POOHEAD189

Grim Galaxy: Shots and Chances

Good, Neil thought. A faceless and intimidating Sayeeda would give far more credence to their request for an audience, and the audience in general. The problem was Taya. Neil didn't look overly intimidating, but he had a look that showed he was used to this sort of underhanded operation by the way he carried himself. As they walked through the crowd, there was a myriad of Crimson Stars mingling with mere bar patrons.

With a subtle movement, Neil slipped an idle cloak off a table and rolled it up to give as little visibility to the fact he had it as possible. Once they made it across the dance floor, he unrolled it and reoriented the cloak. "Taya, come here." He said. The girl looked a tad confused, but did as she was bade. Neil placed the wrapping around her head, tying it from the back despite her protests. Neil ignored her, turning her toward him and holding up a finger. "Its best they don't see your face," he half lied. "Now, don't speak or make any noises, not even a squeal. Understand?"

"Its hot," she protested, pulling the lower part of the wrapping off her mouth slightly. Neil let her take in some air, and then pulled it back up. "I know. You can loosen it slightly, but keep it tight around your chin. We won't be in there long. Ok?"

She nodded, and he gave her a wink.

Once they were situation, the three made it to the entryway, where a large Margrond Xenos stood. It was a human-like beast that had four muscled arms, an overwhelming slab of stomach, and a face Neil could only describe as 'ugly as sin.' He barred their passage, along with a small squad of muscled and armed goons, automatic lasrifles held at the ready. Neil held his hands up in greeting. "No need for that, we're simply here to see Gnorlaac."

The proclamation caused them to turn off the safeties on their weapons in unison. "Whoa whoa, hold on now," He began, trying to defuse the situation. He looked around, and then leaned forward. "Tu Wada Klecto...we good now?" There was a short silence as the men looked to one another, and the Margrond raised an arm and spoke an indecipherable language into the comm on his wrist. Above them, a light Neil had not noticed before turned green, and the Xenos stepped aside to allow them passage into the back rooms.

The music went from an oppressive noise to a backdrop as they walked down the entryway, two guards flanking them with weapons poised to go off at any sudden movement by the three. Neil knew Sayeeda was good, so he turned to glance Taya's way and check on her, however her expression was hidden from view by the cloak. That was a small victory at least. Red lights that gave the entryway a darkly lit vibe increased the shadows around them in a strange fashion. The more traditional lights of the other room, still blue and green in color, lit up the area far more nicely.

The next room they found themselves in, Neil could only really call it a throne room. It was a smaller party, with hired muscle and dancer girls mingling with one another, along with prominent Xenos and businessmen wearing expensive and near Dar'mondian level of lavish clothing and jewerly. Some of them looked to be enacting business deals while others simply lounged, enjoying their status as one of the select few to be invited inside Gnorlaac's private party. At the center of the back wall sat Gnorlaac. An enormous blue Formian, with an impressive second chin covered in either fur or hair. His torso was bare, and his lower half was covered in expensive cloth to make some patched together trousers. His six fingered hands were covered in jeweled rings, and his large maw had more than a few golden teeth within his jowls. In Neils opinion, he had the look of a 'nice guy' on the galactic net that hit it big somehow.

All eyes turned to them as they entered, the unknown three causing a small stir within the room. Neil crossed his arms, trying to remain as confident as possible despite all the attention. The music stopped, and the Formian raised a hand, waving them to come in closer. "Ekta chuka me colo so na me," he said, his voice veritably booming across the expanse of the room. Flanking him were two Hexanagallion guards, clad in Xarconian plate armor, their faces and snouts concealed.

A small droid floated up between them as Neil and the others moved forward, translating. "So, I heard you have something I would be interested in? Do tell." The voice was automatic and rigid.

"That is correct," Neil said, a big smile on his face. "And let me say that this is a lovely establishment. Do you rent or own? Nevermind. Yes we uh...we have something I think anyone in the Galaxy would kill for. But since we were in the neighborhood, we heard of your fair deals and wanted to see if you'd be interested."

"Do not test my patience, boy. Out with it." The Droid said after the Formian gave a few grunts.

"Hold on, big fella. Discussing business when 10 pounds of Aestimobium is at stake is a process to be appreciated." The Formian's eyes widened, and there were various gasps within the crowd. Neil simply smirked, as if he had everyone in the palm of his hand. Then again, he did that often anyway. "You see," Neil continued loudly, drawing all of their gazes to him. "By my recknoning, such a prize would be...psssht, I don't know. 40 million credits? More? Well, me and my crew," He gestured at the two figures behind him. "We have no real use for it other than money, and would like it gone no questions asked. So we are willing to part with it for, say, 25 million. That's a generous offer, my friend. Also, it pays to be on a crime lord's good side, am I right?"
@Penny

Dogs of War: Old World Mercenaries

They posted what kindling they had among the small cavern they found themselves in and made torches to give a calm, hearth-like light to the small resting area. Skaldi had gone into the next cavern, searching for Mushrooms as the group found places to comfortably sit or sleep for the night, though many of them found themselves too tired to sleep.

Ivan and Boris had taken to Konrad, inviting him over for a few war stories and encouraging him to join in their boasting. Ivan gave Cyrdic a wink, and the normally grim sergeant grinned in amusement, knowing that a second reason they had busied Konrad was so that he and Camilla could spend a few scant hours together somewhat alone before the group had to move again.

The Witch had gathered her skirts and had made a small pile of clothing to sleep on, clearly a bit too cultured to have enjoyed such travel the past week. At first it seemed as if she had attempted to invoke an incantation, but she had been either too tired or not in the mood, or perhaps something had been interfering with her magic within the caves, so she gave up and began to try and find some sleep. Yantz mostly kept to himself, though his eyes subtly explored the two women they had in their group, until his gaze met Cyrdic's, and the man decided it was best to find some sleep. Cyrdic knew his type. He did not mean any harm, but hard men on Campaign or hired swords often took what pleasures they could, and more often than not paid for company.

Cyrdic and Camilla had found a small nook to sit within, relatively in the dark and behind a few stalactites but still within the same greater chamber. Wordlessly, the sergeant took off his ruined furs and placed them down for Camilla to use to gain some bit of comfort. "Give it a few more days, we'll be back in the lands of men," he said to her. As he spoke, he realized that he had now gone beyond what the maps of the Empire designated as the ends of the world, and yet still they had not seen the wastes proper. Briefly, he was scared that the Chaos magics had messed with time, as he had heard such wild stories when he was younger, that time flowed differently. But Dietrichia would have told them if that were so, and the fear ebbed away.

How was old he now? He had turned 27 this past winter, but they had moved so often he couldn't recall the exact date. He wondered if his father and mother were still in Ostland, or his younger siblings. He couldn't remember how many he had. His mother had been pregnant when he had left for the army. "Doesn't matter," he breathed, drawing a look from Camilla. He lifted his brows, youth returning to his face for a moment as he looked somewhat embarrassed. "Nothing," he said with a smile.

His equipment leaned upon a large rock next to the couple, as did Camilla's. Their two swords laying beside one another, as if drawn together by some unknown string of fate or magic influence. He took one long look at the two blades, and then turned to Camilla. He couldn't help himself, and he pulled her into a sincere hug, before holding her at arms length. "Don't ever scare me like that again." He told her.

Scaring him and getting them both into trouble was what she did best, but the Chaos wastes were pushing it. He brushed some hair out of her eyes. "By Taal, I missed you." He said, chuckling, though his mirth soon died and instead, there was a tenderness to his eyes. "I truly did."
@Penny

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

Well. Guess I'll just sit here and wait for a while.

@BCTheEntity

Won't be too much longer.

Dogs of War: Old World Mercenaries

"I agree," Cyrdic breathed, placing a hand on Camilla's back to reassure his companion. She looked to him and gave a smile that caused his heart to stir. "And to tink, I had once wanted to trav'el" she quipped. He grinned. "Next time somewhere with less Chaos," he whispered. Ivan spurred them onwards, and Skaldi nearly barreled into Cyrdic and Camilla. Not for lack of vision, but for a single minded determination to get where he was going, edging them on as well.

The tall grass brushed Cyrdic's jawline as he ran, half crouched in their travels, save Skaldi who simply hustled and kept up. As they waded through the sea of grass, Cyrdic's mind caught up with him and he wondered about Camilla's eyesight being so acute. It's true, he felt she had better eyesight than he before his sword began to imbue him with a few minor blessings of Ulric, ones he still wasn't entirely certain he deserved. But after that, though his sense of smell and hearing surpassed his eyes, his night vision had become very good. He wasn't sure he could have spotted the chaos marauders with such accuracy as she did. But Dietrichia had revealed there was no taint on Camilla. He would need to talk with her soon.

A curt cry up front caused Cyrdic's heart to skip a beat, followed by a grunt from Ivan. Cyrdic and Camilla had to inch forward a bit more to see Ivan holding Konrad by the man's backplate, the only thing keeping him from falling nearly 30 paces to the next level as the plains began to plummet into the mountain range. Ivan yanked him back with his burly strength. Konrad looked as if he had just witnessed a blood sacrifice, his eyes were so wide.

"Thank you, herr Petrovich," Konrad breathed.

"Da, do not mention it." Ivan said merrily, clapping the man across the cheek. He had attempted to reassure him by smacking his shoulder, but the dark and the grass messed up his aim, and he slapped him. "Och, sovvy! Sovvy," Ivan said, suddenly feeling quite embarrassed, and Konrad quite dazed at the unexpected blow. Cyrdic shook his head. Yantz pipped up. "Make it up to him by carrying him, we need to go around."

"There are caves," Dietrichia suddenly said. Her pupiless eyes suddenly normal as all looked to her, and she pointed southwest. "We go round this drop, and go down another level. There will be caves...a great schism of land once occurred here." Konrad blinked lazily, trying to regain his senses. "How can you tell, Fraulien?" he asked, wary of the witch but still not above using her knowledge to get to a place they could rest.

"I go by what the stars guide me."

"If there's caves, I'll find them. Follow me." Skaldi grumbled, and headed southwards less than a mile, the rest following until they made it to a steep slope and gave them an uncomfortable and jagged road down to the next, much smaller plateau than then descended into the mountainous slopes that separated the lands of the Chaos marauders with those of the Chaos Dwarfs and their fortresses of darkness.
@Penny

WARHAMMER 40K: THE TARSON INCURSION

Sorry, my friend died last week and I've been slowly getting back into the grind. I'll post tomorrow I thinks, but my mindset has been slow.

Grim Galaxy: Shots and Chances

The implication didn't seem to intimidate Sven, though he glanced at her gun as if he was adding it to a calculation, as if their every move and twitch was something he was to take into account. It felt as if he did not even need to directly look at someone for him to be aware of their every move. Neil held his hands up disarmingly, a roguish smile on his face. "Alright Sven, I'll tell you. I'll need your advice anyway so..." The Pilot gingerly pulled himself out of Sven's grasp.

Sven let him go, eyes switching to Neil as the young outlaw pulled at his shirt to unwrinkle it. Before he spoke, he glanced Sayeeda's way, and then back at Sven. His voice was low. "We have come across a large quantity of Aestimobium, and we were looking for a buyer that would be interested in taking a bite out of it." Neil said. "I was thinking you might know a guy around these parts."

Sven did not seem the type to be impressed by near anything, but his brows raised slightly at the claim, before they narrowed with suspicion. He matched gazes with Neil, and then stood straight once more, reaching his impressive height. "Still playing with forces beyond your reckoning, I see." Sven said. It merely made Neil grin. The cold man paused for a few moments, as if weighing a trillion different options at once, or as if he was processing something beyond their comprehension. "Yes." He said simply, moments later. "I know of a buyer. Gnorlaac of the Crimson Star."

Neil let out a whistle, obviously knowing the name. Though by experience or reputation, it wasn't clear. "Do you know of anyone less... savage to deal with? I don't think someone like me would be safe in that kind of place."

"If you want a buyer, Gnorlaac is the one." Sven repeated, his voice gravely and hard. "I had thought you were used to danger. Saxon won't stop hunting you until one or both of you are dead."

Neil pointed at Sven, as if he had a secret knowledge. "Saxon is dead. I made sure of it." Neil replied vehemently. "Last time I saw him he was being swallowed by a Torjun Beast off the Parmenaen Strait. Unless he can climb out of an acidic stomach, he's long dead. Besides," He raised a hand, as if to halt any further denials or comments. "Even if that weren't true, the trails been cold for years now. 2 years in cryosleep will do that to you bounty."

"Ah," Sven said, weighing the information. "For your sake, I hope you're right." With a movement of his head, he indicated they should head north. "Find the Cantina called Red Dwarf. Go inside and tell the Formian girl 'Tu Wada Klecto.' She'll take you into the back where the private party is held. Don't mention my name."

"Wouldn't think of it," Neil chuckle, and when Sven didn't shake his hand, Neil awkwardly placed the open palm on Sven's shoulder. "Good to see you bud. See you soon."

The pilot led the two women away from Sven, who watched them depart with an unyielding stare before he sank back into one of the shanty shops, his ragged cloak now camouflaged within the canopies of tarps. As they made it past the central fountain, Taya piped up with a whisper. "Who was that man?" she asked, glancing back at where Sven had stood not moments before. Neil smiled as he turned the next corner. "Who he is now doesn't matter. But he used to be the planetary governor of Jutgard." he said. "Don't ask."
@Penny

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

<Snipped quote by POOHEAD189>

>.>

You did. You told me about this place

<.<

Who told you about this place, @POOHEAD189?

@The Fated Fallen

YOU STAND AMID MY ACHIEVEMENT.

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

@Altered Tundra I'll tell ya what, you make a character and I'll see if I can add you into the next arc :)

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

@Altered Tundra
<.<

Who told you about this place?