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Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144] member is offline
[b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 329
Re: Reacquaintance « Reply #30 on Jun 11, 2012, 8:52am »
He felt stung at being called unchivalrous, though it was only true. He was ungentlemanly by times, as lecherous as a man incapable of ogling could be. He always tried to be as selfless as he could be, and as humble as he could be. However, he could be boastful of his abilites as a musician, mercenarial and having forced himself to be self-reliant could easily become self-centred.
Then again he was always fair. He didn't have the luxury of giving special treatment, as he'd recieved very little of it himself. Perhaps it was bitterness that drove him to it but it wouldn't matter to him, he realised, if the person who threatened him had little chance of actually doing him harm. He would come at them with every trick and tactic and ability at his disposal.
He didn't gloat, or revel in suffering or defeat of his enemies, or in besting people. If he was better than someone at something he'd help them if they asked for it, but he'd never hold himself back in any way just to make them feel better about themselves. He considered that to be incredibly disrespectful.
"No, not a murderer, but maybe killing someone by accident is even worse in a way. Like I didn't care enough about them to keep control. But yes, even the most true-to-life songs are hardly accurate." He took a deep breath and dragged his smile up from inside, letting his head clear, reminding himself he was with a friend.
"One favour?" he asked "If we spar again you can give me a chance to practice, but when it comes down to it, when I've had enough practice in your eyes..." he paused and his grin turned lopsided "Don't hold back. So long as I can heal from whatever you dish out, bring it."
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
Kiko Administrator [M:725:2029:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=378&page=1#8679] member is offline
[b]Walk on the edge and bleed.[/b][0:Running With The Pack][1:Wherever I May Roam]
Joined: Sept 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 2,125
Re: Reacquaintance « Reply #31 on Jun 11, 2012, 9:24am »
Kiko laughed at that. She had recovered most, if not all, of her earlier calm. She could still hear Dominic's heart, it was beating a drum-like pattern into his ribs; solid and indomitable like the man. She put her hand on his shoulder once again.
"Are you kidding? I'm still practicing every day, Bard. Every single day. And I know an old man that can sweep me off my feet in less strikes than the strings of your guitar. But, if the time does come, I will not hold back."
Kiko cleared her throat. She always came away from meetings with Dominic feeling like a chatterbox or hating the sound of her voice. She had to talk to him, it was the only way to communicate, and well, that was something of a trial for her and probably always would be.
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144] member is offline
[b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 329
Re: Reacquaintance « Reply #32 on Jun 11, 2012, 5:43pm »
Dom began to amble toward the direction of town, smilng just a little and tried to dispel some of the gloom that he'd had around him for a long while now. Being alone hadn't been a new thing to him, but in all his years wandering he'd never felt like he wanted to be anywhere particularly before. But now he was back here, and had bumped into a couple of familiar faces, he felt a little better.
"Heh, I know an old guy like that too. Told me that a man can throw a hundred strikes into an attack, but only one ever counts." That was a good memory, of his earlier days, when walking anywhere alone was terrifying and one of the reasons he often lived hand to mouth was because if he ever had enough money for it to make noise it'd be stolen before he had chance to spend it.
"I hear there's a hot spring somewhere around here. I might go indulge. If we're going to keep meeting to kick the crap out of each other then I'm likely to need some comfort." He rolled his head to loosen some of the tension. After long pause he added.
"It was you, wasn't it, that had them come offer me blue."
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
Kiko Administrator [M:725:2029:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=378&page=1#8679] member is offline
[b]Walk on the edge and bleed.[/b][0:Running With The Pack][1:Wherever I May Roam]
Joined: Sept 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 2,125
Re: Reacquaintance « Reply #33 on Jun 11, 2012, 6:05pm »
Kiko's mouth turned up in a smile that Dominic could not see. But, he could most likely hear it in her voice with his talents.
"Now, why would you think that Bard?"
She had fallen into step beside him her footsteps barely audible against the soft dirt of the path. The bright afternoon sunshine that had suffused the meadow was muted here beneath the trees. Kiko glanced around while waiting for him to reply. She was feeling unusually garrulous. It was not like her to continue a conversation when her throat was already sore, either.
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144] member is offline
[b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 329
Re: Reacquaintance « Reply #34 on Jun 11, 2012, 6:38pm »
Walking for just a moment in silence, he was smiling. With a breezy air in his voice he responded flippantly. "We-ell...when someone approached me in one of the coastal town potshops while I tried to stop my tastebuds from reminding me I was eating week old cat in my 'chicken broth' they said someone had pointed me out as someone who knew a lot of things about a lot of things." His steps took on a swinging, ambling stride, staff clicking lightly each time it touched down.
"I told them I'd be a pretty crappy storyteller if I didn't know any stories. They said that a friend from one of my longer stopovers had said I knew how to find things out, how to talk to people, and that I was less weak than I seemed." He turned his head toward her, the grin spreading, free hand turning palm up.
"So I figure the only people who know I'm not completely useless either hate me or trained with me. So that cuts the suspect list down. So I just straight up asked if it was you. They said no." He chuckled, shaking his head.
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
Kiko Administrator [M:725:2029:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=378&page=1#8679] member is offline
[b]Walk on the edge and bleed.[/b][0:Running With The Pack][1:Wherever I May Roam]
Joined: Sept 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 2,125
Re: Reacquaintance « Reply #35 on Jun 11, 2012, 7:06pm »
Kiko flipped up an eyebrow but she was still smiling. She was no longer a hired sword and the ties of camaraderie were not nearly so sparse as she used to believe. The Wolf's Vanguard needed people. People with eyes and ears in all kinds of places. And the Eastern coast was where Kiko had first landed upon the continent she now called home. It was also where she had joined a mercenary band called, "The Exodus League".
Exodus had a reputation for integrity that was unmatched in the area. Kiko had been accepted by their Commander due to a recommendation from the ship's captain. She had very little choice in the matter at that point in time. And, well, she needed something to battle beside personal demons. Without the men and woman of Exodus she just might have gone mad.
So when the Wolf had first started to recruit members she had traveled east to see if a chosen few might be interested. They were interested. Very interested. And the Vanguard's ring of intelligence gained new eyes along with Dominic's ears.
"Were they? A few might take exception to that. They fool many."
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144] member is offline
[b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 329
Re: Reacquaintance « Reply #36 on Jun 12, 2012, 5:34am »
Dom positively beamed, allowing himself a measure of pride. "If I couldn't tell that they were hiding something then I'd not really be all that useful, would I?" His staff clicked against a rut in the road, which he stepped over calmly. He continued, some of his old geniality seeping out from the place inside that hadn't been dampened.
"So it's been tough, changing focus like that but I'm glad overall. I've kind of lived my whole life for myself. It'd be nice to give something back, yanno? I'm not getting any younger." He consulted his mental map, orienting using the sun and his memory, along with what he'd been told, setting off toward the springs he'd been told about.
"So, I haven't met my contact here yet. Is it you?"
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
Kiko Administrator [M:725:2029:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=378&page=1#8679] member is offline
[b]Walk on the edge and bleed.[/b][0:Running With The Pack][1:Wherever I May Roam]
Joined: Sept 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 2,125
Re: Reacquaintance « Reply #37 on Jun 12, 2012, 11:53am »
Kiko walked along beside him silently while he spoke. She had expected him to excel or she would have never suggested him for the Vanguard. And, she was glad; very glad that it had given him a feeling of accomplishment beyond personal goals. The Wolf, and to a lesser extent Exodus, had given Kiko the same thing.
She shook her head and put her attention back into the here and now. She gave the path, trees, and the area around them a quick scrutiny. No one had passed them on the path, and that was not so surprising. Even with all of Wistvale's new occupants there were still places that were known only by the members of the Vanguard.
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144] member is offline
[b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 329
Re: Reacquaintance « Reply #38 on Jun 12, 2012, 1:06pm »
A tiny hint of the crestfallen deflated him, but he consoled himself that he'd get to the springs later, near dusk when it was quiet. He tilted his head slightly and made a sound of curiosity.
"Oh ho? Sneaky girl, testing me all the time. Well I suppose you're leading this little walkabout now. Should I put on my special hat now or later?" He's flippant, as ever, but reports of reliable message carrying and nuggets of useful intel being turned up show that he's been taking his job seriously. He does keep drawling though.
"I wonder if I'll get any more reward than the warm fuzzies though. Just sayin'" He'd do it for free, he'd never really been one for material possesions. He did anticipate needing to up his medical funding in the near future though.
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
Kiko Administrator [M:725:2029:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=378&page=1#8679] member is offline
[b]Walk on the edge and bleed.[/b][0:Running With The Pack][1:Wherever I May Roam]
Joined: Sept 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 2,125
Re: Reacquaintance « Reply #39 on Jun 13, 2012, 4:34am »
Kiko had not deviated. The path they were on would empty out into wide gully. It was a good place to meet. No one would be following them. Kiko glanced down at the bracer on her arm. She would let the Wolf know when they got a little closer.
"No, Dominic you don't need the blue."
She liked the term he had used for the Vanguard's signature hood earlier. He certainly had a way with words. That was no surprise.
"I know who you are and so does he. And, yes, I suppose I am leading this excursion."
The secrecy might have seemed excessive. Dominic was not going to attack the Wolf or his Vanguard. But, they had not spent the past seven years building up the network by leaving gaping holes in the defenses.
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144] member is offline
[b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 329
Re: Reacquaintance « Reply #40 on Jun 13, 2012, 7:24am »
Strolling along, mulling it over, he already had an idea of who might be running this show. It might even be a purposefully obvious leader to draw heat away from the efforts of those around him. He kept his thoughts to himself though, so as not to seem too smart, or too stupid. Being told to come back to Wistvale was definitely a tipoff.
"Well, I'm looking forward to it. I've got a little request. A side-project if you will. And it seems like events recently are stacking up a certain way. I can do some good for a lot of people, though if I'm honest it's only really three who I give a fly's fart about in the matter." He's become more pragmatic in these past few years. Not cold, exactly, just more practical and wary of making the same mistake twice.
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
Kiko Administrator [M:725:2029:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=378&page=1#8679] member is offline
[b]Walk on the edge and bleed.[/b][0:Running With The Pack][1:Wherever I May Roam]
Joined: Sept 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 2,125
Re: Reacquaintance « Reply #41 on Jun 13, 2012, 7:37am »
A request?
Kiko stopped for a second on the path. The bracer that adorned her left arm was from a set of two. The Wolf normally wore the other one when they were separated so they could communicate without any spoken words.
(Wolf. The Bard and I will be at the rendezvous in a few.)
She was not sure of his exact location but it wouldn't be that long for him to reach them even if he was far away. A wolf could run so much faster.
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144] member is offline
[b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 329
Re: Reacquaintance « Reply #42 on Jun 13, 2012, 9:23am »
Dom nodded, face becoming grave again. His voice was quiet and surprisingly solemn. "I need more information about the Drow. Especially about something called the Cabal. It might not actually be called that but I heard rumours about it." His jaw sets, obvious low burning anger at the core of his motivation.
"They tried to kill one of the few people I'd call a friend, and his daughter. It didn't work out for them." He didn't name names, but she likely knew who he was talking about. "If I don't miss my guess about who we're about to meet, it's likely he was there for the aftermath, and might be able to tell me something."
Love, like Hope, has too few letters for a word so powerful.
Kiko Administrator [M:725:2029:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=378&page=1#8679] member is offline
[b]Walk on the edge and bleed.[/b][0:Running With The Pack][1:Wherever I May Roam]
Joined: Sept 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 2,125
Re: Reacquaintance « Reply #43 on Jun 13, 2012, 5:33pm »
"The Drow?"
Kiko's voice changed quickly.
"Bard... you don't want to have anything to do with the Drow."
Kiko had not been living in Wistvale. She did not stay in town. She was usually of the opinion anyone there could take care of themselves. And, if they could not they had Margrett or the Sentinels to take care of such things for them.
That did not mean she missed what was or had been happening. There was only one person Dominic could be speaking about, only one person that would have dealings with the Drow. Well, technically he was Cathain; a cat person. His name was Chaz. Kiko had saved him from drowning once. She liked him.
“Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench.”
Dominic [M:123:1420:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=382&page=1#14144] member is offline
[b]Let me tell you a story...[/b][0:No encore today][1:You have my attention]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 329
Re: Reacquaintance « Reply #44 on Jun 13, 2012, 6:01pm »
Frowning, the bard turned to his companion and aimed his face to hers, trying to scowl. "See here's the thing. I may not want anything to do with them. But I do want everything to do with my friend, his wife and child continuing to breathe becauase, yanno, selfish." He's still being flippant, but he's obviously gotten a serious bee in his bonnet about it. His voice becomes more solemn.
"I know I can't stop whatever's happening, but if I can just shine a light on it, bring it into the open. They talk so much about intergration but...dammit Ogres and Golems mingle more! And even if their council meant it there's other powers. You know I'm right!" He was almost pleading.
Welcome to The Menagerie. We are a free role playing game with less rules and more freedom. After many years, a couple of hosts and a few different game systems, we feel that less is more. Players get to be truly creative, which in turn leads to more enjoyment in game.
We invite you to join us in crafting our world and look forward to making friends. Should you have any questions, feel free to post in our chat box or ask any of our members or staff.
May you enjoy your stay.
It must be said that this game is the product of continued dedication and friendship.
Grayell: Game inventor and closet basement geek.
Yukiko: Admin and dream-weaver.
Marlena: Admin and promoter extraordinaire.
The Menagerie has enjoyed many incarnations, revamps, reimaginings and renovations and none of it would have been possible without the ongoing support of my friends, the players. Their unwavering loyalty and endless dedication to this project has been stellar.
I would like to thank all admin and staff past and present, in particular Tiberius.
I would like to thank friends and staff no longer with us, and to the few I hold most dear: John, Roland, Alex, Azriel and Jenkins.
Thank you all.
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Our 2nd site archive with: Total posts 70665, Total topics 1819 & Total Members 86.
...or our first site archive with: Total posts 69401, Total topics 1325 & Total members 145
...OR the very humble start of our game at our friends, www.Heroscapers.com.
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