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 Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2005 9:53 pm
Located within Barton, bordering on the slums and and the nicer sections of town, a large building stands. Unmolested by the gangs of the area, it's a large villa that serves as a hostel, practicing quite a bit of legitimate business. It contains a rather spacious common room for the patrons, a well stocked kitchen, a master bedroom for the owners, and 4 other bedrooms for the patrons. The building is a classic white plaster and bare wooden beam design, looking homely with a smokestack from the large fireplace in the commons merrily puffing smoke out at all hours.
However, despite the pleasant appearance, this place is actually the main headquarters for the Life Clan. Beneath the building through a secret passage in the wine cellar, the real construct begins. The place, though brightly lit and well furnished, holds a no-nonsense aura of military precision. All of the walls, floors, and ceilings are concrete, making the place safe and secure from collapses, even if the Villa burned to the ground. The complex actually sprawls out beneath the neighborhood, being quite large, filled with points to secure the building, such as barred doors and dropping gates. It is quite large enough to hold the Life Clan and all of its erroneous members and keep them serviced.
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Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 10:47 pm
Dawn broke softly over Barton. Soft light began to filter into peoples homes, waking the residents from blissfull sleep. The sounds of a thousand and one morning chres beginning could be faintly heard as morning routines began. Children's eyes opened to a new day of wonder and excitement.
That is, for most people. Those who'd been drinking the night before had a slightly different impression.
Stabbing rays of golden pain lanced through the light airy curtains and straight into the closed eyes of Kharan T'il Nazal Posquas. Even after the covers were pulled up over her head, the light still managed to pierce her eyes. She began to swear loudly until she realize that the sound only served to aggrivate her growing headache. Rolling out of bed, Kharan lurched towards the bathroom. After drinking her fill from the faucet, she stripped and showered quickly. Once finished, she dressed quickly in a light tunic of forest green and a long black silk skirt. After braiding her hair in the usual three braids, she opened the door and stepped out of the Master bedroom.
The Life Clan's villa was not often where business was conducted. The fortress and the tunnels beneath were where most of the serious business was conducted. Clan members were free to make their residence in whichever they wished. Since Lumitae, the reigning Life Clan lord had not chosen to occupy the master bedroom in the Villa, Kharan had claimed it for herself. Filling it with her possessions, she had decorated it in a fashion befitting a noblewoman like her. Opening the door, Kharan surveyed the Villa with an imperious, if still hung over, glance. Everything seemed in order as the various servants were beginning their duties of the morning. Deciding things were suitably in order, she withdrew to her room agan and opened the secret door leading to the tunnels. Making her way towards the main conference room, she had faith that both Lumitae and Eradiel were already awake and waiting for her.
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 8:43 am
Eradiel had in fact been waiting. He had awoken many hours ago before the sun had even broke the horizon. Though he knew his compatriots would not be awake for some time, the swordsman insisted on coming to the conference room early every morning. After his daily inspection of the room, and being content to believe that there were no hidden dangers he moved to the work area he had moved from the gymnasium.
He was still weight training when Kharan and Lumitae entered. A wordless nod was all the recognition of their presence that he offered, but then that was almost ritual.
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 9:18 pm
Lumitae had woken up roughly about the same time as Kharan, and had gone about his business, dressing in his heavy, and rather customary armor. A glass of water to clear his throat before he moved on was all that he needed at the moment, though he would be sure to find something much heartier to eat rather soon.
He came out of his quarters, his armor making uniform and neat noises of metal lightly tapping itself as he walked in the corridors. He could move much quieter of course, but it was best to let others think he could not until it was too late. Noble as he was, chivalry had no place in real combat.
He happened to reach the conference room at the same time as Kharan. He held the door open ahead of him to let her through and entered himself, looking cheerful and refreshed from a good night's sleep. "Any pressing business we need to know about for the day?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 11:20 pm
Kharan took a seat on a nearby comfortable chair. She was still somewhat hung over. It wasn't very pleasant and made her a bit more irritable than usual. Taking a crossbow bolt out from her belt and began to clean under her nails with it while she said, "Well, aside from the everyday running of the Villa and the people within, we've got petitions piling up for assistance, a doctrine to spread, and other clans to contend with. Now, I don't know if that's pressing business or not, but we ought to get moving on it nonetheless." Kharan's acidic tone was partially due to the hangover, but she knew that Lumitae and Eradiel would be used to her being short tempered after she'd been drinking the night before. Replacing the bolt in her belt, she rubbed her temples and wondered vaguely where the third one was.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 11:35 am
"The Villa has always cared for itself. I don't foresee that changing anytime in the near future." Lumitae smiled radiantly as he took a seat opposite of Kharan. "The doctrine is spread through our deeds, and clans are only a problem if they make themselves a problem. Though requests for assistance, that one sounds important to me." He had been waving a hand idly as if to dismiss these things, until he got to his last note.
"If there are jobs to choose from, then we are in good times. We can accomplish half our goals right there. What do we have on our plate, then?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 11:53 am
Eradiel, who was previously shirtless for his workout, stood and put down the barbells he had been using. His torso would, like his face, have been be devoid of scarring if not for the large portion of ruined flesh above his heart. Normally, he would not allow this to be seen, but he considered the two in the room as his closest associates. Replacing his shirt and the small bits of piecemeal leather armor he wore, he took a seat with Lumitae and Kharan.
"It might not be long before the other clans start causing us trouble again," he observed in his soft deep tone.
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Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2005 8:23 pm
It had been a long time since Ignacio had a good night's sleep. He had roamed the streets of Barton during its earliest and its latest hours. He was called upon in nearly every sort of emergency, from chasing burglars to helping out fires. Though, he really had no quarrel with it since serving as a constable at Barton was his only life. He was to become the chief superindentent before he had left for the clan, and really had earned it for all the hours that he had done serving the citizens of Barton.
Fortunately, he had slept early and thus woke up early as well, feeling quite refreshed. His mornings were nearly like a routine of grooming himself, some calisthenics and then going around the street for a little walk. Even though he had quit being a cop, it was a habit for him to check on the people. He had his daily dose of caffiene and baked goods at his favorite cafe, and brought some with him back to the Villa.
He entered the conference room with a cup of green tea, since he wanted to have something a bit exotic this morning. He was wearing a mere cotton shirt, loose fitting pantaloons and leather sandals which wrapped up along his lower leg.
"We'll have some muffins." Ignacio replied to Lumitae with a calm but heavy voice. "And sorry for interupting, Eradiel is correct, things has been stirring in Barton."
The giant gave a nod to them as he took a seat around the table. He gently placed his cup down as he glanced at the other's through its aromatic steam.
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2005 2:13 pm
"It would be foolish to assume the other clans weren't moving. We're hardly the only ones who are active." Kharan said. She could ascertain exactly what the other clans were doing, but that would take more energy than she cared to spend simply for curiosity. She'd save her energy for when it was needed. Reaching into one of the pouches she wore, Kharan drew three scrolls out. Tossing them on the table, she began to summarize the contents for the others.
"I've weeded through the requests we've received in the last few days. Most of them were fairly self-serving and not worth our time. Others ended up being covert, semi-illegal operations which would not receive approval. Still others were pointless requests. In the end, I found three that are our best options. One of them is a reqest to hire us to sift through the wreckage of the Gambino mansion to find what happened there and if there's any sign that Johnny Gambino or Gino Gambino are still alive. The second is to protect a town from monsters while the residents evacuate. The last one is a request to hunt down a dangerous criminal who has escaped somewhere in the West. Of those three, the bounty hunting one has the largest reward, so I'd favor that one. However, I did some research on the other ones as well. The Gambino mansion's been picked apart by scavengers already, so finding any real evidence might be hard. The village is a badly fortified town where the residents are making ready to try and evacuate with or without us. The bounty's done a good job hiding his trail, but we could track him given time. That's what I've got on our missions. Anyone else have any input?"
Kharan's eyes continued glowing gold, though they flared more brightly for a moment. Even without Vision, she had been around Lumitae long enough to know which of the three he would pick. LEaning back in her chair, she waited for her leader and her comrades to come to speak.
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2005 11:45 pm
Even though he had seen it many times before and have witnessed more unusual images, he still found Kharan's glowing eyes uneasy. It was just unnatural to him. The old city guard was still adjusting to the life of being a member of the Life Clan. He knew he would face far more unnatural things in his future, and it looked some of it was going to happen soon.
"I'm fine with any job we choose." Nacho read from the faces of the others that the decision was done even before he could say anything. "Either way, I think we'll need to get armed and ready."
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 11:39 pm
"Mmm. Muffins." He waved to Nacho as he entered, and rubbed his chin immediately afterwards. "Well, i'm sure you all know what i'm going to say already. After all, our objectives as a Clan are fairly clear, and so is my moral compass. As you've pointed out, sifting through wreckage is a waste of time and fruitless labor. Hunting bounties is lucrative, and in other circumstances, I might be inclined to do it for the sake of our coffers. However..." He shrugged. "Innocent people, that's where our priorities stand. We are protectors, and therefore, we protect. Let us be on our way." He stood from the table, and started out the door. The sooner they arrived, the better.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 12:08 am
Kharan sighed inwardly. She knew Lumitae would chose that one, despite the almost excessively large bounty. She knew that nothing could change his mind. That was one of the drawbacks to her affiliation with the clan. While she now had a no-rent grand suite, servants, status, and many other perks, she was bound to follow the Life's leader, who seemed constantly tied to that "moral compass" of his.
Might as well go, though. There was nothing to do to change Lumitae's mind. Standing up (and covertly slipping the bounty into her pouch again. If the clan wasn't going to take it, Kharan'd do it herself), Kharan looked as if she were adjusting her three-to-one braid for a moment before slinging an additional belt of crossbow bolts over he shoulder and across her chest. Grabbing her crossbow and rapier from where they stood at the ready, Kharan followed Lumitae our of the room silently. Her eyes, as she moved out of the room, shifted as well. The whites disappeared, as did the pupil. Now, the entire eye was glowing gold instead of just the iris. Vision might be plenty for hanging around the Villa and wandering the city, but Clairvoyance would be needed for the job.
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