This is an adventure I'm writing for Tallia, however, anyone may join. I will do my best to be active in this one, so I won't be afraid to leave a player behind if I must. _________________
A normal day it was in Wistvale, albeit even those seemed to be rare for the little town in recent days; the streets were as busy as they needed to be and the townsfolk kept to themselves as usual as they strolled about.
The only thing that was noteworthy, however, was the fact that there was an armed caravan not far from the town entrance, near the stables. It was made up of three wagons and several light armored warriors, mostly leather and fur, who looked fairly trained. They weren't looking for a fight, only a place of rest, and did abide to the authority to leave the bulk of their equipment outside.
The people who murmured about their arrival figured they were mercenaries. Nevertheless, since they came, there's been a new job posting on the board at the tavern, which you take notice of.
"We have need of a trained scout, one who isn't afraid to walk up to a mother bear and tickle her nose while she sleeps, and get away with it at that. Details will be given to those interested and who see us outside the gate, at the caravan. Ask for Fray."
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
Tallia looked curiously at the posting. It was certainly an interesting way to capture attention, setting up outside the gate, along with writing a ridiculous job posting... It shouldn't be too much of a problem to just be a scout, she thought. Along with the gravid boredom she had been experiencing, her light pockets made it easy to decide whether or not to take the job. Satisfied with her plan, she headed for the town entrance, hoping to be selected for the job.
When Tallia reached the town gate, there was an awful lot of movement with men and women carrying supplies to and from the caravan; it seems they were about ready to leave.
Outside even hustle could be seen as several of the caravan men were shouting orders and relaying instructions to others. Most of them didn't pay much mind to Tallia except for the occasional quick glance at seeing a cat woman in person, which was a first for many of them.
It couldn't be said which one exactly was in charge from a distance, she would have to brave going within the bounds of the deconstructing camp.
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
Tallia wandered into and stopped in the middle of the chaos, hoping to make it easier for someone to notice her. The few that did had wonder and surprise in their face, and little else to offer her, as they continued to work as though she was invisible. Nervously giving off a smile, her eyes wandered from worker to worker as she stood there, vying for their attention. After a few minutes, she figured this was still not going to work, so she sighed with a nervous look on her face, took in a deep breath, and let loose a shout.
It seemed the whole world halted for a moment, as everyone literally stopped what they were doing to see the source of the sudden shout, a few of them looked nervous even.
One of the supposed mercs, carrying a crate, put his load into the wagon and looked over to the side and motioned for someone Tallia couldn't see. Soon after a man came around the wagon, where the other pointed him in Tallia's direction.
The man had long, messy, dirt brown hair that hung down the sides of his head down to his neck line. His face looked not much cleaner, and a scar could be seen that was slashed across the bridge of his nose up to the corner of his right, brown eye. Holstered on either side of his waist were broad swords with worn leather grips.
He stopped just over Tallia, looking down on her small frame as if looking over live goods. Fray walked around her slowly once, analyzing every bit of her as he did. When he stepped in front of her again he finally spoke,
"I'm Fray, and these are my people, to what do I owe the pleasure, Kitten?" he spoke with a light, gruff voice.
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
Oops... she wasn't looking to be the center of attention, but here she was... Having been looked over like that made her a bit nervous, but she just shook it off. This time, she was going to start things off right...
"Um... I... I am Tallia Felestine... pl... pleased to meet you..."
Giving her customary bow, she tried her hardest to maintain eye contact with the gruff looking mercenary.
"I... I saw your... um... job posting... I-I was wondering... if...if you still n-needed a scout..."
Fray raised an eyebrow, looking a bit amused and surprised at that. Of all the things he thought this cat would want, a job was the least.
He got down slightly on a knee to level his eyes with hers, as he was more or less over 6', "You want to be my scout do ya? Well as much as I appreciate the thought," he said almost sarcastically, "I already got my man, and to be fair Kitten, you don't look like you could handle the job."
It couldn't be told whether he was lying, being honest, or just insulting Tallia, but it was clear enough that he wasn't taking her seriously.
"Now, I appreciate it if you leave my men to work, we'll be leaving soon."
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
A bit surprised by his reply, she stood shocked a with a dumbfound look on her face. His words stung, but if she let this go, then she would just be out of money as well as bored again... She closed her eyes, swallowed hard, and gained a new resolve.
"Please... Mr. Fray... I... I have certain... qualifications... th-that could make me a... a viable asset... to your crew... A... at least let me... let me prove myself... to you..."
She struggled to get the words out, but she wasn't sure what to do in this type of situation, so she was going to do anything she could to break through to him... Stepping back, and making sure she had ample space to perform, she unsheathed her sword in a flash, quick as lightning, and swung it around carefully, while making sure she had Fray's attention. Done with her little outburst of swordplay, she returned the sword to the sheath, and let out a breath.
"I'm... pretty good...w-with some weapons... s-so I'm... not defenseless... and... I'm good at climbing... and... um... I-I can scout pretty far... and..."
She stopped. She wasn't sure what this man needed a scout for or how she could possibly aid them, so needlessly mentioning other capabilities would just make her look even more desperate than she already was. She bit her lip in frustration, racking her brain for an answer...
Fray stopped, his back facing Tallia, and sighed as he furrowed his brow for a moment. He sighed, now beginning to seem frustrated, he turned to face Tallia again, "Look, I said to..."
The growing sound of clanking chains could be heard from a short distance. A man in a duster, crowned wide-brim hat, and what appeared to be chains wrapped around the torso area approached the two.
"I think you should give the little lady a go, Fray, she's already eager to please." the man grinned. He had a light stubble on his chin going up to his side burns, an attractive smile and grinning eyes.
"She seems more your type of gal than I am anyway." he grinned some more.
"Now look here, Greyson," said Fray with some frustration, "You asked for the job, you showed me what you can do and you can go it alone. If you want this cat to go along I'm splitting the pay evenly between the both of you."
"I showed you I can fight, but I'm no scout, I can be heard coming from across the plains. Let this little lady come along and I can make sure she don't mess it up. Job will get done either way, I can promise you that, just make sure you get the gold ready."
Fray could tell that this wasn't going to go anywhere if he argued with the other hired merc. Grunting a bit, he looked back down at Tallia, "Do you have an issue breaking the law?"
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
There had to be a catch, she thought. Considering Fray's words very carefully, she couldn't just dive into this without having to face the severe consequence... if it meant that she could not be a member of the guard for some mere gold, then what had she come to Wistvale for...? Her face furrowed up a bit. If Fray was intending on breaking the law, then what exactly is he planning...?
"Sir Fray... I... I am a member of the Wistvale Guard... O-of course... I would have a problem..."
Prying any further into this would be dangerous; she would have to find out the details some other way after boldly coming forth as a body of justice...
"A guard now? Well," he turned to Greyson and scoffed, "Whadaya think now, huh? Still want this guard to help with the job? I can't bloody believe this..."
He turned again, starting to walk away before Greyson spoke up, "Well you didn't mention what the job is, or that you were doing all this for charity now did ya?"
Fray turned around enough to face Greyson only, looking at him as though he were crazy, eyebrow raised and all. Then he turned his head to see Tallia, then the rest of his body followed suit before he walked over to the cat once more.
"Well, Kitten, what say you now? You gonna try and arrest me or hear the rest of our story? I ain't gettin' into the nitty gritty unless you say yes to the job."
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
Tallia was silent for a few seconds, staring back at Fray with a suspicious glare. What did Greyson mean by that...? A good feeling felt that this job would put her as an accomplice to theft, which was a bit ironic... Crossing her arms and closing her eyes, she though about her answer a bit more before relaying it to Fray.
"...I...can't say I can... t-take it... but... I-I do want to know... what I can do to help... your... 'charitable cause'... T-that would... still be without legalities, though... w-wouldn't... it...?"
Fray seemed to have about enough, and before Greyson could speak up he was silenced by a raised hand gesture. Fray walked over to the guard and looked Tallia square in the eye,
"Is that a yes or no?" he said with a fierce undertone. This was the last time he would ask.
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
If he didn't express how tired he was getting of this right now, Tallia couldn't imagine any other way he could show his frustration. Her gaze falter from his burning hot glare, unable to look him in the eye much longer. She really did want to help, but... her duty comes first...
"I... I'm s-sorry... Sir Fray... B-but... I cannot accept... accept your offer..."
"Then piss off," Fray said bluntly, "We'll be leaving your district so don't bother calling any of the guard, lest you want blood. My men aren't afraid of any law."
With that, Fray turned to head into the nearly ready caravan, signaling for Greyson to join him, assuming to finish handing over the final details of the job.
"Sorry, love," said Greyson with a quick chuckle, "Guess we won't be doing noble thieving together." he winked at Tallia and followed after Fray.
Almost an hour had passed until the last of the supplies were loaded up and the small caravan finally began headed North East of Wistvale. If Tallia chose to stay and watch, the caravan was just leaving and would soon reach the outer skirts of Wistvale on the main road.
Last Edit: Jan 22, 2012 21:57:56 GMT -5 by Serenity