Shu

FORGOTTEN REALMS - Gambit of Scoundrels

Jadarl sneered under his hood.
“I had expected a cleric of Mask to be far better at hastily forming lies.”
Iliskra gulped slightly as their captor leaned back into his seat, his arms now against the rests of the chair. “You arrived in the city very recently, within the last few days. And in the past few days an associate of mine and his men have gone missing and my estate was raided.”

Jadarl paused looking between the two. In reality he knew there was no point in trying to gauge any reaction from his two prisoners, his eyes seemed to betray that. It seemed to Iliksra that he was trying to coerce a confession from she and Leon. This sent a tingle up her spine as Jadarl would not try such a tactic unless he was confident in what he knew. “An associate”, he had said. Iliksra knew without a doubt he was referring to the half-orc, Gunalar.

How exactly does he know that we have been here for just a few days? Iliskra thought to herself. She doubted there was a traitor among the mercenaries that Lord Halston had hired else there would already be a small army sent out into the wilderness in search of Breck’s encampment. Something that would not go unnoticed by any of the other “competing powers” in the area. Was it that Elthel had betrayed them all? She had after all disappeared amid the intrusion into Jadarl’s mansion.

“You see, I have an inkling as to who has employed you. But I also cannot help but wonder what other allegiances you may have. Something that has not yet been considered by me that you might divulge. But… perhaps your god, Mask, will see fit to share what you will not.” Jadarl made piercing eye contact with Leon as he said these finals words.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

“You can trust me.” Gordon said firmly with a nod, “I know tonight was, as I said, a curve ball. But instead of turning yourselves inside out over a little surprise enjoy the outcome!”

Kendra started to say something else but Gordon snapped both hands up to silence her. An anxious look instantly welled up on Kendra’s face, she was starting to feel self-conscious about this whole exchange now. After all, Gordon was her boss. Gordon lowered his hands again and gently said, “Look, I have no intention of ‘sabotaging’ either of you. And I give you my word that if I can help it what happened tonight will not be a regular concern. Now, you both should head back to the hotel and unwind. I’ll text you soon.”

If I can help it, these words echoed in Kendra’s mind. Despite this she forced a wide smile and nodded. Satisfied, Gordon gave Kendra a pat on her left arm and Fiona an affirming nod as he walked away.

STARFINDER ~ Rogue Voyage

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“A D R I F T”

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* * * * *

“Ionera, you are clear for departure.” First Seeker Ehu Hadif watched from the control tower as the Pegasus class ship the Ionera rumbled to life and slowly lifted up from the landing pad, bright orange exhaust flames boiling out from it’s engines. Hadif turned his head slightly, the Kasatha squinting his black eyes as the ship’s engines burned brighter. Alarms blared as the hangar double doors opened slowly, the landing area vented of its oxygen by the vacuum of space. With a thunderous roar that vibrated the control room floor and walls the Ionera surged forward, smoothly passing between the hydraulic doors and racing out into space.

The alarms continued their shrill keen as the hangar doors slowly closed shut. Ehu Hadif watched the Ionera flying away, shrinking to a barely noticeable spot against the void, until the resealed doors obstructed the view. The alarm went silent followed by a loud rushing sound as oxygen poured into the hangar from vents along the walls and ceiling. With a low sigh the First Seeker stepped back from the viewport and crossed the control room toward the elevator, clasping his four hands together against his lower back. The Ionera was a newly built ship, fully stocked and equipped for lengthy expeditions across the stars. The crew of five while younger and inexperienced were eager and resourceful, or so Hadif had been told. This was their first “real” mission and even with the simplicity of their task concern gnawed away at Hadif’s insides.

Several days ago two Starfinders had been sent to the planet Verces. They were tasked with recovering an extremely valuable item from the aptly named Outlaw Kingdoms, an item that was better off not falling into the wrong hands - namely those of some warmongering Vercite chieftain or cult leader. The Starfinders had succeeded in their acquisition of the item and booked passage back to Absalom Station aboard an independent merchant vessel, the Prudent. The ship had traversed most of the distance successfully, but then just ten hours away from its destination an emergency broadcast was detected. The source being a transmitter carried by the Starfinders themselves. The transmission was stationary which indicated that the Prudent was most likely adrift.

The Stewards, the peacekeepers and ambassadors of the Pact Worlds, had also detected the emergency signal and had intended to look into it. It had taken hasty, immense appeal by Hadif to get the Stewards to stand back and allow the Starfinders to send out their own investigation. In truth the only reason the Stewards complied was because the First Seeker had deliberately neglected to inform them that the signal was from aboard a civilian vessel inbound from Verces. The Stewards without doubt were assuming the signal was from a small Starfinder vessel with no other lives in jeopardy. But that did not mean that they were not watching from a close distance. Hadif shook his head to himself as he stepped inside the elevator and pressed the down button, the elevator making a dinging sound as the doors slid shut.

The First Seeker’s stomach churned as he descended down to the lower level. This entire situation was extremely volatile. On the one hand if the Prudent had just malfunctioned there would still be questions as to why the Starfinders had arrived instead of the Stewards, nevermind why the Starfinder Society First Seeker had insisted the Stewards not to respond to a distress signal which turned out to be aboard a merchant ship. On the other hand if something had gone awry and innocent lives were lost the fallout would be tremendous. Even under new leadership the Starfinder Society was still under constant scrutiny since the Scoured Stars incident. Further “issues” caused by the Society could have permanent lasting consequences. Perhaps the First Seeker should not have been misleading about the nature of the signal, but he did not want to risk some Steward finding the item in question aboard the ship and confiscating it as evidence. Or worse attempting to wrest it away from either of the Starfinders and causing an incident between the two organizations.

As the elevator came to a gentle stop and the doors opened with a second ding the First Seeker wondered if maybe he should have been the one to go after the Prudent, but then quickly remembered he had important matters to attend to here. He could have sent someone else but that would have caused inefficiencies elsewhere as the Societies’ resources were stretched quite thin these days. As he stepped out into the bustle of Absalom Station, Ehu Hadif made a silent prayer to Desna for the crew of the Ionera. With any luck the Prudent would be just experiencing an inconvenience and it and the Ionera would be arriving within a day.

* * * * *

“Ionera, you are clear of station traffic. The skies are yours.”

The two escort fighters broke off from the Ionera, having smoothly guided it beyond the crowded space around Absalom Station which was fading in the distance. A massive freighter loomed nearby, one of the fighters turning hard to avoid the large vessels’ hull and following its wingman back toward the station. The Ionera was, for the first time, truly space bound and on course for it’s first mission.

STARFINDER ~ Rogue Voyage

RESERVED

STARFINDER ~ Rogue Voyage

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In the dark void of space, great wonders and mysteries yet unheard of await; bizarre alien worlds, lost ancient civilizations, eldritch leviathans that wander the stars. The universe is a vast, untamed frontier, and beyond its endless horizons there is always adventure to be had by those with the ability and courage to pursue it.

One such band of brave explorers travels the galaxy aboard their ship, the Ionera, driven by both a greater calling and personal endeavors. They are Starfinders, members of an elite society of pioneers and scholars dedicated to uncovering the secrets of the universe. In their mission the crew of the Ionera will be shaped by the places they go and the people they meet. And in turn they will come to impact the lives of countless others as they leave their mark in history.

This is their tale.

---

SEASON 1

[+]

FORGOTTEN REALMS - Gambit of Scoundrels

“So many questions you have,” Jadarl mused, “all valid, of course.”

Jadarl pushed Leon’s mask slightly to the side with his right hand and leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “Well, firstly, I did not kill the three of you for several reasons. I would very much like to know who sent you here, and I think it easiest to learn that from you directly.”

Iliskra blinked and looked sideways at Leon and then back to Jadarl, keeping her expression as plain as possible. The hooded man’s eyes twinkled, “I know you are not from this city. Our enemies across the river regularly employ mercenaries in their struggle to claim Scardale Town. And the locals questioned at the Dragontail Inn say that the three of you only recently began spending the nights there.”

Jadarl had not hinted at the Ashaba Talons. It seemed he believed that either the holdouts of the city watch or the Red Wizards had hired Iliskra, Leon, and Ibdur. Or Jadarl may have excluded any remark on the cities’ thieves guild to try and subtly coax some look of relief to the surface of his captives. The half-elf’s visage remained stony and her mind as clear as she could manage as Jadarl continued.

“I very much need to know who sent the three of you. If you are in fact mercenaries hired by one of our adversaries here in Scardale Town or if one of our foes… outside the Dales has sent you.”

“Shagarm has many enemies I take it.” Iliskra barbed.

“Yes,” Jadarl replied without hesitation, “but not nearly as many as I do.”

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

“Fiona, Kendra,” Gordon smiled through the thick sheen of perspiration on his face, a very slight waver in his speech, “a nice job tonight, both of you! Though… next time, Fiona, maybe try massaging just yourself and not the whole women’s division.” Gordon ended with a chuckle, though the look on his round face showed that he knew Fiona and Kendra wanted to talk to him about the ambush in the arena.

“Mister McKinney,” Kendra kept her pitch respectful, “what… what was that? I feel so… ‘set up’ right now. She was waiting under the ring. How long was she even under there?”

“Kendra, listen,” Gordon said softly as he reached out and took Kendra by her shoulders, “I know that was a real curveball that you - and Fiona - got thrown tonight. But did you hear that crowd? You got the win despite being at an initial disadvantage and you finished off your opponent with a force you have not shown before! And the crowd loved it!”

Kendra cast her eyes down in thought as Gordon stepped back now baring a confident smile. Truthfully he was right. The crowd had enjoyed the performance, especially for a matchup between a lower ranked talent and a jobber. But Kendra still felt that she had been crossed and looked up at Gordon with a stern expression.

“Mister McKinney I just feel I should have…” Kendra faltered.

“What?” Gordon immediately asked, clasping his hands together against his stomach, “Been warned about it? That would have just watered things down. The point was to set up a scene where you were ambushed by someone with a petty score to settle and you came out on top. You took an unfair situation and turned it into an opportunity!”

“But…”

“I had no doubt that you could handle it, Kendra.” Gordon held out both hands in a gesture of sincerity causing Kendra to hesitate again. She looked sideways at Fiona and then back at Gordon, Kendra clearly being assailed by several different emotions at once.

What Are You Listening To?

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- Common Sense,

Thomas Paine

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