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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2023 16:48:57 GMT
"And here I thought charity began at home - one of those phrases we know did not originate in our family."
Jacob looks thoughtful for a moment, then climbs on the motorcycle. "How about this then, at least for the moment - just remain as you are. I would not expect you to lie on my behalf, but nothing would require you to volunteer answers to questions you have not been asked. Just keep enjoying your quiet time, or scheming time, as may suit you. If I make it all the way home and back again without murderous ambush, I shall find a way to thank you properly. If I don't, well, that hardly concerns you at this point, would it?"
"But if I come back with an idea and a direction, perhaps you'll give me at least the hearing you've given me so far? I'll do my utmost to make it worth your while if you do."
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Post by Admin on Dec 19, 2023 5:55:37 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/f9ddDtN/vincent~png "I doubt that you'll be bushwhacked. They'll want you to reach the castle first; hitting you out here won't have the necessary witnesses and will look cowardly.
"I will be waiting to say 'I told you so', even if my only chance is while we're dueling."Mary turns away from the screen seeing that Jacob is about to leave. The baby begins to cry. The rain pours.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2023 13:57:42 GMT
"Well, who doesn't like smug banter when fighting for one's life?"
As the baby starts to raise its cry, Jacob smirks a little, "And now no one's happy. Must be on the right path." He pulled down his goggles, put on on his helmet, and drew his hood up - it wasn't much, but it was what he had. "Try not to die before you get to gloat."
With that, he kicked the bike back to life and roared back into the storm, itself roaring in reply.
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Post by Admin on Dec 21, 2023 9:03:58 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/m49Z7y8/depositphotos-74499351-stock-illustration-rampant-unicorn-a-illustration-of~jpg The dim light from the convenience store quickly fades as he rides back into the dark storm. But before the shack is lost to sight, he sees Vincent pulling out a deck of cards and drawing one out... Jacob is soon among the foothills, then up through the switchback road winding its way up the range of mountains that shield Arden from the rest of shadow. He passes a small army miserably bivouacked on the side of a valley. He doesn't recognize their flag, and they are not preparing to invade Arden. Upwards, he reaches the first roadblock at the high pass. Rangers man the post but dressed somewhat differently than he remembers and the flag over their barracks isn't Julian's. But the good old Unicorn standard flies, and Florimel's colours have also been run up the pole. The new flag is a golden phoenix ascendant on a green background. A bitter wind blows up the pass. A reminder that winter will be coming soon. The rangers hunch over and keep themselves as warm as they can. "Lord Jacob!" one of the old timers calls to him. "You've returned!"
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2023 11:51:21 GMT
Jacob pauses in the valley long enough to make the standard SALUTE report notes - Size, Activity, Location, Uniform, Time, and Equipment. Troop movements? This close to Arden? At this time of year? Bizarre decisions abound. Like you have any room to talk, Jacob told himself. Pretty sure the last time you encounter Aunt Flora, her specific assessment was that you were a waste of space and oxygen that could be put to better use by her hounds.
But soldiers out and about aren't the only change to adapt to - The Phoenix, Brand's animal, though flying on a green field, is on the perimeter of Arden. As someone who thought of themselves as an Intelligence professional, there was just way too much here Jacob didn't know. But when a veteran called out his name from the post, he saw an opportunity.
"And just in time - I see you've drawn duty at Ice Station Arden." Jacob pulled his coat more tightly around himself and addressed both the older soldier and the others assigned this somewhat miserable duty. "I caught sight of an armed force on the side of the valley not too far from here - is that why the Regent has you out here, or are the lot of you just lucky?" Weird quirk of people - they'll answer questions more directly if they feel like they're correcting your errors.
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Post by Admin on Dec 31, 2023 1:17:22 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/m49Z7y8/depositphotos-74499351-stock-illustration-rampant-unicorn-a-illustration-of~jpg The small army looks to have been in recent combat but now rests. Judging by the excess equipment, they must have suffered severe casualties in the engagement. Their banners are of colour and design unknown to him. "They were Lord Motius'* army, now under command of Lord Xu**. Lord Ryland*** was mixed up in their business, too. King Rinaldo has command of Arden and ordered us to control this pass. There are rumours of forces preparing to invade Amber."* Motius is one of the old, old noble families in Amber. Jacob would have met Harold Motius and his younger twin sisters, the Motius twins, Arden and Nedra. The father is dead, and the family is led by the aged Lady Motius. ** PC new to Amber, Jacob wouldn't have met him. *** Former PC, son of Bleys, Jacob would know him from way back.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2023 23:40:44 GMT
"Lord Motius's force fights bravely, but at a dear cost. They looked to have far more swords than arms to swing them when I passed by."
Jacob looks back down the road, deliberately aiming his question away as his mind raced, "Do we know more than 'forces'? How many passes are being guarded and what do we know of the threat?"
The King and Queen dead and a regent with a good head on her shoulders but little military support - simplest thing in the world would be to cast the army in a ring around Mount Kolvir and then bring the invaders in some other way. Make everyone have to turn around and fight up Kolvir like they were Bleys...and none of us are Bleys.
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Post by Admin on Jan 2, 2024 3:56:51 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/m49Z7y8/depositphotos-74499351-stock-illustration-rampant-unicorn-a-illustration-of~jpg "They haven't told us anything more, so you know what that means. Rinaldo is a sharp one, and the son of Eric* rules the navy, so I'm confident in our ability to repel any threat."* Calvera, another former PC, was placed in charge of the navy by Flora after Gerard was killed. Not that there's much admiraling to do since the storms have made sea travel almost impossible.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2024 12:03:21 GMT
Too many new faces, Jacob mused. Easy to slip traitors and spies into that sort of turnover - I should know.
"Well, it sounds like I'd best get going and see where I might be of the most assistance. Are there further checkpoints ahead that I should know about? Be a bit silly for me to come all this way and end up in the dungeon for lack of a passphrase."
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Post by Admin on Jan 7, 2024 4:25:13 GMT
"There should be no trouble from here to Kolvir. I'll write you a pass for any patrols who might not know you," the ranger says.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2024 11:58:34 GMT
Jacob takes the pass with a nod and a smile.
"Much obliged. Tell you what..." He opens the saddlebags of his motorcycle and loads the contents into a rucksack shoved at the bottom. "Keep the bike. Might be you need to get a messenger somewhere in a hurry - it should potentially get you at least deeper into Arden before it gives up, and should run fine headed in any other direction. Besides, what army couldn't use a little extra Victory?" He punned off the brand of the motorcycle.
He claps the Warden on the shoulder. "May your watch be boring and uneventful." With that, he slings the rucksack onto his shoulders, pulls his hood down to keep the rain out of his face, and starts walking through the woods, grateful at least that the thick canopy slows, if it doesn't stop, the endless deluge on his person. Keeping his eyes focused on the muddy road through Arden, he takes the time to focus some of his other senses. Certainly, his ears weren't going to pick up much more than the endless rat-a-tat-tat of the rain, but his inner senses were of a decent quality to potentially sniff out any magic going on around him, and his glove should hopefully alert him if something comes bounding out at him. Unless the whole storm is magic, and then you're well and truly screwed, old boy.
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Post by Admin on Jan 15, 2024 6:11:06 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/52xnPHV/kailessa~png The guard's eyes light up when Jacob hands the keys over. As he starts his walk down the mountain, he can hear the soldiers rolling dice to see who gets to take it out for a ride first. The trees provide cover from the worst of the rain, but the road is washed by water. The path down often resembles a trail beside a waterfall. A lot of work would be necessary to repair all this erosion once the rains were stopped. Lower in the forest, the undulating land requires fording pools in some places, but there are places where the land rises high enough to allow him to dump the water out of his boots and sometimes there's also a shallow cave to take a break from the rain. Continuing on, he comes to what was once a small stream with a stone bridge crossing it. The stream is now a raging river carving deep into its banks. The stone bridge has been washed away but a great tree has fallen across the river. On the side opposite Jacob, stands a person wearing a heavy robe with a hood that conceals their face, and they hold a wicked-looking sword. Jacob has seen that blade long ago. "None may pass," the woman calls out over the sound of rushing water. He then recognizes the blade and person: his cousin Kailessa, daughter of Benedict and Moonrider out of Ghenesh. Usually spends her time as one of Julian's rangers.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2024 16:15:01 GMT
There is a point, Jacob muses to himself, where one is so waterlogged, that it's really more like swimming than walking anymore. But walk he does, pausing in cover or on high hills to at least give him an opportunity to go from water pouring off of him to merely dripping. As the sound of the roaring river starts to become clear over the torrential rains, he sighs briefly, wondering if it will be narrow enough that he could vault it with a running start. But then he sees the hooded figure on the opposite end of the fallen log...and that sword.
He walks calmly up to his own edge of the log, keeping his hands visible as he does so. "None, Kailessa? Seems a bit overstrict. I have a pass with me, but I'd rather not produce it at range, given the weather and all. Perhaps you'd permit me to come closer and show it to you? While it would bring me closer to Amber, it would also bring me within reach of your sword, so surely that's a sufficient trade-off."
(Two questions: One - with my strength, do I think I could vault the river at this point? Two - is my glove giving me any warnings?)
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Post by Admin on Jan 18, 2024 1:57:26 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/52xnPHV/kailessa~png OOC: Probably couldn't make the jump. No warning - why would there be? Kai isn't attacking him. "Passes?!" she scoffs with a smile. "Where's that pride from the old days? What happened to the boy I trained with under Caine's watchful eye so long ago? Come, show me what you've learned during your time away."She is smiling. Probably considers this a game. Or an opportunity to gauge the skill of a potential rival.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2024 3:59:28 GMT
(OOC: What do I remember of Kailessa from our practices under Caine's watchful eye?)
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