Segev Stormlord
GM, 691 posts
Wed 16 Jul 2014
at 02:54 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades As the soldiers return to near-full functionality thanks to the medical attentions of one of the most skilled healers in Creation (and doubtless spurred to act more energetic than they otherwise might by two beautiful women in their midst), Beatrix's prisoners gain quite the ring of guards, just in case she wants to relax her own watch over them a bit.
The hostility of the humans towards the beastmen is palpable enough that even these bravado-spewing, monstrous-looking creatures look obviously...nervous.
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Merlin
player, 407 posts
If you knew he
would have to kill you
Wed 16 Jul 2014
at 15:16 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades In reply to Segev Stormlord (msg # 67):
Merlin meanwhile goes out and about on the battle field making sure people are death and their riches are obtained. He has taken off his armor and is dressed in a cloak with the hood drawn.
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Segev Stormlord
GM, 692 posts
Thu 17 Jul 2014
at 01:02 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades The beastman corpses are picked clean of nearly everything of value; the nature of the battle's end, with no sally from the palisade save for Beatrix and Merlin's, left the survivors time to rummage through the property of the fallen. Still, scattered here and there are a few things which catch Merlin's more trained eye. Most in the form of lone silver dinars dropped or strewn far enough from an eye-catching body to be missed by the scavengers.
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Merlin
player, 408 posts
If you knew he
would have to kill you
Thu 17 Jul 2014
at 23:45 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades In reply to Segev Stormlord (msg # 69):
Merlin returns with his findings for the Duke, reporting what he think was taken off the battlefield based on the number of enemy dead.
"It would seem that their raiding ways were with them even in retreat."
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Segev Stormlord
GM, 694 posts
Fri 18 Jul 2014
at 02:58 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades The Duke rubs the bridge of his nose. "They are a rapacious, savage lot. Would that we could hunt them down and drive them from the region. But we should instead count our blessings that their terrible master does not sweep down to join their assaults on our fair kingdom."
Salf, for his part, keeps glancing impatiently Beatrix's direction. He asks Merlin, "When do we execute those beastmen? Why'd she want prisoners?"
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Merlin
player, 409 posts
If you knew he
would have to kill you
Fri 18 Jul 2014
at 05:24 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades In reply to Segev Stormlord (msg # 71):
Merlin smiles at him, "They have many uses, if just for slaves, but in this case I believe she is after information. Wisdom is obtaining knowledge and then using it."
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Azalea
player, 173 posts
Sat 19 Jul 2014
at 05:25 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades
Azalea frowns slightly.
"No one is getting executed, I hope. We should not punish the rank and file for bad leadership."
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Segev Stormlord
GM, 695 posts
Wed 23 Jul 2014
at 23:59 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades "Yeah," says one of the demons who built the palisade of fire. "We punish them for trying to steal our eye candy!" He slaps a hammer into his palm with a grinding clank.
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Merlin
player, 410 posts
If you knew he
would have to kill you
Fri 25 Jul 2014
at 20:58 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades In reply to Segev Stormlord (msg # 74):
Merlin nods to Azalea and shakes his head at the demons, leaving them for the Lady to deal with. He heads off to a tent and gets some well deserved rest. The cares of the last few days drift away as he does himself.
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Beatrix LeSchaye
player, 397 posts
Solar
Zenith
Thu 14 Aug 2014
at 01:05 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades Beatrix sits down in front of the captured beastmen in the area where they are being held. She takes a long, leisurely drink of water before she begins to speak. "So. I understand that you men of the tribes have developed a recent fondness for gold, and for the things that can be had with gold. That is well. I have developed a recent desire to know certain things about the goings-on within your tribes. I believe we can come to an agreement. You will tell me everything I want to know, to the best of your ability. If you do not know something, you will tell me of anyone you know who might. Do this, and not only will I allow you to live (as previously stated), but I will, if I am very happy with your answers, give you gold. The person who gives the most informative answers gets the most gold. Naturally," she says, waving the red-hot tip of her sword close enough to the noses of the beastmen for the heat to be felt, "if you refuse to answer I will still hurt you. But wouldn't you rather get what you want, instead?"
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Segev Stormlord
GM, 700 posts
Thu 14 Aug 2014
at 01:08 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades The prisoners snort and exchange glances that reveal the whites of their eyes. The light froth forming at the sides of their mouths betrays to any with a knowledge of animal husbandry that they are rather frightened. Still, an avaricious tone is in the wolf-headed one's voice as it yips, "What do you want to know?"
The goat seems to be trying to decide what to say, but nods in agreement with the wolf anyway.
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Beatrix LeSchaye
player, 398 posts
Solar
Zenith
Thu 14 Aug 2014
at 01:13 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades "Let's start with the people you are capturing. Where are you taking them? I presume you are selling them somewhere. Once you have the money from the sales, where does it go? Do you spend it at the same place, or somewhere else? Is there anyone to whom you owe a share?"
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Segev Stormlord
GM, 701 posts
Thu 14 Aug 2014
at 02:48 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades "We make regular tribute to Lord Ma-Ha-Suchi," says the wolf-headed one. The goat-headed one adds, "but the Nextrade Consortium pays well for extras. We don't give away money; we KEEP it," he finishes as if that were the most obvious thing in the world.
"It's not like we're short-changing Lord Ma-Ha-Suchi. Just showing..." he reaches for a word, which the wolf-headed one supplies, "--initiative!"
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Beatrix LeSchaye
player, 399 posts
Solar
Zenith
Fri 29 Aug 2014
at 00:31 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades "I see," says Beatrix hesitantly as she digests that. Knowing that the Nextrade Consortium is a problem player, she tries getting more information out of that, but eventually finds that the beastmen know nothing else of worth. She decides to pay them and send them on their way.
After they have left - it may take a bit of doing to convince the troops to let them leave alive - she turns to Merlin. "I'm sorry that took so long," she says, "But I had to be certain that they knew nothing more. And they were..." she sighs. "Slow, shall we say. Hopefully they move swifter than they think."
"If I'm right, and it should not be a difficult guess, they will next be going to wherever their contact is. They have money in their pockets and will seek to spend it. I believe their contact will be one or more representatives of the Nextrade Consortium, a trading group who departed Trademeet to begin operations in Nexus. I would like to know where they are. Would it be too much to ask that you follow them?"
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Segev Stormlord
GM, 706 posts
Thu 4 Sep 2014
at 22:53 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades The beastmen do, indeed, head off, slinking away cautiously at first but becoming more animated even before getting out of earshot of the camp.
Ned, Hun, and Poe help Azalea with a second set of rounds, but the soldiers are mostly healed by now and are working on breaking camp to head back to the castle. Young Freverick is idling very busily between interacting with the other youngsters and hearing tales of Sir Vaniel's part in the fight. He seems to regret that he was unable to participate. His brother wouldn't have approved.
The little goat boy seems to be uneasy about this whole situation. "Did this drive off the beastmen forever, Miss Azalea?" he asks. "Are you and Mister Merlin and Miss LeSchaye done in Falan now? Do you think Mister Merlin would teach me how to defend myself?"
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Azalea
player, 175 posts
Fri 5 Sep 2014
at 21:55 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades
Others might take note of those that were heavilly injured and are fine now, but Azalea is taking account of the dead, so she is wearing an abstractly sad expression. She does force a little smile when she's asked, though.
"I don't know. I think they'll stay away for a while, at least, but their leader wasn't here, which means his motives likely haven't changed. I don't know where we're going next, though.
As for Merlin teaching you, well, you don't lose anything from asking, do you? Come on."
And with that, she heads towards Merlin for Ned to ask what he needs.
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Segev Stormlord
GM, 712 posts
Fri 19 Sep 2014
at 02:07 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades It's been a couple of hours, long enough for a sleep cycle, when Beatrix is finished with her interrogations and Azalea and the others come looking for Merlin. They all arrive at about the same moment at the tent Merlin commandeered, just as he finishes waking from his nap.
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Merlin
player, 415 posts
If you knew he
would have to kill you
Sat 20 Sep 2014
at 14:35 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades The rings under his eyes, that nobody even knew about earlier, seem to have faded to mere smudges. Looking at all of them, "Oh my, all for me?"
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Azalea
player, 176 posts
Sun 21 Sep 2014
at 05:09 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.
Ned wanted to ask you something, though."
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Merlin
player, 416 posts
If you knew he
would have to kill you
Tue 23 Sep 2014
at 04:31 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades In reply to Azalea (msg # 85):
"Please do young son of the Duke," Merlin asks in an inviting tone. He leans forward to heard what the young prince would ask.
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Segev Stormlord
GM, 713 posts
Tue 23 Sep 2014
at 22:44 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades Ned peers nervously out from behind Azalea, his straw dome of a hat failing to be hidden behind her garb but concealing the chagrin on his face rather thoroughly. "I'm sorry, Mister Merlin, Sir. I'm just a goatherd. But, um. You were training that guard from Oredol in some martial arts, Sir, and I was wondering if maybe I could train with you, too? So I can protect my goats better, sir."
Salf, for his part, chuckles as he walks in. Resting a hand affectionately on the shorter boy's hat, the youth with the red eye - though it was starting to drain a bit, leaving the upper half white around the dark brown iris - added, "Though if I could learn some fundamentals from the man who slew so many beastmen so effortlessly, I, too, would be grateful."
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Merlin
player, 417 posts
If you knew he
would have to kill you
Fri 26 Sep 2014
at 21:14 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades In reply to Segev Stormlord (msg # 87):
"I think that a small class would be excellent. The students then have sparing partners, which is always useful."
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Segev Stormlord
GM, 714 posts
Sun 5 Oct 2014
at 00:32 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades And so Merlin began teaching a small class the ways of Martial Arts. When his duties to Beatrix didn't require him elsewhere, Hun joined in, as well. Poe seemed less interested. Freverick, the young patrician sibling to Sevastian, also seeks to join in.
The delegation from Trademeet was asked to stay a few days so that Duke Lothus could have a formal banquet to thank them for their prompt response; Watch Hill would need that long to recuperate from the unexpectedly difficult repulsion of the beastmen (in particular the demon attack). The Harrenhal leer regularly at Beatrix and Azalea, making what they likely think are innuendos, but with veils thinner than they wish the objects thereof were wearing.
For however long Merlin chooses to keep his class together, he finds it easiest to teach the young guardsman; there's just something familiar about it, as if both master and student know the questions the other will ask, whether rhetorical or not, as easily as they know the answers. Ned is an avid student, sticking at it with a dedication as firm as that with which he sought his goat when it was lost. He gets it wrong more often than most beginning students, and works best when partnered with Azalea or the twin princes. The princes, for their part, are mediocre students, having other duties and having more interest in hanging out with Hun, Freverick, Ned, and Azalea than learning. Still, they do follow instruction well, treating Merlin like an armsmaster, and they are a good influence on Freverick, keeping the boy engaged.
((OOC: Please describe what your characters do in the next 3-5 days while there's time to relax. If you wouldn't stay for it, also speak up; you can RP that out in your private rooms in the castle if you like. I just want an idea of what you're up to and whether you're staying for a bit or heading off somewhere immediately, please. I'll be starting a new thread shortly to move us on when I know whether you're sticking around here or have elsewhere to be.))
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:37, Sun 05 Oct 2014.
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Azalea
player, 177 posts
Sun 5 Oct 2014
at 21:49 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades
Azalea does participate in the martial arts classes, and with a peculiar level of interest - at least for someone so uninterested in war and combat as she seems to be. Then again, she does seem to favor defense and disabling tactics like throws or pins, rather than strikes.
During almost every other time, she is busy with medicine; examining the ill or wounded, making sure people recuperate properly, regathering spent supplies, and so on.
Of course, she also cooks for the small group of people she knows better, too, when she can, and those meals are often quite inventive, considering the ingredients at hand - who knew a sauce so tasty could be made with milk, flour and salt.
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Merlin
player, 418 posts
If you knew he
would have to kill you
Sat 11 Oct 2014
at 22:34 | Re: Battle at the Fire Pallisades Merlin makes sure that the training times are in the morning or the evening, leaving himself about 8 hours in the middle of the day to do his own training and mediating. He has some fighting dummies make out of wood, to his specifications. These he uses for the students to practice on their own time.
Per+MA
17:31, Sat 11 Oct 2014: Merlin rolled 7 successes using 10d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 ((6,8,2,10,1,10,7,6,3,8)).
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Dice Roller|
Game Info|
The Cast