Melkire

"Melkire--" Kill her. KILL HER. The schooner descended into chaos as the sergeant and the helmsman jumped Melkire and seized his arms, as Rings rushed out in front of Dirk and held him back, pleading the way a younger sibling would. The little one retreated to a corner, sat down, and started to shiver. That left Him alone with the whore. "They're right, you know. She needs to die." He grit his teeth. "No." "She's going to betray you. And when she does, they'll find them. Ma. Dani. Cori. Thomys. All of them. Your fault. Unless you kill her." "No. That's not who I am." "Liar. Those children the other day--" "Self-defense. You're talkin' cold-blooded murder. I'm not doing that again." "You let her walk, you're murdering your family." "I'll use 'em if it need be." He closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. Held it. "...thank you."

Slowly, carefully -- leaving the hand with the knife in it where it was, he wasn't stupid -- he dropped the whetstone into one belt pouch and reached into another. He came up with a small bag and held it out to her, held it by the neck between index and middle finger, palm turned up and waiting for the case. "...y'gonna count it? 'cause I've no reason t'roll you f'such a pittance."

It took everything he had - the little one's blissful obliviousness, Rings' aptitude for false-facing, Dirk's love for bluffing, Melkire's inhumanity, Ossy's self-control, the sergeant's stoicism - it took everything he had to keep from blanching. "...oh?"

The scraping stopped. He froze. Glared up at her. "...aye?"

Availability this weekend for pugilist discourses: http://doodle.com/322r5kw9ukzp2y6d

He sat on a chair in the middle of the room, hunched over, scraping away at a knife with his whetstone. The locks on the door... he glanced up in surprise. Only one who wouldn't give a damn 'bout keeping that sort o' racket down'd be... It's her. ...she's early. Her Highness, she said. Not here. The door fell open, and she strode in after it, straight-faced and... he grimaced at the smell. Stinkin' wet Miqo'te was not a pleasant smell to begin with; sea salt didn't help matters. Somethin's wrong. Somethin's gone wrong. Who did he need right now? Dirk, for certain, and... All of them. I need all of them. He closed his eyes, exhaled, and breathed in, and then he was there, his very presence a tangible weight on the room, on the air. So very much alive... he looked back up, stared at her through the holes in his bandana. "Hello, Kink."

In Ul'dah, pamphlets circulated, spread from the Hall of Flames... [align=center]IMMORTAL FLAMES DECLARATION OF FULL PARDON[/align] [align=center]IN THE CASE OF ONE (1) ASKIER MERGREY....[/align] I. Askier Mergrey is hereby pardoned for all acts of terrorism; this pardon is contingent upon his assistance in the hunt for one (1) Garlean Captain Adin Adonis, his former CO [Commanding Officer] and mastermind behind the terrorist plot. II. All military and civilian personnel are hereby acquitted of all charges incurred by association with Mr. Mergrey. III. The authority to and responsibility of bringing to justice the man known as Adin Adonis has been entrusted to one (1) Chief Sergeant Osric Melkire and one (1) Private First Class Kahn'a Odhilkas. In this capacity, they and Mr. Mergrey are to be given full freedom of movement. Signed, - Flame General Aldynn - Flame Commander Swift - Flame Lieutenant Peak Cosigned, - Lord Godbert Manderville - Teledji Adeledji On Vylbrand, a man in dark leathers stands atop a sunken boulder jutting out from the plains of La Noscea. In one hand, a black pearl, banded with gold. Jin'li's. In the other, a strange tower-like device... "This little guy will allow me to set a frequency and maintain it. Imperials are lazy, therefore efficient... And that's all she wrote." "That's it? Flip a switch?" "All linkpearls emit this signal, right? They have unique wavelengths, which prevents them from getting mixed up with other linkpearl signals." "...pearls are the same, shells are unique, yeah, got it. Somethin' somethin', one to a customer." "You'll notice linkpearl signals get weaker the further away they get from each other. This is because the signals can only travel so far before other natural frequencies start to interfere." "Hence why callin' Vylbrand from Gridania is real shite, and why I'll have to wait t'call me mum." "Mm. That in mind, this device here basically takes the linkpearl signal... and bounces it back to its source, much like you would when using the pearl to communicate." "..alright, but how do I know where to go?" "It's a compass, basically." "...so I have to carry this thing with me. Can't, say, leave it in a room somewhere and work out directions with a friend." "Unfortunately. If you want a precise location, you'll want to carry it with you. The needle will start to vibrate and rock back and forth the closer you are, though. So at the very least, you'll know when you're in the general vicinity of the other pearl." "Told you before, there's two others out there... this thing focus one a time?" "...for now, it'd be whichever pearl is closest. I'd have to do a bit more research if I were to figure out a way to isolate specific linkpearl signals." "Nah. This'd be good enough." "You know... I have no idea what the hells I'd call this thing." "Have t'name 'em all, eh?" "For everyone else's sake, yeah." "Could call this 'Tucopiss Tracker #1' for all I care. As long as it works." "TPT. Got it." Osric Melkire looked down at the tracking device, and slipped the black-and-gold pearl into the little slot that had been built to accommodate such things.. Immediately, the needle started spinning, turning faster, then slowing down, coming to a rest to point towards... Limsa Lominsa. I'm comin' for you, Adin. Comin' for you real soon.

LOOK!

More Lalafells can only be a good thing. Means there's more of you for to pyramid on top of each other! Huzzah for not having to wait around as long to ring your retainer bell! P.S. Belated welcome to Balmung.

...PRAISE THE SUN!

Belated welcome! Think you attended the in-character class I held on Sunday... didn't even realize that you weren't a native speaker, so don't worry! You're doing just fine! As you might be able to tell, the RP community is quite friendly and very diverse; learning to roleplay and then enjoying it is just a matter of finding the right group of people to hang out with. Good luck, and most importantly: have fun!

((This post takes place after the events of this thread.)) The captain sat on the deck just larboard of the mizzenmast; with a flick of His wrist, He sent the knife downward again. Thunk. Wrenched it out... Thunk. Floorboard was full of holes, now... Thunk. He reached for the hilt again, took it and eased the blade back and forth out of the wood. He glared at His opposite the entire time. Same brown bandana. Same brown shirt. Same brown gloves, pants, boots... insulting, was what it was. Disgusting. Revolting. He glared at the man for a moment more. "Don't recall invitin’ you aboard." The man smiled where he stood, white teeth immaculate as he leaned lazily to one side, shoulder against a stack of crates that hadn’t been offloaded yet, legs crossed, arms folded. “But of course you didn’t, dear.” The man stood up straight, came sauntering His way, one hand on his hip, the other resting on his cheek as he shook his head and smiled mournfully at the captain. “Oh, Osric, Osric, Osric… you poor thing… poor, darlin’ thing… I’ll explain, shall I? Yes….” The man walked around Him, dropped into a crouch behind Him, draped his arms over His shoulders and around Him, and whispered into His ear… "I was here all along. You were me once, remember? Then you hid me away, put me to sleep for six long, cold years… and then," a hand slipped inside His shirt, “that night with Teryn… with Rose,” palm slid down along his chest, his belly, headed for… “well, that woke me up--" The captain’s free hand shot up and seized the man’s arm, squeezing hard as the knife in His right hand came around to rest the blade’s point over his left shoulder onto the man’s throat. “Not in the mood. Hands off.” A laugh, sunny, graceful, the kind of laugh that was cherished for its flattery. “But of course.” He let go, and the hand receded as the man stood, stood over Him, casting a shadow over the captain, who asked… “You say that woke you up… but that was a week ago, more...” “I didn’t have a voice.” Footsteps sounded out against the wood as the man circled Him. “You wouldn’t let me have one… not until…” The captain closed his eyes. “Sedalyne.” “…a silvery tongue.” The footsteps stopped in front of him; He opened His eyes and looked up. “She taught you, and that time, you didn’t just enjoy it… you learned. So here I am, here, now, the lovechild.” The man bowed with a flourish, arms out to either side, hands open, palms up, wrists bent back. “…I don’t want you.” “You have no choice,” the man replied as he straightened again and met his captain’s eyes, green on green. “Not only am I required for your new… mmm… profession… I am your needs, your wants, your desires, given form and voice and grace. You can’t be rid of me.” The man pirouetted in place, then bowed again. “After all, are we not all a part of you? Is this not how your mind,” a brief wave of the hand to take in the ship, “works?” The captain frowned as the man straightened again. "One vast vessel, crewed by a wealth of experience that you have chosen to divvy up by era and utility. Is that not what we are, the lot of us? Little Ossy, the child; Rings, the thief; Dirk, the killer; Melkire--" “I was done makin’ more of you. Am done makin’ more. You’re the last. Ossy!” Another pair of footsteps sounded as a third man walked forward out of nowhere, neatly and cleanly materializing before them. The same face, but this one dressed in a fashionable blue doublet with grey pants and jackboots. The deck creaked loudly beneath his weight, though he appeared no larger nor any heavier than his twins. His hands were tucked into his pockets, and he beamed at them. The companion turned to the newcomer and smiled. “Ah. It’s you.” “Been a while.” “…it has, hasn’t it? Why are you still following His orders, helmsman? You, strongest of us all; you who, alone among us, could subdue his own master?" The newcomer drew one hand out to point down at Osric. “He has the Writ; His is the Right.” The escort pouted mockingly. “You were always such a stickler for rules.” Osric scowled as he turned his head to look up at the man in blue. “Ossy, this one has his uses, but I’d rather not give’m the run of the ship. He’s to be held in the brig ‘til called for. That understood?” “Yes, cap’n.” He turned to look once more at the man he despised. “And just what am I t’call you?” The whore smiled and bowed again. “Call me Oz.”

((wtb delete function for accidental double-posts; Wizard, pls))

Want to thank everyone who showed up for pugilist courses, both this week and last. You guys and gals have made this a fun and unique experience. :thumbsup: ...apologies for Osric being such a blunt a-hole IC, it's just the way he gets with students! >_> I'll be throwing up a doodle sometime tonight or tomorrow for next weekend, see if we can't find a time that works for everyone, both those who've already attended and those who'd like to but can't due to scheduling. Remember: Cheat to Win, Run to Survive. :tonberry:

Meeting in 10 mins on our vent for event planning! Vent info on our site! ...i really should have posted this earlier... HOURS earlier. >_<

Spit-taked. Repeatedly. Keep 'em coming.

>_> <_< *grabs Dodo and runs*

Pugilist course is on for this Sunday, 4PM PDT (US Pacific) again.

...that is a really big and probably really hard rock.

...Askier insists on getting people into trouble. First Kahn'a... now me... :cry: tl;dr: it technically continues, but officially the Saga is done. Just offshoots, now. Log is supposedly incoming, by the by. My comp crashed, Haeden 90k'd, and Askier is Askier, so it might be a while. Eyes open, folks. :thumbsup:

BUTTONS! HI! ...please don't hurt me, Mr. Scoopers...

Only if everyone else gets to use The Flash.

No Aya. Don't resist it. Give in! Give in! This, this! I think we're all very interested to see what people at the Quicksand get up to when they think others aren't looking!

*grumbles* yes, please, we'd love to be co-opted, go right ahead... In all seriousness, C'Kayah has already had a minor, if brief, run-in with the crew; working him in wouldn't be too hard given that.

Really awed to see all the interest. Zhavi's right, you guys are great. Apples and a spear.