Partisan

Queens Guard: the Iron Company [semi-realistic medieval RP]

Gnarl can prepare the castle too. It makes more sense for a hunter-like character to go and track some riders. Likely Gnarl couldn't seperate a piece of poop from a track, so yes.

Alive

Play a 2 year old, for the heck of it.

Queens Guard: the Iron Company [semi-realistic medieval RP]

So between Isolde claiming Guinan and Theodore, and me sending out all my men to the village, basically Isolde is telling Gnarl to go himself? :P

Queens Guard: the Iron Company [semi-realistic medieval RP]

Well, I need to set the plot. Otherwise it'll be no fun. I'll let Theo and Guinan have their own little plot for now, and do that for every other group of characters so that we can get some character development in the relationships field. I hope you guys don't mind.

Queens Guard: the Iron Company [semi-realistic medieval RP]

Am I writing too long pieces? I don't know, but I'm certainly enjoying it.

Queens Guard: the Iron Company [semi-realistic medieval RP]

Gnarl waited for the rag-tag squad he had summoned, nodding at them all as they walked up to the gatehouse. The gatehouse itself was gigantic, and a fall from the top would likely break all the bones in your body and spell a gruesome ending to your life. None of that seemed to matter. Gnarl waved away Rand's suggestion -- they were simply too far ahead and by the time Rand had saddled up they'd be long gone past the Terian river, which ran wild and bucked wildly like a steed who had been slapped on the ass. „Captain Gregor, you are excused. Please tell a serf to ready a set of horses.” The fat guards' captain nodded and hurried down the stairs, his head obviously still heavy from the night before. Gnarl oversaw the group of mercenaries, missing one person. „Where the hell is Guinan? Theodore, you oaf, you were the last one up. You go back down and fetch that would-be marksman. Meet me at the queens chambers in an hour or so, you and Guinan are her personal guards today. Consider it punishment for being late. Now go!” he'd yell as he waved him away, commanding a certain respect from Theodore and the others.

As he'd watch Theodore do his bidding he'd turn his attention to the rest. „We just saw three riders of the king outside, testing our mettle. Now, they probably know by now that the queen has hired us to be her new guard, so I estimate they're here for that. Never the less..” Gnarl turned around and faced the forests that were so plentiful in these regions. He leaned on the stone short wall that edged the gatehouses' roof, taking a look at the area. „Today you will go to the local village and ask for any rumors or such about a local enemy warband. I doubt there's any here because the villagers would've come here for protection, but go anyway. Take the horses, cross the Terian river and follow the road eastbound, until you cross onto a large hill. From there you will see the village. These villagers are that of the queen, so make sure you treat them with the required respect. They are not our enemies.” He turned around and directed his eyes towards Atl. „No fighting.” he said sternly, looking deep into Atl's eyes. The savage would likely ignore the orders anyway but he couldn't say nobody told him not to fight.

He dismissed the band of soldiers, and headed down the stairs to look for Guinan and Theodore. While the soldiers would no doubt leave right away, Guinan and Theodore had other matters to attend to with Gnarl. His boots sounded heavy on the stone steps leading up to the keep, several guards passing by Gnarl to reinforce the walls. They seemed somewhat excited to finally 'see some action' although Gnarl knew they wouldn't see action today. Passing through the thronehall, he headed for the gigantic circular stairs and headed up towards the floor which held the queens room, expecting to find Guinan and Theodore both outside it waiting for him. „There you are, you lazy rats. Come on.” he said, his heavy voice no doubt resounding to within the queens chambers. He walked closer and gave some firm knocks onto the queens chambers' doors, before walking in. He would bow before the queen, expecting the fellow royal guards to do so as well.

„My lady, we have spotted several of your brothers' spies, no doubt scouting the premises of your castle after finding out you hired us. They carried the kings emblem on their cloaks and rode the white steeds that are that of his advanced riders. If I may be so free, I'd suggest you allow my two companions here to track them down, to at the very least see what they are up to. What are your orders, m'lady?” he'd say, his voice suddenly shrinking and befitting that of speaking to a royalty. He'd look over at Guinan and Theodore for a moment, attempting to see their reactions, but he was sure they'd retain their composure as that would befit the mercenaries. After that he'd look over to the queen, bowing slightly and bending his knees a little bit as he'd receive her orders.

---

Joachim was surprised to hear Wren say words, let alone kind words of sorts. He glanced over to his right as he stepped over an exceptionally large puddle of rainwater. „I guess this morning is as good as any other. Any idea why we were summoned?” he'd ask for the sake of making small talk. No doubt they were being sent off to collect firewood, a task he had completed many times before as a newcomer to the Company. Behind them trudged the savage and the northernling, Atl and Sikarthis. They were interesting individuals, and Joachim, being one of the few in the company that was able to write, had taken to attempting to learn Atl to write. Not that he was any good at it, the feather being squished to an unworking state almost instantly. Sikarthis was also quite extraordinary, though he fit in better with the Arlonians, his wish to always undress himself was always quite funny to Joachim. He seemed to suffer from an unrelenting heatstroke, or so it appeared.

They arrived at the top of the gatehouse, overviewing the forests ahead. Joachim listened closely to the Bear, not wishing to offend him in any way. Apparently, three of the kings riders had passed by. This could mean a few things, most likely that they were scouting ahead for an attack or to see what the queen was up to. But they weren't to give chase. Gnarl was probably right in that aspect, by the time they had saddled up now they'd be long gone past the river and towards their encampment, which was no doubt well concealed. Besides, they had no reason to do anything about the riders. The queen and her brother were not at war -- not yet. And riding in these lands wasn't an offense to the queen. This made the situation delicate, because everyone knew why the riders were there, but there was not much they could do about it.

Joachim watched Gnarl walk off before he walked over to the edge of the gatehouses' roof, leaning on the same short wall that Gnarl had leaned on, overlooking the treeline. He couldn't see much, except the rustling of the trees. He smiled, however, and turned around to face Sikarthis. „Northernling, you will be delighted. Cold is in the air, can you feel it? It will be a period of crossing beforehand, but the snow will soon settle onto the lands. Give it a few months.” He smiled at Sikarthis before walking down the stairs of the gatehouse, raising his hand at the guardsman that was on duty to control the gates. Two of the queens' slaves were sitting in the corner of the gatehouse, their linnen clothes stained with dirt and other dirty substances, waiting for orders to raise the portcullis and to open the heavy wooden gate. Joachim looked at them closely, their eyes spelling defeat and sadness, but at the same time a certain gratitude to be alive still. Their lives weren't bad, and to be frank they had it better than some of the Iron Companies' slaves, who mostly spent their days cleaning shoes, swords and armor. Barely got anything to eat, either.

As Joachims boots felt the dirt under them again, instead of heading for the stables, where three serfs held onto the horses for the band, he headed for the barracks once again. If they were riding, he'd need a lance. Not a flimsy, uncomfortable jousting lance, but one that would last more than a second in a real fight. He opened the doors and looked around, finding a lance resting onto the wall in a corner. He slowly jogged over, grabbing the lance and jogged back outside the doors, headed for the serfs. No doubt the others had saddled up by now. „My apologies for having you wait.” he'd say as he approached the rest, eyeing the skill with which some mounted their horses. He wondered how the northernling and the savage would fare with their horses. Joachim himself took to the saddle with a proper level of skill, easily managing to get onto the horse with no troubles while holding onto the lance.

He'd let his horse trot up to the portcullis which was slowly being opened by the two slaves which would've jumped into action by now. As soon as he could, Joachim would ride underneath the portcullis and through the large wooden gates, greeting the guard that was outside with a simple nod and smile as he trotted his horse past him. The man seemed unimpressed. Or rather, seemed to be asleep, leaning on his glaive, eyes closed. Joachim couldn't help but feel some pity for the man, being stationed outside all day, forced to deal with every peasant requesting an audience with the queen. He'd look behind him and beckon for Wren to ride next to him. There was some sort of unspoken understanding that Wren would have to lead the group in some parts due to being the daughter of the Bear, and Joachim made sure to heed this understanding. Rudolfo, however, was also a proper candidate for these kind of tasks, so naturally Joachim expected there to be some confusion as to whom should lead the band during their travels. However, Rudolfo was an old rot and wasn't fit for battle anymore, much more befitting a tactical oversight type of role. Some form of commander would suit him, though he was quite sure Rudolfo would disagree.

Joachim looked to his lower left, and put his lances' end into a pouch that was sewn into all the saddles, so that he didn't have to lift it all the time. Somehow the lance, the armor and the brown horse made him look like a proper rider of the queen, though the others also looked the part. Well, except for barely naked Atl, but he looked like a slave of sorts so it'd fit the image quite well. And it would cause some laughs when someone dared call Atl a slave. „Have you ever been to these lands, Wren? When my lord was still alive and held his keep, he had sent me here once. These lands are bountiful, which is why the Queen most likely took to these lands herself. To the east, where we are headed, lies the land of the Ewain family. They have proper iron mines, though not as many as that of the Blackwood estate. However, the Ewains' have their own personal army and used to support the queen. They were amongst the last to give in to the king to swear the oath, holding true to their oath of support to the queen. But naturally, they had to give in or face an army.” He'd look at Wren to see if she even cared at all, but regardless he'd continue, finding himself remembering small details that didn't really matter but were enjoyable to him none the less. He'd look around over his shoulder to direct the story more towards the entire group.

„Directly to the west, however, is the Howel family, led by the famous Jaufre Howel himself. They say he was the one to build the castle, brick by brick. I doubt he actually did that, but that's how the story goes. Their castle is big, built on a hill like Stags' rest, but a much steeper hill. It is quite a genius construction if you ask me, as the edges of the hill are so steep that you cannot possible use siege equipment. It is the perfect location for a fortress. The only way in is to use a battering ram, push it all the way up the road leading up to the gate. I can tell you the tales of the sieges of the Wolfs' Castle, as they call it, but you'd find yourself bored. Just know that many men have died pushing battering rams up that hill.” He laughed as he said the words, the politics of this region were by far the most interesting, atleast in regards to the capital city. „The person that owned Stags' Rest before the queen used to gain an advantage through the everlasting wars between the Howels and the Ewains, and demanded payment for every army of theirs that had to march through their lands. Well, there is only one other way and that is to take a one month journey around these lands. Needless to say, Ewain and Haufre were unhappy with this constant request of payment, so they stopped their wars and decided to rather end the man that owned th-”

Joachim was cut short by the sight of black smoke in the distance, where the village was supposed to be. He looked over to Wren, then Rudolfo, and then everyone else. „M-maybe it's not the kings men, maybe it's just bandits raiding the village for slaves.” It was obvious that he was unsure of what to do, after all they were sent here to ask for rumors about any of the kings warband, not to fight off the kings men. And if they were really just bandits or ruffians, they would be allowed, no, expected to help. But slaying a soldier of the king would be a declaration of war.. well, burning a village would be too, but they had no orders to attack and there's no saying what Gnarl would expect them to do. It was up to the rest of them to decide what to do, ride forth and deal with the attackers, or ride back to bring a report.

Alive

Feck.

Queens Guard: the Iron Company [semi-realistic medieval RP]

Partisan smash. Savage only fictional character. PARTISAN REAL PERSON. SMASH.

Alive

Kanamaru 'Joshua' Matisashi



„Asiatown at night, the cities night activities bustling as always.”

Kanamaru looked Misty into her eyes as she threw the blanket away to the best of her abilities then deny the beer. He shrugged with his shoulders, throwing the beer into her lap anyway. „Suit yourself, baka. But if you think we'll ask for a ransom right away you're stupid.” And with that he ended the discussion, taking the blanket again and tossing it into her face. It got cold in this garage, because it wasn't heated and all areas of the building were concrete. She'd thank him later he reckoned. „Also, don't use that tone against me. I'm not Shizui, and I don't care to roughen you up a bit if you keep up that attitude. We just want our money so we can get our families out of the slum you and your shitty company created.”

He slowly drew himself back from the van, spitting on the ground besides it and then slamming the door shut, leaving Misty inside in the darkness. Meanwhile he'd leave around the backside of the building, waving a quick goodbye to Shizui and the rest of the guys. He put a cigarette into his mouth as he left, grabbed his lighter and lit up. Sweet, pure smoke entering his lungs. Somehow he felt more calm from the anger he had felt moments before. After taking a few drags he hopped onto the hoverbike and shoved the helmet over his face.



Slowly the bike hovered up again, still warm from the previous flight around town and it's roads. He'd turn around the hoverbike and then hovered it quietly out of the alleyway before speeding up, headed past the museum where he noticed some ruckus as the lady he'd ran his hoverbike into earlier was talking to a seriously outdated android looking bot, except this one had no skin. Strange. The busstop ad-place lit up a few times brightly but by the time he'd realized it he'd already hovered past it at high speeds.

Using his body as a weight he maneuvered past the cars rapidly, zooving between the cars at speeds that were illegal in every area of Providence. Then he started slowing down as he'd approach a night-store. By now Kanamaru was already used to the hierarchy in Shizui's BB, or otherwise known amongst the Providence Police Department as the Bamboo Boyz, the street gang that occupied Asiatown. And that hierarchy meant he was on guard duty tonight, and was supposed to entertain himself during the nightly hours he'd have to spend with this CEO. He got off the bike but left it hovering, walking into the stores and browsing the racks. He grabbed an Eo-eo novel, about a guy called Eo-eo who was supposed to rescue the world but instead chose to sleep in his bed. It was mostly nonsense, but it used dry clever humor that Kanamaru liked. Besides that he got some Providence Cola, along with a bag of candy. He paid for his stuff and hopped on the bike again and headed back to the car shop, parking his bike behind as per usual and walking back in.

Now, Misty would have been sitting in the dark van for about an hour before Kanamaru would reappear, sliding the door open violently before stepping in himself, and closing the door behind him. Laughter of the Asian gangmembers was the last thing Misty'd hear before the sounds dampened with the door between them. Kanamaru would sit down, grabbing a pillow from the front seat. Why was it there to begin with he asked himself, but the fact that this van was used more to chill in than to abduct people was probably the reason. He put it behind his head as he laid comfortably in the van, beginning to read the Eo-eo novel with a seemingly focussed mind, drinking from the Providence Cola and eating candy. After 15 minutes of silence he'd grab a cigarette from his sports jackets' pocket and light it up. Another 30 minutes of silence passed before Kanamaru finished the short novel, laying it down next to him and beginning a death stare aimed at Misty.

After five minutes of deadly staring, an angry look contorting his face, he'd open his mouth. „Why do you and your company do what you do?” He'd shift his position slightly, sitting upright a bit more, looking at Misty as if she was some criminal rather than the other way around. „You destroy lives you know. My father worked for your company for 25 years and next month he'll be laid off because they he's ''too old.'' He's barely 50. He has no degree or education. What do you expect him to do to earn money? You wanna have us rot? Baka. You and your company know nothing of real life. You just sit in your glass towers and drink expensive wine, food that is worth my dad's monthly income and drive cars that my dad wouldn't be able to earn the money for if he worked day and night, 24 hours a day every day for the rest of his life. Maybe not even if you doubled his lifespan. And I'm sitting here, and Longsword is probably already on their way to where we captured you. Tracking the traces, the footsteps, the bullets I fired. Within the next month I'll be either in jail or dead.”

He'd look at her angrily waiting for an answer he was unsure of whether it would come or not. He'd scoff at her and shrug, leaning back again. „Atleast if your company or family pays for you, I'll live those days like a king. Well. I would. But I gotta support my family because my paps' can't anymore due to you. Do you have a family, redhead?” he'd ask ask he put his hands behind his head on the pillow, looking at her in relative comfort. He'd try and see if she had drunk the beer, and checked whether or not she'd used the blanket. The van she was in wasn't very comfortable if you weren't sitting on a pillow like Kanamaru was, and knowing Shizui or the BB, they wouldn't care if she sat on bare metal or a pillow. She was kind of lucky she still had her 3000 dollar shoes.

Well, Kanamaru just guessed they were 3000 dollar. He had no idea what those kind of shoes cost. Streetwear was his forté, as proven by his Providas 'White King Sneakerz' limited edition shoes. They fell of a truck, but nobody knows that. „I wonder how much your family will pay for you. Will your husband even care if we shoot you? He'll probably get an android of sorts to replace you. An android he can sleep with, one to raise his.. your children. It's fine though. Paid by whatever he inherits from you.”

Queens Guard: the Iron Company [semi-realistic medieval RP]

If he is not epic I'll be angry.