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Author Topic: They told me I could be anything...  (Read 79227 times)

maxicaxi

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #45 on: June 26, 2010, 09:28:52 am »

We were always skilled in 'reading' people, understanding their motives and their emotions as if they were written across their brow.
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I have absolutely no idea what's going on in this fort any more. Migrants arrive, they die for some reason, the fort is flooded for another reason, then dwarves go mad, more dwarves die and I'm just laughing in my distress.
you cannot defeat the potato.

Digital Hellhound

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #46 on: June 26, 2010, 10:48:48 am »

Agreed.
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Glacies

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #47 on: June 26, 2010, 11:37:08 am »

Pffft. We killed people. Knowing how they felt was not particularly important. No, we're intimidating.

Silleh Boy

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #48 on: June 26, 2010, 11:38:43 am »

A glance around the crowded pub has realisation dawn upon you, you know exactly what it is that you excel at, and it hasn't struck you sooner as it has been right infront of your face this whole time. You hadn't realised it, but all along you had been reading those you encountered, from the portly tormentor with his impotent rage, to the timid wirey man who had shown compassion. You had seen beneath the civilised masks they wore, read their body language and seen how they truely thought.

It was second nature to you to see when a person feigned interest, to tell when they lied, to gradually work out how they ticked. Nobody could hide their true self from you given time, though a master of the art could prevent you from reading their true self. All about you were men who had lost themselves in this escape from reality, with a handful of women pretending to be drawn to the more influential of the men here.

Every forced smile, every fake guesture, you saw it all.

The common man couldn't hope to hide a thing from you, as you practically knew what they were thinking before they themselves did.

The glance around the room must have appeared to this man like you were weighing up what you had gotten yourself into, when deep down, you were happy to accept. Simple work, something to keep you occupied and fed, it was fine by you as it was in a place that looked like all manner of street savvy types gathered here.

"That sounds like a good enough offer." You smile, despite how it makes your face ache to do such a thing, one hand reaching out to shake the large man's firmly, eliciting a nod of approval from him.

As expected, the work you do is tiring and basic, but you put yourself into it unwaveringly. You clean the floors, you clean the walls, you clean the floors, you clean the tables, you clean the floors again. You help Red, as the silverhaired bartender's name turns out to be, to set people who pass out drunkenly outside, to subdue and drag troublemakers out by their feet. You help Red's wife in the kitchen peeling and preparing food, impressing her with the efficiency you prepare and organise the food.

After meal time has been taken care of, you get a break and the chance to pick left overs from the kitchens, giving you the chance to sit down and enjoy a beer.

Scraps of beef, vegetables, bread and beer, compared to what you knew to be prison fare, you felt like you were eating like a king. Despite how simple this all was, it brought you joy, though deep down you knew that this joy wouldn't last.

Further work through the day included hauling barrels too and from the back room, cleaning the floor, cleaning the tables and cleaning the floor yet again. It seemed there was no end of blood and vomit that ended up on it between the drunkards and the brawlers. By closing time you were tired but satisfied, you had done a good job and overheard plenty of gossip.

You breathed a sigh of relief as you leaned against the bar, watching as the last of the customers wandered off drunkenly into the night. Mulling over what you had heard through the day as Red counted the takings for the day, before counting out a small stack of coins and passing them over to you. "If yer goin' t'work like that every day kid, ye be welcome fer as long as ye wish 'ere." Red states firmly, prompting a small smile from you as you bid him goodnight and make your way out onto the street, aching as you step out into the gaslight illuminated streets, with a full stomach and a fistfull of coins.

You'd overheard a lot while you were working though, from discussions about the local printshops and the new pictures in their windows, the clothing at the local markets, the shipment of tea that had been lost on the way from india, awe over the latest clockworker guild's contraptions, mentions of killers stalking the night streets, and an illegal workers fighting tournament down at the docks.

The night air was crisp and the people on the streets thinning, it was time to decide if you wanted to go back to the shack, or if you had other plans for the night.


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Glacies

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #49 on: June 26, 2010, 11:41:24 am »

Let's go break faces at that thing down at the dock. We need to get ourselves back into a bloodlust, and there's probably money involved too.

Strife26

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #50 on: June 26, 2010, 11:50:15 am »

Home and bed.
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Silleh Boy

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #51 on: June 26, 2010, 06:47:36 pm »

You're torn, you don't know if you'd prefer to rest off the worst of the aches from the day, to speed your recovery, to allow you to be in peak condition sooner, or if you want to make your way down to the docks to see if you can get your hands on some winnings from these worker brawls that they're holding down there.

If nothing else, you know that you could make a few weeks earnings if you're able to do well but at what cost?

Some broken ribs, more cuts, bruises all over your face, body and knuckles.

Your weighing up of the benefits against the potential downfalls involved tells you that you should at least check it out, that you should mingle with the workers, play the part of a new person in town looking for some money, who's interested in seeing how this works to see if you can try your luck with it some time. You can spare a few hours to do this you figure, and if it looks like it'd be easy money, hell, maybe you'll even join in and give those fools a beating they'll not soon forget.

You stride down the road toward the docks, moving in and out of the small pools of light given off by the gas powered streetlamps, rolling your neck casually as you limber up. You figure you may as well jog there.

Your pace quickens as you start to jog, your breathing regular and controlled as you gaze up at the night sky, looking up at the moon as it peeks out from behind the clouds, the glistening stars fading in and out of view as you pass beneath streetlamps.

Something feels out of place though.

It feels as if someone, something is watching you.

You pause, stopping to look around as you narrow your eyes. No light from the buildings, no rooftops that are suitable for somebody to spy on you from nearby. The alleyways are shrouded in darkness and the nightsky... Well, nobody is spying on you from there. They'd need an airship of some form, and you see no telltale lights from one, no patch of cloud or stars blocked out its form.

There's always the possibility that it's a cutpurse or the like in the alleyways, but-

You throw yourself down as something swoops overhead, screeching as it narrowly misses your head, the sound of tiles rattling as something large lands on a nearby house, talons clicking against slate as a large, heavy form edges along the peak of the roof.

You can feel its eyes, burning, beady black eyes focused on you, the faint glimmer of them in the moonlight telling you it's focused on you, and you alone.

What do you do. Do you stand and fight knowing you're unarmed and out manoeuvred in the open, do you make a run for it, do you attempt to communicate with this thing?

sonerohi

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #52 on: June 26, 2010, 07:41:07 pm »

((Did you just send a gryphon to attack us?))

If we are outmaneuvered in the open, get out of the open. Try to fight it through the alleyways.
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Acanthus117

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #53 on: June 26, 2010, 08:58:41 pm »

I agree with sonerohi. Also try to find a rusty lead pipe for a weapon.

That'll be better than nothing, I suppose.
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"The pessimist is either always right or pleasantly surprised; he cherishes that which is good because he knows it cannot last."

darkflagrance

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #54 on: June 26, 2010, 10:10:44 pm »

Aren't we a marksman? Try to find something we can use to cripple its weak spots from cover.
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Acanthus117

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #55 on: June 26, 2010, 10:12:44 pm »

Throwing shards of glass?
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Is apparently a Lizardman. ಠ_ಠ
YOU DOUBLE PENIS
"The pessimist is either always right or pleasantly surprised; he cherishes that which is good because he knows it cannot last."

Silleh Boy

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #56 on: June 26, 2010, 10:24:47 pm »

This thing has the benefit of flight, that in this open area gives it a great advantage you note as you slowly push yourself up from the middle of the road, as you squint, trying to make out what it is exactly that has attacked you.You know it's large, it's perched atop the roof and it has wings and talons. There's any number of things it could very well be, you note as you glance at the nearest alley way.

One thing is for certain, it isn't friendly.

You almost dive for the alley way as you decide to use the fact this thing has to get airborne against it, it takes it longer to become fully mobile than you require. While you may be limited to one mode of transport, you've had a lifetime using it, and it alone to get you around. This thing on the other hand, is likely a lot more reliant upon its wings, wings that wouldn't be able to find space to flap in the alley ways.

Whatever it was, it wasn't giving up easily. It was determined to follow you into this alley way, even if it meant losing use of its wings. The lamplight from the street outlined the creature as it fluttered down from the roof, like a shadow cast in black chasing you where something should have stood. Something with two short, stubby legs, something with a long neck, a head with a beak. Something that looked almost like a vulture that had fallen victim to some depraved madman playing god with it.

Talons clicked against stone as the thing picked up its pace, knocking aside empty barrels as it squawked hungrily, as you turned to run. You weren't fleeing from this thing you told yourself, as you watched the floor for something, anything that would do as a weapon. You just needed some space, a weapon and a chance to turn things further in your favour and you'd see to it that this abomination was put in its place.

A pile of broken planks caught your attention, prompting you to stop, kicking a few of them aside to locate a suitably sized one, one you were pleased to discover had rusty nails poking out of the end of it. You didn't have a great deal of space to swing this weapon in this alley way, but you knew you could make overhead strikes and crack this things skull.

As it approached you stood your ground, one arm held before you as you raised your weapon, your arm used to bait the creature as the easiest part of your body to reach, a tactic that you reinforced further by waving it, temptingly, relying on your reactions to prevent yourself taking injury with this gambit.

Something was wrong though, intelligence sparkled in those eyes as it watched your ploy, as it took a good look at you poised ready to crack it over the head with that plank, it squawked once more, its one taloned foot scratching at the dirt and stone beneath it as it waited for you to make a move.

You had an idea though, you knew that it was smarter than it looked, but it was far from as cunning as you, so you thrust the plank towards it, a deliberately clumbsy attack that allowed it to grab it with its beak, only for you to follow through with this as you put your weight into knocking the creature off balance as you held the plank in its beaked mouth, as you landed atop it, pinning it down.

It squirmed, but to no avail. Upon its back as it was it lacked leverage to throw you off, nothing but wings to buffet you with as it squawked in distress, as it struggled, as it refused to give in to what was inevitable next.

One hand moved to grab the creature by the neck, holding the underside of its beak as you pinned its head against the ground of the alley way, while another sought out a rock. You were not dissapointed as your fingers brushed against one, one that you hefted up, before you struck the creature again and again until it lay still.

It was dead. Its skull cracked by merciless blows as you helped it helplessly beneath you. You knew that you should have felt something, anything toward this act. Cool air washed over your blood flecked arms, You had killed it, and you felt nothing. It was as if this thing was insignifigant to you, as if you had done this type of thing more times than you could count. Just who and what were you?

Stumbling from the alley way, you took a deep breath, wiping away the most visible of the blood on your arms, before you took a good look both ways down the riverside pathway.

Was it wise to continue on to the docks after being attacked like this, was a change of plan in question, or would it be more prudent to get some rest?

Acanthus117

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #57 on: June 26, 2010, 10:26:50 pm »

We should go to the docks, taking a round-about route.

If there's more of those things after us, I wouldn't want them to get us at home.
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Is apparently a Lizardman. ಠ_ಠ
YOU DOUBLE PENIS
"The pessimist is either always right or pleasantly surprised; he cherishes that which is good because he knows it cannot last."

Strife26

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #58 on: June 27, 2010, 12:07:08 pm »

We should go to the docks, taking a round-about route.

If there's more of those things after us, I wouldn't want them to get us at home.
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Ochita

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Re: They told me I could be anything...
« Reply #59 on: June 27, 2010, 12:10:59 pm »

We should go to the docks, taking a round-about route.

If there's more of those things after us, I wouldn't want them to get us at home.
This. Also keep an eye out for any more.
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