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Post by Vicorva on Jul 12, 2011 8:45:34 GMT
Tharsten Heart-Fang, Skaal Village
Erinok entered the Hall, and Tharsten clapped his hands and rubbed them together in anticipation. "Here we are then, young Alf. Your time as a warrior has arrived." He sounded more confident than he felt. He couldn't quite get his head around the idea that Alf wouldn't be wearing mail or carrying a blade.
At least Erinok was an understandable man. Though he wasn't a warrior like his guard, he was an able hunter and had ever been an asset to his people.
Tharsten told himself he was a still an able warrior. Certainly, he still held his own in the training yard. But he could feel it with every move of his muscles and every clench of his fists; he was getting old. Gone were the days when he'd take on five reavers single-handed.
It was a shame that it was they three, that two of the village's finest hadn't stepped up to the task, hadn't been willing for Alf to prove himself. Were they really so close-minded? Was this really what they had come to?
"Come, friends," said Tharsten, heading for the door and out into the snow. There was a grim determination on his face. He was getting old. He knew it.
Alf was not the only one with something to prove.
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Post by Darkom on Jul 12, 2011 19:53:18 GMT
Alf the Bastard; Skaal Village
Alf tied down the last strap of his pack, examining the fur and leather bag for any final defects. The light armor he had chosen from the back of the hall was stowed away inside, along with a thick blanket and an iron mug for melting snow. He still wore the ceremonial furs of a shaman, along with the thick white cloak his grandfather had made. He could think of little else he might need, besides food.
"Alf, be careful out there," Korst warned him, concern open on his weather beaten face. "They aren't called Reavers for nothing. Tharsten and Erinok will protect you, but this is your hunt. A trial, as surely as your Awakening was."
Alf nodded soberly; he knew all too well what lay ahead. "I will, master."
The old Nord smiled, his eyes shining with the threat of tears. He wrapped Alf in a tight embrace, crushing Alf against his chest. His bony arms were stronger than they looked.
"Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it." Alf said softly, pulling himself away. "And in the meantime, give the rest of the village hell for not coming with us."
Korst laughed, a deep rumble that grew out of his gut, and clapped his pupil on the shoulder. "That I will, my boy. That I will. The All-Maker bless you, and see you safely home."
"May He bless us all," Alf intoned, bowing his head. His farewells over with, the boy picked up his pack, hefting it over his shoulders with a grunt, and strode to the front of the hall. He gave one final wave to Korst before turning to Tharsten and Erinok.
"Here we are then, young Alf. Your time as a warrior has arrived," Tharsten said, eager as ever, a smile lighting his face from underneath his beard.
Alf could only nod, trying to make himself look less nervous than he felt. He gave Erinok his best cocky smile, a mirror of the ones he had seen the other boys use when bragging about some animal they'd killed.
"Come, friends," was all Tharsten said before stepping out, into the snow. Alf followed shortly behind, trying to keep up with the taller man's stride. He wanted the whole village to see him walking side by side with the Elder, off to fight the Reavers. 'As long as they don't see how badly my legs are shaking.'
He turned to Erinok as they left the hall, pitching his voice lower than usual. "Thank you for joining the hunt, Brother Erinok. I had thought the whole village had deserted me."
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Post by FC4 on Jul 13, 2011 11:56:48 GMT
OOC: Are we skipping most of the travel there?
IC: "It appeared they had. No wonder the All-Maker is mad." Erinok replied truthfully to Alf's statement with an equally soft voice, a look of displeasure on his face. "But I am sure you know more about the All-Maker's wishes than I. When this is over, Brother Alf, know that my family will always be behind you, even if the rest of the village is not."
Truthfully, Erinok still did not approve of the half-bred elf-nord being the town shaman, but the Elder and Shaman knew best, and they both saw no problem with this. So, he swallowed his discontent and walked with Alf and the Elder proudly, like a warrior going to battle.
"The Elder trusts you, even if the village does not. I trust the Elder's judgement. Therefore, I trust in you, Brother Alf, and always will. After today, you will give reason for the village to trust in you." Erinok hoped this would give the boy hope; he had seen the cocky grin Alf had given him, and frankly thought it looked slightly out of place on his face. He had likely been doing it to show confidence he didn't yet have.
EDIT: OOC(Post-Darkom's OOC): I'm all for skipping straight to the Reavers. And yeah, I would think it to be around midday now, if not late morning, since we did start around the early morning hours. We'd probably reach the Reavers well before nightfall, since Solstheim isn't a massive place really.
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Post by Vicorva on Jul 14, 2011 8:29:50 GMT
OOC: I guess we could, unless you fine folk want more time to talk? If we want a skip, either one of you can skip until we're Skaal side of the bridge, or I will next post. Also! If anyone has any plots in mind for this RP, I'm happy for them to start being implemented! IC: Tharsten Heart-Fang, Felsaad CoastTharsten strode on but with a small smile beneath his greying beard. It was good to hear Erinok and Alf talking. It was Tharsten's (and he knew, Korst's) greatest hope that Alf would return to the village with at least one new ally to depend on. Sometimes change starts small... he told himself. Of course, there was still the to Reavers to worry about. Reavers. It made Tharsten's blood boil that Nords existed who lived so without honour, who were such abominations to the All-Makers laws. They would soon be righting that wrong. ------------- Peregrina Quarra, Isild River Bridge"'Ello there. What are we gonna do with you?" The reaver leaned into Peregrina's face, but she did not flinch or lean back, only staring back at him with cold eyes. "You'll find the question is; what am I going to do with you," she replied levelly. The reaver blinked, then frowned, and then a smile dawned. "Ooh, you're that kinda girl, are you?" Peregrina's steel-grey eyes seemed to spark. "I'm not a girl, I'm an officer of Imperial Law. Halt, criminal scum." She released her cut bonds and lunged forwards, dagger glittering in her hand while the reaver's eyes popped. Dark-Feather and Fin, Hirstaang ForestFin made quick work of the next two incarnations of the spriggan, though each was much larger than the next. When finished, Dark-Feather knelt, unlatching her pack; it fell open to reveal it as an alchemist's pack, little straps holding various vials and bottles in place. She took a small but potent vial from the top row and offered it to her fellow argonian, who was panting slightly. "Restoration potion," she said. "To make you feel more like yourself." "Thank you, hatchling." Fin accepted the vial and downed it quickly; he glowed briefly with blue light, but seemed much restored. Dark-Feather did her best to quash her irritation at being called hatchling. "Come," said Fin. "Not far now." He strode off, and Dark-Feather hurried to keep up, maintaining the magical itch behind her eyes which represented the detect life spell. As she followed, she couldn't help but worry about what Fin was thinking. She had made a big show about not needing protection, and while that was true on some level- she was very skilled at escape and protection spells- she really couldn't fight to save her life, magically or otherwise. Maybe I deserve being called hatchling.
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Post by Darkom on Jul 15, 2011 19:14:22 GMT
Alf the Bastard; Skaal Village
Alf couldn't help but grin at Erinok's words. When had he last heard someone- besides Korst- speak so kindly to him? Had anyone else in the village ever granted him such a gift: trust? 'Never,' he thought, caught between bitterness and gratitude, 'Not until now.'
"Th-thank you." The boy could barely manage much more. "I won't let you down, Erinok. I promise." Alf smiled at the craftsman, clenching his teeth to keep himself from babbling further. He wasn't used to recieving praise, except maybe from Korst.
Alf turned his gaze forward, at Tharsten's straight back. The old Nord strode proudly past the village's huts, his own provisions in tow. Alf kept himself just a few strides behind the Elder. He had to work to keep up with the older man's pace.
'How are they both so confident? So- so brave?' He couldn't help but wonder at the two men, both going so bravely towards the Reavers. His face reddened. 'Or rather, why can't I be?'
OOC: Seems like a good a place as any for our timeskip. Are we planning on attacking the Reavers during the day, the same day as we left the village? I believe it's still early morning, so there shouldn't be any need to camp overnight or anything. Just wondering; I didn't want to post any more before the skip.
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Post by Vicorva on Jul 20, 2011 16:05:09 GMT
OOC: Really sorry I haven't posted, guys. I've been trying to weigh our options with this here RP.
Chaos is out. N/A is also out. So basically, the RP is us three. That means the RP is unlikely to look as advertised in the original post if we continue. It looks like, with the Skaal being the only functional group, it'll become a Skaal RP. I'm not sure exactly what that would look like, but I would pull away from Tharsten and start using an original character- probably Peregrina, who I've been setting up to stir things up in the Skaal.
I knew it was risky to start an RP here when it's been dead for so long. I guess my question is if we want to continue with this, in which case it will become a lot more freeform, or if you aren't really enjoying it, or if you want a new RP or what. I think I'd like to continue, but obviously this is not the RP as advertised.
Any thoughts?
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Post by Darkom on Jul 21, 2011 2:05:28 GMT
I would definitely like to keep RPing here, whether it's with this one or another. I'm more than willing to do whatever; I shouldn't be quitting anytime soon, no matter what. If you'd like, I can ask around, see if anybody would like to join this or another RP here. Alternatively, if you guys are looking for another RP, I've got one going on at my own forum right now that's just started. There are some really good RPers in it, and it is very free form. If you would be interested in that, I can give you a link. Also, if you'd like, I can ask all of them if they'd be interested in RPing here as well.
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Post by DarkNova50 on Jul 21, 2011 3:59:48 GMT
Well, if you guys are still looking for new people, I've been pondering a character that I could use for this RP. Granted, I don't really know what the hell is going on, but I'd be willing to give it a shot.
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Post by Chaos 303030 on Jul 21, 2011 12:37:40 GMT
// I'm...not..dead....[Groans zombie] But I'm also not posting for now. I'm sorry for failing you, MDL.
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Post by Vicorva on Jul 22, 2011 6:59:02 GMT
Well... Nova, you don't have to join if you aren't interested, but if you are, that'd be really good. As for what's going on; not a lot, really. I think that's safe to say. :/ Thing is, even with you I don't know if we really have enough to support this as I originally planned it. :/ I'll see what FC4 thinks. As I mentioned above, I may have to turn this into an RP based more strongly around the Skaal village so we can all be in one place (even if people want to play characters from the other factions). If anyone genuinely thinks a whole new premise would be good, pitch it to me and I'm happy to write and run it, although I'm a little invested in the idea of this one.
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Post by FC4 on Jul 22, 2011 14:27:28 GMT
I figured it was going to end up around the Skaal anyways, since your Peregina character sounded more Imperial Legion and like she was going to end up with the Skaal at some point, creating interaction that might bring the Legion folks into working around the Skaal too. So yeah, I have no problem being centered around the Skaal. Might give me more options with Erinok too, since it was weird coming up with a reason for him to come along.
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Post by Vicorva on Jul 23, 2011 9:09:01 GMT
OOC: I'll Skaal-ize this then, and folks from other factions can gravitate towards the Skaal. Peregrina, while from another faction, was just so I could have an OC and not use Tharsten, who i don't really enjoy playing. I thought it might work the other way; I would use Peregrina to make links between the Skaal and the Imperial Legion players. I'm quite happy with this though. If anyone has any ideas for plotlines or conflicts they'd like to implement, you all have my blessing. Chaos, when you feel able to rejoin, we can discuss options if you like. For now, I'm abandoning those characters. *sigh of relief* Okay... suckish post coming up, but it should get us going again anyway... IC: Tharsten Heart-Fang, Isild River BridgeIt didn't take long for them to reach the Skaal-side of the enormous Isild River Bridge. On the far side, the characteristic fur and horned helments of the reavers could be seen, but... there seemed to be some kind of trouble. They rushed around, blades drawn, shouting; a small figure broke free from the cluster, putting a sword through the chest of a reaver in order to clear a path, and raced down the bridge towards them, the remaining five reavers in pursuit. Tharsten drew his blade with a ring. The figure was an imperial woman, wearing the chain armour with their legion's insignia. Much as he disliked the imperials and what they had done to Solstheim, he hated the reavers much more, and the imperials did not try to kill them, as did their evil brethren, disciples of the Greedy Man. "Stand and fight," Tharsten growled. He could feel the old battle spirit rising up in him, the fire and spit, the power to protect his people. The imperial woman shouted, "RUN!" as she hurried towards them. Though she did not look as if she would attack, Tharsten noted that she held her blade tense and ready to deflect any blows they might give. Her face was bloodied, one of her eyes swollen, but she seemed otherwise hale. He had mixed feelings for a woman who took on more than five reavers, but then ran from them.
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Post by FC4 on Jul 23, 2011 19:33:06 GMT
Erinok the Craftsman, Isild River Bridge Erinok watched beside Tharsten as a figure broke free of the Reavers they sought to kill, running one through before fleeing across the bridge. As she approached on the bridge, he too could identify it was a woman, clad in unmistakable Imperial Chain, which looked nothing like the mail of Skaal craftsmen. He had to hand it to the Imperial female; she managed to get away quite well, since the situation seemed to of the escaping prisoner sort.
"Stand and fight," growled his Elder, and Erinok grabbed the head of his axe, hoisting it out of loop of leather and moving his grip to the lower portion of the shaft in one clean motion. His left hand drew one of his small hammers from his belt, and he stood beside his Elder with weapons readied, hammer before him and axe ready to swing.
"For the All-Maker," Erinok grunted out as he tensed himself. Few times had he ever fought in his life; he remembered each well.
"RUN!" The Imperial woman cried out as she came at them, but Erinok merely side-stepped to let her pass, bringing his hammer back as she ran by.
"For the Skaal!" Erinok roared as he swung the hammer at the oncoming Reavers, forcing the lead Reaver to raise his furred shield in defense. The hammer slammed against the shield, and while harmless, sent the Reaver staggering backward momentarily into his oncoming comrades.
Erinok may have only been a craftsman, but the blood of a warrior race ran through his veins, and he could not deny the desire for battle.
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Post by Vicorva on Jul 26, 2011 14:54:54 GMT
Peregrina Quarra, Isild River Bridge
She could hardly believe her terrible luck; finally, she had broken free of the damn reavers, only to run into a rag-tag group of Skaal.
Even while adrenaline coursed through her veins, she studied them with all the calculation of a recruiting officer. They were well-equipped- one looked past his prime, if large, another looked lean and better suited to village work than battle, and the third looked like bodily fluid would be leaving his body sometime soon, from either end.
She shouted at them to run, but they only moved into battle stances with looks of grim determination on their faces. She ran swiftly past them; when they didn't attack, she skidded to a halt and back-pedalled.
Panting, she slowly raised her sword into a fighting stance, both hands gripping the weapon, lean muscles rippling from the effort of holding it aloft. Her short dark hair was matted and bloody; her face bruised beyond recognition. Magic coursed up her body, blue light growing from the soles of her boots to envelope her entire frame, leaving only blood and grime behind, with no wounds to show for it.
Her nose itched from the use of magic; she ignored it. She'd rather an itchy nose than a reaver axe through the gut. "Peregrina Quarra," she said, without taking her eyes from the reavers. "Pleasure to fight alongside you. If any of you know spells to ward off arrows, now would be a good time to use them. I only got one of two archers..."
If these people were crazy enough to stand and fight reavers, she wasn't going to miss out. Despite the lightness of her tone, her expression was grim as death himself. These bastards had killed her men. Now she was in a position to return the favour.
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Post by Darkom on Jul 26, 2011 19:00:29 GMT
Alf the Bastard; Skaal VillageAlf had felt a growing dread ever since he had caught sight of the bridge, some two snow topped hills back. Even in the distance, the armored forms of Reavers were visible, waiting for them with all the deadly inevitability of winter. He had fought back the urge to beg Tharsten to turn back, beaten away the thought of simply turning and running himself. 'This is something I have to do,' he thought, steeling himself, his fur covered feet marching resolutely. He was glad Tharsten had had him don his armor a while back; thin as it was, the hardened leather gave him the confidence to keep moving forwards. 'Tharsten and Erinok show no fear even now. Why should I?'Each step drew him closer and closer to the snow covered bridge, each moment closer to the axes of the Reavers. He expected them to raise an alarm against the approaching Skaal at any moment, yet something seemed to occupy them on the other side of the bridge. Flashes of movement, the ringing of swords; the murder had already begun without them. Alf's mind blanked, all thought rushing away along with the blood in his face. Then, the fear set in. It came, slowly at first, like a tendril slipping through his mind, then with full force when he recognized a lone figure running towards them down the bridge. Panic gripped his throat with an icy hand, leaving him gasping for breath. "Stand and fight." He heard Tharsten in front of him, the old warrior already sliding his sword out of its sheath. The words echoed in his ears, but Alf was long in understanding their meaning. Death was running down that bridge towards them, and Alf had only two options: flee the battle, leaving his fellow Skaal to die in his stead, or stand beside them, and pray the All Maker would protect him. "For the All-Maker," Erinok grunted beside him. He too had drawn his weapons. Both men risked death, just to save his. He could not leave them, not now. His gaze travelled down the bridge, past the fleeing Imperial woman, at the Reavers that he would soon pit his life against. Their faces were contorted in hatred, vicious howls escaped their lips as they closed in on their prey. 'These are no men,' Alf thought, flexing his own empty hands, 'These are animals.'The Imperial, and her trail of Reavers, had almost reached the three Skaal. Distantly, he heard Erinok's battle cry. Then the fear that had suffocated Alf's mind fell away, blown to the side by a sudden, primal rage. Years of hatred welled up within him, memories of a childhood he did not deserve flashed by, fueling his fury. And with it came a familiar feeling of power. Heat, like a blazing furnace, filled his body. His gaze fell on the Reavers, their movements oddly sluggish, and he directed all that rage, all that fire at their screaming faces. Flames materialized before Alf's eyes, his inner fury pouring forth, a flood of emotion that became fire as it left his fingertips. With an odd clarity, he saw their looks of bloodlust turn to confusion, before Alf's flare enveloped them. For a moment, all he knew was the fire, dancing in front of him, his rage manifested. Then, just as suddenly as it had come, the fury left him, quenched by the icy realization of what he had done. His hands dropped to his sides- he did not remember raising them- and the cold fell back on him. His bare fingers flared with pain; his rabbit skin gloves had been burned away, leaving his palms red and cracked by the heat. He brought his head up, gazing distantly at the blackened Reavers lying on the bridge. At first he thought them dead- their soot stained faces and charred furs consumned by his flames- but then a cough escaped one. 'By the All Maker, they're still alive!'With a tenacity that sent a fresh chill down Alf's spine, the Reavers stood, hefting their weapons. Alf's spell had stopped them in their tracks, but it didn't seem to have done much else. The young shaman looked beside him, at the other two Skaal- singed, but unhurt- waiting to see what they would do. OOC: Didn't want to get too uber with Alf's spells, but I figured he had to man up sometime. I figured that his sudden flare would have thrown the Reavers back, stunning them a little, but it wasn't hot or compact enough to do any real damage. It wasn't a fireball so much as a firewall, and it would have charred more than a few hairs on Erinok and Tharsten as well. Continue the fight, if you'd like, or just stab the Reavers while they're still dazed, but Alf is probably out of rage and mana for the moment. Thanks.
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