Sedjwick

The Marauders (2018)

As the night wore on and the crew members of the Monroe became increasingly inebriated from the strong liquor they were consuming, Valanx was the only one who remained sober, never taking part in drinking due to his inability to handle alcohol in any capacity. He had found this out some years ago, before he had joined the Marauders. He and a few other friends from the IEF decided to go out for drinks one night. Valanx had no memory of what happened that night, but he did remember having the worst hangover the next morning, and his friends had mentioned that he had passed out after two shots of whiskey. For this reason, he refused to take part in any sort of drinking ever again. As a result, Valanx was the only crew member of the Monroe to be completely sober. This also meant that his luck had improved dramatically as the rest of the crew became too drunk to properly understand what they were doing. As a result, Valanx was also the only crew member that was still wearing all his own clothes, having enough money to not need to resort to throwing his clothes into the pot. He listened as the other members of the crew talked about what they would do if they had one day with no rules. It was times like this that Valanx remembered that all of his crew mates were criminals. Out of everyone on the ship, Valanx was the only one who was truly free - the only one who had joined the IEF willingly, despite the dangers galactic exploration held. From what he could gather, even the girl, Rendyl, wasn't free. She seemed to be tangled up in some sort of black market dealings that the Committee were in on, though whether she was involved in this by choice or not, Valanx was not sure. All the same, it was sobering to remember that all the members of his crew were here to pay for crimes they had committed in the past. He chose not to answer Ray's question. It would seem unwise to possibly remind the others that he wasn't here to serve time like the others were. Instead, he continued to play the game, betting a bit more confidently now that everyone else was totally plastered.

The World of Aerion

Elric stepped off from the ship with his spear in one hand and his quiver with bow and arrows over his shoulder. He was ready to fight if the need arose, but made no outwardly aggressive moves. His people got along well with the elves. He had a second cousin who was a wealthy trader, and he had visited Miracia with him once a few years ago, even doing some business in Fornond, so he was somewhat familiar with the place. He gave a respectful nod to Estallir as the elf greeted them and prepared to follow the noble elf and his retinue.

The World of Aerion

@tobiax While I can understand and may even agree with that sentiment, there's also the need to tell a story in here, and if we spend too much time on the in-between moments, the lack of action could end up killing the RP before the actual story can even get started. It's a balancing act, to be sure, and I think that's why @TheLazarus is waiting for each group to give the go-ahead before moving them forward. Everyone gets their interactions in, and we hopefully keep a good pace in the advancement of the plot as well.

The World of Aerion

Yeah, I think I'm ready for the time skip on the knights' storyline too. Not sure I have anything more to add with Elric before we get into the actual quest.

The World of Aerion

@TheLazarus Personally, I don't have discord, so I wouldn't use it, but I know a lot of people probably would.

The World of Aerion

@Leo KhanI like Kace's version of the story of the Golden Knight. It's based on the story of Beowulf, yes? It follows the story too closely not to be.

The World of Aerion

Elric was grateful when Catskull appeared and suggested they all have a drink to calm themselves. The suggestion seemed to be heeded immediately, and somehow the simple suggestion seemed to put an end to the fighting between Roland and Kace, though Roland, in what Elric was beginning to realize was the man's typical fashion, seemed to reject Kace's offer of friendship. Still, the fighting was over, at least for the time being, and Elric quickly calmed down and allowed himself to relax, taking a seat amongst the rest of the knights. He glanced at the casks of liquor, considering getting up to get something for himself, but before he could, Kace handed him a mug. Elric nodded and gratefully accepted the offered drink

Kace apologized for his part in the short bout between him and Roland, but also defending his actions. Elric could certainly sympathize with Kace's willingness to defend the honor of his family, especially given the nature of the insults Roland had delivered. Even so, they would have to all get along throughout this quest if they were to have success, and despite Roland instigating the fight, and despite him insulting the honor of Kace's family, in this situation, it still would have been better to ignore the insults rather than responding in kind. Still, Elric did not berate Kace for his actions. His anger at him and Roland had cooled, and while all were behaving civilly, he had no desire to bring hard feelings between any of them. Instead, he responded finally to Kace's query about his backstory. "I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm a very impressive warrior; I've simply dedicated a great deal of time and effort into honing my skills," he explained. "I'm the second son of a minor noble in Falke, and with my brother the heir, I could not inherit my father's county, and so instead, I chose to serve in the Dragoons, and while it's true that the Dragoons are considered to be the most difficult branch of the Falkan military to qualify for or ascend the ranks of, I'm a firm believer in the virtue of hard work and dedication, and that nothing is truly impossible with enough of those two virtues."

The World of Aerion

Elric watched as Kace seemed to follow his orders, only to spin around and attack Roland. Before Elric could do anything to diffuse the situation, the two were locked in combat for a few moments, giving Elric no opportunity to come between the two again until they had disengaged. He listened as Kace gave a very insolent and undiplomatic remark to Roland before moving to strike again. As he raised his sword at Roland, Elric twirled his spear between the two combatants, striking at the handle of the weapon of each, forcing the weapons from the hands of both knights. He once again forced himself between them. "That is enough!" he declared again, more sternly this time. He once again used his spear to force the two further apart, this time with the point directed at Kace. "We are not here to fight amongst ourselves, and I will tolerate no more of it! If you will not disengage of your own volition, then so help me, I will force it from you even if I must knock you both unconscious to do so!" He glared between Roland and Kace, daring either to try to defy him again.

The Marauders (2018)

I be here also.

The World of Aerion

Elric listened once more as Kace quite diplomatically rebutted Roland's attack, though he also included a few unnecessary remarks calling Roland's skill and experience in actual combat into question. Kace then turned to Elric and spoke to him in Falkmor. Elric could not help but smile somewhat as Kace agreed with the sentiments he had expressed, though his Falkmor was not perfect. It had been spoken well enough that Elric had been able to understand him, and the fact that Roland seemed to not understand the language also gave Elric some small amount of pleasure.

Kace had then asked Elric for his story, but before Elric could respond, Sir Roland responded to Kace's questions of his skill and experience in combat, and then made ready to draw his sword and directly threatened Kace. That was too much for Elric who, in two short strides placed himself between Roland and Kace, holding his spear out between them to keep them apart, with the point directed at Roland.

"That is enough," he declared clearly and forcefully. "We are all on the same side here, and fighting amongst ourselves will only aid the enemy." His next words were directed more to Roland as he said, "You yourself said that we are all on this quest together. You would do well to not strain our relations by insulting us or worse, threatening us." He spoke once more to both Kace and Roland. "Both of you, opposite sides of the ship now, and don't either of you come near the other until we arrive at port. I don't want to hear any more fighting between the two of you." He glared at both men and waited to see if they would obey or argue the orders he had just given, admittedly without any real authority to force their obedience.