View Full Version : Back To The Home, Back To The Blade (Closed)
Back To The Home, Back To The Blade (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un_55LrZnCo&feature=related)
2013
As I travel Recovery's way
Help me conquer myself I pray,
As down Recovery's road I roam.
May I find myself returning home,
Exorcise the demons on the past,
And find victory that will last,
My fears may I now overcome,
With bitterness and resentment be done,
May I be willing to forgive,
And daily in victory live,
Seeking to conquer myself may I find,
Inner strength and lasting peace of mind.
- For Morning Reflections where the thought for the Day is Conqueror yourself rather than the world.
Ed Ostrom
Akashima and death had doused Blank's senses. No sooner than he had returned to Scara Brae, war caught up with him and proclaimed continuance. The state of affairs since he had departed, so his praetors informed him, had only seemed to worsen. His brother and father's meddling in the Tantalum's attempts to steer the Scourge's attention away from them had, for the time being, worked fruitlessly.
Unfortunately for Blank, the Scourge had turned their attention to the Thieves' Guild, and the Thieves' Guild in turn to the Tantalum. The triangle, though cliché, was now firmly embedded in the psyche of all those involved. Even with Lucian gone, the troupe were not free of their responsibility or indeed their suffering. Blank slumped into the tall chair of the meeting chamber amidst the sobering smell of sweat, damp furs and burning pine, and rested forwards on a palm.
It had been only months before that his brother, the then Van Occupanther had done the very same. Arden dared there to be an assassin on the balcony waiting to end his reign this time.
"Good evening, gentlemen, it has been too long since we conveened, and too long since the Thieves' Guild took arms against an almighty foe...tonight," he waved the servants in with their plates of meat stacked high, and verdant bowls of vegetables, still steaming despite the turgid cold of the mid-winter air outside, "we dine together, and formulate a reasoning, and thus a plan, to return the guild home...back to the blade from which it was cut!"
The tumultuous roil of cheers and scoffing settled the Thief King's nerves, and all the plotting and scheming in his mind unravelled in his speech. He waited for a few minutes whilst bellies were filled and smothered against the hardships of a long day before offering his ultimatum. This, he hoped, would be the end to his tale and a start of a new history.
"I believe it is time for me to be truthful with you all." Several members of the court put knives and forks down tentatively and continued to chew nervously. Slops of meat and gravy dribbled ominously down chiselled chins.
"Candid expressions of goodwill aside I have to impart a revelation, before I can renounce the title of King and do the wrongs right."
Mutterings.
"I am sure you all know, to some degree or another, that I am involved with The Scourge. My rise to power in the Thieves' Guild has been met with resilience because of that, despite my constant assurances that I mean no harm or ill to either party."
One plucky soul dared speak above the deafening silence, "how can you say that?" Blank smiled warmly at Callaghan, the Street Runner who over watched the Northern Quarter of the Pummel Slums. "How can you be 'mpartial?"
"It was my original intention, in joining and working with both, to divert attention away from my true lord and master, the Tantalum Troupe." That truth was met with greater silence.
"I tried to work the two groups away from Duffy whilst he worked to settle an old score, and so that the orphans and unprotected innocents that the troupe cares for would not be brought into the petty war my father sought, and still seeks to instigate."
"Just like that, you want shot of it?" Callaghan protested further, and Blank remembered the thieves quick witted and sure footed nature would make chasing him to end such protestation a chore not worth the effort. He let the silence hang in the air and permeate the dense rock of the tavern walls before continuing.
"No. I want to pass my dealings in the Guild to another, and to allow the council democratic control of it's own dealings. Of course, such a move comes at a price, but also, it comes with great reward."
Democracy was a word still unheard of in the under croft of the city. The closest any of the council had come to a 'vote' was tallying the number of puncture wounds on a man's chest as a grotesque show of hands for dispersive disagreement. Blank motioned a change in the very fabric of the Guild, which was older than the troupe, and older still than the city in it's present form. No Bandit Brotherhood or Scourge had successfully wiped The Thieves' Guild from the face of Althanas, or at least not for long.
"That is enough, Callaghan," interjected Grand Magister Luce, the proprietor of several brothels on the riverside and father figure to many of the guilds men novae. "If Van Janelle wishes to speak of change, then we have no power to reject his proposition," he waved a courtly hand from Callaghan's re-denned face to Blank, and the silence resumed the gaps between nervous bites of food.
"What I propose will end the warring between us, The Scourge, and the Tantalum. There will be no need to fight, no need to die and wash the cobbles with blood anymore."
The Council watched him eagerly, and a gust of chill wind ominously peeled across the table and rocked the flames in the church candles.
"I propose that the Thieves' Guild and The Scourge become as one."
An echo of fulfilment ricocheted in The Aria, and somehow, it seeped into their minds and was accepted, even before the uproar broke out.
"That is ludicrous!" The Council cried in unison, but Blank heard only Callaghan's voice scream over the din. His hushed whisperings and gathering of threads in the discussion that followed his announcement were so bellowed and poisonous, his attempts to conceal them were of no avail.
"Lord Chamberlain, I will have you seated, and all the Council listening, or so mark me down I shall drive a blade through your gullet," Arden's voice took on a tone that spoke in barks and snapping daemonic cackles without meaning to. His crown glimmered in the evening light, glowing in the distant caress of the large fireplace which kept the tavern's audience chamber alive.
The Council returned to their seats and the sound of tall ornate chair legs sliding over wooden floorboards filled the silence. Satisfied that they were ready to at last listen, Van Janelle continued, standing slowly as if his ascension were metaphorically intertwined with his intent.
"For many years, the respective forces of the Guild and the Scourge have been at war. This has been no great secret, from neither yourselves and your predecessors, or the City Guard and the nobility. For just as many years, the Tantalum has sought to bring a peace to the city, sought to wash away the scars and injustices of the War with the Innari, and the Sorceress Mordecai's Curse." The last part was a lie, it was the Scourge who sought to remove the embargo on the use of magic in thievery, but there were too many under-table dealings to contend with to play all of his cards now.
"I have worked hard to ensure both the safety of the troupe, which is my true family, above you or the Scourge, and in that, I propose this union. I am here both as Van of the Guild and the Hound of the Master of the Scourge." He paused for effect, and took in a draught of smoky air alongside a glug of his tankard. The mead kindled his spirit. "I take it there are questions?"
There were, and the tension in the chamber washed over Blank's senses like a tsunami crashing through a rickshaw slum.
"How will you ensure the security of the this 'union?'" Night Watchmen Ravvos spoke first, a stoic man with a moustache that could quite literally kill a man at twenty paces. "What assurances do you have that this is not a trick?"
"If you and the Scourge do not work together, I will tear you 'both apart." Arden dead-panned that line of question. No one doubted him.
"How will the arrangement work?" Another asked.
"Good, Lamm, the arrangement is simple," Blank returned to the throne and sat leant to his right, draped comfortably over the bear fur that lined the ancient piece of furniture that had seated his brother. "The Guild shall govern all acquisitions of the Scourge, and operate the policies I wish to implement to ensure the Guild Charter is met once again."
"Fair trade and stealing with business cards? Oh please!" Callaghan rose his voice again, and quaffed more ale.
"We cannot continue to operate in the manner that we do, neither can The Scourge. The Knights of Brae have turned their attention inwards, and with the City Guard, we can rest assured we shall put up no defence against their purge - lest we change the ways in which we operate, so that we can continue to survive as we always have, and continue to create that illustrious thing you all grow fat and old on..."
"Profit, gentlemen, profit!" He waved his arms wide, and as if by some divine inspiration they all cheered.
A letter arrived as if by magic into Ace's possession two days later. The Guild had accorded Blank some measure of trust extending beyond the usual decorum of titles and tradition, and the wheels turned in motion for change. Dark messengers had carried it unknowingly across cityscapes and wilderness, and it was delivered in silence without introduction.
Dear Ace,
The Call of the Wild, it summons thee.
The Thieves Guild, my offer, all turn two fold inwards.
I shall await you at the fountain in Market Square in Scara Brae, each night for a month from when this letter reaches you.
Yours,
Van Janelle
The air of sentimentality and over familiarity perhaps did not lend itself creedance, but somehow, the Once Silent Swordsman had begun to feel odd at ease around the shape shifting creature. There was no one else, he was resolute, that could safely take over the Guild...if that was the right word to use at all.
With the hustle and bustle washing over the Union it was all he had to cling to, it was all Van Janelle had to wield in a war altogether more vicious than a simple back street brawl, or a cut and thrust exchange of blades in the Citadel.
This was politics, and all it's sisters paled in comparison.
Two days later and Blank walked through the streets of the city exonerated of one great responsibility, but still weighed down by many more. Whilst Lawrence was to govern the Thieves' Guild as it's new Van, there still remained The Scourge, and the duties given to him as The Hound - the Master's made man and most deadliest weapon. He had been away from the Prima Vista for three nights running, and each darkening sky had seen more blood and intimidation than a whole year of a mortal man's life.
All of his endeavours over the last year had been to reach two specific goals. The first was simple, he had to train and grow in strength and talent to over come his disabilities; he could not fight Lucian half-blind, and certainly, whilst he was no longer silent and trapped in the very realm that gave him his namesake, he had to overcome the social awkwardness his speech afforded. The Aria was now free in his palms, and he wielded it to it's full effect to overcome those who threatened the stability of the underworld he had come to admire and love so much.
The second was to unite the Thieves' Guild with The Scourge and pacify the city's criminal element so that it remained focussed on it's own endeavours, and not on the eradication or control of the troubadours and theatre troupes; the Tantalum were poor enough without heavy taxation and protection rackets crippling their dwindling coffers. Duffy's turn to honest work had seen the playhouse fall into ruin and the diet turn from wine to water and meat to bread, but they now clawed their way out of the limelight on their own talent and merit.
With light footwork, he turned left into Marchant Lane and squinted as he turned into the rising sun's light. The city was still freshly woken from a heavy night of wind and rain, and the cobblestones beneath his feet steamed as the sun strived to reach every nook and cranny. With a swift right, left and a scuttle down an alleyway between Troll House and the Eastern branch of Dumelm's Bank the once silent swordsman stepped out onto the fringes of Market Square, and stood with his hands on his hips to admire the commotion.
Lucian's tower was gone from the horizon, and his heart beat freely in it's cage without fear. The market stalls were pulsing with customers and heckling traders, bantering amongst one another and lowering prices in fluctuating competition eternal. Blank flicked the hair from his eyes and smiled, this would be a perfect opportunity for him to procure some very cheap items for the more spurious needs of the troupe's older members, and with a smile that continued to widen as he strode into the sea of bodies, he prayed to the awakening Thayne Tantalus for being back in his home, his element, his kindred plane.
Silence Sei
04-27-11, 08:31 PM
Story (3/10): I’ll be honest, though you did this for Character development mostly, I was completely lost half the time. Who is Ace? Is it another NPC you created? I know the answer here, but surely you see my point.
Continuity (5/10): You did a mostly decent job of letting the reader know what Blank had done and how it correlated with your story.
Setting (6/10):
Creativity (7/10): I like the idea of threads with the express purpose of just holding a meeting. It’s thinking outside the box.
Character (8/10): You played your NPCs well, introduced them fairly enough, and kept Arden true. Good job.
Interaction (8/10): All interaction was believable and I could feel the passion in every word of dialogue written
Strategy (5/10): There was –some- strategy implemented here, in the proposal to unite, but
Mechanics (7/10): You had time to clean up most of your errors, and you did so.
Clarity (5/10):
Wildcard (7/10): Please make sure to state your allowed to use certain PCs in certain ways in your request, or the thread itself, since I’ve been scolded about that before as well.
Total: 61/100
Spoils:
Knave is canonically head of the Thieves' Guild of Scara Brae.
The Scourge & the Thieves' Guild are united.
Blank has returned to the role of double agent and thief, his 'true calling'.
Approved, since it doesn’t seem any of this is in title and doesn’t gain an actual item/spell or anything. Also, Blank gets 600 exp.
Silence Sei
05-29-11, 08:28 AM
GP-exp added
leveled up blank!
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