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~~~ The Black Hand ~~~
Posted: 25 May 2004 01:17 AM |
Revenge is a dish best served cold they say.......some will take it anyway they can. At least thats what Jessup was thinking as a blade was slowly carving into his chest as he layed there tied up. It seemed to take forever.....seeing the split of black skin rip apart and blood spew from the slices would make any normal man turn his head...these werent normal men. The two had gotten the jump on him....something he was certain would never happpen again....if he lived. More blood...battered and bruised...he lay there....while the shrouded figure continued to carve......another watched the entrance of the Midor Blacksmith shop....luckily for them there had been public executions this day...so most of the crowd was gathered near the areana...not so lucky for Jessup. As he lay in the shop, thoughts of rage filled his head....only the words of an innocent bystander trapped in the corner snapped Jess back to reality....the poor bloke had wandered in at the wrong place at the wrong time. He was about to be beat within an inch of his life....Jess could do nothing. It was over fast....the man had actually tried to barter with the two cloaked figures.....a noble effort...nonetheless. Jessup black skin burned......the one doing the carving....a woman....had pulled out a vile of acid and began to pour it on her handiwork. Jessup let out a low scream of agony.....his skin bubbled and sizzled......"The arm of Midor is long orc!!" the woman said with a fiendish grin...."We must find the other!" said the other figure....Pickston...Jess hoped he was able to get away....he would be proven wrong.
They were not done....the female began to take Jessups boots off.....and with a quick swipe ...severed his achillies tendon....the snap was loud...not as loud as the scream of pain from Jessup. Then the other....pain was now no match for the feeling of rage brewing within him....visions of bloodlust filled his eyes.....he actually managed to laugh.....he shoook his head.....clearing his thoughts....the figures were gone....nowhere to be seen....Jessup tried to get up but both his ankles gave out.....the bystander already stumbling towrds Jess did his best to help him....Jessup looked at the man..."Jezzup will not fergit diz...he iz in yer debtz". The man barely had his wits about him.....urged Jess to leave....before they returned....there was no need to ask again...Jessup was already out the door....No sign of Pick....none at all....he contemplated his options....back to the shop...yes....thats where hell go.....with that he was off...using his staff to help himself walk....with makeshift bandages he did his best to make haste. The Great Plains was as far as he could make it before his ankles could take no more....lest they completely rip off......he collapsed....sipping on a potion he felt a bit better.....a bit. His chest still burned....burned like the hatred he had in him......oh he was already plotting....once Pick was found hell would come to Midor for sure.....with that he opened up his robe to reveal what had been carved into his chest......a cross...a large cross....he had been marked...
"Oi Mate!!" ...music to Jessups ears.....it was Pick....barely walking himself....he looked like he was badly beaten...but still standing. He plopped down next to Jessup. "looks lak we got un ansa to our message eh?" he said with a slight grin......"COO MATE!! YER CHEST!!!! They maaked ya good eh?" Jessup raised his massive black hand to his chest....as if enveloping the cross that had been cut into him....it looked as if it was about to crush the cross.....Jessup raised his head, on his face a large smile.......Merum was going to have a late customer for his tattoo skills.....Pick laughed..."I knaw what yer thinkin mate!!! An i likes it!!! alots!!! Les go eh? Im sure we can get it put on yer chest by tonite!!! Merum is always lookin ta test his tattooin skills!! The two rose up....Jessup leanin on his staff while helping Pickston with his other arm......"Oi mate....remand mi ta thaank Midir fer the new symbol a the Black Hand eh?" Jessup laughed....."oh wez iz gonna tank emz....in perzon." |
ONWARD AND UPWARD! |
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Re: Birth of the Black Hand....
Posted: 25 May 2004 03:25 PM |
*Pickston writes in his Journal one day*
The Midorites have hired two professionals from abroad, myself and Jessup were taken by surprise yesterday and gravely injured. As I saw Jessup go down I snuck off from the fight... enraged I snuck pasthe guards in the Midor Law Court and into Judge Griffins office, the bastard that just sent all of those poor souls to theirs deaths in the arena..
I recall becoming my other self, and the look on his face was one of horror when he looked upon it. With a single strike to the head he went down, his face hideously charred. Two can play the surprise game, and I do so like games hehe. Midor is an imbalance in this land, their priests and missionaries come to the Port and elsewhere spreading fear and intolerance wherever they go. Theyve interfered in the lives of so many others, my own included. The officials in Midor are of course reacting by killing everyone they can to instill fear for even minor offenses including small children, making that place even less attractive to outside commerce and travellers. Midor has been brought to its knees.
The champions of Midor are two assasins that work in the shadows, which only confirms that their government is just another tyranny, that will do anything it can to save itself.
A city that sees in black and white is only seeing black everywhere it looks and never sees the blackness within themselves.
*closes the journal*
((by the way this is not something anyone would know, so dont be taking it ic and using it, its not posted anyplace but writen in the private Journal of Pickston Rickticks ;) |
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Re: Birth of the Black Hand....
Posted: 25 May 2004 08:59 PM |
Merum frowned at the wounds on the half-orc's chest... "Dem stupid Midorans..." he thought to himself... "Der gonna git what's comin to em soon enough..."
"Ya really oughta let dis 'eal for a while before I work on it, Jess." He said with a frown. "Ya really need ta git Walin, or Gene, ta look at yer chest, an' yer ankles... Yers too, Pick." He said. looking to the halfling seated next to Jessup as he lay on the table.
"Noez. Coverz it nowz, Merumz" Jessup said with a grunt.
"Right den, mate, but first tings first." Merum said, stepping away, and moving over to the bar. He gathers a few items, puts them on a tray, and heads back over to the table where Jessup lie, obviously in pain, but trying not to show it.
"I gots some bandages 'ere dat Walin leaves wit me. 'e puts some of 'is 'ealin magic into em. Der sposta 'elp me if I go 'splorin, but seems I don git out much lately. Dey'll be better used on de two of you guys." Merum takes a bandage from the tray, and wraps it around Jessup's ankle, working it so that it would support the injured joint. Taking another, he does the same to the other ankle, trying to support them the best he can.
"Yer turn now Pick, get 'em up 'ere." He said, turning to Pickston and removing another bandage from the tray. He tended his kinsman's wounds as he would tend his own, carefully and thoroughly. Finished, he poured Pickston a glass of whiskey from the bottle on the tray, and set it in front of him. Pouring two more glasses, one quite a bit larger than the other, he offered the larger one to Jessup, saying "Drink dis mate, it will 'elp ya git through dis." He raised his glass to clink Jessup's, downed his own, and set to arranging the needles and inks on the tray. "Lie back now, an' let's see what I kin do 'ere..."
Merum set to work, first pouring an essence of healing into the wounds, in the hopes that the scarring would not be too bad. As he inked his needles, and pressed the ink into Jessup's skin, he thought about his interactions with the people of Midor. He searched to find some evidence that any of them had ever been good, and failed miserably. They had even tried to deny the honor of one of their own, until that priestess broke down and decided to assist them. At least they're not totally corrupt, he thought as he worked.
Long into the night Merum worked, transforming the vandalism done upon Jessup into something else, something he knew the Midorans would come to regret, even fear, in time.
With tired eyes and tired hands, he looked at Jessup. "Yer done mate, but I dint cover it. Not all of it." Handing Jessup a hand mirror, he said "Take a look in de mirror an see."
In the mirror, Jessup saw what had been done transformed, but not erased. Merum had worked freeform, allowing his own feelings to flow into the tattoo as he worked. The cross remained, but had been changed. Around the shaft of the cross, Jessup's black skin had been highlighted into a large, fisted black hand, squeezing the shaft of the cross within it. The Vandal's sloppy, crooked work had worked to advantage, being extended now to give the illusion of the cross breaking under the strength of the hand. From the breaking point, a small highlight of blood red ink flowed down, a single drop poised to fall from the bottom of the cross.
"It shows yer strength, Jess..." Merum said, voice dropping to a low whisper... "Now go and let 'em feel it." |
Question Authority! |
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Re: Birth of the Black Hand....
Posted: 06 Jun 2004 11:08 AM |
~~~Tacked on the great doors of the Midor Temple a parchment flaps in the light evening breeze~~~
Justice has many faces.....Midor will now see another.....for every unjust public execution......one of the Midor guard will suffer the same fate.......choose to continue this travesty and soon it will be the Midor clergy.......
~~~Drawn in some thick black substance an image of a black hand grasping and crushing the cross of Midor follows the lines above~~~ |
ONWARD AND UPWARD! |
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Re: Birth of the Black Hand....
Posted: 06 Jun 2004 01:04 PM |
*From the sermon of Lord-Bishop Kurvious Seyon*
"See this," cried the Lord-Bishop. He held for the congregation to see the parchment that contained the message of the Black Hand. "See how evil seeks to control the just city of Midor! See how evil seeks to terrorize our citizens into accepting unlawfullness and evil into our midst.
"Is it not right and just for a city to punish it's criminals? Yet the evil that is the Black Hand claim to know what is rightious and what is not rightious in Midor. I ask anyone to look in the faces of the widowed woman and tell her that executing her husband's murderer is unjust. I challenge anyone to look at the children whose father was slaughtered in cold blood and tell them executing their father's murderer is unjust.
"These criminals have warned against unjust executions. Midor does not execute criminals lightly, nor does it seek to inflict unjust punishments. And it certainly is not for a band of miscreants and criminals to decide what is just and unjust in Midor.
"Be warned, people of Midor. The enemy closes in. He attempts to extinguish the bright Light of Midoran. He tries to intimindate and threaten a holy people. We must let the enemy know that we will not be moved! We will fight, and the Light of Midoran shall shine in the darkness.
"And where ever the enemy is found, we will fight, until the Light banishes the dark, and Midor again shall reside in peace and harmony." |
Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.
-Henry David Thoreau
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Re: Birth of the Black Hand....
Posted: 10 Jun 2004 01:10 PM |
A young gnome with a furtive look in his eye scampers into the alley, slipping away from the sermon. He takes out a small brush and inkwell and examines them briefly. Plenty of dye remains. He finds a suitable stretch of wall and quickly scrawls a black hand. Briefly examining his handiwork, a small smile of satisfaction creeps onto his face.
He emerges from the alley quietly and slips into the crowd. |
Sai Barris, Scamp-at-Large
Cynda LeRange, Reporter, Port Royale
Parson Droim Raine, Preacha o da Word o Swiftfoot |
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(none)
Posted: 02 Jul 2004 02:31 AM |
| (none) |
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Re: (none)
Posted: 11 Jul 2004 11:24 AM |
~~~ Jessup sat in his room, black crow perched tightly on his shoulder, shuffling over various contracts that had been given to him….since the slow demise of the Night Masks…thanks largely to Merum…business had been picking up….local hits on various peoples of Vives were coming in more and more….Jessup chuckled to himself at the name that came up the most… Vidus…Arch Lord Bishop of Midor…easier said than done…Jessup knew it was all about timing…and now was not the time…too much was going on in Midor…the Black Hand was being blamed for the death of the Whte Mother Blanche…no sense in making Vidus a martyr…not yet anyway…no there were to many fingers in the pie right now…the necromancers….the elves….the Fire Knives….even those within the clergy of Midor itself….all seeking the same thing it would seem….but for the Black Hand it was beyond just getting rid of Vidus…it was about what happens after…it always was…and always will be..
........Strothenbaum…Bald Rick…Jessup sighed....Scarletto…Kusan….Xaranthir…..Jessup put a line through that one….the names were endless….it was time to do some business…time to hand out some contracts to the members of the Hand and to those that don’t mind getting a little dirt on their hands for some good coin or perhaps even an item of magic..….great chance for an up and coming rogue, cut throat or assassin. Gold to be made…and bodies to be buried…Jessup scribbled a note to Molo…instructing him to spread the word to the various taverns and inns that the Black Hand was handing out contracts and also taking more on…with that he looked to the crow that had been perched quietly on his shoulder…Jessup reached into a sack that stood on his desk and pulled out what appeared to be a small finger…he gave it to the black winged creature… it was quickly gobbled up…he then placed the note within the birds tiny beak…within a blink of an eye it leapt of the orcs shoulder wings fluttering and darted out..finding itself in the open air of Port Royal….searching for its intended recipient…..Jessup leaned back in his chair…contemplating which contract would be the first fulfilled….oh how he wished it would be Vidus but he knew better……..all good things to those who wait..
OOC: Those seeking to make some coin or perhaps even an item or two should seek out the Black Hand…great for young rogues and those of non goodie mentality in the land! Not for the feint of heart mind ya! Puffters need not apply! J |
ONWARD AND UPWARD! |
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Re: (none)
Posted: 12 Jul 2004 02:50 AM |
*molo lays back in the shadow as he notices the on coming black winged creature heading right at him*
*molo extends a hand so the bird may land*
*molo takes the note from the birds beak and begins to unfold it and read*
hmmm....so Jess's needs me elps. Wells, guess ders no betta time to starts the reals careers.
*molo scribbles on the notes an acceptance to Jessup and he sends it off with the bird back to its sender*
betta gets readies for dis
*he disappears into the alleys of Port Royale* |
So a cleric, a ranger, and a thief walk into a bar, which one am I?
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Black Hand Meeting wednesday night at 10 EST
Posted: 12 Jul 2004 09:02 PM |
| Read the title. we need to talk over some things come if you can, if not we will fill you in at the next one. |
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Re: Black Hand Meeting wednesday night at 10 EST
Posted: 13 Jul 2004 12:52 PM |
After listening to what the hooded figure had whispered to them, Jonny turned to his cousin.
"These people could use our skills Jand" ,
"Aye mate we should hear what they 'ave ta say",
"We shall try to be there",
The hooded figure nodded and slipped away into the shadows.
OOC (sigh. isnt 10 EST ; 3am GMT ?) |
If you catch a butterfly.
You can either keep it and watch it die.
Or let it go and watch it fly away.
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Re: Black Hand Meeting wednesday night at 10 EST
Posted: 14 Jul 2004 08:54 PM |
| I'll provide the ale *winks* |
~ Kriayna Wildberry ~
-this post has in no way been paid for nor endorsed by PAJWT, The Broken Mask tavern, The Black Hand, or any other completely unrelated group- |
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Meeting Notes of the Blach Hand
Posted: 15 Jul 2004 01:54 PM |
((This is, of course, all OOC info))
The entrance to the Broken Mask Inn showed signs of the recent rains. Cobble stones, swept clean by an overnight storm, were free of their usual detrius of refuse and vomit. Margaret did, after all, pour a strong drink. The sturdy oaken door creaked as Sai pushed it open.
The Inn was quiet. Sai could hear the gentle squeak of glasses being wiped down and his footsteps echoing off the smoke-stained walls.
"'allo? Pick? Ya 'round?"
Over in a corner passed the bar, Sai saw a dark shape move. That would, naturally, be Pick.
"'lo Sai, we's waiting fer da othas."
The wait wasn't long as other members came in and proceeded to the meeting room. Resting on couches, Pickston brought the meeting to order.
Minutes:
I. Meeting brought to order
II. Requirements for membership
- Sponsorship by a standing member
III. Goals
- Resistance
- Weakening and over-throwing the theocracy of Midor
- Start with Vidus Khain
- Disgrace, not assassinate
- Prostitutes?
- Weakness for Fri'el???
- Bribery scheme? Desecration?
- Information
- Past associates, home town, dirt-digging.
- Weakening Midor
- The books of Aristi???
- What history could shame Midor?
- Discrediting the Midoran - did he start the plague as a mortal?
- Rumors
- Changing the mythology of the Midoran, one bard at a time
- Of Vidus' joy in cruelty
- Fire Knives
- In Vidus' pay? can be bought out or convinced otherwise
- Increasing the rift between the paladins and the clerics
- Financially supporting the voices of opposition
IV. End of meeting
- Raiding Merum's Private Stock |
Sai Barris, Scamp-at-Large
Cynda LeRange, Reporter, Port Royale
Parson Droim Raine, Preacha o da Word o Swiftfoot |
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A rumor makes it way about the land
Posted: 19 Jul 2004 02:19 AM |
The rumor made its way across the land, on foot , by ship , over mugs of ale in taverns, and chalices in Temples. Whispered always, and with an air of foreboding...
In a whisper:
"The Black Hand is still. It breathes and watches without being seen. Its icy grip has grown in strength they say, alliances made... little else is known."
Troubling news indeed to some... welcoming to others.
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Re: A rumor makes it way about the land
Posted: 11 Nov 2004 02:17 AM |
| *bump* |
Purpose in life: finding better ways of allowing players to kill themselves. Repeatedly.
--
"...Cause he mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good."
--
<@James42> Lawful good isn't in your vocabulary, it's on your menu.
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Re: A rumor makes it way about the land
Posted: 11 Nov 2004 12:11 PM |
| *Xie just returned to the lands* In his search to find Pickston he met some old friends, and some new faces, he doesnt know who to trust in. And where is Pickston and Jessup...Something is wrong. Midor looks diferent, but the storis of human decadence continue... What to do is the question, but first Xie has to find Pickton, and maybe this Black Hand group, that once, he tried to join. |
Why search around when the answer is within you...?
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Re: A rumor makes it way about the land
Posted: 23 Nov 2004 06:26 PM |
~~~~~The cellars of the P&J Tour shop hide many things...some nasty...some beautiful...you never know what your are going to find in a crate...could be gold beyond your wildest dreams or instant death....so many tours...so many treasures...tonight however..there is only one thing that is revenge.~~~~~~
"Ahm thinkin its time ta get the Hand movin agin Mista Jessup! Time ta get the boys tagetha! Start sendin Midar a message.....nothin too strong....jus somethin ta let them know were back in business eh?" Jessup snorted his approval...all the while thinking of the year he spent hobbling about with two bad legs...his partner as well suffering the same fate...They had never finished their business with Midor...It was time to do so..with great prejudice...it was time for uneasy allies...and betrayal...all for the Black Hand...Midor would not slip through its grasp again...this time it will squeeze it until it succombs....With that in mind Mister Jezzup made his way to his bird cage...reaching in he tied a note on each of the legs of the black crows within...with a few strange murmers..the crows began cawing madly...flapping their wings violently...until they burst form their cage and out the cellars to the main hall of P&JWT through the main doors out into the night air of Port Royale....searching for thier targets...they would not fail...."Oi Mista Jessup!! Make sure that door Mr Grimore is locked thar mate!! Id hate ta see him get loose in the city!!" Jessup grunted in agreement...As he approached the door he heard groaning and bustling behind it...few things made Jessup nervous...Mr Grimore was one of them.... |
ONWARD AND UPWARD! |
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Re: A rumor makes it way about the land
Posted: 23 Nov 2004 07:31 PM |
*a crow gets to his shoulder*
a message..hmm *reads the message* I see...Better prepared myself for whats coming. |
Why search around when the answer is within you...?
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*bump*
Posted: 03 Dec 2004 09:41 PM |
| *Bumped* |
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Re: *bump*
Posted: 24 Dec 2004 02:49 PM |
| Bumper Bumpess |
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Re: *bump*
Posted: 05 Jan 2005 06:01 PM |
........Not one week had passed since the apparent demise of Pickston Rickticks...already Jessup had to deal with the death of three of his men....the assault of another in Midor..the Songsingers....Sara Torn...and the whole Johe situation....not to mention that the Night Masks were keeping a close eye on Jess now that his partner was no longer a factor in what transpires in the Port....they were there...waiting to see if now would be the time to take back that which was so brutally taken.....
.........So far so good....at least for now....all had been going according to plan.....and with fresh recruits coming in....things looked brighter than ever...that about the time when it all comes crashing down...for most that is....not the Black Hand...not now...not ever....Jessup would die before he would let that happen.....his use of the staff was much more than decoration...a few knew the real reason why he had it...it was not for decoration...his limp was less noticeable...but still there...there like the scars on his chest....the cross that was carved into his chest by the agents of Midor...the Fire Knives....the sight of the acid being poured onto his freshly sliced skin...the smell of the burning flesh as it cauterized...forever leaving a mark...never to be removed......"turn it against em Jess!" ..The words of Merum...and turn it he did....
..........Now he was in charge...no Pickston...no Merum...no Kree...no Brodie...some old faces still remained....Molo...Chang....Criptus...and a few others...all good members....all loyal to the core...it was time to reward that loyalty. and also to make a fresh mark for the Hand.....Midor....where to strike....so many options...there would be much planning...much would be at stake...the timing had to be perfect...all the pieces had to fall into place...and they were for the moment.....he gazed at a map of Midor...his eyes fell on one location in particular...of course....it had never been done....it was perfect...it would send a message loud and clear that there was only one true power in the lands...a smile came over Jessup. these had been rare the past week....should it be pulled off it would be the greatest theft ever....none could match it....none would even try....he would need the right group of people...ones he could trust...but planning wasn’t Jessup’s greatest asset...no. that was Pickstons job...now there was no Pick....but ...there was another....Jessup chuckled....one single word came out of his mouth....."Guyver!" |
ONWARD AND UPWARD! |
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Re: *bump*
Posted: 05 Jan 2005 06:15 PM |
(( oh gods noooooOOOOO! )) |
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Re: *bump*
Posted: 05 Jan 2005 07:02 PM |
*a letter is left in Jess's robes all it says is*
You have friends. When are we eating hydra? |
Its easy clinging to your moral high ground when you have everything, try it when you have nothing left.
Cain Angus |
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Re: *bump*
Posted: 09 Jan 2005 01:23 PM |
Much like beauty....value is in the eye of the beholder....what may seem like something useless could prove useful to someone else....that is how Jessup viewed others...while he was indeed friends with many of the people in the land of Vives...he also viewed them in a degree of value...that was the business side of him...most viewed Jessup as a thug or enforcer of the Hand...thats the way he liked it. While it was true that he was not one to trifle with..and if pushed that side of him would become evident...it was something that he chose to keep inside unless it was his last option. Far better to have one respect you than fear you.
The altercation with Johe was inevitable...after the beating that Fat Sam took...a message had to be sent...Johe knew it...he even came to the shop willingly...he took it well ....as well as someone can take a few broken ribs..what he didnt expect was what was to follow...a week after his beating...Jessup approached Johe with the opportunity to pull of one of the greatest heists in the lands.. Johe was actually shocked...but also intrigued...the thought of going down history as being one of the orchestraters of the great heist made Johe's heart quicken...while Jessup explained to him what the target was and the dangers of such a job...Johe had already begun doodling on a piece of parchment....it was like watching an artist or writer being struck with a new muse....one could only imagine the schemes Johe was concocting in his head....he furiously scribbled on the parchment as Jessup watched in delight....
"Im gunna need a few days ta prepare a proper plan Mista Jessup! Im sure i can come up with sumtin." Jessup nodded in agreement..."Comez ta me whenz ya haz an ideaz...in da meantimez...i zhall goez throughz a lizt a peoplez dat we coulda uze az operativez." "In da meantimez we zhoulda keepz queitz bout diz Johez." Johe didnt even look up..he new the rules...he rose from his chair and made his way out of the shop..not even noticing he almost stepped on Slick...Jessup chuckled to himself...talk about a diamond in the rough...Johe was the perfect example of it. Valuable indeed. |
ONWARD AND UPWARD! |
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Out with the old, in with the new
Posted: 10 Jan 2005 01:07 AM |
Pickston is dead.
One halfling can only sithstand so much in a life truly. Jessup takes the reigns, may he drink heartily of the potios of foxes cunning. |
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