A Rogue's Diary

The stories and lives of the Grim. ((Roleplaying Stories and In Character Interactions))
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Syreenna
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Re: A Rogue's Diary

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August 12, 2014

Being the High Inquisitor has been a surprisingly busy job lately. I've been a Grim long enough to recognize the cycle. A new Big Bad Villain rises to power for a year or so, and everyone bands together to beat it, fighting along with their teams, their guilds, or just taking their chances and throwing themselves in among the Mad. Then the Big Bad Villain is defeated and they get restless. New fighters look for someone to fight alongside in the next big battle, and veterans evaluate if they want to stay where they've been or try somewhere new.

The real test is how many will still be here when the next Big Bad Villain rears its ugly head. Many will disappear again, afraid to fight, or just not interested in battle. Others will leave for what they think are more promising opportunities. But there are always a few who remain and become true Grims.

This time is different. There are the usual newcomers, new fighters eager to join a force and prove themselves. But this cycle is bringing back old people--some nearly forgotten, not all missed. That usually doesn't happen until the new Big Bad has established itself.

I have eight Supplicants right now, not counting two who've gone missing and two who belong to Anaie more than they belong to me. Only three of those eight were strangers when they came to us.

Kogrona is an orc rogue who is fun to toy with, because she drinks a lot. Often, she has asked me "Is this a test?" And I tell her that everything is a test. She seems a bit wary of me, though I'm not sure why. Most Grims know I favor the rogues more than others. I haven't seen her in a while, but I still have the shard of her soul that strange warlock gave me a while back.

Ulrezaj, a troll warlock, has become a regular participant at both my office hours and the Grim battles against the Alliance. I haven't fought alongside him much yet, but he seems competent. He seems calm and steady and focused. I like having him watch my back while I'm busy with applicants during my office hours. I hope he's one of the ones who stay.

Quezt is a Forsaken hunter. She seems quiet, but she's already proven she can handle dangerous animals. She gave me a poisonous frog as a gift at her interview. I'm sure it's because rogues are known to like poisons, and not because she's trying to kill me. I've seen such frogs on the Timeless Isle, and I know how dangerous they can be. I need to learn more about this Forsaken. I really don't know much about her yet.

That leaves five Supplicants who were not complete strangers to The Grim, either directly or indirectly. Odd that there are so many at once.
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Syreenna
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Re: A Rogue's Diary

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August 13, 2014


The five from the past....

I know Fhenrir, of course. Everybody knows Fhenrir, even me, though I can probably count on one hand the number of people I knew who weren't Grim. I've known him a long, long time. He's always been a good fighter. He's always been polite to me, if a bit distant. I was surprised to hear of his interest in joining us. I always got the impression he was too good to be Grim. Not good as in snobby, but just too morally good to do some of the things we do. I'm still not certain he really has what it takes to be Grim. I'm not sure he's grim enough. I hope he is, because I want to keep him, but I think he's too good.

Xaraphyne came with him. I remember her a little bit from years ago, but I never really knew her. I think she was in Sanctuary, and of course Grims had little in common with them. She is not Grim. I'm almost certain. She is definitely too good. At least, she always was, from what I remember. Maybe she's changed, but I'm not sure someone can change that much. But I'll let her go through the Inquisition with Fhenrir and see if she can prove me wrong. I don't doubt she'll at least be of some use while she's here.

Malethia. One of the elves I'd come to hate way back when they first joined the Horde, and Lascivious decided to let some join The Grim. She gave me some ashes from her old home. I get that this was some big gesture of giving up her past and who she was back then, but I don't remember the details of what makes it so important. She said she wants to come back to make up for the past. I doubt she can do that, but it might be amusing to watch her try. I know not to trust her and to keep a very close eye on her.

Feorn is another elf, one I didn't know personally. I didn't even know his name. But I do remember some of the guilds he said he worked for. Alliance guilds. Mercenary. Definitely not one to be trusted. That doesn't mean he can't be useful though. We'll just have to keep a close eye on him, and make sure his challenges are very thorough before he passes his inquisition. He brought me a couple hats, a torch, and a quill as a gift. I wonder if there's any significance to those gifts. I need to find out more about this one.

And lastly, another elf I didn't know, either in person or in name. He actually joined before the other two elves here, but he puzzles me the most, so I saved him for last. Elanderik. Elek. Like Feorn, he threw out names that made me immediately dislike him. Names like Cessily, Aest, and Rosalynd. I asked him about his name--Elek. Like the beasts the Draenai ride. He didn't get riled up. I told him to bring me a present to his interview. He brought me a variety of ears--he did his homework. We went hunting together through some ruins in Pandaria with three of the Mad. I intentionally tried to make his job difficult, but it didn't throw him off. He handled himself well, both in combat and in dealing with the Mad.

Elek and I had a long chat the other night. He's a tricky one. He doesn't act like other elves. He's calm, and polite, and not snobby. I feel at ease around him, and I have to keep reminding myself he's an elf, and not to trust him. I have to remember that I had hope for Cessily in the beginning too, before she got me into all that trouble. It sounds like he and Cessily were very close. For all I know, they could still be together, and this could be some kind of trick. I wouldn't put anything past her. Especially with Malethia back around the same time, and that elf mercenary that used to work for the Alliance. It's just too much of a coincidence. I'll have to be careful around him. Around all of them.
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Syreenna
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Re: A Rogue's Diary

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August 25, 2014

Yet more Supplicants. Eleven now. I need an assistant. I'm glad the Commander approved my request. Well, one of them at least. I'll announce it tonight.

Rennal is half elf and half orc. She's not annoying though, so she must be more orc, even though she looks more like an elf. She has potential, but I have to get to know her better. I haven't given her a special assignment yet.

The other one has been a thorn in my side since I first read her mysterious letter. Kiryx, but I call her Prissy. She doesn't like to wear armor, she doesn't like to fight, she's arrogant and snobby and way too bold. If Awatu wasn't there the night I interviewed her and told me to admit her because she might be useful, I would have dismissed her as soon as she opened her mouth. Even Attie agreed she could be Cessily levels of trouble. This time though, I'm ready. I'm not going to let an underling get me in trouble like that again.

Lately, Elek has been treating me almost as a peer or even less instead of like a Grim officer who holds his future in her hands. He'll pay for that. Tonight. My little plan should put him in his place and deal with Prissy at the same time. If anyone can be successful at that, it would be him.

I still have my doubts about Fhenrir and Xara. I told them I have something special in mind for them for their Trial of Sacrifice. Fhen is getting impatient, I can tell. He's worried about what he'll be asked to do, I think. I told him it's to test who he is and if he's Grim. He told me I know who he is. I think I know who he is, but I hope I'm wrong. Actually, I think he could probably do the trial by himself. He could probably grit his teeth, lose himself in his rage, and just get it over with. But I wonder if he can do it in front of Xara.

I wonder if Xara can do it at all. I asked her the other day if she thinks she is Grim. She said that's for others to say. I think she knows she's not really Grim. She still believes in innocents. I hope she finishes the special assignment I gave her soon.

Strange how a task that can be so easy for some might be difficult for others. Quezt picked the targets for me, though of course she doesn't know they are targets. If she suspects, she didn't comment. I like Quezt. She does her job and doesn't cause trouble. But then, she's Forsaken, so she's bound to be either competent or crazy or both. So far, she doesn't seem crazy.

A druid named Tronto joined us last night. I don't know much about him yet so I don't have anything to comment on yet.

Office hours should be interesting tonight. I can hardly wait.
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Syreenna
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Re: A Rogue's Diary

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July 12, 2015

Emmons has returned. I saw him at the Brokenspear. I was so happy to see him, and I didn’t care who noticed it in that crowded inn. The Grim rogues used to all be so close. Like brothers and sisters. That’s how it felt when I saw Emmons again—like a long lost brother had returned.

Maybe that’s why I thought about this book again. Emmons was the one who gave it to me, so many years ago. So much has changed since then, and even since my last entry here.

I’m no longer the High Inquisitor. I’m not an officer at all now, thanks to my failure in assassinating a particular Sanctuary elf, and worse, being identified. Sanctuary is reformed. Not by Vilmah though. Now they’re led by some psycho bitch elf with a stick up her butt as big as one of those walking trees in Darnassus.

I’m glad Emmons is back. I’ve been missing people from the old days a lot lately. Especially since the Nightmare. Seeing old Grims, and then seeing them turn their backs on me was too much. I know they weren’t real, most of them at least, but it felt real.
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Syreenna
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Re: A Rogue's Diary

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July 13, 2015

Tes joined The Grim tonight. She gave me part of her ear the night before, in return for delivering her introduction letter to the Inquisitors. She said she doesn’t agree with Sanctuary’s methods anymore, and she thinks the Grim way is the way to deal with Alliance.

I think Kex’ti or Julilee planted her here as a spy. Whatever the reason she’s here though, she’s here. She and Kex’ti are close—childhood friends or former lovers or something. Even if she is a spy, we now have someone in arm’s reach that Kex’ti cares about.

I still don’t trust him. I may have stopped actively plotting against him, and I may follow him into Hellfire Citadel, but I haven’t forgotten what he’s done. Others may only see the side he wants to show them—kind and wise and gentle and protective. But I’ve seen something more sinister in him. I’ve seen the cruelty in him, the side that enjoys torturing his enemies rather than just killing them. The part that ignores pleas for mercy. I’m not the only one who’s seen it either. I wonder if Julilee knows. I wonder if he took the same oaths Shokkra told me about.


At the Brokenspear later, I asked Darethy what he would do if the wars were all over. He said he would self-destruct. Lilly was surprised. I wasn’t. I said I would probably get myself killed. Again, Lilly seemed surprised.

What else would I do? If the wars were over, am I supposed to start a herb farm? Run an alchemy shop? I don’t even know how to make many potions that aren’t related to combat. Maybe start a betting ring for fighting smaller animals?

The living can have their dreams for when the war is over—settle down with a mate and raise a bunch of kids—but I’ve already lived my life, short as it may have been. Those things are not an option for me. The only thing I’m good for is fighting.

I guess it’s a good thing for me that there will always be someone to kill.
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Lilliana
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Re: A Rogue's Diary

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((Oh, sad :(. ))
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Khorvis
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Re: A Rogue's Diary

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[[ Lok'tar Agar ? Victory And death? ]]
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Syreenna
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Re: A Rogue's Diary

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July 17, 2015

I went into the Hellfire Citadel tonight for the second time under Sanctuary’s leadership.

It surprised me that they decided to start this mission. It surprised me even more when Naheal asked me to go along with them. I refused at first, of course. Why would I want to hunt alongside those purple people who want to make peace with the Alliance? They’re traitors to the Horde, as far as I can tell.

Then I got to thinking about Sanctuary’s way of doing things. I remembered that they like to give second chances, and they’re all about justice and peace. And I remembered another battle not too long ago, where the enemy’s life was spared in the name of justice. Where would we be now if Varian and that bossy panda hadn’t stopped Thrall from killing Garrosh?

They say Gul’dan may be in the Citadel, and if he isn’t stopped he’ll destroy both Draenor and Azeroth. If Sanctuary decides to bring justice to the enemies within the Citadel instead of killing them on the spot, we could be chasing dangerous foes back to our own home instead of to another world. I could just see those Alliance-lovers doing something like that too. After all, they didn’t kill me after I killed two of their own and attacked several others.

Grims must do what must be done. So I fight alongside those I would sooner murder in their sleep, knowing they think me a monster. I’ll make sure the powerful enemies there are killed, not sent to trial or given a stern lecture and a chance to escape and cause trouble again.

Awatu has been there too, so I am even more determined to finish this task quickly. I don’t think most of them would take a cheap shot at the Grim’s Commander while he’s in combat with other enemies there, but I don’t like taking that chance. Anaie was there too, which made the stressful time a bit less unpleasant. We’ve always appointed ourselves the guardians of the Grim leader, so it was nice to have someone else helping me watch the Commander’s back.

As for my willingness to take cheap shots at Sanctuary during combat, well, the Citadel is a dangerous place. Accidents can happen there. Especially after the other enemies are killed.
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Lilliana
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Re: A Rogue's Diary

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((Accidents can happen!)$
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Syreenna
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Re: A Rogue's Diary

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7.28.15

Yesterday was not a good day. Khorvis, who has been acting very strange lately, had said to look near the twin trees outside the guild hall at dawn. I did. I saw a massacre. Not a battle. Forsaken, likely from Brill, were chained to each other, and each one was torn apart. I don’t know how many were killed. It looked like it must be half the population of Brill. All torn to pieces.

It reminded me of Lupin, but he finally admitted to me that it was Kerala who did that. So I punished her. It wasn’t nearly as bad as what she did to him. I just sliced down a piece of her stomach, so the flesh hung down like a flap. Like Kex’ti did to that Draenei at Grim Batol. Only I didn’t flay nearly as large an area as that. She’s a healer. I’m sure her suffering didn’t last long. When I told the Commander later, he just looked at me and sighed. I think maybe he was relieved I took care of it and he didn’t have to worry about it with everything else going on with Khorvis and the warlocks.

Khorvis is under restraint in the infirmary, after a battle of Grims against him at the Throne of Ki’jaedan. Akorn and Mal are in the dungeon. They’re suspected of corrupting Khorvis with some fel magic. I can believe Akorn is bad. But not Mal. He’s so polite and nice. Like when he helped me come back from the Darkness. He didn’t know I didn’t want to come back yet. He probably thought I was lost or trapped, and just trying to help.
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Syreenna
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Re: A Rogue's Diary

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8.3.15

I was wrong about Kerala. I really thought she would stay. She passed the final Trial and got her rank. I believed it was real.

But as soon as she confirmed with the Commander that her debt was paid, she burned Konro’s tabard. Then she started spouting off about not needing to kill all Alliance, and she’ll keep Grims safe while we murder them but she won’t kill them herself. She knows us well enough to know what kind of reaction that would get.

As if that debt could ever be paid. As if it was her debt to pay in the first place.

She says she doesn’t lie. I know better than most that deceiving and misleading can be done easily and effectively without actually lying. She’s a master at it.

So the Commander announced that she’s of no use and threw her in the fire that was still burning high from where she had just burned all her possessions as part of her Trial of Sacrifice. She screamed and ran off, no longer a Grim.

What a waste.
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Syreenna
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Re: A Rogue's Diary

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8.4.15

I went to Silvermoon with Orphyn to question some magister about something. I won’t write the details here, just in case.

I hate that city. I have never been comfortable there. It’s like I’m seventeen again, dirty and hungry, and trapped in the town hall being questioned and judged by rich, fat, clean people wearing their fancy clothes and their confidence that they’re in control of everything. Silvermoon is a hundred times worse than that, because it’s filled with elves. They’re richer than anyone in Andorhal ever was, and ancient and beautiful and smart. And snobby and cruel and selfish and I hate them all. I hope the scourge come back someday and flatten the whole city and all the elves in it.

Orphyn didn’t seem to mind being there, maybe because he was an elf. He did most of the talking to the magister and his friend. It was clear we weren’t going to get what we came for. Orphyn pulled me aside and suggested we just attack them. Normally, that would have been my first choice, but this was Silvermoon. I pictured elf guards swarming us in that little room, and locking us away in some elf jail. So we left and came up with another plan.

I’m not sure what to think of Orphyn. I’ve known him less than a month, and he’s an elf—a dead one, but still an elf—but I find myself telling him secrets and plans that few others know about. I know I shouldn’t. He’s only a Supplicant. And he’s an elf, so I’m sure he’ll turn on me eventually. Still, it’s nice to have someone to talk to who doesn’t have their own schemes, or at least, doesn’t seem to. That little act of his in front of the magister last night better only be an act, or I will cut off more than his ear!

I sent Ruuki my ideas for Tesonii's Trial of Sacrifice. I hope she uses it.
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Drinn
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Re: A Rogue's Diary

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((Syreeennnnaaa has a crusssshhhh!))
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Xaraphyne
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Re: A Rogue's Diary

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[[ Syreena and Or-phyn, sittin' in a tree... ]]
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Syreenna
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Re: A Rogue's Diary

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8.7.15

Awatu called a guild meeting for tonight. He agreed with Leyu’jin that Sanctuary is to be treated as traitors, and we’re to treat them as such.

Leyu’jin had a strange mask on tonight, the eyes glowed. It was creepy. I’m still surprised he ordered us to kill those three Sanctuary people at the Faire the other night. I always got the impression he didn’t approve of my actions against them months ago. Maybe he’s finally had enough of their interfering with the Mandate, or maybe it was knowing they had just met with Alliance. Or maybe it’s something else.

Khorvis is still locked up in the dungeon. I don’t know if he’s just being held there, or if someone is actively trying to make him better. I’m sure if anyone else shows signs of the same problem, they’ll probably be locked up too. I really hope there’s a cure.

After the meeting, Orphyn and I went to kill Iron Horde in Tanaan. On our way out of Vol’mar though, we ran into Kex’ti. He was there for a purpose, but he was calm. Maybe he didn’t hear about what happened at the Faire. He said if I let him take Cerryan’s ear off my head peacefully, he’d make it a clean cut and heal the wound it left. I said I had become attached to my pretty new ear, and Orphyn made it clear Kex’ti would have to go through him to get to me.

So he did. Kex’ti went through Orphyn, then came for me. I fought him, of course, and I lasted longer than I expected before I fell. He sliced Cerryan’s pretty ear off my head, and then he healed the hole it left. Orphyn came at him again, and again, Kex’ti put him down. Still, Kex’ti was calm. He healed our injuries that he just caused us. He must have heard about the Faire, or why would he have come for my ear? Julilee trying to get it was what started the fight there. I know what he’s capable of. I remember him lifting me by the throat and nearly burning me over a fire when he found out I took Cerryan’s ear in the first place, and his threats if I touched anyone in Sanctuary again. Why didn’t he kill us tonight? What is he up to?
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