The Ghostfence rp: Playground 1 Options

[jack cloudy]

Haz, same place as everyone.

"By the Tribunal, look who it is!" The Armiger in charge of lining up the Guars laughed. Instinctively, Haz shifted into a more alert state, evidenced by a nearly imperceptible lifting of his head.
"I can't believe it, they managed to dump old eyeless on someone again!" The Armiger continued.

"Well, it wasn't by choice. But it's not exactly easy to protest if you're not allowed to talk...or break things." Haz thought.
"Alright, pilgrim. We'll place you all the way at the back. Then at least we won't get a massive pile-up if that old beast trips over a pebble." The man decided once he'd finished laughing. Haz shrugged and dragged the blind nuisance to its place in the convoy.

Eno Arval

"Thank you." Eno said as he took the cake and tried it.
"Hmm, not bad at all, as far as travel rations go. Anyway, I haven't really thought about it that much yet. Long enough to ply my trade and look around, so I'll be there for the better part of a week at least. Then, I won't be able to leave unless it is with a convoy, so in part my time of departure relies on others." He said after a moment.
"I mean, going to Ghostgate on my own is foolish, coming back from it alone would naturally be foolish as well."

Seemingly without warning, one of the Armigers burst out in laughter. Eno looked at the scene over his shoulder and then shook his head.
"Oh dear, we haven't left yet and already there are complications. A blind Guar? Still, it's rather rude to laugh about it."


OOC: I hadn't thought further than 'it's a biscuit', so whatever you say is fine with me.

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Feb 3 2009, 10:31 PM

[canis216]

Dranas Heleran, Balmora

Drana idly chewed on a tough strip of scrib jerky as he waited near the front of the pack train with his two guars. He kept an eye out for Apelles Velvius--certainly Velvius would be keeping an eye on him. It was, he thought, an unfortunate situation. Were it not for the Cyrodiil his troubles would be limited to keeping an eye on his stuff and sniffing out potential customers.

There was a bit of commotion at the back of line. Dranas noticed an armiger pointing at laughing at some shrouded fellow leading a blind guar. Dranas wasn't nearly as amused--shroud often meant pilgrim, and pilgrims were bad for business. Hopefully, he thought, there wouldn't be too many of the devout in camp.

[Dantrag]

Dralas, Balmora

After Rianne caught his attention, he headed that way with Temple supplies in hand. He stopped in his tracks, however, when an Armiger stood on a stack of crates and shouted.

"Attention all travellers! The caravan heading to Ghostgate will be leaving momentarily. I am to remind you that you are ultimately responsible for the Temple's materials that you carry, and you may be fined for their loss. You are to obey all Armigers and other escorts on the journey, and I don't want to see any trouble from any of you. There is enough of that in the wilderness. All that said, wrap up any business you may have right now and make your way to the city gate. We are leaving in five."

Dralas went over to Rianne when the Armiger stepped down.

"I guess that's it then," he said, just now realizing that someone else was there too.

He extended his hand like he'd seen other people do when introducing themselves, "Dralas," he said to the stranger.

OOC: tried to speed things up a lil

[minque]

Rianne

She heard the Armiger's proclamation with a slight twist in her stomach. Ok so now it was time, al last they would be on their way...soon. Good...she smiled, not so much at the fact that they were off, no she smiled when seeing Dralas beside her.

"Hey, put your things on Morrie here, she's strong, she can carry four of those" she pointed at his sacks.

"we could as well share a guar...besides I've got some breakfast for you if you like, nothing fancy just bread and scrib-jerky, but it's too much for me anyway"

Rianne smiled again at both men standing next to her, and handed Dralas a package wrapped in paper

Why do I have this strange premonition....why??

[Colonel Mustard]

Erna Rahnis

"Well, about time!" Erna proclaimed to no one in particular-the waiting had been getting dull. With a tug, his pulled his guar along behind him, the creature grunting as it started walking.

He noticed Rianne the ashlander looked slightly uncomfortable for some reason, but shrugged it off. Sometimes he had that effect on people. He glanced around, seeing who else was in the crowd, but it was just a mix of merchants, workers and guards. Nothing interesting. Hopefully, however, there would be something to do soon enough. Until then, he would have to make do without any entertainment.

[Olen]

Rothan

"Eventually," muttered Rothan, "I thought we were going to stand here all day." He took a bite of cake, "I suppose I should go and see if that pilgrim is alright later, I know the hlaalu are bad but shifting a blind guar onto a pilgrim is a bit rough, though he's an idiot for accepting it."

He watched a group of armigers bustle away towards the gate followed by the first few pack guar and their handlers.

[jack cloudy]

Eno arval

Eno shrugged.
"Well, or maybe he just doesn't like to cause a fuss. Besides, if he knows how to lead it, things might end up being just fine. I imagine it would have been worse if the Guar was rabid." He said and then bowed to pluck the big lump of grass from his own Guar's mouth. The creature grunted in protest and he patted it on the head.
"Sorry, my friend. But we must get moving and people would complain if you left part of your meal all over the place. I'll make it up to you later, ok?" Eno told it. When it was their turn to move, he gave a light tug on the leash and they walked towards the gate.

Haz

Haz sniffed when he heard the proclamation.
"Good. The sooner we move, the sooner we get there and the sooner I can stop playing this charade and make these filthy boneheads rue the day they set foot on our lands." He thought and looked over at the old decrepit collection of meat and bones beside him. They hadn't even left Balmora yet and already the Guar was trembling on its legs.
"Oh, for the love of...You stupid clerk! I'll get you for this somehow!" With an audible sigh, Haz unceremoniously heaved the pack of construction materials off its back, harnass and all. He then tied the belts and straps around himself.
"Now I'm the packanimal myself. This might have actually been amusing if I were anywhere else. Ah well, what do I do with this worthless piece of meat now?" The Argonian thought while he struggled to control his silent rage. Every fibre in his being right now begged to lash out at someone, anyone.

After a second of thought, he came to a decision and actually smiled behind the rags that covered his face.
"Meat, that's right. I'll just use you as a walking food resource. After all, if you end up dying along the way, and I bet you will, no one will have any right to complain if I turn your corpse into travel rations."

The Guar didn't protest when the Argonian dragged it along after the rest of the caravan. Perhaps it didn't know it was moving towards its doom, perhaps it didn't care. Perhaps both. Or, as Haz reasoned, most likely it just wasn't in its nature to think or care about anything.

[ShogunSniper]

Falen Ienith

"You will be responsible for carrying two bags of supplies to the site. I also must tell you that you will be held responsible for said items," the clerk had been conveying the same message to everyone, "You will not need to pay for them unless you lose them. Do you understand sir?" The clerk looked up at Falen.

"Yes. Is that all?" he snapped.

The clerk began to look cross and spoke with less respect, "Will you need a guar?"

Falen wrinkled his nose at the thought of the animal. "Yes, give me one of the filthy beasts." The clerk scribbled something on the form in front of him.

"Here's your supplies," he said as he pointed his quill at the freight-moving Orc. Falen snatched up his bags and approached the guar the had been appointed to him.

His guar was old.

It smelled.

Falen did not like the guar.

He kicked the guar's foot as if to make sure it was still among the living. The guar did nothing. It simply eyed Falen with the one bulging eye on the right side of its head. He spat at it and hauled his luggage on its back. He did not secure it well and obviously showed no knowledge of how to balance supplies on a pack animal--the majority of the sacks were on one side of the beast.

Falen tugged the guar along to the tavern and left it outside as he went in.

The tavern was a mess; it looked like an outburst had happened sometime earlier. Falen paced quickly through the mess and the few patrons there. His crimson cloak glittered designs of gold and trailed behind him. It revealed the conservative black outfit he wore underneath. He dressed proudly and symmetrically; indeed, his apparel had the personality of a uniform.

"Four jugs of Mazte," he announced before he reached the bar. Falen didn't bother to address the bartender as he sifted through his satchel. He placed a jewel-sized ruby on the bar as the tender did the same with four ceramic jugs. "I don't have any coin. This will do," he instructed as he secured a cord to the bottles and slung them over his shoulder.

Falen strode out as proudly as he entered. The barkeep said nothing.

[jack cloudy]

I'll move us along a few steps. Don't know anything to do with my characters though, so I'll just slip in a temporary narrator.

narrator, nowhere in particular (not that it matters)

And so the caravan set off on its journey towards the place known as Ghostgate. The morale on average was good. The weather, so far, was reasonable. The Guars, led by their handlers, trudged down the tiled road, which was meticously brushed clean of all dust and sand every mourning by members of the temple as part of their humility.

Yet, if among the travelers there was one, who could peer into the hearts of his or her fellows, he or she would notice a disturbing fact. The caravan in fact, was threatened, both from without, and from within. Behind those honest faces, some hid their criminal intent. And behind their sunny optimism, some hid an anxiety fueled by knowledge or rumour of what lay ahead.

Yes, what was to be a routine journey along a path that had already been taken by many already, would be a challenge no one could truly expect.

And so it was that, not long after leaving Balmora, the caravan entered the Foyada Mamaea, which was like a deep wound upon the land. A dry expanse of ash, rocks and withered trees.


OOC: Falen should still have the chance to catch up, or he could have caught up and joined the caravan before they even left. It's your choice, Shogunsniper.

[canis216]

Dranas Heleran

"You ready to move?"

The question came from a Buoyant Armiger arrayed in armor of green glass. Some kind of big hero, Dranas surmised... and some kind of armor. What would that fetch in Anvil? Dranas started to do some internal calculations--... the tariff on the cuirass would be at least 1000 drakes, wouldn't it?, he thought... before remembering that he had been asked a question.

"Oh, of course. Yes, my guars and I are set."

Dranas couldn't catch the armiger's expression from behind the gleaming helm, but the answer suggested that the mer wasn't put off by the delayed response: "Very good. You'll be near the head of the caravan. Follow this fellow here"--he pointed to another armiger, this one wearing chitin--"out the city gate. We are leaving now."

After nodding his agreement Dranas grabbed hold of his guars' lead ropes and made his way out of Balmora.

This post has been edited by canis216: Mar 1 2009, 04:50 AM

[Olen]

Rothan

The caravan ground into motion, its vanguard was out the gate by the time the back began to move. Rothan made a face as they walked though the leavings of the guar further forward in the caravan. Perhaps I'll take a spot further forward tomorrow, he thought. It wasn't long before they passed though the gates leaving Balmora behind.

He glanced back. A couple of Armigers hurried the stragglers along. There was the pilgrim too, to Rothan his guar looked ready for the knackers, not that Rothan knew much about them. He would have to visit the pilgrim that night. Clearly the pilgrim had a vow of silence but some would still write, it depended on their sect.

"Off we go then," he said to Eno, "I hope we don't run into too much trouble on the way."

[minque]

OOC: Presuming Dralas is following and accepted Rianne's offer to share Guar with her (If not I'll edit)


Rianne

"Ookay, Morrie, we're off, my girl" Rianne stroke the head of her guar and urged her to start moving. Four sacks was nothing for a big creature as Morrie, the animal grunted a bit, swayed her big head and followed the ashlander-woman like a pet-dog.

"We get along good, right? You're a good girl" Rianne whispered in her ear.

The sun was already high in the sky and she could feel the heat on her back.

She started singing in a low voice as she slowly followed the others. She gave Dralas a quick glance...he didn't respond to it....

[Dantrag]

Dralas

Dralas was keeping an eye out for any Temple folk, and he didn't have to look far. They had fallen into step next to a priest and what he thought was a bard, judging by the amount of instruments his guar held.

Dralas listened to Rianne's song as they walked, taking in the greenery of the Bitter Coast while he still could. The sand was slowly getting grayer and the grass was becoming slightly yet notably more sparse. The wind would start to carry sand soon, and Dralas just knew that many of these people were in for a surprise.

This post has been edited by Dantrag: Feb 28 2009, 04:08 AM

[minque]

Rianne

That was a good thing walking with one of her own kind, Rianne thought. She didn't have to be very social, she could take in the changes of the land they were passing through.

They ground was becoming dryer, more grey. She stopped for a short while, there was something in the wind, the wind that slowly became colder, she sighed...

"Sand" she muttered, taking out a piece of cloth from her shoulder bag, and wrapped it around her neck. When the sand storm came she would cover her nose and mouth.

Sand storms were familiar to her...and Dralas, but what about the others?

She turned to Dralas and noticed he was looking at some priest followed by some people who looked like they were from a Temple. The look of his face made her a bit worried....

Why is he really joining this caravan? Why is he looking that way?

She said nothing, if he wanted to tell her, he would do it...besides it was really not her business anyway.

Though it was a nice feeling to have one of her own beside her...it really was.

She then smiled and took out her flute and started playing...

He'll recognize this, he'll just have to!


OOC: Rianne knows a lot of hymns from other tribes, the one she's playing now is an ancient hymn from the Erabenimsun...a hymn to honor the ancestors

[jack cloudy]

Eno Arval

"Oh my, most unpleasant. I'll never get these cleaned now." Eno complained upon being forced to walk right through a pile of Guar waste products. He would have preferred to swerve to the side an avoid it, but that would mean bumping into Rothan. Though, as the instrument maker reflected, it wouldn't have made any difference. Rothan had been forced to walk through the same pile as well.

"Just what do they feed their Guars up ahead? At least give them a bit less of it." He then muttered and tried his best to scrape off what he could on the sand and ash. He wasn't having much luck.

"I hope we don't run into too much trouble on the way." The priest said a short time later.
"Likewise. But look at all the protection we have. You would need a small army to seriously threaten us. That, or a really large and vicious ash storm." Eno replied cheerfully.
"But having this many swords...does that imply that the Armigers are expecting a small army worth of trouble?" He frowned as the thought rose up in his mind.
"I have to forget about that. I'm probably just imagining things."

Fortunately for him, the woman he'd met earlier decided this was the perfect time to play some music.
"Ah, just what we needed to make this trip enjoyable. That's a nice tune, I wonder where its from." The old man said to no one in particular and promptly forgot most of his worries.
"It looks like the flute I made is in good hands as well. That makes giving it away for free completely worth it."



This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Feb 28 2009, 10:54 PM

[bbqplatypus]

OOC: I wanted to do this conversation while we were still in town, but real life got in the way.



Apelles Velvus

Apelles walked alongside the caravan, his eyes ostensibly scanning the horizon. The sound of pleasant music filled the air, but he barely even noticed. Right now, all he could focus on was Dranas Heleran.

He knew exactly what he was up to. He had been in perfect position to stop him. And yet, he had failed to uncover any illicit merchandise. He had been publicly humiliated in front of a group of devout Armigers who likely already resented him to begin with.

Dranas had to be hiding the skooma somewhere. He knew this even before he searched him. But where?

His thoughts were interrupted, however, by a stern, familiar voice. "I'd like a word with you, Cyrodil."

Apelles swiveled his head around. It was Salms Ralas. He had pulled up alongside him, and the look on his face showed that he was not at all pleased with him.

Apelles measured his response carefully, making an effort to seem as respectful as possible. "Of course, muthsera. What is it that you wish to know?"

"I'd like to know what was going on with that Dunmer back at the square. You seemed to know each other." Ralas leaned in, eyes narrowed, and voice lowered to an accusatory, almost threatening whisper. "Quite frankly, I think there's something you're not telling me."

Apelles looked down at the ground beneath the Armiger's feet and scratched his head nervously. "I ran into him in a smuggler's den on an expedition a few years back. We were -"

"Guardung!" Ralas snapped. "I may not know you very well, but I'm not an idiot. You are far more familiar with him than that. At the very least, come up with a more convincing lie, or I'll have you marching right back to wherever the hell it is you came from."

Apelles looked at his surroundings. There were dozens of people within earshot. Their conversation had not attracted anyone's attention yet, but he wasn't willing to take that chance.

"It's a private matter," he said in a low voice. "One that I cannot discuss with you in public right now. Suffice to say that it concerns old business - a problem from days long past. I can assure you, sera, that it does not pose a significant threat to this caravan apart from a moral one. I can tell you about it in private, once we've made camp...if that's alright with you, of course."

"Hmph. Very well," Ralas grunted. "But if this is a private matter, as you claim it to be, my advice to you would be to keep it private. You weren't hired to capture criminals or settle old grudges - you are here to protect the caravan. Anything else is a dereliction of duty. You're endangering lives by pursuing such a trivial matter. I will NOT have any more of my men dying under my command - ESPECIALLY not to incompetence and inattentiveness! This is my caravan! I won't have anyone dying under me! I'd sooner die first! Do you understand!?" His voice grew louder and faster as he spoke. A few people even turned their heads to look at what was happening (though most still ignored them). There was something wild in his eyes - something more than mere anger. It had a tinge of madness to it.

Apelles was silent for a moment, momentarily stunned by the outburst of the previously stoic Armiger leader. Then, he finally responded. "Yes...yes, sera. I understand."

"Well, good. Carry on."

Ralas slipped back to his proper place on the perimeter. No one was the wiser, it seemed.

In the meantime, Apelles once again affixed his gaze to the area around him. This time, he made an effort to focus on the mission. However, deep in the corner of his mind, he still remembered Dranas Heleran. But there was something new as well - a feeling of dread that he could not place. And with every step they made toward Ghostgate, the feeling got stronger. He ignored it and kept onward.

This post has been edited by bbqplatypus: Mar 7 2009, 02:57 AM

[canis216]

Dranas Heleran, Foyda Mamaea

It was good, Dranas thought, that he was in the front of the caravan. Most of solid basalt basement rock of the foyada was overlain by a thin layer of fine ash blown in by the last storm, and he knew that the rest of the caravan was eating his dust, so to speak. With nothing but a few armigers in front of him, it was a problem that Dranas did not share. He was free merely to walk, enjoying the warmth of late afternoon.

He knew it wouldn't last. Soon the steep walls of Foyada Mamaea would cut off light from the setting sun, and the armigers would want to make camp. Dranas personally had no problem with leading guars at night (it was a critical skill for any smuggler worth his salt) but most folk in the caravan would lack that sort of experience. Probably they would want to set up camp at the ancient dwemer bridge they were approaching. The thought lead Dranas to briefly consider the value of dwarven metalwork at Firsthold harbor (answer: a lot) before he noticed movement at the base of the enormous bridge--kagouti.

"Hold here for a moment," an armiger commanded. "I need to consult with Salms Ralas. We might want to just drive these kagouti off, or we might want to capture a couple for food."

[bbqplatypus]

Apelles Velvus

"Hmm..." Apelles muttered to himself. "That's going to be a bit of a problem." He could see the kagouti congregated near the base of the bridge - about ten of them, by his count. He noted the men who were gathering near Salms Ralas, and quickly did the same.

One of the Armigers spoke. "What do you suppose we should do, sera?"

Ralas stood there, continuing to stare at the creatures. "How many do you count? Eight?"

"Nine by my count, sera."

"Hmm...nine..."

Another Armiger spoke up. "Perhaps we could try to scare them away."

"No," Apelles interjected. "That won't work. It's mating season - they don't congregate in groups at any other time."

"Guardung - it's too late in the summer!"

"Only by a few weeks - it's not unheard of for it to happen this late."

"Might I remind you, gentlemen, that this is my decision and not yours?" Ralas snapped. "In any case, I agree with Sera Velvus. These creatures are too dangerous for us to use anything less than lethal force against them. Bring the marksmen up front, and shoot to kill. Approach slowly. Wait for my signal."

"Yes, sera." Apelles unslung his bow, and crept alongside the archers, across the barren, ashen ground between the caravan and the bridge, taking care to make as little noise as possible. They were still fairly far away, and kagouti weren't known for their terrific sense of hearing, but there was no harm in being cautious. They kept their heads low, slinking across the flat, dusty ground, until they got into range. He notched a bonemold arrow on his bow and primed it to fire. He aimed at one of the kagouti near the center. It was a female (he could tell by its larger size, and the markings on its frill). It was staring at a male and swiping one of its legs against the ground - a sign of aggression (the males were the submissive ones).

The entire contingent of marksmen now had their bows trained to targets, awaiting only the order of Salms Ralas.

Ralas held his hand up in the air and gave the signal. "Open fire!"




OOC: I'm willing to change this around a bit to include more people if it makes things more interesting. However, I think this is the way a sensible leader would deal with this. After all, if our escorts can't take care of a few kagouti by themselves, what good are they?

If everyone's okay with this, I'll post a continuation of this confrontation later.

This post has been edited by bbqplatypus: Mar 8 2009, 04:56 AM

[canis216]

OOC: Sounds fine by me. I'm going to have Dranas comment on the impending action and maybe try to account for the whereabouts of the rest of the caravan.

Dranas Heleran

Dranas watched the armigers and escorts consult with mild interest. Men such as these, he thought, should have little trouble with a few kagouti. He turned his attention to the rest of the caravan. The kagouti-enforced delay had allowed even the stragglers to catch up, and the smuggler amused himself by watching them mill about anxiously.

Finally it appeared that the lead armiger came to a decision. Several men, including Apelles Velvius, drew bows and advanced slowly forward. They were going to slay the kagouti herd. A sensible decision, Dranas thought, even as his right hand involuntarily found his steel katana. Any kagouti that survived the initial volley of arrows would be just as likely to charge the archers as it would be to run away--he would be ready, just in case.

[Dantrag]

Dralas

Dralas' head was somewhere else while Rianne played her song. His eyes roamed the countryside and his mind wandered until he almost ran into a mer in front of him.

The caravan had stopped. Being at the rear and unable to see the reason over each others' heads, a loud murmur erupted amongst the travelers as they asked each other what the delay was about. Some people assumed that it was time to stop for the evening and began pitching shelters. Others kept their belongings on their guars and rested for a bit, but stayed ready to move. Dralas rolled up some hackle-lo and puffed on it.

He offered some to Rianne, who'd stopped playing now.

"What do you think is going on?"