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Post by Unter on Apr 1, 2018 12:14:48 GMT -8
A man, another worthy recruit.
Roard turned quickly, keeping his mighty cleaver away from the man. His breath pressed against the bandages newly wrapped around his lower face, and he looked down at the man. He piped up, although he did not speak very loud, his voice a crackly, damaged mess.
He waved politely, starting the sentence alongside it, "Yes. I intend to. I have two people on their way to join me. Do you wish to complete the team?" The sick man was a sight to behold ! Francois was impressed by the sheer... power his damaged voice held. Maybe it was the height, or the cleaver the man was using. It looked like he came from a children's tale, another Hercules waiting for absolution. He didn't smile at the man though. He almost never did. He looked right to left, avoiding the sight of Roard's blisters, and then stopped to say : "Yes, this seems like a worthy quest. I will complete your team." Francois did not seem to grasp the irony of his sentence. Fetching 3 mushrooms didn't look like something worthy of a knight, but hearing the Chevalier, it was a grand tale of valour and danger. Everyone convinces themselves however they can. "You already have two people, you say ? I don't see them anywhere. Perhaps I should meet them, if I am to go side by side in the Wolf's maw with them." Francois sure hoped Roard didn't find any stupid ruffian that would jeopardize their quest in search of futile wealth. The Light never granted absolution by Greed. |
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Post by Kidney on Apr 1, 2018 12:28:50 GMT -8
A recruit! A righteous knight!
Roard smiled underneath the bandages, a beautiful gesture, although covered by the bandages. He adjusted his cleaver, staring down at the man, although a slight unconscious hunch began to build in his posture. His eyes gleamed and his hand clenched in an adultlike control of childlike enthusiasm, and he looked around expectantly as if looking for someone smaller than him to an almost offensive count, looking down as if for a mouse.
"Hmmm, I wonder where he went. He left for the Abbey to retrieve the second person, although I fear he may take a bit."
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Post by black379 on Apr 1, 2018 18:57:11 GMT -8
Courcy had dozed off while she was perched at the base of the Ancestor's statue. Exhaustion from the prior week had caught up with her, overwhelming any sense to find a more private or proper resting place. In fitful sleep, she curled an arm about her shoulder to stifle a shiver as though a frozen hand clasped her there.
She woke with a start and blinked her eyes to regain her bearings. Looking right and then left, Courcy found herself alone, despite some sensation of estranged company. She was still awaiting the squire boy to fetch her as his 'martial trainer'.
The hellion sat up straighter and instead spotted Tilly loping toward her. Though she put on a smile, her eyes searched for Blood too.
"How did we do? Am I... settled? Or still bunking with the warden?" She added a chuckle to insist it was in jest.
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Post by Vanitypirate on Apr 1, 2018 19:17:24 GMT -8
With a grin, Tilly shook her head as she planted two hands on her hips.
"Madame Courcy," She began theatrically, with a flair of her hand, "You are a free woman."
Her smile wavered a tad, but she remained overall jovial as she continued, "...Mostly, that is; you're not free to leave the Estate, per se-- but I don't rightly know if anyone would stop you. So you're really not allowed to get caught leaving the Estate 'til you've done one other expedition."
Tilly's shoulders rose up and down in a shrug and good-naturedly extended a hand to assist Courcy in standing.
"Wanna share a dinner with me instead of bunking with the Warden?" She waggled her hand enticingly, "I don't drink like a fish like that George does."
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Post by black379 on Apr 1, 2018 20:03:07 GMT -8
"It's always one more isn't it?" Shouldering her halberd, Courcy took Tilly's hand and pulled herself up. Another glance was given each way, but apparently the ex-lord was still busy with something or other elsewhere.
"But I haven't got any other place to go anyway." She sighed and pursed her lips before looking down on the other woman with a sly gaze. The idea that less drink, and for that matter less sex, would win her over was almost laughable. Still, they had hardly talked since the beach, and Courcy meant to try to be better.
"I dunno... I could get real cozy with some drinks." The ginger squinted and smirked. "But, I think I owe you for some of the knife-throwing you did back there."
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Post by Vanitypirate on Apr 1, 2018 20:21:15 GMT -8
"Well, no. Not if you plan on continuing this sort of work." Tilly nodded to Courcy and then proceeded to brush off the front of her coat, as though preparing herself to enter the tavern. She truthfully did not admire the stench of it all, but Tilly, duty-bound, strode determinedly towards the entrance doors. "But, yes! The expedition." Already, the whole endeavor felt like ages ago. One hand slipped into her pocket as the other readied to open the door and let the two women inside. "Throwing knives are awfully convenient, but the raw power of that... whatever that is--" She looked over her shoulder and pointed limply at the halberd, "Why, I'd hate to be caught on the wrong end of that thing." She grinned and tipped her hat as she pulled the door opened and motioned for Courcy to follow inside, "Drinking's bloody expensive, and it's always more profitable to be clear-minded, I've found. How's it sound if we share a soup and see how that goes, instead?" [Tilly and Courcy enter the tavern!] |
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Post by black379 on Apr 1, 2018 20:44:00 GMT -8
"Soup is fine." She nodded, grateful that Tilly was offering a meal so that she wouldn't need to grovel for one. Courcy followed on her heels and slid inside the tavern. As uninviting as the stuffy bar was, she was glad to return to familiar territory. The faint smell of food and drink was alluring enough.
"You wouldn't even put a nick in the blade." Courcy teased, her finger gesturing to Tilly's stick-like frame from head to toe. The halberd was almost unwieldy in a crowd, but most everyone eased out of the way of such a weapon. She incidentally made a path for them toward the bar counter.
"So..." Tilly was maybe her closest friend, yet anxious about recent events, the redhead was resigned to talk of much. Men were much easier to deal with.
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Apr 2, 2018 7:21:57 GMT -8
/Lekalis/ He'd scant carved his way out to the Abbey steps when he'd heard running in the mud; Tilly bursting forth from an alley way to deliver a letter to a Courier. The Ex-Lord smiled and took a few steps towards her for a moment, before pausing as she engaged with Courcy who'd been waiting rather depressingly at the statue. She needed a friend right now, to celebrate... Especially considering his own tardiness on the matter, a thought that only intensified as he looked down to his satchel and patted the gold hidden within with some care. There wasn't much on his mind of late... Not that there wasn't substance, rather, a lack of will. A quaint note to think on, as he ascended the steps to the Abbey. A place for prayer, and recollection. Yet he'd done fabulously without it; the last few months had him take steps towards a Life he thought never to have. He almost tagged 'again' on that moniker, but he'd never had a child before... Or so he hoped. If Tilly was with child, he wondered what other dame now nursed a babe of dark hair and dark eyes. The thought wasn't pleasant, and he felt his heart sink to his bowels as he wrung his hands nervously in the cold. Recollection indeed was what he needed in this hour, this mindless bliss was more laden with terrors than he'd ever realized. Not that it was utterly bliss, in the moment he held fears of Tilly's mortality and overall well-being... But there were greater things to think on than just the next step. He almost scolded himself for letting the momentum of running keep his mind asway in the breeze. A bitterness brewed in his gut now, that boiled his heart up to its proper chakra. He needed to get back to thinking, back to fixing his own problems before assuming new ones. Part of him had a mind to make a brew of saffron or tansy for her. But he was hesitant to bring that knowledge to her... As to why, he wasn't sure. He sighed, coaxing some stress from his brow as he reached the pinnacle of the Abbey steps and made his way to the door. For now, he needed to focus on the Amulet... Removing its maladies. He could rather quickly round up the Schwarz with either booze or gold to build his house, set Tilly to find a person to draw up plans for the house, or at least the cellar... Or he could do it himself. Tonight still had some hours to it yet, after all. Florence would be a good aide in that department... Her assumed quarters in the Archives would be quiet enough. A foul loathing sparked in the back of his mind; of how many troubles arose from his dalliance with Tilly. He'd dreamt of these occurrences of marriage and family, but that was well before his lands had burnt to cinder, before his troubles with a curse had damned his soul to some tenebris place. And what a foul man was he to hold her to this situation? He'd told her there were means to remove the child... Had he? The memories he held with Tilly felt ever more ephemeral, the more he tried to grab at them, the more they faded... Kisses and embraces, murmurs in the night and battles they shared held together like ice in his mind; yet, the words were gone... they melted from the memories, with his contemplation being the flame. Alone, there were mere feelings and sensations. It all seemed meaningless. They were running down a long stairwell, with every fleeting step threatening to topple them and send them both to their demise at the bottom. With his hand on the Abbey door, the thought sapped the strength from his arms like a plague. Even as he pressed his brow to the woody surface, his neck was like wet paper. He moved his hands to his brow, to cover his eyes and wipe the moisture of the door away as he took a step back and shouldered open the door. As those hands pulled away from his face, wiping down it morosely; he felt tears on his fingertips. \Lekalis leaves to The Abbey \ |
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Post by Unter on Apr 2, 2018 11:07:02 GMT -8
Francois looked at the abbey in a thoughtful manner. It was better to look at the decrepit building than Roard's decrepit body. He couldn't smell anything, but he was sure the man oozed an insidious odour.
"Let us meet them at once, then. We should not lose precious sunlight."
He departed in a disciplined manner, very military like. Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot and so on. His boots were making "splosh splosh" sounds in the mud, making the thing somewhat comical.
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Post by Kidney on Apr 2, 2018 11:17:22 GMT -8
Enthusiasm!
Roard departed with the man on steady, bloated legs. He swayed just slightly in his gate, as usual. His eyes, however, remained at the Abbey, and although a tinge of doubt hit him, he continued with the knight.
It was a proper time for a greeting. "My name is Roard of Badger's Cross. Yours?"
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Post by Unter on Apr 2, 2018 11:20:44 GMT -8
Francois didn't look at the blight ridden man. Now, he would keep it an habit to avoid looking at him.
"My name is François Louis Xavier de Paladines. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
His french accent rose like a reef in the english language. He was proud of his country, and proud to represent it well inside this foreign agglomerate of thieves, beggars and madmen. And even bearer of the plague, apparently.
The Abbey was still far away, maybe 10 minutes of march at most. A little conversation couldn't hurt.
"Why are you here, Roard of Badger's Cross ?"
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Post by Kidney on Apr 2, 2018 11:44:05 GMT -8
Conversation! Apparent like! This was exciting!
Roard remained pleasantly surprised! He smiled wide underneath the bandages, his hefty blade creaking against his chest plate, and he responded quickly and politely, although a low volume. He raised a hand to his chest, tapping a bandaged hand against it, "I wish to cure myself of this ailment, one of which will strike me blind, then strike me dead."
He seemed sincere, but oddly solemn, accepting of the possibility.
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Post by Vanitypirate on Apr 2, 2018 14:15:30 GMT -8
/Lekalis/ Again, he sighed. A touch of irritation this time as he listened to her unbidden devotion, he wanted to get mad at her for being so difficult, but that same irritating devotion had him smile and his chest swelled with happiness. He knew it made her happy... "Come, let's walk." He beckoned her now and pushed open the Abbey doors, "Why do you want to assist me?" He asked, before waiting on Florence to pass on through to the Hamlet Streets... \\ --- Florence shuffled along, down the abbey's stair with Lekalis. Already the crate started to weigh on her arms, but it was a touch more manageable if she hoisted it onto her hip, typically well-hidden behind layers of protective cloth. She took careful steps down the stairs. "I am your doctor." She answered simply. "And it pleases me to see you thrive." |
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Apr 2, 2018 16:11:26 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
"Y-yes but... Why do you want to see me thrive?" He insisted, pressing on and quickly to Florence's side, trotting down and constantly vying for her attentions, inbetween taking the Abbey steps down to the muddy ground.
His persistence amplified enough, his yearning high enough, that he reached out and grabbed her by the arm. Not enough to stop her but he squeezed her gently to, desperately perhaps, get her attentions...
\\
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Post by Unter on Apr 3, 2018 12:40:20 GMT -8
Ah, the man was here for selfish reasons then. They were all here for something, after all. But even so, his death may provide good for this world. His death may shield Francois so the knight can deliver a righteous blow to a foul beast.
"Ah, I see. Do tell me, have you seen the holy bearer of the Flame, the vestals ? Their faith bestow upon them healing powers, and they may be able to do something for you. But you should consider another cure : An honourable death may be preferable to a life of malady and decay. Choose wisely. We do not always have this chance."
They were approaching the abbey now, the wooden doors open in welcome of all believers. He wondered how his other teammates looked like.
"Let us meet them now. Lead the way, Roard."
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