You trade in your rusting junk pipe, for a rusting junk combat cleaver and a meat wrap, returning to mining for another day. Unfortunately, there is no good opportunity to procure merchandise for the Slave Traders, as even if you could win a fight against one of your neighbors, the rest would turn on you. That is, until that small pack of starvers you saw lurking about finally stormed the gates. All seven of them are now bleeding out just outside of town. They have rusted junk, some better rags, but you know you saw at least one prosthetic limb on them, even if it was hive-made. Do you want to buy some bandages and save them? Loot them and leave them to die? Or maybe buy some bandages to save them, and still rob them all blind?
The only decent clothes in The Hub can be bought from the shinobi, so you stole all these off the backs of those starvers. At least you saved six out of the seven of them and gained some valuable medical experience at the same time. You feel like next time, you probably won't fail to save some starving vagrant if you have enough bandages. What's more, after all the mining and pilfering of pockets, you feel a little stronger, and somewhat more athletic, a smidgen better at basic theft, and far better at laboring for pay. You sell the combat cleaver and instead opt for the horse chopper you found on one of the starvers. After buying bandages, and selling what crap was on the starvers, this is what you're left with. That and what you took from the old man's house. A full day has passed, and you consider your options. There are six comatose starving bandits outside the walls, the gang representative for the Hounds in the bar, and you could put your new experience at mining ore to mine more ore for the trade ninjas.
Two more days pass, in which time those starvers picked themselves up and left, but not before thanking you for mending their wounds. You feel that your reputation with the roaming bands of hungry ex-slaves from the holy nation has slightly increased. Not enough apparently, as with your pockets laden with copper, you are accosted by two starving bandits, with rusty metal pipes. Should you get in your first real fight or run to the bar guards?
Leading the bandits into town reveals they had split off from a larger group of starving bandits, who were attempting to rob The Hub while getting their asses handed to them. You get yourself beaten quite badly but manage to get some hits in with your junk sword, and more valuable medical experience. Selling what you can from your patients, the copper in your pockets, and another mangled prosthetic from one unfortunate guy, you find you're just above the membership fee to enter the shinobi. Maggie looks at you with some concern as you down the last of the booze left from the old man. Why is she just now starting to look worried about you? What gives her the right? You're going to be somebody now, a shinobi ninja.
loneWanderer [LW] lends his ear to traderMaggie [TM] wait, doesn't this go the other way around? TM: Hey, kid? LW: What Maggie? I'm about to become a Shinobi. TM: Look, I know it's been hard on you since you lost the old man. Seen you scurrying around The Hub lately. LW: You were happy enough buying my ore, didn't seem worried about me then. TM: You know how these things work. But you've been doing some good too. I saw how you fixed up those bums after they got tossed out. TM: You're not a bad guy, and I don't want you going down a bad path. You were a good kid growing up y'know? LW: Is this going anywhere fast? TM: Is making friends with the Shinobi a bad idea? Not really, it's good to have people who watch your back out there. TM: But is becoming a career thief really what you want to do? Is that the mark you want to make on this world? LW: What, stay a trade ninja contract miner, keep mining copper and iron for the rest of my life? Yeah, right, that's a life well spent. TM: Kid, it's a fucked up world. Just try to do what you can to make it a little less fucked.
You might not know much about life outside The Hub, but you know about the Dust King. A local warlord whose made moves on The Hub before, as well as agitating both the Shek Kingdom to the south and the Holy Nation to the north. They say he's as big as a bull, just as mean too. As for the Canyonlands Killer, you haven't heard of him before, but the description on his poster makes your skin crawl. You miss the old man already, he'd tell you there's nothing to worry about, as long as you travel in numbers, you're safe, that monsters such as that fear the light. Living alone is hard.
LW: Hey, Maggie? What can you tell me about the Holy Nation Outlaws? TM: Well, it's not like they're a real group kid. Just a catch-all for former slaves, ex-servants, and runaway criminals from the Holy Nation. LW: Anything else? Like, where can I find them? TM: There's no... leadership or anything, it's just the outcasts from the crusades who aren't outright fighting them like the Flotsam Ninja are. TM: I get the feeling you're sniffing around for a safe group of idiots to join, safety in numbers, right? Just go with the Shinobi. TM: You already saved up the money, right? You'll have that safety in numbers, and maybe access to some supplies on the road. LW: Alright, what about the Canyonlands Killer? You know anything about that bounty? TM: I swear kid, just a week with the old man gone, and you're joining the shinobi and chasing bounties... TM: You have zero experience fighting, at all. Saw you cry when that hobo beat you with a rusty pipe, had to get Nine-Toes to save your behind. TM: Join the Shinobi, train, get some battle buddies before you start chasing any bounties, got it?
You return to the local Shinobi boss, who eyes you up and down as you approach his tower of thievery. SB: Alright punk, you got the money? We ready to make this official? LW: Yeah, I got it. What if I didn't make it through stealing though? SB: Do I really look like I care? Money is money, long as you pay, you're good.
You clasp hands with the boss, and he gives you a nod. SB: Welcome, brother, to the Shinobi Thieves. Head on in, get yourself some good clothes and a decent sword. LW: Thanks, what should I call you? You know, you being my boss and all now. SB: You call me Boss Harvey. Now get inside, you look like a bum with that rusty sword and those ragged threads. You are now a member of the Shinobi Thieves, your reputation with the Shinobi Thieves is at 100. You can now use Shinobi training equipment, beds to rest in, get haircuts or plastic surgery, and buy and sell goods with Shinobi traders.
Walking into the hideout, two scorched raise bottles in greeting to their newest recruit. Seems the ground floor is something of a common area, could be a good place to sit down and read the papers the old man seemed to guard so carefully. Or train upstairs, maybe see the merchant.
