War of faith (Open)

[Ciltimara]

((Open to anyone, feel free to PM me if there's something you want to know about either Ciltimara or the basics of the quest I laid out))

Bored, but content. These simple words can easily be used to summarize Cil’s attitude during her frequent trips into the city of Scara Brae. She had never been able to sit still for long, but she found the need to make occasional forays into the city to admire the magnificent architecture and people too often taken for granted. Most people who were aware of her profession would assume she was gathering information for a contract, or planning escape routes and hiding places, but those people didn’t know the real Ciltimara.

Since announcing, if anything covertly transmitted through the criminal underworld could be called an announcement, that she was taking a break from new contracts Cil found she had a lot of time on her hands. Too much time. She craved excitement and intrigue the way a political figurehead craves bribes. “A lack of work dulls the mind and the blade”, as her father used to say. At this point in her life she couldn’t disagree.

Okay, enough slacking. I’ve got to at least do SOMETHING, or I’ll go nuts!

Now with that decision made, Cil was faced with an even greater decision… What to do. Settling upon heading down to the Zirnden to check out possible prospects, she began to head off in that direction. The Zirnden was hardly one of Cil’s preferred places to be, largely due to the muscle-bound idiots that thought all women wanted them. The only reason she would normally be going there is to check one of the many hidden “job drops” she has around the city.

As usual, she was not disappointed. In the small hole beneath one of the cobblestones, she found what she was looking for. Tucked inside was a small scroll with the wax imprint of a dagger sealing it. The promise of excitement had her practically beside herself with anticipation. With a single fluid motion, the wax crumbled to the floor. Written in the most outrageous cursive script was a fairly simple message:

A short distance north east of Scara Brae is a two story building. Inside this building is a usurper. He steals the followers of the true god and damns their souls for eternity. I want you to kill this leader of this cult, a man by the name of Dasani Escerios. You’ll know him by the strange jewels he has woven into his hair. His followers are expendable. Let it be a lesson to those who would betray the faith.
P.S. You won’t be alone in this venture. I’ve put a request for the city guard to gather some adventurers together. I don’t want to leave it to chance that at least one of them will be competent so you’ll be joining them. You’ll be meeting them at the headquarters of the guards.

Great… What kind of idiot hires an assassin to work with common adventurers...? Doesn’t he know we don’t get along well with others, at least while working? I just hope at least one of them is cute.

Sighing deeply, Cil began her slow walk to the guardhouse.

[Lady Anais]

The Baroness loathed being in the Guardhouse, even moreso since she was having to lower herself to doing work alongside these peons. She snorted softly as a grizzled man walked up to her, tall and stately despite his bushy beard and dirty skin. He was the kind of man who would have been fit for the more proper life but abandoned it for "civic duty."

"Lady Hieras?" the man said, the crest of the city guard worn proudly on his chest. Anais looked at him sternly and nodded in affirmation. "I'm Chief Landry of the 4th Ward guard unit. The magistrate will see you now."

Blinking gently as she bowed her head, she strode with long steps behind the man as he turned, leading her out of the dusty waiting area. They strode along a hallway of gray ash wood, the smell of mildew and sweat rising down the hall. No doubt that the rooms adjacent were barracks for the city guard, and the slight bustle from behind the walls signaled that there was a shift change in progress. The soft clangs of metal armor being fastened and adjusted echoed through the walls and down the hall behind them as the two strode down the corridor. They reached a large, dark maple door at the end of the hall, which the guard chief slammed a meaty fist against. Despite putting muscle behind it, the strike was barely audible; apparently the door was thick enough that it required a pounding just to make a knock that could be heard inside. Leaning forward, the burly man shoved the door inward on a large room. Swirling dust could be seen dancing in the rays of light coming through the windows, as an old man sat behind his large desk, scrawling with a feather pen on some parchment. Looking up from behind the mess of legal books and documents cluttering his desk, the elder man raised his head high so that he was looking down his crooked beak of a nose at the pair.

"Ah, yes, come in..." the magistrate chimed up.

He set his pen down and began scuffling through the documents in front of him curiously, intent on finding something specific. The Baroness took a step forward, but found herself running into the hand of the guard chief. He held her firmly back with a stiffarm to the chest of her armor. She looked at his hand incredulously, then up at him in mild offense.

"Sorry, ma'am, but we have rules. No weapons in the magistrate's office." he said, nodding over her shoulder. Not even turning her head, her eyes drifted to the side. With a sigh and a slight hint of glare, she reluctantly unshouldered the large voulge clinging to her back. Setting it down next to the doorway, she let out another snort of disapproval before stepping across the threshold into the room.

The man across from her still shuffled about his desk, looking lost in the stacks of administrative paperwork. His deep set eyes darted back and forth as a few lonely strands of gray hair danced atop his otherwise bald and liver spotted head as he continued his search.

"We have a bit of a... er... job that we require... um... assistance with..." the old man ambled his words a bit, distracted by his searching. "And your name comes highly... ahh.... err... recommended to us."

I wonder by whom... Anais thought with a curious look on her face.

"Ah ha!" The old man snapped up a piece of parchment between his skinny fingers, and gripped it tightly with both hands. "Here it is... yes, let's see.... you are charged with assisting in helping contain what is described only as a 'threat to the well-being of the Church."

Hmph. I shouldn't go along with this. Since this misguided 'Church' isn't the true faith of the Etheral Sway... but I'm not in this for the religion. I'm in it for the politics. The Church and the State go hand-in-hand, and as long as I'm stuck here in Scara Brea... may as well work the local politics to my advantage...

"Needless to say, when we hear about something like this, we tend to assist in any way we can. We don't know the exact details, but you will be meeting with a liaison here..."

Pulling a pocket watch from his dress shirt, the magistrate squinted deeply. "Fairly shortly, actually. She should be able to fill you in on the exact details. You will of course, be paid a standard wage from the city guard for your work, as well as whatever the employer deems fit to reward you with. This is acceptable, I presume?"

Anais gently closed her eyes, nodding her head in affirmation at the old man.

"Good, good. Also understand that by entering into this contract, that it is an independent contractual service and therefore the city government of Scara Brea are hereby removed from all claims of liability hereto thus and have indemnification from any requirement of reimbursement for personal injury, death, disfigurement... et cetera, et cetera... basically, you're responsible for yourself, even though we're paying you. This is also acceptable?" The old man sputtered off.

Again, the Baroness nodded in agreement.

"Very good. Well, in that case, Chief Landry here will show you outside to wait for your liaison..."

The old man smiled a gapped-toothed smile behind squinting eyes. The stout chief bowed gently, motioning with one hand to Lady Hieras. With a stern, militaristic step she turned and marched out the door, reaching a hand over and snatching up her weapon in a quick motion.

This should be rich. she thought sarcastically.

[Ciltimara]

Approaching the guard house, Cil became aware of how easily this could be a trap. Walking openly into the waiting arms of the city watch could be disastrous…

Stop being paranoid! They have no reason to be after me. No one has ever witnessed any of my jobs, and my clients don’t have any way of gathering evidence against me. I hope…

More than just slightly unnerved, she slowed her pace. The wind blew past, causing some of her short hair to fall in front of her face. Taking a minute to gather her hair back into its proper ponytail, she carefully weighed the risks she might take in the next few minutes.

I can’t really afford to turn down this job. Considering I spread the word I was unreachable for awhile who knows when the next job might come along… On the other hand, if I go ahead and this is a trap I’d be a sitting duck! This sucks! Well… Nothing to do now but suck it up and walk blindly into danger I suppose…

When the guardhouse finally came into sight, Cil dreaded what she saw. Several guards standing around intently searching the crowd, as if expecting someone, and next to them was a figure Cil couldn’t help but find imposing. Standing taller than most of the people around her was a woman clad almost from head to toe in glistening armor. Cil’s anxiety about this mission was mounting quickly.

Clearing her throat she called out to the guards, “Good afternoon gentlemen and err… kind Lady. You look as if you’ve misplaced someone. Might I be of assistance in your search?”

One of the guards smiled widely as he spoke, “Afternoon miss. We’re actually waiting for someone. He’s a liaison for the Church in a matter of some importance. The Lady Hieras here has graciously offered to aid us in this matter as well.”

“Why then, you would be in luck! I happen to be acting on behalf of the clergy as a matter of fact. What’s this liaison of yours look like? He might be a friend of mine!” Cil said with a huge grin on her face at the chance to have a little fun with these guards.

The other guard shuffled his feet and kicked up a small cloud of dust. Leaning forwards towards Cil he started to whisper “Well, you see… We actually don’t know. I’m sure we’ll know him when he arrives. I’d imagine a priest of some sort however.”

“Why then I’m sorry to disappoint you boys, but no clergyman is coming. I’m the one you’ve all been waiting for.” With a deep curtsey to the guards Ciltimara turned to her apparent companion. “Let’s be off shall we? I’ll explain on the way.”

A quick turn and Cil started off down the road to the city gate. From behind her, one of the guards, thinking she couldn’t hear him, muttered something about how such a small girl was supposed to be of any help. It was all Cil could do to suppress her laughter.

[Lady Anais]

The guards chuckled and muttered amongst themselves as the Church "emissary" turned from them.

"Well, she certainly doesn't look like much..." one of them said with a scoff.

From behind him, a faint thunk sound rang as the back of Lady Hieras' fingernails thwapped the back of his helm. He looked over to see a scowl on her face as the Baroness stepped past him, her eyes locked on him with displeasure.

Appearances can be deceiving, you impetuous hoof-head.

Anais continued, following the brisk step of Cil. She was unsure if the guards would be accompanying them- thought she doubted it- but it really didn't matter to her. Between the snide commentary and the general smell of the barracks she had passed earlier, she almost preferred being without their company. All the better; if things got messy, it was one less person to hold herself accountable to. Not bothering to look back, she kept pace behind the young woman, sizing her up with each step.

No armor... perhaps she's just going to brief me and send me on my own for this task.

Her wavy blond hair whipped behind her as the heavy afternoon breezes continued, nudging through the downtown crowd to keep up with her contact.

No, certainly not. I could swear I saw the hilts of knives when she was facing me. Lightly armed, unarmored... that generally indicates a brigand or rogue of some sort. But then, what would such a character be doing in league with the Church?

Her face mirrored her inner dialogue, a curious eyebrow raising as they pushed their way past the market, the bustling sounds raised loudly around them as the scents of breads and vegetables for sale by street peddlers hung in the air around them. The trek continued, and Anais picked up her pace to come alongside, finding it difficult to keep astern of her new companion without knocking over the pedestrians around them. Looking over curiously at the girl, she narrowed her eyes slightly, sizing her up again, before holding out the arm on the side of her liaison. Reaching her opposite arm over, she ran a single fingertip across the back of her leather arm bracer, a faint amber glow following her finger tracings as she scrawled one word at a time, letting each fade before the next.

"What" ... "is"... "job?" read the words before they faded; the Baroness looked intently at the young girl but not breaking stride.

She bumped her shoulder hard into a merchant, pushing him aside as he made a surprised grunt of protest. Still, she paid no mind to the people around her as she awaited a response. She had a sneaking suspicion however, that she would be getting a question or two before getting any answer.

[Ciltimara]

The cobblestones here were uneven, caused by the heavy traffic the area saw. Moving through the crowd as they were, Cil could tell her temporary ally was quite agile despite the bulky armor she was wearing as a lesser woman would have tripped or atleast stumbled.

There's obviously more to this one than what she seems. It's odd enough to see a woman in full plate, but to still be so agile is pretty rare... I'd better keep my eye on her. Just because she's supposedly on the same side as me, doesn't mean I'm not at risk here.

Focused as much as she was on her thought, Cil nearly jumped back when she saw letters, and then full words, forming on the leather bracer she was being shown.

Such a bizarre form of communication... I wonder why she chooses not to speak?

Deciding that asking too many questions may lead to some rather unpleasant conversation (and one for which Ciltimara didn't think would be particularly interesting), she decided to just enjoy the bizarre quirk of her intimidating companion. Quickly pushing through the throng of the market, made all the less pleasant by the tight quarters and sweaty merchants, they were making good time.

"What is job, eh? Quite a good question in fact. Though when one talks by tracing out words, I imagine being to the point would be of big benefit. Anyway, to the point. There's a crazy cult of religious fanatics setting up shop outside of town. They've tweaked the nipples of the clergymen by stealing away devotees and converting them to their own. We're supposed to ah... negociate with them by any means necessary. Being religious nuts, we're pretty much going to have to kill them. Well, atleast the leader anyway. If you're opposed to killing anyone here, just remember they are forsaking the Lord."

With a wink she added "Think of it as stopping them from slipping farther from his graces."

Wonder if she'll even go along with this. This isn't the type of job the guard should have been involved with at all... What if they had found a holy man or something crazy? I would have had to sneak back after ACTUALLY negociating just to kill the crazy loon.

Resigning herself to make due with whatever resulted from this strange ordeal, Cil focused on calming herself down. She watched the few birds as they fought for the little food found within the city walls. She smiled as a pair of young children, no older than 10, ran past laughing happily. She secretly envied the woman she saw buying a fancy silk fabric (likely for a gorgeous dress!). She was glad indeed when the gate finally came within sight.

[Lady Anais]

Anais leaned close to listen to the girls words over the bustle of the street, people going to and fro. As she heard the description of the job, she smirked to herself, finding it exactly what she had thought.

One heathen threatened by another heathen; one sect afraid that a neighboring cult would be taking power from them. The whole lot of them should find their blasphemous heads cleaved from their necks if you ask me... the Baroness mused to herself.

"If you're opposed to killing anyone here, just remember they are forsaking the Lord."

Lady Hieras closed her eyes and cringed a bit.

Remember, Anais. This is purely political. The employer is the one who holds sway with the locals, which is why the city guard was willing to hire help for them. Do this for them, and it puts you in the favor of the Queen and her underlings.

Despite reassurance, she still had to struggle internally with this. While this wasn't going directly against the Etheral Sway, it was helping the charlatans of a false religion. And though this troubled her, she justified it to herself with the reminder that the masquerading "Church" and their "Lord" were right about one thing; those that they were going to have to kill are straying from the true path as well. It would be ideal to remedy all of the heathens, but for the time, correcting one group of them would suffice.

Anais shifted her shoulders back, pulling her fur cloak away from the breadth of her shoulders so that it covered less of her, hanging in the middle of her back. The Scara Brean weather was much warmer than she was usually acclimated to, and even her armor felt hot amidst the warm air around them. The two reached the city gates, Anais pausing as the noise from the crowd subsided. Before them laid the path out of town, a dry and dusty path well worn from travel which had only a few sparse travelers meandering along it. It was a stark contrast to the crowded and bustling street that stretched out behind them with incessant noise.

She turned to her guide and nodded to indicate that she understood the job.

Well, it certainly seems these are the kind of negotiations I'm most suited for. Looks like Vendetta gets its taste of blood today.

With a clever smirk, she motioned a hand towards her companion and moved it out to indicate the path. It was intended to ask if she was ready to go, but on appearances, it seemed more of a courtesy gesture: saying "after you."

[Ciltimara]

Striking out from the city was usually uneventful. Sadly this time held little promise to be different. The path had a few merchants and other people shuffling along, with the occasional person riding a horse or wagon.
Wherever trees could be found, you could expect to see at least a few hikers resting in the shade it provided. Out here the wind was stronger since there was nothing to slow it, several people ended up chasing their hats around the fields before it finally came to rest against a tree or rock.

Her companion seemed more bothered by the heat than most people, and the heavy clothing she wore certainly wasn’t helping much. Cil let her mind wander while the walked, only vaguely watching the path to make sure they didn’t walk astray. She barely registered the finely dressed merchant riding on an exquisitely decorated wagon.

“Hey! Stop daydreaming and move!”

Startled back to the here and now, Cil realized the wagon was bearing down on her. A quick roll to the side spared her from being flattened by the wagon, but she jarred her shoulder hard upon starting her roll. Wincing as she stood, Cil turned back to the road to see the merchant still rolling along while shaking his fist and cursing to all the gods imaginable.

Well that was stupid of me. Great way to show I’m capable to a strange companion. What am I supposed to say now? “It’s okay, wagons are my only weakness”? To top it all off, I’m filthy now. Why do these things happen to me!? At least I don’t have to worry about her making fun off me the whole time. It would be a hassle to keep writing it out over and over…

Trying to dust herself off while simultaneously massage her sore shoulder, Cil managed a weak smile to her potential friend. Luckily, the breeze made brushing off the dirt easier, as it was swiftly carried away to bother someone else.

“Er, I was trying to find a new way to stretch my muscles. It worked pretty well actually. Anyway, we should be getting close to the building we’re looking for by now. From what I know about our target, which isn’t a whole lot, is that their hideout or temple or whatever you want to call it is supposedly a short distance North East of Scara Brae. This path is keeping us pretty straight in that direction, and I’m imagine it’s easier to recruit followers near to the road, so we shouldn’t need to look very hard.”

Her words were occasionally being interrupted by the various passersby as they laughed at her impromptu acrobatic performance. For the first time in a long, long while, Cil couldn’t wait to kill something.

Stupid wagon…

[Lady Anais]

Anais had been uncomfortable walking the path. Not only was she still warm under her coat, but the wind was blowing a misting of dust against her face with nearly every other step. It fluttered in her nostrils and loomed on her eyes, and she squinted and snorted a bit from the irritation. She heard the call of the merchant and watched her liaison tumble sideways right in front of her. Stunned by the sudden motion, the Baroness's diaphragm squivered slightly as she stifled the urge to chuckle. She watched as the girl stood and brushed more dust into the crosswinds. With a mock grin and eyes showing faux pity, Anais extended her hands and gave a soft clap of applause for the performance. As she listened to the explaination being given, she chortled deep in her throat and her eyes rolled a bit.

Well, if I can't keep her from drifting off like that when it comes to the actual job, at least I know I have an outlet for entertainment. A jester to amuse me while I get the task done.

Her inner monologue reeked of sarcasm, but for the moment she had forgotten about the heat and about the dusty breeze. She turned an ear again to hear the rest of the girl's words:

"This path is keeping us pretty straight in that direction, and I’m imagine it’s easier to recruit followers near to the road, so we shouldn’t need to look very hard."

Lady Hieras nodded, and shifted her voulge with with discomfort on her back. She realized how close the job was, and Vendetta was anxious for blood. Her eyes scanned over the road, the travellers becoming more sparse as they went along. An overhead bird of prey let out a shriek that drew her attention upwards sharply. It could have been a falcon or hawk- but it had flown past too quickly to tell. It was an inconsequential detail, a mere distraction to Anais' already heightening anxiousness.

Up ahead, she saw a small group of travellers passing a building. It could have been an inn or a large farmhouse for all she knew; but it could also be the worship building for the cult. Motioning with a hand to her travel partner to wait, she moved off the road, striding carefully and quietly behind a nearby tree. Looking behind her, she held up her arm again and traced with her finger on the back of her bracer.

"Plan?"

[Taskmienster]

This thread has been sitting for a full year. Since no response has been made to create activity I am going to be moving this. If you would like it to be reopened please feel free to PM myself or another admin and they will be able to move it for you back to Scara Brae.