The Chronicles of Vendel Talich
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		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Human Solos =&gt; Topic started by: Dirigible on 01-01-2011, 07:32:46</h2>
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				Title: <strong>The Chronicles of Vendel Talich</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>01-01-2011, 07:32:46</strong>
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				<em>How quaint</em>, Vendel Talich (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=45831.msg4074475#msg4074475) thought wryly as he swaggered through the marketplace of the Eastern Fiefdoms city of Moragia. <em>I'm providing my own travelling music.</em><br><br>And indeed, his pockets and belt pouches jingled quite noticeable as he walked. Playing the part of a dispossessed noble, a proud man stripped of his lands and title by treason most foul sometimes caused problems... but just as often provided opportunities. Such as worming his way into the Baron of Moragia's favours by presenting his tapestry of lies as a woeful tale that earned sympathy, a chance to rifle through the baron's silverware, a warm goosedown bed to spend the night in and the warmer arms of a parlour maid to share it with.<br><br>Nature had seen fit to provide Vendel with the features of an aristocrat; wise brows, a belligerent nose, a defiant jaw, hair like a raven's wing, but the rest was good fortune and a certain ruthless, opportunistic cunning. His gait, the loose-limbed stride of a cavalry officer, was acquired through careful study and imitation; his signet ring, the name of a fallen house and the broadsword and duelling dirk on his hips were taken from a man he had slain under the guise of a duel. He wore simple clothing that endeavoured to look of high-quality but travel-worn, as suited his false persona; a dark coloured tunic that pulled taut across his broad shoulders and was double-belted around his trim waist, soft leather leggings and sleeves that came loosely to his elbows, revealing thick-muscled and scarred forearms.<br><br>(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5085/5311136411_bf469d1854.jpg)<br><br>The marketplace was centred around a belltower, and walled on all sides by looming timber-framed buildings of dark oak and pale plaster, windows shuttered tight against the noise or cast wide to welcome in the exotic scents of the uncommon goods traded there. The buildings clung together as if for comfort, steep-roofed window boxes and additions growing together like ivy amidst the chimneys, with the tower's shadow sweeping from house to house like the gnomon of a sundial. Moragia was a bustling town, home to a reliquary and the furthest inland navigable point for the river, so it was always full of pilgrims and merchants. It was the latter Vendel walked amongst, smiling graciously at their obsequious greetings, raising a benevolent hand in greeting, a sharp eye out for fences and black-dealers who could change some of the fine silver in his pockets for less recognisable coins. 
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Chronicles of Vendel Talich</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Prolix Kiss</strong> on <strong>01-01-2011, 08:02:21</strong>
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				Moragia's bustling market, with its mix of vagabonds and miscreants of every type was one of the few places north of the Imperial capital that Eve (http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/a/a8/Eve4.jpg) didn't stand out.&nbsp; A woman like her; athletic, independent, and bearing arms was hardly never unseen or illegal as it was in some of the Eastern Realms but nonetheless Eve could be a bit conspicuous since adventuring and mercenary work was traditionally male dominated.&nbsp; Eve's alabaster skin and short black hair stood out more than the leather and steel bustier or leather pants she wore, the tight garments and comely figure attracting more attention than a peasant's frock would.&nbsp; Still, in town Eve preferred to be less conspicuous when it came to her profession and carried only a long dirk in her belt instead of her swords.&nbsp; Eve had been working her way through the Eastern Fiefdoms, thieving and doing odd mercenary jobs, in the hopes of catching the scent of work that would take her to the capital, only to run out of money in Moragia.<br><br>Picking her way through the churning crowd with a predator's grace, Eve's green eyes were locked on the nobleman's back.&nbsp; At least, on his purse.&nbsp; She had been following him for about five minutes now and though he seemed fit Eve was certain that with the initiative she could snatch the heavy, jingling purse on his hip and make her escape.&nbsp; There were easier targets to be sure, but the promise of a good payoff to get her back on her feet caused Eve to pursue the nobleman despite the greater risk.&nbsp; As she prepared to strike, her hand slowly creeping up her taut thigh to the hilt of her dirk, Eve's breast began to pound with the rush of fear and excitement that always preceded danger.&nbsp; Her skin flushed slightly, Eve abruptly crouched, and then launched herself like an arrow at her target.<br><br>With a swift, adroit movement Eve slashed the purse from the nobleman's belt and caught it in her off hand.&nbsp; Toes of her boots digging into the earth she sprinted through the crowd towards the edge of the bazaar, leaping over a grocer's stand in the process.&nbsp; Eve dared not look back as she reached the alley, knowing her best hope as to come out the other side and then duck into one of the numerous seedy establishments by the docks.
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Chronicles of Vendel Talich</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>21-01-2011, 22:33:10</strong>
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				The sound of a blade escaping oiled leather was like a curse in a cathdral for Vendel's survival-honed ears. Even amidst the many sounds of cloth merchants and tinkers, that unique combination called out to him and turned his veins to burning ice. In the shaved seconds of reaction the closeness of the sound and his own relaxed nerves allowed, he measured the blade by the length of its draw-song; a long knife, not a sword; assassin more likely than watchman, then. A killer in the baron's pay? One of the thieves of Lankerholm he'd defrauded during his stay there? Oh, his list of enemies was far too long to guess them all.<br><br>Muscles and bowels clenched as if through sheer grit they could deflect the stab he anticipated. Vendel began to spin, his arm lashing out to smite the face of his attacker... only to whistle harmlessly through the air, <em>above</em> their head! He twisted his waist to avoid a knife to the kidneys, but the – surprisingly small – assassin wasn't aiming to cut flesh, but purses!<br><br>Vendel regained his balance as the thief sprinted away, taking a moment to grasp the situation. He saw a slender but most assuredly not boyish figure streaking away, in darkened steel and black leathers. He – <em>he</em>! – had been robbed in broad daylight. The man roared in offended hauteur, even as he chuckled inside at the irony of a thief having his ill-gotten gains stolen. “The audacity! The sheer bloody gall!” he bellowed, and burst into motion himself.<br><br>He was a big man, but swift as a cat, and his stride was longer than the cutpurse's. On the other hand, she was uncannily swift and nimble, and had a good few heartbeats headstart, and the crowds that had reeled from her passage were falling back together in an offended hubbub. Vendel scowled, his boots pounding the cobbles as the world dissolved into the simple dichotomy of chaser and prey. He drew his sword, accepting the unbalance of its weight in one hand in exchange for the bow-wave of alarm it created in the crowd, allowing him to race through as they cowered out of his way.<br><br>The stall she had deftly skipped over he leaped onto, sending apples and melons flying everywhere and earning a screeched cuss from the grocer. Vendel sprung off, powerful legs earning him a few inches of progress in the chase as he jumped, and charged down the alley after the thief. His teeth were set, sucking air through them as he galloped, the cold, damp air slapping his face as mud sprayed up with every tread. He hoped the wench didn't know the city better than he did... Moragia's winding alleys and narrow streets could be a maze if she was a local.
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