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Adventurers Not Welcome (OPEN! PM To Join!)

Started by Eckhart_Von_Musel, June 24, 2017, 01:49:38 PM

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Eckhart_Von_Musel

"What do you mean I'm too young?!?" Hoss whined. She was standing outside the door of a large mansion, hands on her hips. "The flyer called for "adventurers of all shapes and sizes", right? I have a shape and a size! Why can't I help?"

The man at the door sighed. "Like I said, the young master wants somebody with at least two years of experience. He cannot entrust such an important mission to somebody who's liable to botch it."

"Wait what!" Hoss said, fuming with anger. "I can fight plenty good! I won't fai-"

The man shut the door on her, cutting her off. Screaming in frustration, Hoss stormed away from the mansion and began the long trek back into town. "Stupid nobles with their stupid prerequisites!" she ranted out loud. "How am I supposed to get experience when nobody will hire me to kill stuff!" Angry, Hoss pulled her battleaxe out of her back and began to attack a nearby tree.

"This!" *CRACK* "Isn't!" *CRACK* "Fair!" *CRACK* "At all!" she yelled in between swings. Finally she settled down, and slumped against the splintered remains of what was once a oak tree. "Now what?"

Moccasin

A feminine voice would come from seemingly nowhere, interrupting Hoss' thoughts. "I suggest you vacate the premises, is what. You wouldn't want the young master to charge you for that tree you just demolished." A sudden gust of wind would assault the poor oak, causing it to teeter precariously. "Up here. By the way." A cloaked figure would appear on the roof.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Hoss looked up in shock when she heard a voice tell her to leave. Standing up, she looked around wildly before finally finding the source of the voice standing behind her. "Oh shit, look at those clothes!" she thought as she took several steps back. "The covered face, the dark cloak, the fact that she has too many belts- this is an assassin! And assassins are usually evil!"

Hoss wasn't sure what the assassin wanted, but she'd apparently listened in on her conversation with the butler- not a good sign. Raising her eyebrows at the girl, she pulled a glass of lemonade out from her arm and took a sip. "What's it to you? Maybe I want him to come out here so I can kick his ass!"

Wrathwyrm

Well, that was a bust, at least at first.  Let us explain:  There had been a call to a number of other countries from a man in Adela who had learned of some sort of immortal dark phoenix man who kept terrorizing people in the area.  He wanted people with different abilitie and powers to come and either find a way to kill him permanently...or capture him in such a way that his phoenix feathers could be cultivated forever.  This much had reached the home of one Rena Goldsswith, of Seredipity.  She was interested and had come down to seek more information about the job and payment.

Aye, but there's the rub.  You see, she came down here, and then the posting had been removed, with a notice where it had been that the Adelan Military officially handled matters of the crazed phoenix-man and laid claim to all spoils dropped by each incarnation of the creature.  So, as stated before, it was a bust.  And so, we had this lady warrior with a problem: Nothing to do in Adela.  At least, not until she'd seen another notice.  Not as high-profile, per se, but a 'young master' seemed to have need of an experienced fighter.

Alright.  She was one.  It fit.

Information led her to the area in question, aaand that's when Rena heard the sound of someone very pissed off about the prerequisite.  That was a rather loud crack of the axe, as she saw it, and the younger girl attached to it.  The mansion was large, the 'young master' was obviously a noble or a magistrate, and the axe-wielder was now talking to a woman in a tree.  The conversation...didn't sound good.

"You can't get the job if you beat up the one offering it.  True, it can be satisfying, but it doesn't solve the problem."

For those of you not acquainted with Rena Goldswith, she is a young adult of brown hair, wearing full-body armor that is a bronze-brass color...composed of mythril held together on leather armor beneath to prevent chafing.  She does not have a helmet, but does have two daggers on the belt she's wearing.  The back of the armor has a hanging-spot via the crossguard for her bigass sword, Spark.  Prone to a kinder dispositio, she would rather this disagreement be diffused, not escalated.

"Tell me what you can do.  I think I see a way around this."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Hoss's eye twitched as she turned towards the source of the new voice. "Oh, what now?" she grumbled as she placed the glass of lemonade back into her arm- inadvertently answering the woman's question as to what she could do. It's a good thing she did too, because upon seeing the woman's armor Hoss immediately forgot what she'd been asked.

"Whoa! No way!" Hoss exclaimed loudly. "That looks just like the legendary suit of armor from that book, "The Cobbler And The Dragon"! Is it the same one?!?" She ran forward to get a closer look. "Is that cyathil?" she asked, poking the metal of the woman's breastplate. "Oh my god that is so cool!"


Moccasin

Rosine was taken aback by Hoss' enthusiasm. "What the hell. It's just armor," she thought to herself, adjusting her veil absentmindedly. Still, it was worth checking out. Fancy armor meant fancy connections, and as far as work was doing, she probably needed a couple extra jobs anyway. She climbed down from the roof, approaching the pair silently like the devious sneak she was.

Wrathwyrm

Two things that she was not expecting: One, that the girl she was addressing would place a glass of lemonade into her arm, the whole thing becoming a tattoo upon her body.  Two, that said girl would suddenly become infatuated by her armor.

The power to store items on one's body, which is what that looked like, could be rather useful.  Thank gods, she hadn't decided to be a thief or a smuggler, and that she just wanted some honest axe-swinging work, right?  Rena could, at least, see some potential  there.  Certainly, a number of enemies could be blindsided by such a talent.  As for the whole thing about her armor, Rena was a bit surprised and taken aback.  People didn't usually react that way.

"What?  No, it's mythril.  It's been in my family for generations."

If he reacted that way to her armor, she was gonna go nuts over her sword.  Spark was a zweihander with gentle serrations on its sides leading up to a double-point.  It was made of a material that had no name, forged in sorcery of lightning from a storm directly into metal to make it a strange kind of elemental alloy.  It was a dangerous weapon, just as a sword alone, but this had lightning power, as well.  Before the girl noticed it too, Rena tried to regain control of the conversation.

"Listen, umm...  Sorry, I don't know your name.  Mine is Rena.  I could speak for you to be a part of the mission, if you're looking for experience.  Take an apprenticeship, perhaps?  I hate to see people struggling to get work."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Hoss looked up at the woman stars in her eyes. "What?!? I didn't even know mythril was a real thing! That's AWESOME!" She bounced on her heels, excited to meet such an obviously experienced warrior. "My name is Hoss! Hoss Goodheart! And holy shit an apprenticeship? That sounds amazing!"

Looking behind her, Hoss saw the assassin sneaking towards them. "Shit, I forgot about her." She raised her axe and took a defensive position. "Don't worry about this evildoer, I got it, okay?"

"Oh my god Rena is going to be so impressed!"

Moccasin

Rosine scoffed from underneath her veil. "You know, just because I have a mask on, doesn't mean I'm evil. Besides, what makes you so sure you'll beat me?" Caidheach cracked her knuckles, stretching nonchalantly as the ground beneath her began to glow hot pink. "Last chance to take it back, bucka." The figure stared up at Hoss, a bright light emitting from the holes in her face.

Wrathwyrm

Hoss' reactions were definitely that of someone who hadn't had her life tempered by anything to make her a bit cool-headed, but she had energy and she had an eagerness to excell.  The only problem was that she reacted to the woman who'd been on the roof like she was an attacker, which was wrong.  Not that these two didn't have some disagreement - because Rena had been trying to diffuse the situation when she came in - but this was quickly getting out of hand.  That is why she stepped between them, hands held up in a 'chill out' gesture.  She looked to Hoss first.

"This one's here for a job, same as you.  Just trying to make ends meet.  If she were here to kill someone, she wouldn't be talking, she'd be acting."

The look she'd given Hoss was patient.  She wanted to show her stuff and she'd made a quick assumption.  The look she gave the other woman was a bit more stern, because she really wasn't helping, and Rena had seen that she was charging some magic.

"You're both here for a job and so am I, but none of us will get anywhere if we end up fighting, so drop whatever you're about to cast.  She made a mistake because you look the part.  Just let it go."

Rena often did play the voice of reason in certain scenarios.  All part of having to grow up sooner than she would've wanted to...

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Hoss's ears turned red as Rena scolded her. Putting her axe away inside her back, she looked away. "Fine. I'll drop it- for now." she said as she tried (and failed) to hide her embarrassment. "But if she tries to magic us later I'm gonna wreck her so hard." She sent an angry glare the girls way. "What did you say your name was? Whatever it was, I think it's dumb. I think 'm gonna call you-"

Hoss was cut off by a voice coming from the mansion. "What happened to my favorite tree!?" cried the young man standing in the doorway. He looked to be around eighteen, and he was wearing clothes that looked like they must have cost a fortune. He had a willowy frame, as if he could be pushed over by a light breeze. "That was planted by my great-great-great granddaddy!"  he said with tears in his eyes."Somebody is going to pay for this!"

Hoss stared at her feet, too embarrassed to speak.

Moccasin

Without warning, the figure exploded into thousands of shards of light, causing the young master to scream. In the seconds that followed, a strange levitating glove would emerge from behind the doorway, subduing the boy's cries, before holding him as he fell slowly to the ground, a pink dart protruding from his back.

Rosine's face emerged from the doorway, her cloak flourishing as the rest of her body became visible. Without saying a word, she quickly grabbed a potion from her belt and sprinkled it on the remains of the tree, which in seconds returned to good health. Caidheach patted the great oak with admiration, before taking a moment to explain herself.

"The glowing figure you saw was merely an illusion I summoned after this one started acting up," she said, pointing in Hoss's direction. "I cast an invisibility spell and retreated in case one of you decided to charge me, but seeing as that was sorted, I had no reason to keep up the act. That is, of course, before he came along, and by then my illusion had expired." Caidheach made a motion with her hands that emulated the explosion, before shrugging casually. "I took the opportunity to silence him before things escalated. Besides, this way, he won't have any evidence that you destroyed his tree." 

Wrathwyrm

So!  Frying pan avoided, we now move onto the fire.  The fire is represented by what we'll assume to be the young master coming out and seeing the damage to the large tree.  It was a...family tree, in a sense.  It was very old, and obviously an important connection to the past.  We can't comment on the young fellow's attentions and values to such things, but that's no reason to hack the tree apart either.  Hoss was understandably embarassed, and Rena was about to say something...when their assassin friend decided to take quick action.  Rena facepalmed.

"Are you kidding me?  Did you actually drug your propective employer?"

Granted, she must've used some kind of regenerative healing potion for quick wound repair on the tree and brought it back to its former state, but this was all a bit extreme.

"I was going to suggest asking a druid.  Some of the more devout ones would've fixed this for free."

She sighed, shaking her head, then pointed to the guy.

"Wake him up.  We'll be lucky if he hires any of us, at this rate."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Hoss's eyes widened in horror as the assassin proceeded to knock out the young man who had stepped outside to cry at them. "What the hell? I knew you were evil!" She didn't listen to what the girl's explanation was, being preoccupied instead with holding herself back from attacking her. "An innocent! He was an innocent! I'm gonna cleave her head off! Then I'll kick her in the teeth! Evil deserves no less."

Rena's voice snapped Hoss out of her violent fantasies. "R-right. Wake him up." she repeated, shooting the assassin a death glare as she approached the unconscious noble. Kneeling down, Hoss pulled a soaking wet cloth out from her shin and wrung it out over the man's face. "C'mon dummy, you'll be fine." she muttered under her breath. The man slowly began to come to, and Hoss looked Rena with an annoyed expression.

"Give this guy a minute, he's getting there."

Moccasin

Rosine glanced between the other women, before shooing the girl away from the man's face. "He won't be too happy to see you, so I suggest you back off." The girl took off her gloves and gently pulled the dart out of his back, before disposing of it in her pocket. "And before you say anything, he didn't see me and if it weren't for the fact, you'd be on your way to jail right now. Armor lady too." Rosine stared  blankly at the mentioned accessory to the crime. But, seeing as he was coming to, Caidheach decided to focus her attention more on the man she just knocked out. She rubbed the master's shoulder. "Hey, you alright?"

The young Adelan came to, opening his eyes slowly before sitting up on the steps. "W-what?"

"You passed out on the steps. These people are here to help. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," Caidheach replied.

"Wait... Them? Y-y-you two?!" The man pointed frantically between the other women. "They're the ones that wrecked my tree!"

"The tree seems fine to me," Rosine said, shrugging as if she had no part in its recovery.

Wrathwyrm

Rena's only comment on the other woman's assertion of 'If not for me, you'd be going to jail' was simply "Don't push your luck.".  Because, really, that wasn't even realitic, even if he accused her of doing anything, which wasn't even true.  It'd be a bit of a tangle to get Hoss out of trouble, and Rena was certainly willing, but the point was that the apparent illusionist was having illusions about how things would really play out.  Out of the three of them, Rena was - thus far- the only one NOT to pull anything out of line.

However, since the young master was in a lather over the tree and decided to point fingers, Rena figured that it was just about time.  Right after the other woman stated the tree was fine, the part-elf raised a hand to bring attention to the forefront before gesturing over to her now.

"It's okay.  This woman was just showing us her expertise in illusions, making it look as though the tree were being cut up before our very eyes.  She's quite good."

Hah.  Now, she was part of it, whether she wanted it or not, and she could forget about veiled threats or leverage of any kind.  So saying, they now had some buiness to attend to, unless someone around here DID indeed want to ruin it for all of them, because it would lead to just that, no question.

"In any case, we came here in reponse to your flyer asking for some good swords and whatnot for a job.  Shall we begin?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

The noble's eyes widened. "O-oh! Bravo! You had me completely fooled!" he said, eyes still teary. 'You three have proven yourself more than capable of completing this mission already!"

Nearby, Hoss crossed her arms angrily. "Why? Why would you bring the evildoer with us?" she thought, eyes burning with silent fury. "She'll betray us! Just you wait!"

"Now, the job..." the young master said as he began to cry once more. "I-I used to be able to hunt b-big game in the f-f-forest, but-" The man paused to take a handkerchief out of his pocket. After blowing his nose loudly, he continued. "B-but now there's a two headed ogre in the woods, and he kills everything! He won't let us hunt anymore, and what's worse, he tries to kill us the moment we get too close!" The man got on his knees, pleading. "Please! Just make him go away!"

Moccasin

Rosine was taken aback by the young master's melodramatics but quickly assured him of their competence. "Of course. We'll make sure he doesn't bother you or your men in the future." Caidheach gently patted the young man's head. "However, I didn't quite get the chance to look over your offer. May you remind me what you are giving us in exchange for our services? I hate to talk about payment so soon, but, it is the nature of the job."


Wrathwyrm

Rena wasn't telepathic, but she caught the look on Hoss' face.  She didn't like that the as-of-yet-unnamed woman was going with them.  Yes, there was going to be no love lost between them, she could tell.  The both of them had their issues.  Hoss was impulsive, and the other woman was morally dubious.  The best way to keep both from causing harm was to keep them where she could see them.

So anyway, the young master began to outline the fullness of his problems.  Apparently, he enjoyed hunting in the woods, but there was an ogre out there making that hard, what with the killing and all.  The two-headed part surprised Rena, but then she'd seen a few weird things, herself.  Their illusionist was sympathetic, but wanted to discuss price.  Unfortunately, that did need to be discussed.

"She IS right.  We can handle it, but we will need fair payment."

Truthfully, Rena had handled underhanded clients before and knew how to get them to pay their dues, but provided that this was merely a distress rich boy, there wouldn't be much of a concern.

"I'm guessing we shouldn't have any trouble finding it, though."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

The young man's eyes narrowed. "You will be compensated fairly." he said in a flat voice. "Bring me the ogre's head- both of them- and I'll make it worth your while."

"Wait, what?" Hoss said angrily. "I wanna know how much! Otherwise you're probably going to stiff us!" This day was seemingly going from bad to worse. "I swear, if we kill the monster and you pay us in lottery tickets or something, I will be so fucking mad!"

For a brief moment the nobleman looked as if he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He uickly shrugged it off however, and crossed his arms across his chest. "I said you'd be compensated fairly. Now shoo, go kill that ogre. It lives in a cave a few miles southwest of here." Standing up, he walked back into his mansion, shutting the door behind him.

Hoss stood there, completely dumbfounded. "What a prick."

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