bloonewb

Magic RP (Open to new players)

"No no, call a boat, I said," Rebat chuckled, pointing out to the water. "This is His Might's first river, the Victory River, which feeds into the Dragonblood. On the other side is the Talon's pass. Now, we have to get to the other side, don't we? Now call for one of the crossing boats, and money, I'm sure, will make it ferry us across." Sure enough, the river was never without kobold barges and sailboats going up or downstream, laden with passengers or cargo. "My throat, I could talk forever about it. I am proud, proud to Scen, that I was the first to breach the Traeton walls. I paid for it with this." With that, he pointed to the gash in his throat, where air would escape as he exhaled. "Point is, it cannot call for a ferry. So could you?"

Magic RP (Open to new players)

"Hold, please!" Rebat called, his voice going as loud as it can. Still, however, his cry was quiet, with most of it lost to his failing throat. He hobbled in vain after the healthy dracon, favoring his left foot. "I cannot walk as you can, you see. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to make a concession for me, if we are ever to reach your home together." Still, the distance between him and Mazdak widened till they reached the city limits. He finally arrived at the first river crossing, panting and clutching his throbbing foot. He had to cling on to the shoulders of one of his guards to make the last few lengths. "Let us cross the river first," he said, between coughs and wheezes. "If you please, could you call one of the boats? My voice is not what it used to be. You'd understand, I'm sure."

Game of Thrones : The Pact of Ice and Fire (Always Open)

@Celeste The direction that everyone secretly wants their characters to go in :D

Magic RP (Open to new players)

Rughoi didn't even bother dignifying Mazdak by speaking to him. "Rebat," he called instead, and the disabled commander stepped forward, bowing low as his back would allow.

"Your Might, I am yours to command," he hissed. The wind from the gash in his throat whistled as he talked.

"I remember asking you to escort this diplomat safely to his nation, where he can cause no more disrespect to me or the empire, yet here he still is. Why would you say that is?" Rebat shuddered. He had faced dracon warriors in every battle Rughoi has ever fought, but knew well enough that the rage of the emperor was more dangerous than anything he'd ever seen.

"Forgive me, Your Might. I will see to it immediately," Rebat stuttered. He waved with a scarred claw, and two armed guards approached, gesturing for Mazdak to leave. Their gaze suggested they would tolerate no argument.

"Oh, and one last thing," Rughoi said, before letting Rebat and the guards head off. "Before you return, present yourself to the court at Hekaga. Speak with my voice with the Grand Prince, and continue negotiations there. Most importantly of all, be respectful of the local custom. At least more respectful than this dracon animal. If we must show ourselves to be culturally and civilly superior, then that is the burden of the kobold." Rebat nodded without a word, a few joints in his neck cracking under the strain. "It is well I can trust you with this task, Rebat. My former generals, Merat and Rama, were both found to be treasonous baser creatures. Look at their foolish actions as a guideline on what not to do, even far from home."

"Come with me, esteemed guest," Rebat croaked, opening the door for Mazdak. "You have said enough."

Magic RP (Open to new players)

"Quiet," Rughoi growled, from his place at the far end of the room. "If all you can say is that my very name offends a dracon I care nothing about, then you have said nothing. It is my name, for Hetuis! My name! I do not care if a hundred dracon creatures have bore it before!" He sighed, and Ardasa thought perhaps it best now that she try not to intervene. Rughoi hissed, feeling the air slowly escape his throat, and continued, far more peaceably. "What sacrifices has your grand prince lost, by forfeiting the title of king? He could replace it with any word, but he knows in his heart that anything less than king tastes of ash when he speaks it." He waved at the door, staring at its knob instead of at Mazdak. "Get gone, emissary. I have enough peace already. I don't need protection. Commander Rebat, if you would show the guest the way out?"

"At once, Your Might," croaked the haggard kobold, hobbling over to Mazdak and gesturing for him to follow.

"Double tariffs on Hekaga," Rughoi ordered, when the guest was out of earshot. Kutur quickly noted the command down. "Let them dream their dreams of hegemony. My empire will have none of it, so long as I live."

Magic RP (Open to new players)

"Preposterous, as I expected," Rughoi snorted, reacting to the outrageous compromise Mazdak put forth. "You want to revoke my title? How pretentious can one get?" He walked over to the map he had hanging on the wall, and turned back with a glare that would melt glass. " . . . For what? Protection? Is that how the dracon realms refer now to slavery?" Ardasa went over to whisper her piece where the guest may not hear.

"Ooh, I wouldn't quite approach it that way," she whispered, gazing with fear at the orange dracon standing at the door. He cut an imposing figure, and was a fearsome representation of a dracon soldier. "These people are nobles and lords. They appreciate good diplomacy, and will make concessions our way if we show a bit of respect."

War is not on our agenda, as you would remember," added Kutur, joining in on the conversation.

"Hmm," Rughoi muttered. It was difficult not to spit in the face of a being he hated so much. He looked up at the dracon, then back at his bounded. " . . . Perhaps I have been hasty to reject an offer I had not yet considered. There is no reason both our nations can't get something out of this."

"Don't mind him too much, esteemed guest," Ardasa said, treating Mazdak to one of her brightest smiles. "Rughoi is a good leader, truly. If he comes across as . . . crass, then it is just his love for his people showing through. As he said, both of us can walk away happy. A counter-proposal, if you would listen to it. We create a pact of non-aggression between the two of us, and the Empire of Xigyll will now demand half-tariffs on all merchants flying the flag of Hekaga. Surely a smart negotiator like yourself would know how wealthy you would grow as a result. In that, let us keep the right to call ourselves an empire, headed by emperors. It's just a name, isn't it? A lovely one, coined by Arjun 'the Brave' in his ancient conquests. A culturally-tolerant and all-embracing realm such as the mighty Hekaga would want to preserve such a vibrant and rooted culture. What do you say? Friends?"

Magic RP (Open to new players)

"Crisis, people. Crisis," Rughoi muttered, eyes fixed at the door. "In any moment now, a dracon will be escorted in, one who no doubt follows a false culture while worshipping false gods. Worse still, Rebat is still recovering from the attack outside the Talon Pass. That ought to toss a dampener on the whole thing. Good you're here, at least. I'd hate to have to cut a dracon throat alone." Rughoi was quickly interrupted of his angry tirade by a shout from the gate.

"Announcing the General Mazdak, representing the city of Hekaga!" shouted the herald, bursting into the room. "His Might, Rughoi 'the Unbound', Emperor of all Kobolds!" Rughoi hissed, and stood up to his full height, to face the still-larger dracon emissary.

"I trust you've had a pleasant journey," he said, through gritted teeth. From looking at them, the feeling was undoubtedly mutual. "Care to explain why you hadn't left your swords with the gatekeepers?"

Magic RP (Open to new players)

Commander Qorq didn't trust these stones. His subordinates claim that they are perfectly fine, but Hekaga was not known for its honesty, to say the least. "Check the stones again," he ordered, to the grumblings of the working troops. They were quickly silenced with a glare. "Dracons will go out of their way to destroy an innocent kobold, know that. They will force a kobold into slavery, even if it is not efficient for them, for in dracon philosophy, they see their suppression of freedom and kobold ingenuity as a matter of principle. Now check them again!" All he found in return were mutterings of dissent.
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"His Might wishes your presence at the imperial court," came a voice behind the entwined pair. Kutur jumped away from Kali, and quickly returned back to his shy demeanor.

"But, I-"

"He says its a matter of the future of the empire, magister,"

"Well . . . if you say so . . . " Kutur said, grabbing his robe and slipping it back on. It was still wet.

Guild of Dishonor

Shi sat down on the ground, looking up at the take-charge thief. He came to love these plans, the daring heist followed by the lucrative profit. He filled his head with histories and legends, day by day, always looking for a better opportunity. To think, with the right friends, such would simply come to him. It was only proper, after all, that he devote his attention to a speaker, as he was well taught in the bureaucracy.

Magic RP (Open to new players)

"I'll keep it in mind," the captain said, nodding. This once, he was willing to take the dracon's word for it. The kobolds soon finished unloading the stone and carting it away. A scout jogged over, and whispered his report to him. Apparently, another caravan was sighted outside the city grounds. "Good. Relay the message to His Might."
______________________________________________________
It was a little bit of time before Kutur made his resolve. It was now or never, and he'd much rather it not be never. Slowly, he returned the kiss, tentative and light. He wasn't sure what he was doing, nor did he mind, for being in this moment simply felt right. Despite the awkwardness of not knowing where his hands should go, or how cold the water felt dripping off him, he'd rather be here than with any book in any library.