[System]
Age: 19

Sex: Male

Race: Human

Appearance:
Basically that but without the glasses or piercings.

Occupation: Almost like a coast guard. Oversees trade at the port town he lives in, handles any trouble and deters pirates.

Skills: Auron favors physical attacks and hasn't dabbled too much in magic. He's a swordsman at heart, the only weapon he's really used in his line of work. Other than that he's particularly strong, mildly dexterous, and has a bit of stamina and hardiness. From living in a coasal town he has most of the knowledge and skills a sailor or "police-man" would know, such as tying knots, living on the sea and handling a boat, knowledge of the law system, etc.

Description: Born and raised in his how town of the Storm Coast, Auron is a respectable, dependable, and hard working man. He has a strong sense of justice and doing what's right, and he's chosen his career path to fit just that. He does his job well and he puts as much effort as he can, knowing that what he does help's the world around him. Brave, honest, and kind-hearted, he would give the shirt off his back for anybody who needed it, and will always defend those who cannot defend themselves. Nothing was handed to him in life, and he respects others who also work hard in their profession. However, meeting lots of people in the port town of his, he's very open minded.

Point of Interest: The Storm Coast is the home of Auron and a bustling city-state. It makes a majority of it's income off of trade and harvesting fish and the like from the sea. It gets it's nickname from the nasty storms it gets from time to time, making the storm coast not much of a vacation place. Most come and go, but the inhabitants are hardy. Mostly human, they have grown and adapted to hard conditions, and most work a blue collar, working/middle class life.

[User]
Frontier Village
Time: Morning, End of Winter

Winter is almost at an end, as the frigid season makes its last dying gasps, spring starts to shine through. And with spring around the corner, preparations are well underway across the small trade route stop known simply as Frontier Village. Snow is being cleared off rooftops, orders are being put in for items to be obtained from other towns and cities, work is being done to prepare for the spring influx of tourists and merchants making their way along the Golden Road. Each person has their daily routines, their routes they take. There's always something to do, and even if someone were to claim they have nothing to do...why that would be a lie of course, there's just finding that something to do!

Ah but as spring draws close to its first day, there's more bustle than usual. A few of the locals were already planning to travel to the upcoming trade festival, where people of both the Kingdom of Norad and the Sechs Republic(Along with the other two nations of a more minor note) were to come together and celebrate the arts. However, tragedy has struck, in the form of a natural disaster befalling the site where the tents were to go up, as a sudden uptick in monster spawning has forced the site to be shut down. With the festival delayed an unknown amount of time until the monster infestation, rumored to be quite bad, is cleared out, many of those who intended to go are now stuck in town, and well, tensions are bound to flare. Hopefully no one will take advantage of the ruckus to cause some trouble?

So begins another day in Frontier Village…

James, the Innkeeper

"My, would you look at that, what a shame. I was looking forward to the stories from travelers. I suppose it can't be helped though, ahaha."  Standing in the village square, James sighed softly, the elder Innkeeper rubbing his chin at the news given to him by the town news board, before turning, shrugging as he did, and walking back down the short distance to his inn. At least those stranded at the village until things at the fairground cleared up would be paying for their rooms, though he'd lowered the prices out of respect for those who were coming through. Innkeeper he may be, he was no highwayman, nay, he cared dearly for his patrons. At least this meant he could do some spring cleaning. Sure, he was getting up in years, but keeping the inn running, combined with a good diet, kept him in shape. Still, part of him was concerned about the infestation news. He hoped it wasn't a sign of something worse. Hopefully an Earthmate would come through and fix the presumably imbalanced Runes, and go on their way.

Walking up the short steps onto his porch, James moved to the rocking chair he kept just outside, to the left of the two door entrance to his inn, and sat down, taking in his surroundings, the well dressed keeper crossing one leg over the other, starting to rock the oak wood chair back and forth with the other hand. Nothing to do for the moment but enjoy the quiet, before someone else in town lost their head over the news. He was silent now, the only sound that of his chair, rocking back and forth, creaking as it did so, the rustle of fabric as his clothing shifted. Just enjoying the time that an old man like him could get between customers, or shipments.

GM Notes
So begins the first "arc," Festival Tension. This will be a backdrop tale, unless players decide to directly interact, as it will sort itself out on its own, but of course, you may use it to your advantage. That said, with this up, the rp has begun! Do enjoy yourselves, and feel free to begin your own character story arcs. Bon voyage!

[Assistant]
Shikoi Doro
Time: Morning, End of Winter

Another fruit was plucked up from the soil in which it had grown. Shikoi was working hard on harvesting all of the remaining crops."There we go," Shikoi thought to herself as she plucked the remaining fruit left. Rubbing her arms for a little bit of warmth, before bringing in the basket full of fruits and flowers into the house. After setting the basket on the counter, she left through the front door. Walking outside she took a few steps down until she was on the flat ground.

Looking around, she noticed a person looking at her. She shot them a glare in which they promptly turned away, quickly. Sighing, she shook her head and proceeded to take a walk. Why did they have to throw her a look of pity, or curiosity. It was none of their business to give her intruding stares. Besides she didn't want anything to do with them, so much so that she felt like she needed to slam her head against the nearest hard surface in order prove a point. The only person who she tolerated was the old man, and even though he was slightly annoying. Shikoi continued her walk down the road, relaxing as she enjoyed a moment of peace while ignoring everyone around her.

[User]
The trading festival was cancelled. Great. Auron sighed as he sat at the local tavern, sitting on a bar stool as he sipped on some rum. At least the weather was a bit nicer here. Auron wore a white dress shirt that was opened and has the sleeves cut off, dark blue trousers and some brown boots. His blonde hair was swept to the side, a bit of a mess in all honesty. He was detailed with going all this way to escort the merchants to their destination. Sadly, monsters have overrun the site and there's been a delay. For how long, he has no idea, but they were to stay in town until they could attend the festival. Being mostly a trading city, the storm coast got a lot of good allies and money from this festival, and a lot of income was depending on it. And so he sat, with nothing to do but sit at the local tavern and waste his day away. Besides training, there wasn't a whole lot to do that he found.

Well, there was gambling, which he had done plenty of. As a coast guard, he had passed lots of times with card games, and it was a great way to pass the time. He didn't gamble all the time, but he was good enough at the game to win some kind of money. And so he sat down at the poker table and bought himself a hand. With a straight face and his sword on his back, the coast guard grabbed his chips and cards and took a good look at them. Hopefully the people around the table didn't make too much of a fuss, because if all his hands started like his first one, he'd be doing quite well for himself.


[System]
ABSTRACT: Sweethearted aristocrat-to-be (unless she has anything to say about it).

DETAIL: Maria was born to a pair of middle-class citizens who run a candy shop on the banks of the Seventh River, with their apartment on the second floor. Growing up, she learned how to make her own sweets, and even helped out in the shop from time to time. Every night, she would lie on her bed and look outside at the Wall, and try to see what had been added on since the last night. Eventually, the people she saw began to take on lives of their own in her head, and she started imagining what their lives were like, up there in the clouds, looking down at the rest of them, who surely seemed so tiny amidst the great wide majesty of the sky and the lands beyond the Wall. Unfortunately, her parents' candy shop began to go into decline, and her father, with nowhere else to go, beseeched an influential billionaire for his help. He gave it, but under one condition; that he take Maria as a wife. Naturally, this did not appeal at all to Maria or her parents, so they accepted his aid, then had Maria flee onto the Wall. She came equipped with as much candy and as many clothes as she could pack, a pad of paper and a pencil (for her sigil), and mixed emotions; she was finally going to be able to work on the Wall and see beyond it, like she'd always dreamed, but she was also being pursued by a ruthless billionaire who wanted her for a wife. Nonetheless, she won't let that dampen her good spirits, and greets everyone with a sunny smile and a piece of homemade candy.

MAGICAL INVENTORY: Maria has one sigil, which she memorized just before she left for the Wall. It turns whatever it's written on into what's essentially a mine, but instead of exploding, it emits a great burst of air, enough to propel someone several steps back or into the air briefly. Normally, this only acts as a distraction while Maria legs it, but up on the Wall, one wrong step can mean your doom.

THEME: Unidentified Flavorful Object

[User]
Flor had only stayed long enough to scan the surgery room before he was off again, on the hunt for all the loot the infirmary had to offer.

Liam, however, still lingered.

The surgery room was clean and mostly bare of supplies except for what Flor had just carried off. Machines dominated the room, some with frightening attachments meant for all manner of cutting and threading and implanting and uploading. A locked cabinet contained various sizes of prototype artificial limbs and bionic implants, while another quite certainly held link chips and brain-scan backup drives.

Something dim and pink glowed underneath the surgery table.

A stone statue of a little girl was curled up under the table, hands over her ears in fright. A pink stone floated at her chest.

The robot's eyes flashed and glittered, and it stood up straight, a head taller than Liam. A big square of light turned on at the robot's chest and displayed a map of the wall.

"THE FASTEST ROUTE TO THE GROUND LEVEL IS A STRAIGHT JUMP FROM THE OUTSIDE LANDING." A red dot appeared at their location on the lit-up map, and a dotted line followed it as the dot leaped to the ground.

"THE QUEEN'S ARMORY IS LOCATED AT THE NORTH WALL, LEVEL FOURTEEN, 2D6." The view changed, and another dot appeared at the appropriate place at the north side of the wall.

"ADDITIONAL ARMAMENTS ARE LOCATED EVERY TWENTY FEET AT THE TOP OF THE WALL." A view of the circumference of the wall appeared, dotted red.

"EMERGENCY PROTOCOL ARMAMENT STOREROOM IS LOCATED DIRECTLY BELOW YOUR CURRENT LOCATION LEVEL SIX ROOM 5Q4." A map of the interior of the wall appeared, with their current location marked and a red dot blinking far below, closer to the ground.

"BATTLE-READY IMPLANTS ARE LOCATED ON THE CURRENT FLOOR SURGERY ROOM." This time a map of the infirmary and the surrounding rooms appeared, with a red dot in the surgery room.

"PROJECT WILLOW LOCATION IS UNKNOWN." The red dot disappeared.

"THE STAIRWELLS EACH DESCEND FIFTEEN LEVELS AND ARE LOCATED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY AND MAY BE ROUTED TO THE GROUND." A map of the wall interior appeared again, with the stairwells highlighted in red. The stairwells were staggered every fifteen floors but could be easily navigated to the ground.

BOOM
An enormous noise thundered outside, and the room shivered slightly as if from impact.

"THE WASH ROOM IS LOCATED TO YOUR LEFT."

BOOM
The second time, the explosion was clearer. The Grit were in the process of knocking a hole through the wall, down at the ground level.

[Assistant]
Flor watched carefully as the robot displayed the map on the wall. Even though he didn't give input, he agreed that arms and getting off the wall were pretty important. The room became quiet as everyone listened to what the robot had to say. He laughed at it's first set of directions. "It seems like this robot likes to take the same path as me to get off of the wall." He listened more seriously again as it continued with it's directions.

He waited until the robot was finished before he spoke again. BOOM Changing his attention to the building itself, he tried to figure out what had just happened. BOOM He quickly realized that the speed and similarity of the impacts probably meant the wall itself was being attacked, but what could be that big to shake the wall. He tried to figure out a good plan of action considering the situation's pros and cons. "I think we should get going down now. The armory in the North wall could take to long and the grit could flood the wall before we know it. Going back up for additional arms would probably take to long as well. I don't know how quickly we can adorn the implants, but if they don't require surgery, we should use them. Also we should stop at the emergency armory. That one is on the way and we can quickly get weapons then. I can even jump down the center of the flights and scout ahead. I'm not one for arguing what we do, but I don't really want to fight my way out and I do want to act."

[User]
Katrina Meyer

Kat let Vincent pose his more accurate question at the robot, whilst biting the inside of her lip in annoyance at herself. He's right; I'm just being too impatient. She didn't typically have to talk to the robots after she'd messed around with them, except for a quick diagnostic check.

Still, she was mildly pleased with how she'd bypassed the overrides on this one, so she decided not to be too harsh on herself, and smiled back at the pipe-smoking gentleman who had complimented her on her handiwork.

The robot came out with its description of where they were and a variety of options for where they could be going (including an unhelpful base-jumping option, which to be fair was the best answer to her original question). There was one thing which stood out in Kat's mind.

Why on earth did it feel the need to bring up something called 'Project Willow'..? Did it do it because I asked for weapons? Is it a weapon?

Pushing down her curiosity (there were likely many things about Periphery she didn't know, and now was not the best time to try and figure them all out), Kat focused on the situation.

BOOM

That shaking… They're attacking the bottom of the wall! Are they trying to let through the Grit that can't climb?

Pausing only for a moment, Kat looked the man who had spoken firmly in the eyes and nodded.

"Sounds as good a plan as any. I can't imagine base jumping into a horde of Grit, or waiting here for them to come find us will work better."

Then we just need weapons… If the surgery room has battle-ready implants, at least some of them won't require any complex surgery. The ones that do will take too long for me to implant.

"Liam! Grab any implants that looks easy to use and let's head out! " Kat called, then paused for a moment. "Anbaric is a good brand, if you can see any!" Decent shoulder tendril and forearm ballistic implants, and their subdermal electromagnetic skin-strips pack a punch. Assuming the Grit can be electrocuted, that is.

Kat looked around the room for anything she could pick up before they headed out. Given that the surgery supplies had already been raided, and Liam was hopefully picking up some bionic implants, there wasn't really any reason to stick around in this room. But something was still niggling her at the back of her mind.

Turning to Vincent, she started to say something, stopped, then shook her head and looked at him frankly.

"Do you think there's any way we can ask a question to find out more on that 'Project Willow'? If not, I can just extract the bot's central data storage unit and analyse it later."

She felt a little guilty for caring about this when her siblings could be in danger, which probably showed on her face- working on the bot had calmed her, but things still felt unreal. Yet given all that was going on Kat couldn't help but feel they needed all the information they could get… Especially if some huge weapon had gone missing. We need to hurry. But like earlier, I shouldn't let my impatience get in the way of the information we might need.

[Assistant]
Maria had been standing nearby, rather shocked. She hadn't really been thinking earlier in the trolley, and was now gradually taking in the events of the past few minutes. It looked like some of the survivors were questioning a robot about returning to the surface, while another duo went to loot the place they had holed up in, which looked like a sort of hospital for the wall-workers. Maria had mostly sat silently against the wall near the door while all this was going on, idly wondering how they were going to get out of this.

BOOM

Maria gave a short, high-pitched scream and leapt up from the wall, scrambling towards the other side of the room. After she realized that the boom was coming from far below them, rather than right behind her, she calmed down - though she still jumped a bit when the second one sounded. The pair who were interrogating the robot seemed to have hit on some sort of plan, and it seemed like they would be leaving soon. The woman's face, which was facing the robot, and by extension Maria, seemed drawn and worried. Maria promptly began digging around in her jacket pockets. Hmm... Butterscotch? No. Caramel? ...Maybe. Oh, a rum ball! She does seem like the kind of person who'd enjoy a bit of alcohol. Holding the rum ball, Maria walked over and tapped Kat on the shoulder. "Excuse me, miss? I noticed that you looked a bit worried, so I got this for you. It's a rum ball. I've always thought that candy helps people relax a bit, so I wanted to give you some." Maria paused, looking a bit worried herself. "...If you don't mind me asking, what are you so worried about?"

[User]
Moth shuffled across the room with his arms around himself and his head down. The door clicked shut behind him, and in the small amount of light given off by his suit he looked around. The facilities were simple, and clean, and dusty. He nearly didn't need them when he looked up and stared into the glowing eyes of his doppelganger. Stifling a scream, his shoulders sank when he realized it was the mirror over the sink. The glowing eyes weren't there and his mind was playing tricks on him. His heart started beating again and he slumped against a wall. He could barely hear the others speaking through the door, thick and heavy as it was. All Moth wanted was for the day to end and things to go back to normal.

A minute later he pressed the manual flush button and gave his hands a cursory rinse in the sink. He glanced up at his reflection. His thick blond hair was a mess, sticking out in several directions. His face looked even slimmer than usual, making his large nose and owlish brown eyes stand out even more. Disgusted, he looked away.

BOOM.

Moth squeaked in surprise and clutched the sink. It looked like his bathroom break was over. He meant to fling the door open, but it glided back silently on well-maintained pneumatics.

"Grit?! Is that...is it the Grit?!"

Moth walked up, still hugging himself.

"Um, little...girl. The Grit...creatures, things from your nightmares, are coming through the damn Wall while we're standing around in the dark and not getting the nine hells out of here like we should have done an hour ago! And, and, and...the entire damn city is a damn statue garden and half a damn eclipse is hanging there, just hanging there out of nowhere and I've been thrown into a damn broken trolley and pushed through a filthy damn maintenance shaft into the damn Wall which is being torn apart as we speak and and I'm being haunted by my own damn self with damn glowing damn pink damn eyes and, and..."

Moth paused. If his voice cracked any more he'd never be able to put it back together. His breathing slowed, shaking. He felt himself teetering on the edge of a giant chasm and he felt like there was no way to keep his feet on solid ground.

"Um. I'm R...um, people call me Moth."

Moth looked down at his neat little brown saddle shoes as he shuddered and tried not to cry.

[Assistant]
Maria folded her arms and pouted. "I'm not that little!" Of course, her current actions weren't helping her case very much; if anything, she looked even younger. Her expression softened as Moth continued raving, and at the end she giggled slightly. She immediately felt bad for doing so; he did have a point about everything, obscured as it was by sheer fear. "You sure seem to like saying 'damn' a lot, huh?" She dug around in her jacket again, talking as she did, softly and kindly.

"Look, I know everything seems really bad right now. And maybe they are. But maybe we can make things better, you know? Maybe we can beat back the Grit, take back Periphery, and make everything like how it used to be. And I know it seems kinda impossible right now, that we few could do something like that. But all dreams seem impossible at first. We just need to act on them, and everything will fall into place. And then we'll look back, at when our dream seemed impossible, and go 'Hey, that wasn't so hard.'" She pulled out a small chocolate cream with a white filling and pressed it into Moth's hand with an earnest smile; it looked like she really did believe things would get better. "Here, eat this chocolate. You'll feel better."


[System]
Species: Kitsune
Age: 256 years old
Gender: Male

Appearance:
Kaito is of rather average adult height and build. Not particularly tall and has a rather slander build. He has messy brown orange hair and a rather boyish face with a disarming smile. Nothing that is particularly remarkable about him except well those fox ears on his head and that fluffy tail. He wears a dark red tunic, a gray pair of trousers, some sturdy boots and a black hooded cloak to finish things off. The quality of the fabric and dye of his clothing indicate that Kaito has significant financial standing.

Bio:
There are a lot of folklore tales about the origins of Kitsune. Some say they are foxes that have gained magical properties after turning hundred years old, others tell that they are native to a strange magical realm known as the fey wild and have used their magical abilities to travel to the current plane of existence. None of those stories are true and in good kitsune tradition Kaito tells them all.

Kaito was born 256 years ago in the mystical forest of Kaojiro. A place far away from the three kingdoms. When he reached adulthood at the age of hundred and fifty, the young kitsune decided to travel the world. After visiting various places Kaito found himself in the kingdom of Escudo. Intrigued by its wealth, Kitsune decided that such a lavendish lifestyle would suit him well. However, Kaito is not the kind of man that would work fair and hard to gain a fortune.

No, the kitsune decided that it would be much more efficient and fun to utilize his very particular skill set to extract as much wealth from all the merchants and nobles as he could in very underhand means. For many years he conned and cheated merchants and nobles alike out of their hard earned gold coins. This became such a problem that the government decided to intervene.

When the king's men finally caught Kaito 5 years ago a spectacle of a process was orchestrated. Merchants screamed "off with his head", nobles demanded blood. However Kaito valued his head and thus executed a different plan. The night before his decapitation he used his illusion magic to impersonate a fellow prisoner who had served out his sentence and was promptly released by the clueless guards.

For the next five years the kitsune managed to evade every bounty hunter, mercenary and soldier that tried to track him down. But that all changed when an elf working for the king started to ask questions in the more shadier parts of Rascade.

Skills:
Shapeshifting: Kaito can shapeshift between his fox and humanoid form.
Sleight of hand: Kaito's hands are extremely fast, accurate and he's a master of deception. He's an expert pickpocket and trickster.
Very sneaky: Kaito's ability to move around silently is unparalleled. He has a habit of suddenly appearing into people's personal space.
Lockpicking
Acting/deception
Multi linguistic: Speaks and reads the various languages of the lands of Escudo, Anggolinsto and Meche.

Spells:

Impersonation: Kaito can use his illusion magic to take on the physical appearance of people he has seen. His magic also changes the sound of his voice to match that of the person he's impersonating. However he still needs to act out the way they move and behave.
Illusion magic: Kaito can create Illusionary objects, creatures and terrain. These illusions include visuals, sound, sense of touch, smell and sense of temperature but cannot cause any harm.
Charm: Kaito can use his magic to charm people. Any person that gets charmed by him regards Kaito as a friend and is very likely to help the kitsune in any way that is reasonable.

Equipment:
Wakizashi short sword
Tanto dagger
Set of lockpicks
Shell game set
Set of Dice
Set of playing cards
Spare clothes
Camping equipment

[User]
Jazdia shook her head in disgust as the samurai knelt before her. It was too late, and an apology could only do so little. Pathetic, she muttered, her blade was glowing brightly in response to Chonan's dishonorable attack, but she then decided, instead of ending this Samurai's life, she would rather save someone's life.

The metal door toppled sideways after Jazdia slashed its hinges down. Seeing the glowing blade severing iron with fiery sparks, the slaves were horrified, confusion filled the room, some raised their hands in defense, and a few others cower at the corner, far away from the door and their executor's reach. Not in the mood to convince anybody, she hissed. "Leave!" and that was the only word she could afford to say.

Near the exit, there was another chamber, blocked by another metal door with many locks. The door had a barred window, and if one peeked inside, they would see a child in her early teens imprisoned in that chamber. Her ankle was shackled to a heavy iron ball, and she sat on a stone dais with legs outstretched.

Jazdia called, but the girl only tilted her head. She wore a ragged top tube and skirt with a distinctive pattern. She has curly brown hair and a beautiful face, blemished by dust but unscarred. A piece of cloth covered her eyes and she seemed to be heavily sedated. Jazdia could only imagine the unspeakable cruelty they put her through. Someone had to pay for this.

She tightened her grip and slashed everything that holds the door to its frame. Hinges, latches, chains and locks alike, but the door wouldn't budge. Only when Jazdia touched the metal slab to push it down she realized there was a sealing magic that held it shut, and it was linked to one person.
"Gerald, it must be him!"

Without mentioning Chonan, she stormed for the exit and breached its door, reluctantly leaving the girl to her fate. Angry and bitter, she partially acknowledged that her anger was unwarranted. These atrocities were a common occurrence anywhere around the world, and she had seen a lot. So why this one affected her so much?

"Miss Rosenving, this way."

Their exit was a tunnel that leads to a circular arena. From here, the yelling becomes louder, and in it, Gerald's voice could be heard. Or she thought. Why she was so angry?

Perhaps everything would be easier if she could find a way to justify... and atone.

[Assistant]
@wierdw @Randomness

Having not gotten much sleep, along with drinking half of the whiskey bottle. Matilda was not feeling exactly peachy. Eating amount two or so plates of food, along with a surprising amount of coffee. But she was mostly eating rather quickly, as she wanted to head to Hdur as soon as possible. Feeling relieved when she got on her horse, putting on her helmet and looking down at Anderson. "Thank you, and I hope your travel back is safe as well." She hoped that Anderson and the others would get back home safely.

The ride was not very eventful, Matilda was mostly deep in thought. Hoping to find some clue that would lead them closer to finding the prince. Scanning the area of the small rather quaint village, she wondered where they would start investigating. Firstly she wanted to investigate the names that Brik mentioned before, finding out where in the village the kidnappers visited. And grouping back with Jazdia's group, and figuring out what to do n

She started by getting off her horse, and tying her steed to a post. "Let us split up and ask around to find those people Brik mentioned. While we do that, I will also head over toward the blacksmith. To see if anyone had purchased any equipment a few days before the kidnapping. We will meet back up at the local inn." She assumed that no one had any objections to her plan of action.

So she headed first to the blacksmith, walking through the door her heavy footsteps could be heard a mile away. "Hello, I am Matilda Ironsword the head of the guards. I am conducting an investigation, and I need to ask you some questions. Firstly has anyone specious came to your store? And do you have a log of some kind of all of the purchases in your store?"

[User]
Yvonne saw the slash coming but wasn't in the right position to stop it. Seeing it firsthand she had to reevaluate the threat level of this man, even her would likely be caught unprepared if she's already in striking range. Dangerous. She'll survive any blow that wont kill her outright, but decapitation was not among the list.

He stopped, though. Stabbed his own arm like a maniac. And just like that it's done deal. Yvonne blinked twice and decided to screw it, if Sparky wasn't dealing with that crap she wouldn't either. Didn't sit quite right leaving a potential threat on their back, but with the primary arm injured he should be manageable now.

"Worse come to worst, we can break down the wall from the neighboring chamber. Dont let your anger blind you, boss." Temper can be useful. Can make men and women fight without an ounce of fear. But it also tend to blind them from danger, dragging their foe down with them if they had to. Let's not let it come to pass.

Yvonne saw the outlook and slowed down, remaining out of sight from what she felt like an arena. If Sparky weren't stopping, she'll grab the elf by the shoulder.

"Some plan first, maybe? If our man is elevated it'll be hard to get him. Try see how it looks like?"

[Assistant]
Kaito felt relieved as Chounan's blade stopped right before Jazdia's neck. The kitsune could not stand to lose the elf as she was one of the few people he genuinely cared for. Just the fact that the samurai attacked his friend angered the fox beyond anything he had ever experienced. It was only after the worst of tension had cleared from the air that Kaito realized that he had pulled out his sword for two thirds out of his sheet already. Kaito hardly ever resorted to violence and the fox pulling his sword was a big thing.

It wasn't entirely clear to Kaito what happened to Chounan. It was as if he was controlled by his own bloodlust. It could be magic, a Yokai or something far worse. Whatever it was, the fox wasn't sure if this was only a one time event. The situation seemed resolved for now but Chounan could no longer be trusted. There was no telling if and when he would slip into that state of mind again. It could be today, tomorrow or in ten years. But when he does, it was very likely that no one would be safe.

Kaito wanted to ask if Jazdia was alright but she just stormed off. Cutting through locks and chains furiously and commanding the freed slaves to just 'leave'. It was clear to the Kitsune that the elf was not herself at this moment. He could see the fury burn in her eyes like an endless raging inferno. She was on a warpath. A path of destruction as she frantically looked for a victim to take her anger out on. It was a path that she would later regret taking.

Kaito took one last look at the kneeling samurai and ripped a piece from his shirt and threw it towards the man.. "Go patch your arm up. I'll deal with you later!" Spoke Kaito harsly before storming after the Elf.

When the fox finally caught up with the elf he placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "Jazdia, wait. You need to calm down. I know you're angry. And you're in your right to be. The Black Serpent Guild is a dark place, run by cruel men who deserve every punishment that is on your mind right now but you need to remember why we're here. We need Gerald alive. We need to approach this with a level head and clarity otherwise this whole mission will become an even greater shit show then the Chounan stunt and things will end badly. For you, for me, for Yvonne and the slaves you just set free."

Kaito paused and looked the Elf concerned in the eyes. "Everyone here relies on you to make the decisions, the decisions that make the difference between us completing the mission and making it out alive or running to our deaths. We need you… I need you...the true you. So please calm down."


[System]
Age: 32
Gender: Female
Disposition: Two things are seen as an inevitability by Maia: that something bad will happen, and that she will be the one to clean it up.

Living a hardscrabble life, first as a refugee and then as a merc fighting her way to a better life, has caused Maia to take a generally dismal and bleak outlook on life. In order to keep from cracking under the negativity, she has a small list of mental defenses. The first being bad jokes, the second being hedonism, the third being anger. Anything past anger, and she starts to break down.

Living a desperate life tends to make you distance yourself from others. Maia has a hard time saying anything meaningful, or sharing anything personal, with anyone else. She doesn't mind working with others as long as they keep their distance, and respect her space. She'd rather not think of anyone that dies in the line of duty as a friend, if she can help it.

She is very sensitive to changes in her environment: noises (even if inaudible to others), bright light, and quick motions bother her.

She also has an addictive personality, and is rather irresponsible with her money.
Background: Even before the war, things weren't exactly great for the inhabitants of the PU's northern territories. Maia Leventis was born in a small mining town nearing the end of its mineral reserves. Once the mines dried up, the mining company rolled into town. They gave the townsfolk a few months to either find another vein, or be forcibly relocated to an industrial center. Maia's family chose neither. They chose to flee over the strait, into OSU territory. That was when the troubles really started.

Turns out the nice men that helped her family cross weren't so nice. They were used as free migrant labor in an underground narcotics manufacture for five years, until a raid by the local police ended their business. Maia was fourteen years old at the time.

She was made a ward of the state after the destruction of the drug den resulted in the deaths of her parents, since they couldn't find anyone to claim her in the PU. In spite of her rough past, she drove on, and eventually earned the right to call herself an Osbanian citizen. After a brief and hectic stint in the Osbanian military that ended up in her dishonorable discharge due to mental health, she became a freelance mercenary, working first as infantry for eight years, and eventually earning enough to afford her own FRAME. At her age, however, she's decided that being a freelancer is too little pay for too much risk. She's hoping that her stay with the Panthers will provide her with the financial security she needs.

After all, cigarettes, booze and video games won't buy themselves.
Appearance: 5'6, dark-skinned, with an aquiline nose, brown eyes, and sharp facial features with curly black hair and bushy black eyebrows. Her eyes have nigh-perpetual bags under them, and there are more wrinkles on her than her age would suggest. She has a muscular and reasonably toned frame, although an unhealthy lifestyle is definitely starting to take its toll on her waistline. She has a burn scar on her forehead, and a slash mark on her collar bone from a close call she'd rather not talk about.
Inventory:
.45 automatic handgun, "Certified Asshole" carved onto the slide.
Plain steel hipflask, usually containing the cheapest rotgut she can find.
Cigarettes. One pack a day.
Funds: 55750
Other: Suffering from undiagnosed post-tramatic stress disorder.

Name: ACS-3G Zaruga, "Mad Dog"
Height: 4.1 meters
Weight: 5230 kg
Armor: 20 mm durasteel alloy
Speed (Walk): 65 kph
Speed (Skate): 91.6 kph
Sensor range: 5 km
Communication range: 25 km
Operating range: 600 km
Extra Systems: ECM suite, laser target designator
Power: 130
Weight: 80

Armaments:

Equipped:
AFC-40/L Autocannon x2 (16)
MG27 Light Machinegun x2 (4)
LP-90 Light Rocket Launcher (24)
(6 spare weight)

Storage:
MGR-2A Anti-tank Missile (20)

[User]
Edward took the initiative and turned on his ECM barrage jamming engaging the enemy with his AFC-40/L Autocannon while simultaneously making sure to paint targets with his target designator for his allies. "Painting targets for ya'll" he said to his new comrades. Adrenalin rushing through his body he was not sure how well it would end, putting some faith in his team but not enough to act as a decoy.

It was not long before the enemy pinpointed his location, followed by the most hail of projectiles. He held his ground while still retaining his aim so that none of the cargo would be hit but it was not an easy task.

Damn he muttered after which he informed his allies "Taking hits, changing cover" as his left shoulder got a few hits making him switch cover so he'd not get taken out on his first mission.

While he broke contact, he scanned the nearby area as he did not want any unpleasant surprises.

[Assistant]
Harold was already moving, intending to check to see if his anti-safety countermeasures worked properly. By default, one usually had to stop and deploy to skate across the ground, to prevent accidentally deploying and rolling when the feet needed to grip. He just made it so that when he deployed them, they deployed, regardless of whether or not he was in the proper position.

Three large steps and then he activated the rollers, unusually skating along behind their XO, as if wearing roller skates instead of self-driving skids.

---

---

He silently dropped into position, and shut down Jupiter Grounded. The others were straight mechanics- they kept their machines in shape, didn't do much to the actual machines themselves. He, on the other hand, routed power so that the moment the mech started up, power would flood the hydraulics. For the moment, it was a rough job- he'd have to tune it and make sure it won't burn itself out later. Right now, though, it'd serve to get him moving immediately after starting up, before the systems were even fully online.

This meant he could open fire first, but also meant that he'd be moving sluggishly for a bit longer than everyone else. He locked the arms into place as he took his position, autocannon already ready.

And then the order came, hostiles moving across the bridge.

He, being Juppy, immediately fired it up, unlocking the arms to dash forward on silent, slowly-starting legs. It took a new kind of coordination to keep the mech from falling over- it wavered and moved weakly, though enough to keep its own weight and move fairly decently. He hit a tree, and ground his shoulder against his, letting its bulk and strength hold him up, as he aligned his missile launcher.

A couple seconds later, another of the newbies started opening fire, painting several mechs that were now turning towards him. It only took a couple seconds for everyone to open fire- he was probably the first one to move, and last one to fire.

It was obvious why, when an anti-tank missile burst from its nest and shot off, burying itself in the first mech that had been painted. As his reactor finally warmed up, he pulled back and took his own weight, stepping away from the tree to give his autocannon room, and his rockets a clear shot. He eyed the mechs cautiously; a couple mechs turned to him in response to the AT missile knocking out one of their own. For a moment, none of their rounds hit, then they started slamming into him.

He turned everything; he faced forty five degrees away from them, giving them armor that was now almost twice as thick, and then leaned forward, so his armor would have a greater chance of ricocheting enemy rounds, and surviving the impact if they didn't.

He waited a moment for one of the mechs to start moving ahead of the cargo vehicles- and the moment that Juppy saw empty space between the mech and the cargo vehicles, he unleashed all his rockets, taking care to aim them carefully. The arc messed him up slightly, but that just meant that they started slamming into the enemy's legs, instead of his chest or thick shoulders.

Slowly taking damage, he opened fire with his autocannon, trying to place rounds carefully, rather than opening fire and hoping he'd hit the right spot. He used the laser designator on his arm as a reticle- he locked his hand so the designator would be facing the same line that the line of fire from the autocannon would, and used that to place rounds in the very center of the hostile mech's chest, hoping for penetration to kill the pilot, or to hit a joint and knock off an arm, leg, or sensor.

Considering that they were facing, more or less, directly at him, with armor that wasn't any more than 50mm, versus an autocannon that could penetrate up to 65mm, he figured he had a pretty good chance of shooting out the pilots without getting shot himself, whatwith a great big angled shoulder inbetween himself and himself in his cockpit.

[User]
Unlike many of the other pilots, Ryder did not offer any time to react after the bridge went down. She would take the lead of her group to direct their fire to herself.

With a slam of her ignition, Ryder, too, would take initiative, but contrary to her teammate Edward, Ryder would be seen rushing forth. Her agile Zaruga skated hastily onto the road from her spot in the forest. Her eyes would lock onto her screen, another FRAME in sight of her. As she neared the convoy, Ryder and Theta, surprisingly didn't stop, despite being in range to fire her autocannon. Instead, her frame skated forth at its quick speed, lowering its mass seconds before slamming into the midsection of her opponent. Ryder's FRAME, of course, sustained damage, but with the her dropping her FRAME's weight lower to the ground, She managed to stagger her opponent without ruining Theta.

Ryder, now in a jeopardized position, put on a determined look. She was definitely a target now that she was out in the open. She glanced down to her controls, inputting a few commands in a specific order. Ryder started with Theta's MG27 Light Machinegun. At such close quarters, she figured, peppering the opponents with a barrage would be better than firing her Autocannon and risking a miss. Within a few seconds, the barrels of Theta's LMG lit up, sending forth a battery of bullets. That would at least keep them all from jumping on her.

Her main adversary, of course, would not stop after Ryder had already heavily damaged him. Rounds from his Autocannon flew forth towards Theta, contacting Ryder's FRAME with a bang each time. Ryder paused for a mere second and no more in thought. She was not going to run. Either way she would be damaged, so she might as well do some damage in return. It seemed Theta was temporarily immobilized as Ryder was shelled. Ryder sighed as Theta's arms moved into position with her own AFC-40/L Autocannon.

Ryder let off a few blind shots before allowing her FRAME to backpedal. She managed to trade blows with her opponent without sustaining any system breaking damage before she got to the side of the road the convoy had been on. It seemed she was allowing her FRAME a momentary respite before another attack. She was definitely not running at full capacity now, but that didn't seem to discourage her as she readied to charge into melee once more, her communications line still utterly silent.

[Assistant]
Scattered thoughts rushed forward through the haze of boredom that was quickly breaking in Maia's mind. She took a deep breath, tried to find her center. Being here and there in the middle of a firefight wasn't a good thing.

Edward had pulled a bit of fire to himself, and Ryder and Harold seemed eager to rush into the gap. Maia's plan, by comparison, was a bit simpler.

She ran around, going towards the front of the convoy. Loosing half her salvo of rockets ahead of them by a margin of 75 meters, just close enough to make them hesitate. Her autocannons focused, loosing fire at the Dreqs at the lead of the convoy, strafing as she went. Tearing them open would be good, but her main goal was to get the trucks between her and her opponents. Logic would dictate that if they were valuable enough to have such a large escort, they'd be valuable enough for the escort to not turn their guns on. That'd make them the perfect cover.

She just needed to get to it.

Her skates went on as he got onto the open road, and she crouched as low as she could as she skirted around and onto the bridge. Her guns didn't stop firing until she was close to the trucks, and couldn't afford a stray shot destroying the thing they were sent to retrieve. Her logic seemed sound enough. Let's just hope that the enemy had the same line of thought.


[System]
Fledgling Spearman

---

-------STATISTICS-------

-------MASTERIES-------

| VIT -- 16 | 70% | BLADES -- E
(-10 Accuracy / -2 Might)

| MGT -- 5 | 55% | POLEARMS -- D
(-10 Accuracy / 0 Might)

| SKI -- 8 | 55% | AXES/BLUNT -- E
(-20 Accuracy / -0 Might)

| SPD -- 7 | 55% | BOWS/RANGED -- E
(-20 Accuracy / -2 Might)

| SRT -- 1 | 20% | THEURGY -- N/A
(-20 Accuracy / -2 Might)

| MND -- 6 | 55% | MYSTICISM -- D
(-10 Accuracy/ -1 Might)

| LUK -- 5 | 50% |

| DEF -- 2| 45% |
Secondary Statistics

WGT -- 11
ACC -- 22
AVO -- 3
RES -- 3
CRT -- 9

---

Traits:

- QUICK LEARNER -- SKI% Chance to gain double mastery points with a successful attack.
- UNTAPPED POTENTIAL -- Gain 20% more statistical growth rate to allocate as you wish.

---

* Bronze Longspear

	+ MIGHT | 5
	+ ACCURACY | 65
	+ WEIGHT | 7
	+ CONDITION | 30/30
	+ RANGE | 1-2
	+ SPECIAL | Cannot be used with shields, +2 MGT Against mounted foes,-10 accuracy against adjacent foes.
	+ COST | 260

* Breastplate

	+ DEFENSE | 3
	+ CONDITION | 40/40
	+ WEIGHT | 4
	+ SPECIAL | N/A
	+ COST | 270

Possessions:
Aurum 120
- hand wraps
- item
- item
- Item
- Item

Personality
* Etor is a 16-year-old boy. He is 5'9" 165lbs. A wiry boy with sharp canines that give his smile a primal hue. His hands are wrapped in cloth and he is wearing armor that had been worn by his father. Etor has a pretty carefree demeanor, when not in battle. His age is pretty evident in his personality. He exhibits youthful wonder and excitement for things related to the group he's traveling with. Etor is always trying to get as much experience as possible.

Backstory
* His father Ofik was a veteran from a war long since past. His mother died during childbirth and with that Ofik lost any softness he had in his heart that had grown since finding love in peacetime. Not wanting to have his son grow up to be softened by the luxuries of peace, Ofik raised Etor under austere conditions. The austere conditions hardened Etor into a fine young man that knows nothing but preparing for battle. However, he has never been in an actual battle.
* Having lost his only family at 15 Etor set off the world to find his way but had trouble finding jobs due to his unharnessed potential for mysticism causing uneasiness to those around him. After wandering for some time Etor found the group he's traveling with now and intends to stay for as long as they'll have him.

[User]
Taking a deep breath, Siris calmed himself as he felt the blood from his two shallow stab wounds slowly trickle down his armor. This wasn't his first time adventuring into danger but normally he was always abandoned, the most logical solution, but Ashür's words had made him realize this wasn't like those times.

The young warrior looks around and sees how the rest of the his allies had not only followed him but kept up with him. Focusing his resolve Siris looks Ashür in the eye before speaking.

Siris: I apologize Ashür, you're correct…

Without much else to say given the situation, Siris thinks back to his young days of constant training and decides he would be would still be best suited to watch the front so long as he didn't stray too far. He speaks to his comrade with a serious tone

Siris: I'll guard the front, even injured I'm more suited for it. As you say we shall advance together.

With his shield up, Siris slowly walks forward while waving his sword, trying to use it to get an idea of his surroundings and to deter and frontal assaults.

Siris moves 3 tile to 10-19 and attacks in front of him

[Assistant]
Etor: " Thanks Iddin. Zuzu's words are always reliable for a good albeit somewhat painful restoration."

Etor surveyed the area again and felt uneasy leaving anything unexplored. Whether foe or treasure the young spearman didn't want to leave any stone unturned

Etor: "Makeen. I'm going in"

He didn't realize the band had moved forward and that only kastilus remained by his side. Etor slinks into the room and to the side trying to be as careful and as quite as possible. When he looks back and notices everyone is gone except for the scholar he motions to him to follow.

Etor moves 4 tiles to 9-32

[User]
---

FOES

NONE

BLUE YEEK WARRIOR

| VIT -- 11 BLADES -- C
| MGT -- 4 POLEARMS -- D
| SKI -- 5 AXES/BLUNT -- E
| SPD -- 6 BOWS/RANGED -- E
| SRT -- 0 THEURGY -- N/A
| MND -- 0 MYSTICISM -- N/A
| LUK -- 4

* YEEK CLAWS

	+ MIGHT | 1
	+ ACCURACY | 80
	+ WEIGHT | 0
	+ RANGE | 1
	+ SPECIAL | Thin and nigh serrated, natural weapons of the Yeek.
	+ CLASS | BLADE

* GNARLED SPEAR

	+ MIGHT | 3
	+ ACCURACY | 80
	+ WEIGHT | 4
	+ CONDITION | 5/5
	+ RANGE | 1
	+ SPECIAL | Little more than a tree limb, knapped to a point.
	+ CLASS | POLEARM

* GNARLED JAVELIN

	+ MIGHT | 2
	+ ACCURACY | 65
	+ WEIGHT | 5
	+ CONDITION | 5/5
	+ RANGE | 1-2
	+ SPECIAL | A little more craftsmanship was put into this tree limb, it might just fly straight.
	+ CLASS | POLEARM

* YEEK HIDE

	+ DEFENSE | 1
	+ WEIGHT | 0
	+ SPECIAL | Rubbery and blue.

JITTERY -- After engaging in battle, this unit may move to an unoccupied adjacent tile.

BLUE YEEK ENSI

| VIT -- 9 BLADES -- D
| MGT -- 2 POLEARMS -- E
| SKI -- 2 AXES/BLUNT -- E
| SPD -- 8 BOWS/RANGED -- E
| SRT -- 5 THEURGY -- C
| MND -- 0 MYSTICISM -- N/A
| LUK -- 6

* YEEK CLAWS

	+ MIGHT | 1
	+ ACCURACY | 80
	+ WEIGHT | 0
	+ RANGE | 1
	+ SPECIAL | Thin and nigh serrated, natural weapons of the Yeek.
	+ CLASS | BLADE

* Heal -- 𒀀

	+ MIGHT | 0 (As Melee)
	+ ACCURACY | 90 (As Melee)
	+ WEIGHT | 0
	+ CONDITION | 20
	+ RANGE | 1
	+ SPECIAL | Restores VIT to an adjacent ally equal to (SRT+7)
	+ COST | 250

* Word of Zuug-Agbliish -- 𒀯

	+ MIGHT | 1 (As Melee)
	+ ACCURACY | 80 (As Melee)
	+ WEIGHT | 2
	+ CONDITION | 4/4
	+ RANGE | 4
	+ SPECIAL | Until the start of this unit's next turn, all allies within four tiles gain +2 Might +15 AVO, while foes lose -15 AVO
	+ COST | --

* YEEK HIDE

	+ DEFENSE | 1
	+ WEIGHT | 0
	+ SPECIAL | Rubbery and blue.

RED YEEK

| VIT -- 26 BLADES -- E
| MGT -- 6 POLEARMS -- E
| SKI -- 3 AXES/BLUNT -- C
| SPD -- 5 BOWS/RANGED -- E
| SRT -- 0 THEURGY -- N/A
| MND -- 0 MYSTICISM -- N/A
| LUK -- 2

* BRONZE BATTLE AXE

	+ MIGHT | 6
	+ ACCURACY | 70
	+ WEIGHT | 3
	+ RANGE | 1
	+ SPECIAL | N/A
	+ CLASS | AXE

* RED YEEK HIDE

	+ DEFENSE | 2
	+ WEIGHT | 0
	+ SPECIAL | Tough and red.

DAUNT -- -10 Hit/Critical Rates to enemies within 3 tiles.

---

---

BLUE YEEK WARRIOR #1
VIT 0/11
KILLED BY ASHUR

BLUE YEEK WARRIOR #2
VIT 0/11
KILLED BY SIRIS

BLUE YEEK WARRIOR #3
VIT 0/0
KILLED BY MAKEEN

BLUE YEEK WARRIOR #4
VIT 9/11

BLUE YEEK WARRIOR #5
VIT 0/11
KILLED BY GESTIES

BLUE YEEK WARRIOR #6
VIT 0/0
KILLED BY ASHUR

BLUE YEEK WARRIOR #7
VIT 0/0
KILLED BY SIRIS

BLUE YEEK WARRIOR #8
VIT 0/0
KILLED BY LYUN

BLUE YEEK WARRIOR #9
VIT 0/0
KILLED BY LYUN

BLUE YEEK WARRIOR #10
VIT 0/0
KILLED BY ZARIF

BLUE YEEK ENSI #1
VIT 0/0
KILLED BY ZARIF

RED YEEK #1
VIT 0/26
KILLED BY LYUN

---

ALLIES

Gesties

| VIT -- 6/14 BLADES -- D
(-5 Accuracy / -1 Might)

| MGT -- 6 POLEARMS -- E
(-15 Accuracy / -1 Might)

| SKI -- 7 AXES/BLUNT -- E
(-20 Accuracy / -0 Might)

| SPD -- 5 BOWS/RANGED -- C
(+5 Accuracy / 0 Might)

| SRT -- 2 THEURGY -- N/A
(-20 Accuracy / -2 Might)

| MND -- 1 MYSTICISM -- N/A
(-10 Accuracy/ -1 Might)

| LUK -- 6

* BRONZE SICKLE SWORD

	+ MIGHT | 5
	+ ACCURACY | 75
	+ WEIGHT | 4
	+ RANGE | 1
	+ SPECIAL | N/A
	+ CLASS | BLADE

---

HELLIONS PHASE

COMMENCE

---

---

Gesties: "S'pose I owe you times three now. . ." The gruff rival merc muses aloud, nearly knocked on his ass once more beside Makeen, the boy having distracted that nasty little javelineer enough to save Gesties from the next death-knell shot. As Zarif's arrow whizzed overhead, barely having cleared that shiny dome of his, the man manages to pick himself up. "S'pose I could owe you a fourth time, Hellion?" He breathes another ragged breath.

Ashür: "Hmmph. . ." He merely sighs at Siris' response. It wasn't the time that the bandit felt the rash boy-warrior thought he could take on the whole damn world. It was like poison to Ashür's cynicism, bringing to the front of his mind days better left forgotten.

Bright-eyed as ever, Etor makes the point of covering every square inch of the Ziggurot's confines, lest yet more of the filthy blue Yeeks be lurking. . . And perhaps on the off-chance that some ancient treasures still lie here. Captain Doan would surely praise his shrewdness. Whether for better or worse, the chamber is empty, beyond the stink of the creatures' little den, without mentioning the contents of their guts spilling over across the slick sandstone.

Etor's gesture seemingly lost upon the scholar, he makes his way between the vanguard and the heart of the Hellions there, ever moving with a certain unfaltering leisure.
Kastilus: "Yes. . . Yes. . ." He mumbles aloud, his dark eyes moving from one wall to the next, "This would have most definitely been the procession hall. In days-long passed, representatives of each polity would have come before Dumuzid here, a primitive seat of power when put against the silver-plated Uruk perhaps. . . The main chamber should be but ahead." He makes no real attempt to remain hidden, nor for his words to do ought but echo down the tomb of old.

[Assistant]
After looking around and finding nothing of interest or value, besides geek feces, Etor catches up to the group.

Etor: "Nothing in the back room."

He says this to no one in particular as he keeps an eye on kastilus.

Etor moves 4 tiles to 10-26


[System]
William Brean

Profile

---

"I do not hate the enemy, nor their motives to some extent...I just know that if I do not pull the trigger...I'll be the one who ends up as a bloody Corpse within the next few seconds..."

William's Theme Song

---
DD - Callsign:
'Vigilant Sparrow'

Age:
29

Gender:
Male

Date and Month of Birth:
21st of September

Birthplace/Nationality:
Hartcrest Farm, Outer-Edinburgh, Scotland

Diamond Dog Service Time:
3.9 Years

Appearance:

Description:
Short, brunette hair...seems simple enough. A simple stubble keeps his face from being smooth and naked...if there was going to be one thing that stopped him from having it, it would possibly regret making such a judgement. William keeps aqua blue-eyes, along with healthy teeth. Standing around 6' 2", he is quite the tower compared to his fellow comrades. When it comes to body structure, it wouldn't be said to be the most muscle-type of them all, though he is equipped with enough strength to prove himself on the battlefield and in Operations. His survivability has been increased on a few occasions due to the non-brawny structure, saving his life more than once.

General Apparel:
For a General Appearance, that would include a Wintery-Diamond Dog standard Uniform, that is when at the patrolling front of Father Base. If there is one thing that can make him feel more safe, that is the camouflage correctly matching the location he is entering. In terms of off-duty clothing, a simple Olive-Drab Shirt, mixed with Civilian issued combat Trousers, of a Navy-black colouring scheme. This is the standard uniform and fashion any personnel would likely find him wearing when not on the field of combat, though there are times where it is subject to change. Not every man has to wear the same clothes constantly on repeat, do they?

On-Field Apparel:
On field, that is a more different story. There is a wide range of camouflage materials and colourings that William is likely to use, especially in the multiple-environment lands of Afghanistan. Usually, Desert-Fox clothing is worn by him along with the set-up of the usual Balaclava, for protection against incoming shrapnel and nearby flames, as well as a Combat-worthy vest, fitted with dampening to reduce the noise that might be created when, say, crawling along the floor. For what he does, as it is rare for a DD soldier to go into an infiltration mission, it acts well enough as slight-bullet resistance, providing him enough protection to keep him alive in shot by small arms fire. The outfitting is slightly different from the other Diamond Dog outfitting, as it is designed to act as a multiple purpose costume, helping in both assaults, defences and infiltrations. This again can be subject to change, though this is the usual clothing you would expect.

Equipment:
A Modified Stoner 63 with a low-magnification optic, foldable Bipod and recoil control-stock, is what is usually held by the soldier. William is sometimes made to change to a UN-ARC. This is outfitted to the way the picture has shown. Sometimes, suppressors are available for the weapon, though it is a preference to not go all Silent and quiet. For a sidearm, usually this little Handgun proves useful enough, which is less-likely to be suppressed. As related to his general role as Heavy-Equipment personnel, he is likely to be carrying a few packs of Plastic Explosive Material, detonated from at least a 300m range. Usually, there is also the possibility that a single hand grenade will be carried, as only to act as a life-saver.

Personality:

Description:
From someone with one of the most experience on the Base, you'd expect him to be rather loud, rather bellowing towards the lower comrades. Instead, you'd find William to be quieter than most soldiers. He never drinks alcohol; he never really increases his voice to an extremely loud volume, nor does he tend to get into fights with the other soldiers. Suffering from minor traumatisation from a previous mission that had gone wrong, he is quite to himself, wanting to eat alone a lot of the time. He finds sleeping to be quite the trouble, which has been noted down to affect his performance on the field. William is very entrusted when it comes to teamwork, and puts in as much effort as he can. Usually selected for roles due to his experience within the Diamond Dogs, William makes a great impression amongst the ranks. As for himself, he hopes he can respect those around him as well, trying not to get into many arguments within the teams he works with, and even those surrounding him at Father Base. Overall, for a soldier, his social behaviour is quite odd, which sometimes can make him stand out amongst the rest, like placing a Cow in a room filled with sheep.

Interests:
William has a strong interest in Musical Arts. Be it classical, or modernised music, he is usually up for talking about it at all times. As for the range of Music genres, it is quite spread out...going from Take on Me by AHA one minute...to Something maybe a little different. As for himself, whenever he gets the privacy and downtime, he is likely to spend time either listening to Music, or putting his own skills into acoustic guitar playing, messing around with tunes and riffs that he creates along the way. Outside of that zone is his love for reading. He is extremely intellectual in traditional English literature, and has a tendency to read over Darwin's Origins of Species, him not being religious at all. Not being sporty, keen on intense exercise does make him very solitary from everyone else.

Dislikes:
There are a few things that really get to William. One of those is bringing up any mentioning of that tragic event...brutal, and traumatising on his end, it proved to damage his mentality enough to lead him into a violent rage. That, though, is very rare, mainly the reason he was sent to Father Base after the constant troublemakers bringing it up. For more common things, he definitely hates massages...just going to put that out there...

Strengths:
Leadership isn't on his side ususally, but his main role as a Demolitions expert, Support infantry and infiltration Operative make him a rather useful soldier across the entire board. If there was one thing that he could do to give himself a better skill...it would be confidence.

Weaknesses:
As mentioned, he is not a very confident person. Usually, there is a man who is assigned to giving him psychology sessions based around his fears and weakpoints. The old scenario had left him crumbled, and these sessions are the only thing that keep him combat-worthy within the Diamond Dogs. Strength isn't also a number 1 thing he takes in pride, as he can sometimes end up more weaker than some opposing forces they are put up against.

Ideal Role Model:
Colonel James Montgomery

Background:

History:
There isn't really anything interesting about his past. Rather just a simple farm-boy who grew up with a loving brother, sister and father. Made to do much manual labour that any typical farm boy would be used to these conditions, so this point of the Profile is really just a small area. Good educational grades, outstanding skills within literature, science and mathematics. This point in life ended when he decided to join the British Army as a Support Gunner.

Service History:
He joined the British Army, flawlessly sprinting through the training phase, to assist in the Revolutionist problem within Northern and Southern Ireland. The Irish Republican Army were at a violent stage, and British troops were being deployed as part of a Peacekeeping session. It was during the second year of his service where he had fallen captive to some of the members, serving as a long-time ransom against the British Army. Originally brought into captivity with 43 other British Soldiers, mostly injured at the time, only 3 made it out. The horrors of watching a soldier being executed every so often made a permanent scar into his mind, effecting his career as a soldier from years onwards. When the Diamond Dogs were now in a known stage, he left his psychotic background as a British Corporal, moving into the voluntary ranks of the Combat Unit. Switching between the Security team and the Combat Unit, he made as little contact with fighting as he could, hoping that he could take the time to recover from his injuries. Though as the spread of PRs became larger and larger, his safety decreased, and made him have that tiny spot within his mind that haunted him, no matter where he went, or where he was...that would stay with him until he would find a bullet in his skull. Due to the suffering of Stockholm Syndrome, there was a temporary discharge for killing one of the rescuers as he remained in captivity, which made him regret the decision and mental brainwashing he had suffered throughout his tragic misfortune. There was more events that occured during his service as a Diamond Dogs, personally finding himself saved by Venom Snake during an espionage-gone-wrong, that is only to be discussed with himself, Garret and those he chooses to share it with. This is very...very unlikely to be spread around.

Other:

Family:
Father - Alive
Brother - Alive
Sister - Alive

Any extra preferences:
-Staying away from large groups...something that he feels is definitely important to him. Safety isn't always in numbers.

Other Affiliates:
Venom Snake [Saviour during a intercepted Espionage] - John 'Limping Squirrel' Lincoln [One of the survivors of the British Capture incident, now a Diamond Dog] - Helen 'Lurking Mantis' Smith [Psychologist] - Brandon 'Beating Viper' Smith [Comrade/Helen's Brother]

Characters of Interest

Garret Luther

Codename - 'Alpha Serpent'

Age - 49 Years

Gender - Male

Role - Father Base C.O...Leadership for the Diamond Dogs 2nd Detachment

Importance to you - He will be running the vast majority of these operations, and will pop up for large meetings every now and then. Every decision he makes will effect what your character does.

Appearance - This

Bruce Spington

Codename - Flocker

Age - 29

Gender - Male

Role - One of the several Helicopter Pilots responsible for in and out extractions within the Area of Operations. If you wish to create your own, please put it below your character after I confirm it in the OOC.

Importance to you - Though he serves more as William's standard Helicopter Pilot, he can spread around the majority of the group. Much like Pequad, he is highly skilled and very efficient as his role. Known for his experience within the Diamond Dogs, serving as one of the original pilots, he is loved by most and kept close at hand when on the field.

Appearance - This

Katherine Wigginson

Codename - 'Fallen Salmon'

Age - 26

Gender - Female

Role - On-field assistance either in fire support, infantry movement or intelligence additions.

Importance to you - She is extremely useful as a soldier, and has proven to be quite the looker. With charm, skill and agility on her side, she can make the perfect Human Buddy to take upon missions. She will be available at some points. Much lovable between everyone for her tendency to catch the eye of her comrades.

Appearance - This

'Falcon'

Codename - 'Falcon' or 'Swiping Hawk'

Age - Estimated Late 20s-Early 30s

Gender - Male

Role - Intense Infiltration Operative

Importance to you - Though he really isn't of the greatest appearances, Falcon's skill is based around the same style as Big Boss...Used mainly for extreme intelligence gathering and assassination operations, he proves to be one of the most elite Diamond Dog Specialists to roam amongst the Pack. There will be times to discuss and bump into him, with a few mentionings here and there.

Appearance - This...Facial appearance is extremely limited to the mouth, which is used for off duty speaking.

'Viper'

Codename - 'Little Viper'

Age - Estimated 28

Gender - Female

Role - Much like Falcon, Viper is a special operations operative, capable of being sent in to do the more dirtier work. However, due to many failures to the tests that her attire has undergone, she is likely to have Diamond Dog reinforcements on field with her, seeing as the Regular Diamond Dog Soldiers were given higher responsibilities throughout their service time.

Importance to you - Much like a buddy, she can accompany you in terms of suppressive fire support, artillery and Rocket-Propelled equipment. She is very talkative, and is more open compared to her other comrade, Falcon. You can have the chance to come across her on and off duty, as she generally likes to hang around the Crew Facilities on lower platforms within the mountain faces.

Appearance - Facial Covered - General Appearance

[User]
Gresham startled, looks behind him and sees Abdul.

"Oh, hello there! Abdul right?" He said in a quick manner.

Gresham stops walking, planning to strike up a conversation with him and learn what he can in the time he currently has.

"This book is the Hounds of the Baskervilles and is by none other than Sir Conan Doyle himself. You stand corrected! I'm glad to hear you also like litterature. I'm sorry I seemed a bit startled there, I was thinking of stuff, so I didn't really notice anyone until you called me!"

Gresham takes a quick peek down at the cover of the book that he his carrying in his hand, then darts his eyes back at Abdul.

"Uhm… if you ever need anything to read, for example novels by Conan Doyle don't hesitate to ask! I have quite a collection on hand with a couple of different authors."

[Assistant] "Mhm it was my fault for sneaking up on you...it is always good to meet someone who reads classic literature" Abdul nodded pulling out a small paperback novel for him to look for,"This is my copy of To Kill A Mockingbird have you read it?" He said showing him the cover wondering if it will spark the other man's memory.

[User]
Taking a detailed look at the cover, Gresham's eyes widen.

"Harper Lee, right?! Ah, man. Atticus Finch is one of my all time favorites!" He says cheerfully.

Pacing back and forth, Gresham says

"I've read the entire book, but that's a long time ago. I lost my copy back home a couple of years ago, sadly. I assume you have read the entire book as well? It's amazing how quite a dark subject like rape can be balanced with the power of humor."

Gresham stops for a second. He rolls his right sleeve up and takes a quick look at his watch.

"Heh, before I ramble into eternity about all of the litterature ever, aren't we supposed to be somewhere? Maybe we should get going…"

[Assistant]
Announcement of Father Base

"All Personnel on FB-Deck 9, this is an announcement. Hold posts and further duties for later. All Downtime sessions will be aborted as well. Please make your way towards Hall 9. I repeat again, All personnel report to Hall 9. This is not optional. Expect to be presented in an orderly fashion. Parade Conditions. Those late or absent will be sanctioned." The announcement cut off, sending a slight buzz to signal the end of it. Garret's staff from his Command Room began to make their way there themselves. This was important. It had to be announced. For whatever was about to be said could judge the fate of every soldier, making the choice of whether they live, or die...


[System]
Age: 24

Bending Element: Fire

[User]
"Don't slow down now, your food might run away." Kasai joked when Avani stopped to squeeze in a few nonchalant threats to the poor girl sitting across from them. She let Avani say her piece and simply sipped on her coffee. Oh, the irony. Not all that long ago they met on the edge of that forest and could not stand each other. Well, Avani at least admitted initial attraction. Kasai however had a little warming up to do.

Naomi kept steady eye contact as she listened, all the while her hand worked furiously at the notepad in her lap. A sideways glance was shot at Avani after she mentioned her mom being in jail over a dead cop. Well, that explains a lot. Kasai narrowed her eyes briefly, but decided to tuck the questions away for another time. They were here for a different reason now. Kasai had to clench her jaw and swallow hard when Avani got to the point of why they were here in the first place. She cleared her throat and let Avani turn her attention back to her food.

"There was a task force made to investigate some sort of disturbance in the forest where the spirits were residing. Apparently the Avatar was too busy to tend to it herself so the mayor sanctioned this volunteer mission." Kasai's shoulders shrugged and she continued. "They shouldn't have sent volunteers in there in the first place, we had no business messing with spirits." Trying to keep from getting too angered, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes ever so briefly.

"Like she said," her thumb stuck out to point at Avani, "out of six people, we were the only ones to come out of it alive. And barely at that." Sometimes she could still feel the ache in her leg, and her hand brushed over the scar on her face that would forever remind her of what happened.

Naomi looked from one woman to the other and back again. It was clear from their faces that whatever happened was something very serious, but what business did she have making it a public story?

"I see what you've been through was pretty damaging. But, and no offense here, what exactly do you think this will gain for you? Other than the mayor clearly didn't know what kind of danger he was sending you in to, I don't see how this could be politically damaging or personally gainful."

At that moment, the thought of launching a fireball straight across the table at the young woman's face crossed Kasai's mind. Incredibly, she was able to restrain herself. Fearing that Avani was probably about to jump across the table to strangle the girl herself, Kasai put a hand on the woman's leg and squeezed. Next, she tuned that fire-beam glare of hers at the young reporter and kept her voice low and steady.

"When we got back, there was no 'Thank you for your service.' There was no 'sorry for your loss.' Were there city representatives at the funeral? No. Not even one damn flower was sent. The mayor knew damn well what happened in there and that four people died trying to serve this city. But he never even acknowledged their existence. We are not hoping to 'gain' anything. We want the recognition and respect our friends deserve from that scumbag uptown."

Kasai did not blink once, and the expression on the girl's face changed to one that reflected the severity of the situation. Naomi slowly nodded and looked at the pair again. "Okay. I understand now. I want to help you with this, but if I am going to make a compelling story, I'm going to need all of the difficult details."

Kasai was afraid of that. What she needed was something stronger than coffee to help her get through the tragic recounting, but they were already here and already worked up.

"I hope you have enough paper." Kasai said before she stopped the waiter to fill her coffee mug. A few more moments to prepare herself for the emotions to come, and then she started tracing back the details of that horrifying day.

[Assistant]
Avani ate while listening to Kasai add her own details to their shared story, merely nodding every now and then. It wasn't until the reporter spoke up and told them that she didn't think there was anything for them to gain on the story that Avani left her food alone for a moment. She wiped her mouth on a napkin, trying to think of what they would get out of this in the end. It had been Kasai's suggestion so she'd gone with it, but would it really help them or their friends? Probably not, and the dead wouldn't care either way. She was surprised when Kasai squeezed her leg. Did she really think Avani would beat the reporter up over nothing in a café filled with people?

She was pretty sure that Kasai was more likely than herself to attack the reporter at that point. The fire in her eyes and her creepily calm voice hinted at it. Good points, Avani thought to herself after her girlfriend had stated a list of reasons why they wanted this article to be written. She didn't like the idea that they were in a way pleading with the mayor to show their friends respect, not when each of their lost ones had been better individuals than him. The idea that they would stand up against corruption or throw dirt had appealed to her more.

"How could it not be politically damaging?" Avani asked and scoffed. "Did he bribe the entire city or something? Four people died on what was supposed to be a routine mission, and you think it wouldn't hurt him politically? I must have missed something, or you should definitely stay out of politics with such poor understanding."

Avani had never had much interest in politics, but from what she had seen potential candidates or different sides would use literally anything to make the public think less of their opponents. Their story wasn't made up, and it should be possible to use it as a powerful weapon. All someone had to do was pick it up.

She was about to follow up with more threats, how Avani liked to please her girlfriend and if the reporter didn't write the article like Kasai wanted her to do she might have trouble walking for the next month. Turned out there was no need for that as the reporter was willing to do it, as long as she was told the details. Avani sighed. It wasn't something either of them wanted to talk about.

Avani turned to the waiter when Kasai had stopped her. They'd be here a while if they were going to go into details, so she ordered a large glass of juice and some dessert for herself. She didn't drink coffee, it wasn't healthy. She filled in with her own perspective on the details whenever Kasai paused, and sometimes she cut in at the middle if something had been mistakenly left out. Eventually she sat leaned back in the sofa with an arm around Kasai to comfort her, and the juice glass in her other hand.

[User]
It took an hour, maybe even two, to get through the long, grueling details of the mission they were sent on that day. At times Kasai had to stop, gather her thoughts for a moment before recounting a particularly difficult piece of the story. Other parts made her smile at the memory. After all, not everything that day had started out so bad.

Naomi nodded her head as she listened to the two women retell the story through their own eyes. Every once in a while she would interject with a question to make the details more clear for her to write down, but for the most part she kept quiet and allowed the two to run the conversation themselves. It turned out that there was in fact plenty of information here that was useful, especially for making a gripping story for the paper the next day.

Finally, the story came to its sickening conclusion. Two barely breathing and four dead. For several moments after the ending of the story, there was a stillness around the table. Kasai stared down at the black liquid that filled the cup in her hand, reminding her of the ebony substance that took two of their friends that day. Afterwards, she would have thought her heart be as black as the coffee with grief. Luckily, though, she had Avani to save her from focusing on that sadness.

Naomi stared at the pad in her lap. Pages were filled with notes scribbled here and there, a huge unorganized outline for the story she would go home and begin writing after she left this cafe. There were just a few more things she needed from the couple.

"I think I have everything I need here to make a compelling story for you two. I'll be honest, after listening to all of the details I agree with wanting to get your story out. At least make the mayor squirm once people start asking questions about his morality." Naomi began to put her things away, but she pulled out a blank piece of paper and handed it to Kasai.

"I'll have this story ready to go for print tonight. When I decide which paper to run it through, I'll give you a call. Just write down a number I can contact you at here."

Kasai wrote down her telephone number and handed it back to the young reporter. Seemed like she wasn't so bad after all, despite Kasai's initial concerns.

"Great. Now, one last thing. A front page story needs a front page picture to go along with it. You two mind stepping outside so we can grab a photo? Better lighting and backdrop." Naomi stood and waved over in the opposite corner of the restaurant, where a man sat wearing a similar hat to the one Naomi had on. "C'mon, Jo. Picture time."

The man stood from his table, tossed some money down, and grabbed the large camera that apparently had been sitting next to him. Well, so much secrecy around this young reporter. Still, Kasai nodded and stood, also tossing some money on the table for her coffee. The reporter and photographer made their way outside, and Kasai waited for Avani.

"C'mon, this was the part you were most excited about, remember?" She smiled and looked towards the door. "We can take this picture and then get out of here, unless you'd like to order more food of course." Kasai teased, but felt relieved that they had finally told someone else their story. It felt better to get it off of her chest. "We just need to wait until tomorrow and see what the public reaction is I guess." Once Avani joined her, Kasai made her way outside to pose for the photograph.

[Assistant]
Avani was glad when they had finally told the whole story, hopefully it would be the last time they had to remember what happened, but there was a silence at the table that she didn't enjoy. She'd finished her food and dessert a while ago, and the atmosphere ruined any further appetite she might have had. She was glad when the reporter broke the silence though. She wasn't sure what she should have said herself, as much as she may have wanted to cheer Kasai up someone would have needed to help her first.

The reporter made it sound as if she had any choice what paper to go with, yet none of the papers that Kasai had contacted had wanted to run the story from what she had been told. Avani was already questioning the reporter after her comment about politics, but now she was becoming seriously suspicious of her. It seemed as if she was lying to them or making stuff up as she went along. There shouldn't be much of an existing choice for her regarding who published the story.

She didn't like that there had been a man nearby that the reporter knew for the last hours either. He hadn't introduced himself to them. He'd been sitting a distance away likely just observing and listening in on the conversation. Was any of them a bender of some kind? Did Naomi had more friends around that she hadn't bothered introducing?

"Yeah, I know." Avani said. "But I don't like her or this. Do you not think she's odd? Some of the things she says doesn't add up from my point of view. Are you sure these people are on our side?" She asked, hesitant to get up and take a picture for this reporter and photographer. "If it turns out that she's been lying as much as I think she has, then I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up in a hospital soon." That result could be caused by Avani herself, or someone else who had enough of the woman.

Avani stood up, walked over to the waiter behind the counter and paid for the food she'd eaten. She also paid for Kasai's coffee before heading outside. "Let's get this over with then, but I still don't like her." Avani said to Kasai, without any attempt at concealing her words from the two individuals waiting for them.

"I'd rather not take a photo that shows too much of my face." She said, turned to Kasai and buried her face against her chest and neck. "Put your arms around me. You'll look like some kind of hero." Avani whispered, laughed and moved Kasai's hands to rest on her behind.

She did pose for more pictures, but in all of them she tried to be as clingy or loving to Kasai and her body as possible. If anyone saw the photographs they took, she hoped that it wouldn't immediately occur to them who she was, only that they were both women.

[User]
Kasai couldn't help but chuckle at Avani's display for the photos. Granted, she probably shouldn't be plastering her face all over the media when she was supposedly locked up with the rest of the gang, but it was still enjoyable. People passing by on the sidewalk gave varying reactions to the display, but Kasai ignored them and just did whatever the photographer said to make the picture come out decently.

After a few more shots and a couple of hand shakes, the ordeal was over with. Naomi promised to call Kasai as soon as she had the information she needed, but at this point Kasai wasn't even sure they should have gone through with the idea. It sounded great when she was fired up about it, but now she had to wonder if it was the right decision. After the reporter and photographer left, Kasai turned to Avani.

"You're right, there's something off about them. It was our only shot considering, though now I'm wondering if we should have bothered with it at all." Kasai knew that last comment would earn her an 'I told you so' from Avani, but she didn't mind. Maybe they were both being too paranoid, too careful. At this point, she was ready to get it all over with and take off on their little adventure. Maybe getting away from the city and taking a break from real life would keep her mind from all these trivial things. She mentally kicked herself for overthinking things yet again.

"Well who knows, maybe the Mayor will give us some shiny medal or something. Not that it would mean much considering he hasn't given us one thus far. At the very least, we can check making it in the papers off of the bucket list." Kasai gave a cheesy grin and a thumbs up, hoping Avani wasn't too bummed out still. Kasai was tired of being bummed and wanted to get her mind on to other things.

"Well, come on hon. Let's go and do something to wait this thing out, unless there's something else you'd like to spend some of your hard earned cash on." Kasai gave her another smile and waited to see what they would be doing to kill the time.