Yep! I'm still here!
And Alexander is good?
I will only say that he sides with the protagonists. ;)
I'm toying with removing him as an NPC and reworking him as my personal character. He wouldn't be king as a PC, though.
Thinslayer Member
- Last Seen: 2 mos ago
- Joined: 10 yrs ago
- Posts: 1776 (0.50 / day)
- VMs: 2
-
Username history
- Thinslayer 10 yrs ago
-
Latest 10 profile visitors:
-
Most recent →
Scrawl Banditta,
ConductorCore,
SilverPaw,
Rin,
ineffable,
Shadows Demons,
Lord Zee
Status
Recent Statuses
5 yrs ago
Either RolePlayerGuild.com is glitching, or everyone is studiously ignoring my PMs.
1
like
Bio
Forever-GM of forum roleplaying games. What can I say? I like making worlds for people to play in.
Most Recent Posts
I will only say that he sides with the protagonists. ;)
I'm toying with removing him as an NPC and reworking him as my personal character. He wouldn't be king as a PC, though.
"We can't stay in one spot then," Solomon decided. "Not for too long, at least. We should rest until the early morning, just as the sun is rising, if we can time it."
Rose stood up and brushed off the dirt and leaves. "Agreed. I can keep watch for the night, if that's okay."
Solomon sat down to catch his breath. "Gods, so much has happened today!" he exclaimed. And it was true - he'd met and rescued a real life princess, fought assassins, died, and rescued his killer from a fire. Like the gentleman he was, though, his thoughts turned towards the Princess. "Amalthea, how are you holding up in all this?"
Amalthea exhaled loudly and sat on the ground beside him. "Considering that I've barely had a good night's sleep in months and was nearly murdered, I could be doing worse. I felt so helpless back there at the inn. While you were fighting for me with everything you had, I could only sit back and wait for results. What I regret most, though, is not bringing a weapon. I can swordfight pretty well, but I'm nearly useless in a fight otherwise."
She glared at Rose. "You, however, are a royal pain. I don't know what Solomon sees in you. You're just a killer to me, and that's all you'll ever be."
Rose cringed. She bowed herself to the earth before the princess. "You have every right to be angry. You've tried so hard to live up to your birth and fought tooth and nail to gain the respect of the court. You didn't deserve to be hunted down like a dog. I have treated you far beneath your station, and truly, I deserve to be hanged. If forgiveness is too much to ask, I will be content with tolerance in your noble presence. Just please, I beg you, do not cast me out."
The princess sat there, stunned by the assassin's apology. "Well- um, ah, yes, I see. Behave yourself from now on. I've got my eye on you."
Rose's face brightened.
Amalthea coughed into her fist. "I guess we should call it a day, then. I say we camp here until dawn."
Rose pointed to a bowl-shaped rock formation in the mountainside. "Solomon, you're the experienced courier here. What do you think of that area? We won't be easily seen from most directions except directly above."
Rose stood up and brushed off the dirt and leaves. "Agreed. I can keep watch for the night, if that's okay."
Solomon sat down to catch his breath. "Gods, so much has happened today!" he exclaimed. And it was true - he'd met and rescued a real life princess, fought assassins, died, and rescued his killer from a fire. Like the gentleman he was, though, his thoughts turned towards the Princess. "Amalthea, how are you holding up in all this?"
Amalthea exhaled loudly and sat on the ground beside him. "Considering that I've barely had a good night's sleep in months and was nearly murdered, I could be doing worse. I felt so helpless back there at the inn. While you were fighting for me with everything you had, I could only sit back and wait for results. What I regret most, though, is not bringing a weapon. I can swordfight pretty well, but I'm nearly useless in a fight otherwise."
She glared at Rose. "You, however, are a royal pain. I don't know what Solomon sees in you. You're just a killer to me, and that's all you'll ever be."
Rose cringed. She bowed herself to the earth before the princess. "You have every right to be angry. You've tried so hard to live up to your birth and fought tooth and nail to gain the respect of the court. You didn't deserve to be hunted down like a dog. I have treated you far beneath your station, and truly, I deserve to be hanged. If forgiveness is too much to ask, I will be content with tolerance in your noble presence. Just please, I beg you, do not cast me out."
The princess sat there, stunned by the assassin's apology. "Well- um, ah, yes, I see. Behave yourself from now on. I've got my eye on you."
Rose's face brightened.
Amalthea coughed into her fist. "I guess we should call it a day, then. I say we camp here until dawn."
Rose pointed to a bowl-shaped rock formation in the mountainside. "Solomon, you're the experienced courier here. What do you think of that area? We won't be easily seen from most directions except directly above."
Rose released an audible sigh at Solomon's decision not to kill or leave her. His question prompted an embarrassed smile. "Since they left me to rot, I'm not sure what information I have is accurate. However, as much as I can tell, nobody but me realized you were involved, and I only suspected it when I learned that an unconscious princess who fell off a cliff somehow got up and walked it off. I and my men were assigned to be the capturing squad, but I soon worked out that Lady Grey was having a cavalry platoon tail me to ensure mission success if I messed up. If Lady Durvain was present here, I'd bet anything they'll have spies follow up to track her activity. If we're not being watched now, we will be."
Rose's breath hitched.
This man had effectively forgiven her. She dropped to her knees and prostrated herself to the ground before him.
"Please let me follow! But I will- I will abide by your decision."
Princess Amalthea scoffed and folded her arms. "What a load of bull. She's just trying to get close to you so she can kill you, since she failed the last time. Don't be fooled by her innocent face - she's a scheming assassin. I would know; she chased me halfway across the country."
Rose pressed her forehead further into the dirt.
This man had effectively forgiven her. She dropped to her knees and prostrated herself to the ground before him.
"Please let me follow! But I will- I will abide by your decision."
Princess Amalthea scoffed and folded her arms. "What a load of bull. She's just trying to get close to you so she can kill you, since she failed the last time. Don't be fooled by her innocent face - she's a scheming assassin. I would know; she chased me halfway across the country."
Rose pressed her forehead further into the dirt.
Rose tilted her head. "Gray lady?...No...no no no no no, it wasn't Lady Grey you saw! She's called a hermit for a reason. Did this lady have silver hair? I think I saw her right before she knocked me out. That was Lady Erudessa Durvain herself! You should have gotten her autograph. She's the Last Immortal, the pioneer of Semi-Resurrection and the mother of modern healing arts. She doesn't know how to perform a True Resurrection, but she can do everything else."
She finished work on her leg and tested it with some bending exercises. "When you lose bodily integrity, like when you're beheaded or your heart is destroyed, you die. It takes your spirit about seven seconds to detach, after which your soul flies to the afteelife and death is permanent. Lady Durvain figured out how to save people during those seven seconds."
Rose braced on the ground and got to her feet. "True Resurrection is a momumental task. One would first have to bridge the great gulf between the our side of the spiritual realm and the after-side, then infiltrate Hades, the holding cell where all departed souls are kept, steal away the souls you want, guide them back, and reattach them. That's like going to another continent on the other side of the world, finding an exact location there without a map, breaking into a foreign prison, and doing it all with only your leg and blindfolded. It may be within the realm of possibility, but it's generally better to prevent loss of the soul in the first place."
She brushed back a few hairs and stared up at the night sky. "I'm not convinced it was all worth it. I want to believe it was, or else I can never undo the damage I've done. How else can I go back?"
She finished work on her leg and tested it with some bending exercises. "When you lose bodily integrity, like when you're beheaded or your heart is destroyed, you die. It takes your spirit about seven seconds to detach, after which your soul flies to the afteelife and death is permanent. Lady Durvain figured out how to save people during those seven seconds."
Rose braced on the ground and got to her feet. "True Resurrection is a momumental task. One would first have to bridge the great gulf between the our side of the spiritual realm and the after-side, then infiltrate Hades, the holding cell where all departed souls are kept, steal away the souls you want, guide them back, and reattach them. That's like going to another continent on the other side of the world, finding an exact location there without a map, breaking into a foreign prison, and doing it all with only your leg and blindfolded. It may be within the realm of possibility, but it's generally better to prevent loss of the soul in the first place."
She brushed back a few hairs and stared up at the night sky. "I'm not convinced it was all worth it. I want to believe it was, or else I can never undo the damage I've done. How else can I go back?"
If I could find a way to move the plot forward without leaving ineffable behind, I'd do it.
Got any ideas, anyone?
Got any ideas, anyone?
Solomon was so gentle when he set Rose down. No hard knocks to the tailbone, no whack on the back, no sudden jolts. Just a clean, gentlemanly depoit upon the earth.
She had been so violent when she stabbed him. No gentle embrace to ease his departure, no fairness to give him closure, no time to make any other choice. Just brutal, uncivilized murder.
His retort to the princess's suggestion didn't make her feel any better. "Amalthea, we could at least make our guest comfortable before we talk about execution."
He looked back at Rose.
She looked back at him.
Sweat drops stained his face with dust and ashes. Ugly blood stains marred his clothing. His nostrils cried for breath. If anyone needed to be made comfortable, Solomon did. The simplest way would be to ditch her and move on with his life. Yet, for reasons that escaped her comprehension, she was important to him. At least, important enough to warrant interrogation.
"While you heal yourself, I believe you can talk," he began. "With that said, explain yourself. Your name, your affiliation, everything you possibly can. Please."
Rose left eye contact with him.
She looked at her leg.
It was a grisly wound. The wood spike tore clean through the bone. The blood had clotted somewhat. Rose numbed the site and pried out the spike. Blood immediately began reddening the earth.
"My name is Rose Fairmont," she began as she profiled her gene code into the spell matrix. "I acquired a Master's Degree in Pneumatherapy and a Minor in Alchemy from Durvain University, and I joined the National Healer Guild shortly thereafter. After a brief stint in the army, I became obsessed with learning the secrets of Resurrection."
Rose combined the gene code in the memory spell with a stitching spell. With a slight application of the finger, she directed her energies to the bone first.
"I'd heard that Lady Grey, the so-called 'Hermit of the North,' had discovered a technique for True Resurrection. I'm not sure whether you're aware, but bringing back people who are long-dead is the final goal of the spiritual healing sciences, the previously unattainable end point of all medical research. Normally, we healers would dismiss such rumors out of hand, but Lady Grey is not some nameless nobody. She was renowned for her incredible breakthroughs in Shadow Magic before King Dragan made it illegal, and her works were peer-reviewed by the most respected names in the field."
With the bone reconstructed, she began rebuilding the flesh around it, blood vessels first. Once the vessels were connected, she destroyed the clots and resumed work on the muscle and skin. "I picked her to be my mentor. Her tasks were easy enough at first. Gather these herbs, collect this much biomatter. I could usually work out what she was doing after a day or two of study. I'm not sure when things went downhill; I think it was when she started asking me to collect animals for her to experiment on."
Rose halted her healing work and looked up at Solomon. "I swear to you, she resurrected animals that were dead for hours, days even. I saw it with my own eyes!"
She resumed stitching the muscle and skin. "I wanted to learn to do that too. But it requires knowledge of advanced Shadow Magic, and studying it is just as illegal as practicing it. So first I lobbied, then protested, then stole, then aided in assassinations, then...well, here I am. I guess I always knew it was wrong, but it's hard to stop or go back once you've started."
"It's pathetic, really."
She had been so violent when she stabbed him. No gentle embrace to ease his departure, no fairness to give him closure, no time to make any other choice. Just brutal, uncivilized murder.
His retort to the princess's suggestion didn't make her feel any better. "Amalthea, we could at least make our guest comfortable before we talk about execution."
He looked back at Rose.
She looked back at him.
Sweat drops stained his face with dust and ashes. Ugly blood stains marred his clothing. His nostrils cried for breath. If anyone needed to be made comfortable, Solomon did. The simplest way would be to ditch her and move on with his life. Yet, for reasons that escaped her comprehension, she was important to him. At least, important enough to warrant interrogation.
"While you heal yourself, I believe you can talk," he began. "With that said, explain yourself. Your name, your affiliation, everything you possibly can. Please."
Rose left eye contact with him.
She looked at her leg.
It was a grisly wound. The wood spike tore clean through the bone. The blood had clotted somewhat. Rose numbed the site and pried out the spike. Blood immediately began reddening the earth.
"My name is Rose Fairmont," she began as she profiled her gene code into the spell matrix. "I acquired a Master's Degree in Pneumatherapy and a Minor in Alchemy from Durvain University, and I joined the National Healer Guild shortly thereafter. After a brief stint in the army, I became obsessed with learning the secrets of Resurrection."
Rose combined the gene code in the memory spell with a stitching spell. With a slight application of the finger, she directed her energies to the bone first.
"I'd heard that Lady Grey, the so-called 'Hermit of the North,' had discovered a technique for True Resurrection. I'm not sure whether you're aware, but bringing back people who are long-dead is the final goal of the spiritual healing sciences, the previously unattainable end point of all medical research. Normally, we healers would dismiss such rumors out of hand, but Lady Grey is not some nameless nobody. She was renowned for her incredible breakthroughs in Shadow Magic before King Dragan made it illegal, and her works were peer-reviewed by the most respected names in the field."
With the bone reconstructed, she began rebuilding the flesh around it, blood vessels first. Once the vessels were connected, she destroyed the clots and resumed work on the muscle and skin. "I picked her to be my mentor. Her tasks were easy enough at first. Gather these herbs, collect this much biomatter. I could usually work out what she was doing after a day or two of study. I'm not sure when things went downhill; I think it was when she started asking me to collect animals for her to experiment on."
Rose halted her healing work and looked up at Solomon. "I swear to you, she resurrected animals that were dead for hours, days even. I saw it with my own eyes!"
She resumed stitching the muscle and skin. "I wanted to learn to do that too. But it requires knowledge of advanced Shadow Magic, and studying it is just as illegal as practicing it. So first I lobbied, then protested, then stole, then aided in assassinations, then...well, here I am. I guess I always knew it was wrong, but it's hard to stop or go back once you've started."
"It's pathetic, really."
"She has some debris in her leg. Wouldn't last a day on her own," Solomon said. He started walking for the woods. "Let's find a place to make camp, treat wounds, and ask questions to our new friend here. She has quite a bit to answer for."
Amalthea followed beside him. She replied, "I don't see what difference it makes. She tried to kill you. I mean, if you want to interrogate her, be my guest, but there's hardly any point in nursing her back to health when she's just going to be executed upon reaching the captial. Traitors don't live long, in my experience."
Rose listened to the two argue about her fate. In truth, she didn't care too much - the princess was right, she didn't deserve to live. But here she was, alive, and even if Solomon never removed the spike in her leg, he'd still given her far more than a murderer like her could ever hope to receive.
It was high time to stop being a burden.
"Wait," Rose gasped. "I can- I can remove the spike and heal my leg on my own. The soldiers will not be coming back, since they will have burned everything of value. We can set up camp here without fear of retribution. Please let me take care of the injury; that way, I can walk on my own and you do not have to carry me."
Amalthea rolled her eyes. "Sure, and let you run away. We should tie you up first."
Rose shook her head. "Do it after the healing. I need my hands for the procedure."
Amalthea followed beside him. She replied, "I don't see what difference it makes. She tried to kill you. I mean, if you want to interrogate her, be my guest, but there's hardly any point in nursing her back to health when she's just going to be executed upon reaching the captial. Traitors don't live long, in my experience."
Rose listened to the two argue about her fate. In truth, she didn't care too much - the princess was right, she didn't deserve to live. But here she was, alive, and even if Solomon never removed the spike in her leg, he'd still given her far more than a murderer like her could ever hope to receive.
It was high time to stop being a burden.
"Wait," Rose gasped. "I can- I can remove the spike and heal my leg on my own. The soldiers will not be coming back, since they will have burned everything of value. We can set up camp here without fear of retribution. Please let me take care of the injury; that way, I can walk on my own and you do not have to carry me."
Amalthea rolled her eyes. "Sure, and let you run away. We should tie you up first."
Rose shook her head. "Do it after the healing. I need my hands for the procedure."
@AcetheKidd So, is this happening? :D
Though the manner in which Solomon carried Rose was utterly unceremonious, she couldn't help feeling safe. Her physical torment was over for now. But she'd know that face anywhere, that of the man she looked in the eye as she ended his life. Feelings of security turned into guilt. He had no reason, no reason at all, to go out of his way to save her. Anyone in their right mind would have instead given her a little nudge down the stairs for revenge.
Not this man.
What was this feeling? Gratitude? She hadn't felt it in ages. As soon as he was out the window, Solomon dropped her to the ground where Princess Amalthea could clearly see them both. Every muscle in her body struggled to express the guilty gratitude welling up within her, but strength failed her. She could only look at him, clutch the edge of his shirt, and pray he understood.
The Princess had a completely different set of thoughts.
All Solomon had to do to make them both happy was to believe her lie. Seeing his killer face death should have torn at him, with his desire for revenge on the one hand and his sense of compassion on the other. She could have saved him the agony of making that decision, or of making a morally gray one in letting her die. Moreover, he'd single-handedly introduced a love rival into the equation, one whom, if Solomon didn't kill her, Amalthea definitely might for trying to take her crush.
All he had to do was believe her, and everything would have been fine.
Princess Amalthea couldn't bring herself to do anything except stare at the other girl for nearly half a minute.
Finally, she picked up her jaw off the ground and moved to help Solomon get up. Perhaps the situation could be salvaged if they got well away so the assassin girl couldn't find them again. "Come on, let's get moving. I don't want to know what happens if anyone comes back looking for survivors."
Not this man.
What was this feeling? Gratitude? She hadn't felt it in ages. As soon as he was out the window, Solomon dropped her to the ground where Princess Amalthea could clearly see them both. Every muscle in her body struggled to express the guilty gratitude welling up within her, but strength failed her. She could only look at him, clutch the edge of his shirt, and pray he understood.
The Princess had a completely different set of thoughts.
All Solomon had to do to make them both happy was to believe her lie. Seeing his killer face death should have torn at him, with his desire for revenge on the one hand and his sense of compassion on the other. She could have saved him the agony of making that decision, or of making a morally gray one in letting her die. Moreover, he'd single-handedly introduced a love rival into the equation, one whom, if Solomon didn't kill her, Amalthea definitely might for trying to take her crush.
All he had to do was believe her, and everything would have been fine.
Princess Amalthea couldn't bring herself to do anything except stare at the other girl for nearly half a minute.
Finally, she picked up her jaw off the ground and moved to help Solomon get up. Perhaps the situation could be salvaged if they got well away so the assassin girl couldn't find them again. "Come on, let's get moving. I don't want to know what happens if anyone comes back looking for survivors."
© 2007-2026