BZPRPG: Ko-Wahi

Girah IC: The Burnak paused in its frolicking, and tilted its head at the Kavinika. A snap and bark from Lycaon later, it shuffled behind the Matoran, using it as a shield of sorts. The Matoran rolled his eyes. In a crisp baritone, twanged with a bit of a luxurious texture, the little villager looked at the Rahi cowering behind him and said "Budge, you mutt..."

Turning back to the Skakdi, Girah grinned and identified himself. "I suppose so! I was just headed up to the Koro to barter some food and bandages when I saw the tracks of the crowd. We just caught up with them." He stuck out a hand from under the straps of his backpack. "Girah, Matoran of Magnetics and explorer extraordinaire."

IC: Veteran.

"Well... I wasn't bein' entirely truthful when I said we were cable car operators. That's just a front, it's our cover. Those mercs down there; they live here too. The outpost is our base of operations."

IC Veneras

"What opperations?" Veneras asked, intrigued

IC: Veneras.

"Anything we can get. We're trying to stay neutral, not pick sides. We just take on odd jobs for whoever pays us, usually. I hear things went a bit screwy in Ko, but normally we can handle ourselves..."

IC Veneras

At the mention of his home Veneras became more alert "what was supposed to happen in Ko?"
 

IC: Veteran.

"So far as I know, the original job was to help defend and evac the hospital, but from the sounds of it, the team got payed off by the attackers first and convinced that helping with the evac was a lost cause. Apparently the clients bugged out as soon as the fight started. The guys running our team figured out they'd been screwed, and negotiated to switch sides..."

He frowned. "That's the one problem with bein' neutral, mate. Sometimes it's hard to tell which side to follow..."

IC Veneras
The Toa of ice nodded "I agree. And the problem with following the law: sometimes even law falls short of morality." He looked across the trend krom. Chasm to Ta Koro "sometimes the most righteous decision is fettered by the law"

IC: Veteran.

A wide grin spread across Veteran's face. This guy was perfect. "Well, mate, it just so happens that our little group is almost exclusively composed of like-minded beings who share your disdain for the law."

He moved to stand by the railing, straightening his eyepatch.. "I suppose by now you're wondering why I'm tellin' you all this?"

IC: Kimala

The prone Toa moaned and slowly regained consciousness. Her eyes opened briefly before closing again, too groggy to be kept open. She didn't remember how she got there. She was talking with the Bo-Toa, and then... it was fuzzy. She was comfortable, though, so she kept her eyes closed and lay still. In the haze of waking up from having blacked out, nothing seemed urgent.

IC: As Brontes went off to grab a doctor, Verulas sat himself down near the cot they had rested Kimala on. He figured she'd merely tired herself out, but she was in battle both inside and outside the hospital and there was always the possibility that she had suffered some type of internal injury, so he didn't want to take any chances.

The Bo-Toa watched as blood slowly trickled down his body, leaving spots in the snow as the tiny streams began to freeze in the cold. The wounds hadn't opened themselves too badly; they were certainly much worse when he had received them compared to now, and he didn't think he was going to die from them or anything, but they still sure hurt like Karz...

His eyes diverted back to Kimala for a moment, making sure she was still okay for the time being before shaking his head. She was a tough one, but wounds, exhaustion, and the trauma of losing a city were things that just couldn't be out-muscled.

The universe sure had a funny way of always putting good people through the wringer.

IC Veneras

Veneras watched the skakdi straighten his eyepatch "I am quite curious" he replied 

IC: Veteran.

"I'm tellin' you all this because I see you got a lot of potential, and right now, you aint doin' anythin' with it. Your city's fallen, you got nothin' left to fight for. Unless... You wanted to join us?"

IC Veneras

The toa of ice couldn't believe his ears. It had been so long since he had felt belonging, a family "I--" he tried to overcome his speechlessness "I would be honored." He bowed in thanks "what use would you have of me?"

IC (Dastan): It took all of the Toa's willpower to stay focused. Though this place was once somewhat of his home, right now he couldn't do anything to change what happned; he was late... He wasn't there to help them...

It was getting dark. Soon he won't be able to see much without yousing his powers.

Dastan slowly pulled out his glowing sword that could be yoused as a torch while making efforts not to let his increasing rage fully take over his mind. Suddenly, he heard a strange noise.

"What is that supposed to be survivors, or enemies?" he thought, moving towards the noise's source through dark ruins.

Almost an hour passed as he reached the outpost.

OOC: It turned out to be so much more fun to play alone

IC: Veteran.

"What use?" Veteran mused, "everyone has a use, mate. Ayar down there doesn't fight, but she's got a carefree attitude and an aptitude for healing. Kouyran's childish, but he fights like karz. Me, I'm old and slow, but smart enough to know talent when I see it. Everyone has their use."

He looked out at the distant sunrise. Another day, another dawn. "Trust me on that. We'll find a place for you."

IC Veneras

"I can't tell you what this means to me" Veneras said "to have a home. Belonging." His face shone bright with the sunlit smile. 

The sun began to send it's golden rays across the snow and just like that the whole world started to feel brighter. He looked north towards the endless snow "thank you"

IC: Veteran

"Don't be thankin' me just yet." Veteran laughed, glad to see his hunch had been right. Another recruit; Zero would be happy. Maybe she'd pay him extra. Plus, he'd clearly made the Toa's day, which was a bonus in of itself.

"Oh, and don't go tellin' anyone about any of this, either. Secrecy is a kinda big thing around here."

IC Veneras

"I understand" the toa agreed happily "what is my next step, if I may ask?"
 

IC: Kimala

Her eyes opened again after a while, briefly taking in her surroundings before closing again. "You kept asking to help me," she said quietly to Verulas with a half-smile. "Seems you got your wish. I tried my hardest not to be a burden, but it seems everything got to me in the end." She folded her hands over her stomach. "Thanks for your help." For some reason, it was hard to get her gratitude out, but he deserved it so she bore with it.

IC: Veteran.

"Next step is to graduate with the other recruits. Just a brief little trial by combat against an existing member to prove your skills and show off to the boss. After that, you have to swear loyalty to the group, blah, blah, blah, then you get given a new code name to go by, and you're a member."

He looked back towards the crowded tents full of refugees. "For now, though, we all help this lot get safely across the break. Once they're gone, we'll wait for Zero to get back, and then we'll get to the fun part..."

IC Veneras

Veneras nodded in anticipation "I won't let you down, Draygon" he smiled "Thank you for taking notice of me"
 

IC: Veteran.

"Noticing people's my job, mate," Veteran grinned, "and I happen to be quite good at it."

IC Veneras

"So what is "draygon" code for?" he asked, remembering his annotation to code-names.

IC: Veteran.

"Draygon would be my real name, not that I use it much. Around here I normally go by "ugly" or "you there, with the eyepatch". On very rare occasions, people actually remember my codename. It's Veteran, by the way."

IC Veneras

"Veteran" the toa repeated "it's a pleasure to meet you officially" he smiled. "Is that how you lost your eye, if I may ask?"

IC: Veteran.

Wincing instinctively, Veteran tried not to think about his eye. "Something like that..." he muttered. His tone grew darker. "We don't have many rules around here. But one of them is: "don't mention Veteran's eye". I don't care whether you follow the other rules or not, but I'd respectfully ask you adhere to that one."

He turned away for a moment, his ruined eye socket throbbing with the echo of an agony only half as painful as the memory that went with it.

IC Veneras

The Toa of Ice held up his hands "My sincerest apologies. I meant no offense" he said "Pray forgive my boldness"

IC: Veteran.

"Geez, calm down, mate!" Veteran eased up. "I just... Don't like thinking about it. Let's just leave it at that." He squinted over at the rising sun. "Let's get downstairs and start mobilising these folks, so we're ready to start sendin' 'em across as soon as it's light enough."

IC Veneras

Veneras was pleased at the ease of the Veteran. Such insubordination would not be tolerated in the Sanctum Guard.

The toa followed closely behind the skakdi, gowing down to help the matoran still taking refuge.

IC (Oreius, Inu)

 

"So the Guard is broken in two places: the Sanctum and the gate. And we're in the middle."

 

Korero's glance had not been lost on the Toa of Fire. Echelon was dangerous enough without strange new powers. The Lesterin had described some sort of magnetism that worked on non-metallic objects... but that was impossible, wasn't it?

 

He frowned. The Makuta was simply gone, not dead; Ta-Koro had been broken into by six Skakdi; and one of the island's most heinous enemies could work his elemental powers on things not under his element's control. Impossible didn't mean what it used to.

 

 

"Thank the Great Spirit, you're here!"

 

He turned to see a newcomer making his way towards them.

 

"We need a plan," he quickly muttered to Korero. "You can get these villagers out, somewhere safe. I can help hold the tide, or-" his eyes flickered to the smoking Sanctum. "-I can find out what's going on in there. Echelon's not stupid; there's a reason his forces took the Sanctum."

 

IC (Korero)

Korero thought for a moment.

"It's got the makings of a plan..." he said, "...but I don't think it's a good idea to go in there alone. I say we work on evacuation for now, then infiltrate the Sanctum together. That way you've got a way out - " he tapped the Hiko - "if things go wrong."

IC: "Yeah, well... Like I said, I take care of my allies," Verulas said as he briefly looked up at the fading stars. "Besides, you pulled more than your share of the weight around here today; it's only natural that you'd need to rest for a bit. Needing a break once in a while doesn't make you a burden."

He paused as he glanced back at her.

"As for the help, don't worry about it. The world could use a lot more people like you running around and helping others, and a lot less people like me fighting for whoever's shelling out enough widgets. It doesn't need any wise-cracking pessimists with bad attitudes, crazy knife skills, or knowledge of guerrilla warfare; people do when they want something done that they don't want to dirty their own hands with. It needs people who actually give a Karz about each other and are able to protect those they care for, people who are willing to do whatever is necessary so that others stay safe."

IC Brontes

"That was quite romantic."

I round the corner, doctor in tow. He seems miffed, as I had told him Kimala was practically on death's door to hurry him.

"Well, she was unconsciousness when I went to get you..."

IC: Kimala

She smiled at Verulas's expense. "I was going to say the same thing." She chuckled weakly. "I hope you don't make a habit of stoking my ego like that, but thanks again." She opened one eye to look up at him. "Sometimes one needs to hear the validation of their efforts from someone else." She looked at the doctor now. "I think I'm fine... I just lost a lot of blood and wore myself out."

The doctor said he would be the judge of that and had her sit up. She shut her eyes tightly as she did so, an intense wave of lightheadedness hitting her. As annoyed as the doctor was about the semi false alarm, he was pleased she was alive, and grateful for all the help she had been.

IC (Dastan): He was pleasently surprised to see such an amount of matoran survivors here. Though it didn't make the pain go away, it just particularly decreased it. After pusing through the crowd, Dastan finally reached the outpost's entrance. Two individuals, a Ko-Toa and a one-eyed Skadki where heading out of the building, creating an odd contrast while together. Yet unwilling to enter, Dastan waited their arrival with inpatience for a few seconds.

"Who did this?" he bursted out, as they approached.

Suddenly, he understood that he was holding his sword raised and in a quite offensive way for all this time, after what he hastily putted it away.

IC: Veteran.

"Eh?" Veteran turned to find a sword-waving somebody glaring at him and Veneras. "Who did what? What are ya on about, mate?"

IC: The Champion (Obsidian Outpost)

"Is the world black and white?" I wasn't expecting Forger to ask such a question. But it wouldn't be too hard to answer. Actually, I haven't had a proper discussion with anyone for ages. I sit down on a nearby chair. "Well, I'm not in a hurry to go anywhere, so relax and listen." I clear my throat, and start to speak. "Tell me, are Muaka evil? They kill other Rahi, mercilessly hunting them down. In stories, fairy tales and such, they are often evil, the villain. But they kill, because they have no other option. They can't eat plants, and they will die without fresh meat. And they're mindless Rahi too, no way they have any consept of morals and such. But still, are people any different? Muaka are driven by hunger, for the need to survive. And if they enjoy eating as much as we do, they are also driven by the desire of pleasure. Aren't all of us, Matoran, Toa, Skakdi, Vortixx, motivated by the same desires?"

"We all want to survive, we all want to enjoy our lives. The point is, that everyone enjoys different things. Some enjoy killing, some enjoy working, some enjoy bullying, some helping others, some just want to earn profit and feed their families.. we all want different things from life. Some things cause harm to others, but some things help others. And all of us form societies, try to live a peaceful life together, expect those who have selfish desires. It's easy to brand them evil. The murderers, the thieves, the liars.. they all ignore the society, and only care about fulfilling their selfish desires. But no one is not perfect, they are not good or evil. All of us have some selfish cravings, all of us care first and foremost about our own survival and happiness. And what about the Muaka? They are lone hunters, they have no need for society, for language, or morals. They just fight to survive, like all other Rahi. So, to answer your question: the natural world is colourless, like water. The people who live in it are different shades of grey. Now, I'm no philosopher, but I've met countless people, seen numerous cultures, travelled far and wide. Experience grants wisdom, like some say. If you regret becoming a mercenary, there is no reason to. We're just.. more grey than others."

My mouth is dry, and I'm not sure why I rambled that long about morals. I pick up my flask and pour some water down my throat. I'm not used to talking this much. I feel like I could do with some ale right now. Forger seems thoughtful, pondering my words. "Forger, I need to talk to you about something else," I then say and break the silence. "If you ever lead me on a mission, remember the following mercenary house rules: Number one, don't take jobs without upfront payment. Number two, don't break your deals, always finish the jobs you are given. Short term, it might be less profitable. Long term, you will be known as a reliable mercenary. That is important. Number thrity-six: Don't send your men inside fortified buildings alone. Judge lost an eye, because he was alone. Mercenary groups work and fight together. That's all I wanted to say." I rise up from my chair. "Is there anything you want to say?"
 

IC (Dastan): "Stop acting like a fool you imbecile! Who destroyed the village I'm asking you!? Who did this to my home!?"

A few seconds of tense silence past as Dastan wad trying to bring to life his common sence.

"My appologies. I didn't mean to offence you, warrior," he finally said with effort and hung his head. "I'm the one acting like a fool here."

IC: Veteran.

"Oh... That..." Veteran shrugged. He wasn't entirely sure why this guy had walked a full day and a half's journey from Ko-Koro - up a mountain - just to ask what had happened there. "From what I hear, it was a bunch Makuta worshippers and death cultists. Dunno how long they'll be able to hold the city before someone drives 'em out or they turn on each other."

He chose not to say anything about the insult. He'd been called far worse things than fool.

IC (Dastan): What other answer was he expecting? That it where Rahi? Mutated Vortixx's? Of course not. Then why was he here right now, after wasting a few days of travel in the unfriendly Ko-Koro climate, asking questions responses for wich he already knew? The next Toa's phrase was an indirect answer to this mystery.

"Do you need any help?"

Girah IC: The Burnak paused in its frolicking, and tilted its head at the Kavinika. A snap and bark from Lycaon later, it shuffled behind the Matoran, using it as a shield of sorts. The Matoran rolled his eyes. In a crisp baritone, twanged with a bit of a luxurious texture, the little villager looked at the Rahi cowering behind him and said "Budge, you mutt..."

 

Turning back to the Skakdi, Girah grinned and identified himself. "I suppose so! I was just headed up to the Koro to barter some food and bandages when I saw the tracks of the crowd. We just caught up with them." He stuck out a hand from under the straps of his backpack. "Girah, Matoran of Magnetics and explorer extraordinaire."

IC Avsa (Tracer)

Avsa nodded and shook his hand. "I... Don't really have a name. People-"*cough*-"Call me Kavinika." She took a deep breath. "Anything... You need?"