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Before he leaves, Blake takes the phone off the hook - in case his mother called to check in, he could claim to have been on the phone with Maggie or Holly. He barely spares a glance around the rest of the house, thinking he could make it look more "lived in", when he got back. Surely he'd be back early enough. Grabbing his backpack, he steps outside and sees Holly walking towards his house. With a smile, he says "Any trouble? Ready to go?"
As Blake's leaving school and heading home to make sure he has permission to go, something catches his eye by the bike rack - a simple leather wallet. Looking both ways briefly, he picks it up, finding no ID, but some bills within it. Pocketing it with a grin, he hops on his bike and pedals towards home. Bursting through the door to the house he beelines immediately for his mother. "Hey Mom can I go with Maggie to that Circus tonight?"
"Now we have to go," Blake hisses to Holly. "We'll never hear the end of it if we don't."
She rides past Fatou and tries to draw level with blake. Hi, I didn't see you at the party. Blake laughs. "I'd barely gotten inside when we took off for this... I miss much?"
Blake stays close to Holly as the parade goes by, feeling uneasy as it does. "Long as they don't have any of those funhouse mirrors." He mutters, turning towards Maggie. "Hey, where'd you go off to anyway?"
Blake's mood immediately starts to sour as he hears Steve, and he turns a shade of red as he enters the living room. The feeling passes a bit as Maggie approaches him, asking how to deal with the kids. Before he can respond, the noise and lights invade the window, and they all set off. Excited to be outside and back in his element, Blake grabs his own bike and follows towards the creek trail, a path he's taken countless times. Seeing Maggie start to wipe out, he calls out to her. "Pip?"
If the party was anywhere other than Maggie's house, Blake probably wouldn't have gone. His mother had to pull an extra shift - as usual - and barely had time to run a comb through his hair and shove a large bowl of potato salad into his hands before she jetted out the door. It would have been easy for him to empty the bowl into the outside trash and not go. But because Maggie was his friend, the thought was dismissed almost immediately, and he made his way around the cul-de-sac to the Taylor house, looking a bit embarrassed as he rings the doorbell, wearing slacks that were slightly too short, and a button down flannel shirt that had more than a couple of patches added to it. "Hi Mrs. Taylor" He says, as the door opens, awkwardly handing her the bowl, and moving into the house.
2. Awesome, it's a... we're going as friends, right? Oh, Yeah. I'm not convinced that you don't have cooties.
Oh, Hey, Did Blake ask Holly to the Fall Formal? I originally had written (somewhere) that Blake and his dad had built a treehouse together, because I think for a story like this we want some kind of "safe haven" and it's pretty thematically appropriate. Part of me is wondering now if instead, perhaps we found an abandoned house? Blake's kind of mad at his father for leaving so even if there is a treehouse, I don't think he'd be keen to use it a whole lot. What I'm imagining is more like, a secret place that feels safe. Since Holly is artsy, maybe she's doing some graffiti stuff? I don't know, I'm just kinda spitballing, whacha think? Also I do dig the idea of Blake having asked her to the dance.
I'll go Positive for mine with Maggie - as she said, we both can be energetic and outdoorsy.
My first instinct is "Pip", both for the Pippi Longstocking reference with how Maggie wears her hair, and for the early 19th century British slang of it meaning someone was "One of a kind" / stands out. Blake would likely have adopted it for the first reason when they were a bit younger. What do you think, Maggie? -- Also re: racism, I'm in agreement that it isn't worth visiting. It's something that's still prevalent enough today that it doesn't feel like it would be interesting or at all "fun" to explore. That goes for a lot of sexuality-based insults as well. Calling someone "f&*" was not uncommon then but it's also not something we really need to do. Even if no one takes genuine offense with these things, I don't think it adds anything to the game. But yeah feel free to bully me about how my Dad left and how I'm poor and (probably) dirty.
I've got my profile together! I'll think about the boundaries but I'm certainly in agreement with skipping torture.
Hi hi! I was waiting to choose an alias to see what other people went with for gender. I'll get my profile together tonight!
Blake stood up, eager to help in any way possible. "Let me at least help Svetlana and Oleg hide. Then I will stand on the battlefield with whomever wants to face these bandits. One way or another, this ends today."
Sorry for the silence, this week took a bizarre turn. I should be around considerably more going forward.
Blake opens his eyes as the caravan slows to a stop. He stretches before picking up his belongings and preparing for the next leg of his adventure. He finds that he cannot help but be pleased to have not been riding with the Orcs. 'Not that there is anything wrong with them, of course.' he thinks to himself, 'This was just far more relaxing than I am sure that would have been. Besides,' he looks around, 'If things are as bad as I've heard, I'll need the rest.' He approaches the group as Brem begins to introduce them, and smiles warmly at Svetlana. The question of guards troubles him, though, and he's pleased to see that both Brem and Gavril show concern at it as well. "Gavril is right," he adds. "While we may not be the guards you were expecting, we'd be honoured to be of assistance. It's the least we can do for the hospitality." He smiles kindly.
Wasn't able to get on last night, so I have a bunch of posts to catch up on (You guys are serious!). I'll try to get myself injected some more this morning.
Blake crouched down, clasping his hands together, giving thanks to Nethys. "Thank you for this opportunity - it shall not be squandered. I will serve my kingdom well, and my knowledge and skill in magic will grow in your honour." Standing, the solemn moment over, Blake couldn't help but smile. Having a purpose made all the difference to him, and this was something he could believe in. Walking in the darkness to protect the kingdom. It was everything he had dreamed of. As he walked towards the Caravan that would take him far away, Blake's mind wandered, thinking of all the battles he might see, all the mystical creatures he might kill, and all the good he would do for his people.
All of this sounds pretty good to me. Looking forward to playing with you all!
Blake reporting for duty. I have to get everything added to his profile, but I should be ready soon. Hi everybody!
Looks as if this game is like to be automatically flagged as inactive in a week or two. If it ends up that it comes back to life, or if any of you end up in other games where you need someone to fill in and think I'd be a good fit, absolutely feel free to send me a private message. Have fun out there. All the best. - Yorick
I'm still excited for this idea, but I guess I'll need to figure out a character concept.
*Wonders if we are doing this.*
I'm going to start toying around with character concepts. I'm thinking of going with an Inquisitor?
It's an AP that starts off at level 2, with an "Anything goes" type of setup, but I would need to go into more detail. Sounds solid to me. I'm definitely curious to hear more about it. Let's see if Fyrek and and Daen are into the idea!
Another option would be to start a PbP (Me as DM) and you 4 play while we wait on him to return. You all seem like wonderously good players to watch this as much as I do in hopes he returns. I would definitely be interested in doing that. Any idea what you might like to run?
I'm growing worried about him. Hopefully things are okay.
His post on the 13th did say that he's been having some issues, so I definitely think he'll be back. I've been pretty busy / indisposed as well, unfortunately.
As soon as Dmitri shouts his prayer to the sky, Blake takes a quick glance to line up his toss, and then reels back his arm and whips a small homemade bomb into the cluster of men, attempting to hit as many of the villains as possible while doing minimal damage to Dmitri.
Blake stands behind a tree, moving around the side of it as the bandits approach. He slips a bomb into his hand and stands poised. 'While the man may not object, it would probably be within my interests to try to avoid hitting Dmitri.' He stands back, waiting for some kind of signal before letting fly with the bomb.
I wasn't planning on being on the roof, but rather, hitting them from behind so that they didn't see it coming.
I'd been hoping to use a bomb as a land mine, but it seems the only way to do that is to be a different Archetype, and level 6th, which is a bummer. Is there somewhere relatively hidden that I could stand that I could nail them from behind with it?
So they are most likely arriving tomorrow? I'm kind of planning to, you know, set a trap.
Blake pretended to be looking around the room inspecting things curiously as the couple told their tale. Though people now tended to avoid staring at him due to his hideous burns, he was still terrified of the idea that they might be able to read his past on his face. They'd know that he worked with bandits, and didn't even have the honour to stand with them. Blake swallowed, and forced himself to turn around when Oleg stopped talking. Regardless of how many they come with," he began, "We'll almost certainly be outnumbered. I have not yet had the pleasure of seeing how these strong individuals fight," he continued, gesturing to his comrades, "Yet I think it would be safe to say that ten to five is an unfortunately lopsided battlefield." He smiled, "Or rather, it would be, if we were choosing to fight fairly. Tell me - my sense of timing is all rubbish - how many days do we have before they arrive?"
Blake glares at the man's crossbow, but is somewhat at ease. The building had likely not already fallen to bandits, and that was a good sign. 'if they were bandits,' he theorizes, 'they would not comment on us looking like we weren't. They would also,' he continued, 'not look so very fearful'. Anticipating nothing but cooperation from the bearded man, Blake allowed Daen to speak first. Despite being... of mixed ancestry, Blake found the man charming. His candid way with words did not seem to endear people to him as much as Blake would have expected, but it was after all an imperfect world. Alarm bells went off in Blake's head when he saw Daen's stance change. 'Too many battles, too many battles. One thing at a time.' he reminded himself. 'My good man,' Blake began, 'Word of the bravery of those defending these lands has spread far. Surely no bandits would be foolish enough to come right to your gates. Not if they wanted to live anyway' he forces a laugh. 'We have been sent to assist, for King and Country.' 'If I may,' he continued. 'I have a writ that proves our intentions. I would be happy to show it to you while my comrades rest. The journey has been... taxing, to say the least. What say you?'
Blake looks disgusted at the burly man, and whispers to his comrades. "I do believe I would prefer to avoid becoming yet another piece of gristle for him to gnaw on." He cracks a smile, and continues. "And yet, it may be quite a while before we have the opportunity to sleep in real beds again. Perhaps we should make the most of this."
Blake isn't thrilled about the idea of bringing the man with them. Forging through the wilderness could be dangerous enough without having even more people along and having to worry about an extra mouth to feed. And they could never trust him. "The man is a liability, but if you insist on bringing him with us, I won't object." As he walked away, he wondered which among them was the biggest liability. It was either the man who was tied to his god, the half-elf with ties to royalty, or himself, the man with no ties to anything at all.
There have been some pretty ridiculous occurrences this week in Boston, which is why I've been so absent.
Blake strokes what remains of his burned chin, considering Daen's plan, and finding himself quite pleased with it. Everyone in this group was far more devious than he had hoped. Provided they never had reason to turn on him, Blake anticipated a long and fruitful relationship. "This is an excellent plan. We are heading into a scenario that we know little about. The chances of our failure are not enough for those who want us stopped." "75 gold pieces for each of us... No, they will not stop if they find that this assassin failed. And it would be foolish for us to try to accomplish our mission with someone conspiring against us. Fighting more than one battle at a time often leaves backs exposed."
Hey sorry guys - with the chaos and tragedy going on here in Boston (I'm okay) I may not be around much for the next day or two.
Blake waits to see how the would-be assassin reacts to Destany before he makes any kind of move. But he stands, waiting, with one hand on his alchemy pouch. The talks of religion and politics, they were such complex ideas that felt so abstracted to Blake. This felt like something that he could wrap his head around. It was one task, with concrete goals. He looked at the assassin and smiled, still not entirely sure which way he wanted this to go.
Been having some internet/power problems at home, so there is a strong chance that my attendance this weekend will be unfortunately somewhat spotty.
Blake initially was surprised by Dmitri's request to have Daen question the prisoner, but after a few seconds it made sense to him. 'Of course' he thought to himself, 'Dmitri wants the same thing that I do - to find out what everyone is made of, and what limits they'll go to.' When Daen glared daggers at Dmtiri, it told Blake something about him. When Dmitri didn't even stay to watch what happened, that said something about him as well. Blake contemplated his role in this situation. He had seen people interrogated before, and couldn't think up a reason why he couldn't do it himself. Perhaps that by doing something the others were hesitant to do, but needed to be done, he could better solidify his place among them. He quickly went back to his room, gathering up a few supplies, and returning to the deck as Daen was asking Destany whether she'd be okay with talking to their captive. "If Destany doesn't want to do it, I am prepared to talk to the man."
Also, almost to the third page, still not to the published module... Yay! S&~!, really? Go go gadget roleplaying!
Sorry about the dearth of updates guys. I was feeling really sick yesterday and that tends to kill my creativity. New post up soon. No worries dude. Health > Everything.
Hahahaha. That would be brilliant.
Blake is surprised again by Fyrek. While previously it had been her compassion that piqued his interest, he was now impressed by her cunning. And she was right. The kinds of people who would surrender in the face of certain death wouldn't be brigands in the first place. 'I should know' he thought with a grim smile. His thoughts were interrupted by Dmitri's talk of torture. Blake observed that the man practically licked his lips every time he brought the subject up. Blake made a mental note not to get on his bad side. "Sending him back with something certainly could lower the attention we're getting. If we cut a deal with him, such that he tells us everything he knows, and we give him ample proof to collect the reward, this whole thing could work out quite nicely." Blake mused. "I am not sure it was royalty, however. I hate to say that we gave them better opportunities, but we spent much of the afternoon split up. They wait until we're on the boat and then send a single assassin? It doesn't feel right." "What we need is information, and for that your plan has potential. If the man can tell us nothing, I do not see that he has any value to us. If he does, we can see that he is rewarded, or at the very least allowed to live."
The sounds of feet rushing across the boat with voices shouting wakes up a very irritated Blake. He jumps out of bed, grabbing his alchemy pouch and moves quickly but quietly up to the top deck. He arrives just in time to hear the Captain shouting at everyone to drop their weapons. Unsure of which side to take, Blake decides to see what happens next, and tries to stay hidden in the shadows.
Christ, so much happens every time I go to bed >_>
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