Jinxer

Original Roleplay - Bloody Petals Fall - A Knight Roleplay

This looks like a well thought, classic medieval-style RP. I'm definitely interested.

The Gaia Project

Sounds like a fun idea - count me as interested!

The Adamant World

Contracts Available

Grand Mausoleum - Taken
We are looking for a team of Powder Mages to escort and aid our archaeologists at a new site found on the outskirts of the Grand Mausoleum. No real danger is expected but bandits have been seen in the area and have been known to steal vital equipment from us before. Payment will be a basic payment of ten silver a day, plus expenses, and a share in any proceeds from the search.

Napegeraios Hearthlands
Many of our sheep have gone missing in the past weeks with signs of animal attacks and possible banditry. Urgent aid required in removing threat from flocks vital to my family's welfare - one hundred silver for removal of whatever threats face our herds.

Hatkadedyet
One of our scholars has gone missing, bearing a key to some of the sacrosanct library chambers. Preferably return the man alive but the key must be found. Payment of seventy silver for the key, an additional fifty available for the scholar.

Nawade
Unsubstantiated reports about smugglers reaching the Old Capitol need looking into. The City Guard lack the resources or manpower to search beyond the city limits, Powder Mages required. Possible danger. Fifty to two hundred silver depending on results of search.

The Adamant World

@HecateProxy@Rigmarole@Torack@OppositionJ@Lasrever@Snagglepuss89@wolverbells

Teams are:

Lyrel, Raven, Juniper and Gwen.

Aaron/Erinn, Nila and Franca. (+Dorenas).

Edit: starter contracts are up in 0th post. In future I will be looking for input/suggestions on these (we will expand to more of the world as well, rather than just close by cities).

The Adamant World

Alexandreus

Rings under his eyes, a mouth that would not stop yawning, a stooped gait. Yes, the lack of sleep was certainly showing, he decided. He turned away from the offending sight in the mirror and sought out clothing appropriate for the day ahead, one that should rightly be administered by the Master but she was away so the responsibility fell to her loyal lieutenants. As dearly as he loved Mirande, she was not the type to ensure the smooth running of such an occasion; she was all noise and fervour while he was quiet and planned. They made a good team, he knew, but as with any great partnership they also managed to get on each other's nerves a great deal, especially while cooped up in the guild rather than being out there, completing contracts as they had done in years past.

Shaking away the nostalgia that threatened to distract him, he rifled through his carefully ordered wardrobe and picked out some austere robes, dark with some plain patterns woven in silver thread up around the shoulders and chest. It was but the work of a moment to change into them, stiff and less comfortable than his usual attire but the new members needed to see something official today and no doubt Mirande would show up in something overly flamboyant.

There was nothing he could do about the clear signs of a lack of sleep but he hoped that being up on the balcony above the hall would give him distance enough for that to not be noticeable. The physical detriment he washed away with a small intake of Adamant, the strength from the powder filling his body with energy and powder. He only took a little, enough to feel well rested and to carry him through the morning. The Master's early warnings about the creeping addiction many fell to from the powder had always rung strongly in his mind, perhaps reflecting his cautious nature in all things, and so he had always rationed Adamant to himself tightly.

The halls outside of his quarters were quieter than usual but, of course, most would have awoken early especially for the day. He weaved his way through the labyrinthine maze, his feet knowing by habit where to take him, and he came upon barely half a dozen guild members, mostly the older sort who had risen for the event but were in no rush. They nodded to him respectfully and he returned the gesture as he swept past, his mind on what he would have to say. There had been little time to prepare, almost the entire night sorting out Adamant supplies for the recruits as well as organising teams on top of the usual onslaught of contracts that always arrived after a successful muster.

"Mornin' to y'all, both my fellow old timers and the green-behind-the-ears recruits arrivin' today!"

He froze, hearing Mirande's distinctive voice and accent echoing down the halls to reach him. Perhaps he should have seen this coming but he had never managed to keep up with his partner's ways even after a decade of fighting together. With a resigned sigh he continued onwards, more slowly now that time was no longer of the essence, toward the entrance up onto the balcony.

---

Lyrel Swistral

This woman, Gwen, had such a refined manner of speech it was becoming hard for Lyrel to keep up. Of course, she was not a full street-urchin herself but this woman was more ladylike than most she had spoken to in a long time, more accustomed as Lyrel was to dockworkers, petty thieves and slavers. The way she spoke sent Lyrel's mind back to times she had been scouting out possible targets, working as some servant in their household and listening to the gossiping of the rich heiresses. No, the vocabulary might have been as expansive but this Gwen simply spoke... properly. It was demeaning, Lyrel, realised, to associate the woman with directionless rich women merely by her manner of speaking.

"By ship? Ah, you're the same as me except I came from Regis." She left out the part about how she had been a slave rowing that ship but such details were of no use to her or the others around her, not anymore. It was certainly a past she no longer wanted to remember or dredge up. "I'm still getting used to it myself. Regis Hill was a port city but not like here, this place is so much richer 'cause of the Adamant trade coming in." She winced at the colloquialism, would Gwen judge her for it? Well, better to find out sooner rather than later. Out of the corner of her eye she saw someone slip into a chair nearby, a woman even smaller than herself but with a similar build, but turned away. It was an old habit, wanting to know where everyone around her was but she needed to be less jumpy here. At least while she was inside the guild, that was.

"Mornin' to y'all, both my fellow old timers and the green-behind-the-ears recruits arrivin' today!"

She looked up to see Mirande standing on the balcony edge, not holding onto anything to support herself but with fists on hips and her back straighter than any soldier Lyrel had seen but there was not even a hint of imbalance in her posture. The woman had always radiated an easy confidence and that was captured masterfully in that one pose as she surveyed the hall and all who were in it were eyes, such a bright orange that they seemed to glow like the sun itself, a splash of colour against the contrasting darkness of her skin and the brilliant white shock of her hair. Dressed today in bright red leathers, her trademark rapier at her hip and a forest green jacket, her clothes clashed with each other and her physical features but Mirande had never cared; this was a woman who lived brightly and loudly.

"No time for breakfastin', we've got business to get down to." She flamboyantly pointed toward a large board set against the wall to left of the guild entrance, a towering structure built of redwood and split into three sections by vast columns looking to be the entire truck of the tree from which they came. Large sheets of pine crossed the gaps and numerous sheets of paper and vellum were nailed to this, most of them clustered at the right end of the board closest to the entrance. "Those of you been here a while know this here board but for those of you just got here, this here be where y'all get your contracts, right?"

Mirande stepped off the balcony. Lyrel could hear the intakes of breath all around her and she felt herself gripping the table in front of her, as if she could do anything from where she sat, but the lieutenant dropped the twelve or so feet to the floor in a blur of colour and then walked on as if she had just stepped out from a carriage. A wide mischievous grin on her face as she strode toward the board, she waved down those closest who had jumped from their seats in panic although the guild veterans remained in their chairs, eyeing their new recruits with amusement. Lyrel breathed out, sitting back with a forced effort and trying to relax her taught muscles as Mirande reached the board and gestured to the most filled section. That had been a display of Secondary Flare but it was beyond anything Lyrel had seen before.

That's what it means to be a lieutenant in a guild, I guess.

"This end of the board is where you recruits will get your jobs. When you get better we let you do some of these ones, harder but with bigger rewards." Mirande was walking up the board, pointing to the sections until she reached the final board which had only a dozen or so contracts posted to it. "Only the best're allowed to choose from this part so don't even think 'bout takin' one from here, understand?" Hands on her hips again as she stared the hall down, the woman eyed the concentration of recruits who were gazing at her, drinking in most every word. "Now, you'll be in teams and we made some up ahead of time for y'all, seein' as you don't know anythin' yet."

She then started walking out amongst the recruits, pointing them toward their new teams. Lyrel watched, wondering how she had remembered all of the groups. Mirande held no notepad or anything else to remind her so it must have been from memory. That was unless she was choosing them without previous consideration but that level of randomness seemed too much, even for her. The tall woman boisterously moved the recruits around, encouraging them towards their new teams, flashing her shining grin and laughing as she berated their hesitation and pushed them toward their groups.

Despite herself, Lyrel found herself to be nervous and wiped her sweaty palms on her trousers. What was she worried about? She had been here in the guild longer than the others and they could only go on 'safe' missions. Besides, her Primary Flare should let her see any approaching danger so they would be safe, surely? It was her job to be confident, as the longest serving, even if only by the smallest of margins, recruit to the guild.

"Lyrel! Let's see. Well, you're here so you might as well be in the same group. You come with me!" Mirande pointed at Gwen before rushing Erinn away and Lyrel started to worry in earnest. It seriously was looking like the lieutenant was assigning people randomly but surely this had been the same in the past? The taller woman had moved off talking to the new arrival Lyrel had noticed earlier and pointing towards her and Gwen, giving the unfortunate an energetic shove before twirling away to her next group. There she separated a woman whose hair was almost as pale as Mirande's, sending her towards Lyrel's group, and then chivvying a redhead away with Erinn still firmly in her grasp toward a strong-looking woman carrying a sword.

As the others of their group arrived Lyrel mustered her small courage and forced a smile at them.

"Looks like we'll be working together. I'm Lyrel and this is Gwen, we've just met as well. Nice to meet you both." Before anyone else could speak, Mirande shouted over the hall, now standing on the bar with what looked to be a large tankard in her hand.

"Your teams are all set, better get crackin' with those contracts now, little chicks. Lots o' jobs on that board but only a few of them are worth your time. Find one you like and then bring it to me or Alexie over there," she pointed toward where Alexandreus had just entered the hall, having forgone the balcony apparently, "so we can register it. You'll get your Adamant before you leave."

Stunned silence met her as the small groups, looking mildly harassed, stared at the ball of energy standing atop the bar. For their part, the servants working behind it seemed entirely unperturbed, going about their business and taking advantage of the small lull to tidy up. Mirande threw back her head, barking a laugh at the ceiling before pointing at the board behind them all.

"I said get movin'!"

After a moment's further hesitation groups began moving toward the board, slowly at first and then faster as they began to see the other teams as competition. Lyrel found herself standing up as well but what good would it do for all of them to force their way through? They only needed one job between them.

"What kind of contract do we want? Quickly - there won't be any left!"

The Adamant World

@HecateProxy@Rigmarole@Torack@OppositionJ@Lasrever@Snagglepuss89@wolverbells

I'll be moving us on a little by Sunday afternoon (GMT) as mentioned on Discord.

The Adamant World

Lyrel Swistral

@OppositionJ@Rigmarole@Snagglepuss89

One after another they appeared in quick succession, new members seeking out their fellow recruits to introduce themselves or to seek solidarity in numbers. Lyrel's first instinct was to shrink away and hide, a hard-learned habit of trying to avoid attention and running away when noticed seeking to override her more cognitive intention to connect with the people here. The food in her mouth and the legs crossed under her, thankfully, prevented her immediate flight and even the most observant might put down her immediate jitteriness down to nerves or surprise rather than anything more significant.

She swallowed the food she had been chewing, feeling her throat constrict as the second wave of panic at being talked to approached so she washed it down with some of her tea despite its near boiling temperature. She winced as it cleared her airways with its heated passage while simultaneously trying to mask her obvious aversion to social interaction. By the Sleepful Watcher, she was not doing well at this!

Her first 'guest' looked travel worn, the brightness of her clothing making the marks of dust and dirt one naturally accrued from being in the outside world even more noticeable but Lyrel herself had not exactly made herself presentable. Her hair was bound roughly into a ponytail but that was clearly brushed in a hurried manner and she was wearing the same clothes she had gone to sleep in: a white blouse that was beginning to be more grey than its brighter relative and simple black trousers, both creased from her nightly tossing and turning.

"Mirande said they were a gift... some grateful artist. They make everything seem brighter, somehow." She left out the part about how she rose early every morning to see the spectacular display, a selfish part of her wanted to keep that a secret from the other recruits for a little longer. "In a way, I suppose. I've been here for a few weeks now, the Master," she paused, working out how to explain her arrival without revealing too much, "she brought me into the guild ahead of the muster. I'm Lyrel, nice to meet you."

Another young woman arrived and greeted them before moving on just as a third arrived with an ebullient greeting. More and more people were spilling into the hall as the morning progressed, breaking their fast or just woken by the sound of life stirring all the way into the heart of the guild. Some of the new members who had not slept in the guild the night before were also arriving, entering the hall with nervous glances all around them and all admiring the stained glass windows in the wall. From outside they looked unusual, almost tasteless because of their lack of pattern or apparent design but inside the mastery of their creation was shown by the differing hues of light washing over the hall. It was chaotic but not random, shifting and yet still calming; it was alive and that was what Vale Craft represented to Lyrel, it was perhaps why she found herself so attached to those windows.

"The windows were a gift." She explained again to the newcomer whose clothing did not quite seem to match her, a little too masculine but the same could be said of Lyrel herself. Part of her wondered whether that was how others saw her, she was too used to her appearance to find it an oddity and had spurned dresses and more feminine apparel for the vast majority of her life, ever since working on the docks as a child. "The guild has money though. A lot gets spend on feasts and parties, I heard. Oh, I'm Lyrel and this is Gwen. We just met as well." She gestured to the woman in the white, travel stained attire, and glanced at her abandoned breakfast. At least she had eaten most of it before others arrived, it would see her through the morning easily.

A glance around showed her that Mirande and Alexandreus had not yet arrived and she found that surprising, having expected at least the latter to have been in the hall to greet the new recruits. Mirande was more of a free spirit and paid little attention to ideas around etiquette although she took her responsibilities seriously but Alexandreus always seemed so serious, so proper. For now she would have to continue talking with the others until an announcement was made, as much as she wanted to find a quiet corner.

"Gwen, have you come far to the guild? You look well-travelled."

The Adamant World

Not my finest piece of work but I wanted to get started.

We are a go!

The Adamant World

Dilei - Vale Craft Guild

"We've got a lot of newcomers this year."

The two of them were working by oil-lamp, all light from outside diminished with the setting of the sun, although there was no telling exactly what time it was. Alexandreus placed the sheaf of papers he had been flicking through onto the table and reached for a cup to his right, meticulously placed on a small saucer not unlike ones used to collect water below potted plants, and raised an eyebrow at his companion. The other lieutenant, leaning precariously back on one leg of her chair with riding boots nonchalantly atop the table to brace her unsafe position, had already abandoned her reading and was instead flicking through one of those penny dreadfuls she'd developed a taste for recently. Absently she hummed in agreement, her mane of white hair spilling down her back and chest in loose curls and stark against her dark skin and mismatched clothes of red and green.

Shaking his head in fond, if frustrated, resignation, Alexandreus sipped at his cup and then returned to his task. Out of the two of them he was the one more suited to this kind of plodding, methodical work. All of the new Mages joining their guild had been assigned rooms but now came the task of forming teams, with supervising members, out of those newcomers that would most likely work well together and that was a painstaking, lengthy task. Mirande's Flare was useful for seeking out other Powder Mages and when their enrolment came about she threw herself into their initiation with all the force of a Rynalemese storm but in this it was perhaps better than she tried not to get involved, it would only make his work harder.

"There ain't that many, Alexie." He looked up to see her patting the papers on the table in front of her although she still seemed to have her nose in that god-awful book. The Mystery of the Blount Exorcisms. Even the title lacked imagination, never mind that many would consider setting an undoubtedly salacious story in the holy city nothing short of blasphemy. Why had the Master given Mirande one of those cursed books? Just because she would like it did not mean it was wise to give her such a mind-rotting distraction. "Just more gooduns. Not like the usual haul of half-hearters that drag themselves in."

He winced, glancing toward the heavyset door to make sure that it was locked lest any of those 'half-hearters' happened to be overhear their conversation. Blessedly it was shut firm and, so late into the night, it was unlikely any would be up and about and certainly not trying to eavesdrop on their stand-in Masters. The glamour, the honour, of joining a guild and becoming an official Powder Mage would be something that would not fade from their new recruits for some time. In due course that spark of awe he saw in their eyes whenever he passed would transform into respect as they settled in and came to know that the guild's lieutenants were people, not merely the folk heroes the locals gossiped about.

"Either way," he turned back to Mirande and reached across the table to take her pile of records, "there should be some interesting teams we can form." Feeling a rush of air he snatched his hand back just as Mirande slapped hers down on the papers he had been reaching for, one of her orange eyes peeking out over the cheap book in her hand.

"Aye, 'we'. Done mine, Alexie and no changin' my decisions, y'hear? Get yours done quick-sharp so we can turn in, why don't ye?" That glowing orb vanished again, the penny dreadful lifted up as she returned to her task, leaving Alexie to shake his head and returned to his work. Once she had turned in for the night he would have to come back and check her assignments. Mirande's approach to team assignments was a lot like her cooking: see what happened when you mix random elements in. It was both brilliant and awful in equal measure and Alexie's obsessive nature could not handle it, not while the Master was away.

It was going to be a long night.

---

Lyrel Swistral

The halls of Vale Craft were silent except for the fluttering of the oil lamps along the walls, every other one still lit for the members returning late from completed jobs or leaving early for new ones. This deep into the bedrock of the cliffs there was little natural light in the halls although some of the rooms, those facing west out over the sea, had windows in them but it was mostly the higher rank members who had those quarters; newcomers slept deeper into the complex but that suited Lyrel just fine. She had known nothing but nighttime for the last few months, the light of day a sign that she should have been sleeping and preparing, and a dark room with no invading sunlight was familiar to her and that was comforting. Her days of freedom, sneaking through the night and thieving from the unjustly rich, were fond memories and she missed those times and the people who had crept along in the darkness with her.

It was not that she did not trust these people. No, her loyalty to the guild and the Master was absolute and she had been hard at work trying to prove that although the Master's absence did make her feel uneasy, as if her only benefactor had disappeared without a trace and left them with their untrustworthy family. She knew that that was not the case, that Alexie and Mirande would see to her safety just as the Master would, but some scars ran too deep to heal after just a month and the slave brand on her lower arm still itched something terrible despite Alexie's healing salves. She would need to beg another from him, even if the scarring had healed such that the brand's meaning was unreadable it still felt hot, sometimes as if that glowing hot metal was being pressed down again.

"Good morning, young one."

She skirted away to the other side of the corridor on instinct as light spilled out from an open doorway, one of the older guild members standing in the arch with a harmless, amiable smile on his face. Her eyes darted to the cane in his hand, his stooped back and that relaxed posture and she found herself wondering if he had his purse on him.

Stupid! You're not her anymore, this is family now!

"Mornin'." She mumbled, trying not to run as she hurried on her way while banishing the guilt she felt at her old habits resurfacing. Today was important and she needed to be the new Lyrel, the Vale Craft Powder Mage and not the captured thief, the slave. Today, she would be assigned to a team made up from the new cohort and begin taking on jobs, serving the guild and truly leaving behind that old life.

"Off to see the illuminations?" She grinned sheepishly and saw a knowing smile spread across his pale lips. Vale Craft obviously looked after its retired members or else why would there be so many old people here? "They never grow old. Not like me, at least!"

He laughed, an edge of wheezing making its way into the sound, and she smiled in as agreeable way as she could before waving an awkward farewell, fearing that he might engage her in further conversation and that was not something she felt prepared for just yet. More importantly, though, she needed to hurry or else she would miss it. Her slippered feet moved awkwardly so she kicked off the soft, comfortable but ultimately unpractical footwear and ran down the corridor toward the feasting hall, her bare feet making barely a noise as she moved. Those days as a thief, although behind her and now filled with shame mixed with joy at their mere memory, had given her skills, useful ones that she could use for the guild.

The feasting hall was a huge room, carved out from the bedrock to form a cavernous chamber filled with wooden tables and benches. The far wall, the one that protected the hall from the elements and was in fact the entrance to the guild, was pockmarked with large circular windows, their panes dyed in different colours without any apparent pattern. The room was still dim as she made her way toward the bar, barrels of ale visible along the wall behind it and a delicious aroma drifting from the closed kitchen door. Even at this time of the morning there would be a servant in there, ready to prepare a meal for those returned exhausted from their job or to see off a team with a full belly.

Behind her, up above, a raised gallery ran along the wall overlooking the entire hall. That was where the Master and her lieutenants would sit, when they were here and not too busy. She had noticed that a lot of the time they ate in their rooms, always working on something different and that gallery laid empty although it never felt that way, as if the Master's absence was never truly felt and a part of her comforting presence was always there.

None of that was why Lyrel had come so early. On her first day Mirande had told her about this, in a quiet voice as if she were imparting some important secret, and every morning since Lyrel had come to the feasting hall to watch the sunrise. The guild's entrance faced to the east and those randomly colourful windows caught its first rays, flooding the huge room with bright splendour. It was something so far removed from her days working on the docks, her nights creeping in the dark as a thief, her short life as a slave forever trapped in the dark of the rowing decks with nothing but the smell of salt, sweat and blood to accompany her.

This small thing reminded her every morning that those days were gone. She was a Powder Mage, a Mage of Vale Craft. Today she would truly become that and her chest buzzed with frantic, desperate excitement, as the guild slowly came to life. Paula, the servant on duty, brought out her usual, simple breakfast of eggs scrambled on toast with a cup of green tea, a memory of the short time she had had with her parents, and she chose a table at random. Curling her legs up underneath her, slippers on the floor below the table, she ate and watched as the light shifted through the windows, changing patterns of light swirling in the room as the sun rose further into the sky.

The new members had only been enrolled properly the day before, she practically a veteran compared to them, and assigned quarters within the guild. It would not be long before they flooded to the hall to see what their first day would bring but for that short time with only her and a scattering of veterans rising early, Lyrel enjoyed the miracle of her new life encapsulated in that shining, coloured sunlight.

The Adamant World

@Rigmarole

Looks good. At first I was concerned her Flare was similar to Lyrel's but it has very different applications in a far more certain, in-the-present way. Might be interesting to see how Scrying and Clairvoyance work together later on...

For now, go ahead and post that in the Character tab.