The Unknown Strife [Closed RP]

[Ginger Ale]

Main thread for a closed RP. Please refrain from posting here unless invited.


Only post in character please. Character biographies and other OOC content goes here.
The year is 1663, and the city of Tricerro, Italy has not seen much crime in about a century. However, in recent years an organized street gang, known as the Morticellos, have been terrorizing the civilians of Tricerro. Their motives are unknown, and the authorities have so far been unable to attain any leads on their whereabouts. It was leaked to the public that a few of the Morticellos' members had been captured by the authorities, but they were found dead before they were brought in for questioning. Rumors are now spreading about a rival vigilante gang that is determined to drive out and eliminate the Morticellos without the help of the authorities. (Participants in the RP can choose for their character to be with the Morticellos, Police, or the vigilantes.)

CITY INFO:
City population: about 18k
Religion: Mostly catholic; southern part of city is less populous and mostly pagan.
Location: Along both the Apennines and the Tiber River in central Italy.
Famous for: Weapon, armor, and pottery production.
Infamous for: Corrupt leader about a century ago
Upcoming events: Election for head of police force in 6 months.

[Ginger Ale]

     The morning sky is a canvas of soft, warm colors, and Fulvius Andrzej is already beginning his morning routine. He has just started eating a breakfast of bread, beans, and milk that his mother prepared for him. As he eats, he thinks about the current events of Tricerro, Italy, his birthplace and home. Crime is running rampant among the citizens, and an air of distrust seems to cloud judgement amongst the general public. Fulvius shakes the thoughts of fear out of his head. He trusts that the police will sort everything out in a few weeks, and everything will be back to normal.
     "Fulvius, dear, are you worried about something?" his mother inquires, "Are the beans cold?"
     "No, mamma, the beans are wonderful, as always. I'm just tired, is all," Fulvius puts his empty bowl and cup in a basket for his mother to clean, "I will be back at noon, Tulio will be letting us out of work early for the day. I can help with the chores when I get back."
     "That is wonderful, dear," she kisses him goodbye on the cheek, "Stay safe, please!"
     "I will."
     As the young adult badger adorns his boots and conceals his knife, he walks out the door and walks to the blacksmith at the town square, his workplace. He hopes that today will be normal.

[Shoon]

Shoon woke up with the sunrise, He was still getting used to the new house he lived in by the edge of town, He didn't plan to stay long he thought to himself 'but how could he pass such a good job?' He thought to himself and chuckled quietly being careful not to wake up anybody else in the room slowly walking into the kitchen and made himself some salad from what he could find around.
He sat down at the small round table and ate it slowly, thinking about how he just got here and already enjoying it. he finished the food and organized after himself and went to the large makeshift "training" room to perform daily practice before the day began.
after training the sun was up and He could hear the people starting to walk in the street.
 He packed a small bag with blueprints and money changed to a formal day's clothes checked that the other people were waking up and notified them he was leaving for now so they won't think he ran away with their money and walked to town square to buy what he needed for tonight.

[MrRazot]

The cool, crisp morning air played through Perry's feathers, messing them up as he rolled into town on the back of a farmer's cart. Dust kicked up from the dirt road clung to his once clean clothing that had once smelled of spending a night in a farmer's barn.
Propping himself up on a large sack of grain to get a good view of his surrioundings as they entered the town, Perry felt the slow rumbling of the cart turning to a clatter as they transitioned from dirt to cobble road. It was still early, but the sun was shining and there was a small buzz in the people of this new town as shops opened and stalls were set up with fresh produce.


Perry adjusted the sword on his belt as he leant over to talk to the farmer who'd hosted him the previous night.
"Thank you" he said in Italin as best as he could, his nondescript british accent preventing propper vocalisation of the finer sounds of the language. "You are done me big service"
He passed forwards a small purse of coin to the farmer, a common wolf.
"Thank you" the farmer replied as he drew the cart to a halt in the middle of a square where more stalls were being set up.
Perry patted the back of the farmer out of gratitute then jumped off of the cart. Today was going to be a good day, he thought to himself as he ontinued to survey the area with his wide eyes. There were small bands of what looked like local militia patrolling the area as the streets became more busy. Perry had heard of the Morticellos and had travelled this way with the intention of making some coin. How different could it be from mercenary work in northern Europe?


Small shops and bistros lined the square, but one in partular caught his attention. A tavern or inn by the looks of it, either way, it would be a perfect start to his quest to find new weatlh. Such places were often a wealth of information in themselves, as all sorts of people make their way through inn doors. Perry took off with a light, proud stride, left hand over the hilt of his bastard sword and through to the inn for possibly a spot of breakfast.



He made his way to the innkeeper and tried his best to convey that he would be seeking food, possible refreshment and a chance of accommodation for the coming night.
Sitting down, he started listening in on he people around him, staring at others.
One certain character definitely caught his attention...

[Ventus Fall]

An avian seeming fairly tall due to its posture and build -but in reality having a rather average height- was walking around the town centre. Checking out the town's architecture and the fine details worked into the walls, the raptor smiled and walked on.
It was time for an early drink. Well... early. Last night was a rather late night and sleep was delayed by quite a couple of hours. If anything, the avian was going to get a very, very, late night drink.

Swerving to the right, he headed into one of the more busier streets, trying to find a pub or tavern of some sorts. From under his hood he spotted a sign of a tavern. Smiling once again, the bird-like creature entered the building, the ring on his left middle finger glistening from the early sun light onto the door, briefly showing the reflection on the door of the Thunderbird engraved on the ring.
After having found a spot to sit down, he ordered a drink.

"Your accent, it's not from here, is it?" The tavern owner brings the avian his drink. His feline appearance slightly worried the bird.
He nodded. "Correct, I suppose you want to know where I'm from?"
"Not really. Well... Of course I'm a curious cat." The owner chuckled and continued: "But to each his own. Feel free to keep the information to yourself. I asked, because I can't place it."
"It's because I don't-"
Before he could finish his sentence he suddenly felt really anxious. It could be that the cat was making him nervous. No... It was something else. Something felt off. Someone else was watching him. But whom?
Keeping his cool, he looked around the room from under his hood. His eyes narrowed on a figure sitting on the other side of the tavern. They were staring right at one another.
The feline tavern owner realised what was going on and decided it was best not to press on. He slowly slinked off after having dropped the drink off for the avian at his table.

[Ginger Ale]

     The door of the blacksmith's shop makes a familiar creak as Fulvius enters his familiar workplace and takes off his over-tunic and puts on an apron. Unfamiliar to him, however, is the lack of noise otherwise. He calls out to his instructor.
     "Ave, Tulio! Ubi es?" There is no response. Fulvius checks in the back of the shop. On the table sits a note in hurried handwriting. Fulvius' eyes dart across each line; he re-dons his over-tunic, throwing the note in the fire. Quickly, he ties on his jackchains, reaches for a weapon suitable for combat, and runs out the door.
     Fulvius' mind races, doubt and hatred like rabid creatures fighting to be the dominant thought. His thoughts may not be in line, but his sense of direction stays true, rounding the corner towards the tavern. "That bastard!" Fulvius thinks as he takes a deep breath to calm down, and opens the door.
     He looks around the inn, seeing two avians and a canine. Fulvius asks the canine if he's seen a certain cat, a tabby. The canine tells him that if he's looking for the bartender, he went upstairs. Thanking the kind gentlemen, Fulvius makes his way toward the staircase, returning a gaze from one of the avians before proceeding.
     "Heus!" Fulvius calls out to the familiar gray striped feline, "Where did they take Tulio, Argus? Don't try and stall, I know you have him here." The feline backs up, afraid.
     "I'm sorry, Fulvius! I'm not working with them anymore!"
     Fulvius grabs the tabby by the collar with his left hand, takes out his knife with the right, and waves it in front of the feline. "Do you see this? This, my good friend, means I don't want to waste time here, and I want a straight answer."
     "Th-there's nothing I can do right now, s-"
     Argus is interrupted by a strike to the nose with the pommel. "I said, give me an answer!"
     "Ach!" The cat's eyes showed fear, his voice was muffled by the blood now flowing from his nose. "Fine, fine! I can tell you where they have your friend," Argus lowers his voice, "He's probably at the southern gate, that's where they usually take their victims. I can't be sure if that's where he is, though."
     Fulvius let go of the tabby, and walks back down the stairs. He glances at the avian from before and hurries out the door towards the southern gate.

[Ventus Fall]

Noises from upstairs made Velcro break off the weird staring contest that was taking part between the two avians. He listened closely, filtering out the noise from the rest of the tavern.
While not being able to make out the conversation clearly, he did hear some sort of argument was going on and a few words.
"Southern gate (...) victims (...)" Was all he could hear clearly. The avian could only guess the argument was between the Badger-like creature who just walked in and the tavern owner, as he previously walked upstairs.

After not too long, he heard the voices tone down and someone walking down the stairs. It was the Badger and he glanced at the other avian.
Once the mammal left the tavern, Velcro then went up to check on the feline. He stayed out of view of the tavern owner, but could see he suffered from being his on the nose, as it was bleeding a bit.
That was pretty random and quite... harsh. I wonder why though. Perhaps my hunch was right about this cat, and not just because it's a feline. He must have done something to upset this Badger... He thought to himself as he studied the feline, slumped on the floor, trying to take care of their nose bleed.

The avian ran back down and decided to follow the Badger. He glanced once more at the other avian in the tavern and headed outside. Once outside, he snuck into a dark alleyway and climbed the walls until he reached to roof of the tavern. Taking a quick glace, he found the Southern gate and the path the Badger was most likely to take. Staying out of view, the avian finally found the Bagder and decided to keep and eye on him, to see what all the fuss was about.
To see if this would lead him to why he was asked to come here.

[Shoon]

Shoon walked in the streets which got more and more busy and crowded the closer he got to the center of town. He was walking somewhat lost with only a small idea of what direction he was walking in. But after a while Shoon spotted the the blacksmiths bulding and walked to the door. He knocked on it twice and waited for an answer, after a moment or 2 he knocked again, louder, no respone.
Shoon sat down by the door and began to meditate, he had nothing else to do.

[Ginger Ale]

     As Fulvius walked along the southern road, he was wary of the guards. It would be impossible for Fulvius to pass to the annexed division through the main gate without official business; he had to take a different route.He remembered his mentor's stories of this area. It had always been the residential area for the pagans and the majority of the rodent population. Those living in the area were descendants of those isolated after the massacre of Secundus Mus Gaius and his family. The Mus family had seized power over Tricerro quickly. The rebels opposed the Catholic Church, and had been raising a militia in a dozen isolated villages nearby. Their militia was small compared to that of Tricerro; a forceful seizure of power would have been suicidal. Secundus sent in a few dozen of his men to blend in with the inhabitants of the town. The spies studied the patterns of the guards and found an opening: the southern gate. It stuck out about a kilometer from the rest of the town, and was watched by only three guards. A few orders were given, a few officials were killed, a few buildings torn down, and within less than a week, Secundus Mus Gaius stepped in as the commander of Tricerro's military. The entire town of Tricerro was under control of two or three hundred of Mus' loyalists.
     Half a century had gone by and Mus had grown very old. He claimed to have gained wisdom in his old age, but he had lost his old cleverness. It was the perfect time for another uprising. Using similar tactics as Mus had done, the Catholics had regained control of Tricerro. Anyone with blood relation to Mus had been publicly executed and the majority of the other rodents were outcast to the southern extension of the city, and kept close watch on.
     That was about one hundred years ago. The tight grip on the southern part of town had been marginally loosened, however it was still nigh impossible to enter the division without good reason. Unless, of course, you knew the system.
     The day became hot as Fulvius approached a humble cobbler's house. He looked around to make sure nobody saw him enter an alleyway and quickly walk to the back door. Remembering the direness of the situation, Fulvius scraped his left index claw against the door, while knocking with the right twice. The door opened, and Fulvius hurriedly entered, shutting the door behind him.
     "Ah, Fulvuis, esne tu bonum diem habes - are you having a good day?"
     Fulvius looked to his friend, a young wolf-dog whom he grew up with before beginning apprenticeship with Tulio. The canine, Nunzia, was two years Fulvius' senior, though Fulvius had acted as an older sibling in some ways. She was a thin girl from a poor family. Her mother had passed away a few years ago, and her father was too busy with work to care for her, so she made money getting people contraband material from the southern district through a tunnel system that ran through her basement. Fulvius embraced his friend and told her of the situation - her face turned cold and she opened the door to the tunnel and gave him some bandages for Tulio 'just in case'. Before resurfacing on the other side, Fulvius told his friend to lock up on the north side, then come back to stay and wait for him.
     "I won't be long, not too long at least. Perfer et obdura, Nunzia." Fulvius smiled, climbed the stairs, and exited into the southern district. He continued toward the southern gate quickly, not caring much who saw him.

[MrRazot]

Was this Perry's lucky day? the tavern he'd entered indeed had a host of characters that seemed like the mercenary type, particularly another avian that had taken his interest. However as soon as the badger ran out, the avian seemed to glance at him then run after the badger. Is there going to be a fight?


Perry left  few coins from different regions on the table then dashed off after to see what was going on. He lost sight of the avian, but the badger wasn't too hard to follow. He did disappear into an alley for a moment and Perry hung back, but they were soon on the way again. Blood pumping and hand on hilt as he ran, Perry was ready for anything.

[Ventus Fall]

Velcro heard some ruffling after a while and looked down to the other side of the streets.
Well what do you know, he decided to follow the badger too. I wonder... if he was originally going to follow the badger or me... He saw the avian from the bar and from by the looks of it was apparently carrying a weapon too.
The avian ended his thought there as there was no point in figuring that out now and focussed on the bagder again, although it was a bit harder to concentrate.

Although Velcro might have lost view of the badger when he entered the house, he recalled the Southern Gate being mentioned. Still using the rooftops, he leapt from roof to roof stealthily in order to still avoid detection all the way until he would reach the Southern Gate.
If the badger wouldn't show up after a while, Velcro would have to consider to continue moving on.

[Ginger Ale]

The hot, midday sun beat down upon Fulvius upon approaching the southern gate. He was a little thirsty, but he could not waste any more time. As he finally caught sight of the presumed location of his master, Tulio, held captive by what he could only assume to be the Morticellos trying to force him into working with them; a highly skilled Castorid blacksmith living in the inner city would be priceless to them.


But now, with their absence, Fulvius could only wonder where Tulio could be. What other reason could there have been for that note? That was certainly Tulio's handwriting, and very quickly written at that! Fulvius decided that he would get his bearings again, maybe hope that he overheard something worth knowing as he couldn't risk asking around - he was already an uncommon sight in the area. He did, however, ask where he could get some drinking water, as his thirst had started to get the best of him.


After getting a drink from a well off to one side of town (he did not risk standing out too much by being the one of the only predatory animals in the district square), Fulvius found a shady tree. He needed to think. Tulio must have been taken away to some other, new hideout of the Morticellos, which is certainly a possibility. He knew from the start that Argus's information was a bit dated; it was years ago that he became an "honorary Morticello" for paying off one of their best fighters' debts after being imprisoned. The generous move had allowed Argus to be under the protection of the Morticellos for some time, during which he learned some of their plans and their main hideouts. Argus must have cut off ties with the Morticellos, as his information about where they take their victims had obviously proven false. I will have to do some digging, but I WILL find you, Tulio. Fulvius promised to himself.


A falling rock and a curse word in the distance snapped Fulvius out of his thoughts, and he was almost sure he was being watched. Unwilling to take any chances, he drew his sword quietly, wishing he had taken the time to get used to the curved blade. Circumspect in his movements, he tried to get a sense of where his potential attacker was.


"Show yourself! If a fight is what you want, I will surely deliver! I am no coward!" Fulvius was not confident in his words, but one could not assume that externally. On the outside, Fulvius had the confidence of a charging bull, and ferocity to match it. He stayed composed on the surface, ready for action.