A5G

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

What's with politicians and dragging a sentence for ten times the required length? And, she had noticed, the higher their station the more long-winded they went. She's used to tune out the mumbo jumbo and fish out the important details, which practically boiled down to the king's uncle - a minister, she recall. What's his name, Thermos or something? - playing the part of an envoy that may be able to either secure a less violent outcome or otherwise open the door so that a directed violence can be applied.

Not as good of a plan as she'd like, but eh. At least there's something to work with.

"Suppose that's the best we can get." She shrugged, not quite agreeing but not leaving either. She'll first see how the others think of the matter. Sparky, in particular, got a good brain underneath that pretty face. And speaking of...

"If it isn't my favorite elf in the world! How you been since I last saw you, Sparky?" It may be hard to determine if Yvonne favor or disfavor someone, what's with how she liberally throw around unwanted nicknames to all. But it's quite simple, really - if it's not something insulting, and wasn't accompanied by cussing, she probably liked the other party to some extent. In this particular case, it's certainly a positive connotation.

Not like the elf caught on, apparently. Nor would Yvonne herself explain it, the behavior coming sort-of naturally to her.

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

So Cedar got grabbed, no wonder he's missing. Too bad, how sad, but that's how the world went. Shit just happened if you're not alert. Wasn't he also nabbed by Freddy's men back then? Seems that he hadn't learned jack shit. Well, since rescuing him was part of the job description, might as well. However, the rest of the job was... how to say it? Problematic, yes.

"Your majesty, from what I hear you're asking us to slay some of the most well-protected men and women in Meche." That's assuming they can somehow figure out who's pushing for the war. Even after they did, it still entailed the killing of some very important people or even the big man, the king himself. Backward as Meche could be, their equivalent of Jonas Delving would still be guarded by some of the best fighters the country can scrounge up. Especially at turbulent times such as this. "Just one, we can likely manage with the people in this room. But any more is suicide mission, they'll have their guards up by then, and I'm not signing up for that."

No offense to the parties present, but they're more sledgehammers than the surgical blades that were assassins. Whatever altercation will blow out of proportion instead of settle down quietly. Sure, there's a few unknown faces this time, but she doubt it'll make up sufficient difference to whatever fighting formation worked last time.

"I'm all onboard up until Stritzel. Anything beyond that, I'd like to hear a solid plan before I throw my lot in."

Whether dealing with king or baron or even just simple village head, mercenaries will be mercenaries. They're paid to take risk, but all the money in the world wouldn't matter if you walk into certain death trying to hoodwink the reaper. There's a clear difference between risky and suicidal, and Yvonne wasn't interested in the latter.

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

The winter had been a productive one. After her last stint at the castle Yvonne had left north toward the veritable warzone that was Tretagor, reconnecting with the old company for a short while. From there they navigated to Helvetia, where she stashed her kingly ransom in the most secure bank she could find. She took a small risk and named the captain her next in kin should she failed to reclaim the gold, a measure from years of trust and relationship. Better them than letting her actual family somehow worm their way into that wealth.

That aside, she restocked and rearmed before making her way back to the land of her birth. There's more to be gained, enough for a truly opulent retirement. She honestly wasn't sure if she would quit even after, she liked her current life too much for it... but perhaps it's something to consider.

Eventually the invitation found its way to her, and back to the castle she went. A few familiar faces, a few new ones. Some were missing, but she suppose it's an inevitable development. Flashing a toothy grin, the mercenary briskly followed Sparky as the summon finally called them to meet the monarch.

"Yvonne Rosenving, at your service."

Her weapons were handed over already, but otherwise Yvonne showed up dressed for war. The brigandine was brand new and expertly made, with a suspiciously familiar scrap of purple fabric sewn on the surface. Her gauntlet, greaves, joint protector, and the open-faced sallet too were gleaming like something fresh from the smithies. All in all, she cut a striking figure not unlike a preening peacock, roguish confidence oozing with her every steps.

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Name: Yvonne Rosenving, "The Mad Blade"

Species: Human

Age: 29

Gender: Female

Appearance: Shorter than average, dark hair, somewhat sun-kissed skin from outdoor activity, and way less scars than one would've expect. Often clad in a set of brigandine adorned with a piece of suspiciously familiar scrap of purple fabric (or a pretty dress, at rarer occasion), and always with at least one weapon in her person.

Images

Bio: When Yvonne was born she's the only child to the opulent but very much declining house Rosenving, it took less than two more decades of ridiculous parties and all-around bad financial management before it was driven to the verge of bankruptcy. Naturally there comes the talk of marriage upon which Yvonne, an oddball obsessed with distinctly unladylike things like driving the business end of a weapon into someone's soft flesh, all but absconded with her great-grandfather's blade. The rest of her life was spent in a wild ride of mercenary work and avoiding (more commonly, well, thoroughly violencing) the men hired by her family and/or her would-be fiance to bring her back. Her journey brought her all round the three kingdoms and more, even after her ancestral home collapsed and pursuers stopped coming.

After stashing the kingly ransom from the last job into a Helvetian bank, Yvonne made her return for the second part as promised. With risk comes reward, and surely ol' Freddy wouldn't be stingy this time around? Besides, she came better prepared this time around...

Skillset: Well versed in outdoor survival, knack for murder and violence, oddly high spatial awareness, dancing, easily thrives in chaotic situation, very good at intimidation, weaves pretty dang well, and is proficient using common melee weapons. Personally prefers the mace despite her title.

Spells:
-Mansplitter (Self-buff. Gain inhuman strength for a very short period. The stronger the effect, the greater the backlash.)
-Warcry (AoE debuff. Inflict terror in a wide area. Greater effect on closer target, and greater effect on direction Yvonne is facing.)
-Bloodlust (Passive. Haste, pain tolerance, and resistance to mental effect. Starts off weak but ramps up as the fight goes on.)
-Resilience (Passive. Harder to injure, less affected by existing injuries, and heals a lot faster than normal at the cost of increased calorie usage.)

Equipment: Daily necessities (preserved rations, a tin pot, medical supply, knapping, change of clothes, etc), adorned brigandine, the sword her great-grandfather wielded that probably never saw use since then until it landed in her hands, a heavy flanged mace, a rondel dagger, a belt of high-quality potions in silver flasks.

Other: Can be inserted to the plot any time it's convenient (or fun) to do so.

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Name: Yvonne Rosenving, "The Mad Blade"

Species: Human

Age: 29

Gender: Female

Appearance: Shorter than average, dark hair, somewhat sun-kissed skin from outdoor activity, and way less scars than one would've expect. Often clad in a set of brigandine adorned with a piece of suspiciously familiar scrap of purple fabric (or a pretty dress, at rarer occasion), and always with at least one weapon in her person.

Images

Bio: When Yvonne was born she's the only child to the opulent but very much declining house Rosenving, it took less than two more decades of ridiculous parties and all-around bad financial management before it was driven to the verge of bankruptcy. Naturally there comes the talk of marriage upon which Yvonne, an oddball obsessed with distinctly unladylike things like driving the business end of a weapon into someone's soft flesh, all but absconded with her great-grandfather's blade. The rest of her life was spent in a wild ride of mercenary work and avoiding (more commonly, well, thoroughly violencing) the men hired by her family and/or her would-be fiance to bring her back. Her journey brought her all round the three kingdoms and more, even after her ancestral home collapsed and pursuers stopped coming.

After stashing the kingly ransom from the last job into a Helvetian bank, Yvonne made her return for the second part as promised. With risk comes reward, and surely ol' Freddy wouldn't be stingy this time around? Besides, she came better prepared this time around...

Skillset: Well versed in outdoor survival, knack for murder and violence, oddly high spatial awareness, dancing, easily thrives in chaotic situation, very good at intimidation, weaves pretty dang well, and is proficient using common melee weapons. Personally prefers the mace despite her title.

Spells:
-Mansplitter (Self-buff. Gain inhuman strength for a very short period. The stronger the effect, the greater the backlash.)
-Warcry (AoE debuff. Inflict terror in a wide area. Greater effect on closer target, and greater effect on direction Yvonne is facing.)
-Bloodlust (Passive. Haste, pain tolerance, and resistance to mental effect. Starts off weak but ramps up as the fight goes on.)
-Resilience (Passive. Harder to injure, less affected by existing injuries, and heals a lot faster than normal at the cost of increased calorie usage.)

Equipment: Daily necessities (preserved rations, a tin pot, medical supply, knapping, change of clothes, etc), adorned brigandine, the sword her great-grandfather wielded that probably never saw use since then until it landed in her hands, a heavy flanged mace, a rondel dagger, a belt of high-quality potions in silver flasks.

Other: Can be inserted to the plot any time it's convenient (or fun) to do so.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

[NPC Post]

The king was the first to leave, followed shortly by the prince who discreetly waved goodbye to the noble youngsters gathering around him. Yet while Alec left to retire for the day, Fredricus still had one agenda left to do before he can truly call it a night. He changed into a more appropriate clothing before taking the seat in his office, finally ready to address the free agents that had completed his mission. Despite the collateral on the way.

Antigone and Matilda already awaited at the office. Those at the party were the next to arrive in the same group, the bear trudging in soon after. He had mixed feelings about this lot - on one hand, they did what they're asked and even uncovered something extra to distract the populace. On the other hand, the whole debacle at Fanghorn had lit the fuse to the powder keg. It's only a matter of time before it all blew up on them. The question was, how big?

His gaze fell on the assortment of irregulars before him, looking almost uniform in their fineries. If he could wield them correctly, his enemies will suffer. But dare he? Dare they?

"We meet again, ladies and gentlemen." The air of weariness still hung over Fredricus like an ill omen, though this time steeled determination instead of fraught worry intermixed on the king. "Before we begin, as a father, I convey my deepest gratitude for recovering my son in one piece. It is truly a shame that such act is to be forgotten in the annals of history, but I hope you understand the sheer necessity of that decision." He nodded at them, the closest thing the king could've gotten to actually bowing. "Nevertheless, I'm afraid trouble hadn't truly departed this land. As my chamberlain had mentioned, I have another prospective job for you all. One that will hopefully stop the flames of war from burning everything, or at least greatly limit the scope. It will undoubtedly be as, if not more, dangerous than the prior trip. If that worries you, you may leave now and be free of any responsibility. Know that if you decline after you hear of the full details, I will have to place you in house arrest until the knowledge is no longer relevant to the security of this kingdom."

This was the last chance to bail out, no strings attached. The reward from the last mission should let a single person to live in relative plenty for the rest of their life.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

"Isn't it a bit too much to shoot the cook?"

Wow, Sparky's well and trully pissed. It's actually kinda hot. Yvonne blinked, looking at the somewhat overdone but otherwise perfectly fine salmon. Shrugging, she took the avaiable fork and split off a small chunk to sample.

"My parents not-so-subtly keep trying to throw me at him, when I was younger. Parties, balls, gathering, just about anything. Met Kirsten from time to time. It didn't really worked out the way they intended, I was way too young back then. But different story this time around, yeah?" The history was told rather flatly, for Yvonne saw nothing particularly important to emphasize. She chewed on the salmon for a moment, grimacing a bit before placing the fork back down. "Ah, I see the issue. It's not a fresh piece, and the cook tried to cover it by cooking it too thoroughly. Shoot him an extra time for me when you get down there, would you kindly?"

It wasn't exactly bad, per se, but for an event of this magnitude? Way below expectations.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Oookay, so why did she said that?

There's part of Yvonne that normally restrained such uninhibited behavior when appropriate, but apparently she's inebriated enough to loosen it up. Otherwise, she wouldn't so easily throw that kind of invitation to Silas who currently stood in an ambiguous crossroad of the political clash. One that will likely turn into armed one sooner than later.

Oh well. Some of her regretted, other part simply taking it at stride, and a different portion suggested going where the problem couldn't touch her. Wouldn't be the first time she had to abandon ship.

Back to her table, there's Jazdia... and someone arguing with her. Rather intensely, in fact. It seemed to be ending though, whether the conversation running its course or due to Yvonne's arrival. Still, the bits and bobs of exchange she caught wasn't a pleasant topic to the ears.

"Lord Speaker Hastings, I am not here to bore myself with your rhetorics. You know who I am, so let us spare ourselves from this tedium. My answer is no, if you are really concerned about what my old colleagues think, then you should stop, for the benefit of both nations."

"I seek what is best for my own nation, Lady Crystalspark. It is such a shame that you don't understand our intention. "

"Oh I understand enough. You will wage war for profit, so do your worse on that. Now, if you please, my friend is coming. Get out of my table!"

Suppressing a scowl, Yvonne brazenly intruded as she returned to her seat like the other party weren't on the verge of becoming the second source of commotion tonight. There's certainly enough eyes on them at the moment, waiting for the pin to drop.

"My bad, that took longer than expected." The mercenary briefly scanned the still covered meal on her side of the table, a servant briskly approaching to introduce the stuff. Then her sight went to the speaker, and finally Jazdia. "You good, Sparky?"

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Yvonne shrugged. Of course the threat of war wasn't over. The border skirmish were still something ongoing and actually intensified, last time she checked - even the supposed "marauders" were disguised professional soldiers. Rescuing the prince only returned the political landscape to the baseline level. Probably not even that, for Freddy had to invest time and resource to rescuing young Alec instead of making any headway toward peace. Depend on how things go, everything going south real quick was very much a possible outcome.

"Eh, there's dozens of merc with flattering nicknames running around. I'm just one of them." Like, for one, Ragnar the Red. Real bastard of a man, but one with undeniable combat prowess to back up his fame. "Sparky's an ambassador? Didn't know she's got such history. I've never even heard of Doc Solomon before... guess you really do know them better than myself."

They were suddenly interrupted by Kirsten, Yvonne actually seeing the younger woman coming but show no hint of it until the former successfully ambushed Silas. She grinned at the antics, one that actually fit Kirsten's age instead of worrying about future and family relationship. Unfortunate that she's too insecure to try breaking out of the shell, but then again not everyone can handle that kind of drastic shift.

"I'm not quite sure about it yet Kirsten, he was still at the small-talk phase!" Said Yvonne, callously throwing the admiral under the bus. "Are you stealing him away? I probably should give you two some room to bond then, I'm sure you dont get this occasion all too often."

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

"Well, appreciate the heads up. They must've kept some good contacts if they moved that quickly... but paperwork takes time, and I could be halfway to Anggolindsto by the weekend if I have to. I've avoided them for a decade, I can do it again." Yvonne offered a hint of a smile, surprisingly genuine this time though it didn't last all that long. Then a tidbit she glossed over resurfaced, the mercenary raising an eyebrow in bafflement. "Hold up, attorney? Who the heck?"

A glance to Sparky, now seated at the table, waving and winking back at her. Yvonne's heartbeat somewhat increased from the gesture. She smiled back, barely catching the tail end of whatever Silas said. Cant help it, that's too fucking cute. Still, it cant be her. Cedar... even less likely. Solomon? Didn't felt quite right either. So who?

"Guess you know more about my colleagues than myself, huh?" She wasn't sure what to expect. "Personally I'm strongly considering that lengthy vacation, but who knows. Maybe you'll not see the last of me just yet."