The Hub, a decent place as any to die for a retired soldier you suppose. You aren't the best okranite, but you tried to lay the old man to rest properly. Burn the body with fire, let his spirit rise and be forgiven for the sins of the body. With him gone, you aren't sure what to do now. You have a thousand cats, the rags on your body, and that's about it. Nobody to rely on, no reputation of any significance. You could scrounge around The Hub, but this isn't the kind of place you want to stay. Might be some things you can scrounge up and sell to the barman. What do you do now though?
Well lets see, there's the local trade ninja bar, where you can eat and sell whatever garbage you find for some cats, the local shinobi thief hideout if you wanted to try your luck joining their gang, or the old man's house with what he left behind. That and the rubble are really all that's left of The Hub. Outside of this place, there's that Shek town to the southwest you heard of, but you've never visited. And you saw a shack to the north today.
The rusted iron stick in your hand feels heavy with history and is studded with violent intent.
The hiver had nothing of value on him, someone got to his pockets before you could. The old man probably wouldn't approve of it anyways.
The house feels strange now. You see you left breakfast out; the old man won't like that. Best to tidy up before you get another ear full of noise. There's the bread and sake leftover from your meal today, the water and flour you were sent to buy, an old hacksaw, some cups and a bowl. You know there's more in the bedroom, but now isn't the time to go back there. The old man would be having his afternoon nap, and he's always cantankerous when you disrupt his rest. You're grateful to him, taking you in, keeping you alive all this time. You still haven't thanked him properly.
You take the sake and bread. You're a little hungry, but you don't need to eat just yet. Best keep this for later, not like you have much left. Is it right to take what you can to sell? If you leave everything behind, in a place like this, it won't be untouched for long. People here don't like old paladins.
Going into the bedroom, you start to grab whatever you think will be useful on the road. Leather could fetch you a good price at a tailor's shop, the first aid kit is something you absolutely need, along with the raptor bacon the old man was saving for your birthday. Then there's that ceramic bowl he had, nicest thing he owned, kept trying to teach you how to eat with little utensils instead of your hands like everyone else. And those papers he always kept locked in his chest, but despite having skill in absolutely nothing else, you've always been a half decent lockpick. Decent enough to get into the sake when he kept it locked up. You thank the old man for getting you this far, now you're on your own. Best not let him down. There's that city to the southwest, that shack to the north, and places in The Hub you could ask around for directions. Or you could wander into the desert.
Go to The Hub? But you're already in The Hub... you enter your mind, trying to decipher... no, not the physical hub, the center of your mind palace. What is your true goal? To become a wealthy man, never to want for anything... to become the greatest warrior in the land, undefeated by even the legends of the continent... or to attain ultimate knowledge, to have nothing beyond your mind and ability? Or else mentally, you will stay, in The Hub.
loneWanderer [LW]engages in subscribing to a monthly juice press service with shinobiBadass [SB]! SB: What do you want? LW: Hey, so... can I join the Shinobi Thieves? SB: Oh, its you. Finally decided to do something worthwhile huh? Can't blame you, everyone wants in on the shinobi. Guards try to lay the crackdown but they ain't fooling nobody, they're nothing. Nothing a few cats can't handle. And a good shinobi's got the cats to spare, baby. LW: The Hub doesn't have any guards though, this place is- SB: Look, you can join, for a fee. LW: ...That's it? I don't have to complete a test to prove myself or something? SB: Does this look like a social club to you? We're running a business, not a daycare for wannabe heroes. I do not have time to hand out busy work to every would-be Tinfist. The majority of you losers die on your first ill-advised romp in the wasteland. One time fee, ten thousand cats. SB: So what'll it be, do you want to join the guild? LW: Ten thousand cats seems a little steep... SB: You wanna use our facilities, you gotta pay for em. If you can't afford it, you're obviously not a very good thief. LW: Well, what do I get in return for all that money? SB: You get yourself some allies. We have hideouts like this one in lots of major towns. We watch each other's backs, Shinobi Thieves stick together. Its a safe haven for you to rest and recover, we don't squeal on our own no matter the bounty. We have specialist training equipment to use, you can sell your stolen items to our fence, and he sells some hard to find weapons, clothes, armor and equipment at a huge discount. LW: Okay so, lets say I don't actually have the ten thousand cats... SB: In which case you just wasted my time, and I would kindly ask you to fuck off, and not come back without my damn money.
The Hub is a wreck of a settlement dominated by the Holy Nation Outlaws, Trade Ninjas, and Shinobi Outlaws. There's some Drifters, Vagrants, and Mercenaries about but they have no actual power in the walls, there's a representative of the Hounds sitting in the bar, she might have a lead for you. You could try to join any of these, or you could just mine copper or iron outside the city walls until you earn enough to join the Shinobi. And just now, a caravan of Slave Traders is passing through The Hub, and that's a trade that's well paid. They're in good with the empire, too. You also know about those Starving Bandits that just passed by the gates and the Dust Bandits have a strong grip on the Border Zone, the greedy rat bastards.
Two days pass under the hot sun, two days pass of hauling slightly undervalued iron, and significantly undervalued copper to the local bar to sell. Maggie takes it off your hands without question, and soon enough you've accumulated a total of 5026 cats in your purse, jangling all pretty-like. By now you've burned through both the jerky and the bread, and it might be time to make some purchases, the Trade Ninjas have some shoddy weapons, food, bandages, building supplies... you could always just grab a meat wrap and get back to mining for the Trade Ninjas, it's a safe choice.
