Curse

Brother Doug · Nov 24, 2006, 01:24 AM // 01:24

The Guild Wars Guru threads have been without a proper RP for far too long, in my opinion. I've decided to try and start one up. Give me a brief description of your character before you post anything IC; I don't want this to get too out of hand. I'd say...four more at the most. Maybe five.

The Basics I'd Want:
Name: Griel Riggs
Sex: Male
Profession: Assassin
Age: 32
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue

Enough of me talking, it's a story you want! And I shall deliver:

The hot Tyrian sun beat down upon a lone figure in the midst of the ruins of Ascalon. If any ordinary traveler were to pass him by and only take a brief look at him, they would merely see an explorer. His light gray vest, dusty brown robes and leggings, and weathered old boots would certainly not give off the look of anyone that important. Neither would the pack he wore. The only thing peculiar about him was the bright maroon cape flowing along his back in the breeze. It seemed strangely out of place for such an everyday-looking man.

If people looked more closely, however, they would see the twin serpent daggers cleverly hidden within his robes. Griel Riggs was not an ordinary man at all, but an assassin. After leaving the Kurzicks and their bitter civil war behind him, Griel had sought out a new life, a new land.
Most importantly, he was looking for a new boss. Any job, little or small, would always get Griel some amount of money. Griel needed the funding, but not for the usual reason; not to satisfy his greed or for mere boasting rights. No. His reasons were…more personal than that.
Griel had grown weary from his travels, but he was almost at his destination. The Sardelac Sanitarium seemed to glare down upon him like a hungry beast, waiting to swallow him whole. The building, the entire countryside, gave of a perpetual feeling of dread. Griel shivered. ‘This…Searing,’ he thought to himself. ‘There has been much unwanted death.’ Getting up from the ground, he strode into the Sanitarium. It was much more crowded than he would have thought. Plenty of people, both sane and likewise, walked within.

“Hello there, young lady!” An elderly man with a grizzly beard strode up to Griel, his walk erratic. He leaned in close, and began to whisper to the assassin. “I’ll give you a tip: don’t eat the rocks! They’re too squishy. Eat the dirt instead.” He took up a large handful of dirt that was crawling with all kinds of disgusting little insects and shoved it into his mouth. “Mmm, that’s good dirt! You want some? It’s free!” He scooped up some more, offering it to the weary traveler. Griel shook his head and quickly backed away. He had heard tales of what the Searing had done to men’s minds, but this…this was worse than he had thought. Griel suddenly realized that the man was back, offering him some more dirt.

“No thank you, sir. I’m quite full from my last-” Griel didn’t finish his sentence, due to the small mouthful of dirt the madman had shoved into his mouth. He spat it out instantly. In the distance, he could make out some guards. Surely they would deal with this troublesome individual. Then he could get back to what he came here for: to find the head of the Sanitarium and offer his…services. ‘After all,’ he thought, ‘they could always use one with my talents to silence any fools that get out of hand.’ He fought back the ever-growing urge to stab the individual as he kept trying to feed him more and more dirt. Before he could get the chance, the guards had noticed the man’s escape, and pinned him to the ground in a flash. As the old man was being dragged away, however, his last few words made Griel’s eyes open with surprise.

“Hey, miss! Or should I say, mister…Griel. If that is your name, I have something much more valuable than dirt to offer you…”

“Quiet, you! Sorry for the inconvenience, sir.” The guard struck the old man with the blunt side of his sword, knocking him out cold. Before Griel could object, he was being taken away to his cell.

(Let's get this party started!

Try not to interfere too much with this plotline right now, though. I have to give the basics of the quest, and I just thought this would be a good place to let people stop and read for now. And no, of course I'm not expecting posts to be this long. I just got carried away in the beginning. Heheh...)

Shadowfrost · Nov 27, 2006, 06:11 AM // 06:11

Name: 'Scythewarden' Mahrek
Sex: Male
Profession: Dervish
Age: 38
Hair: Black; turning grey
Eyes: Brown

Mahrek grew up as a servant-boy on the Dejarin Estate, before Varesh Ossa came into power. His hidden magical ability soon became apparent to a nearby group of Corsairs and they kidnapped him and took him with them to become a corsair. However, after a raucous night on board ship, his drunken 'foster-parents' beat him badly, and threw him overboard only to wash ashore on Istan. He was found by the Sunspears, and began his tutelage as a Dervish. His short, tough life made him take a liking to Balthazar, and by the time he was in his early thirties, he was amongst the god's most favoured worshippers, and one of the greatest warriors in Elona. However, he decided to explore the world and soon travelled to Ascalon, in Tyria.

Before I post my first piece of actual role-play, i need to know what time is it set in, in ascalon; i.e. has the 'game' been 'finished' and the flameseeker prophecies come to pass? or are we still in the years after the searing but before the titans come etc. However, I'll post some background information above, for now.

Brother Doug · Nov 27, 2006, 11:39 PM // 23:39

OOC- Shadowfrost: Welcome! I'd say that this RP would take place after Prophecies is 'finished.' Go ahead and post, it'll get this thread a bit more active. As for me, I'll try and get something more up and reveal more plot either later tonight or sometime tomorrow.

Leon_Ux-ixen · Nov 28, 2006, 06:09 PM // 18:09

Name: Leon Ux-ixen
Sex: Male
Profession: Ranger/Monk(if secondry matters)
Age: 25
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Green

The air layed flat, unmoving. As if it was dead like the ground and plants. A sight that Leon did not enjoy to see. Ascalon was nothing more than a sandy graveyard now. The Ranger stood up from the ground and wiped away the sand from his Luxon armor-a prize for his services in the fued. He streched out his arms before grabbing his packs.

His sights were on Sardelac Sanitarium, he gone to many sights of Tyria to pay his respects to those who had fallen beside him during his travels with Rurik. Sanitarium was but one sight out of many more he would travel to just for the sake of drowing out the guilt he felt for saving those who had died.

He remebered the horrors he had faced when he first entered Ascalon in hope to find a better life, one away from the Mantle. He shook his head and set his minf back on target. He enetred the Sardelac Sanitarium to his surpise people still lived there. Merchent still trying to suck the last bit of gold from the people before moving on-only to be eaten by monsters hopur later. The sight of childern playing brought a smile from under his luxon mask. The sight of a man being dragged away cought his eye aswell, his cape told of a guild meaning his was no traveler. He ignored it.

Bo Azum · Nov 28, 2006, 11:47 PM // 23:47

Name: Hgtrak Bo Azumi
Sex: Male
Profession: Ritualist
Age: 44
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown

Leaning on his staff, Hgtrak observed a small quarrel being ended by harsh looking guards, them dragging an unconscious old man away, making the way free for a shadowy man to enter The Sanitarium.

Never to have been in Ascalon before, he was amazed on how barren these lands still were, considering the time passed. He had heard stories about this place, how nice it once had been, and had expected this place to have recovered more than it was now. Those stories reminded him.

Life in Cantha had been good, Master Togo's training an elightenment. When the afflicted threat had begun to emerge, Hgtrak was called on a mission to another continent. He still wondered what happened to his friends over there, it'd been years after last words from Cantha had arrived. It had been a tough time here, in Tyria, and Hgtrak prayed the circumstances hadn't been as hazardous for his friends over there.

He gave a start when a man wielding a longbow rushed past him, as if not noticing him at all. Ah, well. Duty calls, I should get moving too.

Hgtrak set pace towards The Sanitarium.

Shadowfrost · Nov 29, 2006, 12:26 PM // 12:26

Not many braved the bleak mountains seperating the Crystal Desert and Southern Ascalon, and Mahrek did not see a single other creature during the journey along the tall, thin, winding paths amid the barren peaks.

Stumbling into Ascalon City, late in the afternoon, he found that the rebuilding had only just started to take place. There were no resting places, so he gathered his robe around him and huddled underneath the old bridge that had once led across a now-dry lake to the Ascalon Academy. Night fell, but Mahrek barely slept.

As the sun rose over the land (OOC: Before this I was talking about the day before everyone else is currently talking about), Mahrek made his way to Sardelac, where his true business lay. A precious artifact, that was sacred to Balthazar, had been discovered just before the Searing, and Mahrek had been sent to find a way into the Catacombs underneath what used to be Ashford Abbey and retrieve it.

As he travelled, the few Grawl, Gargoyles and Devourers that had been canny enough to survive the horde of adventurers that had once flooded the city to fight off the Charr scuttled, crawled and fled to their hidden abodes. Soon he saw the fence of the Sanitarium.

Brother Doug · Nov 29, 2006, 07:59 PM // 19:59

OOC: Nice job everybody. I'd say one more and we're good to go. It's not like they'd have to come in now though.

“Sirs! Excuse me, sirs.” Griel had followed the two guards to where they had dragged the old man, just near the entrance to the sealed off Catacombs. The assassin could feel the cold, dank air through the gaps in the rocks. Whatever lurked down there was best left as it was: dead.
“If it doesn’t bother you, could I talk with that man for a moment?” he asked the guards. They only stared back at him in stone-cold silence. Griel had never been good at talking with others, and the foreign lands made things all the stranger. He knew next to nobody in this strange new world. After a moment of awkward silence, one of the guards gave a rough grunt to the other. They placed the elderly man in a tall cage and slammed the door shut. They then proceeded to walk away.

“Thank you, miss,” the stranger said. “If you hadn’t wished to speak with me, those guards might have thrown me into the Catacombs!” He gave a nervous chuckle and continued speaking.
“So, Griel…if Griel is your name, 'little girl…' I’m assuming you’re here for the same reason most everybody around here is.”
“And what might that be?” the assassin leaned in closer to the cage.
“I’m talking about the treasure, son! That famed ‘Artifact of Balthazar’ doodad. Made of pure gold, so they say. Said to have some sort of otherworldly powers, but you never know the stories some folks will give a crazy old coot. ” the old man made a horrible noise that sounded like he was coughing up a hairball. Griel wasn’t focusing on the man in the cage right then. His thoughts were drawn to this item…this treasure. ‘Forget an employer,’ he thought. ‘This artifact could solve everything.’ He decided to probe the old man some more.
“A treasure, you say? And how do you suppose one would find such a treasure?”
“Oh, that’s easy. It’s located somewhere…” the man pointed a wizened finger into the dark depths of the Catacombs. “…somewhere down there. But there’s no use going to a place that’s shut-in. I keep telling these nice folks that there’s a much easier way to enter the Catacombs, but nobody listens. I’m too insane, they say. Mind handing me some more dirt?”

Sighing, Griel shoved a handful of dirt into the cage. “You said there was another way to enter the Catacombs?”
“Oh, right! The back door. That would be somewhere around Wizard’s Folley, near the base of the Shiverpeaks. Rather hard to get there, however. There’s the problem of wolves, devourers, golems, all sorts of nasty little buggers. I suggest you take some friends along with you. If you have recruiting trouble, I’d also suggest heading towards the merchant tents. That seems to be where they’re all gathering.” He gave the assassin a grin. Slightly smiling back, the assassin headed in the direction of the merchants, where a small group of people were already gathered…

Leon_Ux-ixen · Nov 29, 2006, 10:24 PM // 22:24

The ranger had found a nice booth where a merchent from Kyrta was selling fruit. How this fruit had no rotted on the long journey was beyond him. As the ranger approached the merchent knew Leon's true heritage. "Welcome friend, what can I do for you?" Ask the man with a wrinkled smile. He wore a semi-loose pale green robe with a few multi-colored beads hagging from the ends of the arms. He bared no hair but a small cloud whiye beard that hung from his chin. A staff rested on the booth it had a certain "glow" to it.

After doing giving a small look over Leon pointed to what we would call an apple. The old man gave a small nodd and handed the ranger the shiny red fruit. "That will be ten gold." Leon leaned his bramble longbow on the booth and fetch ten golden coins from a leather pouch that hung from his belt and handed them to the man. "Thank you" With that he removed his beaded Luxon mask and stuffed in his backpack before picking up his bow. He walked over the a group of chattering people, he often enjoyed listening to the pointless babble of townsfolk, once in ahwile though they would speak of some job or monster to be slain. He leaned on a boulder about two feet away from th crowd and began to eat his fruit.

Bo Azum · Nov 29, 2006, 11:55 PM // 23:55

A few copper coins, a supicious looking chuck of beef and a bread as hard as a rock was all he got for the cloths found around Sardelac. Poor people, this place is more depressing then I've ever could imagine. What's going on here, no one showing a slight sign of distant happiness. Maybe it's been a mistake to come here. And where is that contact?

Hgtrak went over to the merchant again.
"Ale, please, all there's to do here." The merchant passed over some brownish slush, still damping. Hgtrak took a gulp, coughed, and muttered "And even this is torment..."

Waiting, he carefully finished his ale-ish smurry.

The Thing · Nov 30, 2006, 12:23 AM // 00:23

Name: Juniper Thrynn
Sex: Female
Profession: Highwayman (Me/W)
Age: 26
Hair: Auburn
Eyes: Blue/Green

A devourer scuttled about, looking for an easy meal. It's beady eyes glittered as luck seemed to favor it. There, in the middle of a stone bridge, lay a corpse. It greedily clicked forward to claim it, when a rock struck it clear in the face. "Hey! I'm not done with him yet." A lone woman sat perched on the serrated edge of the bridge. Her outfit of brown leather and scarlet cloth looked untouched by the elements, even as she sifted through the dirty wares of the dead merchant. A golden mask was tied to the back of her head, and her auburn hair kept to the right side of her head in a trio of tresses. She sniffed at the devourer as it hissed and raised its twin tails.

After a moment of exchanged glares, the creature let out a small yelp and scuttled away. Juniper looked back at the bag she was holding to notice it had broken and a small pile of wrecked armor lay near her feet. She sighed, "Another fool who just buys any junk adventurers give'em." She stroked a green and golden brooch which kept her bangs from hanging in front of her left eye. "Oh well, find peace in the mists, cheap bloke." Her boot kicked through the rusted iron as she slinked off.

Hypernecrofear · Nov 30, 2006, 01:04 AM // 01:04

Name: Hyper Necrofear
Sex: Male
Profession: Necromancer
Age: 27
Hair: Grey
Eyes: White

He had not seen this place for years, just returning from a long journey, his mind blown by the change that had taken place throughout the years. A barren wasteland Ascalon now was. Red skies and charred ground made this place unrecognizable.

As Hyper entered the Sanitarium he was overwhelmed by old memories and emotions. There he and his sister used to play and frolic as children before the Searing. Now, a barren wasteland, Hyper wondered why he brought himself back here.

As he thought about these changes, he walked over to a group of travelers, brought together for unknown reasons, hoping to find some answers.

OOC: That was horrible. I haven't done this in awhile. Hopefully i'll get back in the swing of doing an RP.

Brother Doug · Nov 30, 2006, 01:24 AM // 01:24

OOC: Wow, this has suddenly attracted plenty of people. I'd say we are now officially full on the positions. We're actually one over the limit I'd said...but I'll let it slide. Guess we'll see how it all works out now. Happy RPing!

HKSdivision · Nov 30, 2006, 02:22 AM // 02:22

Name: Takeshi Gen
Sex: Male
Profession: Warrior
Age: 25
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown

Covered in dirt, a tall muscular figure had appeared from the corner. Walking into what used to be rich, green fields had turned into a barren wasteland. The dirt paths, broken statues and red sky had brought a gloomy feeling to this place. "What on Earth has happened here....?" Only a few hundred feet from reaching Sardelec Sanitarium, he knew he would find some kind of shelter from this breezy cold evening.

Brother Doug · Nov 30, 2006, 08:19 PM // 20:19

OOC: I'm sorry, HKSdivision, but I just posted above that we've reached our maximum limit. Maybe if somebody drops, you can join. Once again, my apologies, and better luck next time.
Hyper- It's alright, it always takes a bit to get back into things.

Bo Azum · Dec 01, 2006, 01:54 AM // 01:54

Feeling lightheaded, and, to no surprise, not at all too good after finishing the grog, Hgtrak took time to have a look around. By Grenth, things don't look promising. Bet someone might fall apart of misery here.

Suddenly, guards appeared at the entrance, blocking the way. "For now, nobody is allowed to go in- or outside of this premises!!", one of the guards yelped, his voice quite an unbearable pitch. Now this better be good

A panicky local fainted, and some heading for the gates were cut short by the guards. About everyone had gotten to their feet, hands on the hilt of their weapon.

Brother Doug · Dec 01, 2006, 02:22 AM // 02:22

The crowd was bustling with plenty of different people. The small group of stalls carried various fruits, some of which the assassin pocketed when the merchants weren’t looking. As Griel walked around the crowd of people, he tried to catch snippets of what they were saying. Being a crowd, it was rather hard to make out where one conversation ended and another one began. Griel sighed; he would get little information here. The only thing he could do now was gather up a small band of adventurers to assist in finding the Artifact. He looked around, trying to pick out anyone who would be wise or strong enough to help.

Judging from the number of insane people there, he wasn’t finding many people.

Griel was just about to give up and try his luck in the city, when two guards, possibly the same two from before, appeared at the entrance, blocking the way.
“Hear us! Under the order of our rightful King Aldelbern, for now, nobody is allowed to go in or outside of this place!” The guard’s voice was squeaky and high-pitched. Griel ground his teeth together and put his hands to his ears. ‘I think I liked it better when he was silent.’

It didn’t take long for panic to spread throughout the confines of the Sanitarium. A panicky local had fainted, and most of the crowd had their hands on their weapons. Fearing the worst, Griel slowly approached the high-pitched guard.
“Pardon me, sir, but just why has the Sanitarium gone into this lockdown?”
“A simple caution, sir. We are on the alert to find and possibly kill a deadly criminal: an assassin. As of now, we have no name or face for this mysterious killer. We are placing the area under lockdown until we receive more information in case we have located said assassin. Now please, wait in the merchant area until further notice.”

This was going to make things more complicated. Griel had hoped that his…past deeds…hadn’t followed him to Tyria. Being an assassin always meant killing one influential person or the other, and it always got one party angry. Now, with the law after him, Griel’s quest would be much harder. He decided it would be best to stay low for the time, possibly rally up a few people to fight on his side, then escape at the last moment. It was a risky plan, but Griel had seen worse.

The Thing · Dec 01, 2006, 04:18 AM // 04:18

Juniper was headed North from the Regent Basin, and kicked up red dust as she whistled around a bend in the road. She was headed to Sardelac, for she had found it profitable to sell her ill-gained items back to the other merchants; however a sour surprise awaited her as she reached that village on the outskirts of the Sanitarium. What had its name been? No matter, as it was now just a big pile of ash. What was unusual, were the extra guards she could see posted right outside Sardelac. A few more-or-less sane people lived a foraging existence out here; the authorities had usually kept them at bay, but that had been given up on after a year or so. There was little left to salvage anyway.

Juniper walked up to one of these salvagers. To the wretched poor soul, she might as well have looked like a noblewoman. "Hey, half-rabid bum! What's going on here?"
"You-you aren't a charr are you?"
Juniper winced. It was hard telling the difference between the sane and the nutcases around these parts. She took a sweet soothing tone, "No, I am not a charr, dear. I have no fur, see? No tail, no claws, no bloody flamin' horns."
"Oh, what a relief! I saw guards go over there, talked about not letting anyone in or out of the Safe Place." the man whispered plaintively "I was afraid they had charr there."

A discharge of static electricity from the large crystal nearby scared the man into a cowering state while Juniper tried gauging the situation.

Hypernecrofear · Dec 01, 2006, 05:20 AM // 05:20

Hyper looked around the Sanitarium in confusion.
"What in Five Gods is going on?"
Hyper slowly walked to the entrance to see what all the ruckus was about. "Guards, what is wrong and why can't i leave this place?"
"By King Aldelbern's order we are looking for someone, now leave us be or else you will find the same fate as the person we are searching for."

Hyper, knowing of Aldelbern's short temper and ways of punishing criminals, took this opportunity to walk away and go to the statue of Dwayna. "Now is the perfect time to meditate," Hyper thought. And so he sat down near Dwayna's pedestal and entered a trance like state. "Maybe I can get some light of the situation if I attune myself to Grenth."
(He can contact Grenth spiritually due to him almost killing himself by giving him scars all over his body... you may want to read the Old School Roleplay if you want to learn more about him)

OOC: Doug, i hope you don't mind if I did this... as its part of his backstory.

Leon_Ux-ixen · Dec 01, 2006, 06:54 AM // 06:54

Before the Ranger could hear anything potenaily useful the guards had made a bold move. The coward was brought into a state of panic for what reason was beyond Leon considering most didn't leave anyways. The people were ready to strike like a pack of wolves ready to charge in synch on a deer. "This isn't good" He thought with concern.

He went to ask the guards what the reason was beyond thier mvoe when he found out Leon was more annyoed than surpise. The king yet again, the king who was responsibale for his son's death and gods forbid the death of Ascalon. Before he turned he cought eye of the man that had been taken away. Along with another figure who has asked the same question. "Odd" He whispered to himself. Things were unsuaully odd this day, something was afoot. Leon pull his long hair into a half ponytail than steped up the "Adventurer". "Excuse me I coudln't hear over the crowd. What did the guard say?" He asked though he knew the reason he was more itnersted in seeing how the man reacted.

Shadowfrost · Dec 01, 2006, 09:01 AM // 09:01

OOC: Sorry, i'm a bit behind. Oh well, here goes:

As Mahrek walked down the hillside towards the Sanitarium's gate, right in front of him the guards pulled the gate shut. As he got closer, he heard a commotion as people complained to the guardsmen, although he didn't yet know why.

When he reached the bars, a commoner finally noticed him and walked over. "Why'd they close the gates?', Mahrek asked almost casually.
The commoner replied 'Something about a fugitive, hiding in here somewhere. No one is allowed in or out until they find him.
"Seems I'll be waiting outside for a while, then,' Mahrek replied.

Mahrek walked to a nearby rock, brushed away some pebbles and sat down, leaning against it. He put his scythe, orante with it's thin, decorated blade and near-black handle, down next to him and meditated.