From the Ashes We Rise [MERCS RP]

[Cyborg]

It seems the world has gone up in flames. Wars have ravaged places we once felt we could journey without fear. No being can walk down the street without looking behind them to investigate the shadows and noises all around them. This fear grips even the fiercest warriors, these wars bring even the strongest of souls to the ground.

Once proud beings have disappeared from the pages of the story never to be heard from again, that is until now. It is time for warriors and peacekeepers to rise from the ashes and stand strong against the trials and tribulations of this dangerous life.

Castaways, misfits, undesirables find your place here for we accept any and all who can stand beside us and together reach for the brass ring we all desire. We are no longer simply a name in the history books. We no longer are a legend of wars past. We are the present and the future of this world. Despite our numerous differences we all share our identity. We are the Mercenaries and today, ... today we rise again.


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Tears fall on cold concrete as a young woman looks up through a small window at the stars. These symbols of hope, constant reminders of the outside world and her former life, are all that keep the woman alive. Her head falls to the ground, her body weak from starvation and thirst, as her long red hair does little to cushion her against the unforgiving floor. She does not know how long she has been in her small cell, the days and nights seem to blur together. What the young woman does know is that if she does not get help soon her last sight will be the cell walls. Her eyes begin to close, but a voice prevents her from drifting into an uncomfortable sleep.

It seems we may not have her much longer. Make sure that we send the letter. Ladies and gentlemen she is the key to destroying the last remaining mercenary.

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A messenger walks up to the supposed home of the last known member of the Mercenary guild, Jernath. He places an envelope just outside the door and knocks before leaving back to his boss.

[Sporty]

The low murmur of voices in the dim tavern was briefly interrupted by the sharp clatter of coins on the bar counter. The farmhand glanced up from his drink to catch the approach of a muscular young woman, armed, armored and looking quite pleased with herself. He nudged over a bit as the mercenary sat down beside him.

"And that," Ember declared, "was my last job in this town. For now, anyway." She smirked and patted the newly-filled coin pouch at her waist. "Next stop is the Mercenary Guild."

The young man snorted. "You're still chasing after that guild? Sparky, you and I both know it's been dead for a while now. There isn't a Mercenary Guild anymore, and you're better off just sticking with your folks."

Ember's smirk didn't waver. "Oh, I doubt that. The Guild was once the biggest band of mercenaries this side of Dunburrow. What could have happened to it? You think all the members got killed off? Up and retired?" She shook her head. "Nah, there's bound to be some of 'em still out there, and there'll always be jobs for mercs, especially in this day and age. The Guild might be scattered now, but that just means I have to find 'em. And I know how to find people." She settled back in her chair, relaxing for the time being. Once she was rested up from the latest job, she'd head out; she was ready, especially now that she had some extra funds for the journey.

The farmhand just shrugged and took another swig of his drink. "Suit yourself," he said. "Just don't get yourself killed while you're out there. I doubt your folks would like that."

[Cyborg]

A bubbly young blonde woman skips through a tavern with two drinks in hand as she bounces across the room drops of alcohol splashes out hitting the floor, causing a waitress to slip behind her. The blonde turns around to see the waitress on the ground. She bends over and points at the waitress.

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE HAAAAAAAAAAA!

A black and red haired woman walks up to the blonde and drags her away by the shoulder while shaking her head. Most of the people in the tavern are watching the two, having heard the blonde's obnoxious laughter.

Did ya see that Red!?! Did ya see?! She fell! HEHEHEHE!!!

'Red' rolls her eyes at the blonde as they reach their table. The blonde sets down their drinks and the two women sit down.

Mindy I love you, but you are horrible at staying off the radar. You always have to cause a scene don't you?[/font]

That way I sees it, if you gots it flaaaaaunt it!

'Red' smirks at Mindy as she again shakes her head. Her girlfriend could be a bit much at times, well actually all the time, but Rose Red loved her anyways. Suddenly an interesting conversation nearby catches 'Red's attention. She puts a finger to her lips to tell Mindy to stay quiet.

"Next stop is the Mercenary Guild."

'Red' slowly turns her head, using her peripherals to see who is speaking. Hearing the person's interest in mercenaries she fears it may be a former teammate. 'Red' sees a young woman with fiery looking hair, the woman does not seem familiar.

Mindy listen very carefully. There's a woman over there interested in joined some Mercenary Guild. We're going to go over there and make friends. This could be an important opportunity for us. We could be making some good money again and who knows maybe we'll have protection from our past. Okay? Be nice, but not too nice.

Mindy sticks her tongue out at Red and salutes her girlfriend. They walk, or in Mindy's case skip, over to the woman.

I'm sorry, pardon my intrusion, but I couldn't help but hear your interest in a mercenary guild. We've been trying to find the same guild and have yet to find any success. Do you have any information on their possible whereabouts?

Red pauses realizing she should introduce herself.

The name's Rose Red, or just Red. Think is my girlfriend Mindy.

Mindy waves enthusiastically at the fiery haired woman.

[PFA]

Things had gotten pretty quiet lately. Mercenaries were busy folk—they would come and go a lot—but lately there seemed to be a lot of going, and not a lot of coming. After he lost everyone he cared about, the Mercenary Guild became Jernath's new home... but now, it seemed, he was all alone, all over again.

Jernath was distracted out of his thoughts by a knock on the door. He raised an eyebrow, going to see who it was. Maybe it was another mercenary? It had been a while since he had seen any of them, so that was probably wishful thinking. At any rate, he peered through the peephole, surprised to find no one there. How odd.

"...Hello?" he called out, waiting for a response. There was none. After a few moments, he cautiously opened the door, peering outside to see if he could spot anyone nearby. Again, there was no one... but what was that envelope?

Well, this is a bad omen, he thought to himself, picking up the envelope carefully. He held it up to the light, trying to see what was inside. As far as he could tell, it was just a letter... but he still took great care in opening it, just in case it was poisoned or something. You could never be too careful as a mercenary.

[Cyborg]

[The Letter]

Dear Jernath,

I hope this reached the right person otherwise my last bit of hope may be lost. I don't know if you remember me, it has been a while, but it is Esme. I'm in serious trouble and I need your help. I've stumbled upond a pretty dangerous group of people. I don't have much information, but I know they are looking for me, and if what the townsfolk say is true they will find me soon. Please come and bring help. I don't know how much longer I can hide.

- Love Esme.

[Sporty]

Ember sat up as the two women approached. She'd seen the blonde one making a bit of a scene earlier, and now that she heard their introductions she couldn't help but think that life was about to get even more interesting than she'd anticipated.

After Red finished introducing herself and Mindy, Ember took a brief moment to flash her friend an 'I told you so' look. "It seems I've already found a couple of friends with the same plans," she said casually. He merely rolled his eyes and went back to his drink.

Ember chuckled and returned her attention to the newcomers, though her smile wavered for a moment as she considered her admittedly sparse amount of information. "Name's Ember, nice to meet ya both. I don't have much of a lead just yet, but I'm planning to start with the old HQ out by the Kage(?) Mountains. Even if the Guild isn't around there anymore, there's a good chance that somebody living nearby will know where they went. If I'm lucky, I might even find an old friend of one of the members who'll be willing to direct me right to them. Mercs need their customers to be able to contact them, after all." She paused for a moment, scrutinizing the pair as she considered Red's words. "If we're looking for the same group, we might as well head out together. If nothing else, we should be able to snag a job or two on the way."

[Cyborg]

Red realizes that Ember lack a significant amount of concrete information. All the woman has is a collection of educated guesses. However regardless of her lack of information Ember could prove to be a valuable ally. Red looks at Mindy and nods to signal that she thinks they should travel with Ember.

Well Ember it's good to see there's someone with some commen interests. I have to ask though why are you looking for the Mercenary Guild specifically? Why not some other group of mercenaries?

Mindy slowly puts her hand up as if she's waiting for a teacher to call upon her. Red looks over at her and motions for Mindy to speak.

Should we really just be joining up with some strange woman we met in the bar? And when are we going?

Mindy had a good point. Should they really just be trusting some random woman? Red felt Ember was a useful at least for the time being. If she pulled any funny business her and Mindy had the numbers advantage.

Don't mind her, she's a tad crazy.

[PFA]

Jernath read through the letter carefully, a thoughtful scowl on his face. Esmeralda Escarlata, one of the other mercenaries... she was a feisty one, always flirting with him, but he hadn't seen her in a long time. And now he was getting an ominous letter like this, which also happened to be terribly vague. She said she was in hiding, but where? She said someone was after her, but who? Was the letter even from Esme at all?

Nonetheless, those in the Mercenary Guild stuck together, and he wasn't about to take any chances. One way or another, he would have to find her, hopefully without getting caught, himself.

Looks like it's going to be another one of those days, he thought with a sigh, going to grab his bow. He'd no doubt need it.

[Sporty]

Ember chuckled. "Don't worry about it, I know it must be a pretty shady-sounding offer." These two had no reason to trust her, really... especially with her current lack of solid information. Still, she'd figured it was worth a shot - if nothing else, they had likely figured out that they had the advantage in numbers (and probably tech, by the way they were dressed) if she were so inclined to try and pull something on them.

For that matter, her friend was probably ready to jump at his first chance to let her know just how much of a gamble this offer was on her part. And she knew it was, but frankly, going on her little trip alone would be one as well. If it were to turn out that Red and Mindy couldn't be trusted, she was confident at least in her abilities to get away from an unpleasant situation involving just two other mercs; until then, the three of them would fare far better than Ember alone against some enemy that might come at them in a much bigger number.

"If it helps, I plan to stick to the more traveled roads and towns, at least until I can get a more solid lead," she went on. "I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that Dunburrow is a dangerous place to just be out roaming these days, whether it's your travelling companions you have to worry about or not." She paused for a moment, recalling Red's earlier question. "And about the Mercenary Guild... I know there are some easier-to-find groups out there, but the Guild has something special to it that the others don't. I have my reasons for wanting to be a part of that." It was a vague explanation, she knew, but she wasn't ready to give away too much about herself just yet. Perhaps once she knew she could really trust the other two.

[Cyborg]

Red listens to Ember. She is right Dunburrow is quite a dangerous land to roam, Red knew that from years of experience in various mercenary groups. Red nods her head in agreement with Ember's statement.

Good idea. If we stick to the roads it will improve safety. We also need to stick together. I know it may be hard to trust each other, but at this point we have mutual goals, namely not being killed and finding the Mercenaries. Oh behalf of Mindy and myself I say I'm in if you are. We will travel with you.

Red offers her hand to Ember.

Now hopefully when we get there they aren't all dead!! Oooooh that'd be a bit of a buzzkill don'tcha think Red?

Mindy is right no one knows if the Mercenaries are even still alive, let alone still a guild.

She has a point. We may be the Mercenary Guild....if no one else is left.

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[OOC] Sorry for the late reply, refuse to let this die! I've just been busy with drag and school the past week and a bit!

[PFA]

Jan 30, 2014 16:47:32 GMT -5 Cyborg said:

Mindy is right no one knows if the Mercenaries are even still alive, let alone still a guild.

She has a point. We may be the Mercenary Guild....if no one else is left.

((>_>
<_<

SPOILER: Click to show

I couldn't resist sorry
man, it's been a long time since I've drawn Jernath (FYI he's exaggerated here because reasons)

BUT ANYWAY))

If he was going to find Esme, Jernath decided, he would first need to get some information. But where would he find it?

I guess I'd probably better head to town, he thought to himself. Surely someone there knows something, right?

With this in mind, Jernath decided to head for the nearest town. After all, Esme's letter mentioned the townsfolk, so surely they would have some idea who she got herself tangled up with, and where to find her.