Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)
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		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Human Small Groups =&gt; Topic started by: Crash on 16-01-2015, 03:01:39</h2>
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				Title: <strong>Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>16-01-2015, 03:01:39</strong>
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				<div align="center">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/2/29/IronKingdoms_Logo.png)</div><br><div align="center"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>IC Thread</strong></span></div> <br><br><div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/9/9f/WinterGuardAvi.png)</div><hr><strong>Name:</strong>Okasana Aminev<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Soldier/Field Mechanic<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 3<br><em>Intellect:</em> 4<br><strong>Defense:</strong> 12<br><strong>ARM:</strong> 14<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br><br><br><br><div class="codeheader">Code: <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return smfSelectText(this);" class="codeoperation">[Select]</a></div><pre style="margin: 0; padding: 0;"><code class="bbc_code">[floatleft][img height=200 padding=5]&lt;insert image&gt;[/img][/floatleft][hr][b]Name:[/b]<br>[b]Professions:[/b]<br>[b]Damage Capacity[/b]<br>[i]Physique:[/i]<br>[i]Agility:[/i]<br>[i]Intellect:[/i] <br>[b]Defense:[/b]<br>[b]ARM:[/b]<br>[b]Feat Points:[/b]<br>[hr]<br></code></pre><br>Post any roll results at the bottom of your post in a separate colored text<br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>16-01-2015, 03:01:56</strong>
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				<div align="center"><span style="font-size: 18pt;" class="bbc_size"><span class="bbc_u"><em>Chapter 1 - A Face in the Snow</em></span></span></div><br><br><br><div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/5/56/Body-lying-in-the-snow-255996.png)</div><hr><strong>Name:</strong> Lone Figure<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Bump in the road<br><hr><em>Vilmon 2nd, Martus - Early in the Night</em> <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Autumn in Northern Khador was fleeting.&nbsp; It was late Martus and the snow marched quickly down the Shard spires towards the valley below and the Rimeshaws beyond.&nbsp; Larch trees flashed brilliant golds among the evergreens that encircled Nynsk during the day and appeared as pale skeletons in the light of Calder at night. The temperature was already dropping to freezing at night and barely thawing during the day.&nbsp; Soon the river Tychia which fed the much larger Neven would freeze and the Shard passes filled with snow.&nbsp; Shipments would slow and the foundry and mill would easy there production schedules, but industry in Khador never really stopped.&nbsp; The Empire required much of its citizens and much was given for the people loved Empress Ayn Vanar XI dearly.&nbsp; She had restored much of Khador’s former glory and her people’s pride.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Immoren’s largest moon cast its silvery light through the sparse larch and spruce that surrounded the small town of Nynsk, the snow had yet to reach the valley floor, but moonlight glistened off of frost rimed trees and shrubs lining the road and paths that lead towards town.&nbsp; &nbsp;Among the glittering splendor of Khadoran winter a shadow slowly stumbled into the light.&nbsp; Short, ragged breath plumed into the frigid night air in tiny bursts, yet the figure made little sound and left hardly a mark as it went, drawn by the lights and sounds of the nearby town.&nbsp; The dark silhouette staggered to a halt in the center of the road and with a sudden shutter fell to the ground still.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; To any that might be approaching in the night the figure in the road would look like nothing more than a log or maybe a wounded animal until approached.&nbsp; If investigated it would appear to be an adolescent girl dressed in light furs and leather, much too light of clothing to be out in a cold such as this.&nbsp; Her body is pale, almost white and looks almost frozen against the slick cobblestone road leading to town.&nbsp; A strange tattoo decorates her delicate and alien features.<br><br><br><div align="center">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/5/5f/Hansel_bryan.jpg)</div>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Tackyhillbilly</strong> on <strong>18-01-2015, 09:04:42</strong>
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				<hr><strong>Name:</strong> Daumantas<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Bounty Hunter/Highwayman<br><hr><br>Daumantas was the first to find her. He was the first to find most things on the road. Bandits, travellers, runaways, corpses. He came across them all. He was finishing his route, his bags light, or at least lighter then they had been. Rychlík was glad of that. He hadn't known it was a girl when he'd initially approached. He'd gone toward her, thinking she might be a fallen animal... and thus a welcome addition to dinner. However, no dinner today. He sighed as he approached. He didn't know her, but he'd come across others like her. Young girls travelling alone rarely had happy tales to tell. And in the end, more likely then not, he knew she'd end up heading back where she came from, willingly or not. If she was alive, and lived the night. Always a valid question.<br><br>Daumantas picked her up, and carefully laid her across Rychlík's flanks. It looked crude, a girl tossed over his horse, but the horse's warmth would do more for her then Daumantas ever could. He swung himself into the saddle, patting Rychlik's head, then tapping the horse on the flanks.<br><br>"Easy goes it girl. Lets keep the gait as steady as we can. Whoever she is, she needs a bumpy ride like a hole in the head."<br><br>The horse set off at a slow gentle trot. Rychlik could live up to her name, but generally she was a placid ride, and whoever the girl was, at least she wouldn't get bounced to badly as she lay on the horses back, one of Daumantas' hands holding her steady so she didn't fall as they rode toward the town...
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				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Muse</strong> on <strong>19-01-2015, 00:29:08</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/8f/MAT_CAUTHON_by_solitarium.jpg)</div>Vyslav Nikolaivich (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=220839.msg10880224#msg10880224)<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Even wrapped in a blanket and cuddled close against Iolana's naked body, the barn was getting cold.&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Still a young man, Vyslav had a knack for finding girl's interested in passion without strings.&nbsp; He looked at Iolana's beautiful face, half dozing in the sensual daze, and wondered idly if just maybe a string or two might not be so bad?&nbsp; Iolana was starting to get serious with an upstanding farmer from a few miles away.&nbsp; It had already happened to most of his favorite playmates...&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No, Vyslav wanted his freedom.&nbsp; There was still a big lot of world out there too see, and he'd barely begun.&nbsp; He woke Iolana with a kiss. The barely blond girl stretched and whispered, “ready for more, handsome?”&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Vyslav chuckled softly, “Always, little one.&nbsp; But you need to get back up to the house before your father comes looking for you.”&nbsp; <br><br>*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A little while later, bundled up in his green jacket with the fur lining, with soft leather gloves keeping his hands warm and sprightly, Vyslav abled down the road, with sword on his belt and his hard-earned magelock pistol in it's holster.&nbsp; He blinked a little at what he saw up ahead...&nbsp; Was someone lifting a body over a saddle?&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Antsy—he loosened his magelock, but kept his hands clear of it as he hurried to catch up.&nbsp; “Daumantas Ivanov,” the young man called, “What’s going on?&nbsp; Is she all right?”&nbsp; 
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				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Tackyhillbilly</strong> on <strong>19-01-2015, 03:47:15</strong>
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				Daumantas Ivanov<br><br>Daumantas looked over at Vyslav, and nodded. He knew the young man. Of course. He knew almost everyone in some fashion. Nynsk wasn't that big, and the post visited everyone in time. But he didn't have much more then a passing familiarity.<br><br>"I don't know. Found the gel in the middle of the road, collapsed. Dunno what is wrong with her. She's not dressed for this winter, but I'm not a Doctor. May just be she needs a warm bed, or it might be worse. I planned to have one of the priests look at her. They know more about this kind of thing then I."<br><br>He shrugged.<br><br>"I'll be taking it slow. Jostling her about will make it worse, and if she just needs warming, Rychlik should do the trick."<br><br>The horse snorted, and tried to eat Vyslav's hat.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dhi</strong> on <strong>20-01-2015, 01:48:12</strong>
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				<strong>Name:</strong> Valentine Karskaja<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Investigator / Alchemist<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 3<br><em>Intellect:</em> 5 <br><strong>Defense:</strong> 12<br><strong>ARM:</strong> 10*<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br>The old whole timber of the broad nave doors heaved only with the dedicated press of Valentine's body, displacing the afternoon and evening's accumulated snow. Gray coal country snowflakes powdered from the carvings of menofix and flawless arabesque as her untrained strength juddered a progression in steps. She left space behind for her company to follow. "-oldest songs of mankind, predating a written language. I should think, predating a spoken one. Only much, <em>much </em>later were the verses added." A half-meter stepladder unfolded from her hands neatly beneath the antique lantern whose flame had given in to the wind and cold. "The traditional Sulese comes highly recommended, but one cannot get it on cylinder. To obtain a recording is forbidden." Gloved hands unfastened the latch on the glass, and a tiny, repetitive motion extended the wick.<br><br>On a night like this, the drifting snow swallowed the sense of depth to the world. Sound vanished into volumes unknown. For this one last task she was bundled in her fur-lined greatcoat, electric blonde coiffure swaddled in a knit wool brimmed button hat. Equally pretty boots searched for purchase in small steps, accustomed to finding ice in unexpected places. "But the idea stays with me. A distilled primeval sound of worship, as resonant with the human spirit as a cry for help or the sound of laughter. Would you not want to listen? Just to experience it."<br><br>The pale tongue of the wick peeked shyly, and filled the glass cabinet with a chemical cocktail of Valentine's own devising. Alchemy was the way for longer lasting, brighter burning lamps. There was a spiritual significance to the undying flames of the church and the first gifts of Menoth, but under the shadow of the forest, where the loggers were constantly displacing the wolves and their prey, it held a practical need, too. A spark burned up the fumes and extended the reach of the light a little further down the steps, across the paved brick, to the rough-hewn road. A horse was being led. "What are they doing?"<br><br>One last lick of the newborn flame against the confines of its glass cage cast Menoth's own light down the steps and robbed Valentine's face of even the softest shadow, utterly blank and bleached. "Oda," the reluctant doctor spoke privately, "they've brought a body."
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				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MdG</strong> on <strong>20-01-2015, 04:08:11</strong>
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				<strong>Name:</strong> Oda Vladimira Krupskaya<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Explorer / Ranger<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 4<br><em>Intellect:</em> 3<br><strong>Defence:</strong> 14<br><strong>ARM:</strong> 10<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br>Oda never liked the way her footfalls echoed in stone buildings, leather boots against flagstones, the sound carrying and reverberating in the lamplit darkness. Then there were the congregations, the throngs of people gathering, whispering, singing. It was too much: a sensory overload. At least the church emptied out at night. There was no one to hear her pass. No hidden voices to pique her attention.<br>&nbsp;<br>She followed Valentine and listened. The alchemist had a way of rendering ideas into words, which by the rhythm and cadence of her speech, made the abstract tangible and appealing. And to Oda, who knew nothing of the process of physical transmogrification, <em>that</em> was a form of true alchemy. She reasoned that Valentine was right. There must have been a time when the world was still in the process of becoming and some residue of that time may have survived even in the so-called Age of Reason, crystallised, but still pregnant with power and purpose.<br>&nbsp;<br>“These captured sounds are like caged birds, Valechka.” Her hidebound hands were restless. They felt empty. “They feel distant and forced if I cannot see the mouths or instruments from which they are produced. But listen I would.” Valentine’s devotion could be infectious and she had often spoken of it when they worked together at the tannery. But Oda suspected that there were songs that were older still and now silent.<br>&nbsp;<br>Outside the drifting snows stirred. A sharp, bracing wind – the kiss of the Vila. It was so hard and unyielding it was almost sensual. It was the breath of the wild, even when it was grimed with the smoke of Nynsk’s foundries.&nbsp; She was in her element again. The supple, deeply oiled leather and foxfur lining of her jerkin kept out the worst of the cold. But she liked it. It invigorated her limbs and prickled her skin. Greyed snow wisped and tangled in her wild hair, her auburn braid stirring. She held up the ladder for Valentine and watched the alchemical lamp’s glow surge to a blaze.<br>&nbsp;<br>With the shadows shrouding the icy-rimed façade of the church dispersed, Oda saw the silhouette of the rider approach. She raised her hand in greeting. Upon closer inspection, the form draped over the horse seemed limp, but not rigid.<br>&nbsp;<br>“Valechka, that is no body. I still see the spark of life.”<br>&nbsp;<br>She motioned for the rider to approach.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>23-01-2015, 04:10:23</strong>
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				<hr><strong>Where:</strong> Somewhere outside Asinya’s Cabin<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Creatures in the Night<br><strong>Tag:</strong>&nbsp; Asinya<br><hr><br>There is was again, a cry in the dark.&nbsp; Something almost human carried on the cool night air.&nbsp; It was impossible to tell exactly how far away the sound was, but the quiet that had fallen around your cabin was unnatural.&nbsp; The townsfolk feared the sounds of the forest in the night, but those that knew the forest as well as you know to fear the forest with no sounds more.&nbsp; Something was close enough to scare the forest to silence…something dangerous and on the prowl.&nbsp; <br><br>(OOC: Give me a Tracking roll if you want to go investigate.&nbsp; Also let me know what you are taking with you in your next post)<br><br><br><hr><strong>Name:</strong> Old Gustov<br><strong>Where:</strong> Nynsk<br><strong>Tag:</strong>&nbsp; Daumantus, Vyslav<br><hr><br>The girl does not stir when you sling her over Rychlik's back, but her coal black hair parts enough to allow the blade of an up swept ear to split its silky strands.&nbsp; She is one of the northern shadows, the mythical Nyss.&nbsp; The guards manning the gate call down as you approach.&nbsp; It is old Gustav and the youngest Petru, Alexandrov.&nbsp; Little better than a boy, old Gustav had been set in charge of his training and was showing the young lad no favoritism by taking night gate watch in the turning cold of Fall.&nbsp; &nbsp;Old Gustav recognizes you and opens the gate, Alexandrov in tow.&nbsp; <br><br>From the young lad's look he to notices the sweep of the young Nyss's ears, but a look from Gustav silences anything the boy might have said and he simply nods to you both letting you through. Behind the wood and stone walls of Nynsk the night air swirls with smoke from hearth fire and foundry.&nbsp; The sounds of hearty conversation drift from a nearby tavern intrude upon the evening silence but there are few outside at this time in this chill.&nbsp; A light catches your attention...someone is tending the flame of Menoth and they are waving you towards them...
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				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Tackyhillbilly</strong> on <strong>23-01-2015, 08:13:59</strong>
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				Daumantas Ivanov<br><br>Daumantas has never been one to care much about such things. The Rhul in town was a good enough fellow, and he'd met other Dwarves. He'd heard of Nyss, a few in major cities, but they were never common. He'd never met one, but was smart enough to know one when he saw one. He had to wonder what she was doing here. But that was something for someone above his pay scale to worry about. He'd drop her off, like any package, but it wasn't his job to worry about the bigger picture.<br><br>Daumantas nods to the guards on the gate. He knew them well, of course. They were technically his comrades, but just as importantly, he came through the gates after hours more then most. Part of the job. However, the rider just continues his slow walk toward the church. At the sight of the flame, Daumantas adjusted his path slightly, but did little more, letting the slow steps bring him to the two women.<br><br>"Greetings, Ms. Krupskaya, Ms. Karskaja. Can I help you? I must be on my way soon, as I intend to take this... lady to the priests. They can give her a place to sleep... or a proper burial, if that's what she needs."
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				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Muse</strong> on <strong>23-01-2015, 14:59:22</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/8f/MAT_CAUTHON_by_solitarium.jpg)</div>Vyslav Nikolaivich (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=220839.msg10880224#msg10880224)<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Whoa there!" Vyslav snatched his hat back from the horse before it could get in a good chew and planted ti firmly back on his head.&nbsp; "I'll come with you.&nbsp; Maybe Valentine can help her."&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><br><div align="center">*&nbsp; *&nbsp; *</div><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Still a young man, Vyslav had a knack for finding girl's interested in passion without strings.&nbsp; He looked at Iolana's beautiful face, half dozing in the sensual daze, and wondered idly if just maybe a string or two might not be so bad?&nbsp; Iolana was starting to get serious with an upstanding farmer from a few miles away.&nbsp; It had already happened to most of his favorite playmates...&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No, Vyslav wanted his freedom.&nbsp; There was still a big lot of world out there too see, and he'd barely begun.&nbsp; He woke Iolana with a kiss. The barely blond girl stretched and whispered, “ready for more, handsome?”&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Vyslav chuckled softly, “Always, little one.&nbsp; But you need to get back up to the house before your father comes looking for you.”&nbsp; <br><br>*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Vyslav gave old Gustav a sharp salute and young Alexandrov a sympathetic grin.&nbsp; It wasn't so long ago that he--apprenticed to become a part time watchmen--had stood in those shoes.&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"If there's life still in her, Gustav, we need to get her tended soon, and by someone with more leach craft than I.&nbsp; Or at least more grey hairs."&nbsp; Exposure was a common ailment in these parts.&nbsp; The wisdom of old wives and cunning grandfather's might include some trick that could save the girl's life--maybe her fingers and toes as well!&nbsp; "Have you seen Valentine about?"&nbsp; <br><br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MdG</strong> on <strong>23-01-2015, 16:20:13</strong>
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				<strong>Name:</strong> Oda Vladimira Krupskaya<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Explorer / Ranger<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 4<br><em>Intellect:</em> 3<br><strong>Defence:</strong> 14<br><strong>ARM:</strong> 10<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br>Oda watched Daumantas approach into the golden lamplight, his horse steaming and stamping its hooves in the fresh, tight-packed snow. The girl slumped across the animal was pale from the cold, pale skin flecked with rime-frost. <br><br>"Well met, Daumantas Ivanov," she called "I think this poor woman may yet live. You are fortunate to have found us at this late hour. Valentine Karskaja is with me and she knows the healing arts..."<br><br>She paused, her keen gaze scanned the profile of the strange woman's features. Her razor cheekbones and the sharp point of her ears parting a midnight veil of hair were unmistakable. She was Nyss and Oda knew from experience that it was not often that a Winter Elf lost her way in the icebound wilds of her homeland. <br><br>Her curiosity got the better of her and she could not resist taking a step closer, her boots crunching in the snow. An intricate and bizarre pattern swirled inky-dark on the girl's deathly pale cheek in the manner of the Nyss. Oda peered through the shadows pierced only by the lambent lamplight. Had she seen that design before? <br><br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">At 2015-01-23 09:08:51, MdG (uid: 41210) rolls: 2d6a5 Result: 17 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=70891)</div></div><br>No - not those exact markings. Oda wondered how many times her fingers had walked similar winding paths on the pristine pallor of Nyss skin. She had sought to commit each unique shard to memory and caught glimpses of the labyrinths of fate that traced the ebb and flow of ink. But this one seemed different - brash and immediate - lacking the subtle wind and weave of the tribal shards with which she was familiar. Still, the essential elements remained the same, just pared down. There was no doubt about it - the ink was fresh, doubtless applied at the recent celebration of her coming into womanhood. <br><br>Almost reverently, Oda touched a gloved finger to the girl's cheek, "Daumantas Ivanov, this one is little more than a child in the reckoning of the Nyss. I do not know how she could have strayed so far from the lands of her tribe, though I do know that many Winter Elves claim the untamed north to be the new homeland and legacy of their people."<br><br>The thought was at once fascinating and troubling. It was almost unheard for the reclusive Nyss to venture so close to human civilisation with no apparent purpose.&nbsp; <br><br>"Valechka," Oda called out to Valentine, her eyes wide with wonder, "we must tend to her. I have never before encountered her tribe and if she found it necessary to venture here, there is much about her that we should know."
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				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>24-01-2015, 02:02:52</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/b/ba/Hermit-7.jpg)</div><hr><strong>Name:</strong> Old Gustov<br><strong>Where:</strong> Nynsk - South Gate<br><strong>Tag:</strong>&nbsp; Alexandrov<br><hr><br>Old Gustov watched the figures disappear down the main street of town towards the Church of Menoth feeling the eyes of Alexandrov watching him.&nbsp; The boy kept his silence despite the nervous instinct to ask questions Old Gustav couldn't possibly answer.&nbsp; There was hope for the boy afterall, the old soldier noted.&nbsp; <br><br>"Go tell the Kaptain and have him notify your father," he ordered quietly. "Don't stand around gossiping like an old hen though.&nbsp; Give him your report and get back here."<br><br>Alexandrov snapped a salute and hurried off in the opposite direction of Daumantas and Vyslav.&nbsp; His gaze followed the boy for a moment and then dark forms of the other watchman and their burden before turning weary, but sharp eyes towards his duty.<br><br>"A bad omen that."
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				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dhi</strong> on <strong>25-01-2015, 16:20:00</strong>
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				<strong>Name:</strong> Valentine Karskaja<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Investigator / Alchemist<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 3<br><em>Intellect:</em> 5 <br><strong>Defense:</strong> 12<br><strong>ARM:</strong> 10*<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br>With the first jolt of a single step down the chapel, a spark was ignited. The lung-searing cold and the bloodless color of the young woman slung withers told Valentine she was already dead, but new information contradicted. Analyze. Isolate. What was happening here, and why?<br><br>Nervous fingers rolled over her gloved thumbs and wore down the material before its time. Another jolt of her too-firmly reached leg finding the second step, and what had been a mental spark had grown sevenfold into a flash of lightning. In the afterimage she recalled herself consulting a travelogue of interest.<br><em>....bear striking differences when compared to their Iosan cousins; the Nyss are etoliated, both tall and thin, with skin pigmentation white as powdered bone...</em><br>The single flash of lightning became a bolt. Out of the charged and ready particles of the mind, it branched innumerable bright white forks. Connections were formed. A treatise on the Nyss from her history lessons lit up.<br><em>...shard consists of a small, tribal band, whose population is decided by the conditions of the land. Numbers lost to lean winters are not readily replenished due to... </em><br>By the jolt of the third step each branch was further dividing into fractal fireworks. Electricity crept from the fringes of her mind, and conjured from a briefing she had glimpsed years ago, a warning.<br><em>...aggressively territorial, known to stalk intruders and kill from a distance without making themselves known... </em><br>For just a moment, she paused. This was very dangerous. Eyes trained to pick out the snow owls from the snow and the striped moths from the birch bark scanned the darkness of familiar Nynsk. She continued, and the electrical storm in her brain became harmonious, whole, fully realized. It came to her suddenly why she kept thinking back to a tome on living fossil trees. A symphony emerged from the clamor.<br><br>An ash-blackened glove pinched between her teeth, and she reached her bare fingers to feel the young woman's neck.<br><em>...slow warming of the body to coax the blood back into the extremities before thawing. If thawing precedes the return of blood, tissue will starve for oxygen and die... </em><br>"An enclosed space, out of the wind, so her body heat will return." Valentine was a willful woman. Rychlik had already demonstrated a mind of her own. A contest was entered, Valentine tugging to convince the base animal to bring her cargo off the road, out of the open. "Come."<br><em>...adapted to much colder climate, with an optimal region colder by 20 degrees along both extremes...</em><br>"Let us get her to a bath just above room temperature. Not too warm. Daumantas, who will have a big tub?"<br><br>Valentine's nervous fidgets disappeared, swallowed whole by the mystery making use of her whole brain. The entire mind, grown in too small a cage and inventing its own problems and insecurities for exercise, bristled with vibrant, crackling sense of purpose. Her eyes were bright, her face ten years younger. "There is a tree. The males produce cones, but the leaves are fan-shaped and crenate, like clovers." She pulled to lead Rychlik equally briskly, but a horse could not be reasoned with. Stupid horse. "The root will help her."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Tackyhillbilly</strong> on <strong>26-01-2015, 03:53:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Daumantas Ivanov<br><br>The Postman watched Valentine, raising an eyebrow. This was... odd. She was attempting to tug his horse somewhere. Rychlik wasn't going. The animal was trained not to follow random people, especially with a rider on her back. So... Valentine wasn't getting anywhere. Then she started talking about baths, like he would know about such things. Then she started talking about trees. And now she was tugging his horse, and not getting anywhere.<br><br>"Miss? Could you please stop tugging Rychlik? She is a patient animal, but she will get annoyed eventually."<br><br>He tcchked his tongue, and the Horse set off, not following Valentine, but passing her, giving a bit of a dismissive snort to show annoyance at the woman.<br><br>"As for a large bathtub? I have no idea miss. I deliver mail to the outside of houses. Generally, that does not involve seeing the bathing facilities. But the Lords house should have something like that?"<br><br>Daumantas sets off toward the home, leading the way again.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Pumpkin Seeds</strong> on <strong>26-01-2015, 22:51:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://media.moddb.com/images/groups/1/6/5425/sexy-russian-army-babe-uniform.jpg)</div><hr><strong>Name:</strong><br><strong>Professions:</strong> Ranger / Rifleman<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 4<br><em>Intellect:</em> 3<br><strong>Defense:</strong> 15<br><strong>ARM:</strong>&nbsp; 0<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br>The smell of oil was damp in the cabin.&nbsp; Darkness shrouded the interior except for the lonely flame that cracked at the fireplace.&nbsp; Asinya did not mind the cold of the outside, but she knew well what the cold could do unrestrained.&nbsp; So the fire burned low while she sat by the window.&nbsp; Starlight and memory guided her hands while her rifle was set back together, each piece sliding into the other with a soft click of metal on metal.&nbsp; An oiled rag lay on the table she worked upon, while instruments of the task lay beside.&nbsp; Many times in her service had she cleaned this very rifle and many times in her service had she seen what happened when a weapon was not treated so well.&nbsp; Lovingly she slipped her hand over the wood of the casing, over the sleek metal of the barrel.&nbsp; Only when her ears heard the silence did she look up from her work.<br><br>A lifetime spent in the forest had conditioned her to tune out the noise of the forest.&nbsp; Owls that gave their calls to disturb prey, rabbits tussling in the snow and the baying of a wolf were all known to her mind and ears.&nbsp; Those sounds belonged, but silence did not belong.&nbsp; Around her life and death struggles happened, but tonight those struggles stopped.&nbsp; If life ceased fighting death, then that meant only something greater stalked the woods and laid claim to the silence.&nbsp; A warden of the land, she could not tolerate such disturbance.&nbsp; She eased the rifle up to her shoulder, adjusting the sling so that she could easily carry the weapon.&nbsp; Butt against her hip she glanced toward the door.&nbsp; A gloved hand brought forth her axe, nestling it against her other hip.&nbsp; To her back was gathered a ready pack, something she had learned to compel in the military at a moment’s notice.&nbsp; Blankets, food and water were among the items along with additional ammunition and a compass.&nbsp; <br><br>Asinya emerged into the night buried inside the old fur coat she had earned so long ago in hunting.&nbsp; Sable fur blew upward against her pale face while hair the color of a blood stained wheat field shifted in front of her eyes.&nbsp; Only her fur hat kept the remaining strands from lifting upward to show the true length of her hair.&nbsp; Against one flap of the hat gleamed wickedly the symbol of the Widowmakers, of her old squad and position.&nbsp; Boots of natural hide coats her feet and around them stretched a wider make of shoes so that her movements might be slow but were steady.&nbsp; The snow would not so neatly claim each step she made while she moved forward to examine the silence and the last noise she had heard.&nbsp; If an end to the nightly chorus had been called, she desired to know the maestro that had made this call.&nbsp; <br><br>--OOC--<br><br>Tracking Roll<br><br>Pumpkin Seeds (uid: 152) rolls: 2d6 Result: 8[/url]<br><br>8 + 5(Per) + 1 (Tracking) = 14<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Muse</strong> on <strong>30-01-2015, 01:45:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/8f/MAT_CAUTHON_by_solitarium.jpg)</div>Vyslav Nikolaivich (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=220839.msg10880224#msg10880224)<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Vyslav put a hand on Daumantas's shuolder and shook his head.&nbsp; "Not the Petru's place.&nbsp; I'm sure the cook would want to indulge us, but the old man can be grouchy.&nbsp; Take her to the inn.&nbsp; They have big tubs in the bath house."&nbsp; 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>31-01-2015, 23:14:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/b/ba/Hermit-7.jpg)</div><hr><strong>Name:</strong> Old Gustov<br><strong>Where:</strong> Nynsk - South Gate<br><strong>Tag:</strong>&nbsp; Asinya<br><hr><br>It does not take you long to find a set of footprints in the snow.&nbsp; They were not easy to find and appear as if the maker was light of step, their imprints barely visible.&nbsp; You do not know how far away the disturbance you heard was from this location but it is clear that one of the combatants survived and moved off towards the road to the west.&nbsp; <br><br>As you follow the light tracks you thank Menoth that no new snow is falling or you may have lost them.&nbsp; The tracks, smallish boot prints, change from the long strides of a runner to a walk after a time and even the steps seem to be growing shorter.&nbsp; You have observed no blood or other signs of injury, but it is obvious that whoever left these prints was ailing somehow.<br>&nbsp;<br>Another ten minutes and a fresher set of horse tracks intersect the footprints on the road eventually leading to an indention in the snow that could very well have been the mark of a fallen body.&nbsp; You see no other signs of the smallish boot prints, but a set of heavy man sized boot prints join the road from the direction of the Dragovich farm.&nbsp; The remaining tracks lead back towards Nynsk.&nbsp; Perhaps your prey was taken there.&nbsp; &nbsp;Pulling your fur lined coat tighter to ward off a sudden chill you continue on towards Nynsk your curiosity peaked.<br><br>“Asinya?&nbsp; That you?”&nbsp; You hear the gravelly voice of Old Gustav call down from the gate watchtower.&nbsp; The old man still had the sight of a hawk.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Pumpkin Seeds</strong> on <strong>01-02-2015, 14:26:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://media.moddb.com/images/groups/1/6/5425/sexy-russian-army-babe-uniform.jpg)</div><hr><strong>Name:</strong><br><strong>Professions:</strong> Ranger / Rifleman<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 4<br><em>Intellect:</em> 3<br><strong>Defense:</strong> 15<br><strong>ARM:</strong>&nbsp; 0<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br>The tracks reminded her of a hunt.&nbsp; A hunt where she had been too young and too careless with her bullets, a newly crowned hunter that had wounded her prey instead of outright killing.&nbsp; Cold and without the moon to guide her, Asinya’s father had made her track the beast.&nbsp; Never waste what nature had provided and never leave an animal to suffer for a hunter’s mistake.&nbsp; She had learned the value of a single shot kill that night, but had also learned to recognize a wounded animal.&nbsp; Long strides showed the power of the creature as the heart pumped out blood to maximize the flight.&nbsp; Then came the downfall and exhaustion of shorter steps and weaker strides.&nbsp; When the compression of snow became larger, she knelt down to trace her fingers over the shape.&nbsp; <br><br>Leather and fur touched the snow before she then angled her fingers to dip into the hooved tracks.&nbsp; A rider of some sort from the depth and then the depth grew afterward.&nbsp; More weight suddenly, in the middle of nowhere.&nbsp; Curious but expected.&nbsp; Asinya rose upward to make pursuit of the tracks that ventured toward the city.&nbsp; At her back the repeating rifle was slung, her hand quietly resting against the butt to keep the weapon from slapping at her.&nbsp; Around her the cold increased, but she had long since grown used to a life of ice and frigid air.&nbsp; Only when a familiar voice called down to her did she give pause.&nbsp; Eyes turned upward to stare at the source.&nbsp; Asinya did not cease moving forward, but continued her calm pace.<br><br>“Just me.&nbsp; Quiet night out in the wood, but you have been busy for such a cold night haven’t you?”<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>03-02-2015, 04:08:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/b/ba/Hermit-7.jpg)</div><hr><strong>Name:</strong> Old Gustov<br><strong>Where:</strong> Nynsk - South Gate<br><strong>Tag:</strong>&nbsp; Asinya<br><hr>&nbsp; &nbsp; A plume of breath was the only indication of the snort Old Gustov gave at your observation of his night before disappearing from sight.&nbsp; A few moments later the city gate cracked open enough to allow you through. The city gate blocked the chill wind found on the open road and promised the warmth of a hearth to sit by. <br>&nbsp; &nbsp; <br>&nbsp; &nbsp; “Not the first body to be found out in a cold night.&nbsp; Won’t be the last.”&nbsp; Old Gustov said matter of fact-ly, “Postman Ivanov and Vyslav were taking her towards the church if you were looking for them.“&nbsp; He indicated the direction with the point of his beard.&nbsp; Once you are inside he wastes no time shouldering the heavy gate closed.&nbsp; It is much work for the old man, but to help him would be disrespectful and you didn’t disrespect Old Gustov.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MdG</strong> on <strong>04-02-2015, 01:47:56</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>Name:</strong> Oda Vladimira Krupskaya<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Explorer / Ranger<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 4<br><em>Intellect:</em> 3<br><strong>Defence:</strong> 14<br><strong>ARM:</strong> 10<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br>Oda was sceptical of the prospect of taking the girl anywhere at all they could be seen. News in Nynsk travelled quickly and its contents could be dangerously elastic. Her own interest in the Nyss was viewed with suspicion - a necessary evil for scouting and trade, but an association that plunged deep in the well of unconscious taboos and ancestral fears. It had been said, out of earshot but often enough times for the essence of those murmurings to have returned to her, that she had a Nyss lover - which was not <em>entirely</em> untrue, though&nbsp; the suggestion that she was shacked up with a Nyss huntress was fanciful - or that she was part Nyss herself - and that was patently false. <br><br>"Wait, Daumantas Ivanov," Oda motioned after the rider, the mare's long gait crunching the fresh-fallen snow, "it may be unwise to draw undue attention to her. Imagine what would be said. We should think carefully of where to take her. With those of her kind, out of sight and out of mind may be best in Nynsk. Secrets here don't travel well."<br><br>She looked to Valentine for support, "Valechka is right - we need to attend to her swiftly, but with discretion." Vyslav's idea of the inn seemed reasonable, but any exposure in a public space would need to be closely managed. "Trust her, she knows how to tend to those who have been caught in the driving snow. If we are to go to the inn, we must ensure that we do not draw the curiosity of the other guests on ourselves."<br><br>Ordinarily, she cared little for the town's internal workings and its petty affairs. But there was something about the presence of the girl that stirred a primal curiosity in her. There were too many tantalising questions lacking answers. If a Winter Elf could turn up unconscious near a human settlement, something was happening out there in the wilds she needed to understand. And with Valentine's singleminded dedication to finding the cause and consequence of all things, she was certain she had at least one ally in this quest.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Pumpkin Seeds</strong> on <strong>04-02-2015, 14:28:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://media.moddb.com/images/groups/1/6/5425/sexy-russian-army-babe-uniform.jpg)</div><hr><strong>Name:</strong><br><strong>Professions:</strong> Ranger / Rifleman<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 4<br><em>Intellect:</em> 3<br><strong>Defense:</strong> 15<br><strong>ARM:</strong>&nbsp; 0<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br>Asinya was not one to linger where the job had been done.&nbsp; Silent as death she moved away from the old man while he struggled to close the gate.&nbsp; There were no pleasantries exchanged or assistance offered just one moment she was there and the next she moved along the snow covered streets.&nbsp; There was no point in the stalk now, no true purpose in making her steps silent.&nbsp; Habits were hard to break though and so she walked with a quiet air to her.&nbsp; Snow did not crunch under her light steps and there would be few steps to follow as she stepped unconsciously where other tracks already marred the roadway.&nbsp; A shift of her shoulders gave the only sound, a simple slap of the butt to her side so as not to startle the small group at the Church.<br><br>“This place does not approve of outsiders.”<br><br>The words were matter-of-fact.&nbsp; Darkness eased away from her while she continued her march forward as if releasing a favored daughter.&nbsp; Against her back the rifle protruded, seemingly too large for the slender woman that held the item.&nbsp; Yet the badge of a Widowmaker gleamed wickedly from atop her fur lined hat.&nbsp; Red like blood and shaped like a tear the symbol was one of honor but also a signal of danger.&nbsp; Despite her small stature, Asinya had ended many lives before tonight and judging from the bodies of those she found living on her father’s land she had no problem continuing.&nbsp; <br><br>“You do well to remove her from this town.”<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dhi</strong> on <strong>04-02-2015, 19:05:07</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>Name:</strong> Valentine Karskaja<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Investigator / Alchemist<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 3<br><em>Intellect:</em> 5 <br><strong>Defense:</strong> 12<br><strong>ARM:</strong> 10*<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br>"Daumantas, listen to me." Her brothers, those physically fit but developmentally stunted specimens who used to put snow down her coat and pull her hair when it was a much tawnier and less mercurial shade of blonde, it was them she was speaking to, more than the postman. "Your duty to render the post safely to its destination is sacred. I admire it. My duty is to perform the healing arts, as I was taught them by the Winter Guard's physicians." Fierce logic had her steely against the killing weather, though the lonesome peaks of her lips measured it a singularly cold evening, and the snowflakes steered by the wind onto the bare skin of her cheeks turned instantly to water on a strawberry flush. A less vain woman would bundle up completely, but she considered herself the equal of any bearded man. "You would not ask me to refrain. But there is a compromise."<br><br>A pause to hear what Oda had to say, though her mind strained to multitask, burst at the seams to talk while she was listening. She had learned, with more difficulty than she had learned any alchemical equation from the most archaic of master, that civil interaction meant waiting one's turn. She nodded in agreement, all the while entertaining that thought in one electrified corner of her mind, <em>Nyss travel in packs and protect their own, like wild-suckled wolves do. </em>When it seemed right, she enveloped Oda's plea. "I will not ask you to relinquish your charge. Deliver her instead to a place I might care for her safely. Discreetly. The way I would help you, when you run afoul of trouble." Her darkly outlined eyes set on Vyslav then, as she <em>knew </em>his kind of trouble wouldn't do to be under the examination of the Petru. "And you."<br><br>Then there was the cold snow down her coat, the unexpected voice tickling the part of her brain focused on whether a warband of Nyss lurked out there in the darkness. Valentine jerked. The first she saw of Asinya was the crimson badge, an animal signal of red teeth and the kill. Rationality had to rally to retrieve her senses. Analyze. Isolate. "It is no trouble. I am Dr. Karskaja, and am caring for this outlier. We will take her away, as you say." A look back, and up, to the much higher stature of Daumantas. "Is that not correct?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Tackyhillbilly</strong> on <strong>08-02-2015, 05:22:22</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>Daumantas Ivanov</strong><br><br>Daumantas blinked. He was cold, it was late, and he wanted a warm bed and a warm meal more then anything else he was likely to get this night. He wanted many more things more then those two, but he was a practical man, and he saw the world as it was. He sighed at the Doctors words, and shrugged his shoulders.<br><br>"Lady Karskaja, I am a simple man. If you have a place where she can be taken care of, lead on. The only bath I know of that is of largish size is the Lord's. Of course, I know little of what people use as their baths."<br><br>He shrugged at her.<br><br>"Lead and I will follow. Though, I should mention... I'm not trying to carry out a sacred charge. I'm not a man for such. Picking up strays on the road isn't even part of my job. It just do what I can to help, Miss. Nothing more."<br><br>He inclined his head to Asinya.<br><br>"And she's cold. If she makes it through the night, then she's hardly my problem anymore. Dr., where would you have me take her?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MdG</strong> on <strong>12-02-2015, 17:59:33</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>Name:</strong> Oda Vladimira Krupskaya<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Explorer / Ranger<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 4<br><em>Intellect:</em> 3<br><strong>Defence:</strong> 14<br><strong>ARM:</strong> 10<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br>It occurred to Oda that taking the Nyss girl anywhere she might be seen would likely be a risk too far. They needed answers before all of Nynsk started second-guessing. Or perhaps <em>she</em> needed answers. Whatever the impulse was, it made her sceptical of going anywhere exposed. But she had a workable solution for that. <br><br>"Daumantas Ivanov, we should take her to the workshop. We can light the stove there, and it is far from prying eyes. Come, you know the way - it is the place at the outskirts of the forest, by the upmountain trail. You came this summer to collect a batch of bear furs."<br><br>The workshop was not the most comfortable locale, but it served her purposes and Valentine's well. With plenty of space and a source of fresh water from the nearby pond, they could work in peace, far from the mundane distractions of Nynsk. But while Oda practised the ancestral art of tanning, cutting, and sewing furs, Valentine's work was esoteric, leaving the air heavy with a pungent, eldritch scent that weighed heavily even on the familiar reek of animal fat and tannin.&nbsp; 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dhi</strong> on <strong>14-02-2015, 03:16:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>Name:</strong> Valentine Karskaja<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Investigator / Alchemist<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 3<br><em>Intellect:</em> 5 <br><strong>Defense:</strong> 12<br><strong>ARM:</strong> 10*<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br>"Then, let's make haste. This way, as Oda says." With the first crunch of her pretty boots into the deeper, rarely tramped snow, Valentine regret the vanity of the autumnal shoes she wore only for the chapel. But, she would survive.<br><br>~ ~<br><br>".... reached as far as his loping ape arm could reach into the hog pen, and of course, the thing turned around and bit him. And of course, since it happened at market, it went into the paper." Valentine stopped, for the dozenth time, to get her bearings in the dark. She had traveled one way in this darkness, but never the other, and so she was ever turning around, regarding Nynsk from a distance. The workshop occurred to her suddenly. "Here. Would you strong boys bring her inside?"<br><br>A pair of rabbits scattered from the heap of lichen so recently scratched from the wood roof as she crossed the barren yard. Only the hardiest of plants could endure what she and Oda did to the soil here. Up on a mound of earth over this killing field, on hinged steps that pulled up to turn away curious bears, a summer's work on vertical slats of rough hewn timbers stood like an unwelcoming fence. In the arches of fieldstone beneath were tucked heaps of lumber enough to endure the long winters of old wives' tales. Valentine put a grain of faith in them.<br><br>The steps creaked to announce Valentine. Through a strong wood door that presented no purchase for mountain cat claws, Valentine began to light everything that could be lit. There was never a shortage of tallow here. Her knit wool button hat pulled away, and the fog disappeared from her breath. The first buttons loosened from her fur-lined greatcoat. A wool blanket that had come back from the sauna hut pilfered from the baskets and spread out over the long seat that could comfortably nestle a body under six feet.<br><br>An unconscious Nyss with no symptoms of exposure was due to arrive. The mind of Valentine was a growling, primeval thunderstorm turning itself out for answers.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MdG</strong> on <strong>14-02-2015, 08:16:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>Name:</strong> Oda Vladimira Krupskaya<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Explorer / Ranger<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 4<br><em>Intellect:</em> 3<br><strong>Defence:</strong> 14<br><strong>ARM:</strong> 10<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br>The wood flooring creaked under Oda's boots, still flecked with snow. While Valentine busied herself with the lighting, she struck flint and tinder and nestled the spark in the cold embers of the morning's fire. The charcoal sputtered in the blackened cast-iron stove, still dark and lifeless, but when the spark finally took purchase in the grey flecked lumps, they leaped to life. Soon, blurred thermals of hot air surged from the phoenix's nest where the fire now blazed. Oda slid the stove panel shut. The workshop was hardly an infirmary, but it would heat up quickly.<br><br>She went to the table where the skins were cut, the trimmings of a lynx's hide still carefully heaped on the side by the sharp, wood-handled knife, standing upright, its blade half-sheathed in the wood. From a ewer she poured out some water in an earthenware cup and set it to heat beside the stove. Then she opened a glazed ceramic flask and poured out five cups of the firewater she distilled herself from rye, which she steeped in juniper aromatic pine needles to lend a playful spice. Enough titillation for the tongue to keep it distracted from the thick and rough spirit. <br><br>"Here," she offered the cups to Valentine and their guests, mindful of the requirements of hospitality. Regrettably, they had no bread or salt, but her firewater could keep out the cold. <br><br>"How has she weathered the cold, Valechka?"&nbsp; She pulled off her gloves and squatted by the side of the work bench, close enough to scrutinise the girl's swept, alien features, and inked trails of the tattoo. She'd never seen a Nyss get so lost, or indeed seem so vulnerable to the elements. But Father Winter claimed all he caught unaware, and not all Winter Elves were&nbsp; trackers or huntresses. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Tackyhillbilly</strong> on <strong>16-02-2015, 08:34:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>Daumantas Ivanov<br></strong><br>Daumantas was the third in... apparently the one giving the job of hauling around unconscious elf girls. There were worse jobs, but as he put down the Elf, he had to wonder if there was anything left for him to do. As he mentioned... this was really over his head. The girls was here, and no longer the concern of the guard, till orders came about her. And Rychlik needed rubbing down and putting away in the stable.<br><br>On the other hand, it was blasted cold outside, and he was never a man to pass up a drink. He leaned up against a wall, and downed the cup, looking at the Elf. He mused to himself quietly, wondering what tonights work would earn him. A reprimand, a commendation, or just being ignored.<br><br>"Some of the boys out to the east and west have heard from the surrounding areas. Supposedly, there are a lot of Nyss moving about, coming down from the Shards. Nobody knows why."<br><br>He shrugged.<br><br>"She might be one of em. If she wakes up, and knows where her kinfolk might be, I can run out a message to them. Unlike carrying elf girls, messages are my job."<br><br>As he finished the cup, he looked at Oda and Valentine.<br><br>"Is there anything else I can do for you? Or should I be returning to the Barracks?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Pumpkin Seeds</strong> on <strong>27-02-2015, 16:54:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://media.moddb.com/images/groups/1/6/5425/sexy-russian-army-babe-uniform.jpg)</div><hr><strong>Name:</strong><br><strong>Professions:</strong> Ranger / Rifleman<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 4<br><em>Intellect:</em> 3<br><strong>Defense:</strong> 15<br><strong>ARM:</strong>&nbsp; 0<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br>“The snow should allow me to follow the tracks beyond where you found her if you are interested in filling your claim, Messenger.”<br><br>The voice was a soft one.&nbsp; Almost like a whisper truly, but a whisper that carried the force of someone used to being heard.&nbsp; Pale eyes of blue peered at the people from the shadows of the interior.&nbsp; Long ago she had produced the repeating rifle from her shoulder.&nbsp; A loving hand stroked the stock of the weapon while she glanced out toward the snow fields.&nbsp; Being inside did not suit her well.&nbsp; To be inside meant that her position could more easily be fixed and her shots more easily predicted.&nbsp; Still there was warmth here.&nbsp; <br><br>“I do not think she is simply a lost girl succumbed to the elements.&nbsp; Something was out there near my cabin.&nbsp; Something that made the animals silent.”<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Muse</strong> on <strong>27-02-2015, 17:26:57</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/8f/MAT_CAUTHON_by_solitarium.jpg)</div><hr><strong>Name:</strong> Vyslav Nikolaivich (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=220839.msg10880224#msg10880224)<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Duelist/Gun Mage<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em><br><em>Agility:</em><br><em>Intellect:</em> <br><strong>Defense:</strong><br><strong>ARM:</strong><br><strong>Feat Points:</strong><br><hr><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Vyslav made a point of helping to get the half frozen girl inside with as little jostling and bumping as possible.&nbsp; When he'd set her down as comfortably as he could, he asked the doctor to call on him if she needed the girl moved or if he could otherwise be of assistance.&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The gun mage settled lightly down in a chair and offered the others a polite nod, eyes running admiringly over Asinya's lovely blond form—beginning and ending with the face as always, but not ashamed to drink in any hint of her form.&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Slipping off his gloves, he took a pull on the fire water and grinned as it burned it's way into his soul.&nbsp; “Now that's a fine drink, Daumantas.&nbsp; My thanks.”&nbsp; He took another pull, but then sat it down for a while, not ready to dull his wits in the slightest with such danger as Asinya implied lurking about.&nbsp; “it would be a pleasure to hunt with you again, Asinya, if the good doctor has the situation under control?”&nbsp; <br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dhi</strong> on <strong>04-03-2015, 08:06:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>Name:</strong> Valentine Karskaja<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Investigator / Alchemist<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 3<br><em>Intellect:</em> 5 <br><strong>Defense:</strong> 12<br><strong>ARM:</strong> 10*<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br>"Astonishingly well." Valentine relinquished her patient's wrist, drew back from hearing how the breath filled her lungs. "She will keep all her fingers and toes.The cold did not do this to her." A heavy bundle of sheaves from the south, only half-unwrapped from the state Daumantas had delivered them, hefted with shoulder-sagging effort and slipped in to elevate the patient's legs. This was how the cutting edge of alchemistry arrived to her, in dispatch form, straight from the stream of consciousness of the remote thinkers like she. <em>Subterrestrial life of </em>appeared in unadorned text as the tuck of the blanket shifted the pile, <em>the influence of cold-hardiness on prey size and prey quality. </em><br><br>A moment's calm reflection as she accepted her reward in spirits, but there was never a time when Valentine stopped to think. For many, the mind was like a single one of these candles. The light was sufficient to get by. There were times when the flame sputtered on something unexpected, only to return. For Valentine the candles were as manifold as they were in the cabin, pouring over their guests, the circumstances, the strange omens of the night, and if one lost direction and flickered, it went unnoticed. "Safety in numbers." Out of habit, she imbibed. It was like mama Karskaja welcoming her home out of the snow with a warm drink, asking her what she'd learned today. And what had she learned?<br><br>"She's Nyss, but a more distant tribe. She has run a long way without rest. Her body has given up the chase, not for lack of practice, but having been run ragged. An ordinary predator would move on to easier prey, and a man would understand the nature of a city. Let us say that it has the determination of a man but the mentality of a beast, and has come from the deep north.&nbsp; She has made it just to the cusp of civilization, seeking safety in numbers, and we carried her in over the threshold. We must assume it pursues still."<br><br>Underneath the luxurious fur padding, unpeeled from the first buttons of her greatcoat, she was even more svelte than first appeared. Not nimble or steely, but tense and brittle like the river reeds that rattled in the wind. Valentine might rattle too, if touched unexpectedly. Easily she was the least able among them to face a monster, but the way her fingers were wringing into fists, the nervous nibble at the corner of her mouth, she had already made up her mind to do it. "This is a tremendous opportunity. We might be the first to experience a creature from the deep norths, beyond the furthest expeditions. You'll join me, won't you?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MdG</strong> on <strong>04-03-2015, 15:52:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>Name:</strong> Oda Vladimira Krupskaya<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Explorer / Ranger<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em> 5<br><em>Agility:</em> 4<br><em>Intellect:</em> 3<br><strong>Defence:</strong> 14<br><strong>ARM:</strong> 10<br><strong>Feat Points:</strong> 3<br><hr><br>"If there is something lurking out in the darkness, and in the cold - and it drove the girl here, we should know of it," Oda agreed. <br><br>She downed her cupful of firewater. Valentine was right. Something strange was happening. "I have never seen a Winter Elf this young stray from her Shard into the lands claimed by humans. No - I have never seen a girl of her kind this young at all. Look," Oda traced the rudimentary design of the girl's tribal tattoo with two calloused fingers, following the elegant sweep of her cheekbone, down into the elfin curve of her jawline, "these are the marks the Nyss dye into their skin. They speak of her Shard and of her life-path, and they say she but recently came of age."&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><br>"I have known Nyss trappers and rangers, but she is not seasoned - her body is not yet hardened by the wilds," she indulged in a wry smile - doubtless they had all heard of, and perhaps even retold and embellished, the tall tales of her fondness for Winter Elves, "but they had all come of age many summers before and knew the land well enough that it posed little threat to them. But the Nyss are fierce in protecting their dwindling numbers and for one so young to venture out..." she trailed off, absorbed in her thoughts. She saw Valentine's detached, methodical gaze scrutinising every detail, every scrap of knowledge which could be discerned. That reassured her. There was something conspiratorial in harbouring a Winter Elf fugitive this close to the frontier of human civilisation and she was glad for accomplices. <br><br>Oda pressed her fingertips to the girl's throat, feeling the shallow breaths and the faint pulse of blood under pristine skin. Like fish in a frozen pond, life stirred beneath the surface - the girl would live.<br><br>"I do not know if she speaks our tongue, but I know enough of hers. When she wakes, we should hear her tale." 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>23-03-2015, 00:16:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<hr><strong>Where:</strong> Forest north of Nynsk<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Hunter or Hunted?<br><strong>Tag:</strong>&nbsp; Everyone!<br><hr>&nbsp; &nbsp;<br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Valentine goes about gathering jars of ingredients some familiar some less and in little time sparks a sticky concoction of paste and dried herbs into gentle haze of a surprising pleasing aroma.&nbsp; She had learned the recipe her first year of schooling and it had come in handy for those with fitful sleep.&nbsp; It should keep the Nyss from waking until their return.<br>&nbsp; &nbsp;<br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;With the girl resting you reenter the chill night air and gently falling snow.&nbsp; It would certainly be beyond Valentine or Vyslav’s ability to follow the winding path Asinya takes through the forest.&nbsp; She does not track back to the location where you all found the girl in the road but leads you to the point where she found the trail near her home on the outskirts of town.&nbsp; To Daumantas and Oda the winding path makes sense as Asinya avoids dense thickets, treacherous footfalls and other hidden dangers that only those familiar with the forests would know of.<br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;By the time you reach your destination the tracks left by the Nyss are nearly obscured by new fallen snow.&nbsp; Lucky for you the girl was not subtle in her passage and between the three experienced woodsmen and women in your group you are able to track her movements away from town, but it is slow going.&nbsp; An hour in you come to a clearing that smells of death.&nbsp; There are dark forms near the center of the clearing that appear little more than unnatural lumps in the otherwise flat space between the trees about thirty feet from the forest edge.&nbsp; The white snow is marred by dark splotches near the lumps in the clearing.<br><br>(OOC:&nbsp; You are on the edge of a clearing with something in the center.&nbsp; Snow is failing softly, but in big flakes making visibility and hearing somewhat difficult.&nbsp; Post what you are going to do and then give me any rolls you would like to be doing…tracking, detection, sneak…etc…etc…)<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Iron Kingdoms RPG (IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Muse</strong> on <strong>02-04-2015, 15:03:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/8f/MAT_CAUTHON_by_solitarium.jpg)</div><hr><strong>Name:</strong> Vyslav Nikolaivich (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=220839.msg10880224#msg10880224)<br><strong>Professions:</strong> Duelist/Gun Mage<br><strong>Damage Capacity</strong><br><em>Physique:</em><br><em>Agility:</em><br><em>Intellect:</em> <br><strong>Defense:</strong><br><strong>ARM:</strong><br><strong>Feat Points:</strong><br><hr><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Vyslav advanced quietly to the edge of the clearing and paused there, with a tree trunk for cover.&nbsp; The old magelcok was held at the ready, against his shoulder.&nbsp; Staying quite nad moving smoothly, the gun mage scanned the clearing with eyes, ears, and even nose.&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>Where are you, varmint...?</em><br><br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">Detection 10<br>Stealth 12 - any penalty for an untrained roll.<br></div></div>
			</dd>
		</dl>
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