Brain and Brawn (Roxy)

[TheHighwayman]

It was a small fishing town, one not even notable enough to be put on most maps. Nevertheless, the town had a problem: a quartet of bandits had decided to set up shop nearby, and had been constantly attacking any traders passing through who couldn't afford a large escort. Normally this sort of thing would just be an incentive not to travel unless it was needed, but the attacks had grown more frequent in the past month, to the point where it was starting to kill the town's commerce. The bandits had eluded any sort of pursuit from the town's small guard; now it was time to call in someone else to handle them.

And so it was that Zaehal sat alone in the tavern, a map of the area spread before him and a half-drained tankard in hand. Frowning, he stared at the bit of parchment as if it were lying to him. They had to be far enough away that they couldn't accidentally be stumbled upon, but close enough to know every time a trader left the gates. Problem was, there didn't appear to be anything like that anywhere on the map he'd been given. No, wait- there! With a ever broadening grin, the Thanati traced his finger along the map to the small bit of marshland he'd overlooked. Nobody would go in there without good reason, and it was close enough that they could keep an eye on the road by day and be back to safety by night. "Oye, barkeep! If you wouldn't mind getting me another drink?" he called as he drained the current flagon in celebration.

Now for the hard part. He knew where they were, but how would he deal with them? He doubted this batch would listen to reason: there was far too much profit to be made here, and they were known to be a particularly violent bunch. So he might get in and convince them not to kill him on sight, but never get them to leave willingly. Force then, would have to be the answer. He'd need a partner for this sort of work, and he peered about the bar, looking for potential candidates.

No, no, no good. He'd need at least five of these drunken rabble to take them down, and that many would let the targets know they're coming half a mile off. No, he needed a single gifted individual for this, somebody who could listen to and carry out the plan that was already beginning to form in his head. Someone who could handle themselves in a fight without making a fool of themselves otherwise. Someone like...

[Roxy]

Lash, who made sure one man's dream of flight was realized.

This setting was by far her least favorite.  All these idiots stumbling around, keeling over chairs, tables, leering at each other or at the hapless, solitary woman in the corner; made her bear already a black mood.

Only reason why she stopped in was to meet a trader, who insisted, of all places, to come here to talk business.  She met him the day before after 'bumping' into him at a market, and at first glance he showed a sharp interest in her artillery.  'I might have better to offer,' he'd said, 'less worn down, cheap, brand new!'   She doubted he would, considering her sword and daggers were among the best, but she was curious.  And, despite her distaste for these kinds of places, it'd be rude to turn down an invitation.

So here she was, balefully wallowing in her misery.  There was nothing in her flask save for less-than-intoxicating water, which she sipped from occasionally while glowering at anyone who decided to wobble too close.

Of course, given the nature of this establishment, one of these strapping young to decrepit men was bound to overstep the invisible line.

And in this case, it happened in an extremely bizarre way. 

Some middle-aged clod; a rotund, yet towering 6'4", suddenly slapped his palms down on her table, with enough force to drench half of it with whatever remained of her drink.  She stared at the fallen, leaking flask for a long minute before sloooowwwly looking up at her guest, her eyes wide as he ranted.  "AYE!  What's the likes of you in my spot, huh?!"  He turned, and behind him she recognized her 'date',  "Thom!!  When I said 'exotic', I didn' mean dog!"

"...Dog."  She repeated, drawing out the word.  There was a certain, unappeased quaver in her tone.  More like a rattle than a whimper.

"An' not a greyhound, either!  Ye brought me a mastiff!"  The 'Thom' she and this other man knew just looked away, apparently unwilling to meet her gaze.

It seemed that Thom hadn't been what he claimed to be.  Why he brought this other man with him, who only served to cause a scene, puzzled her – but then, humans were an odd bunch!

"I dunno wha' Thom was thinkin', but you ain't goina' fetch any price on our market."  She tensed suddenly when he dug his hand into her tunic, in an attempt to drag her up, "Get out, rotter."

She clasped her hand on his, digging her nails into his knuckles.

Zaehal would soon find company in the form of a large man hitting the wall near him, who – while not dead – certainly didn't take to landing very well. 

[By far the best first impression :||||||||||| ]

[TheHighwayman]

Zaehal had almost given up on finding anyone of use in this crowd. Lumbering idiots one and all, by the looks of it. Wait... what was that trouble over there? The Thanati quirked a brow. An orc? Hadn't expected to see one of them around here. By the general air of confusion and anger in the place, he could guess well enough some miscommunication had taken place or a deal of some sort had fallen through. Before he could listen in and figure out any more, his musings on the situation were immediately and violently interrupted as one of the men found himself an unwilling companion to the nearest wall, nearly clipping Zaehal in the process. Cra-thump! Didn't these people know not to get on an orc's bad side unless you had a very pointy stick?

Good throw, he noted. He might just have found someone he could use... Now, should he wait and see what followed, or step in now? He'd not seen enough to be sure of the orc-woman's capabilities, but he supposed he might as well try to keep a full brawl from breaking out.

Pushing a chair away, he slowly got to his feet and made his way towards the nearby table, keeping an ever vigilant eye out for both stray drunkards and any more flying imbeciles. "Pardon me," he said a little loudly- both to ensure he got their attention and to make sure he could be heard over the din of the bar. With a tip of his feathered hat, he continued. "I'd hate to interrupt, but I'd like a word or two with the lady here. If you don't mind, miss?" He shot the other fellow a glance that suggested it might be prudent for him to leave- if not because of the orc, than because of Zaehal.

Of course, the flinging of patrons hadn't gone entirely unnoticed, and some of the men were pulled from their stupors, getting ready to club somebody's head in, regardless of who's head it was. Better finish this quick, Zaehal thought.

[Roxy]

Lash should've known that her zealous rebuttal would've drawn attention.  Not exactly of the favorable kind, either.

Yet, she was in such a mood that she didn't care if anyone else tried to jump her.  She was sure she could fend them off, albeit with some difficulty.  And by the time another man called out to her, she was on her feet besides her table, head held high and eyes searching the bar, as if trying to gauge who'd attempt to sling the first tankard in her direction.
 
Thom already seemed eager to abandon his "partner", so when the other man dropped him a hint, he promptly bolted.  Lash glowered at his departing back and with a huff, turned her attention to the man who came up to her. 

He seemed quite a bit similar in height and in figure to the one who tried tossing her out, except...a good deal less fat.  The other difference was in approach – at least he had the manners to address her as a 'lady', which was a good deal more than what she could say for the rest of these oafs!  "Certainly don't," she retorted, albeit with a slight edge in her tone.  Her right hand gripped, almost for dear life, on the handle of her greatsword, though it remained sheathed on her belt.  "Want to stay, or go?"

Seemed like an odd question, but only reason she asked were out of the growing tensions in the tavern.  One that wasn't helped by the man she threw, who as he sat up and rubbed his head, flung a finger towards them both and shouted, "Look a' that!  That 'lil pig's in league with the rotter!"  He clearly was playing upon the widespread belief that 'Orcs were bad; anyone associated with them were similarly so'.  Why he was trying to cause trouble for both of them, as opposed to just Lash now, seemed motivated out of pure spite than anything.

[TheHighwayman]

"I could do with a bit of a walk. Get some fresh air, clear the smell of booze from my nostrils. Just  pardon me for one moment, miss." With that Zaehal took a quick step back to his table, scooped up his map, and dropped a few small coins down. Glancing at the man who'd decided to drag him into this- well, to be fair, Zaehal had approached the table to begin with, but still- he said, "Here, get yourself another drink. That was quite the performance. Your flight would put the Yoreiqi to shame!" The man's voice sounded genuinely impressed, as if the entire thing had been a masterful act instead of a drunkard getting thrown on his rear. He grabbed the man's arm and helped him to his feet, lifting the arm over his head and cheering, "Why don't you all give a hand for this brave fellow? Few people would volunteer to be thrown headfirst across half a room, and fewer still would still be conscious afterwards. Quite the feat! In fact..." a gleam came into his eyes as he called out, "I'd bet you anything not one of you lot could take this man in a fight! Come on, first man to best him gets four pints, on me!" While the bluff would be rather obvious to anyone sober or with an ounce of intelligence... Zaehal wasn't trying to make a good bluff. His voice carried an energy to it, a challenge- all he had to do was stir these drunkards up and redirect their aggression.

With that he shoved the man towards the rest of the crowd and slipped back against the wall, slowly beginning to work his way towards the door and ready to make a break for it if the plan didn't work.

[Roxy]

If Lash had eyebrows, they would've flown right up into her hairline.  She watched first with idle interest, and then mild surprise graduated to shock as the patrons took the bait quite suddenly.  At the very moment this interloper left him, the man got dogpiled.  There was a cacophony of shouts, fists flying this way and that, and amazingly throughout it all the guy was actually putting up quite a fight.  Chairs and tables were upturned, drinks spilled, and Lash turned to look at the man creeping for the exit, the one responsible for all of the chaos.

She frowned before making her way out alongside him, herself, albeit at a much more casual pace.  She didn't want to call this fellow out for making a dishonest bluff, and possibly attract the attention of the men still embroiled in probably the longest fist fight known to man, but she wasn't sure if she approved of the trickery.  Not so much that the man who harassed them was now getting his just desserts, but only that he claimed to pay for the good man doling out punishment and...obviously wouldn't.  Wasn't a major issue at any rate, though.

Soon as they were out, she appraised him with her arms crossed.  He better not pull any kind of trickery with her!  "What word do you want with me, Sir?"

[TheHighwayman]

Before the Thanati stepped out the door, he dropped a few coins on the nearest table- he wasn't lying entirely about the matter. He took a deep breath as the stench of the bar gave way to sea air, and turned to the orc. After a brief pause to consider how best to handle the situation, he decided to get to the point quickly."You seem like a woman who knows how to handle herself in a fight- the sort of person who's assistance I could use at the moment. Have you heard about the local bandit problem? Ruthless bunch, getting to be real trouble... and the town's hired me to take care of them. Now, I've figured out where they're hiding, and I've got one or two ideas as to how to dispatch them... but I can't do it alone. I need someone with a strong arm and a decent head on their shoulders."

He held out a hand and continued, "Help me with this, and we'll split the pay evenly. Interested, miss? Oh, and I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Zaehal, pleasure to meet you." With his free hand he tipped his hat.

[Roxy]

Lash had arrived just the day before, and apart from her run-in with the trader (who just so happened not to be), noticed a few other things amiss.  The townspeople seemed fearful and on edge, which didn't seem solely caused by any trepidation due to her. 

What this man was telling her explained a good deal about the skittish mannerisms.

She hesitated at first, but it wasn't due to any reservations about payment.  Having not seen his departing gesture, she wondered if the trickster would do some double-dealing with her.  Considering what came of her interactions with Thom, though nothing of real consequence ensued, Lash knew it'd be best to exercise a bit of caution. 

Nevertheless, she mimicked his tipping gesture with a nod, taking the proffered hand and giving it a good shake, "Lash.  I'll accept...depending on how they're dispatched."

[TheHighwayman]

So the method mattered to her, huh? Well, Zaehal would pitch his ideas as best he could. Releasing her hand, he started walking. "Fair enough, miss. Walk with me and I'll explain. See, there's supposed to be four of them, all decent fighters, one of them with a crossbow. They make too much money here for me to talk them into leaving, so we'll need to do it by force. Now, that just leaves getting close.... And this is the part you may not like, and if you can't work with it... well, I can think of something else, I'm sure."  The Thanati took a deep breath, and remembered just how much he liked the sea air. He made a note to try and find more jobs along the coast. "They're ruthless, don't let anyone they attack live, resistance or no. Which gives me one avenue to trick them with. If I pretend to be a slave trader- one offering them a deal- I can get close enough to disable the crossbowman, and then we can take care of the rest before they get their bearings."

"However..." Now for the tricky part of the explanation. Stopping and turning back to Lash, he looked her in the eye with an expression free of deceit- then again, he'd done the same to the drunk earlier. "It wouldn't be a very convincing act without a captive on hand. I know a knot that looks tight as iron, but twist it the right way and it comes right off. Courtesy of an old friend from back home. Of course, you could just pose as a bodyguard, but we'd be a lot more likely to get shot on sight, and there's a better chance that even if we did get close, they'd be on their guard and ready for us when we made our move."

[Roxy]

"...What."  Lash dead-panned, her elongated, pointed ears flattening on the sides of her head.  Here she had a brush with almost being enlisted in some...kind of trade with Thom and his associate (though what they wanted to put her on the market 'for' was never elaborated on; she'd presume slavery or...much fouler work), and now this man wanted to mimic it?

How was she supposed to trust he wouldn't try to enslave her for real?  While Zaehal did save them both from a very hairy situation, and he seemingly wanted to enlist her to aid him on his job, she didn't know of any ulterior motives he might've had.  He could very well be in cahoots with the bandits, going around claiming that he'd get rid of them all the while duping any strong man or woman into slavery, whether that entailed forced labor or...much worse.

"Give me your word.  Or show me something that guarantees it," Though how was he supposed to do the latter?  That'd be even trickier to pull off.  Still, she added with a deep growl, "Know that if you barter me off for real, I won't forget it."

[TheHighwayman]

Well, that had gone about as well as could be expected. The Thanati had known that convincing Lash wouldn't be easy- part of why he felt the gambit would be effective in the first place was that there were few orcs who would willingly let themselves be bound. Now, as for something he could use to earn he trust, that was a harder matter. He didn't exactly have much of obvious value, and anything of personal worth would be taken at his word alone... Wait! He did have one thing. Holding out his dagger- hilt first, both to make sure it wasn't taken as a threat and to more prominently display the emblem on the pommel. Said emblem was a simple carving of two hands clasped together, as if they were about to throw a die, but it would be enough to indicate it wasn't just a normal knife.

"This," Zaehal began, "is the one remaining item I have from before I fled my homeland. Well, that and the brand, but I can't exactly hand that over for collateral. Take this, hide it somewhere safe- where neither I nor any thieves could find it. I'll attend to preparations, and meet you at the edge of town. I give you my word my intentions are entirely honorable, and if they aren't, I'll not be able to get this back."

[Roxy]

Lash blinked down in surprise at the dagger, unable not to note its' design and worth - compounded more so by the man's story. 

At the same time, it was a story.  He proved in the tavern that he was more than capable of spinning yarns on the fly, so there was the distinct possibility he could have very well pawned it off from some poor sucker.

Granted, she didn't trust him.  But upon second thought, with her musings of him having to undergo some trial for such – it was a time waster.  Trust needed time, and considering that these villagers were on the supposed line, she couldn't afford making Zaehal jump through more hoops.

Gently, she wedged it out of his hand, hooking it onto her belt.  She already threatened him once, to do so again would be a little overkill.  With a nod, she strode off, as though conceding to the task provided...

---

The border didn't seem far, but a Orc of her bulk couldn't have been...possibly less subtle.  Her footfalls could be heard cracking over cobblestone, the puffs of her breath like clouds in the night.  The yellow in her eyes were particularly noticeable, as they bore into Zaehal. 

Still, if he was somehow preoccupied maybe she could catch him off guard, granting him a mini heart attack.  But that wouldn't be too polite, now would it?  Lash wasn't the master of linguistics, though, so instead of, 'Salutations faux-Master' she abruptly arrived to the point:

"Tie me."

[Sorry for the delay. :/  Lost muse for RP for a bit]

[TheHighwayman]

When the two met up again, Zaehal had another, much simpler knife on his waist- it wouldn't do to go in completely unarmed, after all. He also had a sturdy looking bit of rope, and a pack that rattled with the sounds of metal inside it. When he saw Lash, he gave a brief smile and a tip of his hat. "Very well then, miss."

Zaehal took the rope, wrapped it tightly around her hands, and quickly tied a strange and complicated looking knot. "Another remnant from my home- a trick I learned from an old friend. Here- all you have to do to undo it is twist your right wrist, pull up, and pull out. Try it before we get moving, if you wish."

Stepping back, he peered over her and nodded. "That should work, though you'll need to either hide your weapons or hand them to me for now." The man was feeling pretty good about all this- the orc was going along with it without too much fuss, he'd heard a rumor while finishing preparations that one of their targets had gotten injured in their last attack, and his gut told him this was going to go through without much trouble.

((OOC: Not a problem.))

[Roxy]

But of course, Lash was staunchly resistant to the idea of handing her sword and daggers over to him.  If not used against her, they could be bartered off!  Couldn't he pretend she was freshly captured?!  "Gruumsh..."  She cursed under her breath.  She could probably hide her daggers, though long and jagged in blade, in her gauntlets – but the greatsword was a bleeding eye sore, its' tip grinding the dirt. 

The tips of her ears drooped, as she frowned severely.  Granting Zaehal a slight, shaky glare she stated:  "You're not taking Bonecutter."  Fact was, he had to take it, or hide it himself, and so it was a petty and futile objection to make.  There was really no getting around her lugging a huge sword on her person.

[TheHighwayman]

Zaehal sighed and began trying to reason with her, his tone perfectly patient. "Well, for the plan to work, you can't be seen with it. So either I have to take it, or we hide it somewhere and have no way of getting to it when the fighting starts." He hadn't really expected convincing her to be that easy, but even so, based on the fact that she hadn't tried to murder him yet this was going pretty well.

Tentatively he reached out for the weapon, giving her plenty of time to move away if she still wasn't convinced. "I swear, as long as we get out of this alive- and we should- you'll get it back. I honor my oaths, it's why I left my homeland. It's why I've got this mark." The Thanati pointed to the brand on his face. Technically speaking, only the first half of that was entirely true, and that was only out of business sense rather than honor, but Zaehal had enough practice lying to sound entirely genuine regardless.