Prepare for the #LodanRespawn2024 Existing characters may choose to be displace from/have memories of different timelines, thereby allowing returning members the option to retcon their whole character. These changes are the result of the "Unnatural Fog" plot device that is running between now and the Respawn. The plot is simple: no matter where your character is, that place is shrouded in a thick fog that suspends time, but not thoughts or memories, so even if they're repeating the same day over and over again, they continue to remember, so each time feels like a new day. For those retconning OCs; this is where new versions of themselves have the opportunity to replace the old versions. Official lore and tree updates will be announced asap
Post by Stephen Leland on Apr 24, 2014 2:18:25 GMT
Charles studied Amon for a moment more, scrutinizing him. Suddenly he smiled politely, leaning back into his chair once more "Ah, so you wish for knowledge on the cores? I might be able to help you with that." Stephen let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding.
"Excellent," replied Amon, returning a small smile. "I just want to find out what they look like, or even how they are built. Barring that, their exact function would be nice." He paused, eyeing the elder Leland carefully. There was no denying the cold turn in Charles' attitude at the mention of the cores.
"If you don't mind me being frank sir, but judging from your reaction at the mention of the cores, something must've happened that affected you deeply concerning them...if you don't mind, let's start there..."
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
Post by Lorraine Blackmoore on Apr 28, 2014 22:54:27 GMT
Thin fingers traveled through the white fur on the underside of the fox at Lorraine's feet. While she appeared to be occupied in attending to her animal's need for attention, her ears were still focused on the conversation at hand and from her peripheral vision she was able to see the movements of the other occupants' hands. For a moment she opened her mouth to speak but then thought better of it, firstly because a soldier did not speak out against those above them, and secondly she was still raised a lady no matter how rowdy she had been and so she held her tongue. Instead, she smiled pleasantly and allowed the two to converse now wishing she had been able to sit closer to Stephen so they could at least have a quiet word or two themselves.
Post by Stephen Leland on Apr 30, 2014 21:55:25 GMT
Charles snorted, a frown showing on his face once again. "Ah yes, I had a core in my position once. Until some bloody fool stole it right from under my nose. I still am trying to find that blasted thief." Charles muttered irritably to himself, missing Miss Blackmoore's motion to convers. It did not go unnoticed by Stephen though "I am sorry Miss Blackmoore, would you like to say something?" He quirked an eyebrow at her politely.
Post by Lorraine Blackmoore on Apr 30, 2014 23:52:08 GMT
She had not meant to be caught but with Stephen's choice, undoubtedly she would be noticed now. With a smile, Lorraine gave a gentle shake of her head then vocalized, "No, it's alright... I forgot what I was going to say anyhow. Please, I do not wish to interrupt your father and Amon." Quietly she wondered if poor Stephen had been hoping she said something because as she sat there she couldn't help but notice that he was just as silent as she. If she left would Amon be in danger? "On second thought, would you perhaps take a small stroll with me around your home while your father and Amon speak? I would love to see more of your home," she spoke up quickly to save from interrupting again. She wouldn't walk too far from them, maybe just outside so she could keep an eye out.
Post by Stephen Leland on May 4, 2014 19:20:15 GMT
Charles eyes twinkled at the suggestion of his son escorting Miss Blackmoore around the house "Well of course!!! He would be utterly delighted! Wouldn't you son??" Stephen raised an eyebrow "Why would-" Charles meaty hand smacked his son's back before letting him finish. After letting out a slightly pained cough, the young patrician nodded his head and smiled politely at Miss Blackmoore "Nothing would please me more." He got up and offered her his arm "Right this way Miss. I will show you the entry room first"
After the two left Charles let out a light chuckle "That son of mine, he'll never learn" Turning back to Amon with a pleased smile he began his explanation on the core "To tell you the truth I do not really know anything substantial on the cores. The one I use to have in my possession was broken. It was stolen from me a while back and I have been on the search for it ever since." Charles let out a heavy sigh.
Amon's heart sank at the news. "Well...dead end again..." he thought with a sigh. Still, he didn't want to leave empty handed...so to speak.
"Sorry to hear about that. If I hear anything about it, I'll let you know," replied Amon. "In the meantime, do you happen to have a clockwork doll, or what is left, that I can look at? Just to give me an idea of how they function..."
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
Post by Lorraine Blackmoore on May 4, 2014 22:13:22 GMT
Lorraine's brows shot up at the spectacle of Charles 'patting' his son on the back. Poor Stephen, her brothers never endured that from their father. She stood with a small smile and smoothed out her tailcoat then looked to the fox who appeared ready to stand as well. Her palm went out above him in a halting manner and the fox relaxed on the ground once more as he would stay in the room to watch things for her more closely. Taking Stephen's arm with her's, she followed him as he lead her away then quietly said when they were unable to be heard, "I apologize for taking you away from that conversation as I honestly do not have much to speak of. Is your father always so... energetic? Spirited perhaps?"
Stephen let out a snort at Miss Blackmoore's comment about his fathers endless supply of energy "Yes, unfortunately he is always like that. It is tiring just to be around him most the time. He certainly is quite the character... And no worries, it was all idle chit chat anyways, nothing to interesting. What I am curious about is how you managed to get a Fox as a pet." He looked at her with interest, curious to know her answer.
Charles nodded "I have some parts. Come, I will take you to them. I appreciate your looking out for my stolen core." The large man got up and led Amon upstairs into his study. In a trophy case there was a clock work doll arm, almost in perfect working condition except for the broken off ends. Along with the arm there was a blackened chest plate and two other unknown pieces. "I found that plate right there on the battle field. Shame that I could not clean it up more but I did my best for it. The arm was given to me by a friend and I can not tell for the life of me what those other two pieces were on a clockwork doll."
"Looks to be some of the internal mechanisms..." replied Amon, looking at the remains closely. As it turned out, he wasn't far off from his prototypes; in fact, he proudly noted, that his models seemed more robust than the older remains in the display case.
"Well, these parts seem too old and not exactly in the best shape to be reused. And if I do find your core, I doubt I could fix it, given how complex and rare the parts are, from what I've heard. I'll make you a deal: as thanks for your time and consideration, I'll give you a clockwork doll as soon as I figure out how to make one, free of charge. Finding your core will just be a bonus. Oh, and Stephen is free to swing by my store when he wants," said Amon with a smile.
"Oh, but please be sure to tell whoever sees your new doll where you got it from; I need to make a profit after all," he said with a wink (or what could be passed as one from a one-eyed man).
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
Post by Lorraine Blackmoore on May 5, 2014 23:13:24 GMT
Ah, ever a common question for those who dared to talk to her. She hung her head for a moment as she gathered her thoughts and attempted to contain her smile. When she lifted her head again she cast her eyes upward to Stephen and pattered his hand with her free one. "He is not just a pet but a good friend of mine, almost like a little brother and as such I will always protect him. He came to my family when I was much younger, perhaps a few years younger than yourself even. You see my father was a veteran of war and after retirement he would often seek to hunt the woods surrounding Lodan. After much begging my father took my eldest brother and I with him on a hunt, and during our ventures we came across a fox's den. We had already come across many beasts by then--small ones that is but the vixen was the last we'd hunted and killed." She paused her story to inhale a breath then looked to Stephen.
"You must understand that we had been unaware that the den was so close and that my father had been ignorant to the fact that this fox had been back on her way to her kits. It wasn't until after the bullet pierced her heart and the silence fell that we heard the squeeling yelps of the babes near. William, my brother, was the first to hear it and rescue them. Since it was our fault they were orphaned we decided we would take responsibility for them or else they would surely die over night." Her gaze looked forward as she collected herself then added, "sometimes I wonder if he ever knew and understood that I had a hand in his mother's death if he would encase my throat in his jaws and clench shut." With a small smile she looked back to Stephen and eyed him a moment. "If I may be so bold to ask, what happened to your eye, sir?"
Charles just looked at the silver haired man dumbfounded for a moment then a huge smile ripped across his face. The huge man grabbed the Merchanic's good hand and firmly shook it. "Today is a glorious day! You have made my greatest wish come true, sir! I can not thank you enough for your kind offer! I surely will brag of you excellent workmanship to every person that I mean! Queens almighty, this is a marvelous offer! Come! Let us have a drink to celebrate!" Without waiting for an answer the man let Amon's hand fall free of his crushing grip then walked over to the drinks cabinet at the other side of the large office "I will pull out my best scotch for you! It's the Balvenie Vintage, aged 26 years. Spectacular stuff! Really knows how to pack a punch!" With a joyous laugh, the man pulled out to glasses with one of his beefy hands and took the bottle into the other, pouring an generous amount of the liquid into each glass as he came back over to Amon, babbling more about what an honor and privilege it is to have him there.
Stephen listened to her tale intently, raising his eyebrows at the appropriate moments and nodding at the others. "My father would love to hear this tale. I am happy that you both have become such good friends, you and your fox. Animals tent to be forgiving creatures, a virtue that I wish most humans shared. There would be less wars in the world if we all just learned to forgive and forget. Alas, I think humanity is too proud for such a simple notion." This was true, he did not enjoy war, since his father enjoyed fighting in them. But he was playing the polite host so he was being far more polite then usual to this woman. "Ah, my eye. Yes, I lost it in an accident. I was having a sparring match with my father and one of us slipped- it was probably me, he is far better at the sport than I am- and I ended up losing my eye over that accident. It's unfortunate but life goes on I suppose." This excuse had been used so many times that it flowed off his tongue without the slightest hesitation. There was an obvious need as to why he needed a cover story for his 'missing eye' so he had given the excuse to many before this woman. No matter, a small trill of fear and distain for his own position always pricked his heart whenever asked about his eye. "Would you like to see the library, Miss Blackmoore? Most of the rooms here are as you would expect from a man of my father's taste: very large and very ornate with far to many decorations if you ask me. The Library is completely my own, seeing how most the books in that room are mine."
Post by Lorraine Blackmoore on May 7, 2014 23:32:05 GMT
"If your father wishes to hear my tale then I will be honored to retell it for him. However, it is not very grand or engaging for a man of his stature if I may be so bold to assume." She fell silent to hear the answer to her question and gave a small nod. "I see, you did not strike me as the sort who sparred or fought. Perhaps if we have extra time you and I might be able to have a round or two at a spar, hm?" She did not apologize for his missing eye nor made any further comment on the matter. This was not because she did not care, but her memories had simply reminded her of how shattered her brother had been when his arm was taken and still he would not speak to her of the thing that had taken it.
At the mention of a library however, she suddenly came to life. "You spar and now you tell me you own a library? To have a library of your own means you surely must read quite a bit. If only you were several years older," she jested then patted his arm. "Yes, I do think it would be very pleasant to see. Have you a favorite genre?"
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Felix had watched the two men depart and remained laying in the spot his master had left him and her swords. The beast was an obedient creature but he was not a dog, only a relative. Curious by nature, he got to all fours, moved to the side of the couch, then cocked his head to the side in order to take the twin swords into his mouth. Afterwards, the little furry beast made his way out of the current room he was in and paused in another room to sniff the air. Many scents filled the vicinity and they led to many places but he did recognize his master's, the boy she left with, and the two that left not long ago. Rather than taking the path that would have led him to Lorraine, the beast turned to the stairs and looked up at them before moving to ascend. To any household member working that chanced to pass by, the spectacle of a fox with swords in his mouth hanging from either side of his face running up the stairs would have been quite the sight. Eventually he came into the study and let himself in then set the swords down near Amon's feet before climbing on top of them and laying down. Felix didn't seem to care if they noticed him or not as he curled up into a little ball of fur before resting his head against his side.
Amon did his best to smile, nod, and agree with whatever Charles was saying. He took a sip of the Scotch and found that the taste was too strong for him. He intended to politely find a way to extract himself, but ended up getting stuck due to Blackmoore's fox deciding that his feet would make a nice pillow. And so there he sat, paitently waiting for Blackmoore's return. (Dang it why...?! )
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
Post by Stephen Leland on May 14, 2014 2:23:17 GMT
Stephen brightened, always eager to find another individual who appreciated literature just as much as him "Well, I do tend to delve mostly into the classics. As a matter of fact, I just purchased Candide by Voltaire and The Prince by Machiavelli. I can not wait to read them, the seem absolutely fascinating. But... my guilty pleasure lies in plays and poetry." A slight embarrassed smile graced his lips as he pulled out his new books from his inside pocket and placed them on a nearby table neatly "My father finds my liking of poetry to be foolish but- I do not know, I have always liked it. There is so much passion behind the words.." His eyes practically flickered with excitement as he talked about his favorite branch of literature.
Charles went continued to drink merrily and flatter his new found friend, unaware of the other's discomfort. "Ah, I use to know a fine merchanic like yourself back in my younger days! He served with me in the war; a great man, splendid with a cannon. It was a shame he died... But you should have seen the man in battle! He was truly a sight to behold!" Charles went on with a dreamy sigh. Nothing made him happier than fresh ears to listen to his war tales.
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