"Jibril also there this lady who have some certain item's that could help me on my mission if you perhaps to look for them Courtesan outfit,leather boots with wings on the ankle shafts with a loop of leather draping under the boot heels,the remaining books of "Creatures & Monsters" codex,and A Set of Skeletal Keys
[Continues] Morcrux Campaign: Tale of Two Scales
- Thread starter Grimoire
- Start date
"That's an interesting request" Kane says leaning forward with his fingers lacing together and narrowing his eyes at Jibril, "I believe the woman in question is Willow?"
"Yes, that's the one" Jibril acknowledged.
"Very well, I'll have Sebastian collect the items in question"
He makes a note to write them down on a notepad beside him, he looks up once he's finished and hands Jibril the notepad. Jibril looks over the list and took the mechanical pen from his hand and wrote down the name of the shop and then adds the exact names of the items and where to find them before handing the notepad back to him. Kane looks over the notepad and reads it carefully, places the notepad down and returns to his pose.
"The Codex will be invaluable to you as would the skeleton keys, very steep prices for those sorts of items. I expect you'll be satisfied with your demands?"
"Yes, sir" Jibril says nodding her head.
"Good, as part of our deal, I must ask that you make another blood oath to ensure your full cooperation. While i understand the demands themselves will keep you motivated to see your mission through, I can't take the chance you won't simply run off and not fulfill your end of our deal." Kane reaches into a desk drawer and pulls out a medallion and opens it.
Inside is a split plate and a needle sticking out of it. Kane pricks his thumb and draws blood and presses the bloody print into one side of the medallion and hands it to Jibril. Jibril takes the medallion and pricks her finger to do the same. Completing the transaction, Kane takes back the medallion and stuffs it into his pocket. Kane sighs a breath of relief as he looks back at Jibril and grins.
"Now then, as for your request for the brothel. The person in question is Edwardo Dumas, a new councilman to our cabinet, passed a law that forbids criminal enterprises from setting up shop within New Canaan due to my negligence with the Thieves Guild. While it will be difficult to acquire the approval and bypassing certain loopholes, there is the matter of ownership of the establishment. Madam Rouge is not a citizen of New Canaan and I'm not legal obligated to acknowledge a foreign citizen of owning a business we cannot directly control, that's not how it works. So what I CAN do is sign over the ownership to YOU since this is your business transaction, Mister Slaven-Claw has recently been approved for citizenship and now owns property in the Golden Laurel and by some extension you as well. Naturally, you're considered a resident of this city: congratulations.
As a citizen you have access to public facilities and many doors are now open to you, thus allowing you to own private property such as the brothel in question. You may sign over half of your ownership to someone else but the liability of any law breaking will fall squarely on your shoulders and the other recipient of the ownership. With that said, the Alabasters are free to come and go from New Canaan so long as they don't break any laws, employment at this said brothel will require every employee to register for a license to work as a prostitute within the country. We're running a business, not a charity, so the licenses are necessary to ensure the State gets paid and the benefits of employment and rights are upheld legally. If you can guarantee they've paid their dues and stay within the law, I can have the brothel as soon as two months, furniture and licenses and all. I'll draw up a contract as soon as the approval goes through to the council with Arbiter Gannon as your personal liaison over litigation to defend your case to dispute the loopholes and allow you to do business within New Canaan.
As for your 'invisibility cloak', there is a specialist here in the city who handles that sort of thing. Ophelia is an administrator with the council who oversees the Academy and one of the professors at this academy deals with enchantments and may enhance the effects of items you come across. As a personal favor to me, they'll look into the cloak's repair and give you replacement if it is beyond repair free of charge but you'll have to speak to Ophelia about where to find Lady Astera in that regard since they often leave the country on business and can't be found at the academy on a regular basis. You may find Ophelia at the Academy in her office in the afternoon or here at the Federal Bank in the evening. If there's nothing else, I ask that you remain within the country until your trial is over. I've spoken with the council regarding you and your companions, the last few days have been non-stop over the dispute of your actions and I'm sorry to say but they will be charged separately"
Jibril is alarmed by this admission: "What? I thought you said we were acquitted of the charges!"
Kane raised at hand to her, calming her overreaction: "Calm yourself, Ms. Slaven-Claw. I am a man of my word!"
"Mister Slaven-Claw and yourself are free of the charges once you've presented the Pardon to the Tribunal Judge, meaning myself, at your hearing. I had to legally sign your marriage certificate when the request was made by your husband two days ago which by extension he is granted pardon for his crimes. Your other companions: Karlya Holstein, Jimmy Ming, Tar'lak Ashen and Randy Marlo are going to be facing trial as separate cases to detach themselves from the pardon. This was made clear by the State Prosecutor, Everett Lionheart, who pushed to have the trial moved to tomorrow. If Lionheart is successful, which he has a very firm case, all four of them will be sentenced to death."
"Death!? What happened to Life in Prison!" Jibril protested, "How can they make such a case and charge us separately!"
"Because you murdered the driver, you would face the death penalty as well." Kane states coldly, "Mr. Ming and Mr. Ashen mortally wounded soldiers which in itself carries a death penalty for assaulting military personnel in war times. War crimes carry severe penalties as opposed to domestic disputes, you created an incident outside of the country and therefore causes a legal battle in which what is considered to be fair and justifiable. Let's not forget, you stampeded into Shurifon with stolen property of the Volgan Kingdom! The ramifications of your actions has rippled across the entire alliance has placed me in political fallout!"
Kane slams his hands on the desk and points his finger firmly at Jibril.
"This is what happens when you act irrationally! Shurifon wants your heads on a silver platter for your actions in Heifong as well, we were protecting you by contractual obligation. You don't have criminal charges in just New Canaan, you also have many in Shurifon as well. Killing a Navy commander, what were you thinking? There is no due process for criminals in the Dynasty, they'll throw the book at you for breaking those laws. I understand it was a ethnic cleansing and you were doing your part in escaping but that hardly matters to the empire. Your only solace right now is New Canaan considers all of you residents of our country, but if the trial concludes with the guilty verdict, there isn't much hope for the others.
Mr. Ming is still under quarantine and can't be pulled into trial due to new developments in his condition, I shudder to think what they would do if they discover he's Undead.
Tar'lak is out of the country to deal with our arrangement that you're no doubt aware and the council deems his actions moot given that I was able to convince them he was acting under duress.
Ms. Karin Holstein would be facing trial, but under the circumstance, Karin will be given to the State since she's still a minor and we'll be her legal guardians until another family adopts her. As such, Karin will be absolved of her charges and will not be granted custody into her mother's care. IF Karlya is found guilty of the charges. If found innocent or acquitted, Karin may return into her custody under house arrest and probation for five years.
Ms. Karlya Holstein faces majority of their charges given that she does have history in New Canaan alongside Randy Marlo who is a resident and former military personnel. Karlya is facing four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, seven counts of drunk and disorderly conduct, four charges of being under the influence of Red Sand, Loa Dust and Bliss, and a staggering one hundred charges of illegal smuggling of narcotics, stolen weapons and merchandise which is added on top of her other charges by being associated with the Corsairs Pirate group. She'll face the harshest penalty.
Randy Marlo was a former combat medic and his training with the Marines has garnered more attention by the council. His actions in aiding the incident has caused concerns about former soldiers turning rouge and committing crimes against the State, this has put me in a rather precarious situation since he was responsible for activating the relic that started all of this and I personally attached my name to his assignment to the Survey Corp. I look very bad in front of the council because of this situation with Shurifon and the Volga, your incident ruffled a lot of feathers and our fragile alliance is starting to show cracks. The council wants Marlo dead to remove the embarrassment he represents to our military and his previous history of drug use and disorderly conduct only furthers their point. If he goes to trial, it's almost an open-close case with very little to help.
With the trial tomorrow, finding an Arbiter for all of them to represent them in court is going to be a problem, the amount of evidence held against them is too much to consider throwing their cases out. There has to be someone to take the fall for all of this, the council simply will not allow it to be dismissed, not after the rebellion in our country. The council is very strict and demanding of swifter and justifiable action, I cannot ignore the facts neither. I can ignore Shimbala and Draco's actions because they're members of the Survey Corp and the council approved of their actions in dealing with threat assessment and bringing back emergency supplies that absolves them of any criminal charges."
Kane pulls his hand away when a thought occurred. He turns around and thinks.
"That actually might work" Kane states, he ponders further. "Maybe ..."
"What?" Jibril asked.
"It's a very long shot, but I think we could swing this into your favor" Kane answers.
"What? Tell me, there has to be a way to get them all absolved!" Jibril urged.
"Well. Here's the pitch: Shimbala has been hounding us about her commission and Draco wants to send surveyors out into the field, the Survey Corp was that aim to which the council approved on the condition they be seen by the military. Military is overseen by me, personally, which means they answer directly to me. Under my authority, as President of this country, my powers supersede the council's therefore if i deem their actions justified in relation to their mission, the council has no foot to stand on if criminal charges are brought against them. Having that said, I think i can make arrangements with Garrett with the Thieves Guild to forge the registry you and and your companions to be listed as members of the Survey Corp as new recruits. You already have Draco and Shimbala vouching for you since the deal was struck and you only need to sign the contract that I've mailed to your hotel room. If you recruited the others to join you on your journey to New Canaan, they would be contracted as recruits as well, thereby absolving them of their charges. I can have Gannon spin this incident as one big fuck-up, a miscommunication between the orders of new recruits not understanding the command structure of the Survey Corp as opposed to simple mercenary work.
You'll need to make a testament stating that this was part of the orders you were given by me, which isn't entirely inaccurate since we did have the deal made to have you deliver the relic to me personally but we'll omit that detail. When Shimbala and Draco made the discovery of what you were meant to deliver, they overreacted and acted according to their training as dedicated by our code of conduct, you and your companions have fled to avoid compromising the mission you were in charge of, they pursued you, you fought back. Shurifon gets their answers, Volga will have to settle for a mistake which i can handle, New Canaan is satisfied with justice being served, you and your companions are spared the Firing Squad, the Survey Corp gets their new recruits, everybody win-wins! You can even keep the Pardon for any other crimes you've committed in the past so i suggest keeping it instead of throwing it away just in case.
Or ... if you don't give a testimony in court, use your pardon on one of them and let the others carry out their sentences and you become a full time member of the Survey Corp avoid the charges entirely. But you will be sentencing the others to death by doing so and only one of them will be given pardon if you part with yours. Either way, that's up to you.
If you want my advise, which i surely hope you do, I advise you and your companions consider joining the Survey Corp properly as members/ I can have Gannon fight for all of you and have your cases thrown out, Ms. Donna, our Notary will draw up contracts for all of your friends and they can be given proper living conditions and wages for their time. But there is the issue of training they have to consider, 13 weeks of training and they'll be assigned to Shimbala and Draco formally."
"Yes, that's the one" Jibril acknowledged.
"Very well, I'll have Sebastian collect the items in question"
He makes a note to write them down on a notepad beside him, he looks up once he's finished and hands Jibril the notepad. Jibril looks over the list and took the mechanical pen from his hand and wrote down the name of the shop and then adds the exact names of the items and where to find them before handing the notepad back to him. Kane looks over the notepad and reads it carefully, places the notepad down and returns to his pose.
"The Codex will be invaluable to you as would the skeleton keys, very steep prices for those sorts of items. I expect you'll be satisfied with your demands?"
"Yes, sir" Jibril says nodding her head.
"Good, as part of our deal, I must ask that you make another blood oath to ensure your full cooperation. While i understand the demands themselves will keep you motivated to see your mission through, I can't take the chance you won't simply run off and not fulfill your end of our deal." Kane reaches into a desk drawer and pulls out a medallion and opens it.
Inside is a split plate and a needle sticking out of it. Kane pricks his thumb and draws blood and presses the bloody print into one side of the medallion and hands it to Jibril. Jibril takes the medallion and pricks her finger to do the same. Completing the transaction, Kane takes back the medallion and stuffs it into his pocket. Kane sighs a breath of relief as he looks back at Jibril and grins.
"Now then, as for your request for the brothel. The person in question is Edwardo Dumas, a new councilman to our cabinet, passed a law that forbids criminal enterprises from setting up shop within New Canaan due to my negligence with the Thieves Guild. While it will be difficult to acquire the approval and bypassing certain loopholes, there is the matter of ownership of the establishment. Madam Rouge is not a citizen of New Canaan and I'm not legal obligated to acknowledge a foreign citizen of owning a business we cannot directly control, that's not how it works. So what I CAN do is sign over the ownership to YOU since this is your business transaction, Mister Slaven-Claw has recently been approved for citizenship and now owns property in the Golden Laurel and by some extension you as well. Naturally, you're considered a resident of this city: congratulations.
As a citizen you have access to public facilities and many doors are now open to you, thus allowing you to own private property such as the brothel in question. You may sign over half of your ownership to someone else but the liability of any law breaking will fall squarely on your shoulders and the other recipient of the ownership. With that said, the Alabasters are free to come and go from New Canaan so long as they don't break any laws, employment at this said brothel will require every employee to register for a license to work as a prostitute within the country. We're running a business, not a charity, so the licenses are necessary to ensure the State gets paid and the benefits of employment and rights are upheld legally. If you can guarantee they've paid their dues and stay within the law, I can have the brothel as soon as two months, furniture and licenses and all. I'll draw up a contract as soon as the approval goes through to the council with Arbiter Gannon as your personal liaison over litigation to defend your case to dispute the loopholes and allow you to do business within New Canaan.
As for your 'invisibility cloak', there is a specialist here in the city who handles that sort of thing. Ophelia is an administrator with the council who oversees the Academy and one of the professors at this academy deals with enchantments and may enhance the effects of items you come across. As a personal favor to me, they'll look into the cloak's repair and give you replacement if it is beyond repair free of charge but you'll have to speak to Ophelia about where to find Lady Astera in that regard since they often leave the country on business and can't be found at the academy on a regular basis. You may find Ophelia at the Academy in her office in the afternoon or here at the Federal Bank in the evening. If there's nothing else, I ask that you remain within the country until your trial is over. I've spoken with the council regarding you and your companions, the last few days have been non-stop over the dispute of your actions and I'm sorry to say but they will be charged separately"
Jibril is alarmed by this admission: "What? I thought you said we were acquitted of the charges!"
Kane raised at hand to her, calming her overreaction: "Calm yourself, Ms. Slaven-Claw. I am a man of my word!"
"Mister Slaven-Claw and yourself are free of the charges once you've presented the Pardon to the Tribunal Judge, meaning myself, at your hearing. I had to legally sign your marriage certificate when the request was made by your husband two days ago which by extension he is granted pardon for his crimes. Your other companions: Karlya Holstein, Jimmy Ming, Tar'lak Ashen and Randy Marlo are going to be facing trial as separate cases to detach themselves from the pardon. This was made clear by the State Prosecutor, Everett Lionheart, who pushed to have the trial moved to tomorrow. If Lionheart is successful, which he has a very firm case, all four of them will be sentenced to death."
"Death!? What happened to Life in Prison!" Jibril protested, "How can they make such a case and charge us separately!"
"Because you murdered the driver, you would face the death penalty as well." Kane states coldly, "Mr. Ming and Mr. Ashen mortally wounded soldiers which in itself carries a death penalty for assaulting military personnel in war times. War crimes carry severe penalties as opposed to domestic disputes, you created an incident outside of the country and therefore causes a legal battle in which what is considered to be fair and justifiable. Let's not forget, you stampeded into Shurifon with stolen property of the Volgan Kingdom! The ramifications of your actions has rippled across the entire alliance has placed me in political fallout!"
Kane slams his hands on the desk and points his finger firmly at Jibril.
"This is what happens when you act irrationally! Shurifon wants your heads on a silver platter for your actions in Heifong as well, we were protecting you by contractual obligation. You don't have criminal charges in just New Canaan, you also have many in Shurifon as well. Killing a Navy commander, what were you thinking? There is no due process for criminals in the Dynasty, they'll throw the book at you for breaking those laws. I understand it was a ethnic cleansing and you were doing your part in escaping but that hardly matters to the empire. Your only solace right now is New Canaan considers all of you residents of our country, but if the trial concludes with the guilty verdict, there isn't much hope for the others.
Mr. Ming is still under quarantine and can't be pulled into trial due to new developments in his condition, I shudder to think what they would do if they discover he's Undead.
Tar'lak is out of the country to deal with our arrangement that you're no doubt aware and the council deems his actions moot given that I was able to convince them he was acting under duress.
Ms. Karin Holstein would be facing trial, but under the circumstance, Karin will be given to the State since she's still a minor and we'll be her legal guardians until another family adopts her. As such, Karin will be absolved of her charges and will not be granted custody into her mother's care. IF Karlya is found guilty of the charges. If found innocent or acquitted, Karin may return into her custody under house arrest and probation for five years.
Ms. Karlya Holstein faces majority of their charges given that she does have history in New Canaan alongside Randy Marlo who is a resident and former military personnel. Karlya is facing four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, seven counts of drunk and disorderly conduct, four charges of being under the influence of Red Sand, Loa Dust and Bliss, and a staggering one hundred charges of illegal smuggling of narcotics, stolen weapons and merchandise which is added on top of her other charges by being associated with the Corsairs Pirate group. She'll face the harshest penalty.
Randy Marlo was a former combat medic and his training with the Marines has garnered more attention by the council. His actions in aiding the incident has caused concerns about former soldiers turning rouge and committing crimes against the State, this has put me in a rather precarious situation since he was responsible for activating the relic that started all of this and I personally attached my name to his assignment to the Survey Corp. I look very bad in front of the council because of this situation with Shurifon and the Volga, your incident ruffled a lot of feathers and our fragile alliance is starting to show cracks. The council wants Marlo dead to remove the embarrassment he represents to our military and his previous history of drug use and disorderly conduct only furthers their point. If he goes to trial, it's almost an open-close case with very little to help.
With the trial tomorrow, finding an Arbiter for all of them to represent them in court is going to be a problem, the amount of evidence held against them is too much to consider throwing their cases out. There has to be someone to take the fall for all of this, the council simply will not allow it to be dismissed, not after the rebellion in our country. The council is very strict and demanding of swifter and justifiable action, I cannot ignore the facts neither. I can ignore Shimbala and Draco's actions because they're members of the Survey Corp and the council approved of their actions in dealing with threat assessment and bringing back emergency supplies that absolves them of any criminal charges."
Kane pulls his hand away when a thought occurred. He turns around and thinks.
"That actually might work" Kane states, he ponders further. "Maybe ..."
"What?" Jibril asked.
"It's a very long shot, but I think we could swing this into your favor" Kane answers.
"What? Tell me, there has to be a way to get them all absolved!" Jibril urged.
"Well. Here's the pitch: Shimbala has been hounding us about her commission and Draco wants to send surveyors out into the field, the Survey Corp was that aim to which the council approved on the condition they be seen by the military. Military is overseen by me, personally, which means they answer directly to me. Under my authority, as President of this country, my powers supersede the council's therefore if i deem their actions justified in relation to their mission, the council has no foot to stand on if criminal charges are brought against them. Having that said, I think i can make arrangements with Garrett with the Thieves Guild to forge the registry you and and your companions to be listed as members of the Survey Corp as new recruits. You already have Draco and Shimbala vouching for you since the deal was struck and you only need to sign the contract that I've mailed to your hotel room. If you recruited the others to join you on your journey to New Canaan, they would be contracted as recruits as well, thereby absolving them of their charges. I can have Gannon spin this incident as one big fuck-up, a miscommunication between the orders of new recruits not understanding the command structure of the Survey Corp as opposed to simple mercenary work.
You'll need to make a testament stating that this was part of the orders you were given by me, which isn't entirely inaccurate since we did have the deal made to have you deliver the relic to me personally but we'll omit that detail. When Shimbala and Draco made the discovery of what you were meant to deliver, they overreacted and acted according to their training as dedicated by our code of conduct, you and your companions have fled to avoid compromising the mission you were in charge of, they pursued you, you fought back. Shurifon gets their answers, Volga will have to settle for a mistake which i can handle, New Canaan is satisfied with justice being served, you and your companions are spared the Firing Squad, the Survey Corp gets their new recruits, everybody win-wins! You can even keep the Pardon for any other crimes you've committed in the past so i suggest keeping it instead of throwing it away just in case.
Or ... if you don't give a testimony in court, use your pardon on one of them and let the others carry out their sentences and you become a full time member of the Survey Corp avoid the charges entirely. But you will be sentencing the others to death by doing so and only one of them will be given pardon if you part with yours. Either way, that's up to you.
If you want my advise, which i surely hope you do, I advise you and your companions consider joining the Survey Corp properly as members/ I can have Gannon fight for all of you and have your cases thrown out, Ms. Donna, our Notary will draw up contracts for all of your friends and they can be given proper living conditions and wages for their time. But there is the issue of training they have to consider, 13 weeks of training and they'll be assigned to Shimbala and Draco formally."
[Note to Readers and Participants]
Due to the increase of work schedule and delays, this Roleplay Campaign has been put on hiatus until further notice. This does not mean the campaign is closed, merely delayed until all persons involved have more open and available free time to continue roleplaying sessions to continue. Please feel free to read and discuss the campaign in the dedicated discussion thread::https://forum.fenoxo.com/threads/morcrux-discussion-thread.20910/
If you are interested in participating see threads for details and if you have thoughts and suggestions please do so at your leisure. Thank you for joining us on our journey and hope to continue our story in the near future, enjoy your evening!
Hello everyone, Grim here, I'm continuing our adventure where we left off with Sora returning as Jibril and yours truly as DM. I will be making a plot summary followed by a new entry of our journey. Unfortunately, I'm still having scheduling issues so post will be infrequent and inconsistent. Never the less, the long hiatus is over as we return to our story into Chapter 2. Look forward to new updates!
[Previously on Survivor! Morcrux: Tale of Two Scales!]
Our story began with our player characters arriving in Heifong's Pig-Sty Alley, Jibril (played by Sora21345) and Tar'lak (formerly played by Khorne). Jibril, the Nagini royal guardswoman of Medressa on a pilgrimage to obtain knowledge of the outside world beyond the Medressa's homeland of Gordo. Tarl'ak, the Lizardman of the Ashen Tribe of Wraithmarsh's Hollows, sent forth to seek aid in a time when his people are in dire straits and are on the verge of starvation, and extinction. Our adventurers meet with the New Canaanites, a Republic free of the stranglehold of Fjornia and Shurifon's grasp, lead by Kane an enigmatic leader with a powerful influence and even darker presence and serving as their representatives in Heifong are the Draco Baelfire, a Dragonborn; Randy "Red-Eye" Marlo, a Sorcerer and Medic; Shimbala and Kalisa Vali of the Dark Elf clans accompanied by their military units: Jaegar and Juggernaut. Along the way, Jibril and Tar'lak have gathered a group of friends to accompany them on their way to New Canaan: Kor'da Slavenclaw and his sons Kak'lin and Sim'one, Jimmy Wo, Karlya "Holo" and her daughter Karin.
At the start of their journey, Jibril retrieved Kor'da to pay off a debt with her boss, Silvermane, who ran the Silver Coin opium den and gambling parlor, after settling an agreement with her boss, Jibril and Kor'da leave promptly only to "bump" into a masked man who carried a special totem. Upon contact with this totem did Kor'da change and thus brings Jibril back to her employer upon which she encounters Drace Baelfire who is searching for mercenaries and people of extraordinary skill. After a brief and short meeting between Silvermane and Baelfire, Jibril's employment has been transferred into Draco's company: The New Canaanites. Meanwhile, Tar'lak of the Ashen enters the city and stumbles into a traveling merchant and notice a similar event in which the same totem dropped by the masked figured is now hanging in the wares of this merchant, Oswaldo. After witnessing the power of the totem firsthand, the possessed Oswaldo gifted the totem to Tar'lak which sets off a chain of events that will lead him to Dunbar Row and enter a fight with Randy Marlo, aka Red-Eye! Enraged and high on Red Sand, a popular drug of choice in Shurifon, the coked up Red-Eye picks a fight with our lizard friend until the climax of the match ends with Red-Eye pulling a gun on our protagonist to which ends with Tar'lak outmaneuvering him and ending their fight with Red-Eye knocked out and earning a wager for his troubles.
Elsewhere, Jibril meets with Kor'da to express a bit of good news that Jibril negotiated as part of her terms for her new employer. But things take a sharp turn when a gesture of gratitude turns into something ... more. In the heat of the moment, Jibril and Kor'da fornicated and surprisingly form a connection. But this moment changed when the moment is ruined by Jibril's affection is called into question by this mysterious totem the two came into contact with. Out of spite and rage, Jibril destroys the totem and unleashing a "tear" in the fabric of reality and hurling themselves in a pocket dimension where darkness prevailed and the bitter cold was sharp. It was here, Jibril and Kor'da were introduced to the true face behind the masked man she met within the stairwell that day: Sanguine, one of many creatures of realm they reside within known as a Nonota ("Marked"). Through the Marked, these "totems" are Markers meant as a means to grant wishs by performing a service to the Marker's patron deity. While in possession of a Marker, the owner has a mystical way of achieving their goals and having craving for ambition, some people would believe this to be the work of Luck or the Sleight of Hand of Fate itself but it is the work of more cosmically powerful beings.
Arriving at the Last Breath where she was to meet with Draco for her first assignment to their company, Jibril meets Red-Eye shortly after his fight with Tar'lak. Being a musician, Red-Eye tries to make a song and Jibril sleeps while she has the opportunity to do so before meeting her employers at their rendevous point outside the city. Having troubling nightmares of an Alter and a strange magical orb, Jibril awakes and leaves to find a more welcoming comfort in the arms of her new lover: Kor'da. When Jibril goes to meet with Kor'da, Kor'da was worried about the disappreance of his sons, Sim'one and Kak'lin since they never returned even thought it was already dark out. So the two went looking for the boys. Searching a few areas and meeting a few people, a pair of elves mentioned the group of kids the two boys hang out with were playing in the Dunwich Tenement of the Dunwich district, a wretched place of vile criminals and the worse kind of cutthroats and butchers. Fearing the worst, Kor'da and Jibril race into Dunwich to search the Tenement where they split off at the building complex in search of the younglings.
Searching the basement, it was just as Jibril had feared: it was a slaughterhouse. Corpses. Corpses, everywhere. And lo and behold: there it was. The Orb of Maruda, Goddess of the Undead. It was just as mysterious to Jibril as she remembered from her dream, but never taking the risk in retrieving it, she quickly departs in her search for the two missing boys and their friends. But before she could return to her search: Jibril was impeded by a lumbering monster of a man dragging a woman across the ground, unconscious. Upon his defeat, Jibril ensured his death a second time then tending to injured woman the man was carrying. Returning to the surface with the woman, Jibril learns the woman is a Corsair Pirate and the mother of one of the children gone missing: Karlya and her daughter Karin. Through both their efforts, the two joined together and searched the tenement. Kor'da finds the chilidren but they were too late and were under the control of another Orb similar to the one Jibril found below. This Orb possessed a hex that control the minds of the children who guard the one holding it: Karin. With Kor'da's brute strength, Karlya's illusion magic and Jibril's swiftness and cunning, the three battled the possessed children and broke them free of the cursed orb's power over them. The children were free and the parents got them out of the Dunwich building safely, returning home.
Meanwhile, Tar'lak was injured from his fight with Red-Eye and the gun he used on him. Seeking medicine for his injury, he waltzes into Shifu Wong and Jedora's Apothecary and Tea Shop where he was bandaged up and catered to, that was until Jedora attempts to tease and humiliate Tar'lak in his weakened stated. This, however, did not go according to Jedora's plan as the not-so-weak Tar'lak flips the table on Jedora and ravages her body like a beast in rut which ends with a Dark Elf holding a gun to his head mid-coitus. Enter: Shimbala of the Jaegar unit. Shimbala takes Tar'lak into her custody and places him in civilian arrest and drags him outside to be punished in the streets as per the expectations of Jedora. Shimbala, however, decides to go against her intuition upon discovering that Tar'lak also possesses a Marker and releases Tar'lak on the condition he meets with Draco Baelfire in an effort to pique her curiosity. When they do so, Shimbala and Draco's theories prove them right: someone is making a move on the city. But who?
Unbeknown to the players, Heifong was under siege by mythic forces that plague the city with disappearances occurring frequently under the watchful eyes of the Gentral Guard. The New Canaanites weren't only hurting for resources in their desperate attempt to save lives back home, they too were curious about the disappearances of these people and investigated the city. Draco and Shimbala sent out their hidden forces: The Marked, as scouts to search the city for clues into this mystery. When Jibril and Tar'lak were discovered to have possession of Markers, this only confirms that they were linked to the rampant surge of these strange totems appearing shortly after their arrival. Jibril and Tar'lak meet one of these Marked: Mellow, the happy masked fellow whom Jibril met before alongside Draco when she was employed by Silvermane. The strange part of this meeting is that Mellow and Sanguine are in fact the one and the same group of people Jibril has met, for she knows that these two masked men are monsters beneath their masks, and Tar'lak knows this as he can listen to their voices when they speak, collectively. How do Shimbala and Draco not know of the Marked's TRUE selves? A mystery that will soon be uncovered.
As the group travel together, they make their introductions and then depart to run their final arrangements before departing the city. Tar'lak retireve his weapons and equipment along with Draco then the three travel to the Apothocary Shop to retrieve medicine from Jedora. to which Tar'lak is no longer welcomed in. Upon discovering Tar'lak's reasoning for his apprehension, Draco is livid but this disaster turned into their favor through Jibril's silvery tongue in persuaded Jedora to hand over the medicine if they hand over Tar'lak in a swindle. This plan would have worked, but the actions of Jibril's impatience and caution nearly cost Jedora's and Tar'lak's life. Through meditation on Draco's behalf, Jedora's life was spared Jibril's venom and Tar'lak was free to leave and the group were granted the medicine they require to return home along with some "extra" and "misplaced" items of interest to the curious Jibril. With their humanitarian supplies settled, Jibril went spent the night with her new lover and Tar'lak returned to the Last Breath inn for a rest until he met Red-Eye, the man who shot him, who was mending a broken guitar that Jibril broke across his face earlier in the evening.
With the adventurers resting, a single day of our story ends and another begins with the dawn of the second day.
Jibril and Tar'lak awakened to a troubling revelation: they were late! The sun is almost up and the caravan train Draco and the New Canaanites setup were on the move to depart without them! Jibril discovers after a numerous, unaccounted number of times they had sex that night, she was pregnant with a clutch of Kor'da's young. But before she had time to celebrate their decision to move their new family to New Canaan, a friend of Kor'da rushes in to warn them of a wave of Shurifon Navy soldiers marching through the city killing and arresting all non-elven people. This friend happens to be a captain of the Heifong Guard, a Gentry, a very high ranking member of the social order. After hearing this news, Kor'da and Jibril grab the kids and make haste to the caravan through the Eastern Gate through the Russle District which required them to break through the blockade barring them from reaching it. Playing it smart, Jibril sided with the captain and hide in plain sight until placing through the first checkpoint into Dunwich. Upon enterring Dunwich District proper, the Dunwich Tenement was set ablazed thanks to the investigation and effort on Kor'da and the Captain's part and a crowd of people watched as the tenement burned to the ground for all the death that building and the Cultists using it caused. But not tarrying, the group leave to enter Russle District which is in the middle of an uprising thanks to the rampage of the Chesire gang and the radicals in favor of killing all non-elven people. Hanging and butchering lizardfolk, dark elves, orcs, humans and dwarves, the raging mob that lynched so many in the uprising now have their eyes set upon the refugees stumbling into their district vulnerable and weak with a very few guardsmen under the Captain's control to guard them.
The mob was fended off while Kor'da aided the refugees in their escape towards the Eastern Gate while the Captain and Jibril stem the tide of waves of enraged people seeking bloodshed. Losing a few guards and wound, the Captain and Jibril retreated with the refugees at the Eastern Gate where they meet with the commander of the Navy dispatched to guard the sealed gate with a whole non-elven community cowering in the corner of the area away from the waves of people fighting the Navy. Through some bribery and favor dealing, saving the Captain proved to be in Jibril's favor as she and the Captain managed to open the gate and allowed the refugees to escape in time before the mob broke through and swarm the gate. But due to her exhaustion and being knocked unconscious, Jibril was out cold.
When Jibril awakens, she finds that she and Kor'da were on the verge of being lynched and butchered by the Chesire gang who seized control of the Eastern Gate. While Kor'da was unconscious and Jibril too weak from her earlier fighting, she watched as the commander in charge of the gate was beheaded and paraded through the street and soon Kor'da was next. Jibril panics and in her moment of weakness, she couldn't save him as the brute who grabbed him held Kor'da on a executioner's mount and swung his axe ... but then ... the unexpected happened.
Her Marker Activated.
Plunging her world into the parallel dimension, HE appeared. A man cloaked in darkness with shadows following him wherever he stepped and the pulsing of blood essence seeping into the air around them as death caught his attention before his scarlet eyes fell upon the glowing crimson Marker held within Jibril's still hand reaching out for Kor'da. As black as midnight, the man approach the frozen Jibril and the time-frozen people surrounding him, he spoke to her and proposed an offer to her. In exchange for the life of Kor'da, Jibril must retrieve the Orb of Maruda, the same orb she found in the basement of the Dunwich Tenement that now lies in the ruins of a burning charnel house. If she succeeds, the Marker will be fulfilled. Accepting these terms, Jibril formed a Blood Pact with the deity she comes to know as Kane.
Kane, the leader of the New Canaan Republic is secretly a dark deity known to the Nonota that serve him, as Umbra.
Jibril takes the deal and soon the dark deity performs his wicked miracles. Warping the corpses of the dead to bring forth new lifeforms, the scattered remains became sentient and parasitic in nature and took on the living monsters butchering people within the district. In the process, Kane saves Kor'da life and sets Jibril on the path to Dunwich where she must retrieve the Orb Kane desires before disappear or gets destroyed in the aftermath of a furious mob. Making haste with a confused Kor'da, Jibril rendevous with Draco and Shimbala only to be the bearer of bad news. With some convincing, Draco and Shimbala volunteer to perform a singular task in retrieving the Orb for Kane in an effort to also go looking for Red-Eye and Tar'lak who are also missing within the city.
Meanwhile, Tar'lak and Red-Eye struggle to flee the Last Breath inn as the Navy had taken control of the Bunbar District, through some Laissez-faire ethics and a devil-may-care attitude, Red-Eye shot up the Last Breath full of Navy soldiers then both Tar'lak and Red-Eye fled the inn at a brisk sprint towards the Eastern Gate. Parkouring and marathoning through all three districts in attempt to escape the Navy's grasp, Tar'lak and Red-Eye quickly dispatched anyone who stood in their way making quick work of everyone, including the checkpoint guards, as they showoff their speed and skill. With Red-Eye's gunslinger style and Red Sand influnced adrenline rush, he skillfully shoots a group of Chesire and Red Wave pirates in a chain gang making their way across a bridge and the whole line dragged the guards with them into the river of Dunbar clearing the first checkpoint. Using his sorcery, Red-Eye cast Earth type magic to surf Tar'lak over the guards of the second checkpoint while he mounted and vaulted over crates and debris along the sidelines to keep pace with Tar;lak without losing their momentum. Upon reaching Russel District, the two were greeted ... by the undead.
Unknown to the players, as the Orb of Maruda was still inside the Dunwich Building's basement, thanks to Jibril not sinterfering with it while she had the opportunity, the Orb activated in an attempt to save itself from being destroyed by the mob outside its dwelling. Every corpse within Dunwich Tenement was resurrected in an effort to save the Orb from destruction. While Tar'lak and Jibril were sleeping peacefully, the Orb was busy working its magic into every corpse and infecting the denizens of the Dunwich District. Addicts who overdosed, murder victims, clashes with the gangs and the people behind the disappearances, the Cultists, hastened the fall of Heifong by spreading the black magic even further by converting people into lumbering brutes with arcane devices that enhanced their abilities thanks to their patron, Maruda.
Now Tar'lak and Red-Eye are witnessing the aftermath of the Orb's influence over the city. Red-Eye consecrates the ground around himself and Tar'lak, the undead were warded off for a time while Tar'lak held off and thinnned out the undead's numbers in order for them to escape. Enter Jibril and the her allies powering through the undead with lethal efficiency of a very well trained and conditioned military force equipped with high power weaponry and equally powerful armament in tow. The Jaegar and Juggernaut company mowed down the horde of undead in a manner of seconds where a sword and sheild regiment would take hours to do, Tar'lak and Red-Eye reunite with the rest of the group. Given a new objective, the group make for the Dunwich Tenement where they fight off the undead horde moving in on the people witnessing the place burn to the ground. While Tar'lak joins the Juggernaut in hurling artillery rounds down the streets and bpombarding the district in order to quell the undead, Jibril take Draco and Shimbala down into the basement through the back entrance into the cellar with time to spare in retrieving the Orb.
But nothing is ever simple. Inside the basement, another horde of zombies and the first of many possessed brutes challenges them. Draco makes short work of the possessed brute, Shimbala cuts down a group of them while Jibril learns firsthand what kind of power she wields while under the influence of the Marker. While under the power of the Marker, her physical prowess have increase exponentially making a light flick of her finger to the forehead of an undead into a violently, gory, explosive blast equalvant to a shotgun at pointblank range. Jibril waited while Draco and Shimbala finished their work before continuing onto the job she originally came there to do while admiring her newfound strength, much to Shimbala's jealousy and Draco's indifference. Turning their attention to the Orb, Jibril grabs it only to be stuck to it instead. The Orb of Maruda was attempting to suck the soul right out of Jibril's body while Shimbala, a Dark Elf similar to the one that the Orb is sitting inside of, was on the verge of becoming a hollow shell that some particular Goddess was attempting to seizing control of. But due to the timely intervention of one clever and equally powerful deity, Kane enters the room through Jibril's Marker and frees Jibril and Shimbala from the influence of the Orb - rendering the magic inert.
With the Orb in tow, Jibril, Draco and Shimbala flee the Tenement as the roof collapsed around them, but before they could leave the area once on the surface, they were greeted by Maru Cultists in disquise as Shurifon guardsmen, to which Jibril easily spots them out immediately having intimate knowledge of the watchmen as a pirate lord's enforcer. Before anyone had time to react, suddenly, the imposters were caught off guard by the presence of Kane's disgusting and wicked abominations! The hatched limbs and bodies of the deceased victims of Russel now horrific monsteriosities are now aiding the party to freedom! As the abominations enveloped the cultists into one gigantic body mass of assimilated bodies with teeth and tentacle, Jibril and her allies make haste in fleeing before the creature has time to grow weary of their presences as well. Shimbala uses her Seer Stone and flare gun on her person to call down the hammer upon this manifestation with a fiery blaze of mortar fire! Raining down hellfire, the Juggernaut company fire a volley upon Dunwich and allowed the party to escape unscathed while the rest of the group rallies to the rendevous point and make tracks towards the Eastern Gate and with the rest of the caravan outside the city.
As the party return to their caravan, Jibril and Tar'lak gather their thoughts and part ways until the caravan is ready to move on Shimbala and Draco's orders. Jibril mends her relationship with Kor'da and then goes off to bond with Sim'one and Kak'lin. Tar'lak goes off on his own in search of food after fleeing for his life and general brooding while his companions make their move. Jibril gathered the boys and joins the others in one last meal of the day before setting off on the trial, experiencing the laughter and joyful company of a healthy and hardy people, the two Scales learn that the Canaanites are a nice group of people to have such a camaraderie with other people from different cultures and races within their ranks. But as they finished their food, the last of the preparations were in swing and Jibril and Tar'lak were given their duties as part of their deal with the Canaanites. Jibril guards the front and scouts the area while Tar'lak guards the back of the caravan while in motion.
The Caravan is ready to be packed up after their meal and everyone has a job to do and went to work. Jibril goes with Shimbala while Tar'lak goes to work in the rear part of the caravan. Shimbala and Jibril bond after the incident with Dunwich and converse over lovers and garnering some opinions of matters of the opposite sex, what's it like having a special someone, so and so forth. As refugees are getting onto the freight wagons and everyone is inspecting the area, Jibril learns of Marcon, the dwarven chef and Finnegan, the owner of the oxener pulling the massive freighter wagons. But while everyone is focused on the loading, someone calls in on the Seer Stones: it's the Undead!
Shimbala coordinates with her unit and Juggernaut in making a formation around the caravan as they hurry people onto the wagons, with so little warning, the caravan makes haste in getting things together as the horde is vastly approaching. With soldiers witnessing the undead climbing over the high walls of Heifong, the Canaanites prepare for combat as the caravanners try to get the oxeners and horses to move with so much weight holding them down. With so much cargo the caravan is moving a snail's pace! The undead make for the caravan, Jaegar and Juggernaut are swiftly putting them down as quickly as they come, easy for the time being but if they do not move more will come. Faster and faster the caravan moves, but then it occured to Jibril something was wrong, what if they were attracted to something ... then it hit her: The Orb! The last she seen the Orb was with Kak'lin that very back of the caravan with his brother Sim'one!!
Jibril jumped into action as the caravan was already on the move, she uses the gun Shimbala gave her to fend off the attack but the undead weren't concerned for her or the others but they were drawn to the Orb and she had to move quickly before the ambush claims the boys and the rest of the caravan. Leaping from one freight to the next while the caravan was in full motion, Jibril felt her instincts kick in making her way forward one after another in search of the boys. As Jibril jumps into one wagon she spots Karlya and Karin and another familiar face: Jimmy Wong. With her friends surviving the horde, Jibril was happy to see them, but in her dire circumstance she asked for their help in getting to Kak'lin and the Orb before the horde doses. With reluctance from Karlya and uneasiness from Jimmy, they aided her to get to the next freighter and using a Fake Orb in an attempt to throw off the undead from the Real Orb. Jibril take the Fake Orb and leaps to the next wagon and lands on the roof. While the Horde comes after the Fake, her early warning to the rest of the caravan reached the other soldiers within the wagons and the group rally forward into the first clearing they had and formed a wall and removed the blankets of their wagons to reveal assualt weaponry mounted on tripods turning their wagons into gun carriages. Once the last of the wagons cleared their line of fire and the Fake Orb was in play, the horde returned to the chase right in the middle of firing line of the barrage waiting for them. Meanwhile, Jibril is still on top of the freighter and jumps in as the wagon were moving into position with the horde still coming. Jibril reuinites with Red-Eye and Tar'lak, once again she asks for their help with getting to the next wagon, Red-Eye uses the last of his magic to move a large stone slab he conjured to allow Jibril to surf alongside and onto the last freight wagon while the now burning horde is focused on Jibril's Fake Orb and attempt after her. Jibril stood up with the Fake as the gun carriage were in place and as they made it into the clearing, she hurled the Fake into the horde and the carriage opened fire and annihilated the horde in its entirety. After the clean-up and cheers for a victory against the swarming undead, the caravan continues it's long travel ahead but with fewer capable people driving the main wagons and navigators claimed by the undead. With the few that could take over and the delays ahead, the caravan barely makes it through the first leg of the trip. the caravan stops for the night to actually celebrate their victory while the morale was still high and the casualties were low.
As the caravan stops for the night to make camp, while everyone was celebrating, Jibril and Tar'lak patrol the woods in the late evening with Finnegan who was tending to Oxener while the entire caravan were merrymaking. As much as the celebrating was fun and meant to help living spirits, other opportunistic individuals take this as a golden opportunity to swindle, scam, steal, maim, rape and murder whatever they can and ditch the caravan while they had the chance. A chance spotted by Jibril and her two companions. But they were all not alone, Jibril picked them up the first time due to her sensory organs detecting heat signatures but some faint ones she was all too familiar with. The Marked, the Nonota were present en mass on this gathering of Red Wave, Corsair pirates and the worse kind of scum poising as refugees. While Jibril was tempted by this meeting to leap into the action, her "guardian angel" pokes into her affairs and warns her against doing something very brash. Taking Kane's advice, Jibril walks away with Finnigan but ... Tar'lak noticed Kane's presence as a shadowy apparition following closely to her and the presence of her Marker also exposed Jibril as the owner of a Marker. Tar'lak had been having nightmares of the fall of his clan and tribe, he believes them to be premonitions and springs on Jibril and seizes his opportunity to get answers that the Canaanite wouldn't share. This act of betrayal turned Tar'lak on Jibril forces Kane to confront both of them when Tar'lak gained the upperhand in taking the pistol away from Jibril and was going to attempt to take her life for conspiring against him. An act Kane wouldn't allow.
Kane appears. As forceful and collective as he presents himself in the calmest voice he can, he lays out his rules to them on the conditions he wants from them before he turns his attention to Tar'lak to answer any and all of his burning questions. Revealing his plans to turn Wraithmarsh into an oil field to refine and harvest the raw crude oil from the rich mineral deposits the many clans of lizardfolk who claim land and ownership over, Tar'lak becomes enraged at the prospect. Belittling the ignorant, Kane corrects Tar'lak's preconceptions about their meeting and reveals a cruel choice but a choice never the less which is morethan what others would have given. Sacrifice hallow ground for peace or protect what is sacred and their home also becomes their tomb.
The ultimatum Kane presented to Tar'lak was a slap in the face he traveled a long way to hear, but refusing the intial offer, Tar'lak renegotiated the offer with acounter offer, risking his life for Kane's favor to save both his home and his people. Kane presents a choice for Tar'lak to travel to Genosia through a treacherous path few make it through and survive but to fulfill this task Tar'lak must meet Kane in New Canaan to retrieve the device needed to make the trip a success. A place that Kane has a valuable interest in seeing: Three Swords Valley. A place Kane cannot enter thanks to the magical bubble warding outsiders and containing the monsters within from entering civilization beyond Baulder's Gate that many know of, but not the secret passageway around the mountains. An offer Tar'lak accepts and thus the Blood Pact was made and Kane' vanishes as quickly as he appeared. Draco and Shimbala investigate the disturbance but their excuses and convincing story drop any and all suspicions the two may have had. Jibril and Tar'lak let bygones be bygones after he had learned what he needed and his betrayal was Kane's doing and not Jibril's influence. The two return to camp in order to sleep off the skullduggery of stupid pirates and crazy demons in masks. In the same evening, when Jibril goes to sleep, Kor'da laments over the guilt eating away at him and the burden he carries is becoming too much on him - the man survives another brush with death and Jibril's latest betrayal from Tar'lak merely proves the point. As Jibril cozied up to Kor'da she allowed her Marker to roll free and touching it summoned Kane - which inadvertly froze time around them as Kor'da noticed Kane's presence.
Kor'da holds a secret that Jibril mustn't know about, a secret that Kane absolutely knows about. To protect his family and the secret that will surely get Jibril killed if discovered, Kor'da forms yet another deal with Kane for divine protection in exchange for absolute obedience. Thus gifting Kor'da the same enhancing magic that Jibril also possesses with matching crimson scales and such endowments, but Kane knew Jibril was awake and fully aware and unable to stop Kor'da from making a huge mistake. That was intentional on Kane's part. Yet another deal to add to the same Marker held by two owners. Yet another betrayal of Jibril's trust and Kor'da, of all people, lashes out against her and deflecting the issues upon her and the cursed Orb; sabotaging their relationship. Jibril leaves, Red-Eye stops her and attempts to cheer her up after the fallout of her relationship with the Orb of Maruda in tow to get it as far away from Kor'da and Kak'lin as possible. Red-Eye, through some measure of hospitality and guilt, Red-Eye offered Jibril a place to sleep. Taking her to his secret spot in one of the wagon, Red-Eye opens a portal he created into a pocket dimension to a small manor. It was here Jibril learns that Red-Eye is a wealthy child who was orphaned at a very young age and the place he and Jibril stand in was once his former home. Red-Eye also explains the inner works of magic, the various items of his home and he reveals the shortened lifespans of Sorcerers due to the overwhelming power they possess within their bodies and the explosive part of trying to contain too much magical power within him if he doesn't constantly relieve some of his energy out forcing him into a life of pain, violence, excess and lucidity. Afterwards, Jibril slept and Red-Eye returned to his numerous curiosities.
As the night becomes uneventful and the coming morning, everyone awakens to the rising sun - a perfect time to mingle! Jibril is still upset by last night's bullshit with Kor'da sabotaging their relationship to hide his secret from Jibril, one unbeknown to her. To take her mind off things, she sought out Karlya and Karin who were by Lake Mare washing clothes along with the other refugees and making themselves, generally, useful. Bonding and talking, eventually the subject of her relationship with Kor'da is brought up and thus a motherly lecture ensues from a mother with more insight to which Karlya doesn't realize that Kor'da is merely deflecting and Jibril is not telling her the whole truth to save face. But the moment Jibril shares a very personal and intimate moment of placing Karlya's hand on Jibril pregnant belly, feeling the fertilized eggs within her ... Karlya is dumbstruck ... in the worse and possibly the BEST way
In the most fiery (and the most entertaining way I thought of) way Karlya is mad, madder than the scorched earth of Gordo and the Ashlands, she storms off dragging Jibril, who by the way is fully transformed with enhanced physical magic and capable of stopping her from dragging her away, seems to have her strength sapped from her by Karlya's own brute strength. A mother's scornful strength. Marching on to find that good for nothing lizardman, the two find Kor'da where is. Snatching an axe a dwarf was grinding, she hefts it with ease as she continues to drag Jibril along, she is absolutely livid! The moment Kor'da believed he was in serenity, Karlya approaches and takes him down several humiliating notches with a two-handed axe with Jibril bearing witness to her true strength. Denting Kor'da metallic armored scales and threats of hacking off his manhood with the freshly sharpened axe head, Kor'da agreed to take better care of Jibril while under duress. Satisfied with putting the fear of many gods into Kor'da, she released him and her rage subsides.
The Jibril whisks Karlya happily away and Karin follows and three of them were closer than before. Jibril is eager to learn the humble ways of motherhood while Karlya puts some of these ideas more realistically that proved her point - things take time. After a bonding between her girlfriends, Jibril was ready to turn in for the evening ... but not with Kor'da, not after what Karlya did to him and his "pride". Instead she goes looking for Red-Eye to bunk with for another night, but the thing was, he wasn't anywhere to be found! Searching the entire camp for Randy Marlo, nobody seen him nor cared if he was missing. Jibril searched and search for hours until she finds him wedged in between two cargo crates and his body was completely contorted in the worse kind of way, in extreme amount of pain, Jibril couldn't bear to hurt him any further by helping him as he is. Panicking, Jibril turns to Karlya, the only other person she can think of to rescue her hurting friend in desperate need of help. Karlya was brought before Red-Eye and learn that his condition is tied to his nature as a Sorcerer and the painful process of Transmogrification - magic energy needs to replenish after sleeping, otherwise the magic within a person becomes uncontrollable and unpredictable sometime even contorting someone horrifically. After soothing Red-Eye's condition, Jibril stays behind to tend to him for several hours throughout the night and she stayed with until he woke up in her presence but said little except he was grateful for her help.
The strange turning point of our story diverges from here. Unbeknown to the player (only a single player, playing by this point):
The Orb of Maruda was corrupting the events following Jibril sleeping with Red-Eye after his transmogrification recovery. But what caused him to to transmogrify so rapidly in such a short time span of a single day? Sorcerers possess massive amounts of magic, so much that they must exhaust themselves in order to survive, but exhausting themselves to the breaking point of death? That was an extreme anomaly, and the first sign things were wrong. The second sign things are wrong about these events was the presence of the "flag posts" Tar'lak mentions the group setup a perimeter for patrols to watch and guard the caravan and keeping everyone within the zone. Why would a moving caravan worry about setting up a patrol zone and taking extreme precautions to shoot people on sight? One would assume bandits and monsters, true, or it's to keep people from making a discovery they weren't meant to see, say ... a dreamscape bubble? Third sign something was off, Kane's abnormal behavior ... okay, STRANGER behavior; Kane is cold, calculative and despite the impression of a dark deity: benevolent in his acts even if many don't believe his methods are pure. To violently impregnate someone as part of a deal and then turns his attention to a someone's child is sloppy, crude, and grotesque and certainly beneath him while there are other methods of more subtle manipulation. In lastly, Jibril threatens the Orb of Maruda, the biggest red flag to spot and Kane's behavior shifts when it was threatened by both Tar'lak and Jibril and sending him away after relinquishing both Jibril and Kor'da's souls. No matter what kind of devil they may think of him as, but harvesting well earned souls is not something a devil gives up so easily especially knowing how much power is in Life Essence. The final nail in the coffin that breaks this illusion was Draco's radical decision to execute Jibril on the spot, a zero to one hundred moment. But then events after this deviation continue as one would expect: no one knows what happened to them except Red Eye.
What seemed like a normal day, the subtle to drastic changes of the dream, or nightmare, made Jibril believe that time had reverted a single day. Rewinding time back to the moment she woke up, convenient timing. It wasn't until Jibril had gathered her companions to clue them into her dream and posing questions does Red-Eye shed light on the situation. Revealing that he had inadvertently been feeding the depleted Orb which is actually a Reliquary, a magical device used to store souls - which in this case, he added his Life Essence - to a cursed object of power. Thus, the Reliquary regained its power and additional energy to amplify its control over the surround area as it is an Area of Effect magical device. With Red-Eye's Life Essence teethered to the cursed object, the Reliquary is siphoning away his mana at an alarming rate almost on the verge of killing him with how excessive it depletes his reserves stored within him.
Regardless, knowing that the Orb is now active once again and the situation has become clear that something is amiss, the group collectively see something must be done though a panicking Jibril is hysterically inclined to believe Kane is firmly reasonable for her nightmare and paranoia. Convincing her companion to go along with her gut feeling despite early warning signs that prove otherwise beyond a doubt that the Reliquary of Maruda is behind this manipulation.
The group plans their escape from the Canaanites before whatever foul magic or dealing may fall upon them. Whether it was through premonition or coincidence, the dream predicted Draco's announcement to the rest of the caravan that the refugees will be given aid but the events following after are different with Jibril's group figuring out a plan to escape and NOT trying to enter New Canaan's closed borders. Planning to escape by hijacking a Volga Freight wagon, the group settled on stealing everything and fencing off the stolen goods to at least try to find a way to make it through this stretch of their journey without falling victim to whatever dark forces are plaquing them.
The plan was set in motion as the caravan moves again and the moment to seize the wagon they all pile into was ready to make off with everything as the group come to the meeting point where the refugees would be departing to the Shurifon Capital on foot and leaving the Canaanites to their leaders to follow them through the borders to New Canaan on the final stretch of their trail. Their moment of opportunity was at hand, Jibril murders her driver of the wagon and steals control of the Oxeners within her reigns, steering the wagon around the rain soaked ground and nearly capsizing the entire thing down a slope, Jibril caused the rest of the caravan to erupt into disorderly chaos. Oxeners panicked and stampeded through the refugees, Jibril's wagon knocks over a neighboring freight wagon and all the people within were crushed under the heavy weighted cargo, killing all of them through a gruesomely crushing. Draco and the Canaanites realized they were being betrayed by the new recruits and conspirering hijackers and orders the entire combat units to mobilize and seize the wagon. But ensuing chaos of Jibril's half-baked plan goes completely sidesway costing most innocent lives to be lost in an attempt to flee with stolen property, refugees caught in the crossfire of Canaanite gunfire and the retaliation from Jimmy and Tar'lak fighting back against the pursuing Canaanites injuring both in the fight. Fleeing towards the gates of Shurifon's Capital, the misfit group of adventurers scrape on through just as they lose track of the Canaanites, who fell back due to a risk of a diplomatic incident.
Rampaging through the streets of Shurifon's Capital, the Volgan Freighter causes collateral damage to the surrounding buildings and vendors attempting to find a hiding spot until reaching a empty warehouse capable of hiding everyone within the wagon and buying the group to recoup and assess the damage. When Jibril checks the back ... all the refugees were shot to death, a dozen or more people are dead because of their intervention, even Jimmy Wo was killed in the backlash. Karlya tended to Tar'lak who was gravely wounded but thanks to Red-Eye's condition, he was no help at all. Time passes and Jibril's paranoia and indifference to the critical moments her companions are facing, she didn't realize tha the Reliquary had consumed Red-Eye and possessed him, leaving a mortally wounded Tar'lak unable to fight, Karlya and Jibril as the only people left to fight back against the possessed Red-Eye. Resurrecting the dead refugees in the wagon, the possessed Red creates a small army of undead to fight Karlya and Jibril while gloating about how wonderfully jibril did in breaking her oath to Kane while sowing seeds of deception amongst those around her. Revealing themselves as Maruda, the Goodess of the Damned herself in Red-Eye's mortal flesh, she commends Jibril's chaotic plan while mocking her. Making an offer to join Maruda's plan to create a dead world, Jibril refuses and fights back only to her chagrin that Maruda is far more powerful this time around than she was before, no thanks to Red-Eye's influence. On the verge of killing Jibril, Maruda notices the vibrant glowing of Jibril's pouch and retrieves the trinket within ... The Marker.
Noting the frightening power emitting from the Marker, Maruda drops it. But the normal sensation of Kane's presence was very familiar to Jibril as the pulsating, humming and thumping sounds emanating from a different source this starles Maruda into searching for that source until it was too late. The storm Jibril and company fought through was picking up and was much more stronger than before, setting the mood for Kane's entrance: In the flesh, he appears. Killing off the undead with his Nonota minions and swarms the warehouse with tentacles wrapped in metallic scales, shredding flesh and crushing bone, the presence was unnerving for a fledgling vessel like Maruda, who did not possess a mortal form unlike Kane. Making short work of the undead and taking control of the situation, Kane grabs Red-Eye and rips out the possessed soul harboring within him. With the soul-teethering broken, Maruda is now flesh and blood in the mortal realm to which she was completely vulnerable to the physical world, dumbstruck by the soul ripping power Kane possessed she throws herself at Kane's mercy fearing his wrath. While Jibril was familiar with Kane's servant Nonota: Sanguine and Mellow, she wasn't aware that they were shapeshifters capable of taking on his likeness and possessing different personality traits. With the real Kane present before her, he isn't like the two that mimicked him on his behalf.
Spawning a portal directly to New Canaan, Jibril and her companions travel through while Kane deals with the troublesome Maruda. Once through the portal and seeing Scarlet Rose, the group parted ways with Jibril finding herself at odds and resigning to to her hotel room at the Green Dragon Hotel. While wondrous and amazing, the glamor of the city and accommodations she finds herself in are beyond expectations, Jibril struggles with the trauma of her plan backfiring gloriously in her face. Reverted back to their former selves, both Kor'da and Jibril are no longer bond to the singular Marker. Jimmy, no longer part of the living nor dead, is part of the Undead and isolated. Karlya and Karin are going through the motions of their experience, as is the rest of the group but no more than Red-Eye who was instrumental in the catastrophy that befell upon the group.
Jibril rests, however, in a torpal state. While humanoid in nature, reptilian folk are not as well adapted outside of their natural environment. After a few days and very little sleep and malnourishment, Jibril's body shuts down to conserve energy and recouperate after stressful circumstance which can take a week or so. This is also accompanied by stress shedding as well.
After awakening from torpal state, Jibril finds herself a week into the her stay in New Canaan and news of her group circulated throughout the city. Once she recieved word from Red-Eye, she meets with him. Upon reaching him, Jibril learns Red-Eye is now sober after his colossal fuck-up and finds the experience life changing and guilt ridden. However, his guilt has been redirected into a new direction after speaking with Jibril and moves to rectify his mistakes and atoning for his actions by researching ways to counter magic and provide some form of defense magic when going against foes or curse objects. With her meeting with Red-Eye, or rather the sober Randy Marlo, concluded Jibril returns to the Green Dragon to find more messages like Randy's from everyone else. After reading her letters, she meets with Kor'da and the boys to reconnect and see to their training now that they've had time to coup with the ordeal. Mending her bond with Kor'da and taking the boys out to babysit them, Jibril began their training in guile and finesse. But she also had ... other plans for them as well ... taking to their "other needs" Jibril cared for the boys for the better half of the day then Kor'da brings her news that they now possess a new shop and home!
The next day, Jibril reads her letters and discovers that she and her companions are under investigation and being charged for the incident they caused. While they're not officially under arrest and behind bars, this case garners a hefty fine and 10 years of Hard Labor if she doesn't cooperate. Seeking out this "Arbiter" that has taken over Jibril's case on her behalf. Gathering her bearings and general direction around the city, Jibril meets with Dennis Gannon, her Arbiter at the Law Office and finds Kane present to address the situation and explain the direness of it. After some explaination and politics being involved in her case, Gannon summons Kane and the chaotic relationship of the two blemishes her first impression of her chatty arbiter. While Kane and Dennis bicker with one another like an odd married couple or really really good friends, Jibril learns that she is God-Touched (someone who is special either through an affinity with a specific form of magic, a Specialist, or she has been given a remarkably powerful storage of magic.) of which Gannon is the other exceptional case of being one. Learning of Kane's stunt with Jibril in confidence, Gannon proceeds to berate and "punish" Kane for his many deceptions ... almost as if this is a regular occurance for them.
Awkwardness aside, the case moves forward and the due date is settle in stone for Jibril to defend herself before the Tribunal Court that will determine if she is a free woman or if she is a dead one with her case severity increased due to the nature of her quest falling outside of NCR borders. Given a special Pardon as a hush bribe from Kane to be presented at her trial, Jibril keeps it close to her and guards it well while she goes to find Karlya and Karin to hangout only to end up at the Broken Fist Tavern. At the Tavern, Karlya and Jibril make a friendly wager and they do what everyone does according to the Tavern's namesake: they broke fists! Rumbling and garnering the attention of the drunks and mercs around the tavern the fight ends with Jibril winning the pleasure of ... fondling Karlya's breasts. For shame! Taking her winnings back to her room, Jibril does much more than just fondle poor bruised Karlya <3 But soon afterward, Randy finally arrives with a solution to their magic problem using special bracelets and runic magic from the dwarvish language. Beginning a tirade of lectures, theories and psuedo-science guessing, Randy explains the nature of magic and how it works for those not capable of magic or who have very little understanding of magic.
After the long-winded lecturing and teaching Randy departs but not after earning some glances and fluttering eyes from Karlya herself before taking his leave. Jibril and Karlya also depart and going their separate ways with Jibril going to find her friend Jimmy Wo, who happens to be isolated in the medical ward of the main hospital. Traveling the one of a kind hospital, Jibril takes in the facility and finds a plethora of cadavers put on display that she learns a great deal about the internal functions of each species and race of creature furthering her insight more than some textbook. She then returned to her search for Jimmy and finds him isolated and under intensive study regarding his current condition. While under medical observation, Jibril is given permission to speak to him from one-side of the partition and brightens up his day given the depressing circumstance of his isolation and the dangers he poses for other people if he were discovered or if his condition gets worse.
As it turns out, Jimmy Wo under a new surname "Fong", has been getting worse with magic being the only explanation for his existence with physical evidence and medical science can prove. Without constant blood transfusions and a stable supply of mana energy feeding him - he'll be dead, again. With some fortune in Jibril's favor, she possesses a Potion of Betrothal from the Nonota gifted to her for her cooperation unbeknown to KAne as to its true function or purpose. Through an explanation by the two Nonota twins themselves, Kane learns that even he doesn't have all the answers and Jibril learns her can use this powerful healing potion with potency depending on the person's affection to the one drinking it with the potential of stopping death. This hope in a bottle gives Jibril an idea to use it on Jimmy. But when given to Jimmy with the potential of coming back to life, he refused and returned the bottle to Jibril - deeming it worthless to someone who is already dead.
Leaving the hospital and informing Jimmy of the plan Madam Rouge left her in her letter to Jibril, Jibril goes off to find Draco and Shimbala. This reunion with Shimbala was a tricky situation with Jibril nearly escaping with her life with Shimbala narrowing her down with a magnum .44, but thankfully only suffering a broken nose. Given a second chance for saving the caravan, prior to the betrayal, Shimbala is in a forgiving mood and even helps Jibril find some way into Draco's good graces as well. To make amends she went to seek him out at the military base outside of the city. This exchange between soldiers was a strange turn of events for Jibril as she's not accustomed to the tactics and organization of the country's military culture, while the strange behaviors of grunts and infantry butting heads and being generally jockeys, Draco and things escalate from there with Draco demanding Jibril to leave and she refusing to do so until he's resolved this her way, the two clash until Shimbala proposes a contest of speed, skill, guile and finesse to determine a winner. In the end, it was a neck to neck race with a solid draw with both Jibril and Draco cutting it down to the last second. Raising morale and increasing Jibril's reputation with the military. Jibril learns about Madam Alabaster's estranged son, Alistair, taking up a medical post with the military and his disdain for her. Draco and Jibril are given medical treatment after their race and were relieved after a long rest, after which they go together to celebrate a fantastic race with Randy, Draco, Shimbala and Jibril all looking forward to getting drunk until stumbling upon Willow's Shop the Will'O'Wisp, a Curio shop full of exotic things that draw everyone's attention. Jibril find a plethora of things she wants but instead settles for a few baubles and books before departing. Going to the Scarlet District and partying at the Red Queen, the group going to settle in for the evening of drinking and smoking and whoring ... but Jibril had other plans, or rather Madam Alabaster's plans. Meeting up with Guadalupe and Maria, members of the Alabaster crime family and former card game players Jibril met in Heifong at the beginning are representative of the Madam's behalf inquiring into the ownership of the brothel and Red Sand trade. Given terms and conditions and learning the snags of ownership laws and regulations, Jibril's deal and lucritive payday is going south if nothing is done about it. Off to find a way to gain access to the deed and papers to get the brothel Jibril goes to find the son of the owners to learn more about it. Much to her chagrin, it's never that simple, cutting her losses and still aching from her injuries from the race - Jibril returns to her hotel room to sleep.
Upon returning, Jibril sleeps with Kor'da and her new family with the knowledge that everything with her companions are now settling down and she is back in their good graces. All seemed right in the world.
Next day, Jibril is called to City Hall where Kane asked for Jibril to come presentable to discuss the trial. But this trial is more than it seems and the newest quest Kane has for Jibril requires her to return to her homeland of Medressa in search of a Jewel of Ressurection, ancient legends and journals, new dangers. But Jibril must survive the court trial set for her and her companions before she can even leave for Sou'jure and Medressa, what new things await her? What's with the facade with her Trial? Why is Kane so secreative about his identity as a dark deity?
Find out, stay tuned!
Our story began with our player characters arriving in Heifong's Pig-Sty Alley, Jibril (played by Sora21345) and Tar'lak (formerly played by Khorne). Jibril, the Nagini royal guardswoman of Medressa on a pilgrimage to obtain knowledge of the outside world beyond the Medressa's homeland of Gordo. Tarl'ak, the Lizardman of the Ashen Tribe of Wraithmarsh's Hollows, sent forth to seek aid in a time when his people are in dire straits and are on the verge of starvation, and extinction. Our adventurers meet with the New Canaanites, a Republic free of the stranglehold of Fjornia and Shurifon's grasp, lead by Kane an enigmatic leader with a powerful influence and even darker presence and serving as their representatives in Heifong are the Draco Baelfire, a Dragonborn; Randy "Red-Eye" Marlo, a Sorcerer and Medic; Shimbala and Kalisa Vali of the Dark Elf clans accompanied by their military units: Jaegar and Juggernaut. Along the way, Jibril and Tar'lak have gathered a group of friends to accompany them on their way to New Canaan: Kor'da Slavenclaw and his sons Kak'lin and Sim'one, Jimmy Wo, Karlya "Holo" and her daughter Karin.
At the start of their journey, Jibril retrieved Kor'da to pay off a debt with her boss, Silvermane, who ran the Silver Coin opium den and gambling parlor, after settling an agreement with her boss, Jibril and Kor'da leave promptly only to "bump" into a masked man who carried a special totem. Upon contact with this totem did Kor'da change and thus brings Jibril back to her employer upon which she encounters Drace Baelfire who is searching for mercenaries and people of extraordinary skill. After a brief and short meeting between Silvermane and Baelfire, Jibril's employment has been transferred into Draco's company: The New Canaanites. Meanwhile, Tar'lak of the Ashen enters the city and stumbles into a traveling merchant and notice a similar event in which the same totem dropped by the masked figured is now hanging in the wares of this merchant, Oswaldo. After witnessing the power of the totem firsthand, the possessed Oswaldo gifted the totem to Tar'lak which sets off a chain of events that will lead him to Dunbar Row and enter a fight with Randy Marlo, aka Red-Eye! Enraged and high on Red Sand, a popular drug of choice in Shurifon, the coked up Red-Eye picks a fight with our lizard friend until the climax of the match ends with Red-Eye pulling a gun on our protagonist to which ends with Tar'lak outmaneuvering him and ending their fight with Red-Eye knocked out and earning a wager for his troubles.
Elsewhere, Jibril meets with Kor'da to express a bit of good news that Jibril negotiated as part of her terms for her new employer. But things take a sharp turn when a gesture of gratitude turns into something ... more. In the heat of the moment, Jibril and Kor'da fornicated and surprisingly form a connection. But this moment changed when the moment is ruined by Jibril's affection is called into question by this mysterious totem the two came into contact with. Out of spite and rage, Jibril destroys the totem and unleashing a "tear" in the fabric of reality and hurling themselves in a pocket dimension where darkness prevailed and the bitter cold was sharp. It was here, Jibril and Kor'da were introduced to the true face behind the masked man she met within the stairwell that day: Sanguine, one of many creatures of realm they reside within known as a Nonota ("Marked"). Through the Marked, these "totems" are Markers meant as a means to grant wishs by performing a service to the Marker's patron deity. While in possession of a Marker, the owner has a mystical way of achieving their goals and having craving for ambition, some people would believe this to be the work of Luck or the Sleight of Hand of Fate itself but it is the work of more cosmically powerful beings.
Arriving at the Last Breath where she was to meet with Draco for her first assignment to their company, Jibril meets Red-Eye shortly after his fight with Tar'lak. Being a musician, Red-Eye tries to make a song and Jibril sleeps while she has the opportunity to do so before meeting her employers at their rendevous point outside the city. Having troubling nightmares of an Alter and a strange magical orb, Jibril awakes and leaves to find a more welcoming comfort in the arms of her new lover: Kor'da. When Jibril goes to meet with Kor'da, Kor'da was worried about the disappreance of his sons, Sim'one and Kak'lin since they never returned even thought it was already dark out. So the two went looking for the boys. Searching a few areas and meeting a few people, a pair of elves mentioned the group of kids the two boys hang out with were playing in the Dunwich Tenement of the Dunwich district, a wretched place of vile criminals and the worse kind of cutthroats and butchers. Fearing the worst, Kor'da and Jibril race into Dunwich to search the Tenement where they split off at the building complex in search of the younglings.
Searching the basement, it was just as Jibril had feared: it was a slaughterhouse. Corpses. Corpses, everywhere. And lo and behold: there it was. The Orb of Maruda, Goddess of the Undead. It was just as mysterious to Jibril as she remembered from her dream, but never taking the risk in retrieving it, she quickly departs in her search for the two missing boys and their friends. But before she could return to her search: Jibril was impeded by a lumbering monster of a man dragging a woman across the ground, unconscious. Upon his defeat, Jibril ensured his death a second time then tending to injured woman the man was carrying. Returning to the surface with the woman, Jibril learns the woman is a Corsair Pirate and the mother of one of the children gone missing: Karlya and her daughter Karin. Through both their efforts, the two joined together and searched the tenement. Kor'da finds the chilidren but they were too late and were under the control of another Orb similar to the one Jibril found below. This Orb possessed a hex that control the minds of the children who guard the one holding it: Karin. With Kor'da's brute strength, Karlya's illusion magic and Jibril's swiftness and cunning, the three battled the possessed children and broke them free of the cursed orb's power over them. The children were free and the parents got them out of the Dunwich building safely, returning home.
Meanwhile, Tar'lak was injured from his fight with Red-Eye and the gun he used on him. Seeking medicine for his injury, he waltzes into Shifu Wong and Jedora's Apothecary and Tea Shop where he was bandaged up and catered to, that was until Jedora attempts to tease and humiliate Tar'lak in his weakened stated. This, however, did not go according to Jedora's plan as the not-so-weak Tar'lak flips the table on Jedora and ravages her body like a beast in rut which ends with a Dark Elf holding a gun to his head mid-coitus. Enter: Shimbala of the Jaegar unit. Shimbala takes Tar'lak into her custody and places him in civilian arrest and drags him outside to be punished in the streets as per the expectations of Jedora. Shimbala, however, decides to go against her intuition upon discovering that Tar'lak also possesses a Marker and releases Tar'lak on the condition he meets with Draco Baelfire in an effort to pique her curiosity. When they do so, Shimbala and Draco's theories prove them right: someone is making a move on the city. But who?
Unbeknown to the players, Heifong was under siege by mythic forces that plague the city with disappearances occurring frequently under the watchful eyes of the Gentral Guard. The New Canaanites weren't only hurting for resources in their desperate attempt to save lives back home, they too were curious about the disappearances of these people and investigated the city. Draco and Shimbala sent out their hidden forces: The Marked, as scouts to search the city for clues into this mystery. When Jibril and Tar'lak were discovered to have possession of Markers, this only confirms that they were linked to the rampant surge of these strange totems appearing shortly after their arrival. Jibril and Tar'lak meet one of these Marked: Mellow, the happy masked fellow whom Jibril met before alongside Draco when she was employed by Silvermane. The strange part of this meeting is that Mellow and Sanguine are in fact the one and the same group of people Jibril has met, for she knows that these two masked men are monsters beneath their masks, and Tar'lak knows this as he can listen to their voices when they speak, collectively. How do Shimbala and Draco not know of the Marked's TRUE selves? A mystery that will soon be uncovered.
As the group travel together, they make their introductions and then depart to run their final arrangements before departing the city. Tar'lak retireve his weapons and equipment along with Draco then the three travel to the Apothocary Shop to retrieve medicine from Jedora. to which Tar'lak is no longer welcomed in. Upon discovering Tar'lak's reasoning for his apprehension, Draco is livid but this disaster turned into their favor through Jibril's silvery tongue in persuaded Jedora to hand over the medicine if they hand over Tar'lak in a swindle. This plan would have worked, but the actions of Jibril's impatience and caution nearly cost Jedora's and Tar'lak's life. Through meditation on Draco's behalf, Jedora's life was spared Jibril's venom and Tar'lak was free to leave and the group were granted the medicine they require to return home along with some "extra" and "misplaced" items of interest to the curious Jibril. With their humanitarian supplies settled, Jibril went spent the night with her new lover and Tar'lak returned to the Last Breath inn for a rest until he met Red-Eye, the man who shot him, who was mending a broken guitar that Jibril broke across his face earlier in the evening.
With the adventurers resting, a single day of our story ends and another begins with the dawn of the second day.
Jibril and Tar'lak awakened to a troubling revelation: they were late! The sun is almost up and the caravan train Draco and the New Canaanites setup were on the move to depart without them! Jibril discovers after a numerous, unaccounted number of times they had sex that night, she was pregnant with a clutch of Kor'da's young. But before she had time to celebrate their decision to move their new family to New Canaan, a friend of Kor'da rushes in to warn them of a wave of Shurifon Navy soldiers marching through the city killing and arresting all non-elven people. This friend happens to be a captain of the Heifong Guard, a Gentry, a very high ranking member of the social order. After hearing this news, Kor'da and Jibril grab the kids and make haste to the caravan through the Eastern Gate through the Russle District which required them to break through the blockade barring them from reaching it. Playing it smart, Jibril sided with the captain and hide in plain sight until placing through the first checkpoint into Dunwich. Upon enterring Dunwich District proper, the Dunwich Tenement was set ablazed thanks to the investigation and effort on Kor'da and the Captain's part and a crowd of people watched as the tenement burned to the ground for all the death that building and the Cultists using it caused. But not tarrying, the group leave to enter Russle District which is in the middle of an uprising thanks to the rampage of the Chesire gang and the radicals in favor of killing all non-elven people. Hanging and butchering lizardfolk, dark elves, orcs, humans and dwarves, the raging mob that lynched so many in the uprising now have their eyes set upon the refugees stumbling into their district vulnerable and weak with a very few guardsmen under the Captain's control to guard them.
The mob was fended off while Kor'da aided the refugees in their escape towards the Eastern Gate while the Captain and Jibril stem the tide of waves of enraged people seeking bloodshed. Losing a few guards and wound, the Captain and Jibril retreated with the refugees at the Eastern Gate where they meet with the commander of the Navy dispatched to guard the sealed gate with a whole non-elven community cowering in the corner of the area away from the waves of people fighting the Navy. Through some bribery and favor dealing, saving the Captain proved to be in Jibril's favor as she and the Captain managed to open the gate and allowed the refugees to escape in time before the mob broke through and swarm the gate. But due to her exhaustion and being knocked unconscious, Jibril was out cold.
When Jibril awakens, she finds that she and Kor'da were on the verge of being lynched and butchered by the Chesire gang who seized control of the Eastern Gate. While Kor'da was unconscious and Jibril too weak from her earlier fighting, she watched as the commander in charge of the gate was beheaded and paraded through the street and soon Kor'da was next. Jibril panics and in her moment of weakness, she couldn't save him as the brute who grabbed him held Kor'da on a executioner's mount and swung his axe ... but then ... the unexpected happened.
Her Marker Activated.
Plunging her world into the parallel dimension, HE appeared. A man cloaked in darkness with shadows following him wherever he stepped and the pulsing of blood essence seeping into the air around them as death caught his attention before his scarlet eyes fell upon the glowing crimson Marker held within Jibril's still hand reaching out for Kor'da. As black as midnight, the man approach the frozen Jibril and the time-frozen people surrounding him, he spoke to her and proposed an offer to her. In exchange for the life of Kor'da, Jibril must retrieve the Orb of Maruda, the same orb she found in the basement of the Dunwich Tenement that now lies in the ruins of a burning charnel house. If she succeeds, the Marker will be fulfilled. Accepting these terms, Jibril formed a Blood Pact with the deity she comes to know as Kane.
Kane, the leader of the New Canaan Republic is secretly a dark deity known to the Nonota that serve him, as Umbra.
Jibril takes the deal and soon the dark deity performs his wicked miracles. Warping the corpses of the dead to bring forth new lifeforms, the scattered remains became sentient and parasitic in nature and took on the living monsters butchering people within the district. In the process, Kane saves Kor'da life and sets Jibril on the path to Dunwich where she must retrieve the Orb Kane desires before disappear or gets destroyed in the aftermath of a furious mob. Making haste with a confused Kor'da, Jibril rendevous with Draco and Shimbala only to be the bearer of bad news. With some convincing, Draco and Shimbala volunteer to perform a singular task in retrieving the Orb for Kane in an effort to also go looking for Red-Eye and Tar'lak who are also missing within the city.
Meanwhile, Tar'lak and Red-Eye struggle to flee the Last Breath inn as the Navy had taken control of the Bunbar District, through some Laissez-faire ethics and a devil-may-care attitude, Red-Eye shot up the Last Breath full of Navy soldiers then both Tar'lak and Red-Eye fled the inn at a brisk sprint towards the Eastern Gate. Parkouring and marathoning through all three districts in attempt to escape the Navy's grasp, Tar'lak and Red-Eye quickly dispatched anyone who stood in their way making quick work of everyone, including the checkpoint guards, as they showoff their speed and skill. With Red-Eye's gunslinger style and Red Sand influnced adrenline rush, he skillfully shoots a group of Chesire and Red Wave pirates in a chain gang making their way across a bridge and the whole line dragged the guards with them into the river of Dunbar clearing the first checkpoint. Using his sorcery, Red-Eye cast Earth type magic to surf Tar'lak over the guards of the second checkpoint while he mounted and vaulted over crates and debris along the sidelines to keep pace with Tar;lak without losing their momentum. Upon reaching Russel District, the two were greeted ... by the undead.
Unknown to the players, as the Orb of Maruda was still inside the Dunwich Building's basement, thanks to Jibril not sinterfering with it while she had the opportunity, the Orb activated in an attempt to save itself from being destroyed by the mob outside its dwelling. Every corpse within Dunwich Tenement was resurrected in an effort to save the Orb from destruction. While Tar'lak and Jibril were sleeping peacefully, the Orb was busy working its magic into every corpse and infecting the denizens of the Dunwich District. Addicts who overdosed, murder victims, clashes with the gangs and the people behind the disappearances, the Cultists, hastened the fall of Heifong by spreading the black magic even further by converting people into lumbering brutes with arcane devices that enhanced their abilities thanks to their patron, Maruda.
Now Tar'lak and Red-Eye are witnessing the aftermath of the Orb's influence over the city. Red-Eye consecrates the ground around himself and Tar'lak, the undead were warded off for a time while Tar'lak held off and thinnned out the undead's numbers in order for them to escape. Enter Jibril and the her allies powering through the undead with lethal efficiency of a very well trained and conditioned military force equipped with high power weaponry and equally powerful armament in tow. The Jaegar and Juggernaut company mowed down the horde of undead in a manner of seconds where a sword and sheild regiment would take hours to do, Tar'lak and Red-Eye reunite with the rest of the group. Given a new objective, the group make for the Dunwich Tenement where they fight off the undead horde moving in on the people witnessing the place burn to the ground. While Tar'lak joins the Juggernaut in hurling artillery rounds down the streets and bpombarding the district in order to quell the undead, Jibril take Draco and Shimbala down into the basement through the back entrance into the cellar with time to spare in retrieving the Orb.
But nothing is ever simple. Inside the basement, another horde of zombies and the first of many possessed brutes challenges them. Draco makes short work of the possessed brute, Shimbala cuts down a group of them while Jibril learns firsthand what kind of power she wields while under the influence of the Marker. While under the power of the Marker, her physical prowess have increase exponentially making a light flick of her finger to the forehead of an undead into a violently, gory, explosive blast equalvant to a shotgun at pointblank range. Jibril waited while Draco and Shimbala finished their work before continuing onto the job she originally came there to do while admiring her newfound strength, much to Shimbala's jealousy and Draco's indifference. Turning their attention to the Orb, Jibril grabs it only to be stuck to it instead. The Orb of Maruda was attempting to suck the soul right out of Jibril's body while Shimbala, a Dark Elf similar to the one that the Orb is sitting inside of, was on the verge of becoming a hollow shell that some particular Goddess was attempting to seizing control of. But due to the timely intervention of one clever and equally powerful deity, Kane enters the room through Jibril's Marker and frees Jibril and Shimbala from the influence of the Orb - rendering the magic inert.
With the Orb in tow, Jibril, Draco and Shimbala flee the Tenement as the roof collapsed around them, but before they could leave the area once on the surface, they were greeted by Maru Cultists in disquise as Shurifon guardsmen, to which Jibril easily spots them out immediately having intimate knowledge of the watchmen as a pirate lord's enforcer. Before anyone had time to react, suddenly, the imposters were caught off guard by the presence of Kane's disgusting and wicked abominations! The hatched limbs and bodies of the deceased victims of Russel now horrific monsteriosities are now aiding the party to freedom! As the abominations enveloped the cultists into one gigantic body mass of assimilated bodies with teeth and tentacle, Jibril and her allies make haste in fleeing before the creature has time to grow weary of their presences as well. Shimbala uses her Seer Stone and flare gun on her person to call down the hammer upon this manifestation with a fiery blaze of mortar fire! Raining down hellfire, the Juggernaut company fire a volley upon Dunwich and allowed the party to escape unscathed while the rest of the group rallies to the rendevous point and make tracks towards the Eastern Gate and with the rest of the caravan outside the city.
As the party return to their caravan, Jibril and Tar'lak gather their thoughts and part ways until the caravan is ready to move on Shimbala and Draco's orders. Jibril mends her relationship with Kor'da and then goes off to bond with Sim'one and Kak'lin. Tar'lak goes off on his own in search of food after fleeing for his life and general brooding while his companions make their move. Jibril gathered the boys and joins the others in one last meal of the day before setting off on the trial, experiencing the laughter and joyful company of a healthy and hardy people, the two Scales learn that the Canaanites are a nice group of people to have such a camaraderie with other people from different cultures and races within their ranks. But as they finished their food, the last of the preparations were in swing and Jibril and Tar'lak were given their duties as part of their deal with the Canaanites. Jibril guards the front and scouts the area while Tar'lak guards the back of the caravan while in motion.
The Caravan is ready to be packed up after their meal and everyone has a job to do and went to work. Jibril goes with Shimbala while Tar'lak goes to work in the rear part of the caravan. Shimbala and Jibril bond after the incident with Dunwich and converse over lovers and garnering some opinions of matters of the opposite sex, what's it like having a special someone, so and so forth. As refugees are getting onto the freight wagons and everyone is inspecting the area, Jibril learns of Marcon, the dwarven chef and Finnegan, the owner of the oxener pulling the massive freighter wagons. But while everyone is focused on the loading, someone calls in on the Seer Stones: it's the Undead!
Shimbala coordinates with her unit and Juggernaut in making a formation around the caravan as they hurry people onto the wagons, with so little warning, the caravan makes haste in getting things together as the horde is vastly approaching. With soldiers witnessing the undead climbing over the high walls of Heifong, the Canaanites prepare for combat as the caravanners try to get the oxeners and horses to move with so much weight holding them down. With so much cargo the caravan is moving a snail's pace! The undead make for the caravan, Jaegar and Juggernaut are swiftly putting them down as quickly as they come, easy for the time being but if they do not move more will come. Faster and faster the caravan moves, but then it occured to Jibril something was wrong, what if they were attracted to something ... then it hit her: The Orb! The last she seen the Orb was with Kak'lin that very back of the caravan with his brother Sim'one!!
Jibril jumped into action as the caravan was already on the move, she uses the gun Shimbala gave her to fend off the attack but the undead weren't concerned for her or the others but they were drawn to the Orb and she had to move quickly before the ambush claims the boys and the rest of the caravan. Leaping from one freight to the next while the caravan was in full motion, Jibril felt her instincts kick in making her way forward one after another in search of the boys. As Jibril jumps into one wagon she spots Karlya and Karin and another familiar face: Jimmy Wong. With her friends surviving the horde, Jibril was happy to see them, but in her dire circumstance she asked for their help in getting to Kak'lin and the Orb before the horde doses. With reluctance from Karlya and uneasiness from Jimmy, they aided her to get to the next freighter and using a Fake Orb in an attempt to throw off the undead from the Real Orb. Jibril take the Fake Orb and leaps to the next wagon and lands on the roof. While the Horde comes after the Fake, her early warning to the rest of the caravan reached the other soldiers within the wagons and the group rally forward into the first clearing they had and formed a wall and removed the blankets of their wagons to reveal assualt weaponry mounted on tripods turning their wagons into gun carriages. Once the last of the wagons cleared their line of fire and the Fake Orb was in play, the horde returned to the chase right in the middle of firing line of the barrage waiting for them. Meanwhile, Jibril is still on top of the freighter and jumps in as the wagon were moving into position with the horde still coming. Jibril reuinites with Red-Eye and Tar'lak, once again she asks for their help with getting to the next wagon, Red-Eye uses the last of his magic to move a large stone slab he conjured to allow Jibril to surf alongside and onto the last freight wagon while the now burning horde is focused on Jibril's Fake Orb and attempt after her. Jibril stood up with the Fake as the gun carriage were in place and as they made it into the clearing, she hurled the Fake into the horde and the carriage opened fire and annihilated the horde in its entirety. After the clean-up and cheers for a victory against the swarming undead, the caravan continues it's long travel ahead but with fewer capable people driving the main wagons and navigators claimed by the undead. With the few that could take over and the delays ahead, the caravan barely makes it through the first leg of the trip. the caravan stops for the night to actually celebrate their victory while the morale was still high and the casualties were low.
As the caravan stops for the night to make camp, while everyone was celebrating, Jibril and Tar'lak patrol the woods in the late evening with Finnegan who was tending to Oxener while the entire caravan were merrymaking. As much as the celebrating was fun and meant to help living spirits, other opportunistic individuals take this as a golden opportunity to swindle, scam, steal, maim, rape and murder whatever they can and ditch the caravan while they had the chance. A chance spotted by Jibril and her two companions. But they were all not alone, Jibril picked them up the first time due to her sensory organs detecting heat signatures but some faint ones she was all too familiar with. The Marked, the Nonota were present en mass on this gathering of Red Wave, Corsair pirates and the worse kind of scum poising as refugees. While Jibril was tempted by this meeting to leap into the action, her "guardian angel" pokes into her affairs and warns her against doing something very brash. Taking Kane's advice, Jibril walks away with Finnigan but ... Tar'lak noticed Kane's presence as a shadowy apparition following closely to her and the presence of her Marker also exposed Jibril as the owner of a Marker. Tar'lak had been having nightmares of the fall of his clan and tribe, he believes them to be premonitions and springs on Jibril and seizes his opportunity to get answers that the Canaanite wouldn't share. This act of betrayal turned Tar'lak on Jibril forces Kane to confront both of them when Tar'lak gained the upperhand in taking the pistol away from Jibril and was going to attempt to take her life for conspiring against him. An act Kane wouldn't allow.
Kane appears. As forceful and collective as he presents himself in the calmest voice he can, he lays out his rules to them on the conditions he wants from them before he turns his attention to Tar'lak to answer any and all of his burning questions. Revealing his plans to turn Wraithmarsh into an oil field to refine and harvest the raw crude oil from the rich mineral deposits the many clans of lizardfolk who claim land and ownership over, Tar'lak becomes enraged at the prospect. Belittling the ignorant, Kane corrects Tar'lak's preconceptions about their meeting and reveals a cruel choice but a choice never the less which is morethan what others would have given. Sacrifice hallow ground for peace or protect what is sacred and their home also becomes their tomb.
The ultimatum Kane presented to Tar'lak was a slap in the face he traveled a long way to hear, but refusing the intial offer, Tar'lak renegotiated the offer with acounter offer, risking his life for Kane's favor to save both his home and his people. Kane presents a choice for Tar'lak to travel to Genosia through a treacherous path few make it through and survive but to fulfill this task Tar'lak must meet Kane in New Canaan to retrieve the device needed to make the trip a success. A place that Kane has a valuable interest in seeing: Three Swords Valley. A place Kane cannot enter thanks to the magical bubble warding outsiders and containing the monsters within from entering civilization beyond Baulder's Gate that many know of, but not the secret passageway around the mountains. An offer Tar'lak accepts and thus the Blood Pact was made and Kane' vanishes as quickly as he appeared. Draco and Shimbala investigate the disturbance but their excuses and convincing story drop any and all suspicions the two may have had. Jibril and Tar'lak let bygones be bygones after he had learned what he needed and his betrayal was Kane's doing and not Jibril's influence. The two return to camp in order to sleep off the skullduggery of stupid pirates and crazy demons in masks. In the same evening, when Jibril goes to sleep, Kor'da laments over the guilt eating away at him and the burden he carries is becoming too much on him - the man survives another brush with death and Jibril's latest betrayal from Tar'lak merely proves the point. As Jibril cozied up to Kor'da she allowed her Marker to roll free and touching it summoned Kane - which inadvertly froze time around them as Kor'da noticed Kane's presence.
Kor'da holds a secret that Jibril mustn't know about, a secret that Kane absolutely knows about. To protect his family and the secret that will surely get Jibril killed if discovered, Kor'da forms yet another deal with Kane for divine protection in exchange for absolute obedience. Thus gifting Kor'da the same enhancing magic that Jibril also possesses with matching crimson scales and such endowments, but Kane knew Jibril was awake and fully aware and unable to stop Kor'da from making a huge mistake. That was intentional on Kane's part. Yet another deal to add to the same Marker held by two owners. Yet another betrayal of Jibril's trust and Kor'da, of all people, lashes out against her and deflecting the issues upon her and the cursed Orb; sabotaging their relationship. Jibril leaves, Red-Eye stops her and attempts to cheer her up after the fallout of her relationship with the Orb of Maruda in tow to get it as far away from Kor'da and Kak'lin as possible. Red-Eye, through some measure of hospitality and guilt, Red-Eye offered Jibril a place to sleep. Taking her to his secret spot in one of the wagon, Red-Eye opens a portal he created into a pocket dimension to a small manor. It was here Jibril learns that Red-Eye is a wealthy child who was orphaned at a very young age and the place he and Jibril stand in was once his former home. Red-Eye also explains the inner works of magic, the various items of his home and he reveals the shortened lifespans of Sorcerers due to the overwhelming power they possess within their bodies and the explosive part of trying to contain too much magical power within him if he doesn't constantly relieve some of his energy out forcing him into a life of pain, violence, excess and lucidity. Afterwards, Jibril slept and Red-Eye returned to his numerous curiosities.
As the night becomes uneventful and the coming morning, everyone awakens to the rising sun - a perfect time to mingle! Jibril is still upset by last night's bullshit with Kor'da sabotaging their relationship to hide his secret from Jibril, one unbeknown to her. To take her mind off things, she sought out Karlya and Karin who were by Lake Mare washing clothes along with the other refugees and making themselves, generally, useful. Bonding and talking, eventually the subject of her relationship with Kor'da is brought up and thus a motherly lecture ensues from a mother with more insight to which Karlya doesn't realize that Kor'da is merely deflecting and Jibril is not telling her the whole truth to save face. But the moment Jibril shares a very personal and intimate moment of placing Karlya's hand on Jibril pregnant belly, feeling the fertilized eggs within her ... Karlya is dumbstruck ... in the worse and possibly the BEST way
In the most fiery (and the most entertaining way I thought of) way Karlya is mad, madder than the scorched earth of Gordo and the Ashlands, she storms off dragging Jibril, who by the way is fully transformed with enhanced physical magic and capable of stopping her from dragging her away, seems to have her strength sapped from her by Karlya's own brute strength. A mother's scornful strength. Marching on to find that good for nothing lizardman, the two find Kor'da where is. Snatching an axe a dwarf was grinding, she hefts it with ease as she continues to drag Jibril along, she is absolutely livid! The moment Kor'da believed he was in serenity, Karlya approaches and takes him down several humiliating notches with a two-handed axe with Jibril bearing witness to her true strength. Denting Kor'da metallic armored scales and threats of hacking off his manhood with the freshly sharpened axe head, Kor'da agreed to take better care of Jibril while under duress. Satisfied with putting the fear of many gods into Kor'da, she released him and her rage subsides.
The Jibril whisks Karlya happily away and Karin follows and three of them were closer than before. Jibril is eager to learn the humble ways of motherhood while Karlya puts some of these ideas more realistically that proved her point - things take time. After a bonding between her girlfriends, Jibril was ready to turn in for the evening ... but not with Kor'da, not after what Karlya did to him and his "pride". Instead she goes looking for Red-Eye to bunk with for another night, but the thing was, he wasn't anywhere to be found! Searching the entire camp for Randy Marlo, nobody seen him nor cared if he was missing. Jibril searched and search for hours until she finds him wedged in between two cargo crates and his body was completely contorted in the worse kind of way, in extreme amount of pain, Jibril couldn't bear to hurt him any further by helping him as he is. Panicking, Jibril turns to Karlya, the only other person she can think of to rescue her hurting friend in desperate need of help. Karlya was brought before Red-Eye and learn that his condition is tied to his nature as a Sorcerer and the painful process of Transmogrification - magic energy needs to replenish after sleeping, otherwise the magic within a person becomes uncontrollable and unpredictable sometime even contorting someone horrifically. After soothing Red-Eye's condition, Jibril stays behind to tend to him for several hours throughout the night and she stayed with until he woke up in her presence but said little except he was grateful for her help.
The strange turning point of our story diverges from here. Unbeknown to the player (only a single player, playing by this point):
The Orb of Maruda was corrupting the events following Jibril sleeping with Red-Eye after his transmogrification recovery. But what caused him to to transmogrify so rapidly in such a short time span of a single day? Sorcerers possess massive amounts of magic, so much that they must exhaust themselves in order to survive, but exhausting themselves to the breaking point of death? That was an extreme anomaly, and the first sign things were wrong. The second sign things are wrong about these events was the presence of the "flag posts" Tar'lak mentions the group setup a perimeter for patrols to watch and guard the caravan and keeping everyone within the zone. Why would a moving caravan worry about setting up a patrol zone and taking extreme precautions to shoot people on sight? One would assume bandits and monsters, true, or it's to keep people from making a discovery they weren't meant to see, say ... a dreamscape bubble? Third sign something was off, Kane's abnormal behavior ... okay, STRANGER behavior; Kane is cold, calculative and despite the impression of a dark deity: benevolent in his acts even if many don't believe his methods are pure. To violently impregnate someone as part of a deal and then turns his attention to a someone's child is sloppy, crude, and grotesque and certainly beneath him while there are other methods of more subtle manipulation. In lastly, Jibril threatens the Orb of Maruda, the biggest red flag to spot and Kane's behavior shifts when it was threatened by both Tar'lak and Jibril and sending him away after relinquishing both Jibril and Kor'da's souls. No matter what kind of devil they may think of him as, but harvesting well earned souls is not something a devil gives up so easily especially knowing how much power is in Life Essence. The final nail in the coffin that breaks this illusion was Draco's radical decision to execute Jibril on the spot, a zero to one hundred moment. But then events after this deviation continue as one would expect: no one knows what happened to them except Red Eye.
What seemed like a normal day, the subtle to drastic changes of the dream, or nightmare, made Jibril believe that time had reverted a single day. Rewinding time back to the moment she woke up, convenient timing. It wasn't until Jibril had gathered her companions to clue them into her dream and posing questions does Red-Eye shed light on the situation. Revealing that he had inadvertently been feeding the depleted Orb which is actually a Reliquary, a magical device used to store souls - which in this case, he added his Life Essence - to a cursed object of power. Thus, the Reliquary regained its power and additional energy to amplify its control over the surround area as it is an Area of Effect magical device. With Red-Eye's Life Essence teethered to the cursed object, the Reliquary is siphoning away his mana at an alarming rate almost on the verge of killing him with how excessive it depletes his reserves stored within him.
Regardless, knowing that the Orb is now active once again and the situation has become clear that something is amiss, the group collectively see something must be done though a panicking Jibril is hysterically inclined to believe Kane is firmly reasonable for her nightmare and paranoia. Convincing her companion to go along with her gut feeling despite early warning signs that prove otherwise beyond a doubt that the Reliquary of Maruda is behind this manipulation.
The group plans their escape from the Canaanites before whatever foul magic or dealing may fall upon them. Whether it was through premonition or coincidence, the dream predicted Draco's announcement to the rest of the caravan that the refugees will be given aid but the events following after are different with Jibril's group figuring out a plan to escape and NOT trying to enter New Canaan's closed borders. Planning to escape by hijacking a Volga Freight wagon, the group settled on stealing everything and fencing off the stolen goods to at least try to find a way to make it through this stretch of their journey without falling victim to whatever dark forces are plaquing them.
The plan was set in motion as the caravan moves again and the moment to seize the wagon they all pile into was ready to make off with everything as the group come to the meeting point where the refugees would be departing to the Shurifon Capital on foot and leaving the Canaanites to their leaders to follow them through the borders to New Canaan on the final stretch of their trail. Their moment of opportunity was at hand, Jibril murders her driver of the wagon and steals control of the Oxeners within her reigns, steering the wagon around the rain soaked ground and nearly capsizing the entire thing down a slope, Jibril caused the rest of the caravan to erupt into disorderly chaos. Oxeners panicked and stampeded through the refugees, Jibril's wagon knocks over a neighboring freight wagon and all the people within were crushed under the heavy weighted cargo, killing all of them through a gruesomely crushing. Draco and the Canaanites realized they were being betrayed by the new recruits and conspirering hijackers and orders the entire combat units to mobilize and seize the wagon. But ensuing chaos of Jibril's half-baked plan goes completely sidesway costing most innocent lives to be lost in an attempt to flee with stolen property, refugees caught in the crossfire of Canaanite gunfire and the retaliation from Jimmy and Tar'lak fighting back against the pursuing Canaanites injuring both in the fight. Fleeing towards the gates of Shurifon's Capital, the misfit group of adventurers scrape on through just as they lose track of the Canaanites, who fell back due to a risk of a diplomatic incident.
Rampaging through the streets of Shurifon's Capital, the Volgan Freighter causes collateral damage to the surrounding buildings and vendors attempting to find a hiding spot until reaching a empty warehouse capable of hiding everyone within the wagon and buying the group to recoup and assess the damage. When Jibril checks the back ... all the refugees were shot to death, a dozen or more people are dead because of their intervention, even Jimmy Wo was killed in the backlash. Karlya tended to Tar'lak who was gravely wounded but thanks to Red-Eye's condition, he was no help at all. Time passes and Jibril's paranoia and indifference to the critical moments her companions are facing, she didn't realize tha the Reliquary had consumed Red-Eye and possessed him, leaving a mortally wounded Tar'lak unable to fight, Karlya and Jibril as the only people left to fight back against the possessed Red-Eye. Resurrecting the dead refugees in the wagon, the possessed Red creates a small army of undead to fight Karlya and Jibril while gloating about how wonderfully jibril did in breaking her oath to Kane while sowing seeds of deception amongst those around her. Revealing themselves as Maruda, the Goodess of the Damned herself in Red-Eye's mortal flesh, she commends Jibril's chaotic plan while mocking her. Making an offer to join Maruda's plan to create a dead world, Jibril refuses and fights back only to her chagrin that Maruda is far more powerful this time around than she was before, no thanks to Red-Eye's influence. On the verge of killing Jibril, Maruda notices the vibrant glowing of Jibril's pouch and retrieves the trinket within ... The Marker.
Noting the frightening power emitting from the Marker, Maruda drops it. But the normal sensation of Kane's presence was very familiar to Jibril as the pulsating, humming and thumping sounds emanating from a different source this starles Maruda into searching for that source until it was too late. The storm Jibril and company fought through was picking up and was much more stronger than before, setting the mood for Kane's entrance: In the flesh, he appears. Killing off the undead with his Nonota minions and swarms the warehouse with tentacles wrapped in metallic scales, shredding flesh and crushing bone, the presence was unnerving for a fledgling vessel like Maruda, who did not possess a mortal form unlike Kane. Making short work of the undead and taking control of the situation, Kane grabs Red-Eye and rips out the possessed soul harboring within him. With the soul-teethering broken, Maruda is now flesh and blood in the mortal realm to which she was completely vulnerable to the physical world, dumbstruck by the soul ripping power Kane possessed she throws herself at Kane's mercy fearing his wrath. While Jibril was familiar with Kane's servant Nonota: Sanguine and Mellow, she wasn't aware that they were shapeshifters capable of taking on his likeness and possessing different personality traits. With the real Kane present before her, he isn't like the two that mimicked him on his behalf.
Spawning a portal directly to New Canaan, Jibril and her companions travel through while Kane deals with the troublesome Maruda. Once through the portal and seeing Scarlet Rose, the group parted ways with Jibril finding herself at odds and resigning to to her hotel room at the Green Dragon Hotel. While wondrous and amazing, the glamor of the city and accommodations she finds herself in are beyond expectations, Jibril struggles with the trauma of her plan backfiring gloriously in her face. Reverted back to their former selves, both Kor'da and Jibril are no longer bond to the singular Marker. Jimmy, no longer part of the living nor dead, is part of the Undead and isolated. Karlya and Karin are going through the motions of their experience, as is the rest of the group but no more than Red-Eye who was instrumental in the catastrophy that befell upon the group.
Jibril rests, however, in a torpal state. While humanoid in nature, reptilian folk are not as well adapted outside of their natural environment. After a few days and very little sleep and malnourishment, Jibril's body shuts down to conserve energy and recouperate after stressful circumstance which can take a week or so. This is also accompanied by stress shedding as well.
After awakening from torpal state, Jibril finds herself a week into the her stay in New Canaan and news of her group circulated throughout the city. Once she recieved word from Red-Eye, she meets with him. Upon reaching him, Jibril learns Red-Eye is now sober after his colossal fuck-up and finds the experience life changing and guilt ridden. However, his guilt has been redirected into a new direction after speaking with Jibril and moves to rectify his mistakes and atoning for his actions by researching ways to counter magic and provide some form of defense magic when going against foes or curse objects. With her meeting with Red-Eye, or rather the sober Randy Marlo, concluded Jibril returns to the Green Dragon to find more messages like Randy's from everyone else. After reading her letters, she meets with Kor'da and the boys to reconnect and see to their training now that they've had time to coup with the ordeal. Mending her bond with Kor'da and taking the boys out to babysit them, Jibril began their training in guile and finesse. But she also had ... other plans for them as well ... taking to their "other needs" Jibril cared for the boys for the better half of the day then Kor'da brings her news that they now possess a new shop and home!
The next day, Jibril reads her letters and discovers that she and her companions are under investigation and being charged for the incident they caused. While they're not officially under arrest and behind bars, this case garners a hefty fine and 10 years of Hard Labor if she doesn't cooperate. Seeking out this "Arbiter" that has taken over Jibril's case on her behalf. Gathering her bearings and general direction around the city, Jibril meets with Dennis Gannon, her Arbiter at the Law Office and finds Kane present to address the situation and explain the direness of it. After some explaination and politics being involved in her case, Gannon summons Kane and the chaotic relationship of the two blemishes her first impression of her chatty arbiter. While Kane and Dennis bicker with one another like an odd married couple or really really good friends, Jibril learns that she is God-Touched (someone who is special either through an affinity with a specific form of magic, a Specialist, or she has been given a remarkably powerful storage of magic.) of which Gannon is the other exceptional case of being one. Learning of Kane's stunt with Jibril in confidence, Gannon proceeds to berate and "punish" Kane for his many deceptions ... almost as if this is a regular occurance for them.
Awkwardness aside, the case moves forward and the due date is settle in stone for Jibril to defend herself before the Tribunal Court that will determine if she is a free woman or if she is a dead one with her case severity increased due to the nature of her quest falling outside of NCR borders. Given a special Pardon as a hush bribe from Kane to be presented at her trial, Jibril keeps it close to her and guards it well while she goes to find Karlya and Karin to hangout only to end up at the Broken Fist Tavern. At the Tavern, Karlya and Jibril make a friendly wager and they do what everyone does according to the Tavern's namesake: they broke fists! Rumbling and garnering the attention of the drunks and mercs around the tavern the fight ends with Jibril winning the pleasure of ... fondling Karlya's breasts. For shame! Taking her winnings back to her room, Jibril does much more than just fondle poor bruised Karlya <3 But soon afterward, Randy finally arrives with a solution to their magic problem using special bracelets and runic magic from the dwarvish language. Beginning a tirade of lectures, theories and psuedo-science guessing, Randy explains the nature of magic and how it works for those not capable of magic or who have very little understanding of magic.
After the long-winded lecturing and teaching Randy departs but not after earning some glances and fluttering eyes from Karlya herself before taking his leave. Jibril and Karlya also depart and going their separate ways with Jibril going to find her friend Jimmy Wo, who happens to be isolated in the medical ward of the main hospital. Traveling the one of a kind hospital, Jibril takes in the facility and finds a plethora of cadavers put on display that she learns a great deal about the internal functions of each species and race of creature furthering her insight more than some textbook. She then returned to her search for Jimmy and finds him isolated and under intensive study regarding his current condition. While under medical observation, Jibril is given permission to speak to him from one-side of the partition and brightens up his day given the depressing circumstance of his isolation and the dangers he poses for other people if he were discovered or if his condition gets worse.
As it turns out, Jimmy Wo under a new surname "Fong", has been getting worse with magic being the only explanation for his existence with physical evidence and medical science can prove. Without constant blood transfusions and a stable supply of mana energy feeding him - he'll be dead, again. With some fortune in Jibril's favor, she possesses a Potion of Betrothal from the Nonota gifted to her for her cooperation unbeknown to KAne as to its true function or purpose. Through an explanation by the two Nonota twins themselves, Kane learns that even he doesn't have all the answers and Jibril learns her can use this powerful healing potion with potency depending on the person's affection to the one drinking it with the potential of stopping death. This hope in a bottle gives Jibril an idea to use it on Jimmy. But when given to Jimmy with the potential of coming back to life, he refused and returned the bottle to Jibril - deeming it worthless to someone who is already dead.
Leaving the hospital and informing Jimmy of the plan Madam Rouge left her in her letter to Jibril, Jibril goes off to find Draco and Shimbala. This reunion with Shimbala was a tricky situation with Jibril nearly escaping with her life with Shimbala narrowing her down with a magnum .44, but thankfully only suffering a broken nose. Given a second chance for saving the caravan, prior to the betrayal, Shimbala is in a forgiving mood and even helps Jibril find some way into Draco's good graces as well. To make amends she went to seek him out at the military base outside of the city. This exchange between soldiers was a strange turn of events for Jibril as she's not accustomed to the tactics and organization of the country's military culture, while the strange behaviors of grunts and infantry butting heads and being generally jockeys, Draco and things escalate from there with Draco demanding Jibril to leave and she refusing to do so until he's resolved this her way, the two clash until Shimbala proposes a contest of speed, skill, guile and finesse to determine a winner. In the end, it was a neck to neck race with a solid draw with both Jibril and Draco cutting it down to the last second. Raising morale and increasing Jibril's reputation with the military. Jibril learns about Madam Alabaster's estranged son, Alistair, taking up a medical post with the military and his disdain for her. Draco and Jibril are given medical treatment after their race and were relieved after a long rest, after which they go together to celebrate a fantastic race with Randy, Draco, Shimbala and Jibril all looking forward to getting drunk until stumbling upon Willow's Shop the Will'O'Wisp, a Curio shop full of exotic things that draw everyone's attention. Jibril find a plethora of things she wants but instead settles for a few baubles and books before departing. Going to the Scarlet District and partying at the Red Queen, the group going to settle in for the evening of drinking and smoking and whoring ... but Jibril had other plans, or rather Madam Alabaster's plans. Meeting up with Guadalupe and Maria, members of the Alabaster crime family and former card game players Jibril met in Heifong at the beginning are representative of the Madam's behalf inquiring into the ownership of the brothel and Red Sand trade. Given terms and conditions and learning the snags of ownership laws and regulations, Jibril's deal and lucritive payday is going south if nothing is done about it. Off to find a way to gain access to the deed and papers to get the brothel Jibril goes to find the son of the owners to learn more about it. Much to her chagrin, it's never that simple, cutting her losses and still aching from her injuries from the race - Jibril returns to her hotel room to sleep.
Upon returning, Jibril sleeps with Kor'da and her new family with the knowledge that everything with her companions are now settling down and she is back in their good graces. All seemed right in the world.
Next day, Jibril is called to City Hall where Kane asked for Jibril to come presentable to discuss the trial. But this trial is more than it seems and the newest quest Kane has for Jibril requires her to return to her homeland of Medressa in search of a Jewel of Ressurection, ancient legends and journals, new dangers. But Jibril must survive the court trial set for her and her companions before she can even leave for Sou'jure and Medressa, what new things await her? What's with the facade with her Trial? Why is Kane so secreative about his identity as a dark deity?
Find out, stay tuned!
Kane sits in his leathery armchair, opens up his cigarette case and pulls out a fresh rolled up cigarette and looks back to Jibril and whispers "Igni" which ignites the tip of his thumb he uses to light up the end of his cigarette. He inhales then exhales deeply before looking back at the world map sprawling on his wall and the stacks of loose sheets of paper pinned to the wall, all pointing to the Gordo Desert. He brings the ashtray closer to him and taps the ashes into it before returning his attention back to Jibril.
"You misunderstand our relationship, Ms. Slaven-Claw. The one who will be convincing them is you; afterall, they did follow you here. Besides, thanks you Tar'lak and his bleeding gums mouthing off about our deal with your group - anything I say will fall on deaf ears. More or less, they're less likely to accept anything I offer considering your word and the events that brought you here. With that Ashen tribal carving out a path in Xian Pass as per our agreement, you have a way to get through to home and perform the job we discuss. But from my understanding you're joining the survey corp under a different agenda?"
Kane taps the side of his head, thinking. And thinking ... and thinking.
"Your daughter?" Kane snaps his fingers at the topic, "Right. Your husband's daughter. Which would take you to Sou'jure, where I have a vested interest in as well. If it can bring some manner of closure and focus your attention on the primary goal of retrieving my jewel of resurrection, I can tell you all I know about Sou'jure."
"You misunderstand our relationship, Ms. Slaven-Claw. The one who will be convincing them is you; afterall, they did follow you here. Besides, thanks you Tar'lak and his bleeding gums mouthing off about our deal with your group - anything I say will fall on deaf ears. More or less, they're less likely to accept anything I offer considering your word and the events that brought you here. With that Ashen tribal carving out a path in Xian Pass as per our agreement, you have a way to get through to home and perform the job we discuss. But from my understanding you're joining the survey corp under a different agenda?"
Kane taps the side of his head, thinking. And thinking ... and thinking.
"Your daughter?" Kane snaps his fingers at the topic, "Right. Your husband's daughter. Which would take you to Sou'jure, where I have a vested interest in as well. If it can bring some manner of closure and focus your attention on the primary goal of retrieving my jewel of resurrection, I can tell you all I know about Sou'jure."
Showing an annoyed face at kane, jibril forgot how annoying he is with that know it all knowledge he has but he is right I got them into this mess so I should be the one to convince them then out of nowhere he mention my stepdaughter and the information he have of sou'jure this is to good of a chance not to take" Is your information on sou'jure up to date I don't want to go there when I finish bringing back your resurrections jewel if everything change over there don't want to accidently get myself killed over there if you know what I mean"
Kane notices Jibril's body gestures and facial expression to pick-up her annoyance. But he brushes it off, he's not exactly her friend and this is strictly business as usual for him in the long run, he let's this slide beneath his notice given the nature of their relationship and good faith that she will follow through with her end of their bargain. He scratches his brow and wipes a stray hair off to the side and exhales smoke away from him.
"Sou'jure is located in the largest province of Fjornia just after you exit the Great Divine Valley. It shares a port city to the east for easy access to the coastline and as you can imagine - it's the perfect place for trading to the rest of the region. What is public knowledge is that this city in particular houses a large population aside from Arcadia, Magnifica, Fjornia's Capital and Cidara and many of those people are either slaves, indentured servant to the emperor's lords or the poorest common folk. Their main stock and trade is slaves in every sense of the word, drugs aren't a problem so long as they pay a steep tax and it goes toward inhuman races which as you can probably assume that it makes their stock of slave feeble and more docile to control. The region has three lords and three separate region controlling their own territories to keep the Dwarves to the northwest preoccupied, the Orcs to the south busy and the other pupper kingdoms under Fjornian rule under lock and key. Which means Sou'jure is the heart of their hub of commerce."
"But what isn't public knowledge is the things they do behind closed doors." Kane inhales deeply and puts out the cigarette he finishes and pull out a new one to light up again. "Slaves that come to New Canaan are people we freed, but in exchange for their freedom we interrogate them for information and document it and file it away for future references. Say what you will, but slaves always listen and remember everything because nobody cares if they do ... until they tell those things to someone like me, then they become a liability. Knowledge is power, and with so many slaves and refugees pouring into this city and expanding our borders, industry and trade. Well-"
Kane laughs menacingly with a grin: "I know more about my enemy than my enemy knows of me. Remember that, Jibril, always be the smartest person in the room. Offer an olive branch in one hand but never forget to hold a dagger with the other hand, there's wisdom in that. You're going to need it if you walk into Sou'jure."
"But I digress, there's very little i know behind closed doors that far outside my reach. Out here in the west, I have eyes and ears everywhere but I'm not omniscient of it all in the east. What I have to go on are rumors and conjecture, what the slaves tell me is that Lykins and Lizardfolk are being kidnapped, ambushed and traded more often and more frequently. The Elves in both Ordos Kingdoms are thinning out because slavers are taking the women from the small villages and forcing the men into hard labor for Fjornia within their borders. Slowly but surely the slave trade is eroding East and West Ordos, Kingdom of Riften won't intervene because the Lich King has a alliance marriage with the daughter of Fjornia's emperor. Which is also bad because they now control the only gate into Genosia: Baulder's Gate. Recently the last batch of slaves tell me there's more soldier coming in from the coastal cities, that moves up my timetable on how long we can delay the war with Fjornia."
"In other words, Jibril - you're walking into viper pit that's about to be hit with a maelstrom with that large military arriving by coast. Survey Corp has only one task being there and that's checking up on the city and giving me information that i can use to plan our counterattack against that large force, you go into that city alone to find your missing girl, you won't have a better chance of making it out of there alive and without chains. If you somehow get me precise details of troop movements, where they're going, how many and what equipment they're carrying - I'll be your new best friend."
"Sou'jure is located in the largest province of Fjornia just after you exit the Great Divine Valley. It shares a port city to the east for easy access to the coastline and as you can imagine - it's the perfect place for trading to the rest of the region. What is public knowledge is that this city in particular houses a large population aside from Arcadia, Magnifica, Fjornia's Capital and Cidara and many of those people are either slaves, indentured servant to the emperor's lords or the poorest common folk. Their main stock and trade is slaves in every sense of the word, drugs aren't a problem so long as they pay a steep tax and it goes toward inhuman races which as you can probably assume that it makes their stock of slave feeble and more docile to control. The region has three lords and three separate region controlling their own territories to keep the Dwarves to the northwest preoccupied, the Orcs to the south busy and the other pupper kingdoms under Fjornian rule under lock and key. Which means Sou'jure is the heart of their hub of commerce."
"But what isn't public knowledge is the things they do behind closed doors." Kane inhales deeply and puts out the cigarette he finishes and pull out a new one to light up again. "Slaves that come to New Canaan are people we freed, but in exchange for their freedom we interrogate them for information and document it and file it away for future references. Say what you will, but slaves always listen and remember everything because nobody cares if they do ... until they tell those things to someone like me, then they become a liability. Knowledge is power, and with so many slaves and refugees pouring into this city and expanding our borders, industry and trade. Well-"
Kane laughs menacingly with a grin: "I know more about my enemy than my enemy knows of me. Remember that, Jibril, always be the smartest person in the room. Offer an olive branch in one hand but never forget to hold a dagger with the other hand, there's wisdom in that. You're going to need it if you walk into Sou'jure."
"But I digress, there's very little i know behind closed doors that far outside my reach. Out here in the west, I have eyes and ears everywhere but I'm not omniscient of it all in the east. What I have to go on are rumors and conjecture, what the slaves tell me is that Lykins and Lizardfolk are being kidnapped, ambushed and traded more often and more frequently. The Elves in both Ordos Kingdoms are thinning out because slavers are taking the women from the small villages and forcing the men into hard labor for Fjornia within their borders. Slowly but surely the slave trade is eroding East and West Ordos, Kingdom of Riften won't intervene because the Lich King has a alliance marriage with the daughter of Fjornia's emperor. Which is also bad because they now control the only gate into Genosia: Baulder's Gate. Recently the last batch of slaves tell me there's more soldier coming in from the coastal cities, that moves up my timetable on how long we can delay the war with Fjornia."
"In other words, Jibril - you're walking into viper pit that's about to be hit with a maelstrom with that large military arriving by coast. Survey Corp has only one task being there and that's checking up on the city and giving me information that i can use to plan our counterattack against that large force, you go into that city alone to find your missing girl, you won't have a better chance of making it out of there alive and without chains. If you somehow get me precise details of troop movements, where they're going, how many and what equipment they're carrying - I'll be your new best friend."
"Hold on getting information on that type of scale in one day isn't going to be easy especially I have to worry about finding my daughter and see if she still alive beside why couldn't you send a spy to join there military rank and have them give you the most important information"
"That's what the Survey Corp is for. On the surface it's just a cartography and research group, but beneath the paperwork, it's all military to slip behind borders and spying on the factions without raising suspicions. Beside, I do have spies, but wouldn't you like to know. Are they in Sou'jure? No! Otherwise I wouldn't be wasting so much time putting together such a small team in a short amount of time that I have. If I had another or two year, there wouldn't be a Fjornia or Shurifon 'cause they'd be dead or useless to me. You're motivated to go there on your own, I happen to have a team ready to go, we have a good working relationship and deal going on here, I can trust you well enough to get the job done. I know I'm asking alot, but your team will handle most of it hence why you'll be going as a TEAM, not alone. You're not exactly going in there with your tail tucked between your legs, neither, we've got guns. LOTS of guns! Guns, grenades, mortar tubes, napalm, gas canisters, you name it, we've got it!"
Kane is just delighted to share so much with Jibril once he starts ranting. Smoking and gesturing with his hands for emphasis:
"You get to Sou'jure, Shimbala and the boys will scout the area while you and Draco go in. You figure out where your girl is, grab the biggest hammer and start hammering the heads that stand between you and the kid. If you happen to come across, I don't know, a command center or a headquarters that happens to have papers saying where someone is going or if there's a shopkeeper who forgot their inventory ledger on the counter when you go to make a purchase and it just HAPPENS to have a huge shipment of butter knives and wooden board that pass for swords and shields - send it back to me. You're beating the ever living shit out the sick bastard that kidnapped your stepdaughter, maybe ask them if they know something that I can use. Just going that extra mile for me can save more lives and hurt those savages in the long run when it comes time for the NCR to stand up to the Fjornians and show them what happens when you fuck around in my business."
Kane reaches down to pull out a large .50 caliber magnum and slams it on the table, Jibril looks down and picks it up. She can barely even lift the thing little alone hold it straight. Kane points to the gun in her fingers.
"That's just one of the fifty thousand guns we make every day, every able-bodied man, woman and teenager that meets our conscription draft will be armed to the teeth with something close to or bigger than the bullets in that gun you're holding." Kane taps the table with the same finger, he's seriously intimidating when he's eager. "Fjornia has to pay for the blood spilt here. Shurifon will get their greedy fucking hands cut off in due time, but for now I have to kiss their ass to keep both of them from breathing down my neck. And you ... you're one of my trump cards. You're a nobody to either of them and you can come and go freely, if something happens, nobody is the wiser. If you get busted, we bust you out. And the Jewel? Get me something to go on, there's a future for you that no emperor can grant you that I won't fulfill myself- you have my word on that."
Kane clears his throat and puts out his cigarette.
"Dennis will need to be told what we're planning with your trial. I can't tell you what will happen because I need you to remain oblivious and your reaction need to look genuine, I'm sorry in advance if I don't clue you in until afterwards. There's more to your trial than I'm telling and I need you to play your part perfectly and I need you to make it look real otherwise things for us are gonna get ugly. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. Tell no one what we've talked about, I'll be watching and listening."
Kane stands up and shows Jibril towards the door.
Kane is just delighted to share so much with Jibril once he starts ranting. Smoking and gesturing with his hands for emphasis:
"You get to Sou'jure, Shimbala and the boys will scout the area while you and Draco go in. You figure out where your girl is, grab the biggest hammer and start hammering the heads that stand between you and the kid. If you happen to come across, I don't know, a command center or a headquarters that happens to have papers saying where someone is going or if there's a shopkeeper who forgot their inventory ledger on the counter when you go to make a purchase and it just HAPPENS to have a huge shipment of butter knives and wooden board that pass for swords and shields - send it back to me. You're beating the ever living shit out the sick bastard that kidnapped your stepdaughter, maybe ask them if they know something that I can use. Just going that extra mile for me can save more lives and hurt those savages in the long run when it comes time for the NCR to stand up to the Fjornians and show them what happens when you fuck around in my business."
Kane reaches down to pull out a large .50 caliber magnum and slams it on the table, Jibril looks down and picks it up. She can barely even lift the thing little alone hold it straight. Kane points to the gun in her fingers.
"That's just one of the fifty thousand guns we make every day, every able-bodied man, woman and teenager that meets our conscription draft will be armed to the teeth with something close to or bigger than the bullets in that gun you're holding." Kane taps the table with the same finger, he's seriously intimidating when he's eager. "Fjornia has to pay for the blood spilt here. Shurifon will get their greedy fucking hands cut off in due time, but for now I have to kiss their ass to keep both of them from breathing down my neck. And you ... you're one of my trump cards. You're a nobody to either of them and you can come and go freely, if something happens, nobody is the wiser. If you get busted, we bust you out. And the Jewel? Get me something to go on, there's a future for you that no emperor can grant you that I won't fulfill myself- you have my word on that."
Kane clears his throat and puts out his cigarette.
"Dennis will need to be told what we're planning with your trial. I can't tell you what will happen because I need you to remain oblivious and your reaction need to look genuine, I'm sorry in advance if I don't clue you in until afterwards. There's more to your trial than I'm telling and I need you to play your part perfectly and I need you to make it look real otherwise things for us are gonna get ugly. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. Tell no one what we've talked about, I'll be watching and listening."
Kane stands up and shows Jibril towards the door.
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"Wait are you gonna tell dennis what going on or do I have to tell him as well and what about the other's do I tell them if they sign the paper to join the army they won't go to jail" once jibril reach out the door she immediately bolt looking for her companions.
Kane looks to Jibril, he sighs deeply.
"I'm one of the Judges that's going to be there at your trial, if I went to your Arbiter to discuss your defense, Dennis wouldn't be doing his job and you will look very foolish not telling him yourself. As far as he knows, you have a pardon, I want him to believe that. My plan for you is to join the Survey Corp as part of a loophole without it, in fact, you don't really need the pardon i gave you. Only I can't tell you that at your hearing nor at your trial, that will look very poorly on me and it will literally put you in front of a firing squad. We're having this discussion now to not raise any suspicions, you're just another employee here to get her recruitment paperwork settled and filed with the city hall and finalizing her husband's legal documents to keep her house and shop."
Jibril: "And my friends joining the Corp?"
"Get them to come here to sign their real names and filling out the paperwork I need to legally say they're members of the military, then yes - they're going to be getting the same deal as you and the loophole will work for them as well. Now you have a few days to get your friends to follow through with that agreement or it's the labor camps for them."
With that in mind, Jibril spring out the door as quickly as she can when Kane opens the door and a fluttering of papers flew behind her wake right out the front door and into the street. The editors all look back at Kane standing there holding his cigarette case. "Nothing to see, back to work" he nonchalantly tell his staff, everyone returns to work.
Which of Jibril's companions does she want to go searching for first? They're all probably busy doing their own thing across the city with her sleeping in so late, she might be caught up in whatever affairs they may have. Not to mention she still hasn't finished the Alabaster Deal nor investigated the Black Hand letter, she's most likely being following in any case because of Kane's paranoia and the other faction's spies roaming the city. Plus, she's broke! Everything went into the house and shop, she's not equipped to buy camping gear and armor - she's not a full fledged member of the Survey Corp yet and that is going to take 13 weeks to complete her training. (She's underprepared and she only has 3 days left before the Trial begins)
"I'm one of the Judges that's going to be there at your trial, if I went to your Arbiter to discuss your defense, Dennis wouldn't be doing his job and you will look very foolish not telling him yourself. As far as he knows, you have a pardon, I want him to believe that. My plan for you is to join the Survey Corp as part of a loophole without it, in fact, you don't really need the pardon i gave you. Only I can't tell you that at your hearing nor at your trial, that will look very poorly on me and it will literally put you in front of a firing squad. We're having this discussion now to not raise any suspicions, you're just another employee here to get her recruitment paperwork settled and filed with the city hall and finalizing her husband's legal documents to keep her house and shop."
Jibril: "And my friends joining the Corp?"
"Get them to come here to sign their real names and filling out the paperwork I need to legally say they're members of the military, then yes - they're going to be getting the same deal as you and the loophole will work for them as well. Now you have a few days to get your friends to follow through with that agreement or it's the labor camps for them."
With that in mind, Jibril spring out the door as quickly as she can when Kane opens the door and a fluttering of papers flew behind her wake right out the front door and into the street. The editors all look back at Kane standing there holding his cigarette case. "Nothing to see, back to work" he nonchalantly tell his staff, everyone returns to work.
Which of Jibril's companions does she want to go searching for first? They're all probably busy doing their own thing across the city with her sleeping in so late, she might be caught up in whatever affairs they may have. Not to mention she still hasn't finished the Alabaster Deal nor investigated the Black Hand letter, she's most likely being following in any case because of Kane's paranoia and the other faction's spies roaming the city. Plus, she's broke! Everything went into the house and shop, she's not equipped to buy camping gear and armor - she's not a full fledged member of the Survey Corp yet and that is going to take 13 weeks to complete her training. (She's underprepared and she only has 3 days left before the Trial begins)
Since she have only three days left till the trail starts she need to speed things up and go for the other's that on trail with her so she choose her friend karlya,kor'dar,jimmy,red eye,then draco once they been cut in on the loop hole of kane plan and get them to sign the paper once all that is done she need to find the madam and hire her to run the brothel she own but have to convince her not to sell illegal narcotics oof I have so much to do now.
Jibril bolted out of the office and through the streets of Scarlet Rose, now she must gather her wits and find her companions. She knew Karlya was going to be looking for the Thieves Guild, where they are and who to talk to will be a problem maybe the Broken Fist will help her find clues as to her whereabouts since that was the last place she was. Jibril thinks thoughtfully of that fight they had, and Karlya's sweet sweet breasts! Jimmy is still at the hospital last time she checked, she'll have to swing by there to let him know the good news (beside being undead). Kor'da ... now that she thinks about it, she doesn't know where he will be? Can't be at the hotel, maybe he's at the Halthane Zoning Office to get the shop in order or perhaps he's procuring things to sell, or maybe he's looking to branch out of being a pawn shop? He could be anywhere!
Of the three people she prioritized first, who does Jibril want to go after first?
Of the three people she prioritized first, who does Jibril want to go after first?
Knowing if she look for kor'da it will take to long of a time to search for him so she will have to look for him last and focus on the other's so she'll search for karlya first and head down to meet her daughter maybe she will know where she going. Jibril keep running while dodging and weaving through the crowds of people along the way after finally finding the store that karin works in she took a breather and calmly went inside the store "Hello karin are you in here I need to ask something of you do you know where your mom went or where she headed towards too.
Karin, wearing a lime green and cream schemed dress and lacings, helps a customer hold up some fabric while Griselda, the tailor, fits and measures the customer the two are working on. While Jibril stands there staring at the extra curvy and thickset woman of a caramel to ocher complexion, the woman turns as Jibril greets Karin. Griselda continues working while addressing everyone engaged in conversation.
Griselda: "Hello~! Welcome to my emporium, please take a look at my fine garments and don't distract my assistant."
Griselda turns to Karin to scold her: "Karin! Don't move or you'll undo the pins!"
Griselda looks up to the customer: "Ms. Duma~ I hope you like what I've done with the lapel! Drider silk just as you ordered!"
Ms. Duma smiles to Griselda: "Griselda, you've out done yourself this time! Edward will love it for our honeymoon!"
Jibril steps around to appraise the dress while whispering to Karin softly.
"Sorry to ask but this is very dire, do you know where your mum is?"
Karin: "She said she was going to look for work to pay her tab at the Broken Fist. But I don't know where she could have gone."
Ms. Duma: "Excuse me! You're blocking the mirror!"
Jibril looks behind her and sees the mirror. She moves aside and asks for a pardon while she speaks with Karin.
"You sure she didn't say where?"
Karin thinks carefully but the woman she was working on turns sharply at the wrong moment, she tears the dress and some pins fall to the ground around them when the customer moves too far for a better angle.
Ms. Duma: "My dress!"
Karin, horrified: "Oh no! I'm so sorry!"
Griselda to Karin: "Child, I told you to pay attention to what you're doing! And you!"
The upset seamstress rose sharply and points a firm finger at Jibril.
"I said do not distract my assistant!"
Griselda: "Hello~! Welcome to my emporium, please take a look at my fine garments and don't distract my assistant."
Griselda turns to Karin to scold her: "Karin! Don't move or you'll undo the pins!"
Griselda looks up to the customer: "Ms. Duma~ I hope you like what I've done with the lapel! Drider silk just as you ordered!"
Ms. Duma smiles to Griselda: "Griselda, you've out done yourself this time! Edward will love it for our honeymoon!"
Jibril steps around to appraise the dress while whispering to Karin softly.
"Sorry to ask but this is very dire, do you know where your mum is?"
Karin: "She said she was going to look for work to pay her tab at the Broken Fist. But I don't know where she could have gone."
Ms. Duma: "Excuse me! You're blocking the mirror!"
Jibril looks behind her and sees the mirror. She moves aside and asks for a pardon while she speaks with Karin.
"You sure she didn't say where?"
Karin thinks carefully but the woman she was working on turns sharply at the wrong moment, she tears the dress and some pins fall to the ground around them when the customer moves too far for a better angle.
Ms. Duma: "My dress!"
Karin, horrified: "Oh no! I'm so sorry!"
Griselda to Karin: "Child, I told you to pay attention to what you're doing! And you!"
The upset seamstress rose sharply and points a firm finger at Jibril.
"I said do not distract my assistant!"
"Sorry about that but it's very important that I find karin mother immediately you can send the damage bill to me later so karin can you tell me where your mom headed" jibril gets ready for her answer if she doesn't know where then her best chances is trying to find her at the drunken tavern where she mostly drink she make's a good bouncer, stopping people fights
It should be noted that the customer in question is the engaged wife of Edwardo Duma, the city councilor responsible for the private ownership law that passed forbidding criminals and foreigners from owning properties. Perhaps Jibril can use some sort of leverage with Ms. Duma to push for a change in her favor to get the Alabaster Deal rolling through, after all - he has the other half of the deed. Regardless, Jibril is impatient to get to Karlya in time before the trial begins and does something drastic that can be problematic for herself and Karin. Telling the callous woman that Jibril will be paying the bill, she turns her nose up at her in response: "You wouldn't be able to afford it!"
Karin stood up from kneeling, brushes off her skirt and looks back to Jibril and pulls her off to the side to talk away from her angry boss reassuring Ms. Duma that she can repair the dress at a discount while shooting daggers at Karin for getting distracted.
"I know mom saw a notice on the bulletin board out the Broken Fist they needs woodsman to help harvest trees. The Oakvale Sawmill in just outside the city by the river, I just don't know if that's where she is. All she said was she was looking for work and talked about how she went from being a pirate to doing honest work claiming it was for suckers."
Jibril nods acknowledging the info "Well that's a start than checking out the bar. Thanks Karin!"
"When you find her, tell her I'm not paying for the tab again!" Karin pouts before turning back to her boss and awaits the scolding.
With all of this in mind, does Jibril want to go to the Sawmill or the Tavern?
Karin stood up from kneeling, brushes off her skirt and looks back to Jibril and pulls her off to the side to talk away from her angry boss reassuring Ms. Duma that she can repair the dress at a discount while shooting daggers at Karin for getting distracted.
"I know mom saw a notice on the bulletin board out the Broken Fist they needs woodsman to help harvest trees. The Oakvale Sawmill in just outside the city by the river, I just don't know if that's where she is. All she said was she was looking for work and talked about how she went from being a pirate to doing honest work claiming it was for suckers."
Jibril nods acknowledging the info "Well that's a start than checking out the bar. Thanks Karin!"
"When you find her, tell her I'm not paying for the tab again!" Karin pouts before turning back to her boss and awaits the scolding.
With all of this in mind, does Jibril want to go to the Sawmill or the Tavern?
She want's to believe in karlya that she choose an honest and jibril quietly leave the store. While she outside she start booking it until she stop in the middle of the street realizing she have no idea where the sawmill is maybe if she search for a job board it might have the sawmill poster with direction thats a good thing to start looking for soon jibril start running again.
Jibril searches around her. In her vicinity, she current stands in the middle of the southern half of the Golden Laurel district with the Green Dragon Hotel a quarter mile down the street from where she is. City Hall is next to her followed by the boulevard of strip mall of shops and street vendors that lays before her. To find information on the whereabouts of the Oakvale Sawmill, Jibril will need to search common places workers and visitors frequent to find any work: Bars and the boulevard of shopkeepers could enlighten her but this could take forever (or prove beneficial in other ways). If Jibril goes on Karin's advice and starts beelining outside the city, it will take hours if not the entire day searching the outer walls without directions so planning this carefully will be better for Jibril's time. Who knows, Karlya might not even be interested in the honest work anyway - she did have a vested interest in joining the Thieves Guild. Either way, the logical choice to find Karlya would be to visit the Broken Fist again and investigate BOTH directions to the Sawmill and the meeting place of the Guild.
With searching other bars for Karlya's whereabouts, she picks up a brisk pacing towards the nearest bar she can find. With so many shops around picking out which one could be a bar with their fancy lighting and intricate signages will be difficult. She picks up two that stood out from her time in Heifong: The Qilian, a notable bar some Leyfon Drifters mentioned being a good place to drink at when passing through Scarlet Rose. The second option is the Nine Worlds Tavern, a strange name for a tavern as big as it is - it almost looks like a large Inn with the way it's taking up most of the space between the district's other shops. The other, more obvious place to search would be the Red Queen, the brothel and bar in the Scarlet district further down the street past the Green Dragon and Broken Fist.
"Damn it karlya of all the time to be so difficult to find it has to be now (annoyed)." Jibril fast walk and go to the Scarlet district and look for bars in the area, once she find them she would go inside and shout is karlya here or any one see her go somewhere and wait for a reply if know one give her a answer she'll leave and just go to the next bar.
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Thirty Minutes Later.
Jibril enters the Scarlet district, there's the brothel, the Red Queen, but the more she looks at the rest of the district - there's not really much here at all. For a red light district that caters to prostitution and pornography there's very little places that are open. Or vacant. Or renovated. Everything is still under construction by the looks of the boulevard she treks, the only things Jibril sees that are even remotely open are small time shops selling very specific items, a grocer and a few half-built homes used to allow the whores of the place use to ply their trades. Overall, there's nothing particular interesting except the exit of the city to the outer walls before her and the Golden Laurel behind her. Seems like the Red Queen is the only place here of any interest. But if Jibril just storms into the brothel and starts yelling for Karlya, she could be making unnecessary trouble for herself.
Deciding that she's committed to finding Karlya, she enters the brothel and carries herself normally just to get through the front door and storms off into the bar area to find it packed once again but there is no show playing - there's a group of miners drinking and looking to get laid while the whores and staff are cleaning up the place, being of service or trying to keep the peace with all the merrymaking. Jibril looks around and sees a table to her right and climbs up on top of it. Bringing both of her fingers to her mouth and puckering her lips, she whistles loudly then gains the attention of all the bar patrons and staff (who had to cover their ears with how sharply she whistled to get their attention). The room goes quiet for a brief moment.
"Has anyone seen Karlya Holo? A Shurifon elf come in here?" Jibril yells.
One of the drunken miners stands up with his tankard and absolutely shitfaced, he cocks his arm back and chucks his metal tankard at her.
"Hey! Shut the fuck up!"
"Yeah! We're trying to drink, ya fucking bitch!"
The whole bar area agreed and people turned on Jibril raising her voice and startling them. All the patrons chucked their glass bottles and tankards at Jibril eventually knocking her off the table and onto the floor covered in spit and wasted booze when one hits her directly in the face. Jibril is on her knees covered in filth with a group of pissed off people still throwing things at her.
Jibril enters the Scarlet district, there's the brothel, the Red Queen, but the more she looks at the rest of the district - there's not really much here at all. For a red light district that caters to prostitution and pornography there's very little places that are open. Or vacant. Or renovated. Everything is still under construction by the looks of the boulevard she treks, the only things Jibril sees that are even remotely open are small time shops selling very specific items, a grocer and a few half-built homes used to allow the whores of the place use to ply their trades. Overall, there's nothing particular interesting except the exit of the city to the outer walls before her and the Golden Laurel behind her. Seems like the Red Queen is the only place here of any interest. But if Jibril just storms into the brothel and starts yelling for Karlya, she could be making unnecessary trouble for herself.
Deciding that she's committed to finding Karlya, she enters the brothel and carries herself normally just to get through the front door and storms off into the bar area to find it packed once again but there is no show playing - there's a group of miners drinking and looking to get laid while the whores and staff are cleaning up the place, being of service or trying to keep the peace with all the merrymaking. Jibril looks around and sees a table to her right and climbs up on top of it. Bringing both of her fingers to her mouth and puckering her lips, she whistles loudly then gains the attention of all the bar patrons and staff (who had to cover their ears with how sharply she whistled to get their attention). The room goes quiet for a brief moment.
"Has anyone seen Karlya Holo? A Shurifon elf come in here?" Jibril yells.
One of the drunken miners stands up with his tankard and absolutely shitfaced, he cocks his arm back and chucks his metal tankard at her.
"Hey! Shut the fuck up!"
"Yeah! We're trying to drink, ya fucking bitch!"
The whole bar area agreed and people turned on Jibril raising her voice and startling them. All the patrons chucked their glass bottles and tankards at Jibril eventually knocking her off the table and onto the floor covered in spit and wasted booze when one hits her directly in the face. Jibril is on her knees covered in filth with a group of pissed off people still throwing things at her.
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"Well that didn't go as plan better split before they start throwing something dangerous." Jibril swiftly try to dodge the bottles being thrown at her and keep trying to find karlya in the other bars just hope it isn't dirty like this place she will definatly need a clean shower after this whole mess is over with lets just hope he other's aren't going to be a pain when looking for them.
Crawling under the thrown debris, Jibril makes a hasty retreat out of the brothel. Finding nothing more in the Scarlet district, Jibril returns to the southern Gold Laurel district and continues her search. Thirty minutes have past and Jibril is right back where she started before. Her other options are now The Qilian, Broken Fist and the Nine Worlds Tavern. Where does she go next?
Jibril heads for the broken fist hoping karlya will be there an she will do the same thing at the last bar and if the patrons start throwing their drinks at her she will be prepare to dodge next time. If she not there jibril would start to run to the other bars and keep doing the same thing hoping someone would reply and give her a answer.
Jibril thinks to herself that mess could have been avoided, strolling through the streets, she thinks it was about time to hit the Broken Fist - she is, after all, there already on her return trip back to the district. She huffs and puffs walking up to the bar, she sees a large bulletin board mounted on the wall outside the bar with a bunch of layers of flyers and papers glued onto it or pinned by a thumbtack or a small blade of some kind. Deciding on the direct approach, Jibril enters the bar, like last time, she dodges the expected bottle thrown in her direction as it's normally done so when there's another brawl between two quelling people. A man is tossed out a bunch of men manhandling him before walking back inside when the brawl ends, Jibril steps off to the side and watched as the man flails about on the ground, beaten and bruised. Turning her attention back to the bar's patrons, Jibril is preparing herself for the inevitable brawl if she starts shouting again. She whistles once more while the patrons who tossed the other man out turns to her direction.
"Hey! Has anyone seen a Shurifon elf by the name of Karlya Holo in this bar recently?" She shouts.
It is worth mentioning that the fight Karlya and Jibril had the other day was pretty memorable to the patrons that some of them recognized Jibril. Not hard to tell given the rarity of her race of people. One of the regulars speaks up to point out Jibril and Karlya's fight.
"Hey, you're the snake lady!"
"Hey, yeah. That's right! That's was a good fight"
The men gathered around Jibril with smiles on their faces and wanted to ask her some questions. Stating her impatient and really flattered so many of them liked her so much, she asked again since they were friendly.
"Sorry boys, I'm just trying to find my friend."
"Well, she was here. But uh ..." The man who spoke turns to the bartender. The Bartender shakes his head to the man.
"Actually, I don't know where she is. Better off finding her somewhere else." He replied, obviously hiding something.
"She went off with another fella a long time ago" Someone else spoke up, a foreigner.
Jibril turns to the other person, a Dwarvish man of 5 feet of muscle and carries a hefty great hammer beside his table drinking from his large stein fit for a miniature barrel. Jibril approaches the dwarf with curiosity.
"What did you see?" Jibril asks.
"Strange fella, burns on his face. Hard to miss a thing like that" The dwarf replied.
"Better keep out of this, old man" A young human patron approaches.
The short dwarf hops off his chair and stares up at the young man, with and very large hand curled up into a fist, the dwarf hammered his knuckles deep into the young mans abdomen hard to where he buckles over. With the young man hunched over, the dwarf grabs him by the throat and buries his forehead into the man before the guy flies back onto the ground flat on his ass. Dwarf steps onto top of the young man with both fur boots buried into the man's chest, he looks down at him.
"Watch who you callin' old, lad." The dwarf scolds, he turns to the men all looking down at him looking for a brawl. "The rest of you want some of this?"
They looked at each other then walked away. Dwarf steps off, the man hurls up his lunch and beer all over the floor when the dwarf does so to return to his chair. He takes a seat and returns to Jibril's query.
"As I was sayin' - your lass was here, didn't hear much. Was wearing a dark suit of some kind, real suspicious, look tighter on him than a Morian whore in church" He says drink from his stein.
"Hey! Has anyone seen a Shurifon elf by the name of Karlya Holo in this bar recently?" She shouts.
It is worth mentioning that the fight Karlya and Jibril had the other day was pretty memorable to the patrons that some of them recognized Jibril. Not hard to tell given the rarity of her race of people. One of the regulars speaks up to point out Jibril and Karlya's fight.
"Hey, you're the snake lady!"
"Hey, yeah. That's right! That's was a good fight"
The men gathered around Jibril with smiles on their faces and wanted to ask her some questions. Stating her impatient and really flattered so many of them liked her so much, she asked again since they were friendly.
"Sorry boys, I'm just trying to find my friend."
"Well, she was here. But uh ..." The man who spoke turns to the bartender. The Bartender shakes his head to the man.
"Actually, I don't know where she is. Better off finding her somewhere else." He replied, obviously hiding something.
"She went off with another fella a long time ago" Someone else spoke up, a foreigner.
Jibril turns to the other person, a Dwarvish man of 5 feet of muscle and carries a hefty great hammer beside his table drinking from his large stein fit for a miniature barrel. Jibril approaches the dwarf with curiosity.
"What did you see?" Jibril asks.
"Strange fella, burns on his face. Hard to miss a thing like that" The dwarf replied.
"Better keep out of this, old man" A young human patron approaches.
The short dwarf hops off his chair and stares up at the young man, with and very large hand curled up into a fist, the dwarf hammered his knuckles deep into the young mans abdomen hard to where he buckles over. With the young man hunched over, the dwarf grabs him by the throat and buries his forehead into the man before the guy flies back onto the ground flat on his ass. Dwarf steps onto top of the young man with both fur boots buried into the man's chest, he looks down at him.
"Watch who you callin' old, lad." The dwarf scolds, he turns to the men all looking down at him looking for a brawl. "The rest of you want some of this?"
They looked at each other then walked away. Dwarf steps off, the man hurls up his lunch and beer all over the floor when the dwarf does so to return to his chair. He takes a seat and returns to Jibril's query.
"As I was sayin' - your lass was here, didn't hear much. Was wearing a dark suit of some kind, real suspicious, look tighter on him than a Morian whore in church" He says drink from his stein.
"Damn it karlya, well do you know what direction where they were or hear them where they were going to." Jibril talk to the male dwarf hoping if he have answer to her problem if not then she will have to question the bartender for info since it seem he hiding something that he doesn't want the others to tell me but there is also the guy who was gonna give me the answer, Ok jibril decided that once she doesn't get the information from the bartender once she finish with the dwarf she will have to look for the guy who was silence from the bartender and ask him for question hoping it will lead her to karlya.