saw it. So now he war his black wolf cloths, with the wolf heads on his shoulders and knees, covered by the dark brown cloak he prefered to wear, hiding whatever else he carried along with him, but loose enough to hunt in properly.
Roleplay from Jarra Bennet (19 days, 12 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Jarra couldn't be more excited to meet Empress Maya. She begged her marshal to allow her delay the refit in order to greet their most august guest. Returning from a campaign her wardrobe was limited, so she chosen a simple green tunic with highly decorated blue cloak and leather gloves with dried cornflower ornaments meticulously embedded in the seams. Shortly after visiting Goriad and helping with the preparations in the dining hall the Imperial Honour Guard could already be seen approaching from afar. Lord Goriad turned to Jarra and said:
"Now, let's go meet Maya...by the way, this is important Jarra, Lady Rania nearly begged me that we use her titles when we address her. You know how I think about this, but we shall honor the request for this one time, I expect the same from my inquisitor."
Jarra demonstrated a perfect deep curtsey, and ansewered in a lowered, nearly pious voice: "As you wish, Your Imperial Highness." ending her performance with a self-satisfied smirk.
They rode out to meet Empress Maya on the way. Jarra, perfectly aware of courtly conduct, allowed the host to greet the guest first, then waited for Empress' response when finally it was her cue she bowed her head ceremonially and greeted Maya, saying: "Your Imperial Highness, it is both an honour and a pleasure to meet you. I hope you will find our humble lands most welcoming."
Roleplay from Maya Tandaros (19 days, 10 hours ago)
Message sent to everyone in the region Avengmil (4 recipients)
The white horse carried on at a steady parade march, Empress Maya riding atop in her black lamellar armor, a long violet cloak, with her black hair braided elaborately. The Honor Guard marched steadily with their shouldered spears clinking on pauldrons. Their liege looked around keenly, quiet, letting Capt Gunnar bark orders at the unit as she astutely surveyed the surroundings. Avengmil was pleasant, southern country.
Ahead, at the gate, the Empress came upon Lord Goriad and Lady Jarra. "Break!" she shouted at the unit, the front of the box opened up allowing her to ride out ahead of the Guards and greet her hosts. "Hail to you!" she said to the two, dismounting and approached the gate. "I am Empress Maya, you are Lord Goriad, I presume?"
The Honor Guard approached and presented themselves in a line. Gunnar took her steed away back to the line, all dogfaced grunts maintaining a straight and professional gaze.
Moving to the fort
"Hail to you!" she said to the two, dismounting and approached the gate. "I am Empress Maya, you are Lord Goriad, I presume?" He nodded shortly and replied: "Empress Maya, please call me Goriad II, my titles are of no importance in this world, just my actions. Please follow me milady, I wish to show you something before we feast. Tomorrow we can hunt if you would like to accompany me." He rode out followed by both Maya and Jarra. He took them slightly further south to the bridge which connected Avengmil to Ardmore and along the road they spoke about small things, but as they neared the bridge a structure could be seen from some distance.
"It is nearly ready," Goriad II said to the Empress "A Motte and Bailey just behold the bridge, a tower positioned so for the archers that they can fire on anything entering from the south while they're still crossing the bridge and if they swim our walls will protect us further. I look forward to testing it soon, but there is something I want to show you," and as they approached the gate, the signiture Wolf carvings were still clear decorating the entire entrance as he had designed for the pallisade. The gate opened and the company entered the structure, but Goriad II did not stop and rode on towards the higher tower.
When the company finally arrived at the tower, they saw nothing but a huge piece of cloth covering a large section of the tower. "Lady Rania kept telling me of the battle in Ete City and your heroism, and we all know of the fall of Keffa." He dismounted his horse and helped both Maya and Jarra dismount as well and once he did he waved to the peasant and the cloth fell. Now it became obvious what he had intended to show. The entire front of the tower had large wood carvings in it On the left it showed a large city and a great many soldiers, flags of the Shattered Vale both on the walls and on the shields of the men. Then flames, daemons and evil creatures depicted on the right side, some killed, some fighting with the soldiers. "The slaying of deamons should always be shown, for when they return all the world must know how it was when they came before, and return they will if we fail."
Roleplay from Jarra Bennet (18 days, 17 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
"Oh, how splendid!" - Jarra clapped her hands several times excitedly - "I've read about the battle in Ete City, but my imaginaiton failed to depict anything quite so graphic."
She then turned to Maya and politely enquired - "Empress Maya, what do you think? Does it give the reality justice? I would love to hear the story of your magnificent battles."
Roleplay from Maya Tandaros (18 days, 7 hours ago)
Message sent to everyone in the region Avengmil (12 recipients)
“Amazing,†Empress Maya gasped, gently touching the part of the carving depicting the explosion in the city. “The blast that consumed the Demon Lord Akkan and Rania was extraordinary and terrifying. For a moment I thought we would all die, everyone in Beluaterra. It was as if a sun rose out of the Earth itself. A cloud rose after forming a strange mushroom shape, and I still remember the uncanny silence that followed.†She turned around to see her host listening keenly, so she carried on.
“Your grandmistress and I have gone way back to the days of the kingdom of Melhed. We fought side-by-side in the Wars of Ice and Sun. Brutal hand to hand combat going back and forth in the forests for years. It was not entirely surprising that Rania decided to stand her ground, though I was surprised she seemed to disregard the order to pull out. I now see it was for a greater purpose. It was such a relief to receive news afterwards that Rania had not died, But was transported, or reborn in Keffa. The rest, well, you know.“
Maya continued telling the assembly random bits of history from D’Hara, Kindara, Melhed and the Vales while they inspected the machicolations. Her tale was sharply punctuated by horrifying howl that echoed from the horizon. “Undead approaching!†cried out a lookout above. A commotion followed as soldiers rushed to man their positions. The empress took personal command of her honor guard, leading them to the center rampart where they hung their white shields on the sharpened logs, preparing their positions with short bows. The undead appeared out of the night with savage beasts charging ahead of them as some sort of hulking Vanguard. The first volley was loosed and the battle begun, the Vales and OS resisted as one.
With victory secured, all the soldiers cheered. Everyone descended from the ramparts and celebrated, cracking open casks of ale or wine. Nobles gathered together. Maya asked Goriad II whether the undead were the hunt he had arranged, to a very polite chuckle. Just as Maya toasted with her hosts and the assembled nobility, a courier rushed through the gate and pushed a letter into the imperial hand. The seal of the Obian grandmistress was broken, and she read the short note before passing it off to her page. “Ah, sadly I must take my leave, as I am required in Rines. The Doge of Fronen has arrived for our long-awaited summit. I am humbled that our Vales are those honored in your artwork. And your hospitality is truly unparalleled – you are likewise invited to visit the United Vales to explore our forests, countryside, and various cities.†She ordered Gunnar to bring her white steed and assemble the Imperial Honor Guard. Thus they departed as they arrived, only with a smile now on Maya’s face.
-
Catching up with the leaders part I
Goriad II was a bit sad that he hadn't gotten the opportunity to see Maya hunt, but at least he saw her fight, well for a moment then as her men remained with the archers to fire. It would be safer that way while he himself led a charge with the infantry. He thought it to be a nice excercise, despite the many dead, but remained behind the fortifications the day after to see the difference that it would make. It was not really his style to hide behind a fort, but against these large hordes it was at least effective.
Several days later he arrived in Rines where the Empress had departed to, to meet the Fronen envoy and he decided that it would be interesting to see this Fronen King as well and as such he made way to the palace in Rines. He had left his men off for the day, but instructed them to be vigilent. He was planning on leaving them as militia in his new Mott and Baily, but they didn't know it yet.
An hour later he had made his way to the palace, dressed in his brown cloack again, covering the many knifes and his 3 curved blades, now made invisible. And so he announced his arrival "I'm here to see Lady Rania, you best not let me wait boy." The guard, about 50 years of age was surprised to be called a boy, but had seen Goriad II before and heard some about his reputation and thus did as he was told and escorted him to a waiting room as he went to notify Rania.
Catching up with the leaders part II
Goriad II looked up at the stairs and knew well how long it would take. If the others were already up he would not be in time. "I have no place up there anyway," he mumbled and ge notice the guard grinning and Goriad II drew one of his short blades before tyee guards could respond and held it against the guard's thigh "I will take your balls two at a time the next time you look at me that way, how about that?"
He kept the blade for a short while, withdrew it and walked home. "You are fortunate I have more important matters to attend to." And so he left the palace grounds again.
As he approached his temporary stay in the city it was clear to Sigmund that his master had grown agitated. "We move out now Sigmund bring these boys back to Avengmil, we have work to do." Sigmund did not hesitate for a moment and called forth the men and had them prepare for the travel.
Missed it!
"She's already gone...sir" the templar guard replied to Goriad II, his voice laced with disapproval at the younger inquisitor's demeanor. "The Grandmistress is hosting the Doge, the Empress, and their entourage in the Solarium-" he jerked a thumb straight up, indicating the many, many flights of stairs between them and the Oracle.
"Moon's on the rise. I expect they'll be starting soon. If you aim to be there before they close the doors, I recommend taking the stairs two at a time."
MEANWHILE
The Solarium was the architectural marvel of the Basilica of Rines. Placed at the pinnacle of the large central tower, the Solarium was the highest room in southern Beluaterra. The room was only accessible by a long, wide, winding flight of steps that eventually reached a trap door, now open. Upon emerging, most visitors first notice the Solarium's ceiling and learn how this room got its name. It's ceiling and walls were a latticework of bronze-plated supports and pains of clear glass forming a dome over a room abou the size of a dining hall and ringed by a circular balcony that afforded a better view of Rines to those that were brave enough to walk it. Outside, the night was alight with stars and the rising crescent moon, if not for the lanterns that had been lit for the summit, visitors to the Solarium might get the impression that they were walking among those celestial bodies.
Since the Heralds had reclaimed Rines, some changes to the Solarium had been made. The stonework had been cleaned and scrubbed, the bronze supports had be polished to a shine. An impressive altar to the Veiled Goddess rested against the Easternmost wall to greet the sun. A circular table of hasty but solid construct had been arranged in the center. The trapdoor entrance was in the southern-most part of the room.
Rania herself, glowing in her white robes and sapphire jewels, greeted Empress Maya and Doge Akrogath as they arrived. She'd had a repast prepared. It was simple fair compared to the Solarium's splendor: Cold meats, cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables with a selection of bread and wine to wash it all down. Heralds, junior priests armed with ink and vellum awaited, doubling as as servers and scribes should the need require. Rania waited for her guests to recover themselves before starting.
"Honored guests, welcome. You have both travelled a long way to be here and meet one another for the first time. But as you know, it was necessary. Things are changing in our world and the Veiled Goddess looks upon us with expectation. We are here to discuss the creation of the Trifecta, a federation between our three realms against aggressors and a partnership to sponsor and guide the formation of new realms here in the South. Finally, there is the matter of the Angmar Bloc. As your hostess, I will conclude these proceedings with a prayer. Now then, shall we begin?"
The division of Obia'Syela
It was early afternoon when the two men, Goriad II and Signund, held a short break. The horses were placed near some grass and were given some water.
The men sat down and after reading their letters Goriad II ordered Sigmund to penn a response to the inquisitors.
"As inquisitors we have but one task: Find and convert infidels and stop those who wish to halt Obeah's return.
I realize that we've done so mostly on the battlefield so far, but that will not always be the case. Jarra is not terryfying at all, perhaps tall for a lady, but otherwise quite the opposite of terryfying exactly that will make her excell as an inquisitor if she listens and learns well.
We all have our own strengths, our own approach towards our goal. We are not all the same like those Templars."
Sigmund smiled and replied after he finished "I wonder if they get the message milord" and Goriad II smiled back "They want to be inquisitors, than they better prove themselves."
Goriad II became Judge, watch out!
It was early in the morning when the messengers arrived at his camp. Some standard reports, he didn't care for them, but also two separate ones from Rania. The first wrote that he had been appointed as Grand Inquisitor, the other followed with a request from the Oracle "Rines is in desperate need of courts in my absence. Please hold court to restore order to the city." He looked at Sigmund who read the letter, and nodded "We set travel to the capital," and Sigmund replied "Are we bureaucrats now milord?" and Goriad II could only smile: "Sigmund, you should know better by now, I am Grand Inquisitor, not Grand Chancellor, or Erheas. Send word out of our arrival to the local inquisitors, let them be ready."
When they arrived in Rines they first moved to the Temple where a group of 20 men had gathered "Inquisitors, the Oracle has tasked us to hold courts in Rines in her absence now and we shall restore the order in this city. I trust you have done what I've asked of you?" and all 20 men went down on a knee until one of them said "We have been busy mapping the heretics' whereabouts milord. Goriad II looked at them, "Perfect, then show me to them, I shall hold courts today in the streets themselves."
As the group of men entered the city they quickly walked towards the area where they would hold court today. Now that he had become Grand Inquisitor his authority had greatly increased and as such he had taken the liberty to start arming the inquisitors throughout the realm, starting in Rines. They had some light armor to protect against knife cuts and clubs, but still light enough to move swiftly as he always prefered himself. The pride of their armor however were their weapons, two curved blades, much like he carries himself, combined with two smaller blades for difficult and extremely tight spots. He also had them train with the blades two hours a day, so in time they would become most feared. In the meantime Goriad II brought some of the local militia with him as well, the Sword of the Inquisition, 40 archers of which he placed half of them on the roofs around the small square where he would hold court today.
As they arrived the archers were ready, some guarding the streets, the others on the roof ready to take down any rebel who opposed him. He sent out the 20 inquisitors into the houses to where they had tracked heretics and quickly a group of 38 people were gathered on the square. Several hundred of people heard the noice and came outside, not knowing what was going on.
"People of Rines," Sigmund begun "The Grand Inquisitor has set out to remove the rebels from among you, the heretics who would oppose Obeah and who would overthrow our great rule here in Rines," and before he finished 5 men started to attack some of the guards in one alley, knocking down 2 of the archers, but as they attempted to plunge a knife into their chest arrows started flying from the roofs, shooting down the 5 men and wounded some additional peasants who stood closeby.
Now Goriad II stepped forward "Heretics have no place in our lands and those who oppose Obeah will meet the Inquisition. Assaulting the realm's militia is punishable by death, as is opposing Obeah's coming. If you know of any heretic, make it your duty to report them. And as to you," he said as he turned to the group of 38 men and women and even 3 children "You will also tell us everything about the heretics in the area, one way or another." He smiled, "Take them to the dungeons, make them talk."
-
The long awaited gift
It was early in the morning when Goriad II woke up. He had not slept many hours that night as they traveled from Rines to Avengmil to settle some affairs in the region and there was much to do. There was recent fighting once more, so the mess had to be cleaned up first before he could even consider ordering repairs to the walls, so he did not trouble himself with it. He had many tasks before him now, building up the Inquisition the greatest he may have ever had, but he could not fail. He had been preparing his entire life for that one event, the end of the Warrior King, the look on his uncle's face when he finally saw his better, saw his failure in Goriad II. He had dreamed of that day since he was a little boy once more struck down for failing a small detail or another, but now it was taken from him and he would have his vengeance. "He was mine," he said to Sigmund as he turned around "I want the main fort of the baily to be turned into the guildhouse for the Inquisition, it will start here."
Just as he had given those orders a horsemen approached. Out of reflex both Goriad II and Sigmund drew both their curved blades, but it wasn't needed as the horsemen unseathed and announced himself "Captain Maura herself..." he stumbled a bit as he saw the swords, but the Sigmund interrupted him "Ah Maura, how is she? Does Lady Jarra require our aid?" but the messenger shook his head "No milords, the Lady Jarra wishes to offer you a gift and has tasked me to deliver the gift and this letter." Sigmund took the letter and read it out loud: "Grand Inquisitor now the office you hold requires appearance, hence the promised, long-awaited gift you see before you. Not the inconspicuous rags you would favour, nor the proper noble outfit I would preffer but a suiting - I hope - compromise."
Goriad II took the gift himself and removed the cloth in which it was wrapped. A dark brown coat, the hide of a short-faced bear if he wasn't mistaken, "These are rare Sigmund, I don't think you've ever seen one have you? As kid we'd used to hunt them, but we only managed to find two ever in our lives, they are native to the southern forests of Atamara, and apparently Beluaterra as well. It's beautiful," he said with a smile "Tell Jarra that I will soon come to visit her and express my gratitude, but first I have some business to attend to here."
The cow theft
Goriad II walked through Cjelegy where he had a shrine built and he preached to some people in the area on Obeah's coming. It had been a long day as his morning was filled with responding to a great variety of letters and he had some more to send out to settle the new affairs he was now responsible for. It had been over a week since his last hunt due to the chaos and he grew anxcious, so he called Sigmund to him and ordered him to prepare the hunting gear, they would go with the two of them.
It was during his sermon in the maintown of Cjelegy where he saw his pray. It was tall and moved around without care for any other and was feared by those in it's proximity. It was clear that he was a man of some position within the region, but Goriad II also noticed he hit a kid during the sermon as they grew excited about his words. It was clear this man did not want Obeah's mercy, so it was now his duty to purge him and there was no more enjoyable purging than the hunt.
When Sigmund finally returned he informed his master "He has two houses, one in the country side and one in the maintown and he is a wealthy farmer with influence in the local government milord, a pretty nasty individual however, but his cows are considered to be among the best," allthewhile he showed his master on a map where the locations of his houses were. Goriad II smiled, "An easy hunt then, splendid, we don't have that much time anyway. Take some of his prized cows and bring them south of his farm to the hills here," he said as he pointed to a place on the map "I will meet you there."
Several hours later a group of about 20 men moved south, armed with bronze swords and pitchforks, hunting for whomever stole the cows. When they reached the hills they noticed the smoke of a fire and moved in its direction. Their path brought them through a small valley however and as they moved through it a boulder suddenly came crashing down, blocking their path and a man appeared on the hill with a bow and arrow. "Splendid," Goriad II said as he stretched his bow, "I have a proposal for you gentlemen. You get to live, if you kill the tall man you came to help, otherwise I will purge you all." A small fight sprung as about 16 men moved on the farmer, who was supported by only 3 others. It turned into a bloodbath and the 4 souls proved to be helpless against the greater number. When they had finished Goriad II moved away again, leaving them be "Sigmund, bring the cows to Avengmil, if they're so good, I'm sure they'll be splendid for my household."
-
-- Here's a great double RP between Astros Renodin and Goriad II getting to know each other. Astros is one of G2's new knights...splendid!--
Meeting with his new knight
It was early in the morning when Goriad II made his way to the market square in Rines. He was dressed in the dark brown fur coat he had received from Jarra and was accompanied by Sigmund. "Are you sure he will come milord?" Sigmund asked and he was answered by a short yet sollmn nod "I told Astros to meet me here, where they sell hunting equipment in the marketplace, he'll come." So the two of them made their way to the area of the city they both have come to know so well. As he walked he was recognized by some and before long a small crowd had gatthered. He stopped and took the opportunity to preach of Obeah, the same words he had used in Cjelegy for new uninformed minds and Sigmund snickered "You're slowly perfecting this one milord," and Goriad II smiled back "Yes, who knows."
As they arrived at the stands who sell trapping snares both of them stopped for a moment, it was slowly getting crowded already. "Do we even know what he looks like?" Sigmund ultimately asked, "No, we do not, but how many nobles do you think will arrive here accompanied by armed men?"
Roleplay from Astros Renodin (1 day, 7 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
A Fancy Fur Coat
Lounging about was great but even that had its limits. The sun had started to rise in earnest and the morning was officially beginning. Astros pushed himself off and away from the table he had been sat at. Upon it were the mostly empty remains of a rather lavish meal. Plates with pork ribs stacked haphazardly. Two nearly empty tankards of what smells like mead, a platter containing crumbs and leftover cheeses and a bowl stained with humus around the rim and bottom. He stretched his huge frame and it made his clothing taunt against his muscles. Clawing at his stubble he took two deliberate gulps of air. All the while looking around to account for all his men. The entire floor of the inn was practically filled with his boys. Each selected for their physical size and ability to wield big weapons. ''Calvin!'' Astros called out to his captain. Motioning to the innkeeper, a portly man sporting a black eye. ''Take care of the bill, will you?'' The words sounded sincere but the accompanying grin twisted them beyond their meaning.
Moments later Astros was donning himself in his brigantine armor and slung his great-sword over his back. A black handled blade longer than many a man was tall. Stepping out of the Inn and being engulfed in the day's first light Astros squinted his eyes and actually had to bend forwards as he exited through the front door. Filling out behind him were his men. They congealed around Astros like a pack of wild dogs. Very big, mean looking dogs. A triple layered, bordeaux and black belt circled his waist. From it a hefty, jingling pouch dangled alongside a rondel dagger and a small leather packed which was sealed with two straps. From the packet a strong, earthy scent permeated.
Walking down the street toward the market the waking people shied away from the company of warriors. Astros took in the sights and gave overly friendly smiles and grins to anyone that caught his eye. He was feeling particularly good today. A fine meal will do that for you. Especially one donated so generously. Licking his front teeth with an open mouth he nonchalantly grabbed an apple from a grocers stand. A single exchange of looks enough to shut the merchant up. He laughed malevolently as he recognized the man's resignation.
Coming up on the main market square in Rines Astros felt inside his pouch. His fingers confirming the Grand Inquisitor's letter was still there. ''Now what would I be wearing if I was the Grand Inquisitor..?'' He mumbled to himself. Eyes scanning the stalls and people before him. Not catching anything of interest. ''Probably some kind of fancy hat, probably..'' His hand informed him of something soft and he turned his big head to look at it. It so happened that his hand had come to rest upon a raccoon fur hat that was on display at a fur trader's stall. Astros's face lit up with childish enthusiasm. ''Always did want a furry hat of my own!'' He grinned at the man he assumed was the trader. ''Thank you for your donation to the faith!'' He promptly put the hat on his bald head and moved along. Feeling supremely confident. Only a few stalls further he took the hat off again. The jolt of excitement he felt at humiliating the trader had passed and with it his interest in the hat.
It was then that his eye caught a really fancy coat. Rich brown and hell'a furry. His large brown eyes grew bigger still. The skin on his forehead rippled like sand-dunes and his lips produced a sharp whistle. ''Oh damn! Ain't that a fine, fine coat!'' Loud enough for the wearer to actually hear him. Lazily Astros made his way to the man in the rich fur coat and his companion. Yet his steps were filled with purpose even as his arms and frame made a show of dodging out of the way of passers by and pushing goods aside that would otherwise obstruct his way. Following close behind him like an enveloping wave of water were his hulking warriors. They quickly came to flood the two men that Astros had marked out. Unbeknownst to them that they had actually stumbled upon the Grand Inquisitor himself.
The Red Moon
He had already seen the gang of brutes coming, long before one of them whistled and quite loudly said "Oh damn! Ain't that a fine, fine coat!" and Goriad II shortly shook his head towards Sigmund who had wished to take action, instead they moved on slowly, untill they were surrounded by the soldiers. Their leader walked towards Goriad II, with a huge broadsword on his back. He could not help himself but wonder how usefull such a sword would be, in such close corners. Their leader tried to reach for the coat, not knowing that Jarra had hidden pockets sown into it allover, as she knew Goriad II's tendencies by now. Before the man could good and well speak, he was stopped.
"Now now, this coat was a gift to me, as was this blade," he said and now all eyes suddenly turned to his right hand in which he held one of his three short curved blades, positioned right against the upper thigh of the big man "Do you know why they call this the Red Moon my boy?" a grin appeared on his face, "I received this from leading the Red Moon army all the way from the desert into the coastal lands of Minas Leon, a most succesful raid..." he paused for a moment "But," placing a strong emphasis on the word but, "some say it is so named because when it cuts, men cry to the moon like a wolf bitch giving birth, the only difference is that you would never have children again."
Then, as all the men were on edge, the soldiers waiting for the order to attack, the blade was lowered and put back in his coat. "Now, I know the outfits of all militia in this city and there are no foreign troops allowed either, so I assume you must be Astros. Now I have a court to hold a mile further into the city, do have your men join us." Then he turned around again to Sigmund "Sigmund, I want 20 trapping snares and 4 bear traps, do let these fine big gentlemen carry them for you."
Roleplay from Astros Renodin (1 day, 1 hour ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
To Each Their Burden
Then, as all the men were on edge, the soldiers waiting for the order to attack, the blade was lowered and put back in his coat. "Now, I know the outfits of all militia in this city and there are no foreign troops allowed either, so I assume you must be Astros. Now I have a court to hold a mile further into the city, do have your men join us." Then he turned around again to Sigmund "Sigmund, I want 20 trapping snares and 4 bear traps, do let these fine big gentlemen carry them for you."
~Goriad II Gabanus
The blade felt really uncomfortable upon his armor. Placed just right, between the plates that were worked into the brigantine. A move that was way too expertly executed for Astros to be comfortable with. His face a blend of a raging ocean with its stormy whitecaps and a venomous snake threatening to strike but really just wishing to retreat. His eyes following the motions of the man that was his Liege, the Grand Inquisitor. Before Astros could say anything Sigmund was already directing his men to follow. Realization dawned, it included himself. Grinding his teeth Astros complied. His shoulders tense and the look in his eyes dangerous.
The Grand Inquisitor's companion, Sigmund, was efficient in his dealings and didn't fuss over the fact that over three dozen warriors of large physical appearance gave him murderous looks. He didn't even seem rattled in the slightest. The same couldn't be said for the merchants he dealt with before instructing said merchants to hand over the snares and bear traps to the large warriors about. A casual finger indicating at random it seemed as eyes never even made contact. Astros made fists of his hands and felt anger swell in his bosom. When the whimsical finger was pointed at him however, he meekly accepted the load of a full fletched bear trap as his own to carry. To carry towards whichever destination was set, for that remained a mystery.
So Astros and his men were set to function as packmules for the Grand Inquisitor, very angry packmules. Muttering curses under their breath whenever the eyes of the Grand Inquisitor weren't looking. ''Grand Arse..'' Prominent among them.
Carnage
The marketplace was crowded, but no crowd was as interesting as the group of men near the hunting stalls. About fourty, taller than the average men, were directed by a commoner of modest posture. When looking upon Sigmund it was clear he had fought in battle, the scar running from his right eye to his right lower cheek perhaps the most prominent proof, but compared to the men he now ordered around he seemed insignificant in size and posture. When all the equipment was loaded onto the men, Goriad II suddenly noticed that Astros himself was carrying a bear trap as well. He smiled for a moment, "good" he thought, but then he yelled: "Astros, are insane, you have 40 brutes and you carry this stuff yourself? Sigmund, for the love of Obeah, pay some attention will ya!"
The group continued for about a mile towards a square located between a large number of housing blocks. It was a small square where announcements were made and the likes. "It's good to be back," Sigmund said with a smile to Astros and as just as they arrived they were met by 4 guards who carried a prisoner. The man had clearly been tortured severely and Goriad II walked towards them. "Welcome back home," he said with a twisted grin and as he turned towards Astros he continued to speak "We took this man some days ago from here during our previous court, after we had heard some reports of rebels and heretics located in this area," and he turned to the man "And now you'll point out the houses of your fellow sinners won't you?" He smirked again as he turned back to Astros "You see, we have his wife and daughters and well I promised them a swift death if he helps us, he now understands that's in their best interest."
The man pointed towards several houses within the block and described a few more slightly further away and Astros men were sent to get the rebels. Each of them returned unscathed and a total of 30 rebels were taken out of their homes, of which nearly half were women and children "Blindfold them all," Goriad II instructed and once this was done, he had the man place the bear traps on 4 corners of the square and some of the snares dangling in the alleyways leading to and away from the square.
Then Goriad II took his red moon blade moved towards one of the men and cut him from thigh up and as the man screamed from his pain, Goriad II turned to Astros, "Didn't I tell you they'd howl like bitches," and as the man screamed, the others started running away in panic, blindfolded and unaware of the gruesome future set out for them. "Run heretics, run!" he yelled "The Inquisition never rests!"
-
Goriad II returns
It had been a tough few months as Goriad II travelled through the monster infested south of Beluaterra in search of Jarra. He had received some evidence that she may be alive, but every time he was disappointed when they proved to be wrong. In his wake he left piles of dead who had informed him poorly, or refused to inform him at all. Rumours had begun to emerge of a devil roaming the south slaughtering peasants, but fortunately they had not yet connected him to the trail. When there were no longer any clues to be had, he finally made his way back to Obia'Syela only to find that the realm had lost most of its holdings since his leave of absence.
"I warned Erheas that he should focus his forces and not push so far out, bloody fool!" he sighed, "Sigmund, get me an update on the realm and inform Lady Rania that I failed in my task, but that we did find something else of note."
An hour later Sigmund returned to his master "I bring bad news and worse, Rania is no longer present, Yxevarii now leads the realm." Goriad II shook his head "how? Well at least Yxevarii leads and not one of the idiots. I will find out myself what happened here! And what was the worse news?"
Sigmund paused for a moment "Well...well...uhm, Erheas is no longer Grand Templar.." he stuttered, "Well that's good news isn't it?" Goriad II responded "Well Sir...Vahanian took his place," Sigmund then continued "For the love of Obeah! We must make haste."
Making speed
As Goriad II moved through Ardmore on his way to Avengmil he heard more and more whispers of a trial in Avengmil and great trails of dead bodies. "Dead bodies where? You mean the ones down south?" he asked as he and Sigmund cornered a man "No milord, here and in the area, dead merchants tortured, robbed and killed. It's that devil Astros, I'm sure of it, I've seen it with my own eyes milord. In fact, I'm on my way to Avengmil as we speak by orders of the Grand Mistress' men." Just at that moment 2 guard arrived at the scene "Stay away from him, or you will face the Inquisition,"
Goriad II smiled a rather vicious grin "Perfect, then I relieve you of your charge boys," the guard looked confused "Who do you think you are giving us orders you..." then Sigmund intervened "Hold your tongue fools. The Grand Inquisitor will cut them off if you don't and I don't want to be the one explaining that to Yxevarii!" The guard looked even more confused now "Grand Inquisitor Janis does not..." but they were cut off. "Janis is releaved from her function, I am resuming my role as Grand Inquisitor and unless you want to oppose me, I suggest you hand him over now!"
The guards in the meantime had both drawn their sword, but before using them one ultimately uttered to Sigmund "Is...is that Goriad II?" and Sigmund simply smiled "It sure is boy, now ride north and inform all that we shall arrive in Avengmil by sunrise"
Turning a witness
"We will ensure you arrive in Avengmil safely," Goriad said to the man. "I also want to ensure your family is safe in case the accused has some rogue men wondering about. Where do you hail from? I will send some Inquisitors loyal to me to the house to ensure you are free to speek the truth without fear for your family's safety." The man was filled with gratitude and provided all the details to Sigmund. "We leave in an hour, this will give Sigmund time to dispatch a messenger and you some time to pack again," and by those words the man left to acquire his belongings. When he was gone, Goriad II turned to Sigmund "No trace, you hear me Sigmund. They packed all their valuables and left. Burn it all, don't let me find out that some of their richess resurfaced on the black market!" and with a simple nod Sigmund also went on his way.
They had been travelling for about half an hour when Goriad II reigned in his horse and placed himself besides the man. "So you say you have seen Astros kill these men?" he asked and the man simply nodded "Yes milord, they even screamed his name out in horrible agony." He was met with a nod, "Yes, I see, and why did he do this?" Goriad II continued in his enquiries of the matter. "I don't know milord, they say he's the devil, he kills randomly, for sport," and Goriad II started laughing "Well, I also hunt for sport my friend, but such hunting is often far from random. Further south I have encountered a pagan sect who call themselves krillians, quite an aggressive bunch and their method of entry is often to infiltrate communities and slowly convert cowards and traitors to their heretic faith. Perhaps that happened here as well?"
"No, impossible milord, I've known harald, one of the men he killed, for all my life. He would never..." but he was interrupted "Never is such definitive word and often misused. Are you certain there were not small hints that he may have been corrupted?" Again the man shook his head, "I know of none." "Hmmm, I see," Goriad II replied, "Perhaps if you think more carefully. Can you prove their innosence then? That they are not part of a sect?" The man now hesitated "That is impossible to prove milord, except for my word." Goriad II shook his head "So it will simply be your word against that of Astros, a commoner versus a noblemen. That does not bode well I fear." He said now with a small grin as he rode ahead again.
A few hours later, as the party stopped for a short break, Sigmund now approached the man. "I pity you," he said seemingly sincere. "Pity? Why milord?" was the reply of the man. "It will be the head of the Inquisition who will decide your faith and that of Astros and he is that head," he said as he pointed to Goriad II "and so far you've seem to fail to convince him." The man shook his head: "But how can I convince him? So maybe Astros goes free?" Sigmund now smilled "Not just that, if you as a commoner were found to press false claims to a noblemen, you will be executed through torture yourself along with your entire family."
It was only now that the man seemed to understand the meaning of Goriad II's words "But, how can I convince him?" he nearly begged to Sigmund, "Please, my family." Sigmund took a deep breath "There are only two ways my friend. Either you prove the innocense of the man which Astros killed, or you prove their guild and as such avoid pressing a false claim. It often happens that we as humans overlook certain signs of wrongdoing because we believe to know the other person. Have they not acted suspicious these last few years? Been to meetings, trying to alter some local policy, enter the town hooded perhaps? You have 5 hours remaining to either prove Harald's guilt or innocense and that of your own."
-
It was still dark when the three men finally arrived at the tavern in Avengmil. A large group of soldiers had surrounded the tavern and the small group of people in front and inside of it. Astros's small contingency of men was nothing compared to the number of men were against them. It mattered quite little to Goriad II however and we made his way through the ranks of the soldiers. He had already spotted Yxevarii and Vahanian, which angered him a bit, but it seemed that everyone's focus was towards Astros and none were guarding the rear of the encirclement and as such it was rather easy to move foward and come close to the Grand Mistress.
As moved from behind her, he brushed the fingers of his left hand through her hair untill it reached the neck where he seemed to caress her in for only a blink of a second while he moved further forward in between the two side. "Yxevarii time has done you well, I'm afraid I can't say the same about the realm. It seems I left both my proteges too early and now they stand against each other. This must be resolved!"
He then turned towards Vahanian's side: "What are you doing here?" he shouted briskly "This is a matter of the Inquisition, a Templar has no authority here!" It was all he said to Vahanian as he turned back to Yxevarii. "I came accross two of your guards who carried with them an eye witness to some of Astros' affairs. You can thank Sigmund here that they are still alive, for the fools nearly took up arms against me. They could use some discipline my dear." He paused for a moment "This man had some interesting reports to share with us, which rather complicates the matters at hand. He claims to have seem Astros kill some men, but when pressed further, he also indicated to me to fear for the life of his family. It seems the men in question were most likely cultists from the south,"
He now turned towards the man "That is your official report still?" "Yes milord, there can be no doubt. At times Harald was away for some unknown meeting and together with some others they have been slowly influencing the local government milord, further away from Obeah's grace. I dared not speak it prior as the lives of my family were threathened with torture and execution." Goriad II just nodded, "By the account of this man it seems Astros has been hunting heretics and within the Inquisition such is not called murder, but rather purging, a commendable action. The belongings of these heretics are forfitted and belong to the church. If Astros has not contributed these richess, I hope he was merely waiting to return to Rines to deposit the gold. Taking from heretics is to be approved off, but witholding it from the church is not."
He had now turned to Astros, "I am certain you did not attempt to steal from the church boy? I have taught you better have I not?" He walked closer and closer to the pair of Astros and Jessica "And this is your captain I presume?" he said "A fine choice Astros, bit slimm perhaps?" and he now stared directly into Jessica's eyes. "So, you were with Astros at the time of affairs of which he has been accused?" but no reply was given, she tried to gesture, but Goriad II drew one of his daggers "Speak, you worm," his tone grew less pleasant and when she still did not reply he placed the dagger to her throat "You would dare ignore the head of the Inquisition women?" Suddenly he felt a sharp edge on the back of his lower spine. She had moved quickly and placed it with finess. Then she opened her mouth and held out what was left of her tongue as some sort of mangled viper. Goriad II let his blade down "Hehe, I like this one Astros," he then turned to Jessica again "But threathen me again and you will live to regret it."
He now turned back to Yxevarii "My dear, what exactly has Astros been accused off beyond the killing of some peasants and what proof has been gathered so far? As head of the Inquisition I will create a case against him and judge the evidence accordingly. Now apart from that there is much else to do," he shouted now "Lawlessness, lawlessness everywhere!" he shouted as he moved closer "No single member of the government is a Herald, the one priest apart from the Oracle is accused of severe crimes. Bring me the proof on all and I will investigate and judge. "
He stopped shouting and turned to Vahanian "How hard can it be to protect a Townsland against some hordes with our full army behind it? I built these walls myself, they can withstand a lot. There should be no need for Heralds to turn to commanders at this time, unless you seek to claim Ardmore. Has Erheas' failure taught you nothing Vahanian, he tried to push too far with the resources we had and suffered for it. Avengmil can be held without the Heralds' aid and if you cannot take Ardmore without them, then perhaps you should consider that you shouldn't take Ardmore in the first place."
He now moved to the center and started shouting as he turned around "It is the faithlessness of so many here, the shortsightedness of earthly belongings and regions that has brought chaos to these lands, vivid with accusations of crime and turmoil. This will end today! The Heralds must be restored to order and the Templars must perform their own duty, as all must!"
Roleplay from Vahanian Blint (5 days, 6 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Vahanian was a little surprised Goriad II had managed to slip past his guards, but held his ground as he watched the man claim his titles back in an instant. Vahanain couldn't help but respect the boldness.
As Goriad II claimed out and shouted back orders left and right, none of his men flinched. None of them moved a muscle, waiting command from their commander.
Vahanian responded. "It is good to see you back, Goriad the second, however I fear in your absence you are no longer the head of the inquisition, and as such no longer hold the authority to dictate investigations nor command me and my men where we might go. We are here to keep the peace, and ensure that all goes smoothly according to the desires of the Grandmistress. You yourself have been stripped of your titles and status within the church. Might I suggest seeing to your own affairs before meddling in the affairs of those of us that didn't abandon our realm under the pretense of hunting heretics in the south?"
Vahanian could see the rage boiling inside of Goriad II, he kept his hands on his throwing blade, a new target in his sight, before saying "Grandmistress, how are we to proceed?"
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre (5 days, 6 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
As the dagger was withdrawn from her throat, she complied in like by sheathing her own.
She became curious of Goriad II. He had a history, no doubt about it. He also seemed to possess skills which she... recognized. He had turned his back to her, addressing the Grand Templar and Grandmistress again. Evidently, he thought highly of those skills, to expose his back like that. However, broad daylight in front of hundreds of witnesses was hardly the setting she preferred to stab a man in the back.
Better at night, whilst in his night robe.
Jessica shifted her daggers on her belt and pondered. Goriad II continued on, blathering on about Templars and Inquisitors and Heralds. Jessica didn't bother to pay attention. She had little interest in their fractal bickering. The Daimons had been defeated, their Archprinces destroyed. Why did all these nobles care so much about a few cultists roaming the wild lands? Their paranoia was almost overbearing.
She looked at Vahanian. What was he doing here? Was he just fueling some vendetta against Astros? When she had seen him for the first time, on the field of battle, he had seemed so regal, a knight's knight. Here, however, standing next to Yxevarii, he seemed different...
She frowned at that. Perhaps souls weren't meant to be saved.
Roleplay from Vahanian Blint (5 days, 4 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Vahanian stood there, next to Yxevarii and looked at the people assembled before him. Goriad II, Astros, Jessica, Yexevarii. All here, all for what? To arrest the monstrous idiot Astros? For murdering peasants? No doubt Goriad II would try to threaten or bribe any witnesses among the common folk to prevent their testimony from holding any weight, Vahanian knew that the man was resourceful and capable, he was every inch the commander of the Inquisition.
The truth was, Vahanian hated having to be here. He hated having to stand sentinel over these preceding's. He wished to be able to withdraw with his men, and fight an opponent on the field of battle, not in the courts of justice, or halls of politics. He didn't care about Astros, or Goriad II, he didn't know enough about Jessica to care about her either.
Yxevarii was the only one among the assembled nobles that had earned any amount of his respect or trust, he was here because it was his job to maintain the peace, and because he'd made a promise to Rania. A promise that only she and him knew about, and one that he would take to his grave. He wished more than anything for Obeah to come down and smite Goriad II and Astros, smite them from the face of the world. Remove the obstacles that were perpetually in his way. He missed the simpler times, the times when an opponent was a man with a grudge and would meet you in honorable combat, not scheme and plot to get his way. These nobles who talk of religion and faith and honor knew little of true honor, they had none. They played the game for power and power alone. They didn't play to win, or to defeat a stronger opponent. They played for personal legacy, for personal gain.
It was day's like this that Vahanian missed the simplicity of the north, of simply fighting back hordes of daimon kind, hunting down and slaughter beasts of another world. How he wished that Obeah would grant him these desires. To swipe away the petty feuds everyone seemed to have.
He wanted to step forward, scream out at the heavens and tear down the sky to ask Obeah what had the realm of her faithful done to deserve this? What have we done to warrant her apparent fury and displeasure. Had he not spent enough time in prayer? Had he not devoted enough of his life to protecting her mortal possessions. He had sacrificed a life of wealth, respect, and power in Thalmarkin to travel to a strange realm to protect the child of a woman he'd never met, from opponents he'd had no quarrel with. He moved once more to a land further away with a strange religion and faith, a gift that for all of his life he'd yet to receive until, he found solace in the council and mentorship of Rania. She helped to heal the rend in his soul from the loss of his family. She'd guided him to the warmth and light of the Veiled Goddess and since, everything he'd done had been in her name. Why has she haunted him with these nagging, pestering, petty quarrels, with nobles not worth of meeting their end on his blade. What had he done?!
All of this he contemplated, all of this raced through his mind, as he stood there, a sentinel for the Grandmistress, his face impassive, revealing nothing of his inner thoughts.
-
Roleplay from Jorvik Arial (5 days, 3 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
jorvik approached the crowd of angry noble.
"I know this is non of my business but I am most curious about this murder. Was the victim a commoner or a noble? Under what circumstances did it take place?"
Fit of rage
Goriad II grew angry at the old man, but he managed to sort of control his temper as he replied: "In my absence perhaps not, but I am no longer absent am I? And it can only be you who attempts to smear an Inquisitor's name old man. I was not 'hunting heretics' in the south, I was performing my duties as Grand Inquisitor by the grace of Lady Rania. A great many rumours had surfaced that Jarra may in fact be alive and I was tasked with finding her, in that I'm afraid I have failed. Sure, many heretics burned in the process, but that was not my primary task. Unlike you, scheming and whispering in people's ears Vahanian, I let my Inquisitors a more free hand to see who was ready and who was not. Now that I have returned, it seems you need me more than ever!" He still had raised his voice, although it was no longer a screaming sound.
Then a smile appeared upon his face as he more softly continued "Lady Rania will soon restore my place in the church and I will resume the mantle of Herald. To wash away your sins and ensure the word of Obeah remains heard. In All your attempts and failures to secure lands and borders, it seems you have forgotten that which matters."
Roleplay from Vahanian Blint (5 days, 3 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
As Goriad II responded, claiming to be able to wash away the sins of Vahanian, Vahanian chuckled to himself.
"My sins are mine own, I have made my confessions to the Oracle herself and she has given me my penance. Are you claiming to be more holy than her? That her knowledge of Obeah and her teachings is lesser than your own? I answer to no priest by the Oracle herself. Be careful in your dealings inquisitor. The world is not what it once was."
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre (5 days ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Jessica started clapping enthusiastically in the wake of Goriad II's impressive speech.
She slowly stopped clapping and looked around at the silence of the street.
Back and forth continues
Goriad II shook his head: "Yes I'm sure you have fought to change the world. You failed at every corner. You beg priests to take up arms because of your failure. Your sins continue still."
Goriad II now took a step backwards so he could address them all again as he raised his voice once more: "Do you not wonder why you are plagued with chaos and loss since I moved south? You have forgotten the faith! You let this Templar lead your thoughts and prioritize lands over faith?!" He now pointed towards Vahanian.
"It is time we prioritize our faith once more! Let the Templars guard Avengmil, and let the Inquisition and Heralds restore order to our lands again."
He paused for a moment "He says that times have changed and that is exactly the cause of your problems! It is time to honor Obeah again!"
Roleplay from Vahanian Blint (4 days, 23 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Vahanian stared at Goriad II, for a long time, letting the silence hang. He stared at this man, his rival, his opponent. A man worthy of being a foe.
"Yes I'm sure you have fought to change the world. You failed at every corner. You beg priests to take up arms because of your failure. Your sins continue still."
"My failures are known to me, and I freely admit them, and my sins are between me and Obeah, you have no place to judge them. However your, facts untrue and your mind is clouded by personal feelings, you have been away from this land for too long. Lady Rania issued the ask for Heralds to take up arms and join their countrymen in the fight for Obeah's lands. I would remind you once more, Goriad II, that the command of the military and the safeguarding of all Sacred lands, current and future, resides with me and me alone, as Grand Templar. Do not presume to dictate the actions of the Enlightened, you are the former commander of the Inquisition, nothing more, nothing less."
Vahanian didn't move a muscle, didn't flinch, didn't shift his weight, he let his words lay in the air for a moment before continuing.
"These lands have been plagued with chaos and loss long before you entered them, and that didn't change with your arrival or departure. You are not the force of balance in this world, much as you would have us believe. It is clear your sense of self worth has not diminished as much as your commitment to this realm. Would you have these people believe that you are the savior of the sacred realm? That you and you alone can stand against the daimon hordes, conquer cities and defeat armies? That you alone can withstand the constant onslaught of the heretics without yielding a single inch of ground? Come now Lord Goriad II, surely you can't expect us to believe you are a god walking amongst men?"
A smile admids madness?
Goriad II now smiled as he had Vahanian just where he wanted. He let him speak, but with a nasty grin on his face.
"Sure sure Vahanian, I'll trust that Rania sanctioned it when the Templar's failing jeopardized the safety of the realm. But what excuse do you have to continue this, while the lands are now safe once more? Or are you thusly incompetent that you can't protect my Mott and Baily in Avengmil without all the Heralds taking up arms?"
He smiled loudly and let his words ring with his audience: "The Grand Templar can't defend a chokepoint Townsland with walls without begging for help of the priests?"
"No old man, I do not claim to be godlike, but I will place my faith in Obeah before the expansion of lands we can't hold. It is through our devotion that the veil between our world and Obeah's weakens, ensuring her full return! Our devotion, magic and the devotion of the people."
He paused one last time: "By halting the spread of our faith due to trivial combat and land grab beyond Avengmil we forego our primary duty! Every Inquisitor he should understand this, or you are no Inquisitor to begin with!" He now yelled again as he looked around.
Roleplay from Vahanian Blint (4 days, 5 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Vahanian looked back at Goriad, he understood the moves the man was making, trying to undermine his leadership. He didn't care, Goriad had no idea what he was talking about. He was no man of faith, he was using the pretense of the religion for personal gain.
"Claim all the falsities you want Goriad, the fact of the matter is this. All your claims are conjecture. You know nothing. Nothing. Of what transpired while you were off pretending to do the work of Obeah, or working out your daddy issues, or whatever it was you were doing. You abandoned your faith, and your precious inquisition, and then you stroll in here as if you never left. Coward."
Vahanian let that hung, he didn't care about this man, he didn't care about his posturing, or his political aspirations. He was insignificant. He knew what had to be done, and he knew how the rivalry between the two men would end up. One of them dead in a ditch.
And more anger
A surge of intense anger arose in Goriad II. "Do you see my father here anywhere old man? I AM Goriad II lest your old age make you forget! I claim no falsities and once more since you appear to be deaf, I don't care what happened in my absence. I am talking about the here and now. There is no reason for the Heralds to continue to take up arms NOW!"
His anger became clearly visible to all who were watching.
"You are a disgrace to continue to push for lands and push to neglect our faith! And I went south to search for Jara by the grace of Lady Rania, but the rumours of her captivity proved false."
Then suddenly he took one of his curved blades and pointed it at Vahanian and his man "The Inquisition and the faith will not be silenced by those Templars who care only about more regions and wealth!"
Roleplay from Gythrul Attano (2 days, 12 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Gythrul had seen and heard enough. Goriad II’s anger towards the Grand Templar had caused him to draw his blade. Gythrul knew what he was about to do was probably stupid. And dangerous, but he was committed.
He drew his own longsword. Darkened steel with a gold plated hilt, a relic from his days as Harbinger of Spearhold.
And pointed it at Goriad.
“Drop it.†The masked Wraith rasped.
Roleplay from Vahanian Blint (2 days, 7 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Vahanian looked at Goriad II with an impassive face, he almost smiled as the man drew his blades and was even more shocked when the masked man stepped forward and drew his own sword.
Vahanain placed his hand on the hilt of his own sword and said "Goriad the first, or the sequel, matters little. Remember what happened the last time you crossed swords with me. This time you may not walk out alive. Sheath your blade."
-
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre (27 days, 12 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
It seemed the events out front of the tavern had passed the realm of interesting, so Jessica took her leave. She strolled casually away along the narrow street, silently whistling to herself...
Roleplay from Janis MacGregor (20 days, 23 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
“ENOUGH!â€
A surprisingly authoritative but still female voice echoed over the gathered troops, nobles, of all kinds and sorts, the spectacle already having evolved well beyond a debacle to a full-on amphitheater of madness.
Some, may have, at first, mistook the voice to be the Oracle, if only for a moment, with the attention she demanded, but no. This woman riding into the scene on horseback with a small entourage, wore partly ivory armour and carried the banners of her office. The Grand Inquisitor, judge, though not in this specific case head of the Inquisition.
There was no small amount of controversy over that last point, either, and mumblings had been heard 'round the realm that she had let the prisoner Usul escape so she would not have to torture him as well, fueling the idea that she was no True Grand Inquisitor. Lord Goriad II's return had all but cemented the idea.
However, on the matter of this stand-off between the realm's own nobles, nothing could be clearer. Something had to be done. It had gone now well beyond the call of unruly, and into the realm of sheer chaos. She continued.
“You have had your say, so-called Grandmistress, but this is not your job or duty, it is mine. Despite what the Oracle might have requested of you, I am the rightfully elected body of law in this realm. I intend to fulfill the duties of that office as diligently as I can so long as I am able and it is my right. I obey the tenants of Law, Order, and Faith, but this mess you have created is none of those. You have become that which you seek to tame- Chaos.â€
She scanned the crowd, making note of many of the faces present. Vahanian. The beastly Astros. Some strange woman near him she did not recognize, and finally caught the eye of Lord Goriad II, as her horse shook its head nervously, with all the soldiers so close now. She nodded to him in acknowledgment. He had called for action, hopefully this would resolve things.
“You will never tame the beast by becoming one. Only through rightful Order, and Due Process, can Justice be found. A caged beast will always lash out. We must not encourage man to become beast, or he too will lash out.â€
She shifted her gaze to Astros, surveying first the destruction he had already wrought before her arrival. Lady Janis was on horseback, but she was also very tall for a woman, over six feet herself, but he was taller still, the sheet metal pillar he called a sword hefted off the ground in his arms, ready still- even now- to strike.
“Take this opportunity to be a man, Knight Astros, and face your rightful trial. Not by the Hand of the Grand-Mistress, nor even the guild of Inquisitors you're sworn too, but by the Office of Grand Inquisition which oversees everything, and currently does not play favorites.â€
Scorn and disdain were some of the looks she was shot then, though any peasantry still in range of the spectacle were forced to reconsider the things that they had heard of her. She carried a significant weight behind her words in those moments, even many of the nobility would take note as well.
“Apologies for my Initial Tardiness, but, reasonable evidence and verifiable action takes time to affirm, unlike wild witch hunts and lynch mobs as I see are assembled here.†She cleared her throat to resume, and unfurled a very-official looking Parchment.
“The Office of Grand Inquistion finds enough evidence to hereby begin the Trial of Knight Astros Renedin under the following charges. Misconduct Unbecoming of a Noble. Robbery and Brigantry. Disregard for Property of Fellow Nobility, and Defiance of Office of Grand-Mistress amoung others. If you will accompany me, and surrender your arms when we reach the town limits, I will take you to Rines, where court will be held, and your innocence or guilt will be Proven or Disproven. Do you acquiesce, Knight Astros?â€
Her look meant that she was fully willing to leave him here if he refused, to this mob-justice, but she was also offering him an out, despite what may or may not have happened before.
Roleplay from Gythrul Attano (20 days, 22 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Gythrul scoffed. “The man is within his right to take the lead from of a commoner, so long as he pays weregild.†He stares at the Grand Inquisitor, setting his shoulders back slightly.
“Would you violate his inherent right as a noble? True, he has damaged another’s property, but that is the reason for the law of weregild.†The Wraith rasped as he stood here passively, the only sign of challenge or aggression was the tone of his “sickly†voice.
In the aftermath
Goriad II sat down as did Sigmund "Milord, what will we do now?" he asked and he was met with a focused look in his master's eyes "Get me Astros here in Rines, and get me Jessica as well! First things first, I'll have a talk with Usul and Gythrul later."
He stood up, "Send him his orders, make it clear that he owes his life to my intervention in Avengmil and that defying me means more than a stern word. I'm sure his balls will remember my blade still."
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre (21 days, 12 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Jessica sat in the grass in front of her estate, basking in the warm sunlight while Bryant read her letters from the realm wide communication network. An array of letters talking about giving up the peninsula, or supporting the Faith, and even talk of elections.
Elections? she thought, Has something happened to the Grandmistress? She hadn't heard anything since the incident out front of the tavern. She tried to remember the news Bryant had conveyed to her lately, but he tended to blather on about politics and she often stopped paying attention as he prattled. She idly contemplated stopping him to try and get to the bottom of the issue, but she had no idea how she would mime out "What happened to the Grandmistress", so she just shrugged and closed her eyes against the sun again.
"M'Lady..." Bryant's voice penetrated her relaxation. A dark shape blocked the sunlight's path to her face, and she frowned and opened her eyes. Before her stood several guardsmen, bearing the sigil of a noble family she cared not to learn.
"Lady Jessica," the leader said, "You are to come with us."
Bryant cleared his throat, "This is a noblewoman you address, soldier."
The man frowned at Bryant, but reformulated his demand, "Lady Jessica, Lord Goriad II strongly requests your presence. Please come with us."
Jessica heaved herself to her feet and shrugged. Bryant passed her a black cloak, which she draped over her shoulders. She touched her daggers self consciously, to assure herself of their presence, and then nodded to the guards. Bryant stepped forward, but she held up a hand to stop him. She would have more fun without someone who could competently translate her desires, and she didn't want to give Goriad II the benefit of her scribe since he was so rudely interrupting her siesta.
With an overbearing sense of solemnity, the guards lead her away.
Roleplay from Astros Renodin (21 days, 2 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
The City of Rhines. It had become a safe place for Astros. So many gullible fools and plenty of opportunities for him to enjoy himself. Not just that but to bring about the will of the Veiled Goddess! Hell, he'd found more "heretics" within the city than he had spending months in the countryside. The thought brought a nasty grin to the big man's face as he and his men marched through the main gates. Several worried looks being cast their way as some of the locals recognized them. ''That's right folks! We're back!'' The words full of glee but somewhere, deep down in the recesses of his mind he knew fear. He hadn't arrived at the great city on his own volition. It were the words of the former Grand Inquisitor that had compelled him. The memory of carrying crates still fresh in his memory.
Jessica Enters
Goriad II was sitting in the main halls of the palace when Sigmund entered "Ah Sigmund, perfect," he said "I want you to summon Boltgan, PanHilda and Vahanian to these halls as well. There is much to discuss." Sigmund nodded and then replied "Yes milord, also Lady Jessica has arrived already, and Astros was seen entering the city."
Just at that moment Jessica entered the halls and was greeted by a man dressed in all black. He wore the bear's hide coat which Jarra had gifted hin still, although it was obvious that it had become dirty and used often enough. The hidden pockets all inside the coat were still functional however. "You never told me you were of noble birth," he said as he stood up and approached her "Heh, my bad." A grin appeared upon his face.
He was studying her as he approached her and made a full circle around her. "Interesting, how many blades have you got hidden there?" He continued with the same grin "Skilled hunters in the shadows are rare, now what drives you? I doubt jewelry will do it for you," he said as he balded his fist showing off a strange and dark ring. "True hunters enjoy their pray, and you did target my spine after all. Not deadly, just paralyzing. Impressive, so is that it my dear, you hunt for sport or you seek something else?"
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre (20 days, 21 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
"Interesting, how many blades have you got hidden there?"
Jessica raised an eyebrow as Goriad II circled around her. She let her cloak dangle free from her waist and drew two identical daggers. She held them up and shrugged, and sheathed them again.
"True hunters enjoy their pray, and you did target my spine after all. Not deadly, just paralyzing. Impressive, so is that it my dear, you hunt for sport or you seek something else?" Goriad II continued.
She looked at him, shifting her weight and resting a hand on her hip. She pointed to a stag head trophy adorned on the wall and shook her head. She then looked around, and saw the hearth below the stag. She walked over and picked up a slab of wood. She pointed at the fire, then at herself. Then she pointed at the wood, and made a stabbing motion, then tossed the wood in the fire.
She paused, breathing in deeply while the piece of wood was consumed.
-
Roleplay from Vahanian Blint (20 days, 16 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
A messenger arrived as Vahanian prepared his soldiers to return to Rines for a brief refit. "Goriad II has requested your presence in Hall of Enlightenment." The messenger said. Vahanian nodded, tossed the man a coin and bade him leave. Baldwin stood in the corner, his face written with concern and confusion.
"Relax Baldwin, if he wanted me dead, he'd make a spectacle of it. I fear I know what this meeting is about.."
Vahanian finished packing his gear and mounted his horse, he was weary and tired, he needed a bath, a hot meal, and sleep. But he had priorities. He needed to work the problem. He pulled an orange from his satchel and began peeling the fruit, slowly working his blade through the skin of the fruit. He loved oranges, and having something to do in his hands helped him think. He descended deep into his own mind as his soldiers moved out, he wandered the halls of his childhood home and recalled memories of a distant past. Unwinding his thoughts and problems, he was able to examine them layer by layer, piece by piece. He followed each strand carefully, if he ever got stuck of confused, he'd start again, working through each angle trying to determine the most likely outcomes.
He would do this the whole trip to Rines..
Roleplay from Astros Renodin (20 days, 13 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
After what felt like a breeze, both in speed and in temperature the huge form of Astros entered the Palace proper. Having adopted a more subdued manner his men were a bit unsure how to behave around all these pious palatial guards. Astros bowed his head almost theatrically, lest you knew the man. Soft words in reverence spoken to other members of the Cloth and small signs made at obvious holy or otherwise sacred places. ''Praise be to the Veil.'' Nod. ''May the Veil lift brother.'' Nod. ''Her Grace upon you.'' Nod. All the way until he reached the Great Hall where he was told Goriad II would be.
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre (19 days, 21 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Jessica looked back at Goriad II from the fire and sighed. She walked back over to him and reaching into her cloak.
From her cloak she pulled out a tightly bound scroll. She looked at it for a split moment, then extended it to him.
Roleplay from Vahanian Blint (19 days, 20 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Vahanian walked through the doors of the Great Hall where Goriad II and Jessica had gathered. He glanced all around him and noticed that some of Goriad's Inquisitors were present, one of them even stepped forward with his hand extended asking Vahanian to stop, in an attempt to have Vahanian surrender his weapons. Vahanian leveled him with a glare and said "Touch me and you will not get that hand back." The guard quickly retreated.
Vahanian moved further into the room and noticed Astros's massive form in the corner. An unnoticeable flicker of rage sparked through his mind and he quickly suppressed it. He nodded at Jessica and turned to face Goriad II.
"What are we doing here Goriad II?"
Roleplay from Astros Renodin (19 days, 19 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Vahanian moved further into the room and noticed Astros's massive form in the corner. An unnoticeable flicker of rage sparked through his mind and he quickly suppressed it. He nodded at Jessica and turned to face Goriad II.
~Vahanian Blint
''Blessings through the Veil upon you.. Brother.'' Acidulous the words were in their delivery. Keeping them company was an unmasked grin that screamed of the enjoyment the wearer was having as eyes set high above it, beheld the Templar.
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre (19 days, 10 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Jessica stared at Vahanian as he entered and nodded at her.
''Blessings through the Veil upon you.. Brother.''
Jessica looked over to see Astros, grinning unabashedly, spreading praise of Obeah throughout the room. His gaze remained locked with Vahanian for a moment before the Templar turned his attention to Goriad II.
"What are we doing here Goriad II?" Vahanian demanded.
Jessica pulled the tunic of a waiting Inquisitor, and made a drinking motion with her hand. The man frowned at her and responded, "M'Lady, I am not a servant..."
Jessica made the drinking motion again, and waved the man away. She then turned back to the group, and raised an eyebrow at Goriad II quizzically.
A game of sherades?
As Jessica through the wood in the fire Goriad II was unsure if she meant to be the fire that protects itself from men, or if she's the wood desperately trying to fight A large force. She didn't strike him as the type to be afraid and defending herself, so he assumed the latter.
She then handed him a scroll. For a moment he thought it to be a knife and he quickly drew his. When she handed over the scroll he used the knife to break the seal instead.
"Interesting," he said and just at that moment Astros entered, praising Obeah left and right. It almost felt like mockery to Goriad II, so when he was close enough he took the knife he still had in his hand and put it at Astros' throat. "You dared making a mockery of Yxevarii, but don't try that here boy! You will hold yourself for when the old man comes, you will hand over all the gold you have and in turn I will give you what you seek. You can take gold from the Heretics, but it belongs to the church and as head of the Inquisition I will take it and use it where needed to spread thd faith, through all means."
He then continued and threw the knife into the fire with quite some accuracy, hitting a log. He then walked towards the buckets of water standing next to it and put out the fire. "Swords work well for pray, but we require magic for the bigger hunt. There is much to be learned here, but Rania once even managed to controll daemons through Obeah's power and aid. Nothing is impossible, every fire can be extinguished." He paused and finished Everyone's fire," and he grinned.
A while later Vahanian arrived, refusing to hand over his weapon and demanding to know why he was summoned. "Relax old man, you won't die today," he said more looking at Astros than at Vahanian. "You are failing your duty, so I shall give you a new one and one last chance. You will restore our military and take Ardmore and Ruefillo and you shall get some help to do it."
"Astros, come here!" And when the big man had gotten close enough, Goriad II continued: "Meet the new Vice-Marshal of the army Vahanian. He will have exactly the same rights and duties as Boltgan. Astros, I expect orders from either you, Boltgan or even Vahanian every half a day, no matter what happens. Whip this army back into shape. Use the coming weekend to refit everyone, we will fund this one, and then strike early next week. Do not let me down!"
He then turned to Jessica, "My dear huntress, while I would prefer to go hunting with you, would you mind showing these men how to fight and hunt instead? For the next few campaigns I would be gratefull if you took up arms and joined them. And once I finish my research of this Dark ring of the Clouds it is my gift to you."
-
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre (18 days, 21 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Jessica wrinkled her nose at Goriad II. She held up her two bare hands and pointed at her unadorned neck, then shook her head.
She then turned to Astros and slapped the back of the large man's shoulder. She gave him a thumbs up.
Roleplay from Vahanian Blint (18 days, 20 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
(OOC just want to mention that we started this RP before G2 was elected..)
Vahanian looked across the room at Goriad and said "You have no authority of the Templars or the military. Order me like that again and I WILL claim your head. Astros will have no place in my army. You are a former head of the inquisition. Nothing more. Do not presume to order those of us who didn't abandon our posts on some folly mission. I failed nothing, and I owe you nothing. The Army will continue to operate as I see fit as has been the mandate since this realm's founding."
Vahanian paused and before turning to leave said. "Good luck in your elections Goriad."
Friendly talks between the Ruler to be and his General
Jessica's gestures made it quite clear that Goriad II had been mistaken. "I'm killing you?" He said, "How? The knife in the log, no, the fire? Yes the fire, of course. You enjoy it, don't you? I should have known," he now said with a smiled. "The paralization, torture, death, splendid death." And as he spoke these words a thought arose in his mind. "Tell me my dear, how did you lose your tongue and what happened to the fool that took it?"
--- Later with Vahanian ---
Goriad II did not grow angry at Vahanian's words this time, as he had been expecting the man to be difficult. And so he had prepared his responses beforehand, planning well ahead.
"Your army it is not entirely, remember Vahanian? An Inquisitor has always been vice marshal to the Enlightenment, equal to the marshal. Solomon is gone, but that doesn't change this fact. Remember why this was done? The Inquisition army operated far more effectively than the templars, but you wanted one army. One army means that all serve under its banners."
He paused for a moment in which a most vile snarky grin appeared on his face: "You may not like Astros, but at least he seeks to do what is best for the faith. Now you want him to hunt heretics in your region, or you want him fighting against monsters, helping to expand our lands for the food issue? You see old man, your stubborness will be the fault of the starvations that will follow and the deaths which go along with it. Is your pride more important than serving Obeah?
Goriad II stared at Vahanian intentively, walked away from him only to turn around again: "Oh and lest I forget, has my advise to you ever been wrong? You know I'm right, your just to proud as usual to admit it. Only a fool does what he knows is wrong! Astros will be vice Marshal and our military must be restored. I'll try to make sure you get the gold for your refits. Now, again you know I'm right or otherwise you would have run against me in these elections. You need me, and we need him to secure Ardmore. These halls will soon be mine. The questions then becomes, do you serve Obeah? If you are not interested in restoring our military than you are worthless as Grand Templar. What you want him to do it instead?" He said as he pointed towards Astros? "I know you've made plenty mistakes old man, I've always corrected you, but you try to do what's right in your own way. Stop your childlike posturing and do your job. You can choose to run against me, or accept my authority if I win. And when I win, I need men to restore these lands to faith, not cowards!
Roleplay from Vahanian Blint (18 days, 8 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Vahanian stared back at Goriad II, the hatred he felt was palpable. Not because Goriad was necessarily right, what he said made sense, but that didn't make it the only course of action.
"An Inquisitor has served as Vice-Marshal, aye, but it has always been an Inquisitor of the Grand Templar's choosing. Not yours. You make brazen claims of my failures, you make assumptions and decisions under the guise of being a faithful follower of Obeah. You are a trickster and a heretic. You seek to use Obeah and this faith for its power. You are not deserving of serving as Regent, you may have fooled enough of this realm for them to vote you in, and you may have fooled enough of this realm for them to believe that you give a damn about this religion. But you will never fool me. You're no leader. You're a coward, and a traitor, and I will claim your head."
Vahanian left the room, brushing past Goriad as he walked by he spit, his saliva and phlegm landing on Goriad's boot. "Refuse if you're afraid. Coward." without waiting for a reply Vahanian left the room.
Some more yelling just in time
When Vahanian stormed out Goriad II could not resist to yell some parting words: "I didn't know you were a coward Vahanian! You may not like my methods but how dare you doubt my devotion. Fool, perhaps we do not share faith for the same reasons, but I can assure you my faith is genuine. Rania knows this better than any, it's why she taught me herself old man! Is that why you're so angry? I can assure you one more thing, I will work to ensure Obeah's return with all my might and those who try to stop her return will perish at the tip of my knife or at the end of my scrolls." He paused for but a brief second.
"You have a choice Grand Templar, prove yourself a follower of Obeah and work with me, brand yourself a traitor and plunge the faithful in civil war or resign as Grand Templar and prove yourself a coward and a heretic! You know damn well there is only one choice if you are truly serving Obeah. Just ask the Oracle if you so please. I hold her blessing, I always have!"
Roleplay from Vahanian Blint (17 days, 20 hours ago)
message to all nobles of Obia'Syela
Vahanian stood on the balcony of his estate in Rines. Rage was oozing from his pores, he hadn't said a word since leaving the Grand Hall. Baldwin had seen to the guards and was now standing on the Balcony with Vahanian.
He cleared his throat and Vahanian responded with a quiet, yet sharp voice. "Speak." Baldwin stepped forward and said "The guards of the Church refused to issue the challenge to Goriad, saying something along the lines of It is against the priesthood for followers of the cloth to engage in duels." Vahanian swore.
"So I issued a challenge to Astros..." Baldwin continued. Vahanian turned to face him, his face a mask of stone. "You did what?" For the first time since Vahanian had known him, Baldwin did not wilt under his gaze, he did not falter, he stood there calm and collected, willing to accept whatever fate was about to befall him.
"You wished your enemies dead, my lord. I substituted one for another.." Vahanian turned his back to Baldwin and then with incredible speed turned and flicked a dagger from his wrist. It flew through the air and embedded itself in the wooden doorframe, mere inches from Baldwin's throat.
Vahanian turned his back once more and said "Have you ever known me to miss?" Baldwin swallowed the lump in his throat and responded with "I have not." Vahanian dismissed him and said "Don't defy me again." As Baldwin bowed his head and started to leave Vahanian turned his head and said "I didn't miss, don't retract the challenge, let Astros decide if he has any honor."
-
For this next set of RP's I want to especially thank the Gildre Family for not only putting together an amazing RP event, but also compiling all the RP's in one (http://wiki.battlemaster.org/wiki/Gildre_Family/Jessica). I'll be adding them here as well as it's part of G2's story.
A messenger approaches you and hands you a black and red envelope.
Nobles, Lords, and Ladies of the Sacred Obia'Syela,
It is my esteemed pleasure to finally introduce to you, the Lady Jessica Gildre of Rines.
You are cordially invited to a courtly evening at her Lady's estate in the Grand Temple District of Rines.
A dress code shall be in effect. Personal weapons are permitted, however, nobles are restricted to a one-man entourage. Security of the event is guaranteed by the Gildre Estate!
Lady Jessica will be most honored to reveive your attendance!
Please have your scribes direct any questions to myself.
Bryant, Master Scribe and Chief Attendant to Lady Jessica Care of, Lady Jessica Gildre
Roleplay from Alacrix Galar
Tonight was the night of the party. Alacrix was excited. The past two years have become a blur of swords, blood, death, and some fell monstrosity trying to eat him. It's been to long since he last went to party. Lately, during the quiet moments he found that he often reminisce about his former lifestyle of being a wastrel. He missed laying around and not worrying about defending people, or seeing good men being masticated by one horror or another.
With that Alacrix vigorously shook himself. Tonight was a night of celebration and being in a joyous mood. He dress in his finest. A cream colored jacket with a wine red vest and a matching large wine red hat with a even larger cream feather. Looking at himself in the mirror he had to admit that he looked stunning. With that he left for the party.
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre
Bryant stepped onto the balcony, dressed in a fine burgundy coat with a frilly white shirt poking out from underneath. His hair was slicked back and his goatee trimmed cleanly. He placed both hands on the railing and looked down at the nobles and lesser nobility which had gathered in the courtyard of Gildre Estate. The Temple of the Veiled Goddess loomed adjacent to the estate, dwarfing it in it's magnificence.
The buzz of conversation slowly died as nobles began to notice Bryant on the balcony overlooking the courtyard. As silence fell, he stood up straight, and took a deep breath.
"Nobles of the Sacred Obia'Syela," he enunciated loudly to the gathering below, "It is my personal pleasure, after several weeks, to finally introduce to the court of nobility, the renowned Lady Jessica Gildre!"
Theatrically, Bryant took a step to the side and backward, bowing with a regal flourish of his arms. From the darkness of the balcony, Jessica stepped forward and delicately rested a hand on the railing. She wore a midnight black gown which gave off the odd sparkle as light glinted it in the right way. The dress followed the shape of her body to the floor and trailed. Her neckline plunged to her waist, and sleeves reached her wrists. Her fire red hair was pinned back from her face, and shone brightly with her green eyes in the light of the wall sconces.
Silently, she raised one hand and nodded to the assembled crowd, and then withdrew back into the manor.
Buzzing talk resumed immediately from the nobles as two servants pulled the large double doors open, allowing access to Gildre Estate.
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre
You have been informed that Gildre Estate consists of the following areas:
The Dining Hall - A magnificent great hall with a massive oak table running along the length of it, down the center. Chairs have been removed for the purpose of the party, but the walls are lined with benches. The table is laden with delicacies, and servants port carafes of wine to and fro. There is much room for mingling, and a minstrel plucks at a lute in the far corner.
The Parler - A great room with a roaring fire. Plush chairs, couches, and chaises fill the room. One wall is dedicated to bookshelves, and a large tapestry depicting an ancient battle adorns the other.
The Gardens - A well manicured garden lies out the rear of the estate. Lanterns are hung throughout, and servants patrol the pathways to quickly serve thirsty guests.
The Training Room - Jessica has had the cellar converted into a training room. There are racks of blunted weapons, a padded section of floor for grappling, and various bags for hitting.
The Kitchen - Where the food is prepared. It is dirty and full of commoners. A noble would have no interest in such a room.
Roleplay from Goriad II Gabanus
Goriad II decided it would be interesting to'speak' with Jessica again. Afterall she never did answer his last question and he had become curious.
As such he called Sigmund to make his way to the manner. Even though he was regent and once more the Grand Herald of Obeah, he did not wear any fancy clothing. In stead he put on a black cloack, a thin one considering the time of year, but still concealing two of his curved sandblades and some daggers.
Some hours later he finally arrived at Jessica's manner and when the guards first saw him they almost wanted to stop the brigant untill Sigmund walked ahead of him "The Regent of Obia'Syela," and when Goriad II lowered his hood they decided to announce him with full title. Goriad II didn't bother to wait for them however and simply walked in "They know me, no need for the shouting," he said halfway through the titles, interrupting the announcers. "Now where is Jessica?"
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre
Jessica sipped from a glass of scarlet wine, listening absentmindedly as several highborn merchants prattled on about some sort of invested interest that they thought Jessica could profit greatly from. She didn't pay them any heed. She had little doubt she was already the richest woman in Obia anyways. The pompous merchants could probably learn a thing or two from her, although she assumed from their large waistlines that they could not accomplish the feats she could.
"The Regent of Obia'Syela, Lord Goriad II Gabanus!"
Jessica heard the porter call out the introduction, and looked towards the entrance. She saw Goriad II entering, wearing a simple dark cloak. Whatever her other feelings, she at least appreciated his style. It seems she shared more... traits... with Goriad II than simply a style sense.
Rudely, she turned her back on the conversation the merchants were having, and plucked another glass of wine from the tray of a passing servant. Her dress shimmered subtly in the torchlight as she strode towards the Regent. She offered the glass of wine to him as she idly pondered whether a Priest of Obeah consumed alcohol or not...
Roleplay from Goriad II Gabanus
When Jessica arrived with the whine Goriad II smiled for a moment: "I don't drink my dear, I leave that to the fat pompous nobles and the fools. I do quite like wine though, I find it often loosens the tongue and also makes for far easier targets."
He then accepted the glass and took a step closer to Jessica and softly whispered: "I've been in for but a moment and already learned that that fat merchant you were talking to over there has a rather 'playfull' wife and he doesn't know. It also seems she controls most of his spending. If need be I'm sure you could 'convince' her to pay for some of your expenses here if you provide her with some discrete entertainment."
He grinned as he made a step backwards. "Now you still owe me an answer I believe from the palace. How did you lose your tongue?"
Roleplay from Jessica
"I've been in for but a moment and already learned that that fat merchant you were talking to over there has a rather 'playfull' wife and he doesn't know. It also seems she controls most of his spending. If need be I'm sure you could 'convince' her to pay for some of your expenses here if you provide her with some discrete entertainment."
Jessica looked at the merchant Goriad II spoke of and frowned. She looked back to Goriad II and smirked and shrugged. She held up a hand and rubbed her fingers together, and then patted where her pockets would be.
"Now you still owe me an answer I believe from the palace. How did you lose your tongue?" he prodded.
Jessica's smirk faltered, and she took a long drink of wine. She placed the empty glass on a table and looked at Goriad II. She held her hands in the shape of a triangle on top of her head for a moment, then made a quick stabbing motion. She then closed her eyes and frowned, and opened her hand to let the imaginary dagger fall. She then held her wrists together in front of her. She made quick cutting motions across her body, then made a pinching motion in front of her mouth and drew her hand away from her mouth slowly, and with her other hand made a slow sawing motion in front of her mouth. She then threw her hands in the air, and swept them broadly before her.
Finishing her tale, she looked around. She had acquired a small audience. She looked back to Goriad II and raised an eyebrow.
Roleplay from Goriad II
Goriad II had also noticed a small audience gathering about them. He had put his host in a delicate situation but he didn't care much about it. Maby may belief however that he did as Goriad II responded by placing himself in a most delicate position. He gave the still full cup of wine to Sigmund and proceeded by removing his cloak. Underneath it he was wearing little on his upper body other than two shoulderplates and a strange looking breastplate shaped like a triangle with two circles on his breast with some sort of rounded sticks pointing to each other.
It was only when Goriad II took hold of both handles and pulled them that it became clear what the purpose of his armor was. He pulled out two curved blades, one with a red diamond and the other with a blue one worked at the top of the hilt which had been hidden. The could took a few steps wondering why he would draw blades at this party, but he gave one of them to Sigmund and used the other to draw attention to what was a large scar running from his bellybutton to his right chest. As the blade hit the old wound Goriad II bled slightly and smiled. "My first on this island. The Templars could not hold the line, so we had to hehe, didn't we Sigmund." His companion laughed as well "It was a good hunt milord."
Goriad II then moved the blade to his left arm which was filled with scars and other signs of old wounds. "My uncle, he raised my sister and me and was rather strict with our training. The Great Warlord King against two kids, it showed me the cowardice in 'great' man. His smile went to a grimace shortly only to return to a vile grin as he moved his sword to the back and turned around. It showed a back filled with uncountable scars. So many it became difficult to determine what caused them. "I still aim to repay him for it," he said with that same grin.
"None of these scared lambs understand true power, they think it resides simply in the sound of a title and the tip of their swords. They don't understand true strength, but you do don't you my dear?"
He now pointed his sword, still covered in his own blood at her mounth: "Strength is in what they took from us and put in its place."
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre
Jessica locked eyes with Goriad II for a staying moment. Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly, and she breathed a quiet, sad, sigh. She brushed the blade away with the back of her hand, and as she did so she painted a smile on her face and turned to face the gathered crowd. Quickly she curtsied, then bowed theatrically.
She spared one somber look back at the Regent, then allowed herself to be absorbed into the chattering throng of nobles.
Roleplay from Maura Arnickles Renodin
Unmoving shape stood before the Book of Names in the Temple of Rines. A dark statue with eyes transfixed on a particular page. However magnificently the temple has grown since her last visit, however the city has changed - it was all meaningless. The creature in the temple had a habit of focusing on one thing at a time and the thing that had her undivided attention at the moment was the line in the book: "Maura, Desert of Sillhouettes, Dwillight" with a blank place for the family name. She was pondering if she should complete the signature or strike it through entirely. Her shadow moved quarter of a circle as she remained motionless in deep thought, all the time not daring to bring her eyes one verse higher.
A couple of cautious coughs behind her back seeked her attention.
"What is it?" - she asked. "My lady, there is an invitation for a celebratory event in the manor of Lady Jessica."
As if waiting for a proper excuse Maura dropped the quill on the book, not making any decision.
Later in the evening
Managing to slip past the gates without much of an introduction and attracting any more attention than the necessary minimum, Maura went straight to one of the servants with the wine cups. She immediately downed one cup and grabbed two more. Then meeting a displeased gaze of some fat highborn merchant she took a measure of the surroundings for a brief moment and blinked with satisfaction when she decided upon her destination.
A while later she entered the kitchen and sat on a stool, sipping from one of the winecups. Startled household servants looked at eachother, when Maura said to noone in particular:
"I will sit here."
One of the kitchen wenches said with a trembling voice:
"My lady, I-I, d-don't think..."
"I will sit here." - Maura cut her off, ending the 'conversation'. The kitchen staff resumed their work, altough in this situation unwillingly they paid more attention to a noble in the room than to the job at hand, in effect working more slowly and causing many minor mishaps, like mixing up some drinks and miscooking some dishes.
Roleplay from Alacrix Galar
Alacrix was chatting with a rather sweaty merchant. The man was telling him how much he enjoyed the party. Apparently he had arrived early and proceeded to enjoy the fine wine that Was provided. The man was telling about one very fine wine that sadly was finished when he saw Regent Goriad II and Dame Jessica in a conversation. He politely excused himself and made his way over to the increasingly growing crowd.
Regent Goriad was bare chested and displaying countless scars. Alacrix was rather fascinated by them. He did not know much about the new Regent but he was shocked at the impressive sight. Then the Regent withdrew one of his daggers and proceeded to slice open an old wound. Alacrix heard several gasps and seen many looking very interested in their drinks. Alacrix though called not look away. There was a lesson here. Some sort of insight to a man he knew almost nothing.
Alacrix saw and listened to everything the man had to offer. He talked about true power and wondered if he meant Obeah or magic. As the Regent pointed his blood covered sword at Dame Jessica, he knew that he had to talk to the Regent. Alacrix had been meaning to talk to him for some months now on the nature of magic and possibly get another pamphlet from him. Alacrix still had the first that was given to him by the man when he first became a lord.
Alacrix stared at the scene and also resolved himself to talk to Dame Jessica. She is a very interesting woman and she was kind enough to invest in him for the war. He would have to thank her for that. With the downing of his cup of wine he fortified himself to meet the most unsual people he would probably ever meet.
-
Roleplay from Gythrul
Gythrul made his way to the Gildre estate. He wore his battle plate, burial mask and a black cloak. He took care to disguise a few of the Daimonic symbols he hadn’t removed from his armour with his cloak.
The Gildre estate was finally reached, and Gythrul quietly cursed that he had received the invitation late. He entered and took in the dining hall. He quietly cursed again when he recognised Goriad. And again when he remembered that Goriad was Regent.
The porter opened his mouth to ask Gythrul his name. The Wraith shook his head and walked straight past.
He saw Goriad pointing a bloodied blade at woman, with a open wound on his torso.
It was interesting for the Wraith. The whole affair was. He stood just behind Goriad, silently observing.
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre
Jessica leaned against... some odd decoration that Bryant had placed in her parlor while several nobles of lesser station chatted away. She nodded with pathetically-veiled interest, not even bothering to look at them. Two of them, recognizing that they were being ignored, abruptly picked up their drinks and stalked off. A third remained, standing awkwardly next to Jessica. She looked at him and made a drinking motion with her hand, then waved him away.
As the man left, Jessica felt cool glass press into her free hand. Bryant, having appeared from nowhere, let her take the glass of wine. "Maintain your composure, m'Lady," he chastised into her ear quietly, and then continued on to supervise the servants. She made a grotesque face at him as he disappeared into the crowd again, but none the less she stopped leaning and stood up straight.
She took a welcome sip of wine and looked around. Boring people doing boring things and... She narrowed her eyes, glimpsing around a woman to see a man in a black cloak, wearing some sort of wrappings on his face. That was certainly a bizarre outfit.
Curiosity lit her eyes.
Roleplay from Alacrix Galar
Alacrix sees Dame Jessica walking away from the Regent. He was unsure who to approach. Since the Regent was right there he decided to approach him. With great respect and a little amount of fear he approached the Regent. "Regent Goriad II, I am templer Alacrix. I want to thank you for that pamphlet that you gave me a couple years ago. I was hoping you may be able to answer a few questions. If you are not to busy."
Roleplay from Goriad II Gabanus
Jessica seemed to look Somber to Goriad II's surprise. "It seems she has not yet accepted faith, Gilly would have put her lips on the blade and drank the blood" he thought to himself as a smile appeared: "Then again she is the most wicked one I know. Where would she have gone?," he continued to wonder.
Then suddenly a young nobleman who looked familiar approached him and introduced himself as Alacrix. "A Templar seeking my guidance? Interesting," he thought before he answered him. "Ofcourse, my knowledge of Obeah is yours. What questions do you have?"
In the meantime Goriad II took his cloak again and once more covered his scars.
Roleplay from Gythrul Attano
Gythrul watched the red-headed woman walk away. He now knew where he recognised her from, she was Jessica Gildre. He recalled seeing her at the Astros incident.
He went after her, trying to track her through the group of nobles. He had almost given up when he saw the sparkle of her dress.
He navigated his way through the group, seething with resentment at the pompous crowd. He would have put them to the sword had he the influence. He would have punished them for their blindness to Truth. Would have.
He was stopped by a woman. She looked forty winters old and wore finery that marked her a wealthy merchant. He murmured a curse that would have caused the Inquisition to drag him to a cell had they heard it.
The Wraith clenched an armoured fist in anger.
“My Lord, I don’t believe we’ve met. I am Alyianna, a member of the shipping guild. And you are?†The woman asked, Gythrul opened his fist and clenched it again.
“The Last Tongue of the Gods.†He rasped, quiet enough to be unintelligible, but loud enough that the woman could hear him say something.
He began to turn, annoyed.
Roleplay from Gythrul Attano
Gythrul contemplated speaking to Goriad, but decided against it. If he wanted to continue where he had left of, the Regent would have to come to Gythrul.
He made his way to the parlour, glaring at the lesser nobles and merchants trying to get his attention. They were pompous creatures, though some had the look of warriors. These nobles received a polite dismissal.
A large tapestry caught the Wraith’s eye and he moved to it, studying it intently.
Roleplay from Maura Arnickles Renodin
Sitting in the kitchen Maura downed one cup after another, getting more drunk with every passing quarter-hour. From time to time the sounds of the party and chatter of the kitchen staff found their way to her ears: laughter, music, gasps of shock, "... half naked...", "... bloody dagger...", "... magnificent dress...".
Then - on a verge of drunken stupor she heard an all too familliar voice - sitting on a kitchen stool, really Maura?
"You... I... I am perfectly fine right here." - Maura replied.
Getting drunk on wine in the kitchen?
"It's a perfectly good wine."
I could hazard a guess that it would taste much better when shared with a fellow noble.
"Fellow nob- you see? I don't belong here, I can't mingle. I would make a fool of myself."
You silly goose! Of course you won't belong anywhere just hiding in the kitchen! Now stop moping and get out there! You at least ought to introduce yourself to the hostess. Besides, I think I saw batter-dipped lychee in the dining hall, you had a face of a ten-year-old the first time you tasted it, remember?
"Our experiences of being a ten-year-old are vastly different." - Maura said with a hint of a mocking smile on her face and continued - "I'm still not convinced, I... I don't think I deserve it."
Well, now you have no choice dearie - you've been talking to yourself for the past five minutes. It will be much more embarassing for you to stay here than to go out there.
"Akkan's arse!" - she cursed in half-whisper and seeing the servants even more confused than when she arrived, she swiftly stormed out the door, bouncing off both sides of the door casing in her drunken gait.
"Pay compliments to the host..." - she thought to herself when scanning the room. It took her a little while to identify the noble most oftenly consulted by the master of ceremonies - a red haired woman in a magnificent black gown. Maura's eyebrows involuntarily rose half an inch when she compared it to the rusting, fur-padded chainmail she was wearing. The pinch of embarassment sobered her up a little bit. She took a couple of seconds to pull herself together and begun a slow but intent walk across the parlour, towards the lady in the black gown.
Roleplay from Divus Lancaster
Divus had never really been one for parties. Large crowds not all pointed in the same direction overwhelmed him some, and the thought of having to converse with his peers in the realm was a daunting thought. While he certainly had something to say about military fortifications, or the best position to set up an ambush, the thought of discussing art or music or whatever the other nobles of Obia'Syela was a bit frightening. In truth, he most likely would have skipped the party if his path didn't lead him to Rines anyway on the way to Avengmil.
While his captain Luitpold secured provisions and a few extra men, Divus decided to venture over to the Temple District in the city, invitation clutched in his hand. While he did not know the host, he surmised that most of the nobles of note in Obia'Syela were given similar invitations. Once more, a new Regent had been chosen, and he felt it would be rude to ignore the event altogether. Perhaps stay for a drink or two, he thought, as his horse trot up the cobblestone road.
Already night had fallen in the city, but there was a lively and joyous atmosphere. While on the road to Rines, Divus had wondered how those nobles who were more religious than those in his home country would party. To his surprise, the din of the party grew as he approached. The sound of minstrels and laughter floated down the lit streets, commoners idling outside their homes and shops trying to soak up the atmosphere. They parted for him quickly enough and before too long a servant was taking his horse as he stepped into the party itself.
The initial room was so bright that Divus stood there frozen, blinking quickly in an attempt to adjust. All around him were other nobles in various states as they spoke and danced. Although no one was paying him with any significant interest, Divus still felt as nervous as he did on the eve of a battle. Adrenaline coursed through him as he entered the party in earnest, nodding at those who met his eyes. He had no idea the proper social courtesies in a situation like this in Obia'Syela. On the road, and in the small towns, things were much simpler. Mercifically, a servant walked up to him holding a tray of cups.
"Wine, my lord?" The servant asked, not meeting Divus' eyes.
"Thank Obeah," he replied, before taking a cup and downing its contents in a single gulp.
Divus grabbed another cup before the servant departed, but this time elected to savor its contents, at least for a little while.
Around him were some of of the minor members of the nobility, dressed in colors he did not recognize. Every once and a while, though, he spotted someone or a group from a great houses. Their clothes a shade finer, or their entourage a few people larger. In an effort to get a closer look at what he thought were some of the high ranking Templars, a woman dancing bumped into him. The wine threatened to tumble out of his hand, but he quickly recovered before more damage could be done. The woman had fortunately not fallen, but had stopped to catch her breath. She wore a green dress, with red hair tied in a tight bun behind her head. Her cheeks were rosy, and Divus could tell she barely saw him through the fog of the drink.
"I am so sorr-" he began, before the girl was off again, rejoining the dance. Divus sighed and finished his drink before looking around for another servant.
"Obeah, help me," he thought, as the minstrels played on.
Roleplay from Maura Arnickles Renodin
Pushing forward through the hall in unnaturally straight line only a drunken man can be determined to maintain, Maura narrowly avoided bumping into an imposing knight clad in full-plate armour. 'So I'm not the only one to wear armour to a social event' - she thought to herself, regaining some of her composure. Her optimistic train of thought was cut short by disturbing gaze of the knight slowly creeping up from behind his mask, prompting her to continue on her way sparing no haste.
Finally she reached who she assumed to be the lady of the manor. "LADY JESSICA!" - she said a fair bit louder than she intended and bowed in exaggeratedly ceremonial way, nearly losing her balance. "Maura Arnickles Renodin, at your service."
-
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre
"LADY JESSICA!"
The shout made several guests jump, and Jessica quickly turned in surprise. Before her stood a young warrior she had never seen before, clad in armor. Quickly, she spared a glance back at the masked man who was currently admiring the massive tapestry on the wall, then turned back to the loud woman just as she continued.
"Maura Arnickles Renodin, at your service."
Jessica broke a small smile and inclined her head towards the woman, but paused and raised an eyebrow at the warrior when she spoke her family name.
Roleplay from Maura Arnickles Renodin
Seeing her interlocutor's surprise at the name, Maura just waved her hand in the air and doing her best not to slur the words she said - "Yes, there is some relation, but forgive me, the ins and outs of our pedigree are a bit too hazy for my not entirely sober mind."
Careful not to make any blunders, Maura adopted a tactic to swiftly change subjects, not allowing for any of them to linger for more than a minute. A socialite trick she learnt from the most adapt courtly noble lady she knew. That particular trick never failed her, altough admittedly it wouldn't have much chance to fail her, since she never used it before.
After a quiet couple of seconds Maura said, noting Jessica's wordless welcome: "Person of few words, I see? I don't mind, I'm a taciturn creature myself..." - and raising a cup of wine she commented - "... takes a couple of these to get more than one sentence at a time out of me."
Proud of her social skills she changed the subject again:
"Quite a gathering of peculiar characters you have here, my lady." - she half-whispered in conspirational tone and subtly indicated the masked knight with her eyes.
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre
Jessica nodded, and also looked towards the masked man. Her brow narrowed slightly. Was he familiar to her? How could he be? He was wearing a mask. Still... there was something...
Quickly, Jessica looked back to Maura, smiled, and raised her glass towards her. Then she took a long drink of her wine.
Roleplay from Gythrul Attano
Gythrul was aware of being watched. He turned slightly and saw two women out of the corner of his eye. Lady Gildre and one he had run into earlier.
He turned on his heel and walked over to them.
“Lady Gildre.†He rasped, bowing slightly. “It is an honour to meet you under more favourable circumstances. I am Gythrul Attano.â€
He turned his head to regard the stranger.
“I don’t believe I am familiar with you, My Lady. You are?â€
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre
“Lady Gildre.†He rasped, bowing slightly. “It is an honour to meet you under more favourable circumstances. I am Gythrul Attano.â€
Jessica's eyes widened as the masked man spoke his name. She stumbled backward away from him and spit on the ground. Frantically, she looked for a weapon, silently cursing the dress.
Desperately, she pulled a fire poker from a rack beside the hearth and spun back to point it at Gythrul. She heard Bryant let out a shout at her disturbance, and within a moment several guards charged into the parlor. They looked for an enemy, confused, and only found Jessica pointing the fire poker at Gythrul, her hand shaking visibly.
Roleplay from Maura Arnickles Renodin
"Lord Gythrul, I am pleased to meet you. My name is Maura Arnickles R..." - she got interrupted by the hostess of the evening pointing an improvised weapon at the newly met knight. She swiftly unsheathed her scimtar only to be reminded that the handle lacks a blade, making it completely useless in fight. She immediately sobered up, internally cursing the lapse of attention. Even unarmed she still instinctively stood next to Lady Jessica in defensive stance and asked: "M'Lady are we in peril? Is there an assassin behind that mask?"
Roleplay from Gythrul Attano
Gythrul chuckled as Jessica brandished the fire poker. It was an unpleasant sound, a skeleton laughing.
“Lady Gildre. My reputation appears to still be strong. I wonder if it’s Keffa or my actions in general that has provoked you.†Another chuckle. He turned to Maura.
“A pleasure to meet you Lady Maura. Fear not, I am only the Last Tongue of the Gods, Defiler of Keffa and Apostate. I served the Daimons during the ‘Invasion’.†He explained, eyeing off the guards.
“This show of force is quite unnecessary, My Lady.â€
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre
Jessica looked around frantically. The guards just stood there, not moving. Other nobles were looking at her with odd expressions.
What was going on??
"Cousin!" a voice from the crowd commanded, "Settle your arm. Danger does not face you here tonight."
From between several nobles Sir Lavitz entered the room. A hush fell on the room, and Jessica stared at her cousin, mouth agape in surprise, exposing her stump of a tongue. Lavitz had not been seen for months, since before Jessica had landed on the shores of Obia. He had been locked away in his estate, deep in meditation and prayer. He had grown a long, unkempt beard and wore simple brown robes. He moved forward to stand next to Gythrul.
"There are forces at work here of which you have no knowledge, cousin," he said to her, "The Oracle and the Inquisition have their own affairs in his matter. Trust that is taken care of... even if I do agree it is troublesome to have one as Damned as he in our midst."
Jessica shook her head. She wanted to scream. Her face was red, and tears welled in her eyes. She grasped the poker with both hands, trying to stop her hands from shaking.
Roleplay from Maura Arnickles Renodin
'A daimon servant in the holy realm? Is he mocking us?' - Maura thought.
"Sir Gythrul, a splendid joke, as we both know if that were true statements you would be enjoying Grand Inquisitor's hospitality by now." - Maura said, not entirely convinced with her own words. There 'was' something disturbing about this man but she couldn't really put finger on it.
She said: "Good jesting knight, why don't you take off your mask, so we can all feel more comfortable?"
Roleplay from Goriad II Gabanus
After finishing his conversation with Alacrix (Ooc, hope we can finish it. Long live time warp) Goriad II was drawn to a scene elsewhere in the room. Guards were rushing in and there was talk of a fight.
He arrived just after Lavitz did, in time to see Jessica's shaking hands pointing the rod at a man in armour and a mask. He was about to interfere untill he saw Maura's large posture. It was unmistakable as there were few women of her size. "You!" He said as he gazed right into Maura's eyes "I searched the whole south for the two of you, where is she?"
He did not pay heed to the man Jessica was pointing a weapon at and as such was even unaware of who he was. With all the guards he figured the man could be no real threat.
Roleplay from Maura Arnickles Renodin
Shifting her gaze from Gythrul to Jessica and back again a couple of times Maura was oblivious to the gathering around them and whom it was composed of, until a certain voice shifted her attention entirely. A voice that also shifted her posture from battle-ready to completely defeated. "You!" - a shout sounded, shortly followed by the sharp sound of the bladeless handle of her sword hitting the stone floor. Maura knew to whom the voice belonged and whose stare will her eyes meet. "Grand Inquisitor" - she whispered looking straight at him.
"I searched the whole south for the two of you, where is she?" - said Goriad II.
Maura failed to hold his gaze as her eyes fell on the floor and she said in complete surrender: "she's with the Veiled Goddess now."
Roleplay from Goriad II Gabanus
Maura did not meet his gaze and said: "she's with the Veiled Goddess now."
Goriad II shook his head "Impossible, none of us can reach Obeah's world, not untill we weaken the veil between our worlds."
He paused a moment to let his words sink in and then continued: "What happened to her?"
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre
Jessica looked disbelievingly between Lavitz and Goriad II. She then turned her glare back to Gythrul, threw the fire poker on the ground, and stormed from the room.
Roleplay from Maura Arnickles Renodin
"Impossible, none of us can reach Obeah's world, not untill we weaken the veil between our worlds,†said Goriad II. A moment later he asked: "What happened to her?"
To the theological remark Maura replied - "That may be so..." - and shook her head, whith her eyes still motionlessly transfixed at the useless clunker of a weapon dropped to the floor, and continued - "... after all she was the one to read all about our faith, not me."
She calmed her voice before answering the question - "On our way between Bolkenia and Cagamir... Jarra died." - the name of her friend was heavier than the cornerstone of the building in Maura's mouth and her vocal chords were heaving it with equal amounts of shame and pride.
-
Roleplay from Goriad II Gabanus
Goroad II heard some noise beyond Maura but did not pay attention to the other conversation being held.
"On our way between Bolkenia and Cagamir... Jarra died." She had said. "She died?" he said, "She died how?" He continued and before Maura could reply he went even further "She died and you survived?"
He moved further towards the tall women and lifted her chin with his hand. It was a strange site as the women was taller and bigger built than he was. "Look at me," he finally said "HOW?"
Roleplay from Maura Arnickles Renodin
"She died?", "She died how?", "She died and you survived?" - Regent's questions were increasing in intensity. To the last one Maura only thought 'I'd prefer I didn't' but chose against saying it.
She reached back into tormenting memories from over a year ago and winced from non-physical pain as she started telling the story:
"We were scouting south, en route from Bolkenia to Cagamir. We were just passing by the ruin of a bridge to sunken Eno when we got into an ambush. It was only a group of bandits hoping to get easy profit, they likely mistaken us for trade caravan. When they realised their mistake we've already dispatched two thirds of them and caused the rest to retreat. The fight wasn't challanging, but it was enough to distract us, enough to realize a minute too late that a greater foe scented us out. A pack of beasts not unlike wolves, just bigger and fiercer charged us. We barely had time to form a phalanx. We were holding our own but unlike us the beasts weren't tired and their feral stamina could have them going all day. Jarra looked at me, I shouted an order to pull back to the ruin of the bridge. With twenty feet of fall to the water surface behind our back we wouldn't get surrounded. It was a good plan for that situation. The fight took much longer but we had the numbers and the formation, we were set for victory. The leader of the pack was the biggest and toughest of them all, it moved on two legs. I squared off against it, the fight took all the wind out of me but ultimately I sliced off it's paws and saw it bleed out. Before the battle ended the day became a night. Seeing that we prevailed, exhausted I fell to the ground, darkness intensified further in my eyes and I felt every vein in my body pulsating. I thought we were safe. But with the night came the darkness and with the darkness came the undead. I was slipping out of consciousness in terror, trying to will my limbs to move and my body to stand... then I heard her..."
Maura clenched her teeth and took a deep breath before continuing:
"The sweetest voice of our Jarra. She said - "Don't you worry Maura, you protected me since I was just a kid, now it's my turn. We faced worse odds before and prevailed." But I knew how bad our situation was. Our ranks were thinned out and our warriors exhausted with two previous fights. And the bridge... the bridge was the worst place possible to defend against undead. The raised dead, they just push forward mindlessly, not minding our spears and swords. When I heard Jarra shout to form wedge, a spark of hope was the last thing I felt before blacking out."
She took another couple of seconds to calm her voice and said:
"A spark extinguished so violently... rays of first sun and masticating sounds awoke me. The first thing I saw was a blue glove streched out towards my face, the second thing was her beautiful pale face, calm and half-smiling to me, then I saw her dead, motionless eyes and locate the source of the sounds - a ghastly, animated corpse chewing on her ribs, her body was... she was not all there.
The undead were few by then - I killed them all. Burned all the corpses - our men, the beasts, the undead; except for her. I burried what remained of Jarra right by that bridge. I embedded a blue gauntlet on the headstone, it's unmistakable."
She held Goriad's gaze, as if deciding something, but the look she had was not fear, it was surrender. She finished her story saying:
"I know I failed her. I failed to defend her..." - she squeezed a scar where her left thumb used to be - "... I was supposed to be a shield. But I failed her more than that. She underestimated every threat she ever faced, because I let her underestimate them. Because I was always there to save her. But when I finally wasn't there, she wasn't ready for it... The fault is mine..." - she looked at the man before her and intently looking him in the eyes added - "... and mine alone."
Roleplay from Goriad II Gabanus
The fault is mine... and mine alone."
He looked at her for a moment, his eyes piercing hers. His silence spoke a thousamd words, although any and all would interpret them differently.
As she told her story, Goriad II had taken one of his knives in his right hand and slowly started tapping its tip in his left hand. When she finished he lifted up the knife and pointed it into her direction amd waggled it up and down. "She had great potential Maura and you lost her. You allowed them to take her," he said in a strangely calm voice. He shook his head "a shame Maura, she wasn't ready yet. Maybe one day you will be." As he spoke a small grin appeared on his face at the end and suddenly he made a small cut into his hand." After he had finished speaking he took his bloodied palm and placed it on Maura's right cheek as he padded it a few times.
He then turned around only to see Jessica had left and only Lavitz and Gyrthrul remained. "What in Obeah's name happened here?"
Roleplay from Gythrul Attano
“No joke, Lady Maura. Truth be told, I am surprised Lady Jessica has reacted this well.†He glanced around, that fire poker wouldn’t do too much against his armour, but the guards could give him some trouble. “If I took off my mask... my current condition would not make anyone more comfortable.â€
He turned his head to the voice. Gythrul did not recognise the man, but he was apparently Jessica’s cousin. He listened to what he said.
“Why do you defend me?†He asked the newcomer, he was wary.
He cursed, loud enough for the man standing beside him to hear as Goriad approached. It was a curse born of annoyance.
His glare towards the Regent was interrupted by the loud clang of metal against stone. He turned his attention just in time to see Jessica storm off. He considered going after her, but decided against it. He slowly picked up the fire poker, and handed it to a guard.
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre
Lavitz turned to look at Gythrul, "I don't defend you, Daimon Lord. I defend the decision of the Prophetess Rania. If it was up to me, I would skewer you atop a lofty post to decorate the ramparts. Fortunately, that is not the responsibility of the Templars, and I have no authority in the matter. As long as you have the favor of the Prophetess and the Inquisition, you will see no harm from me."
He turned slightly, noticing the Regent as well. Momentarily, he shared the feeling of dislike with Gythrul. The feeling of sharing anything with that souless wraith made his stomach turn.
Roleplay from Gythrul Attano
Gythrul had hold back laughter at the irony of the situation. He and Jessica’s cousin, both men of faith, both with a hatred of each other’s theologies, sharing dislike toward the same man.
“I have no doubt you would.†He whispered in a raspy voice. “But I doubt there is much left of my body to skewer.†He chuckled lightly at this.
He cocked his head to the side, curious about the Regent’s actions. What was his interest in this woman?
“See to your cousin. Family is important. I will occupy Goriad.â€
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre
"What in Obeah's name happened here?"
Lavitz gazed in the direction his cousin had departed, then turned to Goriad II, "Been a long time, Goriad. Or should I say 'Regent'?" he said unappreciatively, "I don't think Jessica is ready to forgive those who aided the Daimon Princes. Seeing as Akkan tortured her and cast her from the continent to the Colonies, I can understand her hostility. I do not know what horrors she faced on that continent, but I do know she left here with her tongue..." He sighed, "Undoubtedly, it only compounded her hatred of him," Lavitz cocked his head towards Gythrul.
"What is your scheme here anyways Gythrul?" Lavitz asked the wraith.
Roleplay from Goriad II Gabanus
Lavitz looked at him as he replied: "I don't think Jessica is ready to forgive those who aided the Daimon Princes..."
Goriad II was confused as he was uncertain of what this Templar spoke of. He knew little of Jessica he realized, but slowly he learned more and more.
"Who aided the Daimon Princes?" He asked after which he looked to Gyrthrul "You were once a servant of the daemons?"
Roleplay from Gythrul Attano
“Scheme? Speak to the Oracle, discuss a few things then consider the future.†Gythrul rasped, before turning his attention back to Goriad.
He considered being a smartass about the Regent’s question, though it would probably not end well for him. “I.... was. I served as the Harbinger of Spearhold, the Last Tongue of the Gods and I defiled your temple at Keffa.â€
Roleplay from Maura Arnickles Renodin
Maura touched her bloody face. She wasn't surprised with being covered in blood at the end of this conversation, she was surprised that it wasn't her own blood.
Dumbstruck she thought - "I guess I was misinterpreting their relationship all that time", as she retreated to one of the benches beside the wall, from where she continued to observe the developments regarding the masked daimon-worshipper. She made a mental note to talk to the charming devil-spawn later on.
Roleplay from Goriad II Gabanus
“I.... was. I served as the Harbinger of Spearhold, the Last Tongue of the Gods and I defiled your temple at Keffa.†the masked man said.
Goriad II smiled for a moment "Good," he said as he nodded "I have been meaning to speak with one, let alone one with such a title. The last tongue huh? Then you must know all they spoke off, good."
Unknowingly Goriad II continued to tap with the dagger as he spoke as he had never returned it into his cloack.
"Now last Tongue, you will no doubt be dying to tell me what you learned," a vile grin appeared on his face as he quickly looked at the surrounding guards. "Let's start simple. The daemon Overlords demanded human worship as it gave them strength. Did they have the power to steer the energies of willing human souls to weaken the veil between our world and the Netherworld or did they use it to strengthen the magical flows of the world? To clarify, the human worship power, did it effect and help control the magical flows or did it effect the veil directly?"
Roleplay from Gythrul Attano
Gythrul put his hands behind his back and stared the Regent in the eye.
“I am not dying to tell you anything, My Lord Regent. Threaten me all you will, I will discuss what I deem acceptable with the Oracle.†How Gythrul wanted to strike that grin from Goriad’s face. He clenched his fists. He was slightly regretting not bringing his sword.
Worst case scenario, he was killed again, best case was he made a powerful enemy. “What do you plan to do now? Kill or arrest me?â€
Roleplay from Maura Arnickles Renodin
Hearing Gythrul's response Maura knew what was to follow. Not feeling in a mood for beholding a slaughter she decided to make her leave. She sought out Master of Ceremony, Bryant was his name, and asked him to bid her farewell to Lady Jessica, after which she departed, hurling her broken weapon into the bushes outside Gildre Manor, so she would remember getting a new one.
Roleplay from Goriad II Gabanus
Gythrul finished his tensed words: “What do you plan to do now? Kill or arrest me?â€
Goriad II just grinned and shook his head: "If I threathen you, you'll know it," and he chuckled briefly "Since you seem to claim continously you have a deal with the Oracle and will tell her what we need to know, we'll take a short trip to go see her." He then made a short gesture towards Sigmund "Sigmund, tell Jessica that both Gythrul and I have to leave, but that I look forward to seeing her again."
He then turned back to Gythrul: "Now you can join me to the Oracle by choice, or I will have them take you into custody by force and will have them cut off your feet so they can more easily drag you along," he then turned his back to the man and moved away from the crowd. He turned around for a brief second and said: "Now that was a threat my dear friend."
Roleplay from Gythrul Attano
Gythrul clenched his fists harder. He wasn’t surprised that the Regent has decided to bring that up. “Yes we shall, our meeting has been long overdue.†He rasped, taking a step forward.
The Wraith hissed lightly at Goriad. “I am no friend of yours, My Lord Regent.†He put an angered emphasis on the title as he followed Goriad, cursing.
Roleplay from Jessica Gildre
Lavitz followed the Regent and the Wraith. He was heading back to the Basilica anyways to resume his meditations.
As the men left, Bryant cleared his throat.
"My fair nobles," he called, "Her Lady Jessica is humbled at your presence, and thanks you for making the time to attend. Should you need a carriage, please do not hesitate to request one from the porters. Please have a wonderful evening."
Slowly, party goers began to take their leave from the estate.