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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Jun 28, 2017 1:52:41 GMT
Delmarsh had changed. On the surface it was still the same rugged costal city, magnet for mercenaries, pirates and merchants. Yet for the dragon knight, the change in atmosphere was obvious, as he crossed the main streets. There were new laws in place, someone new enforcing them. Some things the old Mayor would have never tolerated, while several places he would have endorsed were now shut down. The corrupt gambling houses for example. Many had gone belly up, the buildings now for sale if not already changed into something new.
Shadow wondered what force had brought such a change, as he unlike many beast kind liked to keep an eye on the shifting politics of the land.
Had he looked like a beast, many of these people would have wanted to tear him apart for parts. The relationship between dragon kind and some places was not very friendly. It was vaguely like how the first rift between races had begun, before Eokia had been formed. It was nothing but memories passed down from mother to son. (Mother had been the warrior sort, just like shadow was) he'd inherited more than some of her temperament. His markings and powers also took more after her, but most of that was hidden for shadow looked mostly like a human for the time being.
Shadow slipped into a tavern. It was a little early for drinking but Delmarsh merchants imported some very few fine alcohol, even if places like this were known to give out the worst unless you paid an exuberant price.
"Hey. Haven't seen your ugly mug in a while. How've you been?" The owner greeted shadow, as the humanoid dragon removed his hood, revealing hair as red as a male cardinal's feathers. the only things still draconic about shadow right now were his ears, which were in the right place as a human's but were long like a rabbit's and covered in thin white fur, and his eyes, which were a golden hue. Everything but his head and neck were covered in armor of white-silver, black and red, but this was mostly covered by his dark grey traveling cloak.
"There was a matter up north to attend to." Shadow explained as he threw a small batch of copper and silver coins on the counter. "Dark forces on the move, like an invasion." Shadow's tone was slightly grating and low pitched, slightly reminiscent of a growl.
"That bad huh?" The bartender asked, passing Shadow a pint of a liquor worth the coins on the table. "Not that you're unfamiliar with dark forces."
Shadow sat, smiling slightly at the jab which he should have found offensive. He'd once been tightly tied to the dark forces of the land. "Don't play necromancer with the past Ben." He warned. "Its caused you as much trouble as it has I." Shadow raised his mug to point at Ben in a way that wouldn't stand out much to anyone else in the joint. Ben knew Shadow knew about the cursed scar. It was Shadow who had executed the blow after all. Luckily there were no hard feelings, and Shadow had tried to make amends.
"I here there's been trouble in the outlying towns too." Shadow changed the subject slightly. News traveled fast in pigeon's wings, and even faster by magical means.
"Yeah," Ben agreed grimly "completely wiped out. No survivors for one town, and they say it could have been worse. We'll fight to the last if it comes to that, but its hard to know what we're up against. Time's are changing, and I don't like it."
Shadow closed his eyes, considering what he had learned so far. He couldn't help but agree.
The tavern door swung open, a new person entering, so shadow did not continue the conversation quite yet, but glanced over slightly to see who it was, A new face, at least to him.
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Post by Maximillion B. VonMitternacht on Jun 28, 2017 2:16:07 GMT
((may be short, writing by phone. Hope it's suitable))
The man walking in was a tall, broad shouldered man, with skin the color of ebony, and hair only a few shades darker. The 'whites' of his eyes were a dark red, the irises a faintly glowing yellow-gold. The man had a commanding presence, but less that of a man who was used to being in command, and more just a man people might assume might leap tall towers in a single bound, or - at the very least - hold his own in an arm wrestling match.
He was wearing dark purple finery, an elaborate weaving of silks and leathers, with the occasional golden clasp or chain. A dark purple cloak hung from his shoulders, the cowl drawn back and thebulk of the cloaks drawn back to show the man's clothes and broad, muscular figure, instead of drawn around himself as some cloaked mysterios liked to do.
The heels of his boots clomped loudly along the wood paneled floor, but a trained , seasoned eye would get the impression the man had to TRY and make his footsteps audible, as if he'd just glide along soundlessly otherwise. His face was impassive,not like the face of a stoic badass, but instead a little like a man whose facial muscles just never learned to stretch and flex into smiles, grimaces and the like all too often.
"Long time no see," the man said to the barkeep, offering a polite nod of greeting to the one holding a conversation with him. His relationship with the owner was a new one, not intimate nor even chummy, but the kind a shopkeep might have with someone who rarely came by, but always made an impression when he arrived.
When he made it to the bar, he turned his odd eyes upon Shadow immediately. His eyes narrowed slightly, and Shadow might get the feeling like Max was looking THROUGH him - or, at the very least, at something only his eyes could see - then he nodded to himself, as if answering some question he'd asked himself, and had just answered.
"You strike me as someone who knows things, MANY things at that; someone with a story to tell. If you both would be so kind," he included the owner in his gaze. "I wouldn't mind trading some gossip, a d seeing what's new in ol' Delmarsh."
His acquisition of the major trade routes and land masses was not necessarily tied to his face, as the corrupt businesses the former mob boss had operated had been closed,vthe legit, only SLIGHTLY shady businesses were operated by proxy, and he only showed himself to those who had a reputation for dealing fairly and honestly.
However, in the comforts of Eokia, Max would have no concealment about him, not besides the concealment of his innermost thoughts. His aura, and all it might tell someone who could see it,was in plain view, unconcealed. He had an earnest, plainspoken way about him, almost naive to a point, but with it was a confidence that only a man with power to spare and prowess to resist the consequences of his own naivety could muster.
"The name's Maximillion." He said to Shadow, extending a large, ebony hand, the nails lacquered black but clipped short, neatly.
"Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?"
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Jun 28, 2017 3:16:16 GMT
Shadow remained unfazed by the intense gaze of the eyes upon him, meeting those eyes calmly and neither looking away nor blinking till Maximillion relaxed his gaze.
"I've seen enough." the warrior allowed, turning his attention to the wall behind Ben. The words shadow used were usually used in a more harsh sense, of being done observing a matter, but in this case it indicated that Shadow had indeed seen many things in the land, but that he did not take pride in many of them, and had boundaries regarding what he would be willing to discuss.
Shadow stood in order to take Max's offered hand. Shadow's was covered in heavy silver toned gauntlets, which were clearly metal, but seemed to offer a range of movement close to that which was natural. A claw was built in to each thumb, but the way shadow handled them promised that no one would be unintentionally scratched.
"Shadow" the humanoid dragon introduced himself with simplicity. He had other titles and names for sure but he kept them to himself.
When hands separated, shadow reached for his drink and moved himself over, ensuring a space for Maximillion to sit without needing to walk around Shadow's place.
"we were just talking about the small towns in the south. Apparently some are getting ruined by something." Shadow summarized the last conversation point made while glancing at Ben to see that his additional description was correct.
The barkeeper nodded. "Not much sign on what caused it. The messenger didn't say much other than he'd seen nothing like it before." That didn't say much in Eokia. The sheer variety of abilities and powers made for plenty of things which one person or another might not be familiar with.
"I can check it out if I head that way." Shadow offered. He didn't really need to travel there to find out more details, and he did not sound like he was in a hurry. Maximillion B. VonMitternacht
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Post by Maximillion B. VonMitternacht on Jun 28, 2017 3:30:17 GMT
"That is distressing to hear," Maximillion replied, a thoughtful look on his face. Indeed, he seemed to be giving careful consideration when each spoke, as if taking special care to receive, analyze, process, then digest each sentence.
When he had shaken Sharpe's gauntleted hand, Shadow may have gotten the impression that then hand he shook, bare and uncovered, was made of some kind of hard, dense material. The skin was smooth, save for the knots of muscle that lined the man's arm and outlined the tighter parts of his fine silken tunic, but it was tough as Dragonhide; the intricacies of such a trait ironic, but probably the topic of another time and place.
"I have taken a special interest in this area, and those outlying areas that outline it. I understand that one cannot be everywhere at once, but it bugs me that there is still so much that goes on like this; wonton destruction, and the like. I've been meaning to look into some of these events myself, but have had my hands full with other things."
He ordered a drink, a potent Dwarven Stout, 8 ounces of which could take a hardy human man and put him to sleep only to awaken the next day feeling like death. When he got it, he drank slowly but steadily from it, as if it were mere brother or water he was wetting his throat with
"There's still too much I don't know about these lands. Perhaps, if you do venture in that direction, I could entreat you to accompany me as I do likewise."
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Administrator
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Jun 28, 2017 12:21:43 GMT
"Eokia is a factioned nation. There are plenty of beings and even some groups which revel in the doing of evil. Or simply care not about the lives of others enough, to actively take those that get in their way." Shadow explained grimly. There were sinister forces at work here long before Necropolis had come. Shadow was well aquatinted with some of them, having been bound by a few for a significant span of time in the past, yet most of the worst things were kept in check by the multitude of other forces in this world. Evil things had their place in the balance of things.
Except when they came from too far outside.
"If you heard about the invasion on the planes of Akuzeth, you'll know that in addition to the common rabble, and occasional upstart wizard who's power got to his head, we've got a foreign power on our hands as well, one that can get through the magical defenses of this land with ease, and is not bound to our laws." Shadow explained referring to an event that had happened several months ago, but was still fresh in the memory of many. Shadow had even been there, fighting. He was also referring to laws that seemed just about universal here, built into magic and the way things were done. "Fortunately the factions can be convinced to unite under a common threat. it's happened before, even if its a grueling process." The warrior added knowing that even in the face of a great evil, not all would be lost.
"If you truly are preoccupied with other things, make sure you have no outstanding commitments before you consider accompanying me." Shadow warned. Maximillion had just claimed to be too busy to handle many dealings himself. Shadow wasn't going to forget that the man had other commitments, and he knew well that people in powerful places often were wise to send proxy rather than going all over the world themselves. Maximillion B. VonMitternacht
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Post by Maximillion B. VonMitternacht on Jun 28, 2017 13:02:37 GMT
In the past, Maximillion had been quick to rely upon his half-brother Reidh Thorljottson to handle things for him when he went away on adventures, missions or had to go and deal with some threat to their Home Plane. Not having him here now, however, really put the degree he relied upon the younger brother in plain perspective. It was times like this that he realized just how little opportunity he had given Reidh to really shine as an individual, and part of his feeling shamed for having done this had been why he had suggested that Reidh go and explore this new world, and make a path for himself on his own.
He suspected Izune wouldn't be the type to really care about political and financial matters, and the only other person he really knew of here - his Grandsire Exodus Soulcry - couldn't really be relied upon for paperwork and social matters, despite being great at organizing and managing people. Who did he have who could stand in his place, while he went to investigate this thing?
He had a few ideas of how he could find out who to trust with this task, but right now, he wanted to focus on information gathering and sharing.
"I have something in mind for how things will be managed during my absence," he said, with a confidence he hardly felt. That was the key to business, though, to 'fake it 'til you make it', but still keep your mind and eyes open, and be able to make snap decisions and exercise critical thought when the need arose. It might not be easy, but he was certain he would figure out the best course of action in due time.
"When do you intend to head out, and who would you suggest we speak to, in terms of Factions? If Eokia is as Factional as you say, then our best bet would be to gain the support of Factions who might be enticed by the idea of defending Eokia against threats, and who would benefit from the positive reputation they would gain for helping crush said threat. If need be, I can wave some 'shiny' in front of the faces of the more greedy groups, but I think we would stand to benefit more if we first seek those who are Honorbound to serve and protect. Not just from a financial standpoint, but also because they're not the type to turn tail and run when the going gets tough, and we're going to need people who will have our backs, and who won't try and do something nasty, stab us in the backs, if some villainous type tries to bribe them to 'switch sides' or something."
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Jun 28, 2017 15:51:33 GMT
Shadow chuckled slightly. It was clear how new Maximillion was to this place. Shadow set his half drained mug aside for the moment, clearing some counter space. "I could depart within the hour if I desired." He explained as to the earliest he could set out. He could be extremely prompt and work on short notice when need be. "If i tarry even a half day, than that's the longest I intended to Stay in town anyway." Max would not have much time to prepare, and shadow was already well equipped for such a venture.
"Considering local factions." He framed the scope of those he would list to those close enough to easily contact "Mer and sea beasts, along with the elven, centaur, beast kinds, and elementals are finicky to deal with, but will act when their claims are threatened. Even if they refuse to fight themselves, their blessing is useful to gain if you must cross through their lands." These kinds tended to be a bit separatist, avoiding the other races unless pressed, but could be vicious fighters once stirred to action. The aggressive ones took even an invasion from those who would 'help' as a serious offense unless the proper channels were employed.
"Gryphons are almost always reliable. They have an outpost, nearby, and are efficient couriers, and brave partners in battle." Shadow had fought side by side with some of them. "Dragonkind, are all over the board, and rarely care what others of their race do. The ones you can trust, are a great asset to have by your side, but those you have to bribe turn easily should better opportunity show itself. As for those more easy to speak to, stormport is the nearest neighboring district. The men are said to carry giant's blood, and in some cases that might be true. They ship stone and minerals to Delmarsh and other districts. Some even have extended family here."
"Further out, you've got the nomadic tribes, both of beast and men, the Dwarves, the mountain people, the Starsphere district of which Akuzeth is capital with its heavy multi-racial contacts, and many more. Even god, and celestial kind might help if its a matter that concerns them and you ask respectfully."
While he spoke, shadow drew out a sort of ghostly map across the counter in misty lines, indicating where various groups mentioned called home, to the best of his knowledge.
Shadow certainly knew of a good many races, and he hadn't even listed ones that would be prone to actively hinder a mobilized force yet. Of course he'd have to speak of them when considering tactics, so there certainly was much to consider.
"Its very rare for a threat to be so big that more than one or two local ones need to act, but if the matter is grave enough, which we'll soon find out, it will be simple to find those who won't simply sit still and watch." Maximillion B. VonMitternacht
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