POOHEAD189

Grim Galaxy: Shots and Chances

Neil slid an apple down his arm and caught it nimbly, spinning it on his finger before plucking it out of the air. Whatever Junebug decided, he was on board for. He was just excited to get things going. Not having his conscience dirtied was a definite plus, and whatever loot they got from destroying both of these gangs was likely worth it. Though his Captain's orders caught up with his head before he bit the apple.

"Wait...What!?"

Fast forwarding an hour later, Neil had procured a ride from some of Stinger's associates who he had convinced it was in their best interest to get him to Stinger as fast as they could. There were three of them. One man was young and red haired. with a wild smile on his almost too-wide mouth, hollering and hooting at anything that looked vaguely female as he stood atop the passanger's seat. The driver was far more level headed, though suspicious. Neil couldn't quite get a bead on him, his face concealed in a strange mechanical mask with only one eye uncovered through a high tech optic scope.

Neil sat next to something that was either once a man, or a humanoid alien. The thing cackled louder than the douchebag up front, his body covered in fur and his face very Hyena-esque. At least he wore loose pants and a jacket. Neil was not prepared to be bumped into by some mutant/xenos and their junk.

As they approached, Neil saw guns trained their way at the bunkered, barbed wired fence. The lowest dregs of thuggery stood watch, various mechanical and organic vagaries attached or warped about them. Neil no doubt thought they would be formidable to fight in hand to hand or ranged, which was likely why they were the first line of defense. The one at the gate was the criminal Neil had seen last time he came here, when it was the first time. He had a large gun, likely 20 MM rounds.

"You got some balls coming back here." The man said, barrel on Neil. Even the Hyena-man had the good sense to move away. Neil didn't seem perturbed, though he held his hands up.

"Hey, hey! Come on, what's that for? I'm coming back to explain stuff."

"Well, if you've got a good explanation as to why Miguel and a dozen of our lads disappeared, maybe you can make it out alive." He chuckled, then screamed at the others. "Let them in!"

The rumbling of the cars were drowned out by the laughter of the watchmen, and Neil tried not to get nervous. Oh, he wasn't nervous about if Stinger was angry at him. Neil had been beaten, humiliated, and even tortured once or twice as a Highlander Crewmember. He was mostly afraid of Stinger's interest of him, and he would rather leave by giving her vague promises of some nature rather than having to refuse her and fight his way out. Not only because it would hinder their initial plan to pit the Spiders against the Scorpions, but because he wasn't about to betray Junebug's trust. When he told her about it though, she laughed and told him to be firm like she knows he can be. He had no idea what to make of that.

Pulling up to the fortified, ruined mansion, Neil hopped out and told them to keep the car running. Even without being able to see his face, the masked man gave Neil a look that essentially loudly asked if he was kidding. Neil just grinned and headed inside, past three men playing Bazrika, a fun electromagnet drinking game, and headed upstairs until he was ushered in to see Stinger. He sighed before the curtain was drawn, and stepped inside the room. He hoped she was in an agreeable mood, but not too agreeable.
@Penny

The Blackwood

Thanks for the patience everyone. I should be getting back to posting in a few days :)

Fire Emblem: Golden Sun.

This looks great, but you might want to put some of this within hiders.

The Blackwood

Hey peeps. Going on a small hiatus. Don't worry the RP is not stopping, but I am lacking energy and need to take a small break. I'll let you all know when I'm ready. A week of stress and needing to move soon will do that to the brain, I guess.

The Blackwood

When Torsten woke up again, it was midday...likely. The gloom permeated the forest floor, though by his prone position facing upwards, he could see the barest glimpse of the sun peaking through three small spots among the canopy. The other two lads were asleep, however judging by their light breathing, either would wake up as soon as a twig was broken. Torsten himself felt much better, at least compared to what he expected. He still ached all over and a broken rib or two wouldn't heal overnight.

Torsten would lay there for a bit before any minute movements of trying to make himself more comfortable would awaken his allies, and then the three would have a hardy breakfast before breaking camp, tossing about the burnt logs and covering much of where they had been with large ferns and various foliage debris. Torsten was a tough one, getting ready and dressed like the other two despite his injuries, and after some deliberation on their path, they would begin to move south as they had been going the other day.

The Blackwood seemed a world unto its own, misty far away and vaguely clear within thirty meters ahead, large trees framing every facet of every direction; inescapable.

The cries of something pierced the veil of unease, though it wasn't a warcry as it was yesterday. The three warriors stiffened, able to pinpoint where the approaching man, for it sounded like one, was coming from. They would be able to deduce on if they should hide, run, or spring into action as they saw a fellow, clearly a merchant of some kind, stumbling and falling onto the overgrown underbrush of the forest floor. Behind him was a strange sight.

A waif chased him in unremarkable trousers and a flowing linen top. Her auburn hair cut short and her eyes fixed on the running man. What either were doing here was unknown, but it was up to the three warriors to see what they would do in such an out of place situation.
@Gunther

The Blackwood

Rittenvos was merely an outpost, but the fact that so many people filled the common room of the inn, and earlier when Mari saw the lively market, showcased just how much travelers and explorers counted upon this small bastion of civilization. In order to keep the flow moving, adventurers and mercenaries were likely as needed as fresh water. Little surprise then when Ithaca brought Mari across the common room to the very low-end, shoddy table that was attached to the wall. Ithaca elbowed her way over and gave Mari space to step forward, and she found herself in the company of four people.

Kane sat on the ground, for the chair wouldn't be able to keep him aloft without breaking. The beast of a warrior was likely twice the weight of an already big man. She could see his thick tail splayed out behind him, resting like the tail of a crocodile. Next to him was a far shorter but still very heavy and dense fellow, Orek. He had an air of mischief and intelligence to him, and again he seemed to be leaner than most would expect from Dwarves. Likely for his traveling lifestyle. His garb was leather and cloth, though undoubtedly he had finely wrought chainmail beneath his cloak. He smiled through his beard when he saw Ithaca walk over, his pipe in his teeth.

"Oh, are ye coming with us lass? Or did ye bring someone to take yer place?" Orek asked slyly.

Both Orek and Kane were on the right side of the table. On the left were two striking people. One was a lovely elven woman, her blonde hair tied in a bun, her shapely form in a kalasiris, a strange priestly robe. She seemed particularly haughty in nature, raising an eyebrow at Mari when she appeared. Beside her was Po, who was even more handsome up close. His eyes sparkled with a fire that promised humor and intellect, and his dark mane of hair was cut just halfway down his neck. He was likely tall, despite the fact he was seated. He gave a friendly smile, his full lips noticably on his tanned skin.

"I know you'll be having a bit of a get together tomorrow. Seeing as I'm leaving, I thought I might give you a recommendation." Ithaca said, and Mari would be playfully pushed forward a bit by the Praelian. Apparently she was still a bit too tipsy to be completely professional.

"Hey," Po said casually, and he held his hand out to Mari to shake. "You were the warrior that made it here today, from the southern road?"

"The one that riled the Dragon?" The Elf pipped in.

"No one riled the Dragon, pointy ear." Orek said. "'Least, no one here."

"Phyrrae doesn't like other women cramping her style." Po joked, which caused the elf to clearly take offense at that suggestion, though she didn't speak immediately.
@Luminosity

Status Bar Update

Hey everybody, it's me! Your favorite person ever. Hold your applause, you're not getting any muscle pics today. What I'm here to talk about is the status bar. The last few days I've had to halt fights on it nonstop and boy is it getting kinda redonk. I'm not gonna do the whole "This is a charity/I don't get paid for this" blah blah, but seeing as it has gotten so bad, the status bar is going to be on a tight leash. So essentially...

If you enjoy roleplaying here and would like to continue to do so for the immediate future, I suggest you don't start arguments, or comment/egg on arguments that have been halted.

Anyone who knows me knows I give people a lot of chances and I hate bringing the hammer down. But I f*cking will. Of course, this doesn't count for discussions in good faith or the occasional back and forth (though, the status bar isn't meant for discussion so I still suggest you find someplace else for that). If you got any questions, feel free to hit me or any other mod up. And this won't last forever either, but it'll last until things settle down.

Ok, thanks for listening and don't forget to support me on patreon.

Cinnabar Forever! (RCN)

Kaiden would have called it a corridor if it was entirely man made, but the wall to their left was nothing but carved rock with noticably bloated contraptions attached to pistons that shot into the rock itself. Had they been moving it would have likely been too loud to speak, but in the dimness of the underground every footstep was heard. The metal grating beneath their feet squealed or simply reverberated their steps.

Sabatine and Kaiden were at the front, pistols out and held before them, arms not too rigid with their right hands holding the grip and their left hands keeping the gun steady for any chance they might need to fire. Kaiden hadn't fully been trained for something like this, but he had enough training in tangentially related areas to at least show some semblance of professionalism. Sabatine as well, he noted. He'd always been a bit jealous of her work ethic. He might have overcome certain expectations of nobility, but at the end of the day he still felt lazy in some areas. Behind them, the others stalked as quietly as they would, though Kaiden did hear a small bump and a light smack from someone behind them. He gave a closed mouth grin, judging who might have done the tripping. Considering how long the hallway was, if that was the only overt noise they made, they were doing well so far.

The mountain route abruptly turned, logically in Kaiden's mind, if where they were underground was where he believed them to be. The tunnel had made a straight shot at a 45 degree angle away from the manor, so now it fed completely back in a sharp turn. The amount of precious gas was so plentiful it likely covered the entirety of the mountain. No wonder these roughshot backwater nobles were so rich.

Glinting ahead, Kaiden and Sabatine could spot the first real lightsource before them. In unison they held their hands up to halt the others behind them. The others stopped, and the two of them stalked forward silently, taking the safety off their pistols. Kaiden didn't look back, because if he did Tilda would likely have taken that as a sign to follow and that was the last thing Kaiden wanted. Inch by inch, they made it to the end of the walkway where an arch fed into a small, underground compound with three concentrated light sources. Mundane lamps, evidently.

Sabatine had a better vantage point being on Kaiden's left, and she leaned into the hallway for a fraction of a second. Then she waved three signs to Kaiden, the prince recognizing them immediately as the NAVO hand language they had learned together on their third date. It took them all night to poor over the military signals and practice them over a bottle of vodka, but they'd gotten quite good and used it as a playful joke until their break up.

"Four men...assault rifles...playing cards" her sign said, before she gave a waving motion with her hand indicating she would move in while Kaiden flanked them.

"Hello no," Kaiden signed, his ring and pinky finger splayed out before his thumb lifted as well.

"No grenades." Was her next sign, and he rolled his eyes. He never suggested that!

"No...splitting up...you take right side of door...I take left. Two men each." He signed. She hesitated, but then nodded.
@Penny

The Blackwood

Olderin's Refuge Map

1. The Back Gate
2. Knights of the Skull Keep
3. Training Area
4. Inner Gate
5. Stables
6. Outer Gate
7. Olderine's Tower
8. Available locations to buy for rent or for business.
Red: Shops

The Blackwood

The two were Knights of the Skull. A secretive order known for their ferocity and unwavering endurance in a fight. With those swords, it looked as if they could deal a large amount of damage as well. Emilio's words were not heeded, at least at first. The two seemed to not move for a good ten seconds, and it was hard to tell where their eyes were within the slits of their great helms. Wēlanandaz warning broke the silence, and not a moment later did the two suddenly move. An eerie palor would fall over most who saw them suddenly move, as it looked as possible as two statues that decided they were tired of standing still.

"Follow us." One said. Which one was hard to tell, but the two didn't seem to wait for you to gather your thoughts of explain any of the things Emilio asked.

Mercifully, the ground was far less broken and hilly now. It seemed to be almost a straight shot forward, though the trees and thickets were ever reaching and prominent around them, sometimes twigs/leaves clinging to Emilio's robes or Wēlanandaz's beard. The donkey seemed at ease at least, though if they were to try and get nearer the Knights, the donkey seemed oddly reluctant.

Around half an hour later, the Knights would suddenly halt and split apart to allow your cart to pass. As you near the two, the trees give way to a stout stone wall looming out of the forested path, earthworks having separated the wall from the forest by about a dozen feet. Before you is a large wooden gateway, already slowly opening for the two of you to enter. The men atop the wall don't seem to be Knights of the Skull, or at least full fledged members. However the two would certainly see a few of them training in a small yard left of the gate, clinging to the side of the keep that shot into the sky.

Olderin's Refuge, if this truly was the place, seemed to be a lowly built castle settlement, with two large walls sweeping over the landscape like a snake trying to push its form outwards. The keep, and the backgate the two now entered, was within the inner wall. The outer wall faced the north where the greater blackwood was located. As they entered, they saw two important aristocrats (judging by their clothing) speaking to one another near the training Knights, and a few squires and servants carrying horses to the stables across the way. Perhaps they would be better served finding work on the outer settlement?
@Tony Pajamas@Jb