Of Mages and Kings : A Twokinds RP (Started/Closed)

[Blasphemous Rex]

"Those prices are outrageous, Mark! I can't make a profit from that and neither can you!"

"Eric, I don't set the prices." In fact, Mark's job was to set the prices. "There are some, 'merchants,' in town who are completely undermining the Guild. So until we can get someone to properly deal with them, our only option is to play their game." Mark Weld was one of the few people who worked directly for the Merchant's Guild. It was his job to organize sales so no single merchant was underselling all the rest. If they did, well, the Guild has a lot of resources.

"How have they not been dealt with by now?"

"Eric, these guys are not stupid, and they are not poor. They've got as much money in there pockets as we do in our branch's treasury. A mercenary can't get close to them without their already very loose morals getting bought out; They've got private detectives and guards making sure they're not hit by any assassin they haven't payed off yet; They've got thieves getting them goods for the most minimal prices - "

"And you know all this how?"

"Well, we're not stupid either."

"What do you expect me to do, Mark? You're asking me to sell my goods for price I bought them. The only thing I can make money on is skilled laborer tools. And Mark, those don't sell. If you need them, you already have them. They're pointless to really even carry around."

"I don't know what to tell you, Eric. Skip town, maybe. This whole issue will be cleared up in two weeks, tops. A couple of days, if everything works out. I've already got someone who looks promising.If you want to be this guy, feel free. If he comes through for me things can get back to normal."

"Skip town to where, Mark? I just came from the damned capital! I need to sell!"

"Calm down! I'm doing my best, alright? Just sit it out. If you're tight on money, I can get you a loan."

"No thanks. I'm good." Eric stormed out of Mark's office. A little too melodramatic. He continued to storm all the way to inn he and his brother were staying at. Luckily, the Guild had a place for traveling merchants to store their goods at night. Which was good, because otherwise getting his stuff would have ruined his storming.

He stormed straight to his room. Then he remembered he didn't have his key yet. That fairly ruined his storming. Which wouldn't have really mattered, as no one around even knew he was doing so, but it ruined it for him. It put him in an even worse mood. Stella, the innkeeper, cheerily gave Eric his key after he descended the stairs. His dreary attitude threw Stella off - she was used to Eric being very kind and calm - but she remained positive throughout the encounter.

After more storming, Eric finally reached his bed - the designated area for him to stop doing so. Then he remembered all of his immediately important things were back at the Guild, with the rest of his stuff. He punched himself. Somehow. And finally he laid in bed. Ready for Owen to come home drunk so he can assault him with words.

 

[RBMidknight]

"[Hello.]" Jarrod said again. He smiled in response to Arryn's introduction but hesitated at her second, or maybe it was third, question. [She's got a lot of questions...]

"[I'm looking for my...a family member. Of mine.]" Jarrod paused then gave what he hoped was a casual shrug. "[I don't know where they live.]" He glanced to the side, uncomfortable with the amount of truth in the statement. His gaze settled on the library sign. Jarrod turned to point to the door of the library. "[The librarian said I need an investigator.]" he added.

[But I may need an investigator to find an investigator] Jarrod thought with some amusement. He reached up to scratch the back of his ear as he turned back to Arryn. [I wonder if she could help...] Realizing that he was doing most of the talking and he didn't even know if Arryn lived in the city Jarrod tilted his head slightly. 

He eyed Arryn's clothes again. Jarrod tried to compare them to other Kiedrans he'd seen at Arroy but nothing immediately came to mind. He guessed that Arryn was a traveler. "[What brings you here? To the city?]" he asked. Jarrod stepped back a bit so that he could lean against the building. Thanks to the overhanging roof it was a bit cooler than being out in the open.

 

[Lambi]

"[Me? Well...]" Arryn put her hands behind her back and leaned a bit forward to stretch a bit, then stood back up straight. "[I wanted to check out the world beyond my group and the forest they live in. Thought this city might be a good start.]"

She didn't think she'd be able to find that family member of his, no matter how well she'd look for them. She hadn't ever tracked down another Keidran, and was sure that it'd be harder to find them than an animal to hunt. "[I'm sorry, but I don't think I'd be able to find that person for you. I thought I might be able to help.]" She gave a small giggle and a small smile. "[Guess I can just be too curious for my own good.]"

 

[Yumi_and_Erea]

Spoiler: OOC

Yeah, I know it's been entirely too long. Apart from being busy, I originally had an idea that just wouldn't come together, but which I obsessed over anyway. I finally just dropped it, but real-life still interfered though. I am however now officially back on track, as I do actually love both Twokinds and this RP. Here's to hoping this kind of thing won't happen again.

The main street of Median was not just packed, it was stuffed. It seemed to take Leva an eternity to push through the crowd, a mass of bodies that thinned out in the side-streets but in the main vein seemed almost hivemind-esq in its refusal to let her pass.

Still, at least this gave her time to reflect on one or two things, most notably the fact that she really wasn't in the mood for drinking just yet. She didn't drink much anyway, and even though she usually celebrated a job well done with a glass of wine, she just didn't feel it tonight. Maybe Grindstone's pathetic sycophantism had put her off, who knows?

Grindstone... As much as she tried not to think about it, Leva had to admitt the majority of her clientele was made up of people like him, and it ate her up a little inside to think about it. She couldn't afford to turn them down, and yet she knew just what they were, and how others had to pay for their mistakes.

The ruby now seemed somewhat less appealing, its image tainted by the person that provided it. Hurrying through the crowd, no longer particularly concerned with being polite or cautious with her passers-by, she made her way to one of her regular merchants and found herself owning a very respectable spy-glass not long thereafter, the ruby and it's faint stink gone from her belongings.

Now, doing what Leva does for a living, one needs a certain amount of up-to-date relevance when it comes to fresh tidings. Earlier in the day she had already visited her two regular watering-holes, queerly desolate in the wee hours of morning, and gotten the latest rumors from the barkeepers. But, the meeting with Grindstone meant she'd missed her daily stop at the city guards offices, a crucial place to get information on bounties for wanted criminals. It was adjacent to the city courthouse, which in turn was opposite was the library where all the records of past cases were stored.

Refreshed with the vice of motivation, the lady Basitin quickly made her way there, and it wasn't long before she arrived. Outside, a whistling Keidran was cleaning the old stocks once used to publicly hold and humiliate criminals. They were no longer used, but that didn't stop children from still pelting them with dung.

Leva stayed outside for just a moment, watching the Keidran do his job and twirling her solitary braid between her fingers, before climbing the steps of the City Guard, her silk sleeves blowing in the wind.

 

[RBMidknight]

"[You lived in a forest?]" Jarrod echoed. He waved his paw in a dismissive gesture in response to Arryn's apology. "[It's okay.]" he replied easily. "[I've only just arrived and I have plenty of time for my search.]" Which wasn't quite true, he did have to return to work eventually, but there was no need to let this interesting acquaintance know that. '[Too curious for her own good? Something like that.]' Jarrod grinned briefly. '[But it's nice to talk to someone who isn't giving me orders or weird looks.]' His gaze slid past Arryn to check out the slight crowd that was still in the street. Jarrod was in no hurry to return to the mob. Unfortunately his stomach rumbled as a subtle reminder that he hadn't eaten in a while. "[Hey...have you seen anywhere to eat?]" Jarrod asked. He straightened his stance and shifted slightly from foot to foot in preparation for having to move again.

 

[Baldrek]

'Special needs?... Your lot!?...' Katja momentarily frowned at the old innkeepers words, to her they had made it sound like she was part of some inferior species in the eyes of the old man. Scowling just a little, she ultimately decided to leave it at that, more or less, in addition to showing the man some displeasure at his inappropriate wording without overdoing it.

"So I both see and hear." Katja told the innkeeper in response to his last words, her brief scowl still fixed on him. "Your unease with dealing with 'my lot' aside, you can relax, I don't have any special needs. A normal room will be fine." Feeling the gaze of some of the other patrons locked on her back, she removed her hood and turned to face the lot of them, with only a couple having enough decency to pretend that they hadn't been staring at her.

Eyeing the remaining onlookers as if to ask them what they found so amusing, she eventually turned back to the innkeeper as some of the patrons started returning to their own business. Either these people really weren't used to Keidran, or they might have something against them, she really hoped it was the former, it would certainly save her a lot of trouble in the long run, probably. "Also..." She looked on the owner again, her left hand procuring something from her belt inside her cloak. "... Do you sell meals? Anything with meat will do." She proclaimed as her hand emerged from her cloak again, holding a worn leather pouch that rattled slightly, a coin purse no doubt.

 

[Meta_Trooper]

Matthew made his way back through the market crowd, he'd lost track of time discussing the terms of his job, it was another 'removal' job again, a guard was becoming a nuisance by conducting some investigations that were getting a little annoying for his client, the pay was a little lacking but they had agreed to pay for any witnesses that had to be disposed of in the process, all that was left was to get around to completing the job, it would usually take less than a day, but circumstances refrained him from doing so for the time being, an action now would lead back to his client, however Matthew had been paid half up front to help pay for the expenses before he could effectively do anything so he wasn't about to refuse the job.

As he thought Matthew wandered through town, looking for a place to stay or at the very least have a drink, after a while he found himself walking into a place called the Old Mill, as usual several patrons turned to stare as he walked in, all of the interest being in his weapon, there were very few spears like his around and even less in the hands of mercenaries, Matthew walked up to the bar where a Keidran was speaking with the barman, he went and stood a little ways down the bar, leaned his spear against the bar and placed a few coins on the bar in front of him.

"A drink whenever you're ready." Matthew called, his thoughts going back to the job he'd received, he had a few days to waste, but Matthew was always pessimistic about how work would go, so he began planning for the kill, the information he'd been given by his client was fine, but there were always problems, best to plan ahead for any situation.

 

[Baldrek]

While Katja was waiting for the innkeeper to respond another patron entered the establishment. And while such a happening would normally not have garnered much attention from her, there was something about this person, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. She briefly looked over at the man as he walked up to the bar and presented a few coppers on the counter, there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary about him really, except for the unusually shaped spear he seemed to be carrying. Other than that he appeared like a pretty normal human, light skin, dark shoulder-length hair, about average height and build. He wore some slightly worn clothes, and had some pieces of armor here and there that didn't seem like they were all from the same set, or that they were never intended to be part of a greater set, and this resulted in her assigning him the role of mercenary in her mind. Still none of this seemed to address the issue of her slight discomfort, or perhaps just a bad feeling, about him. Deciding to push it from her mind, she focused all of her attention on the innkeeper again, waiting for his reply.



In a different part of the city from the Old mill a formerly low profile argument was quickly heating up between a couple of Keidran locals and a few humans of indeterminate origin. The current place for this flaming discussion was the establishment called the Black Bluebird, a place known by those who even knew it existed as the place to go for your regular watered-down swill, ill smelling spirits, and above all, a good brawl. And as the arguers appeared increasingly fervent in pointing out their counterparts disputable origins and improper upbringing (among other things) it seemed like the bar was about to live up to its reputation yet again.



Over at the city guard offices one of the clerks was currently busy writing out a new series of wanted posters for some of the guard stations around town. It was grueling slow and repetitive work, and his wrist had started to hurt from all the writing, but it was still an important job, or at least that's what he kept telling himself. Finishing up the latest poster he looked it over to make sure he had copied everything correctly before setting it aside for the ink to dry. It was surprising how many people had been wanted for assault lately, but the most peculiar thing about the cases was that assault often went hand in hand with mugging, but that hadn't been the case lately. Cracking his knuckles, he started on another copy, no time to slack when there were still seven copies to go after all.

 

[UnusualStranger]

Victor continued to let out a low growl as he continued to make his way through the crowds. The 6'2'' Basitin was growling not because of needing to get to somewhere quickly, but because the wound he had taken to his side was bleeding more than his meager medical bandages could handle. After killing his target in the alley, he had given himself a look over to find that in his fury of battle he had taken a deeper wound to his side, which was bleeding underneath the cloak he had taken from his target. It was dark enough, and thankfully red, which meant that the blood that did strike the cloak didn't show through. However, the blood loss was not welcome, and he needed to find a cleric in the stupid city. One that hopefully wouldn't ask any questions.

Course, the chances of finding one of those here shouldn't be too hard, but I need to make sure they are not going to try and charge me my arms for it.

Finally, straightening to try and see if he could find a hint of healers somewhere, he spotted someone dressed almost all in white. The black scarf around their neck made them stand out more, which Victor was quite thankful for as he growled a little louder when he had stood at full height, the wound not helping his situation as a few passing people looked at him, but quickly made their way elsewhere in order to avoid his glare as he looked about. Keeping his slow, steady, and careful pace, he approached the wandering healer, hoping that he wasn't wasting his time. Making sure to use his right hand, as his left was more or less used to hold the cloak obviously not made for his species or size, to tap the human on his shoulder.

"{Excuse...}Er....excuse me...I wonder if perhaps I could gather some assistance from you. It is a wound that likely needs some more....drastic attention." Victor said to the man, hoping this was the right way to go about asking for a healer's help away from the crowds.

 

[Dragon_of_red]

Matrim was becoming bored from wandering around the marketplace. Nothing happened. No dropped knives, no chocking on food, not even one scrapped knee. He sighed heavily, then someone tapped his shoulder. The sudden interest gave him a fright, as he was not expecting anything. He turned around quickly, and sighed in relief as the person tapping his shoulder wasn't some form of robber.

he looked at the bleeding through his cloak, and became worried quickly. He placed his hands on the wound and a small green glow cupped around his hands, flowing into the wound. The green light weaved through his body and the wound. Hos body began stitching it self back together, but at a fairly slow rate. "Damn, this may take a while" he said to the person he was healing, "We might want to take a seat... Of course I could make it faster for a small donation" he said slyly, having no intent on hiding his motives, he needed to eat tonight.

 

[UnusualStranger]

Victor was no stranger to this kind of behavior, and actually tended to encourage it. The man who had decided to give him the wound was luckily on his way to a market, meaning that there wouldn't be a shortage of funds....unless this particular cleric was greedy, in which case he might have to kill him later for robbing people in exchange for their lives.

"That would largely depend on how much faster it would be fixed, my good cleric." Victor said, somewhat annoyed that the wound had not been as well hidden, but it really could not be helped, and had at least gotten him this far.

"If the services and perks rendered are of excellent condition, then perhaps payment should be equally excellent. Though, claiming the superior service and not providing such is met in kind." Victor continued, hoping the warning was more apparent than he said.

Though, I doubt that this cleric has any work that would actually interest me, nor anything else I would need. Going to have to just do this on a whim in this city. Perhaps the thieves groups might offer some light on what is happening.

 

[Dragon_of_red]

"Oh trust me, The service is excellent in comparison to our free service. Much faster" Matrim said with a smile. "It just takes a lot more energy from us, so we reserve it for either the gravely injured or the ones who can pay" he continued, still smiling at him. "It's not that bad, just whatever you can feel like paying, though the more the quicker it is" he said with a chuckle, his hands were softly glowing green, getting ready to complete the healing. He his also hovered around one of his hidden blades, making it so that if this deal turns sour he has something to defend himself.

 

[UnusualStranger]

"Does it look like I'm in a hurry, cleric?" Victor said, his eyes easily catching the movements of the man as he was both healing and trying to prepare against a possible assault. Though Victor imagined the small amount of healing enough for him to quickly break the man's neck, it wasn't good character to do that to someone who hadn't attempted to cheat him.....yet.

Grabbing the small bag at his side which he had relieved from his latest victim, Victor peered into its contents, and decided the work was at least worth a silver, if not a few. Grabbing four silver out, he offered them to the cleric who had apparently dealt with his particular business before.

"This will be sufficient." Victor said, not leaving it to question. That was more than enough, though the money wasn't even his to begin with, he didn't want to just hand it all out.

 

[Lambi]

"[Yeah, I lived in a forest. It's all I've known. I just started traveling one day because I was curious about the world around me, and my travels brought me here.]" Arryn bounced a bit up and down, keeping her toes on the ground, lifting herself up with the tip of her feet whenever she bounced up. She wasn't used to standing still for too long unless on a hunt, and right now she wasn't on one, obviously.

"[I don't think I've seen anywhere to eat. I don't know if I'd know where to get something to eat, though...]" She rubbed the back of her head, then put her arms behind her back. "[I could use something to eat for myself, though.]" She was a little hungry, and she liked talking to this particular Keidran. Perhaps she was just glad someone had taken their time to actually talk to her. She flapped her shirt because it was so hot. She was being a little idiotic, standing outside in the sun like that instead of the shade.

 

[Baldrek]

Eventually receiving a reply from the old innkeeper along with a key for her room and the assurance that she would get a meat dish of some kind delivered to her table, Katja walked away from the counter and found herself a currently unoccupied table to sit down at. Prior to sitting down she removed her cloak and laid it over the back of her chair, just before resting her weapons against one of the table legs closest to her. As she was sitting down she looked over at the counter again, noticing that the other newcomer had gotten the drink he had ordered earlier.

Looking at the human mercenary for a bit longer in an attempt to find out what it was about him that made her uneasy, she eventually returned to thinking about what she should do next, after the meal.

 

[RBMidknight]

"[I'm sure we can find something. All these people have to eat somewhere.]" Jarrod nodded toward the crowd and then tilted his head toward a less-occupied area of the street. "[We could try to find something that way.]" He turned and made as if to start walking but paused. "[If you want to.]" he added. He was a bit curious about Arryn's life in the forest. If only to see how a free Keidran had lived. The axe handle that lightly thumped against Jarrod's leg as he turned was a physical reminder of his own 'forest life'. Jarrod took the step he had prepared and waited to see if his acquaintance would follow.

 

[Lambi]

Arryn walked up to Jarrod's side. "[Of course I'd want to. Just lead the way.]" There wasn't much else for her to say at the moment unless he asked her. She half skipped by his side while they walked. She was full of energy right now despite being a little hungry. The streets seemed to be fairly busy, but Arryn managed to stay by Jarrod's side.

 

[RBMidknight]

This RP has been ended by the GMs. Thanks to all of the players and participants. But stay tuned! A re-tooled thread may appear sometime in January.