Miroslaw stood plainly in the office. With a shrug he stated, "It went well, as long as you can get someone to pose as the Merchant by tomorrow morning. Hope that is not too sudden. The merchant will need to be at the west gate at sunrise. We will head down the path and make a pit stop at the grove you pointed out."
He trailed off into silence, thinking to himself, "Reason for the pitstop could be the merchant needing to make a hand-off of some goods?..." After his silent contemplation Miroslaw scoffed in disappointment by his planning. "Bah. I will think of something to justify a seemingly random stop in a grove."
Miroslaw waited to hear the captain's thoughts on the matter.
Death is no more than turning us over from time to eternity. Whether that eternity is damnation or salvation is determined in the time we have.
"For a plan made on the spot it's going surprisingly well, that's good." Grayson said, sounding pleased with himself.
"I'll get you your client, and he'll know you by name so you should know his. Brian will wait for you at the West Gate with a little caravan, he needs to head out that way anyway."
Quick wasn't entirely oblivious to Miroslaw's state. The up and coming Sellsword didn't appear nearly as enthusiastic as he was this morning.
"Something wrong? I get the feeling there's something not right here."
Grayson sat at the edge of his desk while he watched Miroslaw intently, "You worried I'm going to be too rough on Neko?"
Miroslaw did not take time to think about his response to Grayson's questions. He responded plainly and without hesitation, "Not at all. Long as I get gold, I don't care what happens to her."
Miroslaw knew it was a lie. He did care, but he didn't want that to have any weight on his first assignment as a future Sellsword. He would finish the job, despite taking a liking to the thief. Grayson seemed quite proficient in reading emotions, or Miroslaw was bad at hiding them. He made a mental note of that for future reference.
He paused for a moment and thought about his response. He realized he never got a number for his pay. Perhaps he would change his mind if the pay didn't suffice for tricking a deaf girl. He crosses his arms over his chest and asks, "Speaking of gold, whats the running rate around here?"
Death is no more than turning us over from time to eternity. Whether that eternity is damnation or salvation is determined in the time we have.
Grayson continued to stare at him as if he were waiting for Miroslaw to twitch. After a minute he scoffed and shook his head before going to fetch a bottle of whiskey with a shot glass to pour himself a drink.
"Depends on the job. As a guild with status most folks come to us for work as opposed to just putting up a flyer. Typically you'd get a cool 80% of what the job is paying, with the 20% going to the guild. If you half-assed the job that's gonna be deducted from your pay as well to cover damages. Working with us, you don't have to supply yourself for the job with the basics or transport. We take care of that, not to mention hospital bills if you happen to get hurt on the job. Of course that's only if I like you enough."
Grayson drank his shot before sighing contently. Then, without warning, he threw the glass as hard as he could at Miroslaw. Before the warrior could react the glass shattered inches from his face without any of the shards hitting him. The warrior stared down his nose at what had caused the glass to break, a spearhead floating in midair.
The blade was attached to a chain that ended inside Quick's coat. It stared back at Miroslaw as if it were a living serpent, before being reeled back inside the Captain's coat with almost a slither. The chains rattled as the weapon rolled around Grayson's waist.
"Word to the wise, you want me to like you. So, are we set?"
Miroslaw listened closely to the terms of the guild. He was quite satisfied by the terms. Nothing to really complain about. However, he was asking specifically about this assignment we was on.
As the captain threw the glass at him, he was stunned. After observing the what had happened, he chuckled lightly. “Stay on your good side. Noted.” He continued, “I suppose the last thing is this specific assignment. Since technically you are the client I am serving, and you are paying yourself, Correct?” He paused to wait for the response.
Death is no more than turning us over from time to eternity. Whether that eternity is damnation or salvation is determined in the time we have.
Grayson chuckled darkly, "You get a sign on bonus of 500 gp if this job goes smooth. Speaking of you don't have to worry about what happens when you get to that part of the road. I'll have something worked out with Brian so that his wagons are forced to stop. I won't tell you what since I need you to be genuinely surprised."
The Captain took a swig from the whiskey bottle, "Anymore questions?"
Miroslaw was content with the number and saw no reason to haggle him. He could sleep easy with the number. Miroslaw shrugged responding, "I can think of none. I suppose I will be seeing you tomorrow."
With that, Miroslaw turned and went out the door. He meandered his way through the vessel once more and retreated from the dock area. He grabbed an room for the night and slumbered soundly, with a lot of snoring.
In what seemed like no time at all, he found himself at the west gate before sunrise. He propped himself up against the wall with his hood pulled over his head. His arms were crossed over his chest and he stared at nothing in particular. He waited very patiently for the client and Neko.
Death is no more than turning us over from time to eternity. Whether that eternity is damnation or salvation is determined in the time we have.
::Neko came strolling down the street towards the gate. She was enjoying the day so far, being in a much better mood than she had been in at the Tavern the day before.
She gave friendly waves to faces she recognized as she passed them on the street and stopped at a vendor near the gate to pick up a piece of fruit for a snack. She spotted the stranger waiting near the gate as she was making her purchase and quickly asked for another piece for the man.
She helped out hope that this mission would be an easy one. Maybe some bandits for a bit of a diversion, but all in all she wanted a pleasant trip there and back. And a good place to start that would be by making friends with her fellow travelers.
So she ambled up to the stranger that had offered her the job and tossed him the spare apple she had bought for him with a smile.::
Miroslaw eyes were getting droopy from the wait. His eyes were nearly closed when he spotted Neko approaching. He caught the fruit and returned the smile and a, "Thank you." came from under his hood. He took a large bite. He raised his arm up, wiping the juices from his beard and pulling his hood down. Still no sign of the merchant. He decided to make conversation with Neko, "Did you sleep well? rejuvenated for the trip?" He questioned.
Death is no more than turning us over from time to eternity. Whether that eternity is damnation or salvation is determined in the time we have.
::She smiled and nodded in return. She leaned against the wall beside him and finished her snack as she looked about for anyone else that may be joining them in escorting the merchant. Was it just the two of them?
She looked up at the man beside her and gestured between the two of them before making a wiping "That's it" motion with both her hands and arched an eyebrow.
If the merchant only felt the need to hire two escorts, this trip could be easier than she had hoped...::
Brian the Merchant came up to the West Gate with three wagons, "Hail, Miroslaw! Thank you again for accompanying me on this journey, I feel all the more safe!"
The small caravan parked in front of the gate briefly to make final checks. Brian wore a black fez along with beige robes with red. He had a cheerful disposition and a beard to go with it.
"I must confess, I didn't expect Miroslaw to bring a warrior of your stature..." he said looking at Neko, "Forgive me, but I will have faith that he chose wisely! Come then, shall we get along?"
To Neko, Miroslaw took a moment, as always to contemplate what she was asking. His face turns into this awkward thinking face each time he had to think about what she was trying to get across. Finally, it came to him. He said, "Oh, got it! Yep. Just us two. Honestly could have probably done it myself, but I like to be safe. Plus, you came so highly recommended." Miroslaw finished his snack as the merchant was arriving.
To the merchant, he returns the friendliness. It was a bit odd to him, but required. "Hail, Brian! Quite the caravan you got here!" He continued, "Careful Brian. This girl is apparently much stronger than she looks. From what I hear, she could slay us both, if she wishes." He chuckled at the jest before saying, "Aye. Let us be off."
Death is no more than turning us over from time to eternity. Whether that eternity is damnation or salvation is determined in the time we have.
::Fresh color rose to her cheeks beneath the layer of fur at the words being used to describe her. Had she not been leaning against a wall, she would have shrunk back.
As it were, she had a mission to do and did not want to keep anyone waiting. So discarding the core of her snack, she pulled her hood up to hide her embarrassment as she approached one of the wagons and climbed aboard.
Out of curiosity, she glanced at the contents to see just what kind of merchant Brian was and what it was she was protecting.::
Neko finds drugs, lots of them. It's like Laredo, TX up in this shiz.
Except in reality we're not in the US of A, so she actually spots several packaged goods, mostly food items and spices. Nothing terribly out of the ordinary. Only a few others, less than 6, were joining this trip it seemed and they all looked to be employed by the merchant. None of them were carrying weapons.
"Good! Very good, well, not the slaying us part, I'd hate that terribly. It's a small shipment this time around so the journey shouldn't take us long. At worst it will be a week's travel to and back."
Brian set himself up at the head of the caravan and did a final look at his convoy before setting out through the gate.
For Miroslaw, it would only be a couple hours before they reached their destination. More than likely it'll be a late afternoon by the time they got to the end point of this journey.
Hops up next to Neko. He says in a whisper, "Looks like he is bringing some others this time around, with that new group of bandits and all..." He was making it up, but it seemed reasonable. Miroslaw didn't actually know if anyone else was going to be with the merchant. He would lean back and relax for the most part. It would be a few hours before anything he was expecting would happen.
Death is no more than turning us over from time to eternity. Whether that eternity is damnation or salvation is determined in the time we have.