Freyd 0 Posted Sunday at 12:54 PM #1 Share Posted Sunday at 12:54 PM (edited) Fire burns hottest before being smothered beneath its own ambitions or falling to the cannibalistic consumption of the very fuel it needs to survive. Fire it warmth. Fire is light. It is also fleeting, always and inevitably fading back to the eternal, silent stillness of night. Thus it was that the stage was poignantly set amidst the stagnant black blight known as the Font of Abhorrence on the outskirts of Fourteen. Said to be the origin of tragic calamity, there could be no better reminder of the stakes and themes for the day's discussion. Night had already set over the wrecked fuming wreck of a floor. If any moons shone, they rarely asserted anything more than a haze of red light concealed behind heavy charcoal coloured clouds perpetually smothering any upward glances. Fourteen felt oppressively low, like some layer of Hell someone had forgotten to record for posterity. It was just left to bake as an afterthought. Orangey-red liquid veins snaked their way across the infernal landscape, minor ambient glows flaring with occasional flighty bursts of ember, or the popping cauls of magma splattering up and out to scorch anything nearby. The place stank of sulfur and desperation, pleasures lost and dreams turned to cinders. Consequences. Amidst the arcane pillars of power stood the lone silhouette of a woman, light of build and bundled in just enough snug cloth to fully conceal her features. She had no face, merely a hood languishing over her head like the head of a serpent; permanently affixed by her role. No marker spun over her head. She did not exist, by the system's reckoning, yet there she stood quietly gazing into a pool of perfectly reflecting nothingness. The curve of a blade upon her back implied a katana, but those who'd met this figure before knew her true armaments were far less obvious and more sinister than a mere blade. Hers were the hands guiding people as weapons, each finger a deadly instrument tethered to a master string. Was she what pulled those strings, or merely some other entity's messenger? Most favored the latter, thinking her some clandestinely servile NPC. None who'd dared challenge any presumptions were ever seen again. Whatever Faceless Lord played with pieces on this particular board, she might be another. Might. "You've been busy, it seems." The voice warbled, carrying hints both male and female, audio-tuned into obscurity by necessity and good measure. Meant for a figure approaching from the right, he would spot the last vestiges of the site's guardians slinking across the stone and vanishing into the pool of night. The blackness summoned all life into itself. They knew their time to be limited by the respawn. Too long was never a good thing anyway, for many reasons. *** @Lancaster Note: CS (Shades of the Gemini) and CSA (Beckon the Void) are in use. GUILD RANK 5 (+5% col, +5% EXP) <<Assist System Engaged>> (+5% EXP) Level: 17 Paragon: 0 Tier: 2 True Tier: 2 Freyd | HP: 1050/1050 | EN: 132/132 | DMG: 15 | ACC:8 | EVA:7 | PARA-IM | FLN: 4 | BLD: 24 | PARA (1+) | LD:6 Spoiler Name: Freyd, The Faceless True Tier: 20 Level: 17 Paragon Level: 176 HP: 1050/1050 EN: 132/132 Stats: Damage: 15 Accuracy: 8 Evasion: 7 Loot Die: 5 Stealth Rating: 5 PARA-IM FLN: 4 BLD: 24 PARA (1+) Equipped Gear: Weapon/Armor/Trinket: - Forgotten King's Spite | PARA I | FLN I | BLD II Armor/Trinket: - Aspect of the Void | ACC I | EVA III Shield/Armor/Trinket: - The Shadowed Rose | ACC III | PARA-Imm Combat Mastery: - Combat Mastery: Damage R3 Combat Shift: - AOE Shift Custom Skill: - Shades of the Gemini (CS) - Beckon the Void (CSA) Skills: - Energist - Katana R5 - Searching R4 - Unhindered - Focused x8 (Specialties) Extra Skills: - Disguise - Survival - Hiding R5 - Forgotten King's Authority Inactive Extra Skills: - Lady Luck - Photosynthesize - Brawler - Assault Mode - Frozen Hide Addons: - Focus - Precision - Stamina Mods: - Untraceable - Vanish - Surprise Attack (Assassni) Battle Ready Inventory: - Bear Trap (Reusable 1/combat) x1 - Bear Trap (Reusable 1/combat) x1 - Crystal of Divine Light (Reusable 1/thread) x1 - Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+10% HP) x7 - Meathook (Reusable 1/combat) x1 - Ordsea Crystal-B (Reusable 1/combat) x1 - Ordsea Crystal-B (Reusable 1/combat) x1 - Rhino's Horn (Reusable 1/combat) x1 - Teleport Crystals x7 - Samael's Pride | FLN II | HLY II Housing Buffs: - Bedroom: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat - Bathroom: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down) - Basic Kitchen: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30. - Storage Closet: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot - Living Room: Increases out of combatHP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. - Attic (Bedroom): +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cannot boost a skill without ranks, or increase a skill past its maximum rank. Cannot boost a skill the user has not learned yet. Ranks obtained using this buff will make the mods of that rank available for purchase. Mods obtained this way are unusable if this buff is removed until the skill is returned to the appropriate rank by way of SP purchase. - Basement: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll - Guest Room: Players can have one «Amenity» in a «Guest Room» and the «Amenity» cannot be recovered. Players are allowed to change which «Amenity» is in the «Guest Room». Multiple instances of the same «Amenity» do not stack. This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members. - Extended Workshop: +2 Crafting EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day - Ornate Fishing Pond: +2 Fishing EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to fishing attempts. - Dining Hall: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed. Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. - Mega Slime Farm: +10% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post. Guild Hall Buffs: [Firm Anima] - Guild Hall II: Allows a Guild the ability to create up to two Guild Quests. Narratively, it also allows players to teleport back to the Guild Territory when using Teleport Crystals. - Storage Vault: Allows a guild to create a Storage Vault in their Guild Page. Members can use this thread to store and withdraw items. Any items that have trading restrictions cannot be moved to a Storage Vault. - Trading Hall III: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (9+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters and Rank 4 merchants/performers receive +1 crafting/identification attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters and Rank 5 merchants/performers receive +5 crafting/identification attempts per day. Appraisers gain an initial additional reroll per identified item at no cost. - Treasury: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests. - Laboratory I: Once per charge, when receiving single-use consumables from Quest Rewards, if a Guild Treasurer were to receive additional tokens, one guild member may claim 1 x (Additional Token / 2) copies of the consumable. - Bureau II: Once per charge, if two or more Guild members are present in a thread, allow two dungeons to be spawned/explored in that thread, regardless of Dungeon-searching cooldowns. This buff may only apply once per thread. - Library I: Once per charge, if a Storyteller is eligible to claim a Guild Token, their character gains +10% bonus EXP at the end of the thread. This buff may only apply once per thread. - Armory II: Once per charge, players may submit a Skill Refund evaluation regardless of the 30 day cooldown window. In addition to Armory buffs, when submitting a Skill Refund evaluation, guild members have the option to pay an additional Token to refund up to 30 additional SP. - Menagerie III: Guild members undertaking <<Feeding Your Enemy>> gain +1 LD to familiar searching rolls and +1 to familiar taming rolls. In addition to Menagerie II buffs, the maximum number of familiars guild members can tame narratively is five (5). Guild officials may also appoint a familiar mascot, shared between their guild members to accompany them narratively in their threads. Scents of the Wild Totem: - Kumatetsu Wedding Ring: Crafting Profession: - Appraising[3478exp] R5 Gathering Profession: - Fishing[576exp] R5 Edited Sunday at 01:54 PM by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Lancaster 1 Posted Sunday at 01:41 PM #2 Share Posted Sunday at 01:41 PM (edited) The slight ever glowing orange of the floor offered a silence upon black sands, a flick of his thumb would see the smoke pressed to his lips lit. "You'll find the coffers rather full il capo, Mirianna found whatever trinket she was supposed to find." He'd exhale a film of soot from his lungs, tapping feverishly with a flick of the wrist to allow it to rain like snow. The woman had long returned to the caverns and down into the bellows. Their resources were more then fit to hold out for whatever the plan was supposed to be. It had been a little ambiguous and some were getting a little wily. Hell just the other day Lancaster was forced to go running to Horunka to ice one of his useless henchmen going stir crazy. "The construction is underway as well, I'm sure your pleased. Although I must admit the floor is a dump, the booze isn't bad though. Primo stuff." The man would shrug, offering a pair of pointers and some acknowledgement to the freshly primed warp gate on floor 29. The shape that this figure took always left Lancaster's skin to crawl, like an amorphous entity with all the answers. Whenever they needed some cash, it would provide. Whenever it wanted something dead, well they obliged. A symbiotic relationship with only the smallest list of demands. It left their life's fun and their bellies full. Lancaster certainly wasn't arguing. "Pardon, il capo. This seems a little trivial for your caliber no?" The loaded question a little curious as to the reasoning of the visit. "Ah, before I forget. It would seem that some of those Frontliners are sniffing around. Freyd, I believe. and his little attack dogs I'd imagine. Could prove... le difficoltà." <<Assist System Engaged>> Level: 17 Paragon: 0 Tier: 2 True Tier: 2 Lancaster | HP: 220/220 | EN: 42/42 | DMG: 1 Spoiler Name: Lancaster, The Consuming Tyrant True Tier: 2 Level: 17 Paragon Level: 0 HP: 340/340 EN: 52/52 Stats: Damage: 1 Equipped Gear: Weapon/Armor/Trinket: - Armor/Trinket: - Shield/Armor/Trinket: - Combat Mastery: - Combat Shift: - Familiar Skill: - Custom Skill: - Skills: Extra Skills: Inactive Extra Skills: Addons: Mods: Inactive Mods: Battle Ready Inventory: Housing Buffs: Guild Hall Buffs: Scents of the Wild Totem: Wedding Ring: Crafting Profession: Gathering Profession: Edited Sunday at 01:42 PM by Lancaster Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted Sunday at 02:49 PM Author #3 Share Posted Sunday at 02:49 PM "Nothing is ever too trivial, consigliere. But you know that." Unspoken, the obvious inference to Lancaster's own recent dalliances. It was both warning and permission in a single untaken breath. A missing explanation implied. Fingers were permitted their own diddling so long as goals were achieved. Loose ends, however... those might need to be tied off with a tourniquet, left to wither and die. Fingers themselves often didn't bear well against amputation, and functionality was too readily lost. Better a thousand thousand cuts to make the point. "What of the others? Know you of their progress as well?" A test or genuine query. Like both. You could never really tell with this one. She answered questions with questions, and posed often more when she already knew the answers. "When will construction be finished. The are other links to be forged in this chain." Lies were often more easily revealed by comparing perspectives. When nine stories matched, and one didn't, time could be easily saved and energies applied most effectively. She'd probably already had this conversation, and was always having it. Daintily adjusting serpentine gloves ending in long spider-like fingers, the woman sat like some arachnid measuring pulses within her own web. Every once in awhile, the web would need repair or expanding. More rarely, an opportunity would arise for departure from norms. Or nuisances would arise, like the one mentioned by name. "Easily managed. Feed them some minion. Let them give chase to scraps instead of real meat. Unless..." The hood turned an inch in Lancaster's direction, to the tune of creaking leather sounding disturbingly like the imagined tightening of a noose. "Recount." Glossing over the trivial would prove both unwise and inadequate. Link to post Share on other sites
Lancaster 1 Posted Sunday at 03:01 PM #4 Share Posted Sunday at 03:01 PM "Right." The man would hesitate and lean forward with both of his hands raised, pointing to gesture his acknowledgement of the seriousness just from the enigma's tone. "You are right il capo, always right. From what I know, Bran is doing his own research at your directive. Tybalt has been proving an excellent distraction." The man tapped his head trying desperately to paw at the information of crap he wasn't directly privy to. "Genma was hunting those ridiculous attempted PK'ers from the other day, and Hiroshi is continuing to dig into find out what makes people tick." The man was actively counting them out on his hand, it was more like telephone more then anything. They were so subdivided, so compartmentalized, the only person with the whole picture was... The big cheese. Pulling another heavy puff off that cigarette of his, which was doing basically nothing to calm his nerves given these little meetings were never a cause for comfort. "A day or two at best, as far as I am aware." A bit of hesitation to not wish to be wrong. "3 at best, il capo. Rest assured it will be handled." The man would kneel, to prostrate himself and keep his head. Less he'd become an apple like so many before him. "It will be done, I am sure that Rosaria has plenty of fodder to spare for the frontlines dogs. As far as I know, is only this Freyd who is on our tail. Was sniffing around..." He'd waver, trying to choose his words carefully. "My time off." Trying to avoid the subject for fear of what he would be told to do if the admission was full. Desperate to not be forced to lie, unsure if it would actually slip through the spiders web at all. Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted Sunday at 04:40 PM Author #5 Share Posted Sunday at 04:40 PM "Isn't it curious, mio amico, that even with all of these other busy bees, that this bothersome nuisance should find its attentions drawn to our activities through completely random and alternative means?" Even through the audio distortions, her meaning was clearer than a cold, still Austrian lake on a winter's morn. Despite the oppressive literal furnace heat surrounding them, there was a sudden chill in the air, like the void before them had suddenly cooled its temperament. "It wasn't Bran's zeal, or Rosaria's entourage, or even Tybalt's deliberate distractions that required my direct attentions today, but your lustful dalliances." "You know better than to delve too deeply into the other fingers' affairs. It protects us." "You know better than to poke bears best left passively dormant and distracted with other pastimes." "You know better, Lancaster. Or you should. Than to make me care enough to draw my gaze upon her." Some random nameless mountain in the background chose that precise moment to blow its top, perfectly timing the spew of ash and fire - the awesome devastation of nature's wrath unfurled, and yet it paled in comparison to the insidiousness threat just uttered barely above the level of a whisper. "Deal with it. Wisely and quietly, as you already should have. Don't draw that fool Freyd any tighter into our orbit by adding insult to indiscretion. And if you can't, I'll carve your tether out of her hide - or other places - making you wish you hadn't left your barbed dick so brazen laying out in the landscape. It's the ladies. after all, who suffer the aftermath of its pleasures... and its pains." A rumbling cloud of ash and destruction washed over them, the consequence of a mountainous monument crumbling under pressure from its own smoldering hubris now spilling forth its contents from miles away. Turning to face him, the tall, slender woman casually brushed a few flakes off his shoulder as dozens more floated down to lay their own burdens. Twisting her hand, she traced his chiseled jaw line, fingers barely applying any pressure to his sweaty, swarthy skin and she pinched and extinguished the cigarette still languishing in his mouth. Point made. The hand withdrew, melding back into the rest of her mottled form. Lancaster was left to his own thoughts for a moment before she plainly asked, in the same tone one might use to address a friendly neighbour who'd accidentally sprayed your freshly detailed luxury car with his busted ass, rusty lawn sprinkler. "I've always admired both your passions and your brains, my friend. Take a moment to think with your other head. Capisce?" Link to post Share on other sites
Lancaster 1 Posted 6 hours ago #6 Share Posted 6 hours ago Each and every verbal lashing was scathing and all of them called into question if he was going to be able to keep his head. This wasn't his first round of them, and the big cheese always commandeered a sense of forceful expectation. The cigarette in his mouth ran dark, pulling it from his face as he'd cup his hands together in prayer. "Is no issue, I will handle it. Personally." As his mind raced with how exactly he was going to do that. The dude was Mari's friend and he sure as hell didn't want to try and undermine it. A mix of muddied intention and trying to keep as far away from her friends as he could to stave off the rising tide long enough to enjoy their little dream for just a little while. The blazing cloud of ash threatened to bury him whole, making this place his tomb. Pressed under an overwhelming thumb, to resist was to die. The wheels in his head started to turn, looking for a way out of the fire he'd set. This wasn't the first time he'd been backed into a corner, but this had to be the first time it was this hard to see a way out. The man sat in silence being manhandled, never resisting out of fear for retribution. "Capisce, il capo. It will be dealt with." There was truth to it, but the method to which Lancaster saw how to handle it was still out on the pasture. This was going to take some serious thought on how to weasel his way through. Given unless he just went after Freyd himself that little issue would pop back up. Inversely, if it wasn't settled then the big cheese would have his head on a silver platter. A rock and a hard place, he could think of a lot better places to be. Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted 5 hours ago Author #7 Share Posted 5 hours ago (edited) "How?" The solitary word hung lonely in the silence. If Lancaster expected to get off the hook with empty promises, he was reminded that this wasn't some random thug in a side alley. More than some dismissive handwave was required. A mess had been made. His mess. His exposure. And he'd be made to squirm like his own subordinates, save without fire. A pall of dignity was preserved through the lack of obvious audience. Were this truly a reckoning, other fingers would be present to see the example made. A handful of digits, swiftly removed, might have been tossed as an offering to the unmoving pool at their side. "Whether you use others to clean up your mess is entirely up to you, though it may be wiser not to expose your own missteps. But the end of this thread sits loose, Lancaster. You've already disappointed with a poor play of priorities. So, before you leave here, I want to know precisely your intentions for this inconvenience. How will the others know your devotion to our common interests? How will the first finger lead by example? What will be your outcome?" Denied the outlet of the vice hanging from his lips, surrounded by falling, bubbling flames, yet unable to partake, Lancaster had been cast into the hot seat and forced to reveal cards he didn't hold. The implications were clear: give me a satisfactory outcome, with details, or I will create my own. His likings and considerations would not feature in the latter. Steel flashed beneath the woman's cloak, revealing a known and celebrated prize. Forgotten King's Spite couldn't be more apt, and was surely glimpsed on point and principle. Harsh as this all might seem, among the hands, Lancaster was being afforded a courtesy. Few were given the option to voice a preference in such affairs, rather finding out how others had chosen their fates for them. In equal parts a test, those less desirable endgames might still come to fruition if his zeal and cunning were less than satisfactory. "Please, amico," her slender figure spoke, leaning casually against the nearest cursed obelisk like some random streetside lamp post. "Take your time. I can always spare a few moments." A message window opened at her side, replaying correspondence while she waited, the audio deliberately set to play aloud. A woman's anguished screams, from years ago, but Lancaster wouldn't know. Something to help grease the mental wheels a bit... Edited 5 hours ago by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Lancaster 1 Posted 5 hours ago #8 Share Posted 5 hours ago A spark of intrigue, of brilliance like kindling to the pyre. His thoughts slowly peeling to a head. The man would wave a finger out in front of him. "Simple, very simple. Frontliners are bleeding hearts. Gather some of my men, and set an example. Draw him out, and we have a little chat. Set the ground rules." Lancaster would begin to burn, mentally at first and those flames would start to build on his shoulders. That passion long quenched by a woman had breathed to life, causing the ash to evaporate. "Hit one of the packed cities, snag a couple of those green players." The man would raise his hands in front of him, waving toward the woman as his thoughts raced "I know I know, is maybe a little unnecessary killing. But it will prove the point. Draw his damn name on a wall, leave a location. We can't very well kill him, unless we want the rest of those dogs breathing down our throats. But we make it clear il capo. That we're out there, that we aren't going to tolerate it. Give him the option to forget what he heard, what he saw. A little extortion goes a long way, maybe his compassion will get the better of him. Cant be everywhere at once. No?" Lancaster was nursing the possibility in his head, selecting targets and knowing full well that a lot of the main stay higher levels would be wrapped up just about now. Their strike could be performed quite easily without much issue. There were loads of easy targets to draw the direct target they wanted out. The question was, which green player would serve as the best bait? "Give me time to understand this Freyd, perhaps we may just come to an agreement." Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted 3 hours ago Author #9 Share Posted 3 hours ago (edited) A delightful, hearty cackle rang out across the post-apocalyptic scenery. She'd expected boastful bravado, but this was beyond the pale. "Tolerate? You have no idea what you're facing, do you?" Hood shaking side to side, even as the mysterious woman's shoulders shuddered with barely contained guffaws. "Allow me to enlighten you. Have a seat, just... don't dip your feel in the pool if you want to keep them." Waving a supple leather-clad hand through the air to summon a still image of the Monument of Life, a twist of the wrist reversed the image for better glancing. "People think of Firm Anima as some sort of industrious ant hill, or hive of busy bees harmlessly doing little more than gathering sweet nectar to be spun into various versions of delectable honey. Do you know how many kills on the wall are attributable to their members? How many have fallen by their hands alone? It's almost impressive. A proper guild full of assassins would ransom their whole lineages to have such an illustrious reputation. A guarded secret, notably crafted by careful acts of good will and charity. Their leader is canny and guileful beyond anything most common folk could even fathom. They've even fielded entire teams during frontline raids. Teams. Plural. And who do you think tugs at the web strands of this particular inauspicious threat?" Fingertips tapping with rhythmic precision on the polished obsidian. "A man whose name barely leaves any overt mark upon the indelible record before you, yet also leaves unbloodied fingerprints over every inch of its polished surface. Only two insignificant fools stain his passage, both of whom dumbly placed themselves in harms way and were obliterated for their foolishness. I think it nothing more than a ruse providing subtle proof of willingness to cross that forbidden line, laid bare for any who might doubt his resolve" A slight and unsettling tittering giggle resonated with delight from beneath her hood. "And you think you can bait him with a few thugs? Or negotiate? His eyes are already upon you, Lancaster, through Mari's association. You've revealed yourself, through her, and all of us by extension. One does not draw the spider's attention when wandering the fringes of its webs. But... I am curious. What agreement would you offer?" She leaned forward feigning genuine interest. "What cards do you believe you have left to play?" Edited 2 hours ago by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
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