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Post by Blue Raspberry on Mar 11, 2023 23:38:20 GMT -5
"Raise." The man in armor stated confidently, placing another stack of chips on the table in front of him. The dealer raised an eyebrow. Did this man even know what he was playing? What idiot would raise the bid when he had the least money to gamble with at the table? Whatever, it wasn't him that was going to get his knees broken. The next man at the table, a small man with a short red beard, placed an identical stack of chips on the table, accepting the raised bid. He'd been having a good streak. He didn't mind winning even more money. He'd take this guy to the cleaners and then keep winning. One other at the table dropped out, their already bid chips getting pulled to the center of the table and added to the pot while one more placed another stack of chips down, accepting the raised bid as well though they seemed a little hesitant to do so. Maybe it was desperation that drove them at this point. "Raise." The red-bearded man smirked and placed another stack of chips on the table. The armored guy didn't have enough to accept such a bid. He'd have to drop out. Suddenly, the man took off his helmet and placed it down. "Raise. I bet my armor, the whole suit." He said, a tinge of desperation in his voice. If he didn't win this, he was screwed. Quest Name: Assassination Participants: Requires exactly two people (you and one other, if the other participant does not qualify, they will not gain the reward) Location: Anywhere (Can be repeated for a different region) Post Requirements: 5 post per person, 200 words per post Reward: -15 Security for selected Region (Extra -5 if not your home region) Description: While targeting a regions infrastructure and demoralizing its people are great ways to bring a region to its knees, nothing works better than removing an important member of that region, be it a noble, a member of royalty, a politician or just a normal citizen that keeps the region moving. Your job is to eliminate an member of a specific region with some political importance, ultimately lowering its ability to function and progress. How, where and when you do this is totally up to you, as long as a high ranking official is removed and dealt with. (Note: important NPCs such as those found in the Notable NPC guide cannot be used for this quest.)
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The Tinkertons
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 12, 2023 0:48:46 GMT -5
Betting his armor? The red bearded man looks at his cards again and strokes his beard, contemplating his hand. His eyes cut across the table at his other adversary who looked hesitant to call his last raise. As he expects, the man folds with a grimace. He's already lost a lot of coin this round. Beardie looks at the knight beside him, surmising his confidence. Is this the foolish arrogance of a knight? He continues to puzzle about it while a server comes over and offers him a drink, which he waves away. No, he needs his wits when gambling. Can the same be said of his opponent?
The server then turns to Sir Upticious, offering the tray of drinks to him. "Do you have need of any refreshments, ser?"
Across the room, sitting at a more lavish table, a white-haired woman watches the various betting tables with silver eyes that could cut like a blade. Her black dress befits funeral attire, and the extravagance of the lace would make any noblewoman blush; its perfect form-fit could make any man swoon. Even the Witch of Moonglade would be jealous of such a gown.
She says nothing as she sips on fine wine, smuggled in straight from Zeinav.
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Post by Blue Raspberry on Mar 12, 2023 1:27:03 GMT -5
Why not? They were offering them for free, and it would help soothe his wracked nerves. His heart was beating fast. He'd bet his armor, the symbol of his knighthood. Without it, he wouldn't be able to continue his duties. He depended on it. What the hell was he thinking? It was too late now. He took a drink off the tray and took a gulp.
The bearded man placed more chips on the table to equal the suit of armor. It was worth quite a lot and this establishment didn't allow unequal bids. If he didn't place more chips, he'd be considered to have folded. With the bid matched, the dealer nodded and placed the final card. A 10. Both men let out a gasp and smiled.
The two remaining players showed their cards and the bearded man's confident smile dropped into a look of horror. His hand had been great. A straight flush. Second only to one hand, a royal flush. And Upticious had it.
With tears running down their cheeks, Sir Upticious took his helmet and scooped the entire pot into it. They almost ran to go cash out their chips. They had enough money to pay off their debt and then some! Now was the time to get out of here while they could.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 12, 2023 19:07:54 GMT -5
With Sir Upticious suddenly collecting his winnings and beelining for the door, the woman in black notices from across the room. It's a strange bit of commotion not caused by her men. The dealer cuts a glance toward her with an anxious expression, and the red-haired man slams his fist on the table, angry about his loss. There's quite a bit of confusion while the knight packs up and rushes toward the door.
"Where is he going?" the woman asks sharply. "He's too unlucky to have won that pot. If he did win, he owes us his debts to us first." Her silver eyes lead her head to look towards a man tossing a dagger lazily up and down. "Take care of him."
"No worries, ma'am," the man says, lazily getting up. "He had a bit of wine, didn't he? I'll bet he'll be easy to catch up with." While he wears a smirk, his mistress' stern glance does not waver. He quickly tucks his dagger into its sheath. "Right, I'll handle him." Then he exits the establishment a lot more quietly than the desperate knight did, slinking after him through the sewers and listening out for the clanking footfalls.
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Post by Blue Raspberry on Mar 12, 2023 21:40:09 GMT -5
He had to get out of there. That place could act and look as fancy as it wanted, but everyone there was a cutthroat criminal. After winning a pot that big, he had to leave and go home as fast as possible. They could come collect his debts from him themselves. They would have come for him anyways, but now he'll have the money waiting for them when they do. All he had to do was get out of the sewers and back up onto the streets.
His armor clanked noisily, echoing down the tunnels of the sewer as he quickly walked along. Who cared? It wasn't like he was trying to be stealthy. They knew he was down there already. He took the shortest path possible to get to the nearest exit.
As he walked along, he suddenly stumbled. He felt dizzy. What was going on? He wasn't drunk was he? No, that couldn't be it. He'd only had a single drink and he hadn't even finished it. There was no way he could be drunk just from that. He knew from experience he wasn't that much of a lightweight. So what was going on?
From behind, he heard approaching footsteps and a chuckle. Instinctually, he pulled out his sword and turned to face whoever it was, but his movements were sluggish. His limbs felt heavy and his vision was spinning.
"Hey there. Did you enjoy the drink? It was my own special brew you know." The assassin chuckled as he stepped forward, twirling a dagger in his hand with a smirk on his face.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 13, 2023 12:05:03 GMT -5
The knight's footsteps clanking through the sewers makes it easy to track and follow him through the dark tunnels. Of course, he won't be getting away that easily. They run a tight ship down in there in their illegal gambling ring. Does this knight really think they would be letting him get out of paying what he owes?
When there's a clatter of armor and sputtering from the knight, the mob's assassin chuckles from the shadows. "Hey there. Did you enjoy the drink? It was my own special brew you know." His voice is sinister, and moonlight from a grate in the ceiling shines down on the blade of his daggers, a shimmering warning of what's to come if the knight doesn't cooperate. "Now, mister Lee, you have a couple of options here. You can either go back and pay the debts you owe to my lady patron, or I can sink this dagger into your meaty neck now and take everything you have, even your life. That armor of yours will be easy to sell off to the right buyer. Maybe the boss will keep it for herself and display it down below like a prize. Maybe even a warning to anyone else who tries to cross us. The choice is yours."
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Post by Blue Raspberry on Mar 13, 2023 15:21:57 GMT -5
The drink was poisoned. Damnit, he should have known. That's why he was having a hard time simply standing upright now. He put a hand on the wall to keep himself steady while his sword drooped lower in his other hand. It was taking far too much effort just to keep his grip on it. His armor was heavy. Just standing was suddenly difficult and his head wouldn't stop spinning. Why would they do this? He hadn't even left yet. He hadn't even won the pot yet. Why would they poison him?
"Alright... I'll go back..." Sir Upticious gasped between labored breaths. He had no choice. He couldn't fight in this state. He just had to accept the man's conditions and go back. They could have the money. He was already planning to give it to them anyways.
He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck and felt something warm trickling down his front.
"Ah, such a shame. He refused to come with me. Tried to run for it with the coin, the idiot. That's too bad, he already had enough money to pay off his debts." The assassin said in a mocking tone, his knife sticking through Sir Upticious's neck.
"This armor should sell well though. Lucky me."
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 13, 2023 16:14:22 GMT -5
Honestly, Sir Upticious really should have seen this coming. The mob made it very clear that any attempts to run would be met with death. Besides, he'd never dig himself out of the hole of debt that he got himself in. If they get his armor, then they'll make even more coin. Maybe find an upstart who's just as foolish as the poor Sir Upticious Lee.
"If only you hadn't raised your sword, Ser," the assassin says as he slowly lays Sir Upticious down on the ground. "If only you hadn't run. We had the antidote, you know. You could have gotten it... for a price. But no, you let us drain you dry of your coin and your blood, and instead of rising to the occasion like any noble knight would, you fled like a coward." He withdraws his knife from the knight's neck, and blood pools on the ground while the victim coughs and sputters helplessly.
Then the assassin leans down and whispers in his ear, "The Knights of Duros don't need cowardice like you in their ranks. You weren't even a useful pawn for the boss."
As the last vestiges of life leave the dying knight, the assassin cleans his blade on the man's sash and tucks the blade back into the sheath. An easy job, done well enough. Now to collect the prizes and return to the boss. The first thing the assassin grabs is the coin. Then he starts working the armor off the dead body. The heavy hitters from his group can dump the man in the ocean later.
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Post by Blue Raspberry on Mar 13, 2023 16:55:23 GMT -5
What was all that noise? Did someone drop something through one of the drains into this place? Maybe there was something good to eat! The blue ooze slimed its way down the tunnel, sloshing noisily and excited to see what was there.
They'd been living in these sewers for some time now after escaping from the boat filled with mechanical horrors trying to murder them. These tunnels were a lot safer. The only other living things they usually saw were rats or spiders which tasted pretty good. Other than those, the only food they ate was whatever made its way through the drains above. Sometimes people threw things into them as they walked by, or rain would carry things like leaves and things down there once in a while. It was enough to survive, but the ooze was always hungry and wanted more. This place was also pretty boring. The only thing to do was watch and listen to people outside the drains as they talked. They'd managed to even learn a lot of the words, but it was still boring. They wanted to leave, but they'd probably be attacked again, so they just had to stay down here.
That was, until they saw something ahead. They saw someone running away wearing all black, but they didn't care. What they were really interested in was the man lying on the ground in a suit of armor! They hungrily began to eat, sliding into the metal suit to get to the meal within and growing as they ate. Soon, the ooze was as large as the man had been plus some. Still, they managed to squeeze themself entirely into the metal suit.
"Hm, this is weird." They thought to themself as they experimentally lifted a bit of themself up, in turn raising the arm of the armor. Being inside the suit was forcing them into a shape a lot like...
"A human! I can pretend to be human! Then people won't attack me! This is kind of hard though. Heavy."
They continued to get used to moving the armor, the arms and legs moving oddly. After some practice and effort, they lifted themself into a sitting position and turned the helmet in different directions. They spotted something on the ground. A bag. They leaned toward it and fell over. On the ground, they moved their arm to slide the bag closer and look at it. Whatever, more food! They shoved the bag into the hole in the top of the cuirass, slurping it up.
Like a child learning how to walk for the first time, the ooze slowly got the hang of being inside the armor. They finally managed to use the wall to help them up, standing shakily on their legs. Leaning on the wall for support, they walked away, eager to see the world above the sewer tunnels without having to view it from below.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 13, 2023 17:07:19 GMT -5
As the assassin greedily tries to collect Sir Umpticious' things and get the armor off, he finds that he needs to use both hands and unfortunately has to set the coin collected into a sack down on the ground. "Damn, Lee," he grumbles through his struggling. "You're one hefty guy. Sorry to do it to you. Seemed nice enough."
Finally, he wriggles a greave off the dead knight and falls on his ass with a triumphant grin. "HA! One part down."
That's when he notices something wobbling in the shadows, and he realizes that the final tug that freed the boot from the knight wasn't under his own strength but the strength of something else. A big blue blob is overtaking Lee's body! Well, that makes it easy to get rid of, but- wait, no, not his coin! Before he knows it, the ooze has taken his prize.
"What the hell?! Get back!!" The man whips his dagger out and stabs at the ooze, but the dagger just schlorps right into the surface, and his hand makes contact with the acid. He pulls back, holding his wrist and screaming in pain. "GET AWAY! GET AWAY!"
Fearing for his life, the assassin scrambles to his feet and flees down the sewer tunnel back to the base. Will anyone believe him?? If they don't, he's as good as dead himself!
With no body left behind to prove anything and only a trail of blue slime, the assassin surely does get in trouble with his boss, but he lived to tell the tale... for now.
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