Forums » General Roleplay » Diplomatic Intervention (OPEN)

Prologue:
Near the center of a warring nation in what was considered the country side, sat a large manor belonging to a noble whom was close to the king of that nation. Two years ago, that noble's first and only son was hand selected by the king to be a general in the army which was a great honor to both father and son. The son humbly accept and was sent off to war leaving his aging father and younger sister home in their castle. Two years passed with messages from the son coming few and far in between. Little did the son know, his father grew more ill day after day as the war lingered on wards. Not just that but the peasants and lower ranked members of society grew to dislike the war that was being waged based on past grievances between kings and demanded a treaty be met by both sides. The king was stubborn and refused to listen to the people who supported and made up his kingdom.

He was forced to listen when his old friend, the noble, came and requested a meeting with the king as a representation of the people. When the king granted his request the noble pleaded the people's case and to further push his support behind the people, he made sure to incorporate his strong desire to see his son again which required the end of the war. After a long discussion with the king, a conclusion came to be. The king would send a diplomat to the other nation only if the noble would send his daughter along side the kings man with a small escort to protect the diplomat and the noble's daughter. The noble reluctantly agreed to send off his daughter and is now seeking men with knowledge of fighting to escort his daughter and the diplomat. To make sure that some men would step forward the noble offered a rich reward for taking the two and returning them safely.

(The roleplay takes place in a medieval like setting so horses for travel and swords for fighting please. Restrain from magic. Also, we already have a noble's daughter selected so if you beat her post and are interested in the rp please just introduce your character and have them sitting outside of the castle waiting.)

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The Beginning
As the day dawned, the noble, Garrick Halding, paced in his bedroom nervously. He had never anticipated this day coming so soon. It had been a week ago that he had posted the notices about his search for men around the kingdom. Today was the day that they came forward and he accepted or denied them as an escort for his daughter. The diplomat too of course but he was more concerned for his daughter. She had yet to be married off due to his attachment to her and now he had to send her off on a diplomatic errand for the king. He didn't know which was worse but at the moment he certainly didn't like that he was sending her off into a war zone. She would be safe though, she was with a diplomat. A gentleman's bill had been signed by both sides and one of the commandments had stated that diplomats and their escorts were to be untouched. They would be received graciously and sent off safely. The knowledge didn't settle his stomach though.

There was a soft rapping on his door before a female servant entered the room. "Sir, the diplomat wishes to see you in the meeting hall before we receive any visitors." Her voice was soft and she looked at the floor as she spoke his her master. He sighed looking at her and then nodded. "Thank you Elena. You may attend your normal duties." he said dismissing motioning for her to shoo. She bowed and fled the room leaving him alone once more. He sat down on the bed and ran his hands through his thinning white hair mentally collecting himself. He remained there for a long 5 minutes before he stood up and smoothed out his outfit. He then headed out to the meeting room and saw the man standing with his back to Sir Halding.

"You wished to speak to me before we met anyone?" he asked softly as he headed for his seat. At the sound of the noble's voice, Aki Wyberg, the diplomat turned around. He looked the elder man up and down once or twice and pulled out his seat for him noticing his slow hobble.

"Good morning sir. I'm sorry to have requested you earlier then necessary but I wished to speak to you. Well, actually to make a request of you. I wish that your daughter be with us when we accept the men. I understand she is your main focus so she should feel comfortable with these men. It makes no difference to me who you hire so long as they know how to fight." he said curtly looking Halding in the eye. Halding sighed softly and once more ran a hand through his almost non existent hair. Aki looked the noble up and down. He was quickly thinning. He had heard about the man lacking an apatite from a few of the servants but he hadn't quite noticed it till now. He also noticed the man's eyes. It was easy to see that they were slowly sinking back into his head as whatever illness he fought won ground. "I know you wish to protect her as much as possible but I believe this is in her best interest sir."

"I understand Wyberg...and I wish I agreed with you but I don't because she's my daughter. Logically it makes sense though. If you wouldn't mind, would you get a servant to fetch her from her chambers?" he asked looking up at the diplomat. Aki nodded with a small smile and then headed off. The king hadn't been kidding when he had said the diplomat was a young man. He couldn't be much older then 25.
For important things like this normally kings sent their most experienced men. This made Garrick even more nervous as he thought about it. He shook his head and looked up as Aki returned to the room nodding.

"It is done sir. We shall just wait for her." Aki said with a smile as Garrick nodded nervously and tried to settle down in his chair. Another servant brought him a small breakfast of an apple and some porridge, quietly setting it down on the table in front of him. He nodded a thank you to the older woman and slowly started to nibble on it.

Catelyn's handmaiden finishes her hair just as the servant knocks on her door. Catelyn turns and walks to the door to open it, her long sky blue dress flowing around her slender frame. She walks as if she is floating. Grace and elegance that was learned at a young age.
"Ma'am, the lord and his friend are waiting for you," the maid says bowing.
"I will be right down," says Catelyn as she walks back to her mirror for her jewelry.
Her handmaiden places a simple sapphire necklace around her neck and a matching headband headdress on her forehead. Catelyn walks out of her room and to the room where the servant said her father and the diplomat were.

"This is your last warning. You will let me through or else. I'm suppose to be here!" A woman's voice bellowed through the hallways of the building, and a few angry muffled male voices followed it. There were sounds of a scuffle, then the door to the noble's bedroom slammed open and two guards tumbled through the arch.

A young woman stepped over them and into the room, cracking her knuckles as she did so. Purple hair curled into mohawk-like spikes on top of her head, and a silk vest relaxed on her shoulders and flowed to the tips of her hips. Underneath the vest was a black tank-top. Shorts barely protected her legs, and knee-high traveling boots clanked against the floor when she walked.

"Oy, names Mary-Sue. I've been told the king wants some people protected on a journey?" Her voice was thick, slightly foreign, but she spoke the same language. Against her side metal clicked against the sound of a coin pouch. "I don't work fer free though, I expect payment."

(He’s in the meeting hall not his bedroom anymore. So I’ll just assume she crashed into the meeting hall.)

Garrick heard the bickering from afar and thought nothing of it. He turned to see his daughter Catelyn enter the room and a smile arose on his face. He adored his daughter. She was a spitting image of her mother when she had still been alive and with them. Aki looked up to see Catelyn entering the room too but he didn’t react the same way. He kept a very neutral and rather bored look about himself.

“Catelyn, you have joined us.” Garrick said as he motioned to the seat on his right. “Sit daughter sit. Me and Aki Wyberg wished to discuss something with you. Sir Wyberg wished that you be here when we hire the men to escort you to the other city. I wished…my…what is going on here.” He looked over to the entry way as Mary-Sue barged into the room. “Who are you??” he asked clearly rather distraught by the rude intrusion.

She quickly introduced herself and then continued on talking. Aki let out a rather disappointed sigh at the rather barbaric woman and turned to look down at Garrick who stared at her for a moment longer. “I, Garrick Halding am looking for men not the king. Yes there is a reward but you will not be paid the full amount until my daughter and the diplomat are brought back. It is also very RUDE of you to barge into my house before my servants permit you. I was not taking guest yet and that includes the people I am looking to hire.”

(Sorry I didn't see where they had moved.)

Without completely paying attention to the Noble, Mary reached into a pouch by her side and extracted a small plastic stick with paper covering the top. She peeled the paper off and placed it back into her pouch. What it had been covering was a crystalline bloop of honey on the tip of her stick. This tip of honey she popped into her mouth.

"See, this is how I look at it. I not only got into the town, but walked through your front door without getting so much as a scratch on me. Your guards," she gestured towards the two men on the ground, "Weren't so lucky. This could only mean one of two things. Either your guards are crap, which I doubt they are, or I'm pretty darn good at what I do, which I think I am."

She glanced toward Catelyn and the Noble and smiled. "Hiya, guess I'm ganna keep you guys safe huh?"

Catelyn walks into the room with her usual happy smile on her face. As she is called over by her father, she walks to her seat on his right side. She sits down just as Mary-Sue barges in. Catelyn looks shocked as the woman addresses her father above her (Mary-Sue's) station.
Catelyn places a hand on her father's arm to remind him to keep calm and smiles at the woman, looking briefly over at Aki to see his response to the intrusion. "Father, it would be my pleasure is the answer to your previous question."

Garrick’s mouth hug open as this Mary-Sue character completely and utterly ignored him. He felt his daughter’s hand on his arm but he couldn’t help but be flustered by this ignorant woman. His mouth opened to defend his guards about how they were most likely take by surprised by her rude intrusion when his daughter said, "Father, it would be my pleasure is the answer to your previous question."

He looked over at her and then back to the women and took a few slow deep breaths. “Go ahead princess.” He said calling her by her pet name.

Aki couldn’t help but let a little bit of disgust show with the woman. The right side of his lips slightly turned into a grimace but he quickly regained control and looked over to Catelyn blankly, rather interested in what she had to say to this…woman. If she could be called that.

Catelyn stands gracefully in front of her chair. "You barged in here, without a proper introduction, after hurting our men. Why should we pay you and take you with us when you clearly don't follow proper etiquette?" Catelyn is still smiling and looks straight at the woman.

"Because 'princess', etiquette isn't going to keep you from dieing out there. The roads are dangerous."
Mary was beginning to get irritated. She never would have even gotten a conference for this job if she hadn't barged in, people around here didn't take too kindly to females in any kind of masculine role. Sure maybe she shouldn't have knocked the guards out like that, but one of them did call her 'sweetheart'.

She returned her attention to the Noble.

"But sure, go ahead, find someone with proper etiquette," She used her fingers to emphasize "etiquette", then continued, "While they are introducing themselves in the proper manner, your daughter will be run through with a sword. Or you can have me. Yes I'm coarse, but you know I wont touch your daughter like many mercenary might, and I do my job. Your people still stay alive, stay safe, and get back home."

Garrick growled at this woman’s ignorance. “There is a proper time and place for etiquette even with men! And I WOULD have let you entered my home to properly introduce yourself and state your cause!” He clearly was not happen now and during his little spiel he had stood up, causing his chair to fall backwards. Unfortunately he worked himself up into a coughing fit so he couldn’t stand up strait for too long.

Aki quickly picked the chair back up and pushed it behind Garrick’s legs silently pleaing for him to sit back down. Once Garrick was back down in his chair Aki looked back over to Mary. “I do agree with Sir Halding and young Ms Halding that there is a time and place for manors and you clearly failed that. You do bring up a good point though ma’am. You aren’t here to be a woman of class you are here to get a job and earn money as a mercenary.”

He walked around the table, closer to Mary, and pulled out a chair in front of her and waved a hand above it offering it to her. “I would like to request that you attempt to control yourself though. Please have a seat and we shall begin our civilized discussion of your qualifications. Oh, and please excuse me for not calling you ‘sweetheart’ as you have mentioned no one else has done. I have no interests in the affections of women and shall not treat one any better then the next. The ideas of peace and unity have captured my heart to the point there is no room for anything else. Not even simple flirtation.” Aki gave her a pleasant smile and then moved his hand over the seat again. “Now if you please Ms Mary-Sue. This moment is not a battle. Not even with words.”

Garrick looked up at Aki and sighed softly now knowing the king had chosen a good man for the job.

Catelyn walks to her father, waving a servant away to get him a glass of water. She stopped paying attention to Aki and Mary-Sue to make sure her father is okay. She kneels beside his seat, waiting for the servant to bring the water. When he does, she hands it to her father, touching his arm lightly.
She finally turns as Aki finishes talking to the woman. She looks at Aki as he offers Mary a seat, somewhat surprised by his diplomatic ability.

Now Mary was officially frustrated. This hadn't gone well at all, but at least she was in. Taking the small victory the woman ran her fingers through her hair, then accepted the seat offered her. "Considering that last guy to call me a sweetheart is knocked out on the floor, I'd say that would be a good thing. Now, what exactly are the job requirements?"

Garrick took the cup from his daughter and sighed softly as he slowly took sips from the cup. He heard Mary ask about the requirements but he assumed that Aki would just continue talking. Unfortunately for him Aki considered himself done. He returned to Garrick’s side and looked down to the older gentleman.

Garrick inwardly groaned. He turned to Catelyn and smiled at her lightly cupping her cheek one he had set the cup down. “Thank you my darling.” He said softly and then striated himself up looking back over to Mary. He didn’t like the woman but clearly Aki didn’t mind having her around so much. So long as Catelyn was safe he didn’t care.

“You and who ever else come in and are hired, are expected to escort Wyberg and my daughter to the capital city of the Takaski Empire. Everyone will be riding a horse other then Wyberg and Catelyn. I have prepared a coach with the diplomatic sign of our country pained on it so the Takaski soldiers know. There will be no unnecessary fighting. If you are attacked by bandits you have my permission to kill them and take whatever they have for yourself. I will pay you a total of 5000 gold shillings. I will give you 1000 before you leave and the last 4000 upon your return with my daughter and Sir Wyberg alive and well. If either of them die you are not entitled to the last 4000 shillings. If either of them are severely injured I will only give you 2000 shillings upon your return.

Before I hire you though, I need to know your qualifications other then knocking out my guards Ms Mary-Sue.” He said leaning back into his chair.

Mary brushed the side of her vest aside to reveal the source of the clicking earlier. A short sword and several small daggers hung there, each in their own unique holster, all of them unsheathed.
"I am trained in both sword and dagger play, I have also been trained in hand-to-hand combat. I must admit that I am not terribly good with poisons, but I don't expect to allow any strange food near those under my protection. I am also skilled in horse back riding, and have been known to arm wrestle in bars."

among other qualifications that would make your hair stand on end she thought, but some secrets were best kept to one's self.

"The money sounds good, but I am warning you that I don't kill easily. Too much of a chance that a bandit has kids at home who need to be fed. However, if it becomes necessary to keep the safety of my charges I will take a life. Any other qualifications.....sir..?" The last part was hesitant, but she did manage to keep from sounding sarcastic, even if she didn't manage to be polite. Mary didn't have much respect for royalty, or anyone of the upper class. She had seen too many people be abused through power.

Catelyn straightens up after her father drinks and goes back to her chair. She watches the talk without a word. Looking at her father and Mary as they talk in turn. She looks at Aki for a moment, then, she goes back to watching the two people talk. She is concerned about this new person but doesn't think that her father would pick someone dangerous.

Garrick watched Mary as she revealed her swords and weapons. It didn’t bother him in the least bit that she was so talented, even for a woman. He looked over at his daughter before reaching over and taking her hand in his. He turned back to Mary as she continued on talking. Once she was done, Garrick turned to Catelyn again. “What do you think dear?” He turned his head to Aki now, “And yourself?”

Aki pulled his gauze off of Mary-Sue and looked to Garrick. “Sir, she seems to fit the qualifications. It appears she knows what she’s doing and she can move fast which is an added bonus. I would have no problem with her accompany us to the City of Shale.” He said using the enemy city’s nickname from these parts. Garrick nodded and turned to Catelyn again, now waiting for her response.

Catelyn holds her father's hand as he takes hers. She looks from him to Aki and then to Mary-Sue. "She is crude but she seems like she knows how to handle herself. I don't see why she shouldn't come." She looks back to her father and Aki, looking for their reactions.

(So what should we do? Should we wait for others to join or should we just continue and make up other characters to play?)

Garrick looked up at Aki one more time and Aki shrugged as if saying, ‘it’s up to you sir.’ Garrick turned back to Mary-Sue and nodded with a small, rather cautious smile. “I’ll accept you then. I want you to be Catelyn’s main guard. I’m going to send her with a maid too but Catelyn will be your main priority. I’ll have another guard focus on Aki and the rest will guard them too. You let the other guards fight first though. Stay with my daughter at all times.” He said sternly trying to get his point across.

(we should start making people up, since we probably won't get a lot more, if any)

Catelyn continues to watch her father, Aki, and Mary-Sue. She doesn't know much about swordsmanship and doesn't know what she should be looking for in the people coming with her. She stands and looks at her father, "Father, I need to go upstairs and oversee the packing of my clothing. Is that okay with you?" She smiles at him and stands beside his chair. She trusts that her father will pick people who will be good with a sword.

(The problem is this topic has gotten a lot of replies, so people are less likely to join. What we need to do is advertise in the general rp forum, letting people know we need characters. If no one responds to that, then we continue on.)