Recompense & Atonement

[rohenna]

She’d heard the rumours. Lendose, the war room, a couple of the commanders were talking about it. The Great Highway - it was still being built; once an Imperial pride, now taken over by Canas, his minions working the ground. The potential for it to open Dasaria to the hordes struck her immediately. The armies could flood in; beyond that, their supply wagons and reinforcements. Dasaria would be lost. It must not be allowed to happen.

Beneath that fact, she sought vengeance for the dead soldiers. And without being entirely aware of it, she sought atonement for herself.

The faces of all those soldiers she had led to their deaths appeared in her mind, as they did every time she closed her eyes at night, every time she saw a family in the streets. A heaviness had fallen across her, one she could not shake. Sleep was elusive. Her appetite was failing. She knew what this meant - had suffered something akin to it before...something had to be done. For those she loved, she could not continue to live this way...it was a burden that must not fall on them, that must spur her to action. She would not be a liability to anyone. Those men and women...their families...A plan began to emerge.The idea had been forming in her mind for some time, and now was the perfect moment to bring it forth.

She sat down at her little desk in her temporary room in Lendose, writing several letters with addresses mainly in Cear, the odd one or two in Morell.

The many nights she had spent watching the shadows of the city had earned her a few quiet alliances. She was going to draw on as many as she could, now. Those who could pick locks, who could move through the shadows, who knew how to set traps and fires and undo things that were done. She addressed one to Soap, though she was not sure it would be acknowledged. The letters detailed financial rewards, for she knew full well that many of these alliances would not act from any sense of moral outrage. They lived in a different world.

"...if you are interested in joining me, I would ask that you meet me in Lendose before the next full moon. You will receive half payment now, half when it is complete. This is a dangerous mission, but I am aware you live with dangers every day, and are therefore more than capable of this task.

And how often is it that someone pays you to destroy something without fear of legal repercussions!?

I look forward to your reply.

Shayde Mel'for"

The letters were dispatched within a couple of hours. She ate sparsely, then lay down on her narrow bed. All there was to do now was to wait for the replies.

((This will be working in tandem with the Vanguard posting...Shayde wants to bring in a small group of her own - anyone who is interested - especially lowbies and new players - MOST welcome!

[rohenna]

In the dark of night, four figures slip down to the Docks in Cear. Anyone who noticed them would have reported four young males boarding a fishing trawler in the hours before dawn, bundled up against the cold of the night air in tunics, cloaks and hoods, but it would be odd that someone might pay them any attention.

The trawler sets off with a basic crew, heading south around the point, then moving west.

[rohenna]

It took her a couple of days to find her sea legs. The constant rise and fall of the ship rolling across the waves lent her a slightly queasy feeling, but nothing that had her heaving over the side as she had dreaded. The four of them helped out where they could, the three women remaining silent as possible, their breasts all bound tightly under their tunics, their hair bound out of sight. They had given the crew false names, hoping to pass as young men, but with the amount of gold Shayde had paid their captain, she believed they would have been happy to accept them if they had announced they were unicorns.

They stuck mostly to the coast, moving out to open sea only as they passed villages and encampments along the shore. The weather was kind to them, and they made good time. The terrain along the coast grew sparser, the deep emeralds and smoky blues of Cear and surrounds giving way to saltbush and vast open spaces, the soil lightening to a pale golden sand.

She watched daily, trying to recall what Kadmiel had told her of his home city as the lands grew increasingly unfamiliar, a growing feeling of excitement in the pit of her belly. The mission was dangerous, but she was anticipating the sight of new lands more than she ever expected. She smiled guardedly at her friends when the crew had their attention elsewhere; Click, Lyran and Selchis.

[rohenna]

Gulashir had a beauty she’d never experienced before. So different from the lush green forests and grassy plains around home, it was vast and dry, its glary whiteness punctuated with the seemingly endless burnt orange sands, bright silks and vibrant fruits and vegetables lining the market stalls. The noise was most overwhelming. Animals braying and snorting, street vendors calling out, so many different tongues and so many people that she had to brace herself as they entered the main part of town.

There was a strange aroma in the air; spices and warm skin and animals and dust. She stopped walking suddenly, breathing it all in. The sensation was dizzying. Her head tilted, storing the memory, her eyes closed as a smile overtook her. It wasn’t...the way she had imagined her travels would come about...but it was still...the chance to at least observe the world beyond that which she had always known. Even now, this early on, she knew she would return home changed irrevocably.

Beyond that it was hot...a smothering heat she had never imagined. Sweat trickled between her breasts, down her back, and she found herself longing for the cool water of the river at Two Bridges with a near physical ache.

They had bought themselves men’s outfits as soon as they alighted from the ship, long sleeved pale linen tunics and loose fitting trousers, broad rimmed hats. Though comfortable, they were not cool, and not for the first time Shayde’s eyes trailed enviously past a group of human women, their dark hair coiled high on their heads, thick black lashes outlining deep dark eyes, limbs free from the bindings of clothing as the gorgeous silks floated and danced around their lithe figures. The magnificent silk colours seemed to hum as if alive.

Once the war is done, she thought, I will return here and take back yards of silk for Jenna Ironback to make us all magnificent gowns. Her breath caught with a longing for the freedom that such a time might bring. She sighed softly. Focus on the task at hand, Shayde. This is your mission.

She turned to the others, signalling discreetly.

“Lodgings. Food. Guide. Stay close.”

[Selchis]

She stood a step behind Shayde, taking in eagerly the sight before her. Never having visited before, Selchis quickly took in that around her. Her eyes darted from market stalls to a nearby inn as a pair of early drinkers exited the door a slight sway to their step.

Her eyes then strayed across the road to a pair of soldiers, Imperial emblems blazing in the sun as they stood chatting between themselves, carefree. Shifting away she spotted a beggar, ragged clothes, dirt and grime covering the man as he asked each passerby for assistance; sneers and spittle were his reward.

A flash of movement and she spots two children running, up to a stall and snatching a piece of fruit each before just as quickly disappearing into the crowd, the stalls owner none the wiser.

Shaking her head, she glances over to her leader and nods, flashing a quick smile she brings a cloth to her forehead and wipes the layer of sweat away then she follows after.

“Lodgings. Food. Guide. Stay close.”

[rohenna]

OOC BUMP: Im just wondering if anyone is up for reviving this old idea, starting from scratch perhaps? We could keep going indefinitely, laying plans and the like, until a DM maybe decides to step in later and help us with the outcome...let me know if you might be interested. Im talking about the larger plot, not just Shayde's little group here. This was the only post I could find on it.

I also can't find the official, original post but here is an excerpt I had in my own notes...

The only constant seems to be the Canites' relentless push to forge Marcus' Great East-West Highway across the hostile desert that separates Dasaria from the Eastern Provinces. Once the project was hoped to be the Emperor's immortal legacy, conceived by the greatest of his Imperial Engineers and executed by his most powerful Geomancers. Now, it is dug mainly by slaves and mindless undead with bare hands and crude tools. Still, day by day it inches ever closer to the Whitesand Wastes, threatening to form a great conduit down which Marcus' armies can pour into the East. It would be best to consider Dars a hostile no-man's-land for now, and any messengers or convoys should be routed well around Caphsta-Oelm. I would also encourage efforts to be undertaken to disrupt the construction of this new highway with any forces we can spare.

[Wired]

I have two threads I'd like to finish weaving.... this 'confrontation in the West' is one of them.... I may have a different venue in mind though.

The other is the fate of the Grey Grimoire, which (potentially) released some of the Witch Sisters of Angskrag's magic back into the world.

[rohenna]

*gets excited* I'll let it be until you make your move then Wired.

[Kell]

The other is the fate of the Grey Grimoire, which (potentially) released some of the Witch Sisters of Angskrag's magic back into the world.

ooc: Alright, let's continue