Vec

The Six Crystals

Sorry, but I think this RP will not garner much more interest. I myself have lost motivation to post after the holidays. Sorry but I will have to drop ouT; good luck to any other RP endeavours!

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Merry xmas !!!

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Quick correction. His name is Verus, not Vertus. You switch between the two. No biggie.

@Balthazar007

Thanks, i've fixed it

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@Balthazar007 I've posted. Right now I'm looking at having some discussion with Vertus if possible (i set up your appearance rather well I think), then have them head to the car in front of Jorath's where the security is at, and have them drive to either the airport or the docks. I am open to either form of travel really.

If the family travels to Sutisu by ship, Zara can probably arrive at Leemo City straight up and meet with Suns at some point soon @Renny. Otherwise if they travel on a plane they would most probably go to the Sutisu capital itself to start their vacation from.

Of course, they could as well travel by portal, as I think Jorath has the money necessary to facilitate this form of transportation. This would get us at our destination without having to waste time on "travel narration".

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Stallo City (D9), Early Morning

Jorath, his wife, and their two teenage children were waiting for Zara at the bottom of the stairs. It was strange, seeing such a high profile man surrounded by his loving family.

"Dad! What are we waiting on!" pouted the daughter, apparently not having noticed Zara. She sounded like a spoiled brat. The mother shushed her. And the son pretended not to hear any of it, continuing to play his handheld video game, from the comfort of a hotel sofa. Maybe loving family wasn't the right description for this particular family.

Jorath merely rolled his eyes. The big man's attention was on Zara. "Hello there!" he bellowed. "Are you ready to get going!?"

@Balthazar007

Zara wore a smile on her face the moment her eyes fell upon the man, for one because she had been eager to see him up close for the first time, but mainly because he would be the source of her big payday. She'd gotten some money upfront from one of his staff as preparation budget - the small chip clinked around with her keys inside the breastpocket of her suit - however it had been only a teaser as far as she remembered; the headache she'd gotten that day from reading that ridiculously complicated contract, as well as the insufferable personality of Jorath's head of staff, still made her cringe inwardly even to this day.

"Mister Jorath, it's nice to meet you," she said with a slight bow after stopping in front of the lounge. "Thank you for employing my services and trusting me with your safety," she stifly recited the words Verus had instructed her to say. Jorath, either unaware or pretending, did not comment on her behavior and simply nodded in return. "I also have big hopes from you," he responded to her as he made a small gesture to a person of his retinue. The man, similarly suited to Zara, moved to escort Jorath's family out of the building. The daughter rolled her eyes, while the son barely looked up from his video game as he stood up. Jorath's wife simply smiled and nodded, her gaze flicking briefly to Zara before returning to her kids, urging them to walk out of the hotel. Soon just Jorath and Zara were left in the lobby.

Zara watched the whole scene unfold silently, only slighly raising a brow at the side-eye she'd received from the woman. After a few moments, the two were left alone in the lobby - as much 'alone' one can get with a man of Jorath's standing, of course. Zara's reptile senses could feel invisible eyes locked on her, no doubt Jorath's secret guard were watching her with as much attention as they would scan an open square for potential hostile actors. Then Jorath gestured towards the revolving doors of the hotel exit, a relic of the past that some more high-end hotels retained as a status symbol, and addressed her.

"Let's talk as we walk, shall we?" The man said to Zara, eyeing her patiently for a moment before taking off first. Curiously, Zara fell into step beside him as they made their way out of the hotel lobby. "I really appreciate you taking on this job, Zara," he continued, his voice low. "Verus has made me aware of your past, and I'll have you know I appreciate an experienced bodyguard, especially where we are heading."

Zara nodded, her expression serious. "I take my responsibilities very seriously, Mr. Jorath. You can count on me to do everything in my power to protect your family." Jorath turned to her, smiled, and clapped her on the back. "We'll get along just fine the two of us," he said as he started walking towards the aircar his family had boarded. "Go to Verus for any questions you might have, I am sure you two will get to know each other nicely during our trip," were the last words he left her with before the driver closed the passenger door behind him.

"Fuck..." Zara rolled her eyes and sighed at the mention of the canine. "It's fine Zara... it's just one man, you've dealt with worse than that... yeah..." Just as she was hyping herself up a bit, lost in her own little world, she felt a presence creeping up behind. Before she could even turn around to look at who it might be, a gloved hand landed on her shoulder.

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I will try to get a post out within the weekend.

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@Balthazar007 Considering how few players actually submitted a CS from the original pool of interested ones, I don't think a discord is needed yet.

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How fast do we want the party to come together? I have no problem either way, just asking.@Balthazar007

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@Vec

It is quite enjoyable to read your detailed opening IC post. It sets the scene very nicely.

That being said, try to dial it back a bit or use hiders in the future, especially if and when you start interacting with other players.

I do appreciate a good introduction though, so don't change anything.

I'm thinking of ways to introduce an NPC to your storyline, and I see three options. Either I make an NPC for Jorath, or if you'd rather post as him as well, I could be one of his aids (i.e. regular body guards), or I could be a formidable attacker. I could have fun in any direction. What do you think?

@Balthazar007

You could be the shadowy butler/head of staff that 'takes care' of everything. It feels like someone like Jorath would have someone like that around to burder with all the complicated stuff.

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Location: Stallo City - Time: The day after the festivities. Around 5 AM when she wakes up, around 6:30 AM when she leaves.

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Beep… beep… beep… beep…

A body shifted under the sheets, the sound of the alarm clock penetrating the skull of its victim and mercilessly poking, akin to a jackhammer operator hammering away at their brain. Zara groggily woke up to the offending sound blaring at her ears.

Beep… beep… beep… be–

She grumbled and reached out with her hand, smashing the alarm clock until it went silent. Peeking through from under a mountain of blankets, a half-opened eye stared at the, now, silent contraption with sheer indignation. The clock, evidently unable to respond – it did not have a brain – had nevertheless proven itself to be one of the toughest enemies for the young woman. Despite her past, she had never been a morning person; her cold-blooded constitution left her little choice but to, come sleep time, huddle under the warm embrace of her bed. Plus, the reminder that she would, eventually, have to leave said embrace had never sat well with her.

She slowly sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes and trying to wake herself up. No matter how much she would have loved to sleep in, Zara knew she would have to get up soon; her new "employer" would not take kindly to her showing up late for her first day on the job. "Damn Mutrenians…" Zara grumbled and groaned, but in the end, she got up, albeit reluctantly. With a yawn, she performed a few morning stretches before making her way to the bathroom.

Once there, she turned the faucet all the way to 'hot' and let the water run, waiting for it to heat up. By the time the temperature had risen to an "acceptable" level for her, the bathroom had turned into a sauna, with the steam from the shower fogging up the mirror, making it hard for Zara to see her scaly reflection. "Yeah, that's more like it," she thought as she tested the water.

Stepping into the warm spray gave her delightful goosebumps, and a refreshing feeling 'washed' over her as the morning grogginess slowly faded away. Washing up and rinsing off the soap and dirt went by fast, and before long, she'd find herself staring out from her balcony window, coffee cup at hand, at the expanding cityscape of Stallo City. The bitterness of the dark roast on her tongue; the crisp and cool air flowing into the room from outside; the sound of the city coming to life as people started going about their daily lives… It all still felt so unreal to her.

Zara had a hard time coming to terms with her life so far; the endless fights that she'd once seen no end to, had suddenly come to a screeching halt; the dark slaughterhouse she had forcefully been made to call her home, had finally run out of fresh meat, and the head butcher, along with his accomplices, had been shipped off to… wherever Mutrenians sent their outlaws to be processed.

A rather loud honking sound echoed from below, rousing Zara from her reverie and letting her know that time was ticking. Her coffee was growing colder by the minute. "It's all in the past now, forget it…" the young woman told herself as she moved away from the window and towards the small kitchen top, where something much more important lay.

She picked up the memory chip with her free hand, taking a better look at it, yet failing to recall when she'd last seen one of these. "It's definitely Riotifu tech though, that's for sure." Zara, having grown up in the Bloody Divide, had – in one way or another – been exposed to different cultures, and thus could detect the slight stylistic differences between Riotifan, Sutisuian, and Mutrenian tech. She had been given this after her request for more information about her employer. She inserted it into a small device on the kitchen table, and a holographic screen appeared in front of her. "Oooh, jazzy~" Zara exclaimed in mild surprise.

"Hmm… Jorath looks to be quite the big shot," Zara muttered to herself as she scanned the file. "Owns several businesses, has a large estate, and apparently has some powerful enemies." She frowned and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Well, I guess that's why he needs a bodyguard. It would suck to get offed while you're out vacationing now, would it?"

The information was a good start; however, it was just that, a start. Albeit impulsive, she was not an idiot. Zara knew that any type of information shared by Jorath's side would, no doubt, paint him in a better light, or at the very least try to do so. That was why Zara decided to splurge a little, in the name of research of course.

She returned to her bedroom, coffee and chip in hand, left them on top of the nightstand, and pulled out a pair of augmented reality glasses from the cupboard underneath. "You better be worth your money…" With a sigh, Zara laid down on her bed and put on the glasses, quickly accessing the city's public virtual network. She proceeded to search for Jorath's name, which quickly resulted in a wealth of new, non-curated, information.

After a while, Zara removed the glasses, placed them at her side, and just laid there for a few moments, absorbing and organizing all she had learned. "Interesting," she finally said after a while. "I guess it's not just his enemies that he has to watch out for…"

As she'd delved deeper into the research, Zara felt more and more confident in her ability to protect Jorath. She knew that her job as a bodyguard wouldn't be easy, but she was up for the challenge. However, after putting on the uniform she'd been provided with – a black suit with a white shirt and matching tie – her elevated mood took a downward turn. Formal clothes and Zara were not a good combination. She only had to look once at herself in the hallway mirror to know that those sleeves would not have much more life to them, especially if it came down to it and she had to fight someone. "Well, I guess that's that… I'll deal with the problems as they come. Now it's about time to go meet the boss," she reminded to herself out loud before exiting her hotel room.

Summary

We are given a glimpse into the daily routine of Zara, as well as some information about her past (already detailed in her biography) through an introspection scene. We also learn that her employer is name Jorath, and that he has some things to hide. She proceeds to do some background research, before heading off to meet with him on her first day at work