Wishmaster

The World of Lasgoul

As the first two begin to approach the manor, the squad of guards quickly rouse themselves. Looking at the men with brandished weapons quickly approaching, the guards waste little time on formalities. The front two stand shoulder-to-shoulder, raising their halberds and leveling them with the party. One of the riflemen behind him them fires a shot, the thunderclap almost drowning out the sound of the bullet flying over their heads. "Stop right there, or the next one's in your head!" He lowers the rifle and begins to reload, yelling. "This is t'Baron's manor, and you'll keep your distance if you wish to keep your life!"

The gunshot seems to rouse some sort of movement from within the walls, as voices shout about--almost with excitement. However, from this distance, it's impossible to make out the exact words.

The World of Lasgoul

The guards at the gates either don't notice the party or don't care. There is some commotion at the gates as the guard changes, the former shift returning to within the walls while the new shift takes their places. It's quick and efficient, but has the repetition of those long used to schedule. Those standing guard now seem to chat quietly with each other, leaning against the gate in their boredom.

Inside the walls, there's the unmistakable crack of a pistol.

The guards flinch, but otherwise don't react. Whatever it was, it seems as if it were expected or at least not out of the ordinary.

The World of Lasgoul

@BlackFlagCombat will usually be done blow-by-blow. I'll make larger posts, responding to the actions of everyone.

Anywho, as soon as the party's made a concrete plan we can move ahead with everything.

The World of Lasgoul

@Heap241Yeah, of course. If there's anything you guys want to have done while travelling, just preface it as being during the timeskip. I just posted the timeskip because I don't like hand-holding my RPers. I usually just set the scene and let them run with it, unless it's something I have a specific plan for.

The World of Lasgoul

Gladios looks over as Abet arrives, chuckling. "Do not worry, Master Drakethorne. At least you made it."

He then looks to Rhindani, listening to her question. "My agents were of a similar mindset. We believe it is a large organization because it varies. A week ago, two merchants were attacked on the road. Two weeks ago, a group of roughs tossed an alchemist's shop and stole almost everything. A month ago, a large force of them marched into a town and demanded gold, leaving before a resistance could mount." He shakes his head. "They're damned bold. The only reason we know they're related is we find this at every attack." He throws a black card, about the size of a playing card, onto the table. It's emblazoned with a golden skull wearing a grotesque smile.

"And of course, Rhindani, I will provide horses for your journey."

Gladios looks up as Saida enters. "Well, Master Drakethorne, it appears you are not alone in being late." He smiles. "It is of no worry, lady elf. A healer is always welcome."

He then looks around at the party. "As no-one else seems to have any questions, then I dismiss you. Meet Captain Lawrence outside the doors to the throne room, he should be waiting. He will lead you to our stables and point you in the right direction. Godspeed."

---

After two and a half days of hard riding through the sunny Avaliaran countryside, they can see a small manor house in the distance.

The manor is three stories tall and stands out from the otherwise empty landscape. It has a low wall, only around six feet, surrounding it all the way around. Standing at the gate are four guardsmen, two wielding halberds and the other two holding flintlock rifles, swords sheathed at their belts. The landscape all around the walls of the manor is fairly empty, spotted sparsely with trees. From here, it's impossible to see into the walls.

The World of Lasgoul

Gladios stands, looking down at them. "A soldier, two knights, a dragonkin, and an arrogant elf. Quite the group."

He looks at Nicholas for a few moments, as if contemplating something, then glances over the rest of the group before nodding.

He steps off the dais, motioning for them to follow. "I believe you lot will be able to handle this work quite nicely. Come with me."

---

Gladios leads them through the keep, full of massive windows and soaring hallways. It is surprisingly silent inside, with few people bustling about. "As you can see, I've no need for a large amount of staff. The beauty of the Conglomerate is that, like my predecessor, I leave the governing of the villages to the villages themselves. Serves for a very peaceful keep, for the most part."

Gladios motions for two guards to step aside as they enter a large war room, with maps spread out over various tables. He leads them to one of the farther tables, walking to the far side as he motions for them to gather around the table.

"The job I have for you is that of dealing with a recent spat of organized crime I've been dealing with. My men have been able to provide very little in the way of any actual progress stopping it. They don't dare set foot in Mitrongi, but they've been extorting coin from villagers and travelling merchants. The job is simple," he motions to a circled area on the map, about three days' ride north of Mitrongi, "Whoever they are, my intelligence agents have found one bit of useful information. They have a safehouse here, rather heavily guarded by hired mercenaries. You lot will drive them out of this area--by blade or diplomacy--and collect any useful information from the safehouse. We suspect that this is not their headquarters, only an arm of a much larger group. Make use of any information you find to eradicate this entire group. Your pay will be three thousand gold coins a person. A third up front, the rest upon completion. Now, do any of you have questions?"

The World of Lasgoul

@DracheLike I said, feel free to be as intricate as you like. There's no length requirement--minimum or maximum. Also no tense requirement, present is just a personal taste of mine.

The World of Lasgoul

Yeah. I'm just writing the NPC's speech in colors for cases where there's a lot of hard-to-differentiate speech going on.

The World of Lasgoul

Was testing some text formatting w/ this post

The World of Lasgoul

@BlackFlagI wouldn't worry about it, no. Just so long as you've got your reaction/reply to whatever's going on at the moment, you can be as simple or as intricate as you'd like.