The Seven Assassins (Fantasy RP)(Started, Closed)

[drmigit2]

Larsel watched the two guardsmen bicker with one another. The note was short and strange. It wasn't how he normally did business, Larsel wasn't the kind to be shady. It wasn't really needed with his typical intimidation and high profile. People usually just kind of came to him with stacks of gold and said "Handle it.", and either he or his men did. It was quite simple, something was off about this guy. Larsel didn't like it at all.

"Hey Brady" Larsel began in a somber voice, he was thinking now, not being boastful. "I am going in the city, and if you try to stop me, I will throw you off the bridge." Larsel, hulk of a man he was, began walking in, staring at the note. Four days huh, how interesting.

 

[JaceArveduin]

Felldryt grabbed his food, tossing the stick of bread in the stew so that he could raise his hand.
"Oh, I'm joining!" Hopping off the stool, and landing with a thud, he drug the stool near the guard. Clambering back up it, he pulled the bread back out and happily munched on it, doing half circles on the stool so that he could continue to look at the guard.

 

[Malbourne]

For a second Kaddika thought he'd gotten away with his nondescript entrance. While the people in the tavern were chatting away, he had sidled along the wall and slipped behind one of the columns. He pressed himself close to the mahogany grain, trying to catch a hint of what they were all here for.

"If anyone else wishes to join us, feel free to."

That man in the intimidating armour was talking. Kaddika's breath caught in his throat, hoping he hadn't been noticed after all. So far their sizable group consisted of the young soldier, that girl in the dress, the creepy short guy messily dissecting his bread, the old man that had just walked in, and the...lizard. He hastily debated the chance these people were inviting him into the conversation just to bait him into stabby-range.

"Um, what exactly is it you want us to do?"

Kaddika decided he might be able to hide behind the column the entire time while the group continued talking. Although, the busy chewing of the tiny man reminded him he hadn't any meal for a while now, as did his growling stomach.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Not wishing to leave the Inquisitor alone for long, Marcelle ducked into the tavern, and scanned the room for him. Once she found him, she ordered two waters and headed his way.

"Thirsty, officer?" she said, taking care to look as if she were minding her step. "I just wanted to apologize for bumping into you and your friend back there."

She offered him a glass.

"Don't worry, it's just water," she said, still not taking the spot on the wall next to him. Not ready to push that angle just yet. Didn't seem it would work. Besides, the guy looked old enough to be her grandfather. "I'm Marcelle Mauri. Have you heard anything about the break-ins in the area?"

 

[Quintley]

"Thirsty, officer?

Marlocke had been intently following the discussion at the table - no, no, DON'T recruit the mad fairy - and was annoyed at the interruption.
"What? I'm not -" She pressed a glass into his hand. He took it, a little confused, but didn't drink. He looked at her, there was something familiar - ah, the young woman from outside.

"I'm Marcelle Mauri. Have you heard anything about the break-ins in the area?"

Break-ins? That's hardly unusual in this district. Unless she's referring to... Marlocke didn't recognise the name, and she didn't appear to be wearing any obvious uniform or insignia.
Keeping his voice down so he could still hear the talk from the table, he said "Inquisitor Marlocke. You are not a guard. Or are you with...?" He gestured towards Dareon.

 

[Josh123914]

"Um, what exactly is it you want us to do?" he heard Telesse ask.
''I'm assembling a team. I'd like you're help, AS WELL AS OTHERS'' he said, calling into the shadows, Dareon knew some of the recruits must be hiding amongst them, that or he's merely chasing off stray cats.''For a job, it involves people with wit, cunning and skills in deduction'' He looked over at Felldyrt. ''You might want to tone it down'' He knew the fairy wouldn't change, it seems like the kind that would follow the group anyway even if rejected. Besides that, Dareon could always use him as a decoy.

''The job is to track down a few killers. The pay is good, and depending on your skills the job could be finished very quickly. You in?''
He couldn't give away too much, who knows who could be listening....

-------

Embassy Towers
''I'm having a team assembled, outside of the Agency to handle this. Officer Alexandre's in charge of it'' Tasina explained calmly. However Idarion wasn't complacent.
''Dareon? That.... novice? He stopped an assassination before yes, but luck and skill aren't the same, and outside the Agency?''
Tasina nodded, before Idarion glanced at her nearby table. It was lined in files and papers corresponding to active missions. The Snow Elf picked up a sheet and glared at it. ''Outside the Agency? Hmph'' He snorted, showing her the dossier of one Jaerus Marlocke.
''You have an Inquisitor from Mastiff in there, explain.''
Tasina scrunched her face up and puzzled for a moment. ''I didn't choose the dossiers, don't shift this on me, besides its our Agency that could have spies, not Mastiff'' she said, hoping her little lie at the start was bought.

Idarion moved to the shallow balcony nearby. ''I don't think you understand how important this assignment is.''
''I do-''
Idarion raised his hand to silence her, walking back to her ominously ''These killings have all been high ranking officials, and do you know what I am? A high ranking official. Without me half of our agency's external operations would be crippled. So tell me, do you want me dead?''
He gave her a look as so he didn't need a response. ''Because they might, and I enjoy living.''

 

[booksv2]

Nodding at the bartender when he mentioned fish he drinks some more of the wine and grabs the cooked fish that is set before him, tearing it apart easily with his claws and eating it quickly. Everything on the plate gone in minutes.

I'm assembling a team. I'd like you're help, AS WELL AS OTHERS. For a job, it involves people with wit, cunning and skills in deduction. You might want to tone it down. The job is to track down a few killers. The pay is good, and depending on your skills the job could be finished very quickly. You in?

Looking over at this man talking. All this talk about cunning and skills and all making him interested. Turning in his stool to watch this man, looking him over.

"How good is good pay?"

 

[King Kazma]

Ferik drew a dagger from the back of his belt and a small slip of red backed paper from one of his pants pockets. The paper bore some official business that he was assigned by persons above those here for the duty of tracking the assassins and assisting the Inquisitor in the duties of doing so. Ferik attached the note to the daggers end and hid it behind his sleeve. A helping push off with he free hand set him on his feet. It was a short walk to reach him. All nonchalantly acting as if he was just going to walk by to make for the door. The dagger came round in his hand and in a flash had near shaven the Inquisitor but instead was brought around to eye level so he could see the note. "My, my. You must be more careful in the dragons den good sir". Ferik dropped the dagger to the bar top. The blade tip bit into the wood easily. "My papers, for your eyes". The hooded man folded his arms and took a step back from him.

 

[JaceArveduin]

"of course I'm in!" Felldryt said in an excited whisper. It really wasn't any quieter than what he'd said before, but it at least looked like he put effort into being quieter. Thinking for a second, he asked "Can I just bash baddies? Nobody ever seems to like it when I deduce things."

 

[Quintley]

Marlocke's train of thought was interrupted - again - by a knife apparently materialising in front of him. Startled, he sprang back, dropping the water that the woman had given him.

"My, my. You must be more careful in the dragons den good sir."

The dagger's owner was a tall, hooded man who, from the look of him, was no average thug. Although he did seem to be accompanied by a few average thugs. The Inquisitor wondered, not for the first time, whether it had really been a good idea to send his guards home.

"My papers, for your eyes."

With as much dignity as he could muster (and trying not to think about the alternative connotations of what the man had said) Marlocke gingerly took the paper attached to the dagger.

 

[TheDoctor455]

"Inquisitor Marlocke. You are not a guard. Or are you with...?"

A simple question, but not the kind that Marcelle had gotten this far answering lightly. She covertly studied Marlocke's mannerisms and facial expressions. He did not seem to be suspicious, only startled and somewhat irritated. Ground that needed to be tread carefully, of course, but not too much to worry about.

"Oh, no" she said, offhandedly, as if no time had passed, "I'm not working with Dareon. Not at the moment anyway. I have worked with your department before on occasion, however. Right now, I'm just looking into some of the more open-and-shut break-in cases. Oh, forgive me, sir, I almost forgot."

She held a slip of paper for him to take.

"My card," she explained, "Marcelle Mouri, private detective. As I said, I've helped your department out in the past. Though I'm sure we've never met before, your superiors, understandably, don't like to acknowledge when they've been forced to get outside help."

She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper after 'private detective'.

"I haven't yet been allowed anywhere near the crime scenes, so for the moment, all I have to work with is second-hand information; but I've heard the same core details over and over again. The break-ins were loud and obvious. There was no attempt at subtlety: broken windows, doors ripped out of their frames... and yet, pretty much nothing of any real value was ever taken: maybe a ribbon here, and a cheap pocket watch there, but nothing worth all of the effort." she paused to let that sink in for a moment. "I'm looking into this for some... interested parties who prefer to remain nameless for the time being, and would be happy to pool information with you and your department on these cases."

 

[Josh123914]

"How good is good pay?"
Dareon pulled out a small pouch of gold coins and slid it across the table towards the lizard.
''One for the start, and another pouch for each assassin we catch.''

Telesse handled the pouch. She was a relatively well off merchant, but this type of gold could set her up for months. Another couple of these and she may never need to work again. ''So you're just carrying piles of gold around. Alright, bring one here'' she said, tossing the small cache back to the beastman.

-------

Tasina was beginning to lose interest, but Idarion wasn't done chastising her just yet.
''What is the problem with your division's expenditure? What's this? 2000 gold Danari towards the assassin case? We may have senate funding but not to catch 7 proposed criminals?'' Tasina shrugged and began to explain. ''You wanted the best there were to hunt down these people, besides that, how much coin would YOU put on the lives of the 3 Chancellors that are dead? I would have spent more but...''
Idarion glared. ''Yes, you remembered that you still have people to pay, and an organisation to finance.''
''Aside from that, why not multiple teams? Each of the Ambassadors' methods of death were different, but the Chancellors were all the same- A burn mark to the torso.''
That Tasina couldn't answer. She could have told him that her organisation may be infiltrated, and thus can't handle an operation that big, but then again if she did, he'd overreact, and any hope of catching a spy or a mole would be lost.

 

[Malbourne]

''One for the start, and another pouch for each assassin we catch.''

The soldier had just produced more gold than Kaddika had ever seen in his life. Just the fact that nobody was attempting to shiv him for the money set the snow elf slightly more at ease.

"So you're just carrying piles of gold around. Alright, bring one here."

Kaddika felt himself breaking into a cold sweat as numerous unsettling thoughts swam through his mind: If the soldier gave him gold, he might be contractually obligated to join this little group. Was this a set-up? Were there organizations in the city that pressured newcomers into non-negotiable business deals like this one?

More people had streamed into the tavern when the man had begun talking. Kaddika felt that if he didn't make his position known now, there'd be no backing out of this. Sucking in a deep breath, Kaddika slowly stepped out from behind the pillar and approached the bar, addressing the young speaker.

"Um, um, listen..." He began sweating even more when he realized he hadn't planned out a speech, and the next words poured from his mouth unbidden and without waiting for a reaction. "Uh, I'd like to opt out of this...group meeting, before I have to sign anything or, um, s-something. So, if there's more of this," he added, snatching the pouch of gold from the lizardman. The heft of the pouch took him by surprise. "Wow, um, w-well, if there's more of this, I-I don't want any part of it. I mean, I think you got the wrong guy. Your note, maybe it was meant for somebody else? I mean, I mean, what could a doctor do f-for you anyway..."

He trailed off, embarrassed, and laughed weakly as he waited for the man to say something.

 

[Quintley]

This doesn't make sense. Marlocke read the note again, then turned back to the hooded man.
"What is the meaning of this?" He brandished the paper. "This says that you are supposed to assist my-er, our investigation. I've heard nothing of this - who are you? Who are you working for?"

On his other side, the girl - Marcelle - was casually rambling on, apparently uninterested in the rather threatening newcomer. Maybe this kind of thing happened all the time to individuals of lesser importance.
She offered a card, which he took. His office had made use of private investigators a few times in the past - at the very least, they were expendable - but he had not seen this woman before. Marlocke wasn't sure if he believed her story - his superiors certainly withheld information from him on occasion, but they weren't the kind to trouble themselves with hiring outside help directly...

"...I'm looking into this for some...interested parties who prefer to remain nameless for the time being, and would be happy to pool information with you and your department on these cases."

Keeping an eye on the hooded man, Marlocke replied. "I'm afraid I cannot help you. Currently I am investigating a string of recent murders of high-ranking officials, and I cannot concern myself, or my department, with some mere burglaries."

 

[booksv2]

One for the start, and another pouch for each assassin we catch.

Catching the pouch when it is thrown to him Rekta opens the pouch and rummages through it.

Um, um, listen... Uh, I'd like to opt out of this...group meeting, before I have to sign anything or, um, s-something. So, if there's more of this, Wow, um, w-well, if there's more of this, I-I don't want any part of it. I mean, I think you got the wrong guy. Your note, maybe it was meant for somebody else? I mean, I mean, what could a doctor do f-for you anyway...

Looking up when the person next to him snatchs it out of his hand Rekta flicks his tail catching the hand holding the pouch and making it pop out of his hand. Catching it from the air Rekta sits back down and bares some fang at this man.
"If you want to look at a pouch get another from him, already this has been taken from me and once given it is mine. Find your own."

Sorting it slightly with his claw he pulls two out and lays the on the table, taking an arrow and scoring the face of the coin he nods and pockets everything again. Slipping the pouch into his quiver and pushing it down to the bottom under the arrows. Looking at this man giving out so much gold. Waiting for him to answer the question given by one of the gold takers.

 

[Josh123914]

Your note, maybe it was meant for somebody else? I mean, I mean, what could a doctor do f-for you anyway..
Dareon, unphased, gave a look over the Snow elf and grinned, ''No, you're who I'm after. Kaddika. You fill out our medical role. If someone loses an arm or a leg, you're our man. Not to mention your Ice abilities, or the fact that nightime snooping for you should be easy, you being a Snow elf and all.''

Telesse sat there for a moment, shaking the notion of all the gold for a moment, only to imagine losing an arm or a foot. Shivering.

 

[JaceArveduin]

"Gold? I like gold! But can I have a magic stone instead? Maybe a magic marble, one that can take me anywhere!"

Felldryt begin to spin the stool at a rapid rate and laugh, before his sword finally overbalanced him and he fell to the floor. His laugh continued, though was somewhat stifled from hitting his, as he rolled over and sat where he fell.

 

[ImSkeletor]

Hrothius Tenator walked up the dock in his default state of buzzed. He was laughing to himself about the oddness of what he was doing. Following some vague letter promising work that he very much didn't need. But it sounded like a challenge he had not yet faced and a chance to meet some fellow warriors. There were several kind things to say about the man but "humble" was not one of them. Not in the slightest. In fact he was wearing his full gladiatorial costume in the hopes to be recognized by some awestruck fan. Though he was a long way from home and the arena, but he had been touring the lands spreading his good name. It was his first time stepping within this great city. He found himself struck by the scope of what he was walking into.

The door opened in the tavern and Hrothius shaped his hands into an imaginary trumpet. "Introducing "Rex Gladiatores"Hrothius Tenator!" He smacked the bar and proclaimed, "Everybody's food and drink is going to be paid by me while I'm here!" He looked over,squinting, at the odd variety of creatures and people sitting next to him and said, "Greetings!" Waving his hand revealing a gnarled pinky and ring finger awkwardly wrapped together.

 

[TheDoctor455]

For the time being, Marcelle decided to simply observe as events unfolded around her. This meeting was proving to be somewhat interesting, what with cloaked figures apparently appearing out of nowhere. Besides, it would be useful for her to listen in on an Inquisitor meeting... assuming everyone there didn't really mind her presence, or at least forgot.

 

[Josh123914]

"Everybody's food and drink is going to be paid by me while I'm here!"
Telesse cringed, there must be at least 20 people here, not counting their own little group, what is this man thinking?
''Dareon, he's not joining is he, please tell me, this is a bad idea, oh please...''

Dareon flipped through the dossiers and found one Hrothius Tenator. ''Nng-nope, he's in, we don't particularly need him, but assuming a plan goes awry he'd at least be able to create a suitable distraction.''

-------

''A gladiator? For a low profile mission....what am I funding your division for again?'' Tasina watched as he leaned against the smooth marble pillar to the left of her desk. It wasn't load-bearing, but many offices of her size prop ones like them up to feign the grandeur of larger rooms.
''You can take a seat if you want'' she motioned to the scribe's desk to the right of the room. Idarion shook his head defiantly.

''He won't be an issue. His comfort zone is half a world away, probably near The Grange* from my guess. Either way, most here would just consider him a loud mercenary. Besides, that group could use a heavy lifter''

Spoiler: Profile: The Grange (not required)

The Grange is a large area of land hundreds of kilometres west of the Bay. It is on the north side of where the Grand river begins to widen and eventually pour into the Sea of Gareler. It has a generally temperate climate, with a predominantly Human population, with a sizable Beastlander minority. Much of the areas terrain is green grassland and sloping hills, but towards the south of it is largely marshes and bogs.
Its people tend to be quite chivalrous and its many kingdoms frequently bicker and fight amongst one another.

If someone is considered brutish or overly arrogant. The Bay populous would make reference to them coming from there. The Bay populous does this as a way to sort of look down on them, after centuries of being dragged into their conflicts when the Bay was still largely made up of City States. The Grange people however usually won't pick up the subtext, and many of them consider the label as a sign of strength.
Of course, rarely do you find a common Grange citizen outside of their territory due to many of their people holding fierce loyalty to whichever tribe, clan, house, town or kingdom they hail from.