Mordugrad IC

[BiSmiley]

This was Mordugrad my home my town…everyone’s hometown the last city left as far as we know I’ve been beyond its walls at least two days in every direction nothing but wild land and ruined memories of what used to be. On top of all that all sorts of death lurks inside and out of this little jewel we call home so they take talented kids like myself and give them a chance to protect what’s left, we are the Keepers but sometimes it seems like I’m doing everything by myself.

Being knocked through a wall is never a good feeling, especially a brick one, luckily I had enough liquor in me to get up. The little bastard thought he had me too confident to run, sure I didn’t through fire balls summon metal from nothing or glow but I was bigger and tougher than most.

Fucking ghoul’s… Strong but stupid , what can one expect from cannibals, a combination of drugs, disease and dark magic make them your average berserker, still aint me though. Caught him peeking around the corner I slugged him with everything I had, and no matter how hard hit him he wasn’t going to get any prettier.

Took more than that to kill a Ghoul though anything short of ripping off its head is a wasted effort, and I just had my clothes washed. I climbed out of that hole in the wall only to see that maggot ridden monster had already gotten up and was snarling at me “Mongrel!”

“What did you say?” I could match him as long as I saw him coming.

“You’re a dirty MONGREL!” I took my chance charging at him, must’ve thought he was invincible, I hit him square in the jaw I HEARD his jaw snap and crackle, didn’t even knock him off his feet luckily he didn’t notice the knife.

Three hours later I found my way back into the Eldermoore district my little corner of heaven, all Keepers get assigned to a district though there are usually more than one in each, not my case they keep telling me that they’ll send someone I say they need more than ‘one’ but my contacts never give me a straight answer. Guess I‘ve been doing an alright job so far, and after a tangle with a Ghoul I needed a drink.

“Thought you were dead?” David the barkeep always greeted me the same damn way, his way of wishing me luck…or he just didn’t like me ery much.

“I get that a lot, care to bring me the usual?” I got the same meal every time I came back from a hunt, a bottle of rum and a beef stew. At least it was free the one perk of my life’s ‘calling’. I hung up my coat and took a seat, the bar maid delivering my bottle, while the cook readied my meal. They were mostly all good people but some were only useful as Ghoul bait, at least the stew was good.

(OOC:Check the OOC thread before posting, or atleast PM me)

 

[Jedi_Khan]

It was that time of evening when street lamps were being lit for the night in more affluent neighborhoods, but in this particular neighborhood, the only light on the streets came from the windows of various shops and homes along the streets. The neighborhood wasn’t so poor that the occupants of the many buildings were closing heavy shutters at this time for fear of the dark, but it was still relatively poor.

Three of the city’s guardsmen could be seen standing and chatting idly outside of a bar, two of them leaning on halberds in their hands, pale yellow light from the window next to them casting its glow upon the sidewalk. Inside the sounds of a brawl could be heard, but the guardsmen continued to chat as if they couldn’t hear the noise. A chair came crashing through the window, followed by the sound of a man laughing, but all the guards did was to turn and look through the window, shrug, and continue talking.

“He’s in a good mood tonight,” said one of the guardsmen with a halberd.

“Yep, he sure is,” replied the guardsmen without a halberd, instead wearing slightly more ornate armor than the other two. “Reportedly killed a pair of ghouls and a minor demon this afternoon, so yeah, he had a good day.”

“You’d think after a pair of ghouls and a demon, he’d have enough fighting for the day, but no, he had to go and start another drunken bar fight,” said the third guardsmen. “I swear, these Keepers sure are strange.”

The man they were referring to could be seen through the window, dominating the fight inside. He was a tall, lean, well-muscled man, the tattoos covering his bare chest and arms giving him a fierce appearance, made all the more so by the smile upon his face. The man paused for a moment to survey the half-dozen or so men who lay around him, most of them groaning as they began their slow recovery, when suddenly a chair was smashed across his back by the only other person left standing. The tattooed man took the blow, spun, and with a hard right hook, dropped the assailant, unconscious upon impact.

“Looks like the fight is over,” said the guard with the ornate armor. “You two check to make sure no one is dead while I square things with the owner.”

After dropping a small sack of coins on the counter for the barkeep, the guard turned to look at the tattooed man, who grinned as he picked up the shirt he had taken off for the fight and a fresh bottle of whiskey.

“That’s your third bar fight in two weeks, John,” said the guard to the man. “How many bar fights have you been in so far?”

“Third one in two weeks? Huh, I must be having a good time then,” replied the tattooed man, John Baber, also known as the Bruising Anvil. “Let’s see…this would be my four hundred and ninety-ninth bar fight.”

“Geezus, after that many fights, I’m surprised you can still find people willing to go at it with you,” said the guard. “Then again, Mordugrad is a big city and the higher ups keep moving you around. And speaking of moving you around, we were told earlier that after your fight, we were to escort you to your new district, Eldermoore.”

“Eldermoore, eh?” said John, walking out of the bar, the two guards with halberds falling into step behind him. “Who’s the Keeper over there?”

“The Undying Hound.”

“I thought he was dead?” replied John, grinning. He knew full well of the Undying Hound’s reputation for being hard to kill, but had never met the guy in person. “I hope he can put up a good fight.”

The four of them continued to chat about this and that as they headed over to the Eldermoore district guard station, where John would spend the night as he usually did after a bar fight, and then go to meet the other Keeper in the morning.

 

[BiSmiley]

Gone was my meal, empty was my bottle, still barely drunk.

Eyes closed I could smell that little rat coming even if he managed to hide his steps “Briar, what did I say about trying to sneak up on me.” My contact with the city was none other than this skittish little coward, I no reason not to like him except I just didn’t like the smell of him… Downside of the Binding but atleast it gave me a good read on most people.

“Sorry Erik, gotta practice.” he jogged the remainder of the way across the tavern “I figure if I can sneak up on you I can get past anything.”

“Keep practicing.” I figured he had a message or two to deliver to me, and I was trying to cut through all his pointless small talk. “Spit it out already!”

“Can’t I just check on my friend?”

“No you don’t get paid to sit and drink, so tell me what you have to say or I’ll dump you in the fountain outside.” I wasn’t kidding I’d done it twice for him wasting my time.

“Oh Erik, be nice to poor Briar he doesn’t know any better.” The barmaid scolded me as she passed, and left with a wink I simply nodded and smiled back at her.

“That bought you another minute, now speak up.”

“Ah…um ok, you’re getting back up tomorrow, another Keeper a real trouble maker…some Anvil guy.”

“The Bruising Anvil, I’ve heard of him, you meet him tomorrow and bring him to my place around noon.” Great maybe I could take a few days off.

“Anything else?” I stood up out of my seat and looked down at him,

“Uh… OH! Vasili sent a message this morning he needs to speak with you…um I know I shouldn’t ask but why don’t you kill that blood sucker?”

“Same reason I don’t kill you.” I patted him on the shoulder and left the Tavern Vasili always had good information and I wasn’t going to take the Anvil to see him tomorrow.

Slipping back into my coat I pulled the hood and took to the roof tops, it was a long hike and it took a few at least an hour to run out that way, four if I took the street. I loved a good run after dinner anyway. Sliding down one roof and bound over onto the next, running the flat and swinging from a high ledge over to the next. I could see the ruined tower just passed the wall, even I had trouble clearing the gap. First time I managed the jump I smashed through an old plate glass window; was picking glass out of my side for days, Vasili had the lower floors blocked off save for the sewer access and I wasn’t fond of crawling through the muck either.

My coat fluttering behind me as I went airborne, I barely cleared the wall but managed the landing, sliding to a stop and dusting off before finding the stairs. “VASILI!” I called out as I came around the last bend of the winding staircase.

“Keep it down, my students are sleeping!” Vasili was waiting up for him, a wine glass in hand, he’d appear no older than I was though probably adding a zero or two to the number.

“And they fill your cup too I’m guessing.” I wasn’t guessing I knew damn well where his drink came from.

“I call it payment for services rendered, besides not all of us can bear the weight of King and Council like you my boy.” Eloquently spoken as always but I wasn’t here for a chat.

“So tell me other than the illegal activities I see ‘here’ what have you to tell me?” He’d rather have me ignore his practices, and I didn’t care that he taught these kids how to defend themselves so feeding me tips on unnatural movements was a good compromise.

“A rogue…A fairly dangerous one, more so than you has been gathering Wolves, at the Crimlon falls up river,” fuck I hate that place… “What’s worse is he is not alone he‘s not smart enough to organize this alone, especially outside the city walls.”

“Demon?”

“Maybe, whatever it is it knows not to trust my kind, its veiled its dreams.”

“This’ll be fun…Thankyou Vasili.”

“You’re welcome Erik, by the way Elizabeth said to thank you aswell.” A girl I saved it was either death by council or life outside the city walls, so I showed her to Vasili just goes to show you not all Bindings work. I nodded and headed back home for the night I wasn’t going to get much sleep in the coming week if Vasili was right… he usually was.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

“Michael. Michael!” called John from his position on the cot. He and his three guardsmen escorts, the one with the ornate armor being Michael, had arrived at the Eldermoore district guard station late last night, after which John had gone to sleep in one of the cells. When he woke, he had instinctively reached out to push open the cell door, but instead found it to be locked, hence why he was calling for Michael.

“God dammit,” groaned John as he sat up after getting no response. “Guard!”

That got a response, as a guard opened the door at the end of the hall and came down to John’s cell, being careful to stay out of reach.

“What?” said the guard without much regard for John’s lingering hangover.

“Why’s this door locked and where’s Michael?” asked John, resting his aching head in his hands.

“Around here, it’s usually customary to lock prisoners in their cells while they await trial,” replied the guard with a smug grin on his face. “As for this Michael person, don’t know him.”

“One of the guards who brought me here last night,” said John, glaring through his fingers at the guard for his sarcastic remark. “What trial?”

“You’re being charged with drunk and disorderly conduct. In other words, drinking and fighting. The guards that brought you in last night said that you had been drinking and got in a bar fight over in the Middleboro district, although why they would bring you here to the Eldermoore district is beyond me. As for those guards that showed up with you, they were sent home.”

“Oh, right, new district,” said John. He sat up and pulled a platinum-silver pendant with a red jewel in its center out of his pocket. “Here’s the deal. I’m a…Keeper.”

Upon sighting the pendant, the guard had gone wide-eyed and took off down the corridor before John had finished talking, apparently to fetch the captain of the station, who walked in a minute later. It had been mid-morning when John woke up locked in the cell, and noon found his situation unchanged, except for John having been able to wrangle some food and water from the hardass of a captain that ran the station. The captain wouldn’t release John for anything less than a court order, even when a skittish messenger who stunk to high heaven came in the name of the local Keeper to take John elsewhere shortly before noon.

Sure, John could have used his Focus to smash his way out of the cell, but he had learned a long time ago that doing so caused more problems than necessary, and he had learned that from a court ordered lashing. So, John slept some more as he waited to be released. He hoped that the Keeper for this district had gotten word that John was supposed to arrive, but instead was locked up, and would thus come pull some strings. However, John figured that the local Keeper wouldn’t have any more luck negotiating with the captain than he had, so he’d have to wait for a judge to order his release, and with any luck, the Keeper would be able to get that to happen before sun down.

 

[BiSmiley]

Home sweet home, an old three story loft, hooked into a long forgotten wine cellar and from there into the old catacombs, and crypts. Had to clear thhe place out a year or two back…zombies a really fun group not hard to kill but they get marks when it comes to numbers. That’s what happens when the body still has enough left to stand up and the soul is too attached to leave you get the walking dead and they love to gather.

I lived up on the third floor the only clean windows left were up there and I had good view of the city square from there among other things. One thing about living in an empty place like this sound carries I could hear someone rapping on my front door. Briar probably, he was late though and alone, don’t ask I just knew.

I dressed in my traditional garb boots, leather trousers, short sleeve shirt and my coat. I strapped on the gauntlet and checked my knife before climbing up through the roof top hatch… I like to scare poor Briar especially when he screws up. So I leapt down behind him with barely a sound letting him knock again before “Where is he Briar?” He nearly jumped out of his skin pressing himself against the door.

“ERIK!! MY god! Don’t scare me like that…And I DIDN’T screw up the Anvil guy got himself locked up they wont let him out.” Great the old guard Captain was being a pain in the ass as usual…

“Go home I’ll deal with this myself.” My mood went pretty sour, and didn’t get any better as I walked over to the garrison, I didn’t live far away, not far enough to cool off at least.

The men out front saw me coming and stepped out of my way they’d seen me like this before it didn’t end well when they got in my way. I damn near ripped the door off its hinges when I barged in, the records keeper just sat there cowering behind his desk “Oh…uhhh Erik..I-I thought you were-” I gave him a look that stopped that statement cold “Ummmm sorry the captain’s-”

“Save it .” I could smell the smoke from his pipe, no one stood in my way as I went downstairs and there he was approaching the cells I had him by the collar and spun him to face me “If looking for a promotion, this just ruined it.” I pulled him close and bared my teeth as I stared down at him “You never detain a Keeper, NOT IN MY DISTRICT!!” I had a hard enough time keeping these people safe without this moron getting in the way of that “You stick to cut purses and drunks, if he does something wrong ignore him I'll deal with it.”

I shoved him out of my way, and moved to the next door leading into the cells pushing it open a crack when I heard that voice “Bishop Nothnolin will hear of this!”

“My father wont care, he already disowned me.” Finding my way to the cells looking over each of the prisoners only one of them didn’t smell like Eldermoore; that rain and fresh mould smell.

“You’re the Anvil huh? Time to go.” I grabbed the center bar of the cell door near the hinge and lifted it off its pin the door falling loose and to the floor “Old doors bad design if you can lift it you can get out.” Most people would be able to but I wasn’t going to tell him that “Oh and I forgot welcome to Eldermoore.”

 

[Jedi_Khan]

John was awoken shortly after noon by the dulcet tones of someone angrily shouting on the other side of the door to the cell corridor. From what little John could make out, it sounded like perhaps the local Keeper was strong-arming the captain, something that somehow made John grin. He figured that if the guy could do something like that, then he would probably put up a good fight, and John always liked a good fight.

The door at the end of the corridor opened shortly after the shouting ended, and a man in a hooded cloak walked down the line of cells, stopping outside of John’s cell.

“You’re the Anvil huh? Time to go. Old doors bad design if you can lift it you can get out. Oh and I forgot welcome to Eldermoore.”

John eyed the man as he lifted the cell door free and let it drop with a clang to the floor. It appeared the man was bigger than John was, but not by much, and from what John could see underneath the cloak, heavily scarred, definitely the hallmark of a fighter. John liked this guy already.

“Half-pin barrel hinges, huh? Now why didn’t I think of that?” said John, his tone making it clear that he knew he could have escaped before now if he had wanted to. John leaned against the side of his cell, in no hurry to go anywhere, and held up the pendant that identified him as a Keeper.

“I’ve shown you mine,” said John, waiting for the man opposite him to produce a similar pendant. When the other person pulled one out, John would grin, step out of the cell, pick the door up, and place it back on its hinges, even going so far as to make sure it was locked again.

“I’m John Baber, the Bruising Anvil,” said John, turning and extending his hand to the other Keeper. “And you are?”

 

[BiSmiley]

“Half-pin barrel hinges, huh? Now why didn’t I think of that?” Sarcastic and aggressive even the look he gave me begged for confrontation...

"Never asked what they were, I just know how to open the door."



“I’ve shown you mine,” Identifying himself with such pride he was like any other Ink I've heard of but it didn't seem necessary his skin told enough of the story.

I responded in kind showing my pendant "And here I thought my good looks would've spoke volumes." My eyes were always a dead give away that I wasn't a normal human, I'd been mistaken for an unnatural once or twice but not everyone can see in the dark.

“I’m John Baber, the Bruising Anvil and you are?"

"Erik Nothnolin, now lets get out of this piss stained prison and go somewhere less crowded." This guy was itching for a fight, that measuring glare he was getting would only get worse if he delayed this little sparring match, the first floor of the loft would have enough room and no one would get in the way.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

"Erik Nothnolin, now let’s get out of this piss stained prison and go somewhere less crowded.”

“Nothnolin? Nothnolin…now where have I heard that name before?” said John, mostly to himself, but still loud enough to be heard by Erik, as he followed the other Keeper down the corridor. John had never heard the name before in his life, but he was giving Erik a chance to volunteer more information while at the same time making it seem like his name had been heard outside of the Eldermoore district, an idea that would stroke most people’s egos.

Erik didn’t get the chance to reply however, for as soon as they had left the corridor the cells were on and John found himself within earshot of several guards and the captain, he started talking about something else.

“Piss stained prison? Please, Erik, have a little more respect; I’ve been in worse prisons than this one. Like that one over in Meadow Downs on the other side of town a few years back. That place smelled so bad it made a ghoul blanch. True story too, not just an exaggeration. I was hanging out over there like I normally do when assigned to a district, and for some strange reason, the captain of that place just did not like me. Well, he got over that dislike rather quickly when a vampire showed up with a bunch of ghouls expecting to wipe out the garrison before the local Keeper - not me - had a chance to come to the rescue.

“Well, that vampire and his ghouls found out that the guardsmen were harder to kill than they had expected, but they still had the upper hand. That is, they did until a ghoul busted into the jail house, took one whiff of that stench, and couldn’t get the grimace off his face in time to see me bust out of my cell and rip his head off. Naturally, that vampire was quite surprised to see me walking towards him, smashing the heads of his ghouls open like they were eggs while they broke their hands hitting me. The vamp never got the chance to try attacking a guard station again.

“The captain and six of his men survived the attack thanks to me,” continued John, pausing at the main entrance to the guard station, knowing full well that the captain and a few of his men had followed to hear the story, although they would probably say it was to make sure the two Keepers left.

“Of course, I could have saved even more if I hadn’t been locked in my cell,” said John, his voice rising in volume for the last few words, making it quite clear that he was making a point to the captain nearby, for whom the story had been told.

“Let’s get a drink,” said John to Erik, clapping him on the shoulder and walking down the street in search of a bar.

 

[a_libertine]

Something smelled. It was there in the air, a cloying faint stench of rot and decay. It was not close, but it was in the city; threading its way through all the other delicious aromas. Here an apple pie, there a venison broth over, sniff, over a hen, there was a delicious roast. Yet through those, was the putrid smell of death, dying, and malcontent.

Yes, there were always smells like that, but this was different. This one had malice behind it greater than any ghoul or vampire he had ever encountered. That boded ill about having a delicious lunch and dinner. His light blue eyes scanned the air currents, giving him a distracted look that gave him an appearance of obtuse stupidity. He was getting obtuse perhaps about the girth, but not the mind. While he was searching the air currents, Silas was nearly impossible to sneak up upon. Everything emitted sounds and smells, and when he gave himself to the air in such a manner, his senses of smell and hearing became much better than any animal one could identify.

Stepping from the office in Central District, Silas allowed the wind to lift him up, his clothes fluttering, as he followed the scent. Not for the first time Silas wondered if the wind would hold him aloft long enough to circle the world, to see the outside and examine the smells that were carried on the wind from outside the confinement wall.

Focusing himself on the stench, he followed it to Eldermoore District, and then lost it. It had vanished suddenly and unexpectedly. Hovering above the street a minute or two, Silas tried find the scent again, but unable to. His face showed the confusion he felt as he slowly turned around repeatedly. Now all he smelled was a terrific grilled pork chop slathered in mustard, and numerous other herbs. Just beneath the scent of the pork chop was a potato dish with cheese baked into it.

Floating down, Silas landed in front of a tavern. Smoothing his clothes, all shades of blue and white, he glanced up and saw that it was called the ‘Grey Cup.’ Stepping inside he worked his way to a table that allowed him a better view of the establishment and sat with his back toward the wall. A waitress came along with a menu and Silas waived it away. “I will have the pork chop and potato pie along with the best dark ale you have here.”

She muttered, “Of course sir.”

His eyes followed the sway of her derriere as she walked off and he wondered which would taste better, the ale or her. Judging from the weak scent of the alcohol in the place, he thought she would taste better.

She brought the lunch out a few minutes later and Silas began eating slowly, enjoying each bite of the pork, which was simply delicious. The ale was predictably watery in taste and served no purpose to the meal at all. The potato pie on the other hand was an extraordinary compliment to the pork chop.

Halfway through his meal, the door banged open and two men, tattoos apparent on them strode in. They had the look of dealing death, and quite capable of it. As their eyes scanned across the tavern Silas nodded at them, putting his fork down.

Silas was suddenly aware he was quite over dressed for the district he was in, much less the establishment that had caught his attention. His silk shirt and fine linen trousers were more costly than all of the clothes in the place discounting weapons; which he suddenly noted there were a great many.

Silas watched the tavern keeper shrug when the lead mountain of a man glanced at Silas questioningly. The way they strode bespoke of power and authority, and Silas guessed they were Keepers as was he. Sighing Silas stood and gestured welcomingly at the table, inviting the two men to join him. From where he stood, Silas said, “In response to your question, sir, I am Silas Marathorn.”

He saw them glance at each other, and Silas invited, “Though I have started already, I am happy to share my table with you over lunch.”

 

[DeathsKnight]

Brosk Duvan

The shadows stirred, from the corner of a house a huge figure slipped, its footsteps silent and quick, the long legs taking it quickly across the street. Brosk did not like hunting in the day, he liked to sleep during the day and hunt by night when there is much less eyes and smells. He followed the smell of what seemed to be a goul, yes a goul. Brosk did not hunt his food, he hunted the dark things, the things that does not belong to this world. Of course he would be seen as a Watcher or a Rogue, the latter would be the nearest to correct, he was not human anymore, but his melding with Ruf, the tiger, was done without supervision and for long now he has evaded capture.

Through the alley ways he went, silent...deadly in his purpose, to find the goul and destroy it. He of course did not expect the hunted goul to turn on him and the attack took him by surprise. He was not sure who was more surprised, him for being attacked, or the goul for finding out just how big Brosk was. The fight was short and brutal, terribly one-sided to be honest. Brosk left a barely recognizable body or parts of a body behind. He pulled the cloaks closer to him, noticing that the sun was setting, it would be time to find food and then return to his lair, just to make sure no other creature would try to take it for itself.

 

[BiSmiley]

Somewhere beyond the wall...

The Tamer stood at the edge of the pit in this ancient Colosseum, it bright colors long faded and the false turn giving way to trees and weeds. Inside he had gathered Wolves, the most frigtening on monsters beyond the wall Rogues lost to the beast almost completely, but easily controlled with the right skills.

He let his thoughts reach into the wolves scattered about seeking two to send into the city, he needed to test the waters before 'he' arrived.

Meanwhile back in Eldermoore

"Yeah a drink." I agreed But I've got better vintages in my cellar best not to let them know they may drink it dry but that would take the better part of ten years.

Heading back to the tavern this well rounded man made himself known and we took a seat him introducing himself gleefully enjoying his large meal "And I'd assume you to be a Keeper not too many people...dress so expensively in Eldermoore." I had to bring it up, and I wasn't about to refuse a lunch.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Brosk Duvan

The closest place to find a good meal was the Grey Cup, not only the best food, but as far as he knew it was not frequented by Watchers. Using the grey cloaks to the best of their advantage he slipped through the shadows. At the door of the Cup he stopped, something warned him, he sniffed the air, but the smell of food was overpowering, since he did not know what to be aware of he opened the door and slipped inside. His gaze ran over the inside and he froze. Inks....Keepers...he knew that running now would make him a target and due to his bulk not too hard to trace with trail so warm.

Silently cursing his own luck, he made his way to one of the tables and sat down, the wood creaking under his weight. The serving girl came over, giving him a friendly smile,

"So what will it be today Hammer?"

Brosk fixed her with a smile, his feline teeth on display,

"Today food is on my menu dear Doria, skip the ale, you know what it does to me"

She chuckled and moved away, he folded his hands on the table in front of him and peered at thw Keepers from the shadows of his hood.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

It didn’t take long for John and Erik to find a place called the Grey Cup, a little place that seemed a bit too nice for John’s taste, especially if he planned on getting in a bar fight, but a quick survey revealed quite a large number of weapons in the place, which told John that he just might have some fun in this district after all. Shortly after walking in, the two of them were waved down by a well-dressed, slightly round man sitting a table towards the back enjoying a healthy sized meal. The man introduced himself as Silas Marathorn, a name John didn’t recognize, and invited them to join him for a meal.

"And I'd assume you to be a Keeper not too many people...dress so expensively in Eldermoore."

“Erik, how long have you been a Keeper?” asked John, frowning slightly. “You should know by now that you never assume a damn thing; it gets you killed pretty quickly. This guy isn’t a Keeper; he’s a bureaucrat who decided to come see how the little people live. No self-respecting Keeper would let himself get so round because it would interfere with his ability to do his job. Besides, he looks way too nice to dirty his hands with a Keeper’s job.”

In John’s book, unless a person could fight, he wasn’t worth much, and given how this Silas person looked, John estimated his worth to be about equal to the scraps of food on the table in front of him. John had dealings in the past with people as well dressed as Silas and none of them left a favorable impression on John. If Silas decided to protest John’s assessment, John would simply ask for proof, which for Keeper’s, meant pulling out the platinum-silver pendant that Keepers used to identify themselves as such. If one was produced, John would adjust his assessment of Silas’ worth, but not by much until he saw if the man could fight.

It was right around the time when Silas was proving his identity as a Keeper, if he did, that the door opened and a positively massive being slinked in as much as something so big could. John had heard the door open and had turned to look out of instinct, but did a double take when he spotted what had walked in. The…thing, for lack of better word at the moment, was simply huge, the chair he sat in protesting under the burden, and as John watched him, he caught a glimpse at a mouthful of some very non-human looking teeth.

“Would ya look at the size of that guy?” muttered John, openly staring at the giant. Curiosity simply got the better of him and John walked over to stand opposite the being.

“Alright, you’re way too big to be a human or a vampire, and you’re too civilized to be an un-natural, which means you’re either a Keeper or a Rogue,” said John, fixing the being with a no nonsense stare. “I’m pretty sure I would have heard of a Keeper as massive as you are, which leaves just one option, which if true, doesn’t bode well for you. You have one chance to prove me wrong and you better make it quick.”

The chance John was referring to was the same thing he had demanded of Erik and Silas: the platinum-silver pendant with a jewel in the center that identified a Keeper and the school they had trained in. Red jewels indicated an Ink, which John was; blue jewels were for Scribes, green for Elementals, and finally yellow for Bestials, like Erik.

 

[a_libertine]

Silas watched as the scene before him began to unfurl with something akin to amusement. Before Silas could answer the probing, if not inpatient questions, a lumbering mountain of flesh entered the bar. All eyes had moved from the three of them and to the new addition.

The verbose of the two turned his attention to the new arrival and treated him with even greater indignities than Silas had suffered. Taking advantage of the shift in attention, Silas eased away from the table, using oh so little magic to dampen the sound of the chair backing away.

As direct as the approach was, Silas had to admit there was an 'air' of menace around the man called 'Hammer'. Judging from the breadth of his fists, Silas gathered that may indeed be an appropriate nickname.

"Now, now, gentlemen," Silas began. "Surely the owner of this fine establishment would love to make it through the lunch rush with all of his furnishings in the same state, meaning unbroken, as they started the rush."

He looked at each one in turn and asked, "How about we finish the fine fare laid out before us? After all fighting on an empty stomach leads to hunger, and unhappy deaths."

 

[DeathsKnight]

Brosk Duvan

His worst fear was realized, one Keeper...an ink...came to him and demanded to know if he was a Keeper or Rogue. He knew that Rogue status would set three Keepers on him, he knew that he could take one...perhaps two if he was lucky. But from the look of things he was not lucky, the only way out was to fight and he did not want to damage the Grey Cup. Andy was a friend and Doria was a kind girl.

He was relieved when the other man came to the fore, his expensive clothes was way out of place, but the manner of speech, move and smell marked him as a Keeper as well. It was then that Doria returned with the food and looked anxiously at the ink, she seemed terrified.

"Please sir, Hammer is not a bad man, he just had bad luck. I have never met a gentler and kinder soul in my life. You can't kill him!"

As she spoke her voice steadily became shriller, Brosk could smell the fear, why she was afraid for him, he did not know. He reached out and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to calm her, when he spoke his voice sounded close to the purr of a cat.

"There there Doria, I'm sure these fine gentlemen will not ruin the inn."

It was then that from the folds of his robes he drew a platinum pendant, one with a yellow stone set in the middle. He of course was not a Keeper, but during one of his hunts he found it in the lair of a vampire. He never had to use it, but kept it close just in case he got crnered.

"The city is a big place, I can not say that I know you either."

The words was a challenge, he hoped to find out who they were and what the other Keepers' abilities was, he had to escape and quickly.

 

[BiSmiley]

I watched it all go down patiently drinking in my corner catching the eyes of the giant from under my hood, as he flashed the yellow pendant, it was a very good bluff it'd never work on another Beastial we have a nose for this and he didn't have the scent of the school, it was school secret of sorts to sort out the unnaturals from our own, beyond the pendant itself there was no other way to tell the other schools apart.

Ontop of all this I'd seen this 'hammer' before the barmaid always treated him kindly and she was as good a judge of character as I was, but the Ink was looking for a fight anyway. The giant never caused trouble in my district so I always left him to his devices keeping an eye out for him was easy enough. "Sit down John or do I have to 'make' you!" I called over to the Ink hoping I wouldn't have to drag him outside and beat some sense into him, he was worse than some of the unnaturals in this district I may have regretted asking for another Keeper in this district if they were going to send assholes like this guy.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

John ignored the words of the bureaucrat and continued to glare that the giant of a man in front of him until the barmaid showed up with the food the man had ordered, sparing her a glance as she approached. His expression softened a bit at her pleas to spare the man’s life, referring to him as Hammer. Since the barmaid had given a terrified plea for Hammer’s life rather than an indignant defense of his status as a Keeper, John’s suspicions were confirmed: the giant in front of him was a Rogue. John had learned over the years that barmaids tended to be great sources of information because they overhear just about everything, and thus if a barmaid didn’t know a person was a Keeper, chances are good that the person in question isn’t a Keeper.

However, the pendant Hammer pulled out told a different story. John paused for a moment as he considered this new evidence that contradicted his conclusion about Hammer. John didn’t believe for a moment that Hammer was a Keeper, but since a Keeper pendant had be presented, there was nothing he could do about it. Not at the moment, at least.

"The city is a big place, I cannot say that I know you either."

"Sit down John or do I have to 'make' you!"

“As if you could, Erik,” replied John, ignoring Hammer’s more subtle challenge while giving Erik a slight grin, then turning to the barmaid and giving her a reassuring smile. “Miss, if you would be so kind, bring me a full bottle of your strongest liquor and a sandwich.”

“Something big must be about to happen,” said John to the others as he pulled up a chair at a table between Erik and Hammer, positioning himself so he could easily engage in conversation with either of them while keeping an eye on the other. “It’s not every day that three Keepers and a bureaucrat wind up in the same bar at the same time.”

The barmaid returned shortly, place a tall, dark bottle, a glass, and John’s sandwich in front of him. John thanked her, pulled the cork on the bottle, and then filled the glass before emptying it in one gulp. Deciding that the beverage was acceptable, John set the glass down and proceeded to take a long swig from the bottle itself before setting to work on his sandwich.

 

[a_libertine]

Silas looked at the three men across the table from him and accessed the situation. Who would have thought that given two beastie boys and a road map, the road map would be the emotionally volatile one. Still, that allowed for clear distinctions, and if necessary in the future, to play the three off each other if necessary to save his own bacon.

The bureaucrat comments almost made him laugh aloud. If he were indeed one, he would weigh something like 400 pounds. The steady exercise of fighting and using magic is what kept him as thin as he was. And the occasional wench.

Still as they sat and ate, each eying the other, Silas thought angry man had a point. There must be something big going on if there were three Keepers and a Rogue together. And there was that gods awful stench. What ever that had been must be the primordial force that was causing this gathering of power.

And if it took four of them...

Silas sheared the through before completing it. That was too much to contemplate. It would certainly upset his delicate tummy.

"So gentlemen, I assume you all know this district better than I." Each of the other three glanced up at him over their various bites of food or drinks of alcohol. "What lives here that requires the attention of four keepers?"

 

[DeathsKnight]

Brosk Duvan

He did not answer right away as he was chewing on the succulent meat of food, he found it strange that his bluff actually worked, the lives that needed protection? He scoffed lightly at the question,

"The lives that needs Keepers the most? The slums, those living closest to the walls, where evil lurkes in every corner and shadow."

He continued with the meal, even though he had not ordered it, Doria had thoughtfully brought him bread as well and he used this to soak up the sauce of the meat. He had noticed that the ink was keeping him under eye, but then again, he was thusly seated, so it could just have pure coincedence, he didn't partake any further in the conversation, he was eating and getting interupted was not something that he liked. When he finished, Doria came to fetch the plates and he paid her from a small leather pouch. He rose to his feet, ready to depart and go out to hunt more before retiring to his own home.

 

[Mantra]

Dietrich Ward

“So you take your nail, see?” and Dietrich held up his hand, letting the group of 15 or so gathered around him witness the slender nail in his hand. “And set it right here in the center of the floorboard in your door frame. “ Taking action to words, Dietrich set the nail down and rapped it several times with the hammer held in his other hand. This continued until the nail was seated firmly into the wooden frame.

“So you add two more, make a kinda triangle with them here in the middle.” Dietrich stood up handing the hammer off to a nearby man with a balding head and patchwork clothing. “Just remember, use iron nails, or at least as close to real iron as you can.”

Now standing, a passerby would be hard pressed to distinguish the speaker as being anything other than one of the crowd. He was certainly not any taller, larger or more imposing than any of those gathered, and was only slightly better dressed. Of course, few, if any passerby would care about this group anyway. This was the ghetto, the slum, the district nearest to the great wall that separated the monsters in the wilderness from the humans in the civilized city and the most likely portion to be plagued by the villainy that always sought a way in.
Of course, Dietrich had his own opinions about the ‘civilized’ bit and the city, but that was for another time. Right now, he was conducting a lesion. Something that just might save the life of one of these poor sods forced to live here.

“If you don’t have nails, that’s ok. Find something iron; an old horseshoe, a chunk of a broken pot, whatever. It’s the iron that’s important. Bury a lump of it as close to the frame as possible, under or pound it into the frame if you can. Ghosts, demons and their spiritual like don’t like iron, it stings them, drives them back a bit.”
He paused a bit, letting his words hang dramatically for a second before continuing. “Just remember, this WON’T keep you safe, not on its own. But maybe, just maybe, it’ll give you that extra second for you to grab your kids, jump out the back window and RUN LIKE HELL!”
He made a show of pumping his arms wildly, imitating a wild sprint which cause a slight ripple of chuckles from among the crowd. Dietrich stopped his show, smiling and dabbed his forehead with a stained kerchief. While the act was a simple show, the perspiration that broke out was not. Already he was feeling flushed, warm and uncomfortable and it was going to get worse. Stuffing the cloth into a pocket absently, he continued.
“Bottom line, remember this; you all gotta look out for yourselves. There are ways to fight back, tricks to stay alive that everyone can do. This is just one of them that you can tell your neighbors about. Don’t count on the Keepers, half of them are out looking for trouble and the other half and the ones causing it. The City Guard? Well bless them all, but they have their own troubles, and the ghettos aren’t on their regular patrol routs are they? It always comes down to people, just plain old people, looking out for one another. Remember that and stay alive.”

There were some muttered thanks from the crowd, a few comments tossed about regarding one thing or another as they broke up but Dietrich wasn’t listening. He turned into the house he was staying at and withdrew his kerchief, wiping his face again as the sweat began to roll down. He walked into the back room stripping off his long coat and tossing it on the rickety bed then sitting down next to it. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply and relaxing as best he could. His lungs crackled and his throat threatened to unleash another bout of coughing if he wasn’t careful. Still he remained calm, the hot flash would pass in a few moments…they always did.

“But you’re a Keeper, Diech,” came a female voice. “and you’re here.” Dietrich opened his eyes and saw Moira standing at the entrance of his room. She was middle-aged but looked older. Life in the ghetto was rough on everyone who lived here, Keeper or no. She and her husband Arno, had agreed to let Dietrich stay for a few days, letting him rest and assisting him as best they could in return for his help with the unnatural.

“Yeah, lucky me.” He said back, letting out a rough sigh. “Just don’t let that get out and we’ll be fine.”

Moira rolled her eyes in mock indignation. She and Arno had known Dietrich and his oddities. Besides that, they were perfectly willing to have a Keeper nearby as well as keep his secrets. Dietrich, whatever his oddities, was one of the few who was willing to help the ghetto at all.

“Your laundry’s done.” Moira continued, setting a small pile of clothes on the bed next to him. “And those kids you hired have been coming back and forth all night, so the bags full.”

“Shouldn’t be out at night.” Dietrich commented, still breathing deeply. The heat was subsiding, easing, slowly.

“Yeah, so I guess you’ll be heading out then?” Moira asked.

Dietrich did not answer right away, letting the last of the heat fade away before he stood again. “Yea. There’s a lot of places I need to see to, a lot of wall to patrol.” He patted Moira on the cheek with a slight smile. You and Arno stay safe and thank you again. I’ll be back around when I can.”

Dietrich gathered up his few belongings and walked back out front, stepping over the newly nailed and protected door frame as he did. He shook Arno’s hand as he did, offering the man three pennies, not much but all that Dietrich could offer at the moment. The bag, actually a large burlap sack, was also present and filled to the top with the bulky and blackened lumps the kids had been paid a penny apiece to gather. Dietrich pulled the drawstrings closed and with some effort, slung the sack over one shoulder. With a final farewell, he started walking towards Eldermoore. He needed to visit a cloth maker up there for his next project.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

"So gentlemen, I assume you all know this district better than I. What lives here that requires the attention of four keepers?"

“Beats me. I arrived in this district just last night, and spent most of the time since in jail. This is his district,” said John, jerking his thumb towards Erik, then took another drink from his bottle. “And what’s this about four Keepers? Is there another one that isn’t here?”

John wasn’t about to believe that this overly dressed and obviously well feed gentleman to his right was a Keeper, but then again, there wasn’t nearly as much that said he wasn’t as there was for Hammer, the giant of a man sitting to John’s left. However, John couldn’t argue when a Keeper pendant was presented; he may not like it, but he’d respect the man a bit more if a pendant was presented.

“Oh, leaving so soon? Please, come join us Hammer. Have a drink,” said John when he noticed the big man get up to leave. His expression and tone of voice were friendly enough, but the look in his eye said that to decline would be unacceptable, and given a few small scars and a small bandage covering a fresh one on his face, the look was all the more unnerving.

“Miss, a couple more bottles and glasses, if you would,” said John to the barmaid. He had drained half his bottle already, and if the others didn’t drink, he’d end up drinking their share and possibly taking a bottle to go.

 

[BiSmiley]

"Oh I have a good idea why we need Keepers here but the most recent issue I think would be rumour of Wolves grouping outside the walls, and with them so close they'll probably be scouting this district the wall isn't nearly high enough to keep them out." Everybody knew what 'wolves' were and not those 'small' furry pack hunters...well yes but not the small part.

Wolve's were in short were-wolves but not the mythical kind they were the epitome of Beastial's gone bad, not too mention the twenty generations of evolution and breeding they've become something VERY nasty maybe three times the size of 'hammer', strong enough to tear through armor like it was made of paper, tough enough to survive anything short of ripping its heart out...getting past those ribs is a real pain in the ass! "You guys should know how hard they are to bring down, and that there is never only one," they never moved alone mostly hunting in pairs but worst case they'd attack with a group of five "likely we wont notice them inside the walls until someone starts screaming, not everyone has a good enough nose to track them." Maybe a wind elemental, Beastial or an Ink that can see in the dark "SO Hammer was it?" Erik called out to him before he got too far away "Don't go to far I'm going to need you on this, at least stick around the district I'm assuming you can cover a lot of ground pretty quickly."

Erik turned his attention to John "If you can still stand after all that liquor I'm going to ask you to stay near the fountain square with, the round one here," pointing to Silas "if you're a Keeper or not I don't care but good bait is good bait whatever support you can provide will be good just don't involve the guard they'll only be a distraction and probably get eaten, and you can keep an eye on him." Pointing out John who was busy chugging straight from the bottle.

"Best way is to chase one of them into our own trap, the others wont show until we're distracted try to pick on the easiest target, civilians and anyone that smells particularily tastey." Again casting his eyes to Silas.

"Tomorrow, if we all make it through tonight I'll tell you about ALL the other wonderful things this district has to offer." It was a long list but nothing as urgent came to mind "Any questions?"

 

[DeathsKnight]

Brosk Duvan

He suppressed a growl, hailed by two Keepers, he had thought he could just make an excuse and get out of there, but that was not to be. He moved closer to the table and nodded, he could cover ground fairly quickly, his size and the cat's speed helped with that. He listened to the plan and suddenly wondered that if he helped the Keepers if they would kill him...well he have been killing unnaturals for a while now, keeping what people he could safe...

He didn't respond to the question if there was any more questions, he just wondered for a moment if there was going to be any question directed directly at him that could blow his cover, he sure didn't hope so.

"What would you want me to do?"

 

[BiSmiley]

I looked to the big cat with a grin "Keep up with me,once we chase one of these bastard down ill need you to help steer it back toward those two." Working in pairs and keeping Hammer away from the ink was the best plan of action as far as he could tell "You might've noticed but neither of them are beastial so I doubt they could keep pace with me let alone the Wolves." I was sure I could keep pace I was built for running it was the hound in me.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Brosk Duvan

A hound of all things, the cat side bristled, but he suppressed it,

"I will try, I'm sure that I can't keep up your pace for long, but at least the human half is not too bad at running either."

He chuckled at the attempt of a joke, he did start to wonder if there was any way to give the hound the slip if they encountered a wolf...but then again...he knew that he could not abandon anybody in need. He silently cursed himself for being a sentimental old fool, who would die trying to help others.