MaximumofHope
New Member
" Miria Kirklan, Corin Naria, Mortred, Leif Fellwinter, Leyna, Isabela Kennedy, your words and your oaths are taken into account. You six shall rise to this occasion and sent to Zorim. Your mission is thus, observe and act as agents of our order to ensure the peoples protection. If the issues of the Kingdom are so far gone that nothing can be done to save it with your own strength then know we will come should you need us, to purge the wicked with our full power, a Crusade." the old man spoke with a slow tone, yet his voice could still be heard despite the large size of the room.
The word rang with a heavy finality to it, as was befitting for what it meant among the ranks of the Musketeers. Once a Crusade was called the full might of the Musketeers would be brought against the offending kingdom, removing corruption root and steam. The full might of every nonactive soldier would come down on the capital, their lands, and every single holding that could be connected. Their would be trials, executions, and by the end the organization would set a new force in power, rebuilding brick by brick before going back to the shadows. There had only been three Crusades called in the entirety of the organizations history, but each had resulted in massive causalities on both sides, both the guilty and innocent were forced to pay for a brighter tomorrow. It was the blackest thing the group could do, and it was only to be done if no other option presented itself. Those who felt the need to call for it had often resigned from the Musketeers upon its completion, unable to live with themselves at seeing the blood on their hands.
The pale man rose next. "But no matter what remember that you act as the extension of the will of the Musketeers, our first responsibility is to the people and their protection. Remember your vows, because outside this place will be people who may be black as sin, but all people can be redeemed. Death is finality incarnate, and to take a life is to end all choice. Serve as a force of change, not a judge of death."
Finally the raven haired woman arose. "And please know that no matter how far you go or what you face there will still be a home for you at the end. Do your duty as far as you can, but remember your brothers and sisters in arms stand behind you. In failure or success we are united under a single goal, and you will never be without so long as we are behind you."
The old man couldn't suppress a small smile on his face. "Gather your personal supplies, say goodbye to any friends, conclude all business before you leave. As soon as the moon reaches its apex our Seeker Division will open a small gate to bring your party about a mile out from the capital city. You will be provided with gold enough to gain yourself property, but beyond that how you move forward will be largely up to you. You need only contact us if an emergency happens and you need aid, other then that your own actions will be respected."
"In the name of the Musketeers, serve well!" the three shouted.
"For in this and all things, the blessing of the Creator and the Sword Saint!" the rest of the assembled crowd said at once.
And like that it was done, those who had not been chosen filed out of the meeting room, and the three leaders of the divisions made their own exit, leaving only the six who had been tasked with going forward in the room.
Zorim
The Kingdom of Zorim was an ancient one whose stone walls had been crafted by the hands of the abused and downtrodden of various other kingdoms, come together to form a nation of free thinkers who would be ruled over by a King whose own power could be checked by the noble men, who in turn would be controlled by an elected council of free thinkers, who could in turn be held in check by the King. For quite some time this system had worked well enough, but within the last fifty years things had changed. The nobility used their resources to bully the elected council into supporting them, silently arranging for accidents to happen should they fall outside of their control. With hold over two parts of the kingdoms governing body the nobility were free to do as they wished. Higher taxes, strict laws, greater freedom for their interests, they were boundless. Of course the King himself was no saint, and had been known to take many beautiful women into his castle to serve him no matter their status.
This of course brought a criminal element into the kingdom itself, wicked people who saw the downtrodden citizens and harsh laws as perfect grounds to gain controls of pockets of the communities. So long as the guards could be paid off, and the guards kicked some up to the nobles the criminal element was allowed to flourish.
The actual structure of the Kingdom was quite a sight to behold, with three large areas each sectioned off by massive stone walls that could protect from even the most dangerous monster attacks. The first 'ring' contained the poorer districts and large farms as well as the military training areas, making sure that any passing diplomats would get a fine sight of the strength of the kingdoms might. The second 'ring' contained the various shops and working districts, as well as some houses to the minor nobility. The third of these 'rings' contained the towering castle where the King and the highest nobility lived, surrounded by their guards and luxury.
The streets were not often dark even during the nights, thanks to lanterns that drew power from the natural magic in the air in order to fuel bright flames that brought comfort to those who were forced to make their trek home in the dark. Even the poorest ring, known as Tiere, had these marvels of magical engineering built among the dirt roads.
But this night something was different, three figures walked along the dirt roads, and with each step the lanterns flickered out and died until they had passed far enough away. It was as if the flames were dimmed by their very presence and forced to fade. At the head of the group was a person wearing a green hooded robe which flowed unnaturally in the windless night. The other two behind the figure were dressed in patchwork clothing, their faces covered with masks depicting sorrowful faces who carried swords at their sides.
This group stopped in front of a building that had seen better days, with a sign outside of it designating it as a bakery. The hooded figure put a hand against the door and it opened for it. The figure stepped inside and the two others followed it in, going up a set of rickety stairs to the living quarters over the bakery. The hooded figure paused before stepping forward to a closed door, putting his hands on the knob and ripping it off its hinges as if it were secured by paper. It tossed the heavy door aside and stepped into a small room which held a family of four, a baker, his wife, and their young daughter and son. "Oh how sweet, it must be nice to get such easy rest." the voice from the figure was odd at the very least, seemingly a mixture of a soft feminine voice and a harsh growl.
The family awoke in shock, and the baker's face turned white in terror. "C-C-Cloth, what are you..."
"Oh good, you do remember me," the hooded figure known as Cloth stepped forward and pulled the baker out of the bed with unnatural strength, tossing him to the side. Despite having a slim build Cloth seemed to have more then enough strength to force the portly man to move. "Because when my men didn't bring my full 'payment' I was so worried you forgot."
"Taxes went up, I couldn't afford it this month, please I will pay double next month." the baker knew he couldn't meet that, but it might give him time to at least protect his family.
"Double?" Cloth tilted its head to the side, face still hidden by the hood of its cloak. "A fine offer, but you know what they say, children in service now is better then gold tomorrow." Cloth snapped and the two masked figures walked to the childrens beds and foribly pulled them out, holding them despite their struggles and cries.
"You monster, don't you dare touch my-" before the baker could continue Cloth flashed forward and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground.
"Hm, insulting me was a mistake," a white mist rolled off of Cloth's cloak, wrapping around the Baker and draining him of life. The mans skin went grey and cold as the light left his eyes, and when the Baker finally stopped struggling a white light escaped from his mouth and flowed into Cloth's cloak, which seemed to absorb it into the fabric. Once Cloth had finished it simply tossed the Baker's lifeless body aside. "It seems I was a bit petty, oh dear." Cloth reached into its cloak and pulled out a sack of coins, tossing them to the still cowering wife. "Payment for your loss, I am sure I will see it again soon. Come along dears back to the carnival with us." Cloth laughed and turned its back on the wife, who had fainted in shock.
The two masked figured pulled the children along in utter silence as their screams rang out through the night.
But no one came to the sound of those screams. Everyone knew what had happened, or at least had an idea.
And still.
No one came.
Current Goals
The word rang with a heavy finality to it, as was befitting for what it meant among the ranks of the Musketeers. Once a Crusade was called the full might of the Musketeers would be brought against the offending kingdom, removing corruption root and steam. The full might of every nonactive soldier would come down on the capital, their lands, and every single holding that could be connected. Their would be trials, executions, and by the end the organization would set a new force in power, rebuilding brick by brick before going back to the shadows. There had only been three Crusades called in the entirety of the organizations history, but each had resulted in massive causalities on both sides, both the guilty and innocent were forced to pay for a brighter tomorrow. It was the blackest thing the group could do, and it was only to be done if no other option presented itself. Those who felt the need to call for it had often resigned from the Musketeers upon its completion, unable to live with themselves at seeing the blood on their hands.
The pale man rose next. "But no matter what remember that you act as the extension of the will of the Musketeers, our first responsibility is to the people and their protection. Remember your vows, because outside this place will be people who may be black as sin, but all people can be redeemed. Death is finality incarnate, and to take a life is to end all choice. Serve as a force of change, not a judge of death."
Finally the raven haired woman arose. "And please know that no matter how far you go or what you face there will still be a home for you at the end. Do your duty as far as you can, but remember your brothers and sisters in arms stand behind you. In failure or success we are united under a single goal, and you will never be without so long as we are behind you."
The old man couldn't suppress a small smile on his face. "Gather your personal supplies, say goodbye to any friends, conclude all business before you leave. As soon as the moon reaches its apex our Seeker Division will open a small gate to bring your party about a mile out from the capital city. You will be provided with gold enough to gain yourself property, but beyond that how you move forward will be largely up to you. You need only contact us if an emergency happens and you need aid, other then that your own actions will be respected."
"In the name of the Musketeers, serve well!" the three shouted.
"For in this and all things, the blessing of the Creator and the Sword Saint!" the rest of the assembled crowd said at once.
And like that it was done, those who had not been chosen filed out of the meeting room, and the three leaders of the divisions made their own exit, leaving only the six who had been tasked with going forward in the room.
Zorim
The Kingdom of Zorim was an ancient one whose stone walls had been crafted by the hands of the abused and downtrodden of various other kingdoms, come together to form a nation of free thinkers who would be ruled over by a King whose own power could be checked by the noble men, who in turn would be controlled by an elected council of free thinkers, who could in turn be held in check by the King. For quite some time this system had worked well enough, but within the last fifty years things had changed. The nobility used their resources to bully the elected council into supporting them, silently arranging for accidents to happen should they fall outside of their control. With hold over two parts of the kingdoms governing body the nobility were free to do as they wished. Higher taxes, strict laws, greater freedom for their interests, they were boundless. Of course the King himself was no saint, and had been known to take many beautiful women into his castle to serve him no matter their status.
This of course brought a criminal element into the kingdom itself, wicked people who saw the downtrodden citizens and harsh laws as perfect grounds to gain controls of pockets of the communities. So long as the guards could be paid off, and the guards kicked some up to the nobles the criminal element was allowed to flourish.
The actual structure of the Kingdom was quite a sight to behold, with three large areas each sectioned off by massive stone walls that could protect from even the most dangerous monster attacks. The first 'ring' contained the poorer districts and large farms as well as the military training areas, making sure that any passing diplomats would get a fine sight of the strength of the kingdoms might. The second 'ring' contained the various shops and working districts, as well as some houses to the minor nobility. The third of these 'rings' contained the towering castle where the King and the highest nobility lived, surrounded by their guards and luxury.
The streets were not often dark even during the nights, thanks to lanterns that drew power from the natural magic in the air in order to fuel bright flames that brought comfort to those who were forced to make their trek home in the dark. Even the poorest ring, known as Tiere, had these marvels of magical engineering built among the dirt roads.
But this night something was different, three figures walked along the dirt roads, and with each step the lanterns flickered out and died until they had passed far enough away. It was as if the flames were dimmed by their very presence and forced to fade. At the head of the group was a person wearing a green hooded robe which flowed unnaturally in the windless night. The other two behind the figure were dressed in patchwork clothing, their faces covered with masks depicting sorrowful faces who carried swords at their sides.
This group stopped in front of a building that had seen better days, with a sign outside of it designating it as a bakery. The hooded figure put a hand against the door and it opened for it. The figure stepped inside and the two others followed it in, going up a set of rickety stairs to the living quarters over the bakery. The hooded figure paused before stepping forward to a closed door, putting his hands on the knob and ripping it off its hinges as if it were secured by paper. It tossed the heavy door aside and stepped into a small room which held a family of four, a baker, his wife, and their young daughter and son. "Oh how sweet, it must be nice to get such easy rest." the voice from the figure was odd at the very least, seemingly a mixture of a soft feminine voice and a harsh growl.
The family awoke in shock, and the baker's face turned white in terror. "C-C-Cloth, what are you..."
"Oh good, you do remember me," the hooded figure known as Cloth stepped forward and pulled the baker out of the bed with unnatural strength, tossing him to the side. Despite having a slim build Cloth seemed to have more then enough strength to force the portly man to move. "Because when my men didn't bring my full 'payment' I was so worried you forgot."
"Taxes went up, I couldn't afford it this month, please I will pay double next month." the baker knew he couldn't meet that, but it might give him time to at least protect his family.
"Double?" Cloth tilted its head to the side, face still hidden by the hood of its cloak. "A fine offer, but you know what they say, children in service now is better then gold tomorrow." Cloth snapped and the two masked figures walked to the childrens beds and foribly pulled them out, holding them despite their struggles and cries.
"You monster, don't you dare touch my-" before the baker could continue Cloth flashed forward and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground.
"Hm, insulting me was a mistake," a white mist rolled off of Cloth's cloak, wrapping around the Baker and draining him of life. The mans skin went grey and cold as the light left his eyes, and when the Baker finally stopped struggling a white light escaped from his mouth and flowed into Cloth's cloak, which seemed to absorb it into the fabric. Once Cloth had finished it simply tossed the Baker's lifeless body aside. "It seems I was a bit petty, oh dear." Cloth reached into its cloak and pulled out a sack of coins, tossing them to the still cowering wife. "Payment for your loss, I am sure I will see it again soon. Come along dears back to the carnival with us." Cloth laughed and turned its back on the wife, who had fainted in shock.
The two masked figured pulled the children along in utter silence as their screams rang out through the night.
But no one came to the sound of those screams. Everyone knew what had happened, or at least had an idea.
And still.
No one came.
Current Goals
- Have your characters meet and talk with each other.
- Have your characters conclude any business within the hidden sanctuary of the Musketeers. Feel free to incorporate NPC's if you wish.
- If you run out of things to do don't feel ashamed in just saying your character goes to wait until it is time to leave.
- If you have any questions use the out of character chat to ask them or PM me directly.
- This round of free form posting will last for one week, concluding next Sunday/Monday before your characters are moved to a mile out from the city.
