• Closed • A Violent Reunion

[Max]

The Rusalka arrived back on the scene at a moment she wished she hadn't. She emerged from the thin tree line in time to watch flame engulf poor old Edmond's mouth. The muffled sounds that came from him were alien but no less blood-curdling. Max immediately recoiled and turned her head with a palm planted over her own mouth, eyes shut hard. Everything had escalated so quickly. Her world was spinning out of control, and she was way out of her depth here. She swallowed hard, opened her eyes, dropped her hand, and continued moving toward the mage. The sound of her approach quickly caught Mercy's attention.

Maxine stood planted beside him in a dissociative state. While he spoke, she could only stare down at the husk of a man that was once a prestigious merchant. He was annoying. He talked far too much. When it came down to it though, Edmond had been nothing more than a friendly nuisance in her eyes. If the greedy Merchant Guild had listened to his pleading and waited to send a ship rather than trade over land, none of this would've happened. Instead he sat a blubbering, blind, mute mess. Something panged in her chest. Mercy was still speaking when she suddenly drew her blade, knelt behind the old merchant with a gentle hand on his forehead, and plunged her sword through the side of his neck. Blood fountained from the wound. She held him upright as he gurgled. It didn't take long for him to extinguish. She let the body fall into the path while her eyes held Mercy's.

"That night in the tavern you pointed out that I managed to effortlessly win that dice game," she reminisced in a monotone that was perhaps inappropriate given the circumstances. She wiped her sword clean on what little of Edmond's clothes weren't soaked in blood. "That's because I only gamble when I'm sure I'm going to win. You got me into this bullshit. That means I get a say in how this gets done, and that?" She gestured toward Edmond's charred mouth and gouged eyes. "That's sloppy. He could hear, he could nod, he could write. That's the shit that will get us caught. We need to be smarter."

Maxine rubbed at her temples and sighed. Secure the cargo? She hardly knew Almund. The only securing she'd be doing if she wandered around with the Merchant Guild's Nels would be securing her own noose. Dana said they were supposed to escort Edmond to where he was supposed to meet someone on the path. Since they were never given the exact location or more details than needed to do their job, there was no telling whether or not someone was going to come upon them before they could clean up their mess. There were still bodies in the open they needed to deal with. Her eyes darted about the scene.

How can we fix this quickly before we're shackled?

"I have an idea. We just need to sell it," she stated as she moved toward the slain mercenaries' horses where they grazed, waiting for riders that would never return. Quickly she set to scaring them off into a run with shouts and firm lashes. "We were outnumbered. They overwhelmed us, took control of the wagon, and got a hold of Edmond and dragged him off with intentions to ransom him back to the Merchant Guild." Max strode back toward Edmond's corpse to rummage through his pockets. After a short search she managed to procure a key, which led her to the covered wagon. She hopped inside and set to unlocking the chest. "We tried to fight them off, but we didn't have a chance. They were long gone with the Nels once Edmond gave up the key, so we tried to at least rescue him. The thieves let him go before vanishing into the trees, only after they brutally maimed him to send the Merchant Guild a message. We tried to bring him back whole, but he was suffering. So, like the kind, compassionate mercenaries we are, we put him out of his misery with a swift, clean death." At least there was some truth to the last bit of her suggested lie. She wasn't done yet though. That was just the story. The real challenge would be the cover-up.

"We drag the mercenaries' bodies into the wagon, strip them of any valuables to make it look like they were looted, and set the wagon on fire. You can do that, right?" she asked. At this point just how he was capable of such a feat was far from her mind. That could be a later interrogation. For now, she was just invested in how it could work for them. Finally the stubborn key turned to unlock the chest. The Rusalka threw the lid up with greedy finesse. Her eyes were greeted by a fat coin purse no doubt meant to secure hard goods from traders elsewhere. "Oh," she sighed, realizing there was one stark error in the narrative. She lifted the sack from the chest and tossed it into the dirt beside Mercy's feet. Then she jumped down to land beside it, a begrudging expression on her face. "The mud from my fall earlier in the day isn't going to cut it. Dana wouldn't let me handle anything more complicated than scroll deliveries before this. They'll never believe I've been holding out on them with my swordmanship all this time." Her eyes glanced around before settling on something. She bent down to collect a sizeable stone, which she then forced into one of Mercy's free hands. "You're going to have to hit me. Hard."

Was there really a proper way for someone to brace themselves to be clobbered over the head with a rock? She suspected not. All she could hope was that Merces would create the injury without taking it too far, which was the real gamble in the situation given she'd just watched him burn men alive mostly because he could. Either way, one thing was for sure: there wasn't an Idalos-acclaimed actress alive more dedicated to playing her role than Max right then.

[Mercedes]

.
.

Mercy listened to her every word closely, and paid attention to the details of her conversation. She was correct about his irrational decision having caused this dilema. He watched her plunge a blade through Edmonds flesh, and chuckled as she did so. Mercy did not assume Maxine could be capable of murder, and such an action made him question whether or not she had previously. Although his concerns were driven elsewhere; she demanded to have an opinion in the escapade. She mentioned that she only gambled when she had the ability to win. Maxine pointed out a mistake; Mercy left the man with fingers that could write, and ears that could still hear everything. That could have been disastrous to them both although he knew neither of their names.

The sorcerer watched as she produced a key, and fumbled with the lock on the chest. The story changed; the hounds were outnumbered, overwhelmed and Edmond kidnapped. The bandits were with the Nels prior to the two having the opportunity to rescue him. Rather than allow Edmond to continue to suffer, he was dispatched. Whoever committed to the murder of Edmond had a reason to make the execution personal. The Guild were loved and disliked by many for obvious reasons, and perhaps someone wanted to send a message to the guild. Mercy continued to compile information as Max seized the large sac from the chests innards. Max directed him to drag the bodies into the wagons, strip them of valuables and set the wagon ablaze.

His response to her question had simply been “Yes, I can.” Mercy did not bother to argue with a woman and her intuition. The sorcerer approached the charred corpses of both the mercenaries, and proceeded to reach into the left pocket of his senior hound. Not all of the body had been completely charred; only the upper half seemed to burn effectively. The trousers however, had been made of a thick, tough leather. Inside the pocket he felt paper, and pulled back only to find a small journal; no larger than his two palms. Inside the journals first page had been a partially burned map of Scalvoris with a familiar town name marked. “Almund” and select few notable locations such as “The Tower”, “Immortals Tongue”, “Ishallr”, “Faldrass”, and “Serenity Garden” with many more locations he did not bother to look at. Along with multiple trails of red-ink and the letter X drawn on each of the locations. Although Merces did not have the ability to actively read maps, this could be useful to him eventually.

The page behind that however had been far more strange; letters written in a language he had never seen before. The words appeared archaic, gnarled, and distorted almost as if they were never meant to be read. Although the remainder of the journal seemed to be useless save for the map; he placed the journal in the right pocket of his cloak. He grasped hold of the somewhat heavy chain-shirt worn by the hound, and took a squatted position in order to drag the corpse toward the wagon. With a grunt he threw the torso into the back of the wagon, and pushed the legs inside as well.

“You check the other body, and see if you find anything of interest if such a thing is the case. If I were you I would claim the sword I used to cut Edmond.” Following his check of the body Maxine forcibly-handed Merces a somewhat large stone. She needed to be struck, and Merces did not bother to question why she required a stone of all things to be hit with. Merces stood firm before her, and turned toward his right side. With a single motion his arm swung, and his hand clasped the rock with a firm grip. He did not swing with all of his might; she could have died if he struck her hard enough. With a loud thud the rock came in contact with her visage, and Mercy dropped it as it came in contact with her.

Was she Okay?

Boxcode credit: Yolande

.
.

[Max]

Everything felt mechanical. It was as though there was nothing innately sinister or unnatural about what they were doing. Rather than fight her on her decision, while she assumed he would've, Mercy instead fell to heel. He committed to the story they needed to sell and set about making it real. His hands moved about the body of one of the fallen, procuring items of his interest from it as they caught his eye. Maxed watched him with mild curiosity. Some would curse the looting of the dead, calling it disturbing or a sure well to draw ill luck. She supposed it hardly mattered. Corpses were corpses. They had no use for possessions now. Anything left unclaimed by the murderers was about to be burned beyond recognition regardless. Perhaps she'd indeed take Mercy up on his suggestion and collect a thing or two from the slain. Of course, in order to do that, she'd have to make sure she regained consciousness again.

"I'm ready," Max stated confidently, squaring her body so she stood before Merces and his rock. Her eyes met his. Then he swung. The first thing she felt was pain. It was a uniquely sharp, agonizing sensation that seized her full attention. An odd warmth spread across her a localized part of her head. Then? Black. It wasn't a scary nothingness she floated into. There was no perception of existential fear. Quite frankly, it didn't feel like she existed at all. There was no self. No murders, no Rusalkis, no Max. There was only the blackness that had swallowed her whole.

A searing, cringe-worthy torment plucked her from the lull of the dark and thrust her conscious mind awake. Her eyes blinked open, their hue changing rapidly before it settled on a bright caramel color. One of her hands twitched against the solid ground. A wave of panic and anxiety rushed her almost immediately.

How long was I out? Bits? Breaks?

Maxine shifted as though to rise only to involuntarily moan with discomfort. She dabbed at the warmth in her hair on the side of her head. Sure enough, when she displayed her fingers before her eyes, they were smeared in blood. She swallowed hard. A light-headed feeling swiftly followed. It took her several trills to come to grips with her reality again. Her sights found Mercy before surveying the rest of the scene. By the looks of it, she couldn't have been out long at all. The blood on the rock Mercy had evidently dropped after striking her was far from dried.

Gods. Fucking. Dammit," she cursed while she tried to right herself. Albeit unsteadily, Max managed to find her legs and stand upright again. She pressed her palm against her wound with a sharp inhale. "Shit!" Slowly but surely her previous line of thought was beginning to return to her.

Bodies. Burn them. Loot them? Burn the bodies in the wagon. Edmond. We bring him back. The Kennel.

There was no shortage of self-loathing. For a trill she wondered if a hanging might've been more pleasant than the lengths she was going for legitimacy. "Mercy," she refocused. "Let's finish this up. Before you light it all up, we have to cut the horses free. I think Edmond should be slung on the back on your horse. I'll see if I can't ride my own horse straight and hold the reigns of his so it trails behind...if you think that sounds right?" Before she felt so sure that everything needed to be destroyed. Now her cloudy mind was making her second-guess her prior convictions.

Max stumbled over to the second charred mercenary. The only thing worse than the throbbing of her head must've been the way he smelled. "Gods," she gagged before kneeling beside the body. Reluctantly, she began patting her hands about his belongings. His clothes were practically melted to his skin. Any pockets she could pry away from his blackened flesh were littered with holes, and contained only ashes of what once remained. The orphan cursed. Anything of value seemed to be ruined by...whatever Mercy had done to him. Salvation came only when she tried the man's side bag. A small compass and an odd little vial of mysterious liquid, marked with an "x", were all she cared to claim. Then, with great difficulty, she began dragging the body by the arms toward Merces. It was all she could do not to collapse.

[Mercedes]

.
.

The sorcerer watched as Maxine recovered from the blow to the skull. She bled somewhat profusely; Merces watched as she distracted herself with the mundane task of performing a body search. Following the search she transported the body toward him, and he took the body from her. Mercy used what little physical strength he possessed and threw the right arm of the body over his left shoulder. In a crouched position, Merces took several slow paced steps toward the Wagon. He threw the corpse over his shoulder using the leverage the aforementioned position provided. With the wagon emptied of all goods, and the bodies secured inside Merces took a deep breath. The sorcerer prepared himself well for a final manifestation of flame. With his eyelids clamped together tight he inhaled, and focused on the center of the wagon. Before him a small flame no larger than a quarter-inch came to life beneath the wheel of the wooden wagon. Minor-overstepping set in as he used far more ether than he should have, and an instantaneous migraine pounded the side of his skull.

Why had he gone to such a great length to do nothing beyond steal? Thieves were one of the many things he hated, as thieves were called pirates. Yet, Mercy had never sailed upon a ship a day in his life; he could not have been a Pirate. The sorcerer had a reason to seek vengeance upon those who he believed to bring destruction. Edmond, with his lewd remarks and unnecessary dialogue; the other hounds with their foolish agreement, and laughter. Mercy had the right to kill these people, and their culling had been well deserved. Murder was his right, death had been his righteousness, the flame which charred their flesh was nothing more than a weapon. Although he called fire a close friend; how close could it have been if it brought destruction to all that it came in contact with? Perhaps the very fire in his eyes had been brought about by the parasitic nature of magic. Why did the flame begin to “Consume” him from the inside out as he named it his kin? Did the elements have a desire to be closer to him, or eat him alive and claim him as they have the land?

Following the manifestation of the small flame, the fire spread across the circumference of the wheel. A trail of ember followed the flame, and Mercy coaxed the flame to spread further. Defiance was a beautiful thing, and those who did not possess it were blind. The beauty of something so simple, and yet so dangerous had its own appeal. The flame burst into a bonfire sized amount of flame, and continued to consume the surrounding wood. The scent of burning flesh returned ten fold, smoke rose high into the atmosphere. The flame began to spread onto the ground, and leap across the surface of multiple leaves, sticks, and grass. Fire was beautiful; it danced faster, harder and better than any creature on idalos could.

Flame was more than destruction, more than heat, and more than a weapon. Fire was the light that brought warmth to the bodies of the cold. Flame destroyed so that the earth may recreate with newfound nourishment. Fire was the element of origin, and one of the two to be respected far more than the multitude of others. Without fire, the other elements could not perform their tasks properly, right? Merces stepped back, and opened his eyes only to watch as the destruction reared its ugly head. With the sound of snapping branches, gnarled tree limbs, and crackling coming from the flame he turned about. The pair exited the scene with the “Cargo” secured for later usage by the two of them. The stories were told, and they awaited a response patiently. Merces stuck to the story, as did Maxine; what would be the result of such a horrific crime?

Boxcode credit: Yolande

.
.

[Pegasus]

Max

Overview

Max is an interesting pc and I really like how you write her! She's really self assured, but with moments of vulnerability / uncertainty. She has a very determined outlook, but it feels like she's getting in over her head at the moment - it was really interesting watching how she went from 'in control' to doubting herself. Beautiful writing.

Points

XP: 15

Fame: -20

Loot

150gn
A compass
A small vial - with an X as a label. It is a "truth serum" and there is one dose. Anyone who drinks it will tell the absolute truth for 2 breaks.

Max has been hit over the head with a rock and lost consciousness. She will suffer from sharp, painful headaches for the next 20+ days - they come on suddenly and without warning. She will also have dizzy spells and a few bouts of nausea.

Knowledge

Discipline: Remaining Focused Despite the Presence of a Lover
Mount: Tapping a Horse's Side to Increase Speed
Mount: Steering with the Reigns
Deception: Appearing to Know What You're Doing
Deception: Feigning Interest in Conversation
Deception: Meddling with a Crime Scene
Deception: Concocting a Convincing Lie
Deception: Using Fire to Get Rid of Damning Evidence
Deception: Creating Wounds to Sell a Story
Endurance: Persisting Despite Head Injury
Intimidation: Coasting Off Powerful Allies to Appear Equally Fearsome
Running: Giving Chase

Turbulent Waters: Maximizing Effect of Ability by Using Environment
Merces: Murderer
Merces: A Fire-Wielding Mage
Edmond: Member of The Guild
The Merchant Guild: Mismanaged Trade Fleet

Merces

Overview

Wow - this guy is crazed! That turned around and did so fast. I'm intrigued to see where Merces goes from here - he seems as volatile and unpredictable as the elements themselves! Thank you for making the edits required to the defiance aspects of this. Very appreciated!

Points

XP:15

Fame: -20

Loot

150gn
A journal - the maps are fairly "run of the mill", but the written piece is in an ancient and obscure dialect of Scalveen, used between pirates and all but dead.
Also, Mercy will experience severe migraines for the next 5 trials. These will be very debilitating as he has used a LOT of magic in this thread alone.

Knowledge

Defiance: Fire Destroys and Creates
Defiance: Dancing Flame Into Coils
Defiance: Manifest, and Encourage.
Defiance: Encouraging elements to Leap
Defiance: With Concentration Comes Precision
Defiance: Effects of Minor Overstepping
Defiance: Is a Parasitic Magic
Intimidation: The Use Of Threats

Maxine: Murderer
Edmond: Member of “The Guild”
Edmond: First Man I Killed
The Merchant Guild: MIsmanaged the Trade Fleet

Both of you: Ohhhh good work! Bad work! Weeeeeeeeellll, we need to do a follow up to that. Please start a thread and the two of you post in there (link me!), explaining exactly what you say, where you go etc. I'll then jump in. Fab stuff - lets make this an epic plot!