Post by Gloria Smith on Dec 21, 2015 21:16:19 GMT -5
Every child on this continent knew of the Crescents, how they could enter any building regardless of measures taken, how they could kill in the most mysterious of ways, how to cross a Crescent meant certain death.
Most children believed that the Crescents were myths, legends meant to keep them in bed at night. This was true, for the most part. Over the last two hundred and fifty years since the death of Eleanor Smith, the last great leader of the Crescents, the group had steadily disappeared. First it scattered into different Onoskan territories, away from the original base in central Onoska near Kyyra, and with the annexation of Rassel into Onoska, the group spread down south even further. In the beginning, this only strengthened the group. Then the distance became too much and the Crescents began to splinter under the lack of direct leadership. Now there were very few Crescent cells left. There was one in Kyyra still which had gone inactive for the most part, there was rumored to be one still left deep in the Misera Mountains but no one had made contact with it in over twenty years, and the on in Miska, the only one which stayed even somewhat true to the original mission of the Crescents.
The Miskan chapter fell short though. No longer a daring group of skilled burglars and expert assassins, the group had devolved into a ragtag bunch of thieves and subpar mercenaries. Only one, the leader of the group, was even a descendant of the famed Crescent lineages and while she had been trained in the traditional methods, none of the other ten left had been. And with their ranks decreasing every year in favor of higher paying mercenary groups, Gloria, the inexperienced leader left in charge after the last round of hangings, had given up on trying to put difficult training practices in place in favor of higher retention methods.
Gloria Smith, twenty five years old and possibly the last of the true Crescents, led the Miskan group to the best of her ability. There were ten people left, in addition to her, and jobs were scarce. Most of her people freelanced on the side and while any true Crescent should have been appalled at the idea of breaking the sacred oath between individual and group, Gloria no longer had it in her to care. Money was tight everywhere in Miska, the city having been destroyed more than once as the integration into Onoska went on. Jobs, if they could be found, shouldn't be turned down because of where they came from or who they came through. Gloria had only been a leader for a year, the last leader having been hung in a wave of roundups that swept through the city as law enforcement cracked down.
"Password?" Came the scratchy voice of Ivan, a Castricarian thief who had moved up to Miska, having heard of job opportunities. He had been misled but had at least found the Crescents to fall in with. He was guarding the passage into their base, which was beneath a tavern this month. The tavern owner was a Crescent sympathizer, a man who was related to them but had gone on the straight and narrow years ago. It didn't matter much, they'd be leaving soon enough. The base switched locations every few months in order to avoid being caught. Soon, Gloria wondered, they might not even have a base of operations. They already broke tradition by not living in the base, it didn't make sense to, with how often it moved around.
"Amaya." Gloria responded. She heard the rusty movements of the several locks moving and the dark passage into the cellars of the tavern opened.
"Welcome back boss." Ivan said. "There's someone waiting for you. Says he's got a job for us."
"You let him in!?" She exclaimed. Drat, they were going to have to move bases again. And soon, which meant she'd have to send someone out looking while she spoke with whoever Ivan let in.
"He had the password boss. Said he got it from someone who had been satisfied with our work in the past." Came the reply. Gloria gave a rusty laugh. "He must be communing with the dead, because those are the last people who were actually satisfied with us. I'll see him though. Sonya, I have a mission for you."
"Yeah boss?" Sonya replied as she walked over.
"Go out and find us a new base. Ivan, you get everyone else together to empty this place out. When you find a new place Sonya, you know how to notify us safely. I trust you. I'm going to go see what this guy wants."
Gloria left the pair, who quickly went to work on her orders, and slipped into a side room which held the mysterious man with a job.
"What can I do for you?"
Most children believed that the Crescents were myths, legends meant to keep them in bed at night. This was true, for the most part. Over the last two hundred and fifty years since the death of Eleanor Smith, the last great leader of the Crescents, the group had steadily disappeared. First it scattered into different Onoskan territories, away from the original base in central Onoska near Kyyra, and with the annexation of Rassel into Onoska, the group spread down south even further. In the beginning, this only strengthened the group. Then the distance became too much and the Crescents began to splinter under the lack of direct leadership. Now there were very few Crescent cells left. There was one in Kyyra still which had gone inactive for the most part, there was rumored to be one still left deep in the Misera Mountains but no one had made contact with it in over twenty years, and the on in Miska, the only one which stayed even somewhat true to the original mission of the Crescents.
The Miskan chapter fell short though. No longer a daring group of skilled burglars and expert assassins, the group had devolved into a ragtag bunch of thieves and subpar mercenaries. Only one, the leader of the group, was even a descendant of the famed Crescent lineages and while she had been trained in the traditional methods, none of the other ten left had been. And with their ranks decreasing every year in favor of higher paying mercenary groups, Gloria, the inexperienced leader left in charge after the last round of hangings, had given up on trying to put difficult training practices in place in favor of higher retention methods.
Gloria Smith, twenty five years old and possibly the last of the true Crescents, led the Miskan group to the best of her ability. There were ten people left, in addition to her, and jobs were scarce. Most of her people freelanced on the side and while any true Crescent should have been appalled at the idea of breaking the sacred oath between individual and group, Gloria no longer had it in her to care. Money was tight everywhere in Miska, the city having been destroyed more than once as the integration into Onoska went on. Jobs, if they could be found, shouldn't be turned down because of where they came from or who they came through. Gloria had only been a leader for a year, the last leader having been hung in a wave of roundups that swept through the city as law enforcement cracked down.
"Password?" Came the scratchy voice of Ivan, a Castricarian thief who had moved up to Miska, having heard of job opportunities. He had been misled but had at least found the Crescents to fall in with. He was guarding the passage into their base, which was beneath a tavern this month. The tavern owner was a Crescent sympathizer, a man who was related to them but had gone on the straight and narrow years ago. It didn't matter much, they'd be leaving soon enough. The base switched locations every few months in order to avoid being caught. Soon, Gloria wondered, they might not even have a base of operations. They already broke tradition by not living in the base, it didn't make sense to, with how often it moved around.
"Amaya." Gloria responded. She heard the rusty movements of the several locks moving and the dark passage into the cellars of the tavern opened.
"Welcome back boss." Ivan said. "There's someone waiting for you. Says he's got a job for us."
"You let him in!?" She exclaimed. Drat, they were going to have to move bases again. And soon, which meant she'd have to send someone out looking while she spoke with whoever Ivan let in.
"He had the password boss. Said he got it from someone who had been satisfied with our work in the past." Came the reply. Gloria gave a rusty laugh. "He must be communing with the dead, because those are the last people who were actually satisfied with us. I'll see him though. Sonya, I have a mission for you."
"Yeah boss?" Sonya replied as she walked over.
"Go out and find us a new base. Ivan, you get everyone else together to empty this place out. When you find a new place Sonya, you know how to notify us safely. I trust you. I'm going to go see what this guy wants."
Gloria left the pair, who quickly went to work on her orders, and slipped into a side room which held the mysterious man with a job.
"What can I do for you?"