Frengo

Darkness and Light

Kalar Splint, Chief Ranger of Galuntrung Keep.

Ten miles north east of Merandin, along the Geshmere Road.

Kalar watched Liara sleek away from the road, her nimble and feminine form vanishing into the shrubbery. Some of his men cast him odd glances, but they knew better than to question him. He was a soldier's commander, beloved by those who fought and died on his behalf, but he dealt with dissent swiftly. He was not above expelling a ranger for so much as questioning his judgement over dinner preparations if they caught him at the wrong time.

Still, he knew he couldn't go on giving the girl such a long leash. The others didn't see what he saw, they couldn't understand why it was always his precious Liara that was sent up as the vanguard. The fact she had survived this long with them alone they probably put down to a mixture of luck and chaos; eventually one of those would run out, and she'd be bones for the carrion.

That would never be the case though, and Kalar knew this. By sending her out ahead, he was shielding his men from the dangers that they - perhaps even he - couldn't handle. They were vigilantes, irregulars. They weren't monster slaying knights, just a bunch of men in rags, clutching bows and killing petty criminals. Whatever had smote Okly's caravan would make short work of all of them, if Kalar did not play his hand deftly.

"Ready, m'lord," one of his men, Gormagh, yelled through the faltering rain.

"Don't call me Lord," Kalar spat back, feigning injury. "You know better than that. Lords don't go squelching through the mud to chase down pox-arsed bandits."

His men laughed, maybe out of respect, or maybe because they genuinely thought his remark deserve such a response. It didn't matter, an agreement of social protocol was in place, and as always, Kalar was the top dog in a pyramid of wolves.

"Company, move out!" Kalar yelled, and together the rangers started into a march. It was dangerous to travel the road in such a way, but the wily Chief Ranger needed speed more than he did caution. Okly, and the faces of its inhabitants, were all that concerned him now.

Darkness and Light

@Crimson Raven Got no problem with you joining the cool kids' table, but as I've just posted, I'm going to have to leave the interaction between the group and Aegis to IcePezz's care.

However, if you'll be tagging along for the duration, we'd best get to discussing what direction things are going to go in - but that can wait until tomorrow, for me in any case.

@IcePezz Handle it as you see fit, I'll jump off whatever baseline you two leave me.

Misery and Dust

@XxLyraxX I love them both, accepted with all haste!

Welcome aboard. You may post when ready, and also move your chars over to the character's tab :)

Darkness and Light

Kalar Splint, Chief Ranger of Galuntrung Keep.

Ten miles north east of Merandin, along the Geshmere Road.

"I know of no man who can do this."

Uncertain words boded ill in uncertain times, and the slight faltering of Liara's tone carried on the gathering wind like an omen of things to come. Something evil stalked the land, something unnatural; the aging Ranger sensed it, though he could make no claim to being more than just a man. He'd seen many terrible things in his years, but this was the first time in a long while that he felt a stirring in his gut. It was an unfamiliar sensation, but reminded him of the early days, where he would nervously lay in wait for those who had done wrong to others. Fear? Anxiety?

He shook the thoughts away and refocused himself.

Kalar stood over his Ace, looking past her shoulder at the ruined remains of what was once a man. Presumably. Entrails, caked in soot but still red with blood, snaked their way into the ruins of a nearby wagon. The expression on the man was not the one of horror, nor the one of anger, but something altogether more eery. Kalar stared into that scorched face, and after a few moments, he shuddered a little.

"That's a face of lost hope, if I ever saw one," he growled, taking time to wipe some of the rain from his face with the back of his sodden sleeve. "This man accepted his fate the same way I'd accept mine if I came upon the Great Reaper himself. Whatever happened here, whatever beast tore this man asunder, we must be wary."

Kneeling down beside Liara, he started to move his hand over the corpse. The man's flesh had gone cold, but Kalar gripped a blacked limb and tried to move it; the extremity was as stiff as iron. "Dead a few hours," he muttered. "Not long enough for the rigor to fade. Our foe cannot be far."

He stood back, uncertain of how to proceed. They had no leads, and no idea where the ones responsible for this slaughter had headed. Was he dealing with men, or with beasts? Or both? The plains were a large place to lose yourself in, and Kalar would know. He wanted vengeance for these people, but he wasn't going to risk his men chasing ghosts in the endless expanse.

"To answer your question, Liara, this caravan was likely carrying furs to Merandin from Okly - a little trading village about ten miles east of here; deals primarily in animal wares," he said, not looking at her, but at something in the dirt. A brass circle, with some partially obliterated embroidery. "I recognize the seal of Okly," he continued, picking up the brass, "they're good people, shrewd but agreeable in most cases. A lot of coin goes through there considering how small the place is, and I reckon someone must be missing the dead - if not the goods. I reckon we'd best pay a visit, and see if the traders have any information that may help piece things together."

Throwing the brass circle back into the wreck, he turned to his rangers who remained scattered throughout the caravan and started barking a command. "We're moving east to Okly, make yourselves ready in five minutes. String bows, keep swords loose in your scabbards. I don't want to blunder into ... into whatever did this."

The rangers scrambled to obey, forming up into a column besides the caravan. As if agreeing with their intent, the storm started to retreat into a patchy down pour though the wind increased its tenacity.

Kalar knelt down again besides Liara and hushed his tone, "Liara, I want you to head out a league ahead of us. Your eyes and your grace put an old codger like me to shame, and I don't trust the boys not to walk us into an ambush. Stop when you reach the village, or double back at the first sign of trouble. I fear for Okly, though I know not why."

Darkness and Light

Upon being given some more information, I edited my post a little. I hope it's not horrible.

@IcePezz

Having read your post, I've decided you're not allowed to refer to your work as "horrible". You certainly show an excellent degree of creative skill, and blended into the atmosphere I set wonderfully. That alone shows your ability to interpret and adapt to external influences, which I sometimes find people struggle with and is a key skill for any effective RPer.

Your post has definitely given me a few ideas on how to proceed, and that in itself is fantastic.

@Legion02 Some nice work from you too fellah, I think the three of us are going to get along just fine. Keep it up.

As for everyone else (I'm not going to praise you all individually because that'd be weird), but I love it all. I was worried that the Royalty's little gathering and happy family fun times was going to bore me senseless, but it's actually going really well. The Crown certainly has a nice blend of personalities, and I look forward to seeing your characters evolve as the RP progresses.

Kudos to leslie for playing two opposite characters back to back in one sitting, I for one struggle to do that unless I allow time to pass between taking on each character. Well done.

Anyway, enough sucking up and brownie point gathering, time to ply my trade.

Darkness and Light

Kalar Splint, Chief Ranger of Galuntrung Keep.

Ten miles north east of Merandin, along the Geshmere Road.

Such wreckless hatred. Such wanton slaughter. Such senseless waste.

The caravan had been hit merely hours ago, and it had been hit hard. It was no small venture either, a full eight wagons all told, and at least a score of heavily armed guards. Now all that remained was smouldering embers and warped iron. A few blackened limbs stuck out from the wrecks, and a few bodies had been gruesomely welded to the hard stones of the Geshmere Road.

Kalar scowled from the cloaked sanctuary of his heavy linen hood, wincing away rivulets of rain that were busily sliding down his face. None of this made sense, it just didn't add up. Kalar Splint was the kind of man who had seen a typical raid a thousand times. People were killed, women raped and children enslaved, goods taken and horses stolen. The fact that everything, riches and all, had been reduced to ash and glass was just bizarre.

And few fires could rage so strongly under the towering might of a Galuntrung Storm.

The rain crashed down in a fierce temper, doing its best to snuff out the last of the flames, but despite its tenacity, the blackened wood continued to crackle away merrily. Whatever had hit the caravan, had hit it fast and with enough heat to literally melt people into the road beneath.

A dozen or so rangers, some of Kalar's best, were busy trying to find tracks aside the road - something that would give a clear indication of what had happened. However, the rain was doing a fine job of destroying the evidence. Frustrated that the situation may become beyond their understanding, Kalar turned his head slightly to address an equally drenched and hooded figure beside him.

"Liara," he croaked, rather than spoke, "find me something. Anything. I want to know what happened here."

Liara was his Ace; she'd barely been with his group for two winters, yet she was already a better tracker and a better fighter than he himself would ever be. Not that this openly showed of course, for Liara was a delicate looking thing - not quite a woman of the court delicate, but she held a frame that followed the curves of natural beauty, as opposed to the rigid outline of an unstoppable force. Looks were deceiving though, and Kalar had learned as much early on in their "partnership".

He may have been an effective and calculating killer when all was said and done, but Liara had the kind of potential that could bring down Empires, if she ended up walking that road. An unnatural energy possessed her, he knew this though he'd seen little real proof. Her presence made even the hardiest warriors uneasy, the most feral beasts wary. Few women could stand toe to toe with a man twice their weight, and he'd seen her take on several at a time on occasion. Wasted potential, one might say, but Kalar had come to appreciate that she was not keen to fulfill the mould that had perhaps been cast for her. This was good, as far as he saw it. That kind of power could corrupt a person, turn them sour.

The rain carried on, and Kalar awaited Liara's response. Innocent blood had been spilled that day, and the Rangers of Galuntrung Keep were about to avenge all those stories that had been cut several chapters short.

Misery and Dust

Alright, I'll have a cs up when I get home and get homework done. @Frengo

@XxLyraxX

Sounds good, glad to have you aboard.

I will be going out in a bit for a few hours, and even then I don't know when I'll get back on here. So if you don't hear from me, it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

Sorry in advance if that turns out to be the case, but I don't think it will.

Misery and Dust

@Frengo
Is it alright if I make a brother and sister that are not part of any faction and tend to wander from place to place?

@XxLyraxX

No.

How dare you ask such questions! Away with you, vagrant.

Joking :)

Haha, but no seriously, that would be an awesome addition to our family of drug addicts, robot gentlemen, military men and femme fatals.

I look forward to seeing what you have in store for us.

Misery and Dust

Back from holiday fun. What did I miss?

@CandiBarr

Welcome back! Hope you had a good time.

You haven't missed much, the Colonel is about to set up his recruitment check point, some robot gentleman is trolling would-be raiders, and then you've got Riley who is having an early life post-apoc crisis.

S'all good.

Darkness and Light

@Cultural Titan

Yeah, perhaps I should wait for Leslie to post before I go inventing Kalar's adversaries. I'm sure s... she? He? Sorry, Leslie is one of those unisex names so I'm at a loss here lol. No disrespect intended. Anyway, back to my point, I'll let Leslie set the tune.

Alternatively, if anyone is going to be causing problems around Galuntrung, would you be so kind as to PM me the details so that we can be more in step with one another? Specifically, if Kalar is to stumble upon a sacked village or raided caravan, what kind of clues might he find that points the finger at something more than bandits? This is all just draft pre-thinking, but I'd like to build the foundations early.

As Kalar and his rangers are a semi-legal force, he wont be present at that meeting. I intend for him to be more of a man of action, than one who likes to debate matters with the inhabitants of the ivory tower. You know, the down trodden type that is highly critical of the Crown's policies when it comes to the interests of the common man, even if they are actually quite effective/good.

Nothing is written in stone though, I'm just idea hunting :)