LostDestiny

Adventure (A D&D 5E Game)

Aura nodded. "I think that is enough for the intended purpose. Can we also purchase some feed for the horses. Ya know, beast gotta eat too." Aura dug around in her pouch and pulled out the required gold plus a little extra for the feed just in case. "Do I pay you or?" She wasn't entirly sure seeing as this didn't seem the place to purchase such things, but then again it was likely she was buying directly from the Highway men's supplies. It could go either way really. "I have kegs of booze that need to be picked up so if everything could be ready as soon as possible. I am ready to get the heck out of here. No offence intended of course just don't like staying in one place for too long." She still couldn't shake the uneasiness the feeling of being watched got her.

Adventure (A D&D 5E Game)

@BirdboyCon was okay. It was the first Comic-Con held in my area so it wasn't all that eventful. Maybe they will do it again and it will be bigger.

I have posted sorry it took so long

Adventure (A D&D 5E Game)

Aura shivered as she looked around and failed to find where the source of the feeling was comming from. Paranoia once again creeped into her mind, any number of people at this point could be watching her. What is the invading forces hadn't all left? What if someone from her home town had spotted her? What if the Hag they dealt with was spying on her somehow? She quickly shook the thoughts from her head as she spoted the Highway Men's leader.

"Excuse me, sorry you bother you again but our group realized we may be in need of a wagon and a beast of burden or two to pull it. Would we perhaps be able to procure one and if so where?" Aura asked as she approached, hoping this would be a quick conversation and she could get out of this camp as soon as possible.

Adventure (A D&D 5E Game)

Sorry been busy. Had a Con and Dnd as well as other things. I will post as soon as I can.

The Sahasian Alliance

The Ball

The day carried on with the aristocrats going about whatever they had planned for the day. Eventually the time came where they needed to head to their respective quarters to get ready for the ball that was to be held. It was the last opportunity for the Princes and Princesses to get to know one another before selections would need to be made the following afternoon. All eyes would be on them in the coming hours with all the guests at this ball pondering who would be paired with who.

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Eventually Annalise had to leave the bubble she had created in the library to head to her room and get ready for the ball. A bath had been drawn for her and she spent as long as she possibly could soaking in the water before allowing her handmaids to wash her. She could faintly hear an argument about the dress she was going to wear between the handmaids who were to dress her. Something about the dress she was to wear no doubt. The Princess did her best to ignore the conversation and take in the scents that had been selected for her. Some combination of Lavender and vanilla, with a hint of something she couldn’t quite place. Perhaps something native to the Prince’s more Northern lands She wasn’t quite sure.

The moment Annalise exited the bath she was swarmed by various attendants. She had given up years ago attempting to convince them she was not so frail that she couldn’t dress herself. The image of her had been long since established and there was nothing she could do about it now. She had other things to focus on anyway.

Before she knew it Annalise was standing in front of a mirror staring at herself in a color she had never worn herself at least not these shades. The girl she saw in the mirror was not the one she was used to looking at. Gone were the light blues and soft pinks she saw in her everyday clothing. Replaced by more cerulean blue and silver of the royal family crest. Annalise had worn similar colors before but her stylist chose to lighten the colors to match her skin tone, and maintain the frail appearance of the first born daughter. Now she wore the true colors of her family and her country. The women around her looked more than pleased with their work. The dress was primarily cerulean blue but had more than its fair share of silver branch and leaf like accents, similar to the stag’s horns on the crest, though obviously with some creative differences. Her hair, for once, was left almost completely untouched. Save for two braided pieces in the front that had been pulled back and pinned with a similar branch and leaf-like accessory though she hadn’t seen much of it when it was put into place.

After spending a few moments of admiring herself in the mirror she finally headed to the ballroom. She was sure some of the guests would have already arrived. She could hear the sounds of music echoing through the hallways. Her father would not be making any big speeches tonight. It was time to celebrate what was to come so the festivities would have already started in order to entertain the early arrivals. There were always those who wished to be the first to see the royal family or speak with the King.

Annalise slipped into the ballroom from one of the servant’s entrances so as to avoid being announced. She hated the attention it got her even if there were only a few guests present at this time. She quietly placed herself next to where her father was standing speaking to some of the court members, smiling at them politely as they noticed her. The conversation quickly shifted from whatever they were speaking to her father about to how stunning she looked in her attire and how either of the Princes would be lucky to have such a beauty for a wife. As if there were not many other reasons she would make a good wife other than her looks. She was, of course, used to these comments. Most of the court members refused to acknowledge that she was, in fact, the crown Princess. The one who held the most claim to the throne, the one who’s heir would take the throne when the time came. The one who would likely hold the throne until such time as Annalise had no intention of allowing whichever man she married to take her country from her.

She said nothing, simply smiling at the comment and looking around the room at all those who had arrived. It wasn’t many, but the room would quickly fill. It seemed the first to arrive had been the members of the court, the Lords who would bear witness to the selection the following day. Likely wanting to get a feel for who each Prince would choose before the actual day. She had no doubt the Lords of the court had some form of wager on the matter.

Soon enough Annalise’s attention was taken by other guests of the ball and she was no longer watching the door for the others to arrive. Distracted by socialization and maintaining the friendly, delicate image for the onlookers.

Closish dress ref for anyone curious

Cerulean Blue instead of black. Silver instead of Gold

Adventure (A D&D 5E Game)

"Might as well get the fine beer. No sense toating around the common stuff. Make the effort worth the reward." Aura chimmed into the conversation. It's not like they would be hurt for money if they splurged a little. After all they had just been paid. "Ill go see if I can get us a cart and a beast of burden from somewhere, while you all work out the booze prices." She didn't really give anyone much of a chance to respond, simply turned on her heel and headed back to the leader to try ask about the extra supplies they needed. Looking around to see if she could find something herself on the way so she didn't have to bother anyone else.

Adventure (A D&D 5E Game)

Remember that as long as Aura can carry it she can store some stuff in her Vessel. As long is it isn't somthing the group needs on the regular cuz for some reason RAW you can only enter your vessel once per long rest which I get but also it kinda sucks.

One Piece: The Devil's Due (Always Accepting!)

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By the time Annabelle finally stirred from her sleep it seemed Jazz had already been out and back again. She wasn’t too worried, she doubted any of the Marines from the night had even seen the bird, and judging by the fact that she didn’t have anyone pounding on her door seemed to be a decent indicator of this. There was, however, a small note tied to the bird’s leg. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she pulled it off the bird and read it.

Deadeye,
Got some jobs for you while you are in town. Meet me at The Happy Snail Bar tonight. I will be wearing raven cufflinks. Get a side booth.
~K.I~

Annabelle quickly threw the note into the fireplace and stretched, forgetting about her recently acquired wound. She winced as pain shot through her arm. Jobs weren’t going to be all that fun for the next few days while her arm healed. Sitting in place for hours was generally not good for these kinds of wounds. She couldn’t complain though, she was getting paid, that’s all she could really ask for. She still had some time before she needed to meet her newest client, at least she could get some lunch and relax beforehand.

~Evening~

The evening came faster than Annabelle would have liked, but she made her way to the bar she was instructed to go to. She was half expecting it to be some hole in the wall place but it seemed to be a decently well traveled bar, indicated by the number of people milling about. She entered the bar and scanned the side booths for anyone wearing Raven cufflinks. From where she was she couldn’t quite tell but nobody seemed to be alone, or waiting for anybody. She walked up to the bar, purchased herself a drink and secured one of the side corner booths that seemed far enough away from other people. It was here that she sat, for what felt like ages, miming drinking the drink she ordered and scanning the people who entered the bar.

After about an hour of people watching Annabelle spotted him, a well dressed man with salt and pepper hair and beard, sporting the raven cufflinks. The hired gun raised her glass to the man who nodded before heading to the bar briefly to get his own drink, eventually joining her at the table.

“Interesting choices.” Annabelle said as the man sat down across from her.

“Yes well I frequent this place so me turning up here to meet, frankly, a rather beautiful young lady wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary now would it.” He smiled at her and relaxed into the booth, taking a drink out of his cup. “Honestly never would have guessed the great Deadeye would be such a dainty young woman.” The man added after putting his cup back on the table. Annabelle had to stop herself from visibly cringing at that statement.

“Flattery won’t get you a discount if that is what you are after.” Annabelle finally said after staring this man down for a solid thirty seconds. “If you’ve heard of me you must know my rates. I take half upfront. Rates are non-negotiable and are subject to change based on the…merchandise one requires to be moved.” She hated doing business in crowded areas, all it took was one nosey Nancy for everything to go up in flames. Better to not directly state anything than risk being discovered.

Luckily for her the man in front of her didn’t seem too dumb. “Of course, here is the merchandise list.” He said sliding a piece of paper across the table. A list usually meant multiple jobs and upon looking at the paper it seemed the client was looking for three separate jobs. Looking at the names she didn’t immediately recognize them but she wasn’t sure she would recognize any important names on this island. She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. The man leaned in closer. “All rival tradesmen. Nothing too crazy but they are getting a little too…big, for my liking and infringing on my business. I assure you this is one job, they will all be gathering to plot my downfall two days from now.”

Annabelle hated taking out multiple targets at once, she would have preferred three separate jobs. “One-thousand five-hundred berri upfront per product.” She stated dryly. “And another One-thousand five-hundred per upon completion.” The man opened his mouth to protest but quickly shut it. He wouldn’t be able to argue, not in such a public area, this was the only thing working in her favor about the meeting spot. They both knew she had jacked up her price tremendously. It was his own fault. He walked in dressed to the nines and purchased the most expensive drink the bar had. Annabelle knew he could afford it and it would only put a small dent in his coin purse. But it would be a decent bit for the various things she needed while here. Not to mention a three man hit all at once was difficult. By the time the first two fell the third would be on the run and it would become a moving target situation. And that was if she could get a clean line of sight.

She asked the man a few questions about the meeting spot and eventually agreed to the job. He reluctantly slid the money to her and took his leave. After he was gone she actually started to drink the alcohol she had ordered when she first entered the bar. It was time to get to work, but first she was going to finish her drink.

As soon as she was finished with her drink she exited the bar. Nobody seemed to pay her any mind as she did so. With her gear in hand she headed toward the first site detailed on the paper. It seemed the trio had a few places they liked to hang out and talk business. Likely all places close to each person’s place of operation. She had no clue if they suspected her client put a hit on them so getting the lay of the land in each spot was a must. The first spot was a rooftop bar, it was convenient but would likely have too many bystanders, not an ideal situation for her. She would likely have to employ more…underhanded tactics to pull off the job here. She wasn’t fond of needing to get up close and personal, it wasn’t her strong suit but sometimes the jobs called for it. Regardless she carefully scooped out a decent sniper’s area. She could likely come back the following day to see if any reservation had been made in any of the men’s names. Since she had those it would be easy enough to do. Put on the right clothes and play professional enough she could pull off being a new secretary. The place was fancy enough that if the three were planning on meeting there a reservation would likely be made.

She had enough time before it got too late so she decided to have a look and the second location. This one was closer to the docks, near where the carnage of the night before had taken place. It is unlikely they would pick this spot to meet. Though there didn’t seem to be too much in terms of an active crime scene people still seemed to be actively avoiding the area. She couldn’t completely rule the spot out but so far it didn’t seem like the likely candidate. Deciding not to poke around too much after the excitement of the night before she headed back to her hotel room. Intent on getting a bath and some actually decent sleep this time. Her sleep the night before had been restless as her arm throbbed in pain all night. It was still throbbing but less so than it had been.

After cleaning herself she returned to the bedroom to see Jazz had returned from whatever it is the bird had been doing. He cawed at her as she lay on the bed and flew over dropping something off beside her head. His feathers bristled and she reached for it and he flew away. It was a small shiny chain. It wasn’t uncommon for him to bring her gifts though it was all mostly trash Anna did keep the more useful items he brought her. This chain could probably come in handy so she stashed it in a small bag containing other gifts and laid back down on the bed. The bird seemed rather proud of himself.

“Why don’t you leave? You could go anywhere and yet you chose to hang around me?” The redhead questioned the bird though she knew she would never get an answer. As expected silence answered her question Jazz sat on a table preening his feathers. With a sigh she closed her eyes and drifted off to another restless sleep.

Annabelle woke the next morning as she usually did. Tired, knowing her dreams were what caused her sleep to be restless, but unable to recall them. She rubbed her eyes and got ready for the day. Dressing in the only more “formal” outfit she had in an attempt to make herself look more secretary-like. She would have to head back to the first predicted meet up spot later to see if any reservations were made, first however she needed to head to the third location.

A short walk from her hotel and she couldn't help but feel conflicted. The third location was a more private gazebo near the ocean. It would be the perfect spot…if it wasn’t so close to where she was staying it’s not like she had a cleanup crew, the bodies would likely end up being left for the Marines to find. She was, after all, a single person. Other than the proximity to her hotel this would be the ideal location. It was private so not many bystanders. There were still plenty of decent spots for her to set up, and if she didn’t manage to get all three in quick succession there was very little cover for them to hide. Not to mention if they were trying to discuss more shady dealings, which she was sure they were, this would be the spot. The rooftop bar would have too many prying ears and the second location was too close to where a decent number of Marines were still milling about. If she had to hedge her bets, this would be the place. Still, after finding the perfect spot to set up she decided to double check the rooftop bar.

Heading back toward the bar she entered the building portion and was greeted by a hostess. “Good afternoon, how may I help you.” Came the cheery voice of the woman.

“Hello, I am so terribly sorry to bother you but I just wanted to confirm my boss’s reservation for tomorrow night. It would be under a Mister Caldwell?” Annabelle replied in her best business voice.

The hostess shuffled through some papers. “I am sorry we don’t have a reservation under that name. Would it be under anything else?”

Annabelle made like she was thinking. “Perhaps Mister Woods or Lawson?” Annabelle asked after a moment.

More shuffling of papers and a shake of the head later. “No nothing under those names either. Are you sure they reserved a table with us? We do still have walk-in options. It is first come first serve of course.

“Of course of course. No, I am certain a reservation was made but I will just go double check with my boss. Thank you so much for your time.” Annabelle turned quickly on her heel before the woman could respond and exited the building more confident that the third location was the one to watch. She was banking on her hunch being correct. Until then she would simply have to do more scouting of each location and maybe spend some time tailing the targets. Or at least one of them. She didn’t have time to tail all three. She should have charged more for the short notice…too late now.

~The Next Night~

After spending the previous day doing all the recon and information gathering she could she was mostly positive the gazebo was the spot the men would be meeting. Her hunches were never wrong so she hoped she wouldn’t be wrong this time. Not with her first job on this island. Her reputation rode on her doing this right.

Low and behold and Deadeye waited in her sniper’s nest for her targets to arrive they did so. The knot in her stomach that had been building released a little bit. She still had to complete the job and exit the area. The hard part, at least for her, was over. She didn’t really know when exactly she became so okay with killing people. It had been a long time now. Perhaps she had always thought this way. Haster Island had a way of twisting one’s perceptions.

Her mind wondered for a bit as the men settled themselves into their seats. It seemed they had come, mostly alone. Each man had brought two bodyguards but that was it. The guards were on edge at first but as the assassin let the meeting play out they relaxed, not a lot, but enough that Deadeye decided now was the time to act. She lined up the first shot calmly and slowly, the next two would need to be the quick shots. She took a deep breath and exhaled as she squeezed the trigger. Her muscles coiled like springes and the second shot fired off, she hadn’t even confirmed if the first hit there was next to no way it hadn’t. The second shot hit its target and much as she expected the third target panicked and attempted to make a run for his bodyguards who had also started to move toward him. She had to hit this last shot before he made it.

Time seemed to move in slow motion for the hired gun. This third shot had to hit, she didn’t want to have to kill more people than she needed to. She was used to it but she didn’t like making more bodies than she was paid to make. By the time she lined up her last shot the man was nearly covered by his guards. They were too slow though, the bullet connected before they could cover their boss. Deadeye lingered for only a moment to confirm she had hit vital spots before time began to move, much faster than it seemed like it was supposed to. She had only moments to remove herself from the area before the other guards were swarming her location.

Quickly she cleared her location leaving nothing but the carving of her signature six eyed mask as evidence that she was there. It was the only trace of Deadeye anyone had ever found after a job was complete. She got great joy seeing newsheadlines with her “calling card”, the only public recognition of her work she ever got, and was it damn good work.

She barely managed to dart off before the other guards converged. No doubt they would fan out to try to find her so she needed to disappear. A task that would prove easy enough as she slipped into an ally, removed her mask and pulled a cloak out of her bag to hide her rifle. After which she managed to find a busy street to get lost in, and that was that. Job finished, the only thing left was to get paid, something she would go to collect until the following day. She needed to lay low for a moment.

Adventure (A D&D 5E Game)

<Snipped quote by LostDestiny>

Awww! Rats.
I was hoping the stuff would spill out to add to the comedy. :P

@Guardian Angel Haruki

I think the only way stuff comes out is if the bottle breaks or Aura intentionally brings it out.

Adventure (A D&D 5E Game)

@Guardian Angel Haruki Luckily that is not how the bottle works. XD