Vairemont Malveaux

Vairemont's eyes widened in mild surprise, not expecting his inquiries to be pitched back at him. Stunned as he was by the questions, he couldn't help but admire the deadly precision of her questions. She knew just where to strike. It made her all the more compelling to him. "Can't say as I do, actually." It hurt a bit to admit that. Although a few other adventurers he'd fought shoulder-to-shoulder with filed through his mind, most of them had already left by now, or had lives too grand to accommodate the likes of some unknown archer from Gridania. "At least, none who cares about my welfare as much as I do." He smirked. While Avaeris set to the task of loosing her peculiar wolf steed from its pen, Vairemont similarly unlatched the gate to his chocobo, Rodger. It chirped elatedly as he reached up to pet its beak. Drawing the bird out, he began to check the straps on its saddle. He fully intended to ride with the viera, though there was no telling how far. "To answer your question, there is a reason I do what I do. Killing for coin, that is." The elezen reached in his pack and pulled out a treat to feed his bird. Rodger's great beak pecked it out of his hand with startling enthusiasm, causing Vairemont to flinch in surprise. He steadied the animal by grabbing the reins along the side of its head. "Easy, Rodger! You act as though I starve you." He cleared his throat and turned to the viera to finish his point. "I have always been moved to serve others. To aid their plights. It gives my existence some semblance of meaning." Vairemont smiled confidently to discourage any potential looks of pity. "You, Lady Ortana, look very determined about something." The elezen hoisted himself up on his chocobo with a graceful flourish. "You are all sorts of interesting, to start, but moreover I get the sense that you don't ask for help even when you need it. Now I'm not one to force an issue, so if I'm wrong, tell me so and I will happily go away."

No longer welcome? The elezen arced an eyebrow. “That so…” That story, with all its various implications, was specifically familiar to him. Vairemont felt a font of empathy well from within. He knew that he sensed a kindred soul. “Well, that’s a pity to hear.” Feeling the pressure of the nearby Woodwailer’s commanding gaze, who was wordlessly questioning the elezen’s motive for harassing the viera, Vairemont finally offered a nod of apology and stepped out of Avaeris’ path. All he had wanted was her attention. “Very well, Avaeris.” Should the viera resume her trek past the city gate, it was his intention to fall in step beside her. “I concede that I have no right to your business. I’m merely asking.” Vairemont tipped his hat to a female guard standing outside the wall as he passed. Already familiar with him, the armored elezen visibly rolled her eyes. “So, what is your hurry?” he asked the viera. “Gridania not to your liking? I’ve found it rather agreeable to my needs, personally.”

[An IC background story for Vairemont Malveaux and Avaeris Ortana] Some years ago... The viera had scarcely arrived, and now she was leaving? Something had to be done about that. Since Vairemont Malveaux had relocated to Gridania some years ago, he’d grown accustomed to the ebb and flow of adventurers filtering through the forest city. When he wasn’t somewhere in the Shroud earning his coin right alongside them, it had become his pastime to occupy one of the tables in the Carline Canopy and eavesdrop on their conversations. Join them too, sometimes, but it was usually more fun to listen when he wasn’t invited. The myriad travelers frequently brought tales from far away lands, all throughout Eorzea and beyond. Some were more interesting than others. The political turmoil in Ul’dah was always a turbulent choice of topic. Nearly everyone seemed to have rousing misadventures in Limsa Lominsa, though half of those sounded exaggerated or untrue. Refugees were common, especially from Ala Mhigo and Doma--all of them tragic nearly to the point of dullness. Although Vairemont maintained the air of a transient himself, he never seemed to go anywhere. Sure, he would venture to every corner of the Black Shroud questing for gil, but rarely any further, and never for long. He only needed a few more years to round off a decade of veritable loitering in the wooded city-state. One of Gridania’s new arrivals had lately caught his interest. She stood out immediately and for a number of reasons. The first being those ears. Viera, her people were called. Although Vairemont had heard vague references to the secretive race before, he’d never expected to see one in person. Indeed, he wasn’t even certain they were real until she walked through the door with a rapier on her hip. Her almost predatory swagger had caught his eye immediately. The second was her fighting style. Proving herself to be another sellsword traveling through the area, Vairemont quickly found himself working alongside her to cull Ixal incursions along the borders of the forest. She mixed melee with magic in a style he’d never seen used before. Although he considered himself a master with a number of weapons, her prowess made him feel like an amateur. Her name, Vairemont learned, was Avaeris Ortana. He introduced himself when they worked their first contract together. He offered a great deal of small talk and half-jokes all the way, and while she didn’t much reciprocate, she did politely tolerate his company. When she didn’t object to working with him a second time, he took it as a token of friendship. The last was her air of intrigue. Unlike many other travelers pausing in Gridania, Avaeris wasn’t given to socializing. Her race? Exceedingly rare in these parts. Her origins? Unknown. Her ambitions? Anyone’s guess. Vairemont could hardly resist a mystery. So when the time came for her to leave Gridania, he made it his business to know why. After she checked out of her room at the Canopy, Vairemont was already waiting for her at the Blue Badger Gate. His lean form was propped against the wall as she strode near. “Ah, there she is.” Vairemont thumbed up the brim of his hat to get a clear look at her. “Lady Ortana! Surely you’re not leaving already. You’ve barely even begun your career here! Now--now, wait--” The elezen stepped in her path, earning a suspicious glance from a vigilant Woodwailer as he prevented her from leaving. “Praytell, you must tell me where you’re going.” Vairemont crossed his arms. “Back to viera-land, I presume?”

Thanks for the support. I'm a little bewildered to hear that I'm always afk, as I was online for no more than two and a half hours over Saturday and Sunday, and I was present the entire time. I did idle a bit when I passed out on Wednesday though, so it might have been then. I edited the wrong message to respond to Katja, but I'll say again not to worry. I did warn ahead of time that I'd be strapped for, uh, time, but I intend to get the majority of this off the ground on Tues and Wed (my days off of work). Keep in mind there are other Vairemonts. I don't have a unique name, haha, but a mix-up is the only explanation I can think of.

I am very rarely afk while online in game, so it surprises me to hear that. D: I was only online once or twice this weekend, to do an instance. I sent out a few whispers but got no replies. Signed out afterward (logged outside a sanctuary so it might have taken a bit) to pay attention to real life stuff. I raid Monday nights, but starting Tuesday I will be available and kicking it into high gear. Edit: Don't worry Katja. I didn't interpret it that way.

Being relatively new to Paladin tanking (just got to level 32), I'm pretty glad that the rotation I figured out for myself pretty much matches that guide Ilwe posted and reaffirms that I seem to be doing it right. I just need a little more practice gauging threat before I start Rage-of-Halone comboing other targets while the first target is still alive and steadily losing threat on me. I didn't read any guides or anything on tanking before I made attempts at it, but I've done warrior/paladin/druid tanking in WoW, as well as lancer tanking in TERA, so I figured it would be self explanatory. Also went on advice from my FC-mates. And I have the advantage of being able to run every new place as a DPS to get a feel for it before I tank it. By the way, welcome to Balmung, Steel Wolf. I hope to run into you soon in the coming days.

Haha, I hope it lives up to your expectations. I am really struggling to have the time for this actually, but I am as resolute as I am resourceful. Very soon here I'll have to start selecting a couple other people to scheme with and help me with operating the story. It really doesn't work out with all the story hinging directly on me. If anyone's interested in helping me run this plot, feel free to contact me. You can PM me, or I'm also reachable in AIM at WitandCandor or Steam at Life in Stasis (Elezen icon). I do have Skype but I hate it so I'm rarely online, though I'll sign onto it if it's easier for someone. Sometimes live chat is easier than a back and forth of PMs, and if I'm not online in the game, I'm usually online via mobile app.

You're not the only antagonist. I think I can arrange something, and I think you'll like it. As a headsup I may be a little scarce this weekend. I've only got about 5 free hours and between myth capping and spending some with the boyfriend, it might be hard for me to get on to RP. However, I think I might be arranging something so that I can RP DURING boyfriend quality time... My priorities, they are the worst.

THAT is an interesting break in the rhythm. The daughter of a disgraced Inquisitor? Who was later mysteriously murdered? I'm about to involve a spy-like figure in the LS, who can play an interesting part in recruiting you. I think I'll have fun inviting you into the fold.

Ahhh, wonderful. Also, love the avatar. Reminds me a bit of DA2's Fenris, who I have a special weakness for. I'm still a bit puzzled on how to involve civilian and non-Ishdardian types in the LS and plot. I'll have to send PMs to you all and bat around some ideas. EDIT: So I've come up with some questions to help motivate the plot and get some characters to meet. I've already PMed some of you with these questions, but if you didn't get the PM (or even if you did) feel free to answer these below questions, either here or in a PM to me. These questions will give us a place to start on how your character becomes ICly involved in this plot. Ishgardians on the lam: What status did your character hold in Ishgard? (e.g. Ishgardian Knight, nobility, peasant, farmer, chocobo breeder, Dragoon, Inquisitor of the Church of Halone, etc). What drove your character to leave Ishgard? What consequences did they face if they stayed? How long ago did they leave? (While it may be easier for civilians to migrate south [with the exception of nobles], the strict nature of Ishgard society makes it morally reprehensible, if not self-endangering, to abandon the Holy See. Knights and Church members may be automatically assumed traitors should they travel Coerthas without leave to do so.) Where has your character been staying since they left? What have they been doing? Non-Ishgardian Allies: What would your character's motivation be for helping the expatriates? (Bear in mind that many of these are deserters of war, and even if they only want peace, they have abandoned their brothers on the front line. There are two sides to every story. Ishgardian civilians may be hunted down as well if they're suspected accomplices--their names could be on a list of missing Ishgardians [noble or otherwise] who may be suspected of aiding the deserters or even being heretics. The reasons Ishgardian civilians would have to leave Ishgard would likely differ from the Knights. How would you want to get involved in helping them? (There are a number of ways your character could become wise to what's going on. Perhaps your PC has become aware of the murders in her area, or someone from one of her guilds has lately gone missing. Maybe you even had a run-in with the Faces yourself and, maybe thinking them bandits, threw down with them [with ugly results perhaps]. This might have even occurred if you saw them attacking someone and dove in to defend them! Or, if you're not a fighting type, you might have just been conducting your own investigation, or one on behalf of the Wood Wailers, the Immortal Flames, or what have you. Just tossing out some ideas.) How and why would Vairemont (or one of the other LS members) find you? (Could well be answered by question 2, or this could follow up the events in question 2, or whatever. I'm not the boss of you.) Antagonists: What is your motivation for wanting to work against the expatriates? (You might be unhappy that refugees are taking shelter in your homeland, you could be working with the Faces of Mercy, or you could be an Ishgardian Knight [who are NOT directly affiliated with the Faces of Mercy, to keep in mind] who has heard something about a hunt for Ishgardian fugitives down south.) Would you want your character to change allegiance during the course of the plot? This could either be betraying the members of the LS, or betraying the Faces of Mercy. How do you want to become involved in the plot? (You could have ties to one of the LS members, for example.)

Just going to compile this list here. I've only been able to find a handful of you in-game! Some of these names haven't posted in this thread but are people I've contacted privately or knew in-game. Bold = Added to Linkshell Italic = Not yet added, special case Salvius Dunois (Rosekitten) Raelisanne Lastname (Brynn) Steel Wolf Byron Mercer (TheWizard) Kelzan Rhiad Crisiet Liautroix Yvelont Navarre (TheLastCandle) Erisande Marchand Kiht Jakkya (Knight Kat) (Have met in game, but not formally added yet!) Darwyn Ulondarr (Nomad Soul) Cerise Valois (Lament) Xydane Vale (Approached in-game, not formally added yet but plans have been made.) Oniyuri Tsukashima (Ami) Character Name? (Cedric) Alouette Somnus For the most part, Vairemont has sought out names he knew during his service in Ishgard (for example, Rhiad was a fellow veteran he knew from the front line, and Liautroix's name became prominent when he, a fellow Knight, was marked for treason and sentenced to execution). Exceptions include Alouette, a co-worker of Vairemont's in a trading company, formerly an Ishgardian peasant, and Erisande, an ally of Yvelont's. Since not all of these names are fellow knights, they leave Vairemont with very few means of having heard about them, let alone getting in contact with them. That doesn't mean you can't be added! It just means we'll have to do some pre-planning. Feel free to post here with how you'd like to imagine your character gets involved with the Ishgardian expatriates, or send me a PM. If your schedule is limited (I know mine is, I'm usually on between 4pm and 9pm CST [with the exception of an open schedule on Tues and Wed]), we can decide ahead of time how our characters came to meet and I can send you an Linkshell invite without having to set aside time for the intial RP dialogue. It could even (sort of) arrive in the mail with a letter if he has reason to trust the recipient, or if said recipient owes him some kind of life debt.

Totally missed this post. Vairemont will need all the help he can get. So far he's weeding out Ishgardians by doing investigations on familiar names and going on the word of others, so finding allies to the cause would need a different strategy.

I agree. And I did miss this thread. Do you already have other people involved? You might consider talking to the leading members of the Laughing Lady for membership as well.

Sure, TheCurls. You wouldn't be the only one.

I would have preferred to hand the LS invites out en masse at a meeting, but it will be difficult to organize anything without knowing who's online, and it would be clumsy to expect everyone to see a post in this thread asking for a time (if we can ever agree on one). So instead I will be handing out LS invites when I meet you personally, and we can meet at some point when a good majority of us are online. I'll have a speech prepared. Please bear with me though. My schedule is limited and this may not move as quickly as everyone is hoping. To counter this I intend to quickly figure out who among us has the initiative to occasionally take the lead and we can jointly figure out some events for the LS. Soon I will also be throwing the LS up onto the LS directory, as I've already made it. Great! I will contact you ASAP, but I have raid tonight. I'll try to find you afterward.