BZPRPG - Westside Zakaz

[Smudge8]

IC: Jojax-Fort Razorfish;Vaa

"Well," Jojax said wistfully, "I suppose that if we need to get stronger we've got to train... So I should probably get back to hauling rocks for the wall..."

[Nato G]

IC: T'harrak - Fort Razorfish;Vaa

"Alright," she nodded, unsure of what more to say. "I'll uh... leave you to it." 

@Smudge8

[ARROW404]

On 10/18/2024 at 7:27 AM, Techn0geist said:

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa

"Figures," he scoffed. "Sensin' a trend 'round 'ere. Shoulda known there was somethin' fishy 'bout 'er."

Wind blew. The Kinloka, its meal not agreeing with it, hacked up the Necrofinch. It stumbled through the air on spit-slick wings, whistling all the while.

"I'll uhh... stick to the rousin' speeches..." Sohmak took a step back, starting to disengage as much from embarrassment as from the natural conclusion they'd reached. "Thanks for the chat, geek. We got a path forward now." His tone betrayed relief, tinged with excitement. "An' again, don't let no one say you didn't make the right call. They regret livin', I'll oblige 'em." The words sounded awkward coming out, the idea of killing still very much foreign to the Sarke fighter.

He turned on his heel, making for the stairwell down into the fortress. As he went, he whirled back around with a familiar cocksurety adorning his face. "An' I weren't kiddin' before! I wanna see you in that ring, rotter!" Before T'harrak had a chance to respond he was out of view, his raucous guffaw echoing up the stairwell and off the battlements.

It didn't take long for Sohmak to find his new dwelling, the threshold of Zanakra's former warlord quarters adorned with an intricate and uncharacteristically delicate mosaic of fishbone patterns; battles, myth, ancestors and gods all on display. Visions of lavish and luxurious spaces swimming in his head, he took a deep breath and shouldered the door open.

"...huh."

As unlike the door was to the rest of the fortress, the room was equally as unmatching to the door; furniture was sparse, decoration even more so. A bed in one back corner, a desk and stool in the opposite; parchment and writing utensils sat atop the desk, and on closer inspection Sohmak found they were unused. Hooks for cloaks and other accoutrements, empty. No windows, illuminations provided by the one luxuriant affordance, a lightstone hanging from the ceiling.

"Hmmm." No. This wouldn't do. Not very bossly at all. Procuring a big cloak would be a good start to fixing the vibe.

He tested the bed. Surprisingly comfy. The brawler could have dozed off there but forced himself back on his feet, claws tacking on cold stonework as he paced the room.

He would pay Gashril a visit. Try to get her read. And an excuse to familiarise himself with the halls of Razorfish;Vaa.

When the warlord-in-shadow had finally found where the Shrill Blade was bunking down, the warriors' quarters were otherwise empty. Still no reason to show his whole hand. Sohmak looked over Gashril's inert form and a tiny, ignored intuition swore he was interrupting something other than sleep.

"A-hem. A word?"

 

OOC: @Nato G @ARROW404

OoC: I am SO sorry, this totally slipped my mind for way too long!

IC: Gashril

She recalled her vision power as she heard the cleared throat. His footsteps hadn't exactly been subtle, but she hadn't been expecting the face-boss to come knocking to her directly. An eye cracked open, then both as she lurched quickly to her feet.

"Boss-man!" she barked with some enthusiasm. "I just finished overseeing repairing a window on the second floor and was taking some time to rest my eyes. And my voice. Mostly my voice." It was pretty croaky still, after pushing it to its limit the day before.

"Still good to serve, long as you don't need me to shout. What can I do for ya?"

[Techn0geist]

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa

He extended a Slugger, motioning Gashril to sit. "At ease, lass. Not a soul in the fort ain't a little tired an' hoarse." A wry grin parted his lips "'cept me, 'course."

Sohmak kicked a stool over and sat opposite the Shrill Blade, still quietly amazed at the self-supporting nature of the exoharness when the seat refused to collapse under its true weight. His next words were genuine. "Listen, Gashril... you an' your lot threw in with our lot on pretty short notice, and I'm real glad ya decided to stick around after yesterday's tangle. Well, 'least those who..." Sohmak trailed off. He swore he could still hear it, in the distance. The rumble and yelling.

"Those who made it out," he affirmed. "They're strong. You're strong. 'xactly the kinda folks I need 'ere. 'ppreciate it, 'ope I can keep relyin' on it."

And then Sohmak leaned in closer, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial volume. "If I can be candid for a mo, though... I wouldn't have blamed ya if you did hightail it back across the deltas. Your camp did look pretty cosy, after all." The brawler cleared his throat. "That uhh, weren't sarcastic..." This long without exercising his might and he got fidgety.

"Fort's a fixer-upper, won't make no bones about it." Closer, quieter. "And you ain't owe that mad warlady Zanakra a shred. Frankly, nor d'ya owe me. So I gotta ask, one noisy Skakdi with a badass ringname to another... why'd you stay?" A general but probing question, the thought of Gashril knowing about his arrangement with T'harrak simmering in the back of his mind.

 

OOC: @ARROW404 all good, I'd be lying if I said I was consistent 😅

Edited December 13, 2024 by Techn0geist

[ARROW404]

On 12/12/2024 at 3:56 AM, Techn0geist said:

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa

He extended a Slugger, motioning Gashril to sit. "At ease, lass. Not a soul in the fort ain't a little tired an' hoarse." A wry grin parted his lips "'cept me, 'course."

Sohmak kicked a stool over and sat opposite the Shrill Blade, still quietly amazed at the self-supporting nature of the exoharness when the seat refused to collapse under its true weight. His next words were genuine. "Listen, Gashril... you an' your lot threw in with our lot on pretty short notice, and I'm real glad ya decided to stick around after yesterday's tangle. Well, 'least those who..." Sohmak trailed off. He swore he could still hear it, in the distance. The rumble and yelling.

"Those who made it out," he affirmed. "They're strong. You're strong. 'xactly the kinda folks I need 'ere. 'ppreciate it, 'ope I can keep relyin' on it."

And then Sohmak leaned in closer, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial volume. "If I can be candid for a mo, though... I wouldn't have blamed ya if you did hightail it back across the deltas. Your camp did look pretty cosy, after all." The brawler cleared his throat. "That uhh, weren't sarcastic..." This long without exercising his might and he got fidgety.

"Fort's a fixer-upper, won't make no bones about it." Closer, quieter. "And you ain't owe that mad warlady Zanakra a shred. Frankly, nor d'ya owe me. So I gotta ask, one noisy Skakdi with a badass ringname to another... why'd you stay?" A general but probing question, the thought of Gashril knowing about his arrangement with T'harrak simmering in the back of his mind.

 

OOC: @ARROW404 all good, I'd be lying if I said I was consistent 😅

IC: Gashril - Fort Razorfish

The Shrill Blade listened, with a slowly growing smile - a real one, the Slugger's affable speech surprising her in a welcome way. She knew he was... she didn't want to say "softer", but he certainly wasn't as harsh as the average Skak, especially Sarke champs. Oh, and he was sharp too, with that question.

"Mmmmm..." she rumbled pensively. "A real sharp question. You ask more of those than Zanakra did." She gave him a grin, letting him know that was a compliment. "Well... Seein' as we're bein' honest here, Razorfish wasn't our first choice. We had several leaders before this one. And on our trip around the island trying to make it into the fort of a leader that didn't lead to their own deaths for once, we wound up here."

She rumbled again as she realized that didn't answer the question much. "Mmmmmm but why stay, though?" She scratched at the side of her neck, openly looking at nothing as she mulled it over. "Frankly, we haven't really had the time to think it over. T'harrak sounded the retreat, that sounded smart, so we went with the smart option. And trying out a leader who just saw- and might learn from- the previous boss's death could be promising... And frankly, it beats walking to the next place... again." She gave him an amused grin.

"We left the other places after getting a good feel for them first. Haven't had time for that in Razorfish yet. Bosses who took over were always too big for their breeches- type to get themselves killed soon after. I dunno you that well yet, so I'm willing ta give you a shot."

[Techn0geist]

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa

But what do you want? was the question Sohmak really wanted to ask. He could almost feel the point of her falchion dangling over his head.

Instead he returned Gashril's grin. "'ppreciate the vote of confidence. Reckon I already got this joint whipped into better shape than she ever did." He resisted the urge to spit like he did during his big speech, filling the room with his raucous laughter instead.

After an uncomfortable few seconds, the warlord-in-light brought his voice low again. "T'harrak made the right call. Now we got a chance to build somethin' stronger than was ever 'ere before." He turned now to hold Gashril's gaze. "Last call she ever makes though. Keepin' 'er under heel, can't let her go running off giving other forts smart ideas too."

Sohmak rose now to his feet, a colossus casting his shadow over the Shrill Blade. "Only shot-caller here's me. I'm trustin' you to keep your men aware o' that, savvy?" It was a bare-faced lie, and he didn't know whether he'd overplayed his hand trying to read Gashril's reaction to it.

 

OOC: @ARROW404 apologies for the delay, haven't had the juice lately.

[ARROW404]

On 12/28/2024 at 12:21 AM, Techn0geist said:

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa

But what do you want? was the question Sohmak really wanted to ask. He could almost feel the point of her falchion dangling over his head.

Instead he returned Gashril's grin. "'ppreciate the vote of confidence. Reckon I already got this joint whipped into better shape than she ever did." He resisted the urge to spit like he did during his big speech, filling the room with his raucous laughter instead.

After an uncomfortable few seconds, the warlord-in-light brought his voice low again. "T'harrak made the right call. Now we got a chance to build somethin' stronger than was ever 'ere before." He turned now to hold Gashril's gaze. "Last call she ever makes though. Keepin' 'er under heel, can't let her go running off giving other forts smart ideas too."

Sohmak rose now to his feet, a colossus casting his shadow over the Shrill Blade. "Only shot-caller here's me. I'm trustin' you to keep your men aware o' that, savvy?" It was a bare-faced lie, and he didn't know whether he'd overplayed his hand trying to read Gashril's reaction to it.

 

OOC: @ARROW404 apologies for the delay, haven't had the juice lately.

OoC: All good!

IC: Gashril - Razorfish common area

She thought Fort Razorfish's new leader doth protest too much. But then again, she knew what she knew. Her face was touched with a doubtful frown at the suggestion T'harrak would run off to another fort, but that quickly changed to an eager grin as Sohmak mentioned trusting her to keep her folks aware of that. "Ah, I had a thought about that, actually, if you don't mind me being so bold." She dropped her voice, casting a suspicious glance around. "Not about the Tahtorak Beach squad so much- I told them to follow you already- but how to make sure the rest of the group doesn't get any ideas into their heads about power vacuums."

Edited December 29, 2024 by ARROW404

[Techn0geist]

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa

Sohmak attempted to appear more inviting, still standing but relaxing his posture a tad; even knowing what she knew, he still had to have Gashril's earnest trust, even if she didn't have one lick of his in return. His fingers tapped against the triggers inside the gauntlets, knowing precisely how much pressure he could apply without setting off the crush-jaws. He restrained a grimace.

"Go on lass, be bold."

 

OOC: @ARROW404

[ARROW404]

4 hours ago, Techn0geist said:

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa

Sohmak attempted to appear more inviting, still standing but relaxing his posture a tad; even knowing what she knew, he still had to have Gashril's earnest trust, even if she didn't have one lick of his in return. His fingers tapped against the triggers inside the gauntlets, knowing precisely how much pressure he could apply without setting off the crush-jaws. He restrained a grimace.

"Go on lass, be bold."

 

OOC: @ARROW404

IC: Gashril - Spineless Bay, Razorfish

As a fellow De-Skak, she could hear the edge of distrust in his voice. She'd be careful not to lay it on thickly.

"I've seen a few times, when a leader goes down, the one who rises to fill the vacuum often ends up questioned by others," she explained quietly. "It's a delicate time, what comes next. You did a good job putting T'harrak in her place and galvanizing the troops, but what if we did something to really establish you? Show that you're not meant to be messed with. Like causing an upstart to try to take the 'throne', so to speak, then humiliate them enough to discourage anyone else from trying?" She shrugged. "Well I mean, I say 'we', but I don't wanna be too bold. I haven't really done much to earn anyone's trust yet, I get that. But what do you think, sir?" She tacked on that 'sir' with as genuine a nod of deference as anyone had seen.

[Techn0geist]

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa

"Nah."

The response was startlingly quick, and borne from an immediate dislike bubbling in his gut. Sohmak had to work backwards, quickly, from that feeling to figure out why he'd objected.

"...s'phony, innit?" The brawler stood again, pacing, claws clacking on the ground. He ignored hypocrisy's spidery limbs creeping up his spine. "Like, if we were back in Irnakk's Tooth then they might buy it, ancestors know they love some drama. But we all know th'game we're in, right? S'why any of us're out 'ere." Lies on lies on lies.

He stopped and spun, regarding Gashril with something like accusation. "Wager you ain't the only schemer in this humble fort of ours. They'd see right through it. Give the fellas some credit, yeah?"

He let the words linger in the air for too long, crouching and balancing on the balls of his feet opposite the warrior. "What I'm sayin' is, we all seen and been through the same raw deal. I know I got two great big ones but I ain't running this place with an iron hand. That were Zanakra's gig. I'm givin' these boys the respec' they never got from 'er, an' all I'm askin' is respec' in return. And maybe I'm the fool for thinkin' that's gonna get me anywhere out 'ere."

CLANK.

"But don't mistake that for soft." The Bite of Irnakk's Tooth rose, raising the Slugger closed in fist-approximation. "Let any rotter who guns for me find that out for themselves. We ain't need t' fake it."

 

OOC: @ARROW404

Edited January 4 by Techn0geist

[ARROW404]

On 1/4/2025 at 4:36 AM, Techn0geist said:

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa

"Nah."

The response was startlingly quick, and borne from an immediate dislike bubbling in his gut. Sohmak had to work backwards, quickly, from that feeling to figure out why he'd objected.

"...s'phony, innit?" The brawler stood again, pacing, claws clacking on the ground. He ignored hypocrisy's spidery limbs creeping up his spine. "Like, if we were back in Irnakk's Tooth then they might buy it, ancestors know they love some drama. But we all know th'game we're in, right? S'why any of us're out 'ere." Lies on lies on lies.

He stopped and spun, regarding Gashril with something like accusation. "Wager you ain't the only schemer in this humble fort of ours. They'd see right through it. Give the fellas some credit, yeah?"

He let the words linger in the air for too long, crouching and balancing on the balls of his feet opposite the warrior. "What I'm sayin' is, we all seen and been through the same raw deal. I know I got two great big ones but I ain't running this place with an iron hand. That were Zanakra's gig. I'm givin' these boys the respec' they never got from 'er, an' all I'm askin' is respec' in return. And maybe I'm the fool for thinkin' that's gonna get me anywhere out 'ere."

CLANK.

"But don't mistake that for soft." The Bite of Irnakk's Tooth rose, raising the Slugger closed in fist-approximation. "Let any rotter who guns for me find that out for themselves. We ain't need t' fake it."

 

OOC: @ARROW404

IC: Gashril

Her eyebrows rose in a look of genuine pleasant surprise. Getting a plan shut down never felt good, but his reasons for doing it were good. Again, he proved he had a good head on his shoulders. Although honor could only get one so far on Zakaz, so that part she was less enthused by.

"I respect it," she said with a nod. "I wouldn't suggest we fake it, mind you, but..." she waves a hand, "doesn't matter now. You've made your point." Her stance straighted a little more respectfully now, hand that had previously sat casually on her hip now hanging more resolutely at her side. "You're different from the leaders I've followed until now, I'll definitely give you that," she said with a slight nod. "I and the rest of the gang will remain loyal as long as you keep steering us toward greatness in a smart way. I promise that." She clanked a fist against her chestplate. "Please consider them your own men and women, not mine."

[Techn0geist]

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa

If a Skakdi could grin wider and more viciously than Sohmak did now, he'd yet to see it. "Your cooperation is most 'ppreciated, Shrill Blade. We's all the mightier for it," he concluded diplomatically.

He hopped up, the main body of the exoharness on his back seeming to lift him as much as itself, with lightness of feather. "You ain't let me down yet, s'pose it's only fair I return the favour."

The thought came to him in a flash, intrusive if anything. She's a loose end. Again his fingers unconsciously played with the triggers. On the one hand, he only had suspicion of ulterior motive. On the other, who'd dare question him about his blood-caked gauntlet and the twenty feet of Gashril-splatter across the barracks?

Nausea rose in Sohmak's throat. A rare Skakdi, with no appetite for it.

"Get some more rest. I'll wind down the rest o' the fort soon too. Already lost a day feelin' sorry for ourselves, no more o' that."

 

OOC: @ARROW404