TomeBinder

No Hope

Miguel Ordornio was not a smart man. This much was true.

Flying through Washington in his commandeered SUV - to Hell with it, it's not like the owner was going to need it anytime soon - blaring out Led Zepplin and knocking down the odd shambler here and there for kicks, Miguel was living a life of excitement and ecstasy. The world had gone to crap, sure, but it had also created so much freedom. If he could just carry on avoiding being eaten, and carry on avoiding being shot, then what was the problem?

There wasn't one!

Until he lent forwards to snort the line of coke he'd found in the glove box. The owner of the SUV was a party creature of some kind, but judging by the baby seats in the back, maybe they were a little on the low key side of things. You know? Just used the stuff to perk up their Sunday morning church visits. In any case, of all the times he should have watched the road, that was one of them.

He didn't see what he hit, but it damn nearly stopped him instantly. The air bag deployed, the seatbelt tore into his chest, and suddenly the world was spinning and his stomach sunk. Then the SUV hit something else, and the spinning became a bit of a waltzer - as if he was in some kind of washing machine.

It ended with a splash and a searing pain in his face.

###6 Hours later###

He awoke to agony; his body racked with pain, from his feet to his head. He tried to make sense of everything, but the darkness wasn't helping. What had just happened? He put his hand down by his side, and realised for the first time that he was submerged in water from the waist down.

The realisation of the water's coldness jogged his memory. He'd hit something and crashed - must have been thrown over the bridge's barrier. As he struggled to release his seat belt, he heard whispered voices. Someone was nearby.

But did he care? He'd survived, though he'd have the scars to prove it for the rest of his day(s). Maybe it would be better if he just picked up his gun and carried on his entertainment. Not like tomorrow was worth living for, after all.

... but then something made him feel bad. His conscience? Had he just hurt some people? Maybe it'd be better if he checked it out first, just to make sure they were okay. And hey, if they weren't, it wasn't like there was any police around to come and arrest him was it?

Lifting himself out of the car with a grunt, Miguel started to muse at his options.

The Elder Scrolls: The Collector Chronicles

And we're off!

The Elder Scrolls: The Collector Chronicles

TES: The Collector Chronicles

Chapter One - Helgen

"I'm tellin' yer," Zanvon spat. "Those Imperial scum are a bunch of incompetent skooma pigs. You wait! You'll see! We'll get there, and dear old Ulfric Stormcloak will be there to greet us. Hahaha."

Zanvon was a Dunmer, and like most of his kind, he held a certain hatred for the Imperials. However, unlike most of his kind, he wouldn't shut up. Telling him to just didn't work, in fact, it seemed to encourage him to spout more of his mind-numbing nonsense. Ever since they'd seen the smoke rising in the distance, not just a day ago, Zanvon had been foretelling over and over how the Empire was minutes away from crumbling.

Arielle, Aristobus and Jo'Resfo had reached the point where they just didn't care any more. Let him ramble on! If it kept him from harassing Arielle, or stealing Aristobus' books, then great! The sooner they could get that bottle of mead, the better. 60,000 septims wasn't worth that Dunmer's company, not even for a few days.

"See! You see! The gate's closed! A raiding party don't shut the door after they leave!" Zanvon laughed, breaking into an awkward skip. "Ulfric! Ohhhhhhh Ulfric!" he sang, "How many Imperials did you kill today!?"

The four agents of The Collector had arrived at Helgen's eastern gate. They'd encountered no Imperial patrols in the area, which was worrying given the settlement's strategical importance. More worrying however, was that they hadn't seen any of the notorious stormcloaks either. From behind the gate, pillars of smoke were still rising, and the crackling sounds of fire could be heard quite clearly on the crisp morning air.

"Knock, knock!" Zanvon chuckled, pushing a gloved hand against one of the gates. He gave it a slight shove, and it moved with a screech. "I'll bet 30,000 of my share that we'll see a whole pile of those Imperial scumbags--- NO, no! I bet we'll see thirty Imperial heads mounted on spikes. That's one head per 1,000 septims. Who wants in on the bet? Eh? Eh?" He stopped, and gave a large toothy smile at Arielle. "How about you eh Princess? Want to take a chance with ole Zanvon? Tell ya wha-"

An arrow flew through the open gate and struck the Dunmer in the neck. His eyes went wide, and he tried to speak - but no sounds came to his lips. With a few staggers, he collapsed to the floor.

Arielle, Aristobus and Jo'Resfo drew their weapons, just as three tall Nordic men surged through the gate. They were wearing tattered leather armour, and brandishing iron short swords. Their heads were hidden beneath horned iron helmets, but all three of their blonde beards sagged down to their chests.

The middle Nord looked down at the slain Zanvon and spat. "Talked too much, that one," he said with a grunt. Then his eyes shifted up at Arielle, Aristobus and Jo'Resfo. "Helgen now belongs to Magnor the Black! And there's a toll to be paid for passing by. Either hand over everything you have, or--" he stopped, taking another eager look at them. "On second thoughts, you three look dangerous. Best not let you live, at 'em boys!"

The three bandits surged forwards, roaring their songs of battle. Arielle, Aristobus and Jo'Resfo stood fifty feet away from them; they had time to act, but that time was rapidly dwindling.

The Elder Scrolls: The Collector Chronicles

It might take me a little longer than I though. Theater just got really busy lately.

Will be done by next week for sure.

@MonkeyBusiness

Fair enough, no worries. It doesn't really matter when people join this, as it'll just be a case of their character having caught up with the other agents.

<Snipped quote by MonkeyBusiness>

Then perhaps we should start. Would that be ok with you?

@Thrashy

Yup. I'll get it going within the hour.

The Elder Scrolls: The Collector Chronicles

<Snipped quote by TomeBinder>

My apologies, I misunderstood those instructions. Thank you very much for understanding

@Draconfound

Accepted :)

I'll get the ball rolling soon.

Would you like me to wait, Monkey? Or you gonna be a few days in getting that thing put together?

No Hope

lol, forgot about the sniper who saved our lives. LOOK! BIG NOISY THING IN THE SKY! What small running man?

And I like you, GM, I like you. You keep things going.

@Fillet

;) that's what I'm here for. Sorry if the fast-forwarding broke anything for you guys, but you'd been at that school long enough. Time to move on to bigger and better things.

@SgtEasy If you're still with us, give me a sign.

EDIT: Here's where the characters are, by the way. Lemme know if the link doesn't work. Street View.

The Elder Scrolls: The Collector Chronicles

<Snipped quote by Thrashy>

Sorry, in most roleplays I've been in they like you to post the CS in OOC, then move it to the character tab if it's approved, shall I move it there now?

@Draconfound

I expect people to read instructions.

Buuuuuuuuuuuut I'm not going to get all ass-holey over it. Sure, chuck it in the character tab and I'll give it a review.

No Hope

Evan's haunting question is answered by an unbreakable silence; the sniper is running over to them, laden with weapons. A brief discussion suddenly cuts through the air, and hushed voices debate excitedly with how to react.

The sniper reads them, and stops, holding his hands up. The group look over at him, and then to the pile of broken shamblers that had so readily thrown themselves on something in front of the sniper's house. Alex puts two and two together, and leaves the car to talk to the man - his gun concealed, but nevertheless ready.

As fortune would have it, the sniper reveals himself as Roland J. Anderson. A brief conversation ensues, with Alex trying to verify the man's story, and after a couple of minutes gives an approving nod. Roland follows him back to the car.

Garret, Evan, Roland, Sophia, Angie and Alex manage to squeeze themselves into the cruiser's five seats. By now, more shamblers have started to spill out of the school, and others are making their way over the gardens of the houses. Dozens of them, no - scores of them. Maybe even hundreds. No one bothers to count.

Evan had translated the soldier's message, and many of the group concur with his results. Garret slams the cruiser into drive, and speeds off to the south, giving a throng of shamblers a wide birth.

The roads begin to empty as the car travels further away from the densely packed residential areas of Arlington, and soon the landscape becomes totally suburban. The group allow themselves to relax, but as they do, they realise they're missing someone.

Sylvia Velázquez, the City Councilwoman, is not among them. How they hadn't noticed, no one quite knows, but something must have happened. Maybe she was hit by the sniper as the group made for the car, and no one realised in all the panic, or maybe she was dragged away by some shambler in the school. No one remembers her screaming.

No prayers are said, no words of condolence necessary. By now, the group are used to the people they know dying at the drop of a hat. Sylvia is just one more sad footnote in a book of sad footnotes.

Garret tries to join the interstate, but the sheer volume of abandoned traffic forces him to turn around before they can even get onto the sliproad. Evan suggests South Shirlington Road, which proves to be mercifully empty. They procede with caution, not wanting to wrap themselves around a lamppost, but at the same time, not wanting to be caught unaware by the dead. As the crusier passes over a bridge, bringing the group into what Evan says is "Campbell Avenue", two things happen.

Firstly, Garret hits something - not a man or a shambler, but a piece of debris. The front passenger side tire bursts with an audible bang, and the cruiser swerves to the right. Garret fights for the wheel, bringing it full-lock to the left, but the car overcompensates and sends itself travelling sideways.

And then another car comes out of nowhere, speeding across from the right at a glorious 100 mph+. Whether the driver was a moron, or was distracted, no one knows - but they hit the cruiser at full speed which sends it flipping over onto its roof and skidding several feet. The other car flips too - its bonnet crunched all the way to the wind-shield, and disappears over the edge of the bridge.

###6 Hours Later###

The odd sound of an owl rouses the group.

Everything is dark, and everyone's minds are hazy. What the Hell happened? Where are we? Is it night?

Then that dreadful groan sounds from the infinite darkness, followed by fleshy-footsteps on tarmac. Hastily, the group works to free themselves of the cruiser's wreck, fighting against the soreness of their battered bodies to escape becoming a shambler's tinned food.

No Hope

I'll be forwarding the plot shortly. If anyone wants to get any posts in before I do so, now is the time to yell. There will be some... accidents ... by the looks of it.

@SgtEasy Sorry for the delay in getting you in this, the RP slowed down right when I didn't want it to. This'll be fixed in short order.

@Darkraven I am sorry, and don't want to sound like I'm pigeon holing you, but the idea of a Japanese soldier, thousands of miles from home, with specialist training in killing shamblers just doesn't fit the realism scope of the RP. If we were closer to Japan, then maybe, but alas...

I'll be happy to accept any other characters you have to offer, just please make my life easier by having their existence make sense to my RP. Thanks ;)

@Tearstone Glad you made use of it. This RP is ALWAAAAAAAAAAAAYS open, because I am awesome and can accommodate no end of you critters, so throw in a CS when you're ready.

The Elder Scrolls: The Collector Chronicles

This is still open right?

@agentmanatee

Yup!

@Draconfound You seem to have posted your character in the wrong section.

@Thrashy

And there I was thinking the instructions were perfectly clear! I'll deal with it when I'm back from work.

I guess ideally I want a minimum of 3 players before I launch, but no doubt others will join when it gets under way.