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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Levyathyn's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Koganusān, "Boatmurdered"
    Gender
    Male

    Default Merchants of Death

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    Alright, I finally got back on. Posting the intro in the same way as my Spy thread. Sorry, I don't fix what works. :p


    Duc de Khan
    It's late when you return home. Another boring, self-indulgent party, another night of public drinking, another night of false friends. You take off your expensive overcloak and set it down on a coat rack, not even caring about the drops of water hitting the floor. Outside, the rain continues to beat down. You walk up the main stairway, convinced tomorrow will be even worse. You remove your fancy suit and set it aside to be cleaned, knowing the smell of last night's rain would set the silver-spoon hounds on you at tomorrow's function. You enter your bedroom and click on the gas lights. Your bed is made, still, with fresh linen. On your pillow, however, a sealed envelope lay invitingly. You pick it up, unsure as to it's contents, and notice your name is written on the front. You empty the contents and find a Joker, old and used from a pack of cards. Written on the back is an address.

    Le Phantome
    The grand Odeon lay open before you, still in the dark of night. Thunder, gently rolling over the theatre, accents the patter of rain. The balconies play host to your crouching form, concealing you from below. You can feel someone here, in your life, and it makes you angry. Every now and then, you'll hear a slight noise or a groan of boards. Then, you see him. He creeps out into the aisle below you, hands oddly positioned. You can hear him groaning slightly, but you pay it no mind. He doesn't even hear you drop down behind him, but the sudden flap of your cloak as you descend startles him into running. Your gunshot takes him in the back, and he stumbles. You light a few candles, to get a better view of this fool, and you notice that he's been tied up and gagged. He lays in pool of his own blood from both your gunshot and a stab wound. His hands are bound behind his back, and his legs are tied together with little play. The dagger, stuck in his back, appears to be pinning a sheet of paper to him. It has an address on it.

    Rra Matac Deswe
    You enter the low building and flap the rain off of your coat. Before you, the patrons of this den of thieves and brigands barely even pause in their conversations. At the back, in the customary shadowy corner this place is made of, you see the wave of your customer. You make your way towards him, weaving through a crowd few could survive meeting. You sit down, recognizing the man as the one who hired you. He smiles at you and hands you an envelope. You open it, but instead of the payment you expected, you find a tarot card. The Tower. Recognizing the man's intentions, you notice the three guys behind you all too late. Two grab your arms as the man before you stands up. The crowd behind you chatters on, minding their own business. "Sorry about this, Matac." The man says. The third man behind you relieves you of your pistol and reaches for your knives before a shot sounds out in the darkness. Two more instantly ring out, and then even the crowd is silent. You turn around and see someone pointing a pistol at your three new "friends", all dead. Your betrayer, Ollie, backs into the corner, afraid, as the man smiles at you. He appears to be an old military officer, but you're unsure. He hands you an envelope and your gun, then tilts his head to your former employer. After you kill him, you open the letter to find an address.

    Ferian Hausch
    You sit at the bar, plastered, as the black man leaves. The four dead men take no notice here, and they'll be gone forever by morning. Going back to your drink, you stare contentedly into the smooth brown liquid, mulling over the past. After an hour or so, you feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn to see a Steigian Captain glaring at you. "Hausch." With sudden speed, he decks you, and you feel yourself collapse onto the bar. after a few seconds of darkness, you come to to find him rifling in your pockets. With a sneer, he throws all of your bullets out into the open bar. He gives you a solid gut punch, knocking the air out of your lungs. He lifts your pistol in front of your bleeding face and throws it behind him, then grabs your collar. He punches you and then throws you at your gun, laughing out loud as you land in a sprawl. Before he can finish the laugh, another gunshot rings out and he suddenly spews blood out of his mouth before he collapses in a heap. You drop the smoking gun and stand up, finally managing to grasp another bullet from your boot. Two more roll by you on the ground, and you start collecting them, one by one. When your done, the bartender glares at you. "Get out." You nod and comply, the bartender knowing better than to not let you finish your drink. Outside, in the rain, the drink hits you a little strong. After going a ways, you pass out, unconcious to the world.

    Engel Herrmann
    The tracks roar as the train squeals to a stop. Early morning light filters in through the dirty windows as you pull into Truite Station. You stand up and leave through the crowded car, stepping out into squalor. Crasse, one of the poorest citied in Masque, stands waiting for you. Grim, you step off the platform. You step out onto the side of a road. Horsedrawn carriages roar past you, their occupants on important business. Important to them, at least. You cross quickly when they stop coming. On the other side of the road, you step into an alley. Ignorant of your weapons, or your ability to use them, man steps forward with a large khyber blade. "Give me the money, old man!" He yells. You sigh and look down, shaking your head. With a grunt, you start turning to stone. Before the man's unwavering eyes, you turn into a monstrous beast, human only in shape. Your towering stone form peers down at the luckless mugger, but before you can crush him, he surprises you. "You're a hard man to find, Mr. Herrmann. Please, if you'll come with me, I think there's someone you need to meet."
    All glory to Vrythas in regards to my snazzy AD&D Game Master avatar.

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    Reserve AD&D Game Master avatar by wxdruid

    Oh star fall down on me
    Let me make a wish upon you
    Hold on, let me think
    Think of what I'm wishing for

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    deepsear's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2007

    Default Re: Merchants of Death

    Matac Deswe

    Staring at the body on the floor, Matac remarks quietly to himself.

    "Twice this year. Am I getting old? No matter. I survive."

    Now staring at the mysterious address in his hand, he reaches over and gently lifts his fedora off of the table, and his gun off of the body, all whilst reading the letter. Walking up to the bar, he continues to glue his eyes to the paper while ordering a Steigan ale in his methodical, Zaradin accent. He sits and drinks, never taking his eyes off of the paper for all of a minute.

    With this strange memorizing ritual completed, he stands, tosses a few coppers onto the bar, and makes his way to the exit, to find this address.
    Had I the cloths of heaven,
    I would spread these at your feet.
    But I am poor, and have only my dreams
    and I spread these beneath your feet.
    Tread softly, for you tread upon my dreams


    Thanks to The_Squid for a perfect representation of my awesome scimitar/Town character, Deepsear!
    Awesome Agent 47 by Dr. Bath!

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    loopy's Avatar

    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Sydney, NSW, Aus
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Merchants of Death

    Duc de Khan sighs to himself, wearying of the whole endeavour already.

    "What could it possibly be this time?" His voice rings out in frustration, hanging in the empty air of the master bedroom. Moving to the wardrobe, he moves a hidden lever, and a compartment opens with a quiet click.

    He dons his outfit, his other persona, without a sound. The black close-fitting clothes he had custom-tailored, the cloak, and finally the smiling mask he'd taken from that theatre...

    Retrieving his hooked climbing gloves, his picks, his utility blade, and some smoke bombs, he opens the window. Dexterously climbing from the balcony on to the roof, the white-masked figure proceeds to the address given by rooftop.
    Quote Originally Posted by Coidzor View Post
    Everyone loves loopy. It's true.
    My blog, if you are interested in my rambling.
    Avatar by Sneak. Praise be!

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Orc in the Playground
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    The Scuss

    Default Re: Merchants of Death

    Noise. Bumps and clanks and rushing air. Dizziness, thirst, a throat that grows more sore with every breath. Pain in the extremities, radiating towards the centre of the body.
    Guuuuuuuuurrrr... Whuh?
    Ferien Hausch leaps to his feet, pats himself down to check his personal effects and finds them missing. He casts about him wildly. He seems to be on some kind of truck, moving haphazardly and extremely fast. The door at the end seems reinforced, but he tries it anyway, attempting to get a view as to where he is.

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    MrEdwardNigma's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Belgium
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Merchants of Death

    Le Phantome

    "How... theatrical"

    Le Phantome left the corpse where it was and took the note with him. He knew the people who ran Masque would never tread on his territory like this. The Odeon was his territory, that was the deal, that was how it had always been. So this had been new blood. He would have to send the a signal, spill some new blood. However, he was impressed with their skill. They got past the traps, that was amazing, but that they got past him was ridiculous. You'd have to be a ghost to get by him, a phantom.

    Le Phantome packed some red roses. He'd need them. He went to the adress through the sewers, territory he was comfortable with.
    Avatar by the illustrious Dr. Bath.


    The essence of a riddle is that it states facts by means of a combination of impossibilities~Aristoteles

    Help me run my very first campaign.

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Orc in the Playground
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    The Scuss

    Default Re: Merchants of Death

    Hausch manages to force open a small window on the two main back doors, and looks out to a desert that could be anywhere but is almost certainly the middle of nowhere. A ledge seems to drop down to a river. Hausch attempts to estimate whether or not he could survive the drop - and how easy it would be to open the doors.

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