Pathwalker - RP

[Kinslayer]

"I'm getting impatient" said Anyan. Ragnar noticed Anyan's impatience, so he talked to him (again my bro gave me permission): "Don't be so reckless brat! They'll tell us what's happening sooner or later. I guess we be traveling by ship."

Anyan suddenly opened his eyes wide. Ragnar stared at him with a funny look on his face: "Oh, I forgot you hate ships, brat..."
Anyan did hate the sea...

"You know I get dizzy easily, old man..." said Anyan, a still with a surprisingly calm voice: "I'll be sick in no time!"

Ragnar laughed loudly and said: "You better not piss in your pants!" Anyan smiled and said: "You better not loose your hat, you wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"

Them both laughed a bit.
Anyan noticed Liara coming. He couldn't believe how did the beautiful sprite remind him of Delliah.

"So, she got selected... I'd like top see her skills, those daggers look dreadful..." he though.

[Moosetroop11]

Liara ran up and hugged Alziel, surprising him a little. "We both made it through!"
"That probably means that we have skills they need" he commented as she took her arms from around him and leant against a wall. The room was considerably smaller than the great hall and a little darker, reflecting perhaps that impressing the chosen contestants were no longer priority. Most of the contestants had watched her display and were now listening to the conversation.
"Maybe" Liara replied. This notion was a likely one, but it upset her a little because it meant that she hadn't been initially selected because of a lack of skill. Or maybe it was something else? As she looked around the room at the shady characters, each with a detailed story behind their impartial masks, she wondered whether it was something in the contestant's histories that had secured their places in the tournament. Either way, her illegal entry was a spanner in the works.

[plightofthepureblood]

Monty stood staright and errect, making his presence known to the rest of the room, and spoke loudly, addressing the focus of all present.

"So...here we all are..

Gathered for what could be the most significant event in recent history.

All in the same boat, in the proverbial sense.

Weve all been hand picked.

We knew there was no Draw. There was no random factor.

Something about this mission has been hidden from us, my new found peers.

Its obvious we were chosen for a reson.I dont believe it was 'skill' allthough Im sure many of us are quite adept in our vocations.

We are all in competition, in some manner, or another.


But I cant help but think that was the intent.


Friends, our lives are not valued in the conventional sense.
The kingdom see us to be disposable.

It would be wise for us to eliminate the possibility of a hidden enemy before engaging eachother in a competitive Nature.

Why have we been chosen?
Is there a common thread to outrhistorys?

My name is Montclair Simonson.
I know a few of yours.
I am a bounty hunter from this fine kingdom, my grandfather the Bastard son of the noble elite.
I have been in the bad books of the nobels as of late.
I am Guilty of the crime of Blackmailing a group of templars among the noblemen.

I ask you all.....to divulge the information you can, that can help us seed out the real advisary here, before a new advisary known as "The western lands" arises to cloud our sights.


Speak now friends...information is our most effective tool."


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OOC: if anyone need to take small liberties with my character for the sake of progressing the storyline, feel free, as long as it dosent affect my character's relations with others.
If your unsure, the pm me.

[Dragonium]

"The King wants information", Alziel said to the room as Montclair finished.

The various men watched him speak. Liara followed his words with extra intent.

"The way I see it, nobody has ever been to the Western Lands before. There is no cover up there, no secret, it's a fact. We know nothing". He eyed Monty, referring to the knowledge of the winged creatures which nobody else knew about. Almost everyone in this room believed it had been a band of murderers who caused all those deaths...

"And the King wants to know about the land there. What there is, what resources. The best way to get the lay of an area and find out about it is to take a map of the landscape. So he picked the best of us, so to speak, to go and draw a map for him. I personally think it's curiousity he's fulfilling more than ambition".

He finished. Monty nodded.

"Now then, to business. Monty is right. We all want to win, but we should at least stick together for the first few days out there. We don't know what hostility we might face, though I very much doubt there are any people there..."

But there were things there, he thought darkly to himself. Winged things.

Winged things which could kill.

[plightofthepureblood]

"Ahh...The map."
Monty retorted.
"A complete map would be much more usefull to him, than the fragmented ones the Kings Nobelmen Posses"

Much of the room looks a bit puzzled

"My blackmailing was in regards to this very subject.

I came to have knowledge of a man whom had obtained an ancient map, in possesion of the Noble Templars.

I have my doubt to the accuracies of such a relic...but rest assured...such a relic exists....
And other documentation.


I have heard tales from my Father, as a lad.

As I mentioned, I am the decendant of a bastard child of the nobel elite.
What, as a child, I perceived to be bedtime stories, meant to scare me into behaving, I later came to learn more details of the stories.

My fathers have been passing down this story...

One of Dark creatures in the western lands.
Demonic perhaps. But dark creatures of flight.
They kill from the skies....with exacting precision. Many were said to have been taken away to the west.

Very few survivors remained, and much of the land agreed never to speak of it. It was covered up. The secrets held tight by the templars.


They could be only stories....this i will aknowledge.

As for the Fragmented map I have seen, it is, very fragmented. It has no reference point. Its a map of a ruined city, from what I can gather. It had been written in a system I have never seen or heard of.

I have not the documentation with my person. It is heavily Guarded.

But these stories. I can not discredit them. And if I mean to survive this endeavour, I will require that my peers share some of my lore.

Im sure the king knows not of the documents....but rest assured, the templars do. And they pull many strings in this nation.

And I understand many will not believe me. But If this is indeed a legitimate danger in our futures, it would be wise to devise some travelling strategies.

[WarxePB]

"Hmmph." A voice, presumably of a male, echoed throughout the room. "You truly think you have the skills to survive in the West?"

From the shadows, a glint of light flashed, then quickly disappeared as the doors opened, and a male swordsman stepped into the room.

"My name is Sir Broadsword. I have been assigned to your group to...keep tabs on you. I am in His Royal Highness' service, and rest assured that anything that you do will be reported back to him." The knight who called himself Broadsword stood about 6 feet tall, and was almost fully dressed in a silvery-blue armor - only his head, with its fiery red hair and battle-scars, was unprotected. He wore an orange cape around his waist, and similar but smaller pieces on his shoulderpads. A massive sword, about the length of a man, was sheated on his back, with a smaller longsword around his waist.

"We have sent mercenaries of all sorts to the West, in an attempt to colonize it. So far, only two have returned - myself, and a petty thief who came back so traumatized that we cannot extract any useful information from him. The King has chosen the best of you from the ones who signed up, but if you feel that you are not ready... you have one last chance to leave."


-------


Sir Broadsword
Age: 36
About 6'1, ~250 lbs
Tanned and scarred skin
Fire-red hair, wild and unkempt, reddish stubble and mustache
Wearing full plate armor, silver-blue, wearing an orange cape around waist and orange cloth down to his elbows hangs from his shoulderpads
Carries a massive sword

Born and raised a noble, young Cassis Alsris aspired to become a priest. However, when those plans fell through, he turned to the art of fighting instead, becoming a well-respected knight of the Kingdom. Though he is fiercely faithful to the King, the nobles of Inas question his mental capacity - despite his greater-than-average knowledge, he is prone to having uncontrollable fits of anger, which have spread rumors of possession or mental illness around the aristocrats.

[plightofthepureblood]

Monty's tounge had gotten him into trouble.

"hopefully he reports to the king only and not the templars"
Monty though to himself.

"Sir broadsword....I need not the likes of you watching over my back.

How do you plan on keeping tabs and reporting back, when we are an ocean away?

Seems to me, Its all fair game over there."

Monty was suddenly feeling a bit hostile, but bit his tounge to keep his composure

[WarxePB]

Broadsword looked disdainly at Monty. "Do you really think it will be just your group traveling? Where will you get provisions? Who will carry your equipment? What will protect you from the predators during the night? Such a thought is suicide!" He took a map that he was carrying, and placed it on a table in the center of the room.

"Along with the 30 of you, a regiment of about 200 soldiers and associated servants and merchants will be traveling to the West. While your group penetrates into the interior, we will set up a permanent fort where we land - the King is very interested at what kind of resources the West holds, and wishes to be the first man to claim it."

Broadsword stepped onto the table, and raised his voice.

"SILENCE!" He explained what he had just said again, and added, "Be warned: though our fort will be officially be a colony of the Kingdom of Inas, myself and two other noblemen will have absolute authority in the West - we can do anything we like, up to and including killing any one of you, for any reason. We will NOT tolerate dissent." He got off of the table, and looked around. "Any questions?"

[plightofthepureblood]

Monty looked at the map on the table with scrutiny...
And slowly after, with acceptance....a smile peered across his face, and quickly dissapeared, as monty glanced up to meet eyes with Broadsword.

"This... map. What others are there? This is....unexpected."



-ooc-
EDIT:missed part...adding on

-bic-
 an
This did not bode well for monty. This could very well be his excecution. 'who were the Nobels' MOnty wondered....

Monty let out a slight laugh, however nervous it may be

"Im screwed" monty whispered to himself.

"I wonder what azeil thinks about this..."Monty ponders to himself silently, looking over to studyy alzeils expression.

Monty was at this point,was almost certain he would be killed if he went to the western lands. But he was positive that if he backed out now, he would be killed before He got a chance to spread word.

[Emerates]

Saine moved into the inner circle of hopeful warriors and examined the map on the table.  
"Interesting..." he muttered to himself.

He smirked.  That would be about where my father was from, he thought, as he viewed more of the map.  There were small markings, irregularities in the landscape, that would certainly be what he referred to as the City of the Damned.  Buildings, ruins, hidden strongholds...

Saine did not know the Western lands first-hand.  His father had raped his mother when she had somehow found her way there, and she never even told him that much.  But legends had compelled him to find out more...  and old men proved to know much more than cut-throat mercenaries.  He knew, perhaps more than the rest, what kinds of demons and beasts lay in wait for them in this new continent.

Sir Broadsword, another nobleman, and presumably as arrogant as most were, talked loudly over the quiet muttering as various hopefuls asked questions about provisions, transport, arrangements for the boats, and the like.  Saine listened quietly as he continued to scan the map, absorbing information.

Montclair was right: knowledge was certainly their weapon of choice in this endeavour.  However, Saine had no intentions of letting the weaker ones know any of his.  Perhaps a select few who proved stronger than the rest he would tell of his history, both his and that of his stolen identity, but for now, it was a matter of determining those few from the rest.

[Red XIII]

Ragnar heard silently to Alziel and Monty. When Monty ended his speech, Ragnar almost continued, adding some data of his knowledge. But Sir broadsword was faster than him
"I´m lucky. If the knight wasn´t so fast, I would´ve talked, and if the King came to know about it, it would be certainly death for me". Ragnar then closed to Anyan and lowly said to him: "The stories about the winged creatures are true. I, as the King´s Master Spy, worked on the cover up. Spread the voice, but make sure that Broadsword doesn´t realize".
Ragnar didn´t like the turn of the situation. He knew that the King would send people along with them to the West, but he hoped they would be just a bunch of easily-bribed sailors, a few soldiers, and maybe a spy or two along the group.
Now he knew that almost no one could be trusted. Monty indeed was trustable, but he was in deep ****. Ragnar decided to help him if he could. From the others, only Anyan, Alziel, and maybe the fairie could be friends. The rest of the company was more darker and anonymous than Ragnar liked. All of a sudden, that drunk dwarf seemed to be the less of the problems.
"What am I doing?!?!" Ragnar thought. "I have a map in front of me, and I´m worrying about things I can´t fix right now"
Ragnar closed to the table and looked to the map.
"Well, despite my age, I have the memory of a kid." Ragnar looked at the map and quickly memorized it, while he copied it into a small paper.
"It´s pretty much like the maps I already had. there goes months of work!!! Had I known about it, I wouldn´t had wasted my time".
Monty looked anxious. Ragnar closed and said:
"There is no point in worrying now, for the damage is already done. I know you said the truth, and I´ll help you if I can. try to stay low for now, we´ll think of a way to deal with this later".
Ragnar looked at Sir Broadsword. He had lied. Indeed, only a few came back from the West expeditions, but ther were three and no two. Ragnar smiled, for he knew the reason Sir Broadsword had for lying. "It´s not the time to talk about it, I´ll warn Broadsword at the right time"

[Kinslayer]

Anyan remembered Broadsword form old times. A master at swordfighting, he had thought Anyan some of his skills. He couldn't help to smile as he remembered his opld master's teachings and harsh trainings.

Anyan had a dark thought in his mind. "If I have to achieve my goal... I'll have to fight Broadsword..."

The only person Anyan really feared to fight was Broadword, not even the King. But now the tides had turned against him. Hopefully, his scars had let him pass unknown to Broadsword's sight, but his coverup would open up sooner or later.

So, he said to Monty: "I'll help you if I can,  trust both me and that old guy there (staring towards Ragnar)".

Anyan stepped forward and said: "I only know what most of us know about the Western lands: nothing... But in order to win this contest we must prevail against any danger."

"Even water?!" screamed Ragnar, joking with him. Anyan smiled and laughed quietly, while replying: "Yes... even water. So, Sir Broadsword is it?" he said, trying to keep his coverup, although Broadsword would probably know who Anyan was and was playing dumb for now: "When are we leaving?"

[Dragonium]

OOC: Alright, Warxe is in. But please, no more people.

BIC:

Alziel frowned. Now he was angry.

This had been a contest which anyone could win. And now here was this nobleman, ruining it all, taking the glory for himself...

"Let me tell you something", Alziel called. Broadsword stopped his speech after a moment and looked up idly. "It seems that everyone here now knows about those winged creatures. And you probably believed that it was a group of bandits who killed all those people. Well I am from that group of bandits, and I daresay that the King, and everyone associated with him, has told more lies than truth over these years".

There was murmured speech. Broadsword glared at him.

"And furthermore, sir, we all came here to win, and if you think that you can just stroll in here and turn this into a military campaign, you are very much mistaken".

The outraged speech grew louder. Liara nudged him.

"I will say no more. But as you are watching us, I am watching you. And believe me", Alziel said, rolling his bow off his shoulder and into his hand, "I am not afraid to kill you in a heartbeat".

Broadsword spat and laughed as though the threat had been a joke. Alziel scowled and looked around the room to see who could be trusted. There was Monty, Anyan, Ragnar, Liara, Shell, Saine... even Saine would do for now.

Alziel drifted around the room, ensuring that Broadsword paid no attention to him. Broadsword stood in the centre of the room, describing a number of plans to Cefan the dwarf. One by one he went to each person he believed he could trust, and asked them to follow him.

Once he was a decent distance away from the centre of the room, where he would definetely not be heard by Broadsword or anyone standing by him, he began to speak.

"Now, I am sure that none of you are happy about this"

There was mumbled agreement.

"And the way I see it, if Broadsword and his friends succeed in their ambitions, we will be walking into death and there will not be a prize. If whatever is out there does not kill us, his recklessness will".

Silence.

"I will get to the point".

Monty, Anyan, Ragnar, Liara, Shell, Saine. All listened to what Alziel had to say.

"There is no ship in Inas that can safely transport that many men. There will be two ships, one large one with soldiers and one small one with the thirty of us"

He made his point.

"I need your help. I am going to make sure that the ship with the soldiers never reaches the Western Lands"

[WarxePB]

Broadsword stepped back into the room.
"The ships will be leaving in approximately 3 hours. Go to the docks and get your tickets - tell the woman there that I sent you -and be ready to leave at noon. Don't be late." He started to walk out, but once again turned to them.

"The seven of you are on thin ice - among you are murderers, thieves, and a former pupil of mine," gesturing toward Anyan. "However, you possess the most fighting skill among the chosen ones, so you will be given Officer rank within the colony - each of you will have better rations and rooms than the soldiers or other chosen ones, and you will also have a degree of autonomy within the fort. However, be warned that the same rules apply to you as the others - perhaps more so." He laughed, and walked out.

[plightofthepureblood]

Monty gave an accepting nod to Anyan, and then to Rangar....

"I will go ready my Steed for the voyage..."

Monty adressed his peers quietly...

This did not bode well, but at this point, to carry on with the voyage was Monty's only option. At least in the west, Monty would surely have the eyes of his new peers watching his back to some extent.

Monty swifly and silentlly sauntered out of the room and made his way to the streets out front of the castle
*********************
*********************
Monty flashed his ticket to the ships porter, and handed the reigns of his quarterhorse to another seamen before imparting some instructions to the care of his steed.

Monty had come to the boats before the other contestants, early enough to stand on the starboard side of the ships deck and watch the other boat slowly fill with a gaggle of Merchants, Soldiers and their Ilk.

Monty rested his elbows on the edge of the bulkhead, and gazed down into the water...there would be time to report to his quarters later.

The arrival of sir Broadsword would surely mean Monty would have to alter his mannerisms, and mute his speech...speaking openly was not an option...

Monty was lost in the flickering lights of the afternoon sun making its way into the High-tide waters of the Port.

"I need another to hold my papers, lest I get killed...."
Monty whispered to himself as he thought about the copies that were hidden in his horses saddlebags, between a flase wall of leather....

"That map of Broadswords....And the Map of Mine.... If others may hold such clues...."