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Welcome to the world of Fortuna, a land of fantastic proportions. This is an original fantasy roleplay that takes place in a world developed over nearly a decade of work and collaboration. We aim to encourage all participants to have a hand in the stories of the characters here, and the world around them. Your choices are key - so make them with pride. You decide who wins the wars, you decide who becomes King, the world is ours, and together we will bring it to life!
Post by Markus Woodrow on Jan 28, 2017 11:55:39 GMT -7
While the thought Thomas Dunn had offered was kind, Markus didn't expect it to succeed. The man was charming - extremely so... But Tehodis was an ungodly kind of stubborn, and she didn't react well enough to charm. She needed insistence, perhaps a bit of force. A firm hand to guide her through the proper course. Particularly now, where she had decided to blame him for every wrong she felt, charm would only do so much.
He wasn't prepared for the knock.
If he had believed Thomas' promise, he would have bathed, received a maid to his quarters, and perhaps perfumed the couch -- or ordered wine to the room. He hadn't believed it, of course, and so instead had busied himself with paperwork at his desk, occasionally swiveling around to look out the massive windows that looked out onto the ocean behind him. He was clarifying some orders for the team he was to send to Dirys when the knock came at the door. A knock he would recognize anywhere. Then came her voice, and he felt his heartbeat quicken.
"I'll be damned," He whispered, a twinge of shock touching a voice that was mostly excited. He brushed his hand through his hair, grimacing at the tangle at its ends. He wasn't prepared. He ought to trust the good Doctor next time. He stood and moved to the door, attempting to relax his shoulders before unlocking it and pulling it open.
There she was.
She looked... Rougher than normal. Her skin wasn't quite as bright, her eyes a bit darker. It reminded him of the night of the incident, but he was certain she had received the magical charm sent her way. She ought not be so... Ragged anymore. Perhaps she was just nervous. He was, too. He levelled a smile at her, wanting to reach out and pull her into him, but deciding instead to just step aside and offer her access with an arm and a short, "Miss Kitai... What a surprise."
But as he stepped to the side, he saw a more curious sight. Just down the hall from Tehodis - who had easily captured his initial attention - was Vincent, looking somewhat stunned, and some man he didn't recognize. Some man who certainly didn't look like one of his men. He was too... Dirty. Vincent must have been handling him. A stowaway, perhaps. He nodded at Vincent, approving his work ethic, and then his attention returned to the beautiful Kina before him.
Post by Vincent Laeretti on Jan 29, 2017 5:58:18 GMT -7
Stunned was probably the best way to describe it.
When Vincent had squared Tehodis to look him in the eye and ask if she knew of Thomas Dunn, he didn't expect an affirmative answer, or the apparent ignorance regarding who exactly he was. But it was there again. The evidence of Thomas's imperfection - the slight darkening of her eyes, the dilating of the pupils and quick blinking that she had done each time he asked her a question that she was giving an unconvincing answer to. An answer that didn't trip Vincent's innate sense for when someone was lying to him, an answer that seemed completely true in Tehodis's voice, and yet just seemed so false all the same.
And then Kiku appeared. He emerged from the shadows, sounding confident and even accusing as he used the name Vincent had just spoke - Thomas Dunn - and asked if that had been the man Kiku had heard outside Tehodis's door, giving her orders. Orders that were truly reprehensible and made Vincent's stomach turn to hear.
There could be no further doubt. As impossible, as illogical as it seemed, there was now a witness. Kiku had heard someone give Tehodis orders as she returned to her room. Tehodis had returned to Vincent not acting like herself. She spoke with false words that seemed like a part of her believed they were true. She behaved callously towards someone she had just previously called her friend. She admonished her own "harsh" behavior towards Woodrow, writing it off as her being too emotional. And all of this after Kiku apparently heard someone give her the order to forgive Woodrow and bend to his desires. She had none of the telltale signs of an enchantment having been worked on her. And who else on this ship had demonstrated the ability to command the whims of others with but a verbal order?
Somehow, someway, Thomas Dunn had gotten to Tehodis. He'd found some way to enact his mental subjugation on short notice with no prior preparation. And Tehodis had been a victim of this. And if that were the case... then who else would have given the order? Why would a man like Thomas care if Tehodis forgave Lord Woodrow and did as he asked? The obvious answer to Vincent was that he didn't. He had simply been asked to. It was an easy conclusion to reach, with what Vincent knew now, with what he had read in that report and heard from Tehodis herself. Woodrow had already demonstrated that he had very untoward behaviors when it came to Tehodis Kitai.
But Vincent never would have thought he'd stoop so low.
Perhaps it was in part because of that. Perhaps it was because Kiku had appeared so suddenly and confirmed with his words Vincent's worst suspicions. Perhaps it was Tehodis's sudden evasive response, her tonal shift, and her sudden abandonment of them to go knock straight at Woodrow's door. Perhaps it was a combination of all of these that caused Vincent, a man who normally had everything together, to be momentarily stunned.
Unfortunately, being stunned was not something he was used to. And neither was having to quickly deal with how to recover from it when he did find himself mentally floored by something. Impulse found its way into Vincent's methodical mind. Impulse, when he watched as though frozen as Lord Woodrow opened his office door, greeting Miss Kitai and giving Vincent a questioning look. Impulse, as Vincent's only reactionary thought was to prevent Tehodis from carrying out her order and ruining her own life.
Vincent sprung forward. In a flash, Lord Woodrow was shoved backwards back into his office, hard enough that he would stumble and have to catch his desk to retain his footing. In that same flash, Vincent had snatched Tehodis by the shoulder and held to her tightly, ensuring she couldn't move towards the man. And also, the door to the office had been kicked shut behind him, and his gun was drawn.
Impulse was a terrible thing, but there was no going back now. Vincent was convinced that Woodrow was now accessory to a very, very serious crime. And so he stood with his gun firmly leveled at his superior, his eyes like ice, and the door closed behind them. Vaguely he registered that Kiku was there, off to his side, and assumed that the Ajatar must have had very quick reaction time, as he clearly followed after Vincent's every move and hadn't wound up shut out of the office.
"Lord Woodrow," Vincent stated, his tone all business. "I'm afraid I have some very serious accusations for you. You are charged with harassment, workplace misconduct, and most seriously of all, accessory to illegal use of mind control technology pursuant to Artavian legal code C027. How do you plead?"
Post by Kikuriku Gouken on Jan 31, 2017 17:39:00 GMT -7
It all happened so quickly.
First, Tehodis strode up to the door and knocked and a man emerged. This man had a certain regal attitude to him – a sort of sense of entitlement. At first, he didn’t seem to notice Kiku or Vincent, his eyes completely fixated on Tehodis with a look that Kiku could only describe as… dirty.
This must be Lord Woodrow. Dick.
Kiku resisted the urge to smile and wave at Woodrow, fearing reprisal from Vincent. He didn’t want to be handcuffed to anything again so soon.
Woodrow shot Vincent a nod, and Kiku briefly wondered if they’d been in on this together the whole time. Some sort of nefarious double agent plot designed to lure Kiku out of hiding and crush his dreams of getting to Aissic and seeing all it has to offer. Of course, Kiku couldn’t think of any plausible reason that Vincent or Woodrow would have to do this, despite Vincent’s prior actions towards him and Woodrow’s overall douchbagginess, so Kiku ruled it out.
And then, suddenly, Kiku was certain that Vincent and Woodrow were not working together. In a flash, Vincent lunged at Woodrow and shoved him into the room, kicking the door closed as he entered. Kiku acted swiftly to enter the room, sliding in at the last moment before the door slammed shut.
Someone definitely heard that.
But this was no time to be worried about who might be listening. Tehodis seemed oddly unflustered by what was happening, despite being held back from the man she so desperately wanted to see just a moment ago. Something was very off about her. From behind, Kiku placed his hand on Tehodis’ stomach, holding her back from the scuffle that was unfolding in front of them. It was simple enough, she only weighed negative five pounds.
As Vincent read off all of the things Woodrow was being accused of, Kiku held a stone-faced gaze at the man he’d come to despise without ever meeting. Even Kiku understood that there was a time for jokes – and this was not one of them.
Post by Tehodis Kitai on Jan 31, 2017 21:32:09 GMT -7
If she had felt driven to follow orders before, the moment Woodrow opened the door, it was as if her mind had gone blank. She stared at him wordlessly, and even without an invitation, she began to step forward to enter the room. "Lord Woodrow," She repeated, completely dazed until Vincent began to move. As soon as she spotted his movement, she jumped to life.
She immediately moved forward to defend Lord Woodrow, her eyes narrowed towards Vincent who didn't stop to notice her attempts - and she didn't have the force to stop him. He shoved Woodrow forward, causing her to gasp. She rushed forward to tend to him, but Vincent's hand was on her shoulder in such a harsh movement that she might have bruised if she weren't a Kina. She leveled him with a glare, and immediately wanted to insist that she had nothing to do with what Vincent was doing - but he was talking. It was grating. No matter what she did - Vincent was moving first.
And then it wasn't Vincent that made her angry -- it was Kiku. He was behind her, and his hands were on his stomach. She reached to them to pull him off of her, but as she did, she found herself gasping instead.
She saw Lord Woodrow before her, and the hands on her stomach weren't Kiku's, they were his, and they were pressing something inside of her. Follow his orders, A terse whisper came inside of her head, insistent. But another part of her had awoken, a part of her that had forgotten the things she had seen, but now had no choice but to awaken. To protect. The vision from Charlotte had settled in her body, whether or not she wanted to remember it.
Her eyes made contact with the hilt of the rapier on Woodrow's belt, and then they closed, the flashing of white there hidden beneath her eyelids. "Let me go, Kiku," She whispered darkly, her hand raising to meet his on her stomach, squeezing one of them lightly. She raised her hand to Vincent's next, her touch feather-light. She hoped they both understood.
What are you doing? She seethed inside, but the white light didn't answer. She needed to be free.
Last Edit: Jan 31, 2017 21:32:36 GMT -7 by Tehodis Kitai
Post by Markus Woodrow on Feb 1, 2017 10:39:44 GMT -7
What in the Great Deity's name was happening?
He was pushed up against his desk, a gun was in his face, and he was being accused of an international crime. Meanwhile, Tehodis was being manhandled by both Vincent and the stranger, and she was being manhandled by the dirty stranger. His eyes narrowed and he grit his teeth, resisting the urge to pull his own weapon.
He would not stoop so low.
"What in the world are you doing, Vincent?" His tone was quiet, dark, focused. He may have been backed against his own desk, threatened in his own office, attacked by his own people (and a dirty stranger), but he was Lord Markus Woodrow II. He was not about to back down, especially not for such baseless remarks. "Artavian legal code C027 states that the control of prisoners as relief for the prison sentence incurred is within acceptable legal parameters. Katerine Vexler is a prisoner under a multitude of international crimes of which we are sworn to defend - I'm shocked I need to remind you of all people. As for your other baseless allegations, I have not a single clue to what you refer. Now put down your weapon, or this will only get worse for you."
Sounds were already coming down the hall. The slamming of the door had gotten the attention of the guard on duty just at the opposite stairway. A knock came to the door. "My Lord, are you alright?"
"And what shall I tell them, Vincent? My right hand has his gun pointed at my head? Vincent Laeretti has finally broken down, and gone insane? I'd prefer not to. I had such faith in you," He kept his voice quiet, not interested in involving more souls unless completely necessary. He hardly seemed to notice the way he threw out Vincent's full name. It was almost... A move of power.
Post by Vincent Laeretti on Feb 1, 2017 15:24:44 GMT -7
To his left, Tehodis was touching his hand and was urging them to let her go. Vincent didn't trust it. He couldn't trust anything she said right now, not with Dunn having gotten his mitts on her. There was a guard at the door, inquiring as to anything wrong, and there was Woodrow before him, keeping his calm and making his own threats back at Vincent for the current situation. But he didn't seem to realize, or perhaps was swearing mere ignorance, to what violations Vincent was referring to.
"Perhaps you'll tell them about Miss Tehodis Kitai," Vincent replied to Woodrow's query, his tone low as well. "She has a sizable file detailing accounts of your misconduct with her. Unwanted attention. Harassing behavior. Insecurity in her own job unless she were to give in to your attentions. Or, perhaps you could tell them something more damning still. That Tehodis Kitai is no prisoner with unpaid sentence. She has not volunteered herself, nor does anyone hold custody of her to have offered her forward. And yet Thomas Dunn has tampered with her mind as well. She had orders when she arrived here. Orders to accept your apologies and submit to your every desire without question. And if that is what Dunn told her to do, and made sure she would do it, I do wonder who could have given him that order?"
He would not move his gun for where it remained leveled. Lord Woodrow knew better than any how fast he was, and how good a shot. He would know better than to make a move right now. The guard at the door... he could be called in, of course, and this would turn into a hostage situation if he did. It would certainly not make Vincent look good if that was the sight he came into.
But Vincent was not, nor had he ever been, in this job for the image. He cared only about one thing: justice. Virtue and Evil. And right now, Lord Woodrow was standing with evil.
Post by Kikuriku Gouken on Feb 1, 2017 15:57:38 GMT -7
Kikuriku hated Woodrows unconcerned attitude, though he definitely respected it. Vincent wasn’t a large man by any means, but any person who can stay calm, cool and collected with a gun in their face was someone worthy of respect – even if he was a total asshat.
He felt a small pull on his hand, and heard Tehodis ask Kiku to let her go. Well, he couldn’t right do that, could he? In her state of mind, there was no telling what she would do. She could walk right over to Woodrow and give herself to him, giving him a hostage and severely handicapping Kiku’s current situation.
Letting her go is definitely not going to happen. Is she nuts?! I heard what this Thomas Dunn dude said, and I know for sure that something is wrong. But… but what if it isn’t? What if this is the same Tehodis from before… from her room? I know I barely know the girl but… maybe I should do as she asks?
Meanwhile, Vincent didn’t back down despite Woodrows unaltered attitude. In fact, he doubled down – calling Woodrow’s bluff and elaborating on his disgusting crimes. It reminded Kiku that Woodrow was probably just as disgusting as he’d imagined, and when Tehodis snapped out of whatever funk she was in, she’d see it too – and maybe they could spend some time together when they get off the ship.
He felt his grip on her loosen, just a little.
Maybe we can meet up. She can help me look for my mom. She’s not going to want to be around me if I’m holding her back.
But what if it’s not her?
The thought of Tehodis telling Vincent to essentially kill him reverberated in Kiku’s mind, and his grip tightened on her considerably. He pulled her in closer, away from Vincent and Woodrow – so close and tight that the back of her head rested against his chest. “Tehodis,” Kiku whispered – his voice all but drowned out in the loud knocking that persisted outside, “just what are you planning?”
The thought of someone opening the door behind him didn’t sit well with Kiku; he placed his left hand on a small throwing knife concealed at his backside. He would make sure there would be no interruptions.
Post by Tehodis Kitai on Feb 1, 2017 16:20:33 GMT -7
Woodrow's voice was giving her a headache. Closing her eyes had been so helpful, but the more he talked the more her head pounded and her stomach reeled and the voice said help him. She felt Kiku's grip tighten, and felt the warmth of his back as he pulled her in. She gasped again, and her hand tried to pull him off of her -- the light was darkening.
As Kiku whispered, his breath warm against her ear, her breath caught in her throat and the light flashed. Then, Woodrow said it. Vincent Laeretti -- Laeretti. Endless. Vincent. Her vision came to her once more: Endless sinking into the water, and Vincent sailing towards him. Laeretti. Her eyes opened from the pain of the light behind her eyes, and she felt a clarity she hadn't realized she was capable of.
It still wanted to be free but not in the way she wanted to be free. It wanted to be free of this extra voice in her head, it wanted to follow it's instinct. She twisted around in Kiku's arms, thankful he had pulled her away from Vincent's hand on her shoulder. It was difficult, his grip was tight - not quite crushing, but uncomfortable - and when she was finally facing him, she raised her hand to his face. It found a spot under his jaw, her fingers bending to the base of his scalp, and she tugged gently to lower him closer to her. "I need you to let me go Kiku," Her eyes were glowing white as she looked into his, and her hand was shaking ever-so-slightly as it held him. She felt almost breathless as she closed the last couple inches and kissed him, and she could have melted as she let him go and whispered against his lips: "Trust me."
Post by Markus Woodrow on Feb 1, 2017 16:47:58 GMT -7
He did not answer the knock. That would be enough of a message for the guard out front. The banging as the guard tried to knock the door down made that clearer. It was music to his ears - though his eyes could not be so pleased...
Was this some kind of twisted nightmare? Was this... Guilt? Was he experiencing these strange things because of Tehodis' arm? Because of the small piece of him that felt vaguely, somewhat, that he had a minute responsibility for the horrid thing? Vincent was insisting, he was threatening, and Tehodis had turned about in the man's arms and kissed him. Woodrow felt a rage burning inside of him. He felt a sickness in his soul. He wanted to kill the disgusting man. He wanted to arrest him, and torture him, and hang him like a pirate who had just pillaged away an entire village.
His anger didn't stop there. He wanted to arrest Tehodis as well, sort out some kind of charge - an accomplice in the crimes Vincent was committing. He would imprison her for as long as it took to destroy that stubborn spirit he had once found so alluring. And then, he would take her for his own.
And then there was Vincent. The disgusting traitor was worst of all. Treason, was what this was. Terrorism. His mind wasn't clear enough to think of the crime, but it would end in a hanging. Woodrow would be so much more careful with his friends next time. He wouldn't be taken by such surprise. Taken with such confusion. He didn't understand.
"You and I both know well, Vincent," He was seething, his eyes locked on the disgusting ape and Tehodis, "That first hand reports can be unreliable. Miss Kitai is well documented to have problems with memory. If these allegations are truly coming from Miss Kitai, perhaps we ought to have her visit a psychiatrist, so that we may determine precisely how much of this is coming from past traumas associated with her time as an abused woman under the control of Imperator Cowell. Now as for these shocking words against not only myself but Doctor Dunn: He was in my office until hardly a half hour ago." His first lie, but he didn't care. There was no possible way for Doctor Dunn to have accomplished what Vincent was assuming he had. That meant that his lie was simply aiding in preserving the innocent. A lie for a proper cause.
He stepped forward, towards Vincent, the pistol pressing into his chest. He finally met the man's eyes, the anger of watching Tehodis being intimate with another man overflowing there: "Tell me, how does one manage brain surgery in such a span of time? Or is the Doctor now a magician? If she were here to follow my orders, why would she be acting in a way so contrary to my wishes? What stories have you decided to invent to sate your ignorant hatred of the man, Vincent?"
Post by Vincent Laeretti on Feb 1, 2017 18:11:54 GMT -7
Vincent would not be dissuaded. Woodrow was trying to defend himself, belittling Tehodis' claims, citing her past of memory issues as a means of trying to sweep it aside. It was a petty method, the kind that criminal's would try to use as a flimsy defense in a court of law, exactly the sort of thing a sleazy lawyer would prey upon. His case for Dunn, on the other hand, was less flimsy. But it was nothing that Vincent hadn't already been grappling with. It was something that seemed impossible, it shouldn't have been able to be done. And yet...
"Miss Kitai was soundly in her correct mind shortly ago. We were on our way here to level her charges against you," he stated, emphasizing this with a press of his weapon. He would not back down from Woodrow's intimidation tactics, especially not when the man was allowing such a blatant display of emotion into his features. The situation was getting to him. "After a brief parting, she returned to me changed. Her mind demonstrated clear indication of having been tampered with, and yet no evidence of enchantment magic is present. She reacted knowingly to Dunn, and the man you see behind me was witness to hearing Thomas Dunn hand his exact orders to Miss Kitai. It is evident that this was accomplished without the means of brain surgery aboard this ship. However impossible that may seem to you, Lord Woodrow, the evidence is plain. You are one who always lauded the man's accomplishments; is it so unbelievable to you that he'd have managed a new method? Perhaps one meant to stay secret, that it may be used against you. Easy enough to believe when you consider the contract you didn't even deign to read in its entirety."
Vincent would love to point out that Thomas also likely had ties to government cover-ups in Artavia. Adria had told him as much without actually saying it. But precisely because of that, Vincent had no hard evidence he could cite to that claim. He would have to bring Thomas, and Woodrow, down with this. Assuming Woodrow was actually involved, of course.
And right now, Lord Woodrow looked no better to Vincent than any of the criminals he had ever brought in for sentencing. He was angry, his eyes livid, and there was a clear quality in his features that rang, on some level, of guilt. He was feeling guilt over something, somewhere in his mind. And if these allegations were as true as Vincent believed them to be, he felt disgusted with himself. That he spent so long idolizing and serving this man who was no better than a common monarch or senator, using his power only for his own advantage.
"I repeat, Markus Woodrow. You are accused of ordering Thomas Dunn to use whatever means available to him to subject Tehodis Kitai to unlawful use of mind control technology. How do you plead?"
He was aware of some movement behind him, of Tehodis and Kiku conversing, but he didn't have the luxury of being able to take his eyes off of Woodrow. He was, unbelievably, forced to trust that Kiku would hold Tehodis in place and prevent her from doing something she'd regret.
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