Trace just went into the woods. He needed to get something to eat. He came across an adult bear. It roared at him and attacked. Trace got his dagger out and with one quick move, killed the bear on the spot. Despite his age and size, he was skilled. If people would accept him, he could become a great hunter. He then clibed a tree and ate a pinecone. Afterwareds he draged the bear toward that small colony. Trace holped that this would help them.
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The year 2200
Kael watched him approach. Strong little bugger He looked down at his hand, and the gold bits it held. Each one was good for at least three loops of silver. They could buy fresh gunpowder and lead with this even finished bullets to last them a year. Guiltily Kael wondered where the vagrant boy had gotten the gold. And why he was bringing them a couple hundred pounds of fresh meat, claws and bone. Maybe he was just a huntsman looking for a home. Or maybe he was a vicious killer, wandering from place to place, murdering as he went. Either way, a trade was a trade.
He went down to the gate where Dale was on watch. Kael made a stop by the storehouse on the way.
When Trace finally heaved his load the last step, and slumped down to rest he was greeted by Kael. He was holding a parcel of woolen clothes, a bucket of cold water, and a basket of food. Dale stood next to him a crossbow cocked and ready, but also with a package of hides that had been cut into a tent.
"We don't trust you Trace, but we won't turn away an honest effort"
and with that the Grounders made traded their goods for the bear, and allowed Trace to set the tent at the edge of the clearing outside their settlement. In doing so the little collective went from just five families working to survive, into a town of refuge.
-I'm adding Cojo, a brutal Brigand to this list.
Trace was happy. He laid in his tent and drank some water. He had not seen kindness like this in along time. No one but Dr. Cain was this nice to him. Dr. Cain was a hermit that was a genus. He took Trace and taught him how to fight, find food, and was the one who gave him his armor. *Flashback* What's that? a young Trace asked. That is Bio-armor. My greatest creation! Said Dr Cain. Who's it for? asked Trace. Hohoho… For you, my boy. said Cain. Me? Why me? said Trace surprisingly. To keep you safe. hehe. Now. try it on. Answered Cain. Trace then touched the armor. It moved up his arm and covered his body. Whaaaaa! shrieked Trace. Don't be afraid. It's just becoming one with you. You will be faster, stronger, and the best fighter around here. said Cain. The armor finished and trace went to sleep. As Trace slept, A man came to the door. Old Man! Give me that armor! yelled the man. You will never have it Cojo. Never. said Dr. Cain as Cojo broke the door open. This woke up Trace. He walked into the room they where in. So The boy has it! I'll kill him and take it from him. yelled Cojo. You will do no such thing! said Dr. Cain as he got in front of Trace. The next thing Trace saw was Dr Cain's head coming off his shoulders. Noooooooooooooo! Dr. Cain!!! yelled Trace. His armor responded to his yell and formed a dagger. Cojo yelled to his friends to raid the house. As thay got in there, Trace attacked. He slaughtered them. Cojo, watching this, then ran. Days after that trace buried his surrogate father and then left. *Flashback ended* Trace then remembered Cojo. "I will make him pay one day." He said. Far away from the colony, walked Cojo. The Caravan that went to the colony was slaughtered. Cojo was eating the flesh of some person. Hehehehehehe… I will get that armor. I will. He said as he ate.
I approached the town I had left. Blood completely covered my body and clothes. I had done it. The entire comunnity was dead. Nothing left to do but become a nomad again. But first, I had to answer for what I did. I had come back here with only one thing in mind: Retribution. I walked up to the man called Kael. I introduced myself as Jayce the assassin. I was immediately arrested and thrown into a holding pen. I didn't really care if I died or not. If I died, it would probably make Kael happy, knowing he avenged his brother. Damn, 15 and I still didn't have a girlfriend. Ah well. I guess my family's legacy would end here.
-hehehe cannibals nice touch. That was a good post dude-
Kael stood from his work and stretched. The wall was done. It had taken them may weeks but there it was. They had delved further into the forest than they needed to. It gave them room to expand. Twice a man's height and thick enough to walk it from the top.
The second house was going up too. In fact he place was taking off. For the last 3 years the summer sun had stretched out to the spring and fall. They could stay outside all year now, and the winters no longer dipped below -10. And so they had decided to emerge completely from the shelters and live on the surface. A new watchtower was going up, and fields for growing trade crops were being cleared. They had even helped Trace build a cabin for himself and granted him a small plot of ground around it. Others were beginning to join him and flush the population count higher.
The other Grounders were doing the same, and the Nomad visits were becoming more frequent. So frequent that they had come to refer to it the place as Kael's town.
But then there was the issue of Jayce. He had come back to face his punishment and stand for his crimes. It had been a year to the day since Ginnie had died. He had come filthy and bedraggled and presented himself for retribution. Kael didn't know what to do with the kid. Killing wasn't something to be tolerated. Kael judgment had been this: "We are short a man because you killed Ginnie. You took something without offering something in exchange. In payment we take not your life but its efforts"
In doing so they had put him to work building and hunting with the rest of the men.
A slave. I was basically nothing but a slave. And yet, I didn't care. I deserved this lifestyle. At least I was still killing something. Killing was all I have ever known. Killing and anger. I still had not revealed to Kael why I had come to this city covered in blood that day. I think he may have guessed from my letter. If not, then he was both dense and naive. I did explain why I had killed that kid. I said that I thought the kid known as Trace was in trouble, so I helped him out. It was no reason to kill, but, like I said, and like I told Kael, all I have ever known is killing.
Kael looked very hard at the Nomad caravan masters.
"there are other places you can go. Other Grounder camps."
"but they arnt Kael town now aure they? Yur've dun too well fur yeself Kael.
The other camps arnt the best place to trade tween te Desert edge an' the shinin lake now is they?"
Kael suddenly realized what his allowing the trader caravans meant. His home was now a mark on a map. The market that usually might not have appeared once or twice a year now never died. Traffic now came and went almost constantly. Now that the Nomads were not trapped in the old ruin cities for half a year by sub-freezing winters, they were almost constantly out and about looking for things to trade.
And 'Kaeltown' was fast becoming a favorite spot. His brothers and sisters were forced to abandon their chores in favor of keeping the peace. At the same time Nomads and immigrant Grounder alike had come asking to take up such chores and join them.
Kael scarcely knew what to do. Nothing his parents and taught him told him how to deal with this…. "Kael?" one of the Nomads interrupted his thoughts. it shocked him back to the here and now. "very well, I'll allow you to clear more of the forest. You'll turn the lumber over to my boys. In exchange you may use the space for six more weeks." Kael responded after a moment of thought.
"thank yee Kael, ya won't regret it" with that they left.
Later that day he approached Jayce.
"Assassin! I have a deal for you!"
BAH! such bitterness! As though we are the ones who wronged him! Kael shook the thought from his head. Jayce had come back to repent repay his debt. Yet the attitude he showed everyday told how little he had truly regretted and repented. "Reckless yes, so reckless that you incurred a debt to my community. A community you continue to scoff at though we have offered you kindness when we should have ended you."
Was that a flicker of emotion crossed his face? At Jayce's continued silence he continued. "I do have use of your skills but not for killing, 'Mr. worker'. It has become difficult to maintain peace with all the newcomers. I wish your assistance in training some men with your discipline and skill with a blade and gun."
-Cojo is part-mutant.
Trace was working. He was digging a ditch so more water could come this way form a stream he found. As he went to rub the sweat from his eyes, he saw Cojo. Then a eye shild came down from his helmet. Trace strugeled to stop himself from attacking him. He finilly did, but the eye shild would not go back up. He then put his robe's hood up. He kape on digging till he got closer to Kael. Trace ran up the him and said "sir. A person is back from my past. You have to stop him. He is crazy."
Cojo has seen the town but was not instered. With his hand-claw slasher, He ripped a tree in two. "I know you are somewhere around here Trace. I will kill you." he said to no one.
Trace then explaned who Cojo was and why he was after him to Kael.
I have a habit of looking at the sky. It didn't matter that you couldn't see the "stars", I just liked staring at it's tranquility. I was doing that that night, just staring at the stars, on top of the little hut I had been given. It was so peaceful. I was lost in the sky, wondering what it would be like to be able to fly as free as the trals -birds- when I heard a vendor yelling. I looked down at the spot. Some dude was stealing from the vendor. I dropped off my hut right in front of him when he was trying to run past. He ran right into me and fell backward. "Ugh. Dammit, who do you think you a-a-a?" The man stopped flat as he saw my sword pointing directly at his face. "Give it back." I told him. "Give it back, or pay for it, or you will face the consequences."
- oi shard xu's a girl….. -
Dead Carl: heh this town has been getting bigger… isn't that right my dear sister.
XU: yes brother it has grown alot and that guy we decided to help became useful to this place…
notices an old man steal from a vendor
Dead carl: so another like us xu… should we help him out with food or maybe this gold we got in the next town?
* suddenly hears man cry out *
Xu: brother help him!
Dead Carl: of course…
* jumps down qietly and notices jayce pointing sword into old man's face andpulls out a yellow lollypop spits on it and hit's jayce with it fully parlyzing him until taken off by my or xu *
Dead Carl: are you insane boy…
* helps old man to his feet *
Xu: so you haven't killed in awhile so you attack a old man trying to get food?
Dead carl: your pathetic jayce go animals if you have that much insanity in ya hell i am a vampire and i don't need that much blood and i won't go for the elderly damnit!!
* turns and walks away with old man *
Dead Carl: pay him xu and take the parlysis off you know what to do…
Xu: alright brother… here's your pay slime ball
*pulls out bag of gold *and drops it on jayces face knocking him out cold*
Dead Carl: check to make sure he is out…
Xu: he is out
* takes off *
Heh, how easily they were fooled. I wasn't knocked out. But now I had to report my failure to Kael. That was something I wasn't looking foward to. It pissed me off thinking how they didn't even let me explain myself. When I naxt saw them, they wouldn't get away without a scratch like they had this time.
-DM note: At this point Kaeltown consists of three concentric walls. Outside some fields are being cleared for new farms but none are done yet and few tents and cabins. The first wall contains a tent city and some shacks for the market. the second holds the new settlers and their cabins. The last wall contains the original compound.
The town still has three watchtowers and no less than a hundred yards between the wall and the tree line. The walls are patrolled from the top due to frequent visits by brigands.-
Map available!
Fullsize here http://fc04.deviantart.com/fs21/f/2007/274/8/e/Kaeltown_by_imshard.jpg
Tomias heard a noise. Ever since his father had moved them here it had been a constant battle with the coyotes. While he insisted on what a privilege it was to have land, Tomias longed to give up tree cutting and stump clearing to go back to traveling the old roads and pick throught the rich leaving of the before people in the ruined cities. But noooo. Father wanted to give up being a Nomad and start pushing a plow like a Grounder…
He continued to fume to himself as he loaded his rifle and put his clothes on.
When he was dressed he threw open the door and fired at the first blur of motion he saw. He had killed and pelted many miserable vermin this way. This time though it was a Brigand. A mean one too from the looks of it. And he had just shot the very Mean looking man in the thigh. Cojo roared and put his fist through the boy's skull.
Trace awoke! He felt that Cojo had killed nearby. He came out of his cabin and looked to the north farm. Trace thought about going to attack Cojo but he might blamed for it. He want to find Kael. Kael was one Trace Trusted.
meanwhile Cojo was in the north farm house, eating the people inside.
"What was that?" I could hear it. The sound of blood flowing. A bastard has killed someone. -note: remember that, as an assassin, I have heigtened senses.- I know what Blood dripping and flowing sounds like, because I had killed so many times before. Then I saw the kid, Trace, running by. I dropped down in front of him, and he ran into me. In case you haven't guessed, I was sitting on my hut again. I asked him why he was in such a hurry, and why I heard blood flowing.
Trace just stared at him. "C Cojo! He is here! He has killed someone. I must tell Kael! I must!" said Trace frantic. Then He gets up and runs to the inner gate. "I must talk to Kael he yelled to the watchman. Jayce just watch him as he yelled and wonder how he knew someone was killed.
Kael groggily stood from his bed and pulled on a shirt. KNOCK!! KNOCK!! KNOCK!! The pounding on his door continued. He glanced bleary eyed at Emixeen where leaned against the door frame. He pulled the door open. Jayce, Trace and Turrin all nearly fell in on top of him. "What's going on here!?" Kael demanded. They told him.
He picked up the ancient rifle and charged out of the house. Together they went to North farm.
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