Prestississimo

Hey there GifttheGiver, welcome to Valucre! If you haven't already, consider checking out the getting started guide, which is chock full of useful links and information. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to post them up on the help board, or you could just PM me or one of the staff. We're all available to get you situated and help you start out! So one more time, welcome to the site. I hope you enjoy the time you spend on Valucre ^_^

The signal flare was a welcome gift, and Anessa pocketed the item. Her joy with Jericho's present was, however, short-lived, as the chance encounter with Arnix put both of them on edge. She followed Jericho's guidance to a table, where they both regained their bearings after the surprise. She listened to his words with an increasingly stormy expression, and she protested when he told her to leave. "Hey, I can help. You think I would leave you now? Just like that?" Her companion, however, ignored her words, no doubt concerned for her safety. He gave her a brief hug, and then set into motion. The man was disturbingly fast, moving with purpose and drive that Anessa hadn't felt in a long time. She almost envied his commitment to his course. She tried to follow him, but her companion was already out the door and into the street, slamming the door behind him. She yanked it open, fast as she could, but she could only catch a blur of movement as Jericho and Arnix battled their way down the street. Moments later, her passage was blocked by a bulky man with white hair. He didn't bother with words, no doubt as taciturn as his employer when push came to shove, and instead struck out at her with a blade. Anessa braced her arms in front of her, and the man's stabbing strike deflected off of her left arm, scoring the wood but otherwise leaving her unharmed. She didn't even feel it. The man was overextended from his strike, and Anessa took the opportunity to rush forward, spreading her arms wide and capturing her opponent in a bear hug. What the tailor lacked in training, she made up for in stature and strength, crushing the man between her wooden arms and her body. Something in the man's back cracked, and he gave a scream of pain. Anessa winced, but as usual in combat, found herself feeling rather detached from the situation. Something to think about later. She let the man fall limp in front of her and turned her attention further outside. Unfortunately, she'd already lost sight of Jericho. She was about to step out, but she felt something shift in the wind. Instead, the tailor leapt back, into the inn, just in time to avoid a downwards stroke from a man dropping from the roof above. The two story fall should have at least winded the white-haired henchman, but he brushed it off with ease, standing out of his crouched landing as two more men dressed similarly dropped behind him. Anessa weighed her options for only a moment before slamming the door shut and booking it for the back door. She was out of the inn and into the back alley in moments, but a clamoring and crashing coming from her rear made sure she knew that pursuit wasn't far behind. She took off, intent on getting out of town, an uncharacteristic curse on her breath. Damn him! It might take her one-hundred years, but she was going to get Jericho back for leaving her here alone. She could have helped. she could have been there for him! Where was the trust? She resolved herself. A punch in the jaw, just one, that would be appropriate. She stuck her hand in her pocket and clutched the signal flare. Next time they met. It was a promise, even if Jericho didn't know it yet. Anessa cleared the boundaries of the village and steadily outran any pursuit, her long stride taking her away. Into the wide horizon.

Hey there Peace Is a Lie, welcome to Valucre!

Welcome to the site Letherius! I dunno about muffins, but I'm sure @SabersFire will be along shortly to offer some cake. If you have any questions, concerns, etc. feel free to post on the Help board. Also consider checking out the Get Started Guide, which is full of useful links to help you get your bearings. One more time, welcome to Valucre! I hope you enjoy your time here ^_^

Consider introducing yourselves on the New Members and Returns board ^_^ There should be more traffic there, and it's definitely a better way to get to know people. Also, welcome to Valucre, the both of you!

The second main passageway was clear as well, but Cecil did encounter Olaf, one of the aforementioned gunners/cargo haulers, who was approaching the ladder with an expression of curiosity. The man nodded as he approached. "So you heard it too cap'n?" Cecil nodded back. "Some sort of scraping, right? It sounds like it's coming from the cargo hold. Where's Harris and Erin?" The crewman shook his head. "Neither of 'em down there, I can tell ya that much." In his head, Cecil did a mental tally. Himself, the two gunners, their cook, the rest of the three man bridge crew, and the lookout stationed above the bridge. That was everyone accounted for. The captain's expression grew grim, and his voice turned low. "We may have an unexpected visitor Olaf. It might be just a rat, or something in the ship settling, but let's not take chances." Olaf's eyes narrowed, and he nodded. "Would be a mighty big rat, I agree." The man pulled out his pistol. Almost everyone on the ship was armed on account of being ex-military. Most of them felt naked without a magi-tech firearm by there side. He nodded to the ladder, and Cecil stepped aside to let the larger man pass. While his bulky subordinate descended, Cecil pulled out and armed his own weapon. The captain missed it, above as he was, but Olaf heard more dragging as he descended, as if a heavy object was being shifted below him. He turned around to look from his perch on the ladder to look, but all was still in the cargo bay. He reached the bottom, dropped to the cold metal floor, and fell into a crouch, eyes sweeping his surroundings, pistol held loosely in both hands. "C'mon down cap'n." Cecil was only seconds behind Olaf, descending down and dropping the last few rungs into a low stance, his own eyes scanning. "Take point, I'm watching aft," the captain intoned. Olaf nodded, and together the two men began sweeping the area with military precision.

Tense moments passed as the Aria fled from her pursuers, but the fire directed their way died away and Duke's flying got them clear of the battlefield. From what Cecil could see before they passed into the clouds, the leviathan was making a strong go of it. It's breath attack had frozen one of the cutters, and the one it was constricting was beginning to fall apart. Still, the captain couldn't imagine the beast would survive the combined might of the rest of the Terran fleet. Whatever the result of the battle, it was thankfully no longer their problem. They seemed to be in the clear. Cecil patted Claire on the shoulder lightly, "I think we're through the worst of it Ms. Revauld." The captain stood up from his kneeling position next to the lookout with a huff. Being tense for the last hour or so had really drained the captain, and it showed on his face. Even his mustache looked saggier than normal. Cecil spoke as he cracked his back, arching it forward and then rotating his waist side to side. "Now don't be too hard on Duke. I was the one who ordered we move at ramming speed, however he chose to interpret it, and he did get us out of here." He shook his head critically. "Not to mention I'm more responsible for getting us into this mess than he is." The captain sighed. "Save any punches for later though. I need to go get Ms. Scarborough up here to take a look at you and Ms. Harlow up here to plot a course. You sit tight now." Cecil listened to Claire's response, and then went down the ladder. He stopped to momentarily, however, to speak to Duke. "Great flying out there Duke. I know I put a lot of pressure on you out here, and I don't want you to think I don't appreciate your skill." The captain sighed. "Still, maybe we should work on communicating our intentions better. I wouldn't want my orders or your reports to get, misinterpreted, if you know what I mean." Cecil made sure he was looking Duke in the eye for this last bit. "There's eleven people on this ship who are trusting us up here on the bridge to keep them safe. Let's not let them down." Having said his piece, Cecil got back on the ladder, shouting some last few words to Duke as he descended into levels below the bridge. "I'm going to get Ms. Harlow back up here so she can plot us a course. Let's go home Duke."

Hey there Mistory, welcome to Valucre! If you have any questions or concerns, consider checking out the Getting Started Guide, which is chock full of useful links that will help you get your bearings. There's also an Getting Started FAQ that can answer even more of your questions! If you still have queries, concerns, or worries after that, feel free to PM me or one of the staff, or to post in the Help board. One more time, welcome to the site! I hope you enjoy the time you spend here on Valucre!

Hey there DoomSparkles, welcome to the site! It looks like you've already put yourself out there, which is awesome! Still, if you have any questions, concerns, worries, opinions, etc. know that we're here to help. Feel free to PM me, or to post in the Help board whenever you find yourself needing to. Once more, welcome to Valucre! I hope you enjoy the time you spend around here ^_^

Hey there Lin, welcome to Valucre! Writing and meeting new people is pretty great, and you get to do both here! If you need any help getting started, check out the 'getting started' tab at the top of the page, which is full of useful information and guidance. Especially check out the Get Started Guide itself, which has a ton of links to help you get acclimated and find your bearings. If you have any question, concerns, etc. feel free to PM me, or to post them on the Help board. One more time, welcome to the site! It's a pleasure to meet you, and I hope you enjoy the time you spend here!

Hey there Mistory! First of all, nice to meet you ^_^ Secondly, I know things can look intimidating, but like Mors said, almost everyone around here is happy to help if you have questions, concerns, thoughts, opinions, so don't be afraid to put yourself out there! I'm going to second what supernal said, and recommend you check out the getting started guide. It's full of useful links to other resources to help you get your bearings. Some answers to your questions, all of the boards are relatively active. Threads are not generally open unless they're tagged with [open], the site isn't lore intensive generally, and you don't need encyclopedic knowledge of the world to RP, but it does help to read at least the bare bones of The World so that you get some idea of what's happening. As for joining up, it looks as if you've already accomplished that! So, one more time, a pleasure to make your acquaintance! If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me, or post in the Help board. I know things are intimidating sometimes, but we're here to help :D

Hey there Iniquity, welcome to Valucre!

Hey there, welcome to Valucre ^_^

"And we're away captain." Cecil nodded in response to his navigator's report and sat back in his chair. The airship captain didn't really enjoy the run from Aelindra city to Coastal Grande, but it paid well, and he and the Ollie were too new to the scene to really be picky. He sighed. Settling into civilian life was proving, harder, than expected. He looked around at his bridge crew. Most of them were ex-military, which didn't help. Of his eight person crew, five of them had served. It made sense, their kind tended to gravitate together, but it put a certain, atmosphere, on the ship that he wasn't sure was healthy. The captain sighed. Maybe he was just being paranoid. He stood up from his chair and pushed his hands into his back, arching it so that it would crack. Next to him, the navigator winced. "You really need to do that captain?" He gave the woman a loose smile. "Cut me some slack Miss Tallin. I'm an old man." She frowned. "You're barely past your 30s captain." He nodded. "See? Old. And speaking of which, the old man needs some rest. I'll be in my quarters if you jokers need me." A round of 'aye captains' floated up from the bridge, and Cecil smiled ruefully. There was that military training again. He sighed, and dragged himself down the ladder to the main passageway, intent on maybe taking a nap. He was, however, interrupted by a noise. It sounded like something was moving below decks, maybe a dragging, or some kind of scuffle? Cecil was curious. It didn't seem impossible that the two men he'd hired to load cargo and shoot the guns had gotten into an argument, but it would be a bit out of character. The man went back to the ladder, and climbed down another level. The sounds intensified. What was going on?