Patchwork Universe

Larkin Quickgrip · Strong Joined: 21 Jan 2004 Posts: 254 Location: The Slums

The guard stopped and took a long look at the man who had approached him. This paticular guard was of the grizzled type who had been around a fair bit but had never rose above the rank of sergeant as was depicted by the stripes upon his left shoulder.

Leaning upon his halberd he looked across to two of his companions, who were sharing the end of a cigarette together, and shook his head. The pair appeared to laugh to themselves and one muttered "Bloody foreigners."

Taking a deep breath the sergeant pulled himself up the halberd a little and said "Well, sir." The sir was very pointed but not quite offensive. "Trade routes are differant, you have to have a special trade permit, provided by the Captain of the guard himself. As you would know if you had listened to what we were telling you when you first came in. Once that has been provided your carts can come and go as they please, so long as we know what it is you are trading, how often and what for."

The sergeant didn't have the same kind of speech as the rest of the Slums, in fact it was very slow and bland and was probably part of the training to deal with any kind of travellers who may be confused by the usual quick firing speech of the rest of the cities people.

The Sergeant winked at the other guards and said "Shall I make you an appointment sir?"

Larkin Quickgrip · Strong Joined: 21 Jan 2004 Posts: 254 Location: The Slums

(AAAAARGH Time warp madness)

The guard laughed and shook his head before leaning towards Liason slightly and saying "I would recommend that you went and got yourself some money then." He very slightly nodded at the other two, one of which walked inside the gate and into a side-door, presumably the guard-house. The other walked up and positioned himself on the sergeants left-hand side.

The halberd-weilding man then leaned back and said "We are also going to need some details if you are serious about seeing the Captain."

liason · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 2:20 pm Post subject:

There was a serious ethical point to be considered here. These men were simply doing their job and could not be expected to comprehend that Liason had no way to obtain money due to the segmented nature of the Patchwork.

On the other hand, it was hardly acceptable for them to keep him prisoner against his will.

Liason glanced up at the wall - his chances of climbing it unharmed were slim.

He drew his sabre, preparing to dodge the halberd when the inevitable attack came.

"I am Ambassador Liason of the Imperial Foundry. And if you wish to keep me here against my will, I regret that you cannot expect my cooperation !"

He hoped for the sake of the guards that the one in the guardhouse didn't have a crossbow.

Larkin Quickgrip · Strong Joined: 21 Jan 2004 Posts: 254 Location: The Slums

The Guard did not move a muscle, except to shake his head and sigh. "Do you realise that with every word you say your chances of getting a trade permit are decreasing?" A slight grin crossed his lips and he said "and besides, look behind me."

All of a sudden, not one, but three guards stepped out from the guardhouse, evidently the guard who had ran in earlier had fetched some of his friends. Each held a loaded and crossbow and none of them looked in too good of a mood as they spread across the gate.

The guard took a breath and continued "Now sir, if you want I can organise a meeting with the Captain and seeing as you claim to be an ambassador, I'm sure special circumstances could be reached.

liason · Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2004 1:37 pm Post subject:

Liason sheathed his rapier and took a step back. This was not a sign of peaceful intent, however.

You don't last long as a guard in the slums unless you can recognise a weapon being drawn. The halberdier and the other guard beside him were quick to react as Liason's hand went to his belt.

For a brief moment, the crossbowmen lost their line of sight to Liason behind the other two guards. The halberd thrust forward, tearing the Ambassador's cloak. The other guard moved to encircle him.

Dozens of eyes turned to watch the fight, but few understood what they saw. Flashes of blue light, dazzling to the eye and accompanied by tongue-like arcs of smoke. And with each flash came a sound like the crack of a whip. With each flash, a guard crumpled to the ground.

Few of the crowd even saw whether any of the crossbows fired, or if any of them hit Liason.

A few seconds later, the Ambassador was striding towards the gatehouse. The look in the guards' eyes had told him everything he needed to know: this place had never seen firearms.

Larkin Quickgrip · Strong Joined: 21 Jan 2004 Posts: 254 Location: The Slums

As the smoke cleared Liason could see that there was only two of the soldiers left. One of the crossbow wielders and the sergeant were the only ones left standing, the rest were on the ground and moaning all having been shot in the leg or arm. The Liason had not wanted to kill the men, simply make them sorry.

The still standing crossbow wielder took one glance of pure terror at the gun in the Liasons hand, dropped his crossbow and ducked back into the guard-house, from which was heard a loud slam and a curse.

The sergeant on the other hand was either made of sterner or stupider stuff, as he stepped forward, quivering very slightly, and dropped his halberd and pulled out a short and very rusty sword.

As the firing had started the Liason had simply brushed past the man expecting him to drop, not realising that his round had actually caught a glancing hit on the guards heavy chainmail and sent it ricocheting off into the sky. However the sergeant had simply pulled himself up to where he was now, behind the ambassador who was now storming out of the front gate.

Calling out he simply yelled "Stop!" He took a deep breath and said "I don't care what kind of weapon you have, I have never simply let a man walk through those gates, and you're not going to be the first." The crowd gasped very slightly (The people of the Slums loved a bit of street theatre) and waited to see this magic wielding mans response.

liason · Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2004 10:28 am Post subject:

Liason turned at the sound of the man's voice and looked at him with some surprise.

"I admire your dedication to duty. I too am bound by duty and must now travel North. I have no money to pay your toll. However, there is one other option open to you. Travel with me through the gate and I give you my word that on our return here I will pay what I owe."

Without waiting for a response, Liason ran to the door and tried to push it open.

Larkin Quickgrip · Strong Joined: 21 Jan 2004 Posts: 254 Location: The Slums

The Sergeant was clearly thrown by the ambassadors sudden proposition. He bit his lip very slightly and his brow wrinkled. He appeared to be deep in thought for a few seconds before he suddenly said "Fine, but we had better be quick to return." and sheathed his sword. This garnered a small cheer from the crowd who immediately started to dispearse afterwards, thinking that there would be little else to watch.

He then strode round to the gate-house and thumped on the door before yelling "Oye, you better get out here and get some more guards on the door while I'm gone." before walking over to the main gate and nodding at the Liason put his back against the wood and shouldered it open, with the ambassadors help.

As the pair looked out almost directly into the mist the sergent said "But you will pay for what you did to my men, as well as the tax." Patting his short sword he added "I'd do it now myself but you'd probably just do whatever you did to my men again."

His brow wrinkled again and he added "Whats wrong with this mist?"

liason · Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2004 9:43 am Post subject:

Liason decided that matters would be easier to explain later.

"Please follow very close to me. We should waste no time."

Turning to make sure the sergeant was following, Liason escorted him through the mists.

[Liason and the sergeant move to Burial Village]