BALLROOM PRISONER

[Mickaelhz 4300]

Ballroom Prisoner

189 Heist of the Crow-King’s nipple-jewel

Ever since the fall of Breakwater, our merry band has not had a roof over their head. There are no beds to sleep in, no fires to warm us, and no storage to safe-keep what remains of our hoard. It is a humbling existence, one that brings us back to our roots as nothing but a union of struggling thieves. Though many forget; We thrive most in this very environment, having nothing to lose, nothing but our lives to risk for a far greater reward - the freedom of all from the pressure of a disproportionately larger country. They branded The Ferrymen as marauders and promised you peace across the realm, but there is still war. They have abused your trust with their silver tongues in an attempt to further their own schemes. 

 

Be not afraid of their sea of soldiers, for we have reappeared so the scales may return to their most elegant state of balance.

After our attack on Krusev castle, many of our saltbloods began looking for ways to now take the fight to the capital of Haense. This would prove to be a completely different task, as the heart of their country was an extremely high-security fortress surrounded by steep walls and deep moats. The city was littered with patrolling soldiers without a singular blind spot to be found. From a distance, in the dark of night, their torches looked like fireflies dancing around on the riverside. They had eyes everywhere, almost as if they had been expecting us. As soon as this information reached us, our leadership understood that we had to come up with a more innovative plan.

 

“Wait on the road and gather unsuspecting hostages, they’ll surely come out!” 

Said one of our more hot-headed companions, who seemed equally pleased if we didn’t get in. As long as a couple of hostages were taken outside of the city.

 

“Chip away at a weak spot in their walls until we reach the other side.” 

Uttered a certain renown thief, who had proven he could bypass any obstacle between himself and a pile of gold. Though we had never seen him dig through a castle wall before.

 

“Disguise ourselves as civilians and simply walk in.”

Mouthed a man of many faces, our main information gatherer. He was known for being able to fit in anywhere, exceptional at hiding in plain sight. But smuggling in a group of 22 vengeful warriors into a city stuffed with guards was not something within his abilities.

 

These were all great suggestions, but one stood out in particular. An older member of the crew spoke up, putting a swift end to our discussion. It is often the elders on our ship that come up with the most bold of our plans, knowing the true capabilities of our jolly corps.

“We must travel under the shroud of night, then suddenly charge at the city and scale their walls before anyone takes note of our presence”

 

And so it began. Our men left their lights at home and gathered in the rural area behind New Valdev. On their way they did away with every lantern they came across, giving way to a true surprise for the Crows of Haense. Once it was pitch black, 22 teal-masked liberators hurried towards the secondary gate of the capital. Like a row of ants, one behind the other, all holding onto the same rail of an extremely large ladder, aiming to get it to the steep wall within a matter of seconds.

 

The guard who was watching the back gate must’ve soiled himself as 22 so-called marauders appeared from the shadows within the dim light of the gate’s lanterns. But before this guard’s fecal matter was able to hit the floor, the city bells sounded to wake up every guard, notifying them of our presence. But instead of contesting our way up the walls; suddenly the firefly-like torchlights disappeared from the outer walls, leaving the city in a ghostlike state. This begs but one question: Where did they all go?

 

Our men split up and turned the city upside down. We entered homes through open windows, crawled beneath floor planks, and even looked through every government building. only to be met with an empty throne room, city square, and barracks. Nobody could be found. They had to be hiding somewhere.

In hindsight, we should’ve checked this area before anywhere else, as it has turned into the Crow’s natural habitat since the dusk of the last Empire. This entire time, a fully armed force of 35 had been hiding inside of the ballroom, keeping each other warm as they shivered and shied away from defending their oh-so-glorious city.  From here they sent rats with letters attached to ferret about for help, one of which we caught red-snouted.

 

[!] A copy of one of these well-written letters had been attached to the announcement. 

 

They called for their allies in the Heartlands, Reinmar and Balian. Yet those listed were only able to muster a force of less than 10 men even though there was plenty of time to gather a large crowd. Our men had been holding New Valdev for almost an hour. Proving once again no amount of fickle paper alliances can form a replacement for a contract with the Ferrymen.

 

Once these few reinforcements had arrived, the Haenser host gained a jolt of bravery, valiantly charging out of the ballroom to come meet us in the moonlight. this however, didn’t last very long, as soon as the Crows took note of their allies’ underwhelming showing, they spun on their heels and galloped back inside as quickly as they ran out. Their intent was now clearly to hide in their little turtle shell until the “evil” Ferrymen were gone. Every so often, they’d send out a group of not more than 5 to see if the monster was still lurking under their bed and then they’d quickly scurry away. We waited until they stopped sending out these scouts before making a group effort to charge into the ballroom, which anyone else would see as suicide since The Ferrymen were outnumbered 22 to 35 in an enclosed area. It was like a tavern brawl during major festivities, there was nowhere safe to turn.

 

In the chaos, a certain brave sailor brutally knocked out the King of Crows himself, along with one of his most renowned guards. A bloody brawl ensued, and in the end, the floor of the ballroom was littered with black and yellow, with only Ferrymen left standing. We brought them to the throne room to make an example out of these cowards.

 

 

The King’s most loyal guard was lost in a whirlpool. He sat down in the middle of the throne room and was surrounded by our merry band. We each took out crossbows and kept the hiding rodent at bay. After this, a new friend of the crew was allowed to strike out a personal grudge against this certain guard, delivering the final blow. A fitting end for a failed commander. He paid for locking his common men in a ballroom, like prisoners - trapped like fish in a barrel.

 

Cepheid was here.

 

The King himself met a different fate. A survivor of the massacre emerged from the pile of Haenseni bodies. He offered to duel one of our members for the life of the King. Us being a band of honor, could simply not refuse. The terms were as follows; if the survivor loses, the King would lose his life on top of his own throne, being made an example of what happens to those who take up arms against our anti-imperial band. If our representative loses, we would be satisfied with only the King’s most prized possession; the jewel on his chest granted to him during his coronation. A glorious battle was fought, but the heroic survivor barely managed to best our man. So we had to settle for the prized relic.

 

Let it be known that the nipple jewel of Ivan VIII was raffled off and is now being carefully preserved by our richest hoarder, nipple included.

 

Signed, The Ferryman

miley pov of fight:

Spoiler

 

 

[Orlanth 4667]

Vyllaenen set down a singular coin next to King Ivan the VIII's nipple ring after hearing of his passing. No such coin was placed for the poor Ruthern.

[wowj 9747]

A whisper was heard in the wind. "Can we be @Trey's Ferrysquire?"

[Rig 17579]

Ferryman Grisha sends Vyllaenen a gift. Is this what going postal means?

[sergisala 3451]

Afflicted by the recent news, Marc Galbraith would grab an ancient imperial sword that was granted to the Viscount of Rivia during the Eight Empire and he had kept hidden in his house for a generation and state the following: "On this day, I commit to avenge the death of His Majesty the King Ivan VIII and send the anti-imperials of the Ferrymen back to the Void with Iblees, where they belong."

 

After making a pause, he would then add the following: "I also pray that our most esteemed allies from the different realms of our Canondom realize the importance of human unity and the need for an imperial union to flourish in order to defend humanity against the menace of the anti-imperial band of the Ferrymen and the Darkspawn that threaten our existence. I genuinely believe that only in that way we will be able to successfully protect our realms against the evil that threatens our sovereignty. In the end, we are stronger together, united, than divided."

[wolfdwg 2677]

Ferryman Uthyl Igne’sae would light a candle in the Salt Mine. “Today’s a good day for mining!” He would remark to no one in particular.

 

Spoiler

ps this is a personal comment, metagamers will not be tolerated!

 

[Samson Option 9652]

Mahpiya heard the legendary tale recalled, coaxing the teller of the tale to give more detail. The Kwee' Farfolk merrily mocked holding the nipple ring between forefinger and thumb, squinting through the imaginary hole of the imaginary ring. He frowned melodramatically, drawing err from his companion who paused his tale. Mahpiya jammed his pinkie between the forefinger and thumb with a toothy grin. "Pardon, got to clear what remains of the nipple from the nipple ring!" he exclaimed with boisterous laughter.

 

Spoiler

This goes hard.

 

[ErikAzog 3575]

"This is why we must restore the Empire. To save Humanity from this." stated the Bishop of Tyria, he'd pray for guidance from GOD for the future, to avenge all the deaths dealt by the hands of the Ferrymen.