Passionario
Posts: 777
7/9/2016
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A trace of astonishment momentarily appears on Passionario's face:
"Dramatic? You still think that this is a play, staged for your amusement?"
With a fluid motion, he retrieves a pair of knives. To an untrained eye, they are not all that different from the ones that Eglantine employed not so long ago. Those in the know, however, recognize the tell-tale marks of the Wax-Wind on the blades.
"This is real. It's happening. And suspense is not the only thing that I'm about to ruin."
The Fist advances on the pair, bellowing commands to the neddies:
"Throw Lowe into the pit, break his limbs, but don't kill him yet. Triple hazard pay to anyone who gets shot! Leave the beast to me."
--
Passionario: Profile, Story, Ending
Passion: Profile, Appearance
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The Absurd Rogue
Posts: 1049
7/9/2016
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"Have no eyes." Ezekiel releases a cloud of wispy scarlet gas into the air. "Still going to make This One see stars."
Ezekiel charges at Passionario in a straight line, employing the same spider-like advance that it used on Eglantine. One neddy man in the way is pulverized, sent to the side in a heap of limps.
"El Topo!" Eli turns just in time to see the dastard exit out the back door. "****!"
An enterprising neddy man grapples with Eli only to have the barrel of the revolver pressed into their eye. A spray of viscera and a fallen body. There are only three bullets left.
--
"There is never another story. There is only one, and I try to tell it with every page. I fail, and I try again. There are no new stories; I have this one."
-S.N
RemainProfane#2532
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Passionario
Posts: 777
7/9/2016
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Three of the neddies try to follow El Topo, but Passionario's hoarse yell stops them in their tracks:
"Let them run! Let them all run! Just get me Lowe!"
As the goons desperately try to maneuver out of Ezekiel's (and their boss's) way, Passionario meets the Corpse-Puppeteer with a leaping counter-charge of his own. It is almost as fast as Ezekiel's arachnid movement, but with three times the mass behind it.
--
Passionario: Profile, Story, Ending
Passion: Profile, Appearance
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The Absurd Rogue
Posts: 1049
7/9/2016
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"Everyone get on the floor!" Eli cries out, three neddies trying to approach him as he brandishes a skyglass blade. "Get out while-"
A Tattooed Neddy beans him on the back of the head with a stick and two more blows follow to his shoulder and ribs. Eli seizes his inked assailant and drags the blade across his throat with such vigor he is nearly decapitated. Two more blows land on his back. Another shot and a third Neddy falls. Two bullets.
Ezekiel and Passionario collide, but in the brief scuffle, one of EZ's legs is punctured. The entity around it attempting to force the leg to operate does not work when the knee refuses to right itself, broken quite cleanly.
edited by The Absurd Rogue on 7/9/2016
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"There is never another story. There is only one, and I try to tell it with every page. I fail, and I try again. There are no new stories; I have this one."
-S.N
RemainProfane#2532
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Vavakx Nonexus
Posts: 892
7/9/2016
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The Euphemian Game-Carver, once again, gives up their echoes to the Collector, before seeing the intruders into their circles, and their leader's unusual weapon. He either earned both of them 'honestly', for a genuinely unsettling price, or the less appreciated, but still respected method in the banned sport. Elusive theft. No matter, he knows his fights, and shouldn't be crossed.
While the mind observes the body toils, as the Game-Carver's sky-blue weapon approaches the crooked-nosed bet-collector's head, ready to break his skull with it's thick pommel. Their other hand is at the ready, twitching in wait for the moment the man falls unconscious and, more importantly, releases his grip on that sack of currency!
--
Amets Estibariz, the Moulting Eidolon: Cradled by a sun all their own.
Blabbing, the Hobo Everyone Knows: The One Who Pulls The Strings. A Clarity In The Darkness.
Charlotte and the Caretaker: A family?
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The Absurd Rogue
Posts: 1049
7/9/2016
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No-one hears El Topo fall, The Game-Carver just broke the bank, quite literally.
--
"There is never another story. There is only one, and I try to tell it with every page. I fail, and I try again. There are no new stories; I have this one."
-S.N
RemainProfane#2532
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Vavakx Nonexus
Posts: 892
7/9/2016
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A quick look around. The Corpse-Puppeteer has distracted most of the Neddies, if not all of them. Hands scuttle through the coat, the pants, the shirt. The shoes, even. Several notice their pilfering, and turn to the pilferer, already finished with the devious task.
The stunned El Topo has been cleared of any riches he had on his person before this moment, as the thief dashes into the shadows, to the other exit, to evade the pair of Neddies after them and leave this place. A large sack of coin makes that mission harder than it should be, and a jangling follows the Game-Carver, alerting several of the other attendants to the Basalt Gallery.
--
Amets Estibariz, the Moulting Eidolon: Cradled by a sun all their own.
Blabbing, the Hobo Everyone Knows: The One Who Pulls The Strings. A Clarity In The Darkness.
Charlotte and the Caretaker: A family?
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Passionario
Posts: 777
7/9/2016
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Sprayed with a crimson gush of her unlucky compatriot's blood, the Red-Haired Neddy who was sneaking up on Elias hesitates for a moment. Her gaze moves from the skyglass knife to the barrel of the revolver, then momentarily shifts to Passionario, who is taking opportunity of Ezekiel's predicament to rain a flurry of hacking blows on the being's treelike appendages.
Having decided which of these things she fears the most, the Neddy takes a quick breath and swings the stick at the Flowerdene Saint's kidneys.
--
Passionario: Profile, Story, Ending
Passion: Profile, Appearance
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The Absurd Rogue
Posts: 1049
7/9/2016
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The stick finds his kidneys only as quickly as the knife finds her eye. He gasps for air and wrenches the blade around, twisting her neck to an obtuse angle. She collapses in a puddle of blood. Eli delivers two more stabs as he is surrounded by more neddy men.
Ezekiel attempts to defend itself, but with only one working arm and one working leg, it is quickly immobilized. It is left screaming in pain at Passionario's assault, eventually ceasing it's struggling and moaning quietly, like a wounded animal.
"URRAH! Come on! You'll not make a martyr of me yet!" Eli screams, four mangled humans corpses at his feet.
edited by The Absurd Rogue on 7/9/2016
--
"There is never another story. There is only one, and I try to tell it with every page. I fail, and I try again. There are no new stories; I have this one."
-S.N
RemainProfane#2532
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Passionario
Posts: 777
7/9/2016
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The neddies circle Elias like a pack of hyenas waiting to pounce on a wounded lion, full of bloodlust yet wary of the growing pile of bodies around him. All of them are waiting for an opportunity to strike, but each waits for someone else to try first.
Passionario steps away from the writhing remains of Ezekiel and turns towards its master.
"Defiant to the end, huh? I would say 'I hoped it would not come to this'", - he says, the rage in his voice giving way to smug satisfaction, - "but we both know that would be a lie. Bring them in!"
The neddies who were posted near the entrance as lookouts drag in a big black sack. It is writhing and muffled sounds are coming from within.
One of the neddy men cuts the rope and two small figures tumble out, landing at Passionario's feet. They're bound, gagged, and can't possibly have more than 19 years between them. Their eyes, already wide with fear, fill with absolute terror as they behold Eli's bloodied form.
"Ah, the Winsome Twins, the Flowerdene Prodigies", - remarks Passionario, crouching next to the pair, - "I have once told you that you are an amazing teacher, Lowe, and I meant it. The lass will grow up to be an amazing jewel-thief one day, and the lad will craft the finest forged notes London has ever seen. And who knows how far they'll go from there? Maybe they'll replace you. Maybe they'll avenge you."
He smiles through bloody teeth:
"Of course, that assumes that these wonderful kids will actually have a future, and that can only happen if you drop those weapons right now. Do it, and I'll let them go with no further harm. Refuse, and they will die painfully knowing that you chose to sacrifice their lives and future for the sake of buying yourself another minute of miserable life."
"The final trial has come. What kind of man are you, Elias Lowe?"
--
Passionario: Profile, Story, Ending
Passion: Profile, Appearance
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The Absurd Rogue
Posts: 1049
7/9/2016
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"This was never about me." For a moment it seems he is about to take a shot at Passionario. With the distance between them and an extra bullet to spare, it would be child's play. But he flicks open the cylinder and two bullets fall to the ground.
He throws the firearm away and leaves his blade where it lay, embedded in the eye of the Red-Haired Neddy. Eli looks to Levi and then to Angelica, they had grown up so fast, the best of their years. "This was always about you. All of you." He looks around to the crowd surrounding him.
"Each of you have a choice to make, but remember that it is your choice. So, take your shot." He makes eye contact with each one of the neddy men. "I was a dead man the moment I walked into that courtroom."
--
"There is never another story. There is only one, and I try to tell it with every page. I fail, and I try again. There are no new stories; I have this one."
-S.N
RemainProfane#2532
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Eglantine-Fox
Posts: 872
7/9/2016
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Eglantine had been in no state to leave, just yet, and so had been witness to the flurry of violence. They watch, still, eyes wide.
They have had their own grudges, carried personally, but they could not have imagined, or wanted, this. To use children so? To threaten murder to them simply to break Elias? This is not right.
But there is nothing they can do. Nothing but watch, and stand witness.
--
Eglantine Fox, the charming and androgynous Correspondent, teetering between hobbies of seduction and self-destruction.
Siobhan O'Malley, Irish patriot (or 'bl__dy Fenian' if you're impolite).
Isidore Day, an up-and-coming London gentleman. All allegations of wrongdoing are categorically denied.
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Passionario
Posts: 777
7/9/2016
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Some of the neddies appear to be shamed by the sincerity of Eli's gesture and words. They step back, avert their eyes and lower their weapons.
But they are too few. Not nearly enough.
The rest fall upon Elias in a whirlwind of fists, boots and sticks. Some are trying to make up for their previous moment of cowardice, some are driven by vengeance for the fallen, and some just relish the opportunity to kick someone stronger and better than them when he's down.
Meanwhile, Passionario draws his knife again and leans towards the terrified children. After a couple of seconds of deliberation, he swiftly cuts their bonds and rises to his feet:
"Run, you clever kids, and remember".
--
Passionario: Profile, Story, Ending
Passion: Profile, Appearance
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Amelia Syrus
Posts: 626
7/9/2016
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Amelia had been seated, observant of the fight to it's end. Though as soon as an ocean of Neddy men come cascading into the gymnasium, her feet have already started to dig into the floor to flee. They're not after her, she knows that. But with the sea of black and Passionario's oh so elegant shouting of demands, she knows she can't stay here for long. It would only be a matter of time before pure chaos breaks out and the Neddies try to comb through the attentive audience.
So she slips out among the crowd, taking her time to inch away from the sea of black. Though she does freeze for a moment when she hears a voice.
"This was always about you. All of you."
Dramatics. But the message is heard loud and clear. She continues to slip through until she reaches a side exit and slips out the door. Whatever happens inside is none of her business now.
--
Amelia Syrus: A Drunken Thief For Hire.
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The Absurd Rogue
Posts: 1049
7/9/2016
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Crushed ribs, at least three. Defensive wounds along both of his arms, bruising the bones and fracturing one of the fingers. His left temple is smashed in, crushing the eye inside it's socket. It will most likely never see again.
"Levi...Angelica...Go..Find Lamia..." Punctuated by the thwaps and smacks of the sticks. "Witness me."
--
"There is never another story. There is only one, and I try to tell it with every page. I fail, and I try again. There are no new stories; I have this one."
-S.N
RemainProfane#2532
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Eglantine-Fox
Posts: 872
7/9/2016
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"I witness." It is very quiet, the speaking of those two words, and very grave. Elias mightn't even hear it. But if he does, he will know that someone watches still. Whatever else has gone on, they feel they owe him that, there in his suffering.
--
Eglantine Fox, the charming and androgynous Correspondent, teetering between hobbies of seduction and self-destruction.
Siobhan O'Malley, Irish patriot (or 'bl__dy Fenian' if you're impolite).
Isidore Day, an up-and-coming London gentleman. All allegations of wrongdoing are categorically denied.
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Kukapetal
Posts: 1449
7/9/2016
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Flesh-Stick: NO!! ELI!!
*The Psycho Bandit makes a desperate attempt to reach Eli, but the four Neddy Men who had been holding him down redouble their efforts. In desperation, Flesh-Stick slides his mask back slightly and sinks his teeth into the hand of the nearest. The man's screams reach an almost glass-shattering pitch and he loosens his grip, but it's not enough for Flesh-Stick to free himself, and he can only watch helplessly as Eli is savagely beaten*
edited by Kukapetal on 7/9/2016
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The Absurd Rogue
Posts: 1049
7/9/2016
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For a moment, with both of them pressed to the ground, Eli can see Fleshy with his one good eye. "Stay down."
edited by The Absurd Rogue on 7/9/2016
--
"There is never another story. There is only one, and I try to tell it with every page. I fail, and I try again. There are no new stories; I have this one."
-S.N
RemainProfane#2532
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Vavakx Nonexus
Posts: 892
7/9/2016
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Another voice is addressed to the scarred Saint. Well hidden, encoded in scrapes of metal against rock. The Game-Carver, knowing that the Neddies have the front exit covered, and that a group is fluttering around the back one, risks exposure to give a message through the ringing of blade against basalt lost in the thumping of maces and cudgels.
I WITNESS. EVEN IF SECRETLY.
--
Amets Estibariz, the Moulting Eidolon: Cradled by a sun all their own.
Blabbing, the Hobo Everyone Knows: The One Who Pulls The Strings. A Clarity In The Darkness.
Charlotte and the Caretaker: A family?
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Passionario
Posts: 777
7/9/2016
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"I said 'DON'T KILL HIM YET!'"
Eli is quickly dragged off to the side, unceremoniously plopped onto the table and stripped bare. Someone puts a rope around his neck: an executioner's noose? No, it's a necklace of crude amulets, each shaped like a horsehead, now pressing against his bloodied and crushed chest.
"Better. Don't let him go sailing off into the far country yet," - Passionario's voice is somewhere close now, - "Now that the formalities have been taken cared of, justice may finally be done. The Spire-Chamber has convened in absentia and found this man, Elias Lowe, guilty of all charges brought against him. The sentence was Emergence of Beauty Through Truth."
A moment of confused silence follows.
"That's Master-speak for 'carve or burn enough Correspondence symbols - which is the language of truth - into him until he goes up in flames like a pretty bright candle'. I'm told that it is, indeed, a sight to behold. But given that I, as it happens, can no longer witness any kind of sights, I'll have to rely on the sounds instead. Specifically, the sounds of your screams. If they're pretty enough, we won't have to go to the full seven signs."
The Fist of the Bazaar steps closer, holding a smoking brand in his hand:
"Now, since you've been so cooperative, I'll let you choose where the first one goes. Any preferences? Face, chest, neck, buttocks? I'll honor your preferences."
--
Passionario: Profile, Story, Ending
Passion: Profile, Appearance
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