New Year, Old Troubles (The Five)

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  1.   1.  Part One
    1.   1.1  Timeline
  2.   2.  Part Two
    1.   2.1  Timeline

New Year, Old Troubles

Newspost

Thread

Date

January 2016 - April 2016

Location

Salsola, Sticks and Stones

Result

The Five was defeated by Salsola

Belligerents

The Five

Commanders

Salvia Eternity
Lokr Revlis

Hans Voclain
Thomas Blanc
Émile Toussaint
Bernard Foss
Rudolf Foss

At the beginning of 2016 Salsola's leaders put together a nifty little pack plot smiliar to a murder mystery in which the bodies of deceased women were randomly showing up on the edge of the pack's territory, each accompanied by a single large gold coin that was crudely luperci made and left there as a sinister signature from the killer. The bodies were later connected to a dangerous group of men known as The Five, who were hellbent on collecting one of Salsola's members as "property" owed to their leader. The plot was temporarily put on hold when the Operation Meteor boardwide plot went down at the same time but was later resumed.

1.  Part One

Winter is truly settling in to ever-prosperous Salsola, blanketing the treacherous kingdom grounds in a familiar layer of snow and ice, but things aren't as quiet and steadfast as they seem. Despite the violent removal of what was assumed to be the source of earlier trouble, more obvious and chilling 'warnings' have continued to show up on Salsola's well-protected borders. What the continued ominous presence of these macabre gifts means is, as of yet, unknown... but this stalemate cannot hold out forever.

What does this mean for the citizens of the Thistle Kingdom? The unsettling situation is quickly growing out of hand, becoming more and more alarming by the day. Whoever is continuing to harass the borders is surely aiming to send a clear message. Perhaps to all Salsolans, or perhaps to only one.

1.1  Timeline

  • [M] i'm scared to death of light and silence (More Bodies)
    Though rumors now abound in regards to an incident involving the Eternity family, and a presumed resolution, the string of murders go on — and the pile of gold coins found on each victim continues to stack up. Things get serious when a strange Outsider attacks a Salsolan member. The man is killed in retaliation when two more Salsolans arrive to help.
  • look at your face like you're killed in a dream (Suspicious Characters)
    Salsola's increased vigilance pays off when a border patrol captures another Outsider, undoubtedly affiliated to the first. They bring him into the domain of the Thistle Kingdom to be held for "questioning".
  • [M] We don't know, but you can't run away from it (We Have Ways)
    The loner is given a rather intense interrogation regarding his involvement to the incidents on the borders.
  • a simple prop to occupy my time (Aggressions)
    While the identity and purpose as to the captured trespasser remain under question, it seems his absence has not gone unnoticed by his comrades. Two men cross Salsola's borders looking for him, only to come across Salsola member Hope D'Angelo instead. Their attempt to kidnap her is stopped by members of Salsola, though both men manage to escape alive.
  • (Manhunt)
    With a fresh trail to follow, Salsola's trackers are sent out to try and find the origin of these men. When their trail splits, the search party is forced to do so as well. One group heads east while the other travels north.

Side Threads

2.  Part Two

After a previously terrifying rise in the assaults by the mysterious Outsiders on Salsola members, the murderous nature of their crimes crawls to a halt due to the increase of border patrols and general tightening of security on the outskirts of the Kingdom. However, the offenses have not been forgotten, nor the offenders driven off. Salsola still has a key prisoner from the Outsider group and traces of those men are continuously found in the foothills of the mountains.

Following the astronomical and catastrophic meteor event on April 1st, Boss Salvia Eternity sends a skilled convoy of trusted members to Salsola's Outpost to ensure the safety of the Family who serve there. Mistaking the large departing group as the bulk of Salsola's defensive membership, and pushed to action whilst there is still an air of fear and confusion, the offending group of loners - The Five, they call themselves - directly and aggressively approach the Kingdom around a week after they leave. They are lead by a wealthy Toronto gang member named Hans Voclain, who comes from a similar (and warring) area as the Silevue and Valentine kin that have become familiar faces throughout Salsola. The Five come across pack slave Corrine, whom they take hostage before announcing their presence at the border. Demands are made for the return of Hans' "property" which unexpectedly is not the poor and misled goon Tommy who was captured by Salsolans and tortured for information but is instead Salsola's very own Hyacinth! As it turns out, Hans is the beau to whom Hyacinth was betrothed in her past, and when she fled her homeland to escape the betrothal, she drew his fixating and greedy nature into an obsession to reclaim what was "rightfully his."

Needless to say, the demand to turn Hyacinth over to Hans and his cronies was refused outright, and mistaking the value of Corrine, the Five propose a trade. When this unwise proposition is reported to Salvia, she refuses to meet them, and instead enlists the aid of several skilled Salsolans in hunting the detestable group down once and for all.

2.1  Timeline

  • fire in the trees
    A small delegation of scouts are sent to trail the men back to their camp. They must be stealthy and avoid detection and make careful notes on the location of the Five's current base before hurrying back to Salsola to report.
  • [M] hell upon the breeze
    Later that night, a select group of Salsola members are sent to the location identified earlier by the scouts and the group makes a guerrilla-style assault on their campsite, capturing Hans Voclain alive and freeing the captive Corrine.
  • (Pack Meeting)
    A severely beaten Hans is presented to the Leaders, who have gathered much of the pack to sit in judgement of their fate. Hans' crimes against Salsola are severe, but his crimes against Hyacinth are personal. Though all members are welcome to judge and offer their condemnations, Salvia and Lokr are inclined to hand Hans' life over to Hyacinth. Will she let him live? Condemn him to a lifetime of slavery? Or hand him over to the brutal death that lies in wait for Salsola's enemies?
Categories: Plot | Salsola