Through Sword and Pen [IC]

[XiaoTie]

War. War never changes. The Romans waged war to gather slaves and wealth.
Spain built an empire from its lust for gold and territory.
Hitler shaped a battered Germany into an economic superpower.
But war never changes.

Fallout videogame series

Twenty years have passed since the end of the First War of the Dawn Era.
Dracin are once again gathering on the Ungebeich Plains.
From Lieu to Fleulle Lacsitan fear the worst.
Yasirin struggle against the ever present ogre menace.
And the Gysun?
To whom would they ally on the Second War that lurked the horizon?
For a war lurks the horizon of the four kingdoms.
And war, war never changes.

___Mournful and resting time was over; it was time to decide where to go now. Where to find a job was no problem at all, as these times were the perfect times for swords-for-hire. During the past few weeks one rumor was constantly heard in between a mug of good ale, the kisses of a (somewhat) fine woman and the best food for miles and miles in all directions. The orcish horde had set outposts throughout the land, and being beastly as they were they had no trouble in enlisting the Northern Beasts, as the northern-trolls that lived up the Spear Wall were called. The yasirin army could not entirely handle the situation; the soldiers were either fighting the now nearly constant orcish invasions on the coast, or guarding the western coast from the dracin. Hiring swords was now the fastest solution, not only adopted by the army, but also by most of the population.

___In Lacsiter the things were no different. The majority of the soldiers were stationed at the Gran Fortress on the westernmost part of the kingdom, while the rest fought the raids that rained down from the Spear Wall, or sprung up from the deepest underground lairs on the Spear Wall, and like the yasirin kingdom, the lacsitan is constantly hiring swords to control the raids. The troubles in Drachenländer were of no amplitude when compared to the situation faced by the yasirin and the lacsitan. And Gyasi was still the blessed land it always were, it seemed to be protected by a mystic aura that kept disgrace far away from its lands.

___It was the twentieth day of the eighth month. In Oirahin, the group of swords-for-hire formerly known as the Blackstone’s Finest is finally packing their gears at the Frozen Drool Drop Inn, and getting ready to hit the road again. They had spent the last few weeks living there, some silencing their sorrows with much alcohol, some with women, and some with both. A bright sun was shinning in the yasirin sky, not a common sight, especially at this time of the year, but a beautiful sight, and perhaps a good omen some would say. But not even the bright sun could make the temperature warmer, it was the end of the fall and the winter would have arrived by the next week, and when that time came, the name of the Inn would suddenly make more sense.

___The horses were outside waiting, the stable boy had fed them and treated them with care for the days the group stayed at the Inn. Everything was paid; the luggage was on the common room, as were their owners the Blackstone’s Finest. In a corner Amadeo had the rest most of the group around him while he told some jokes, failing miserably, and that was the funny part that nearly always made them laugh. The group was waiting for Barbarosa and Dieter; the two had just now entered the room, having a friendly argument about religions. Finally they were all there, present on the living room, silence arose as some began to sit to discuss their future, while others still stood, participating on the discussion nevertheless.

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[OOC: Use the spoiler tag to ask/give informations. Game on fellas ]

Blackstone's Finest
{table=head]Player | Character | Class
RuneWalsh | Amadeo d'Aleccio | Scout
BooNL | Dieter | Swashbuckler
Brawnspear | Barbarosa | Shaman (D. Shaman mod.)
Cocky | Braerne Jurkojc | Barbarian
Darmuid | Bron Tueflight | Ranger/Fighter
OniLever² | Willem "Lemmy" Devereaux | Rogue
Theterran | Jarvis Koppa | Ranger
Kyroswolf | Gimil, the dwarf | Fighter[/table]

²: Currently MIA, being NPCed by the DM.

[OniLever]

Lemmy

A tall man -- not particularly thin nor heavy -- sits next to Amadeo, humoring him with a chuckle or two. The usually talkative Lemmy just smiles weakly before letting his face droop a little, his eyes in a far away place. His hair, which is generally a large disheveled shock of red is even more in disarray. His green eyes look as if he had not slept much last night. And certainly, the barkeep can attest to his late evening: he had one last go with the bottle to commemorate the passing of Isami.

He waits patiently for the others to get ready to leave. His hands fiddle with each other as if they were anxious to get moving again.

[BooNL]

Dieter

"...I'm just saying, Nuhan will make a move toward Ahir in the coming age. It will be subtle, but it will test our faith." . Dieter ends his discussion by slapping Barbarosa on the back.

He looks up at the assembled mercenaries, the last of Blackstone's Finest. He felt a chill crawl up his spine. These would be trying times.

He drops his backpack near the rest of the luggage and paces up and down the common room.

"Friends, brothers, allies." He looks around to see if he has everyone's attention. "We have lost much in the past months, Blackstone's Finest is down to their last. Imasi is gone and we are without leadership for the first time in our careers." Dieter's voice sounds hoars, but his light Dracin accent makes his voice as pleasant to listen to as ever.

"The time for mourning is over. We have to decide where we are going from here. As of now, I consider us all free men, our contract with Imasi ended. If you want to leave, you're free to go." He looks around and silently hopes no one nods or stands up. "However!" His voice almost a cry now. "Our lives are not bonded by contract. Our oaths to each other are not bonded by contract. Our respect to Imasi's spirit is not bonded by contract!

I suggest we find us some ogre bastards to kill and do what we do best. Defend the lives of the empires and make a bunch of money doing so!

Who's with me?

Adrenaline rushing through his veins, Dieter takes a step backwards and waits for the others to speak up.

[RuneWalsh]

Amadeo

After Dieter's speech, Amadeo puts on a straight face and puts his joking to a hold. He had been joking more than usual lately to hide the fact that he, himself was grieving. His good friend was gone. Imasi was a mentor and a strategical tutor to him, and now the lacsitan had to go on and learn to be a good mercenary the hard way.

Amadeo stood up and, smiling again, he says to all: "Dieter is right. We can't stay here and feel sorry for ourselves, and by Ahir I don't want to go back to felling critters by myself!", suddenly interrupts himself with a chuckle. He goes on saying "Dieter and I are moving on, and I'm hoping the rest of you are too" finishing with a friendly smile, though he looks downward, fearing a negative response of someone.

[Cocky]

Braerne skulks into the room from the one adjoining. Thick, crimson veins bulge bloodshot in both eyes. His beard is matted, still-moist and untied, sagging from his face like a mountainous shrub. His posture is hunched, the dense frame normally so straight now wilted and a lingering stench of cheap spirit permeates the path he walks.

Amadeo's usual jibes drift over him, the words drowning in the sea of misery, the punchlines lost to the winds. He watches Dieter, usually somewhat of a scamp and a trusted battle-partner give his speech. The impassioned lines do their job. Where could he go anyway? The romany camp he was born in was not an option, and what would he do anywhere else? What could he do? He was a fighter, a killer if hairs were not to be split. Killing sounded good right now. Damned Good.

A slow smile breaks the bleakness of his face, this was a pretty big low he thinks... recalling his earlier reasoning, time seems about right for another high. Standing straight and straining some of the damp from his beard he bellows: Here! I'm with you!

[theterran]

Jarvis

A smile crept across Jarvis's face, the first one since that ill fated day.

It's about time we get moving, sitting around drowning our sorrows will not help anyone, continuing on will help us much more.

Jarvis raises his tankard to Dieter's speech, but says nothing.
Perched upon the table beside Jarvis is his eagle Thor, much to the displeasure of the innkeeper. Not normally used to being in doors, Thor had hardly left Jarvis's side since that day, and he was greatful for it.

Another thought crept across Jarvis's mind...

I wonder which way we'll go...

[OniLever]

Lemmy

Lemmy, too, is moved by Dieter's speech; a nod of agreement is what crossed his face. He has no desire for revenge, nor does he have any sort of bloodlust in his veins. Rather, a feeling of family comes over him. Ever since he hastily left the univserity, Imasi treated him like a son, and his comrades were (and still are) his brothers. Unlike his real family, they appreciate him for what he can do, not what power he would have held.

"Count me in! My brain, my hands and my ladle are in your service!"

[Brawnspear]

Barbarosa
After entering with Dieter, Barbarosa stands off to the side , keeping an eye on the door, and surveys this once merry band of brothers. While broken hearted and downtrodden, he can tell that the will of his friends is not broken. This cheers his heart. Up until now, he had been afaid that these once proud men had given up. He was afraid that he'd be doomed to continue his wandering alone. Afraid he had failed again. Watching Dieter make the speech that he had expected him to make (that boy had more in him than he thought even Dieter himself realized), he reflected on how far this band had come. They had learned from Imasi, and what they had learned would keep them strong. Upon the big man's exhultation, he whispered under his breath, "Atta boy Braerne." He had quite possibly feared for the younger berserker the most. After hearing the general approval of Plan: Lets Keep on Keeping on, he said with a mock roll of his eyes and a slight smile. "Well, I guess I can't let you all get yourselves killed. Think of the guilt trip I 'd get from Imasi when I finally kicked it. You all can count on me! He would not fail again in his duties as a protector!

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Edited to make not as copyish as the previous post. and then again to finish the spoiler tag

[Diarmuid]

Bron Trueflight

The older ranger nodded along approvingly as it seemed everyone had finally let their grief run its course without suffering further losses through desertion and/or stupdity.

"Well, it's good we're all on the same page. I fer one dont know much else beyond what I've done for the last years, and I dont really have anyplace to go back home to. Since we wanna keep on with what we been doing...seems to me we need a commission. Since this was Imasi's homeland, and they seem to be in some state of turmoil what with their queen being dead...this seems like it'd be a good place to start. Plus, I think with our efforts to defend the queen and these lands, they'd probably be fairly accepting of hiring us on. Maybe Dieter could try to set up a meeting with whatever people are currently in power around here?"

[BooNL]

Dieter

Relieved that no one walked away and feeling the strenght of brotherhood among these men, Dieter steps forward.

"It is settled then, Blackstone's Finest remains, with most of their best members I might add." A smile flashes across Dieter's face, but quickly disappears. Now was not the time for jokes.

"The question remains where we are going from here. I agree with Bron that we should make a new name for ourselves in Yasirin.

Most of the army is fighting the orcish invasion on the coast. But I hear the beasts have set up outposts throughout the land. I suggest we find one of these places and tear it down, that will get everyones attention!

He walks over to the bar and looks at the innkeeper. "My good man, have you heard any rumours of these outposts around here? If not, do you know of anyone willing to offer coin in protection of their land?

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Diplomacy check to discover if anyone is hiring.
Diplomacy - (1d20+12)[31]

[XiaoTie]

The man was cleaning a few glasses behind the counter while waiting for the other workers, so he could start preparing the meal for the costumers that used to come around noon to have lunch and talk about anything and everything, especially if it involved other people’s lives. He didn't want to, but it was not a difficult task to overhear a conversation that took place on an empty common room, and the difficult rate would drop even more if the group talking was the one that rode with one of the town's prodigy son, Isami.

"Yes sir. They say that the ogre scum has set a few o' those outposts up on the Wall. Pestering the lives of our people and the people in Lacsiter. Well sir, you see, they say that the army can't handle all them ogre scum, and I'm not surprised by that, there are too many of 'em and too few of us. And because of that they are hiring such groups like yours," the man leans his body frontward and speaks now with a mere whisper, "people say that our good Isami was already working for them.". He regains the former posture, cleaning the glass and speaks with a normal tone of voice "It shouldn't be hard for you to find a job. They've got an army representative here. He is stationed a couple streets south of here, it is the biggest house there, you can't miss it.".

[BooNL]

Dieter

Dieter's smile broadens on hearing the innkeepers news.

"Thank you my good man. He reaches into his pouch and flips a few pieces of silver on the counter. "You really ought to buy a new rag, you're only making the glasses dirtier." Dieter winks at the innkeeper and turns to his comrades.

"There you have it, our new job. Let's load up our gear and meet this army representative.

With these words he picks up his backpack and waits for anyone to comment.

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-5sp to the innkeeper

[theterran]

Jarvis

Without a word, Jarvis puts down his tankard and stands quickly, grabbing his pack. He stands so quickly he startles Thor, who screeches in protest.

Jarvis moves to stand beside Dieter, and Thor hops along behind.

Looking back, Jarvis notices that Thor left more than just feathers behind on the table. Jarvis turns and tosses a gold piece toward the innkeeper.

"Sorry about the mess"

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-1gp to innkeeper

[Brawnspear]

Barbarosa
"Well before we all go haring off to the army I want to get a better idea of what's going on round here. Maybe see who is next in line for the throne, see if there's any other jobs poking their heads out, and how people are feeling about the the queens recent and sad downfall. I'll meet you back here in a few hours." Assuming no objections, Barbarosa shoulders his pack and strides out the door.

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Gather info check: 18 if you are allowing me to take 10 other than that
(1d20+8)[21]
(not asking for the best, taking ten if you'll allow it)
time: (1d4+1)[2]
(unless you want to roll that)

[RuneWalsh]

Amadeo

"Fine by me. Let's just please get back to moving. I could already feel my body starting to root itself in this town. The thought of settling down makes me shudder" Amadeo says half-jokingly with a wonderfully delighted smile for his friends's positive reactions.

He takes is backpack and moves toward the door out. He stops and looks at the innkeeper, a few coins richer now, and shrugs for not giving him anything like Dieter and Jarvis. Afterwards, he is outside, waiting for the others.

[XiaoTie]

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|OOC: Gather Info check replied to Brawnspear; game on|

[Cocky]

Braerne

Braerne rubs the broken digit on his hand thoughtfully, a faint smile still spread across his face. His pack is already slung across his back, a gypsy habit never lost.

"I shall leave the decisions to you fellows, but hurry, I itch to move and feel the wind once more!"

So saying he strides a shambling gait after his departing comrades, he notices the bird's indiscretion on the table, and sniggering at the inkeepers misfortune breaks for the first time in too long into fresh air.

[Diarmuid]

Bron

The archer scratches at the scrabbly beard on his chin as the talk turns towards where to find a job. At mention of the nobility his face scrunches up a bit.

"Well, being honest I wouldnt mind just talking to the army rep and finding out where there might be some ogres in need of a good whooping fer now. Might not be the best idea to get ourselves embroiled in the machinations of the politicians. Our band is well known due to Imasi around these parts, and I'd hate fer some na'er-do-well to try and capitalize on that ta jumpstart a claim to the throne. I'm fer finding something to fill with arrows, let this place sort it out, and then come back and offer up our services to whoever ended up in charge. And we kin decide then if we likes where they're taking things or if we wanna move on someplace else."

As he talks, he gathers up his things. A swordbelt with a well-nicked scimitar gets strapped onto his hip, a dagger sits on the other hip in a small leather sheath. Over the chain shirt he wears, his grey/green cloak that blends well with shadows and trees alike gets buttoned across his shoulders. A bulging backpack is tossed over his shoulder and his other hand grabs the bowstave that is currently unstrung and acts as a makeshift walking stick.

Dropping a few coins on the bar by way of final thanks for the extended stay there Bron moves to his horse and ties his pack to his saddle, and slides his bowstave into the long leather case underneath one of his saddlebags. Mounting up, he waits to see if the general consensus is to go see the army representative, or to go talk to the nobles and follows along whichever path is taken.

[XiaoTie]

And so, the group starts walking out of the Frozen Drool Drop Inn as the bright sun is not far from the start of his journey towards the west. Barbarosa decides to gather information, of future situations the group and the kingdom could be facing, and temporarily splits from the group in order to speak with the townsfolk. The horses and the carriages are finally all set to leave a few moments after Barbarosa's departure with his two horses.

The group moves slowly and calmly through the snowy streets of the greatest city in all eastern Yasir, while the townsfolk are already hustling on the way to their destinations, whichever that may be. Some of the townsfolk recognize the group as "Isamis' band"; the friendliest of them greeted the group as they passed by.

A little more than one hour later, the group finally finds the army building. Having two storeys above the one in ground level it was indeed the biggest building around the street. The building was rather simple and beautiful, its front was built with black marble (the same material that named the fortress to the east; from where Isami's nickname and band's name came from) and the few details on each corner were made of a metallic material that seemed to shine like silver. It also had a small 'garden' covered in snow like the rest of the street, through which a small path lead to the door, where three guards were stationed.

After the appropriate presentations the guards promised to take care of the horses and the carriages. One of them, the youngest, promptly swore he wouldn't let anything happen to the horses and the luggage, and that it was an honor to guard the horses of Isami's former band. While the young lad went to tie the horses the other two guards informed that you could go inside the building and that the captain was on the first floor, second door to the left.

The interior of the building was likewise simple and equally beautiful, with swords' and horses' paintings hanging on the wall. Quickly the group arrived at the room. The door was open but the man inside was too busy with the large amount of scrolls and paper sheets that were on his desk to notice the arrival of the seven men. He was tall, very tall. Even with him still sitting on his chair it was visible that the he was even taller than Braerne by at least eight or nine inches, and his body was proportional to his size. He wore a black robe with white details on his shoulder pads. The man had no hair; his facial traits indicated that he was around his mid forties, and his eyes were of an intense dark brownish color that was very close from being black.

[BooNL]

Dieter

Dieter clears his throat and drops his backpack on the floor.

"Excuse me sir." He makes a quick salute and continues. "We're the Blackstone's Finest, Imasi's mercenary group. We've heard you have some trouble with a couple of rowdy orcs and ogres.

I you want, we could help out." Cleaning some dirt from under his fingernails, he looks up and adds "For a price ofcourse."

[XiaoTie]

The room was rather spacious. It had huge bookshelves on each side of the desk where the captain was working. Behind the desk there was a small window covered by a long black curtain, that flowed gently accordingly to the breeze that came inside through the window.

The captain raises his eyes, looking at the group that just arrived on his office, making his forehead wrinkle. He speaks with a deep and imposing voice while still only with his eyes raised "Hum, so your group is going to continue carrying his name. Very noble of you." he takes a small pause and continues with a slight smirk on his serious face "Very smart as well. Please, come in, all of you" he makes a small gesture with his right hand as if inviting the group to come inside the office, ""Oh, and close the door please".

He then stood up and proved to be as tall as he seemed. Still behind his desk he kept silent until the door was closed. "Very well then" his voice gains a serious tone as he speaks.

"I will go to directly to the point. The ogres' are once again gradually increasing the numbers of raids to our coasts. That also happened a few months ago, and now we know the reason why it happened. They tried, with some success I must admit, to divert our attention in order to get some of their groups inside our territory. Precisely on the Spear Wall. We believe their plan is to install outposts from where their troops could attack us from within. We already know of at least two of those outposts; one directly south from Oirahin and another to the west, near the Crystal Forest. The one near the Crystal Forest is by far the one that threatens us the most, for obvious reasons like the proximity of our capitol." he pauses for a second, and still with a serious tone of voice he continues.

"That threat must be eliminated quickly before it grows stronger than it already is. Due to the emergency of the situation we are willing to pay three thousand gold pieces to each of you if you can successfully eliminate the orcs on that outposts. The captain gazed the group with a serious look, as if waiting for an answer.

[OniLever]

Lemmy

Lemmy helped load the carriage (a great deal because he has a lot of stuff to load), glad to get moving, glad to get another job, glad to have the chance to think again. During the trip there, he grew more and more interactive as if the burgeoning hope couldn't help but escape. He talked about things from combat tactics to beet soup and from old missions to future plans (like what if they settled down on day and bought themselves a fort). He made sure not to bore anyone with his meandering thoughts and to allow his discussion partner -- whoever it might have been at the time -- to say his piece.

At the meeting, he listens to the details intently, but stays to the back of the group. In his head, he has much to ask, but waits for someone more experienced from the group to take the job first.

[BooNL]

Dieter

Listening intently to the captain's plan. A raid on an orc outpost would sound like a perfect way to get the group into action again. They had a lot to relearn, old tactics had to be reinvented, the dynamics in the group shifted. All these things could not be learned out of the battlefield.

Thinking the plan over in his thoughts he mutters in Dracin "drieduizend goudstukken, daar kan ik wel wat mee."

He turns to the captain and addresses him. "Sounds like a plan Captain. Do you have any tactical information about the outpost? Numbers, defense patterns, anything. Heck, do you know the location?

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Translation: "3000 goldpieces, that'd come in handy"

[XiaoTie]

The captain looks for something under the hundreds of parchment and paper sheets spread on the desk, until he gives up and opens a drawer on his desk. From the drawer he takes a map case, which he opens and hands Dieter the map that was found inside.

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Map

"One of my scouts followed their tracks after they raided a village near the hills north of the Wall by the eastern border of the Crystal Forest. The tracks led to the Spear Wall' smaller peaks, where he found what seemed to be one of their underground outposts. Your best bet would probably be follow some especific tracks to reach the entrance, since the terrain in the forest is too hard to climb; some of you could climb, but probably not all of you. My scout couldn't find out their total numbers, but he saw at least ten of them, but you can surely expect some more. It appears that their leader is a champion of some sort, the orcs were seen using some well divised tactics against those who tried to defend the village".

He delivers the case to Dieter and walks to the chair behind his desk, where he sits, and from there looks at the group "That is all I know about them. So, what do you think ?".

[theterran]

Jarvis

...Lovely...organized orcs...with a stronghold no less. 3000 gold is a nice chunk of money, and I imagine they don't hand this stuff out...I wonder if there's something about this he's not telling us...

...I wonder if we're ready for this kind of...operation...

Jarvis shifts uncomfortably, but keeps his thoughts to himself.

[Diarmuid]

Bron Trueflight

Bron steps closer to the desk to peruse the map laid out by their contact.

"Aye, I think I'm familiar with that area of the Crystal Forest borders."

Looking up from the map, the aging ranger extends a gloved hand towards the man,

"Bron Trueflight, scout of Blackstone's Finest. Your price seems more than fair. Unless anyone else objects, I think we have an arrangement."

He pauses to give the others time to voice their opinions.

"We appreciate your kind words regarding our fallen leader. I had a thought to further honor him with a slight modification of our moniker. Would you forsee any problem if we took up the name "Imasi's Finest", sir?"

[OniLever]

Lemmy

Lemmy nods eagerly in the back when Bron polls the group. His face starts to beam with the suggested name change. His smile remains even as he speaks of the business at hand.

"What sort of tactics did the orcs use against the village? Other than smash and burn, of course."

[XiaoTie]

The captain extends his right hand as he stands up and shakes Bron's hand with a firm grip. "Captain Iwazuki Enlai. Pleased to meet you sir Trueflight. I believe Imasi would indeed be honored with the fact that his name is being carried on by his brothers in arms. As would all those who loved him".

He then turns to Lemmy, still standing behind his desk, "We had no military personel on the village at the time the raid was launched. However, by what the villagers that survived told us, we can assume that they were indeed making use of military tactics. They spoke of very fast, brutal and light armored orcs that carried axes and swords, some of those also had large shields and covered the archers lines and an orc we assume is their leader. He shouted during the entire duration of the raid, while carrying a shield big enough to cover his nearly seven feet tall body. And that is all we know".

[BooNL]

Dieter

"Well, that sounds like a challenge then. Count me in."

[theterran]

Jarvis

Jarvis nods his head in agreement with Dieter.

"It's time we began this hunt..."