Options so far (pick the ones you want and put an X next to them.
[ ] Go get a fucking drink
[ ] Complain about the fucking city while drinking
[ ] Light up a joint
[ ] Talk to the guy we rescued? He can probably use a friendly ear too.
[ ] Go buy a Musical instrument and offend him with our "attempts" at using it
[ ] Run into angry locals concerned over Riya
[ ] Hang out with Gunther and Ria and Dipak. Gamble on the birds.


Plane Options
[ ] Do nothing, save up.
[ ] Clear used penalty (-4th, +4 max strain)
[ ] Upgrade plane (lots of changes, see link)

My votes.
[X] Go get a fucking drink
[X] Light up a joint
[X] Talk to the guy we rescued? He can probably use a friendly ear too.
[X] Run into angry locals concerned over Riya
[X] Hang out with Gunther and Ria and Dipak. Gamble on the birds.

You formatted this better than me, thank you lol, I should have made vices, expenses, and upgrades separate votes.
 
[X] Go get a fucking drink
[X] Light up a joint
[X] Talk to the guy we rescued? He can probably use a friendly ear too.
[X] Run into angry locals concerned over Riya
[X] Hang out with Gunther and Ria and Dipak. Gamble on the birds.

[X ] Clear used penalty (-4th, +4 max strain)
 
Do you guys mean Tomas, Monika, or Edgar to talk to when you said person that was rescued?
 
[X] Go get a fucking drink
[X] Light up a joint
[X] Talk to Tomas? He can probably use a friendly ear too.
[X] Talk to Monika? She can probably use a friendly ear too.
[X] Cautiously indulge in some music with Edgar.
[X] Run into angry locals concerned over Riya
[X] Hang out with Gunther and Ria and Dipak. Gamble on the birds.
[X ] Clear used penalty (-4th, +4 max strain)
 
Alright, seems like the votes have all come in, and you all seem to want generally the same things. You're gonna be trying 2 new vices, music and gambling, so I'm gonna need two +4 Daring rolls for indulging, respectively.
 
4-1 Check Ins
[X] Go get a fucking drink
[X] Light up a joint
[X] Talk to Tomas? He can probably use a friendly ear too.
[X] Talk to Monika? She can probably use a friendly ear too.
[X] Cautiously indulge in some music with Edgar.
[X] Run into angry locals concerned over Riya
[X] Hang out with Gunther and Ria and Dipak. Gamble on the birds.
[X] Clear used penalty (-4th, +4 max strain)
Wasn't sure exactly what a lot of you meant by the person who was rescued, since you rescued two people, so I'm including them both.

Oh also, Fame! This made the world a better place, and it definitely made you look skilled as a circus, so you now have 3 fame total!


"Look, you've sustained structural damage over basically every support structure in the wings. Plus, I took a look in the fuselage and the wood is rotting. I don't know how this thing holds together on the runway, disregarding the fact you flew home with a wing a single support wire snap away from falling apart." The head mechanic of the runway explained to you, presenting you your half-dead monoplane covered in dripping ice and scorch marks. "Point is, your repairs are gonna cost you."

"Can you fix it?" You ask simply.

"Of course I can! I can patch the canvas and replace some support structures as part of the usual repair fee. But I can restore the plane too, and give it some more integrity, so you're not flying around with a rotting plane. I'd hate to lose a customer like you." He said with a small laugh.

"And how much would that run me?" You ask, opening your very full purse of money.

"4þ for the restoration, one more for basic repairs, and another for general maintenance." You looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Sweet Elba…" you said softly.

"You're new to this, aren't you?" He said, grinning. "A lot of circuses coming through here drop Thaler in the double digits after every mission. It's an expensive field. Look, if you stop flying planes but still want to be rich, become a mechanic in a trade hub."
___________________________
You went to the local bathhouse to wash off and hopefully feel like yourself again after a mission like that. You were feeling on edge. Not right. Not like yourself. After handing a couple metal coins to the woman working the front desk, you were pointed towards the women's half of the bathhouse. It was only around four in the afternoon, but a skyborn convoy had landed in the early afternoon, so there were quite a few other very naked women around. Nudity wasn't something that made you uncomfortable, but you felt a bit self conscious seeing how thin and/or fit nearly all of them were, while you were a bit plump and not very strong looking at all. You found solace sitting in the hot, steaming bath, regardless. You probably just sat there for around an hour, letting the water relax your strained, sore muscles from the 6 hours of flight. Flying was a serious workout, a fact you hadn't considered until after your first flight. Banking and honestly just holding yourself level was difficult and exhausting in a long enough time scale. Then you noticed the tattoo of Gunther you'd gotten the previous night on your upper arm. You put your hand or your face and let out a groan.

You have discovered beauty in the relaxing nature of the bathhouse, -1 Stress.

After blow drying your hair and dress with a simple wind spell after taking it from the washing facilities, you thought it would be a good idea to check in on Monika, so you headed over to the town hospital, asked to visit, and given that you were literally one of the people that saved her life, it wasn't hard to talk your way in. This time you actually got to see her, she was a middle aged Fischer woman with short black hair and many glowing tattoos. In her room, she was wearing a simple tank top, with much of her exposed skin was covered in bandages, most likely terrible frostbite, and her right leg in a cast.

"Are you a nurse?" She asked in a scratchy, sleepy sounding voice.

"Uh… no, I'm Hilda. I'm one of the pilots that found you today." You explained, stepping over to the chair next to her hospital bed, and sitting down next to her in it. "I just thought I should check in on you." She held out a hand to you, her fingers covered in black or dark blue patches. You reluctantly took her freezing cold hand.

"I don't know how I can thank your crew." She said simply, laughing slightly, and then coughing loudly.

"You don't need to." Was all you could think to say too, smiling back at her.

"No, really. Hilda. You saved my life today. If you hadn't come I would have died, even if that survivor had pulled me out." She explained, looking at you seriously. "I don't know how long you've been flying, but it's not common you save someone's life that directly as an air-mercenary." You took a moment to think about that. Honestly, this probably was the most morally righteous thing you'd done in your entire life, diving into a frozen hellscape cloaked in poison to save one person, and saving two in the process.

"Thank you…" you said, smiling again.

"How did you even find me?" She asked, sitting up more and wincing.

"Oh, I just cast a spell of seeking, specified to detect heat. I thought that would be the best way of finding you." You responded, rubbing her hand.

"Did you have any other way of finding me?" She asked before clearing her throat. You shook your head.

"Not unless you shot up a flare or something."

"So… you were the one that found me then?"

"…I guess?"

"Hilda, you saved my life." You looked down at your feet. "Have you ever done something like that before?"

"No." You responded honestly. "I've been flying for… 3 days now. I've been in a plane three times."

"Well, keep at it."
_____________________________

You decided to check in on that survivor you met back in the city, so next you went to that hotel Riya rented him a room at, again asked to see the person you saved, and were allowed to. You knocked gently on the door to his room, and after a few seconds the door opened a crack, and he peaked out at you. He was still in his gas mask.

"Hey… Tomas, right? I just wanted to check in on you." He didn't respond, just staring at you. "You don't need that mask, you know, the air here is clean." You said, forcing a smile.

"I know that." He simply responded. "I like having it on."

"Right, ok. Is there anything I can do for you?" You asked next, not really sure what to do here. "Is there anything you want?"

"I want to fly my plane." He responded.

"Well-… you can definitely do that, but it's expensive, you're gonna need to work. Like, not just working somewhere, you're probably gonna need to join up with like, a trade company, or circus or something." You say, feeling weird that you were explaining this to someone after being in this position literally 2 days ago.

"Do you know where I could join up?"

[ ] "You could join up with us." (Gain Tomas the Survivor as part of your circus, he has a Ritter "Ersatz S")
[ ] "I'm sure I could ask around." (Roll Get Stuff to get this baby a new home with a trade company or other circus.)

Regardless of the choice, partying will happen in the next post!
 
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Hmm, not seeing much personality from the shell-shocked bunker boi. Predictable, I guess.

I'm not sure I want to go gathering everyone with a plane? Eh, idk.
 
[X] Write-in: A trial mission. If he likes the circus life, and we like him, he can join. If not, we'll help him find a trade company.

Unrelated note, we want his plane's engine. If Hilda recognizes it, she will be very jealous.
 
[X] Write-in: A trial mission. If he likes the circus life, and we like him, he can join. If not, we'll help him find a trade company.
 
[X] Write-in: A trial mission. If he likes the circus life, and we like him, he can join. If not, we'll help him find a trade company.
 
To be clear, I'm definitely gonna accept the write in if it gets the most votes, I probably should have listed something like that anyway lol.
 
[X] Write-in: A trial mission. If he likes the circus life, and we like him, he can join. If not, we'll help him find a trade company.
 
4-2 Hard Drinking
"Well… you could come along with us, just for one job to see if it's something you want to do."

"What do I have to do?" Tomas asked, opening the door further, still holding himself rather defensively.

"Depends. You might have to fight. You might have to shoot at people. Can you handle that?" You responded honestly, not really sure if you wanted to talk him into or out of it.

"Will I get to travel?" He asked next.

"Well, yeah, probably. I doubt we're sticking around here too long."

"I don't want to join a trade company. I don't know you that much, but I know you better than strangers. I can fight, I'll fight for you if I can travel with you." Tomas said, physically opening up a bit as he spoke.

"Alright, yeah. I'll go talk to Riya. Need anything else?" You asked, feeling a little happier.

"No." He said before he shut the door again and locked it.

Tomas trusts you!
___________________________

You passed your joint back to Riya, who was sitting across from you back at what was becoming your favorite spot to relax at Salty's Tavern, the curtained booth both farthest from the bar and closest to the door. The strange acoustics of the booth meant you could hold speaking volume conversations in the noisy bar. Strangely though, tonight, the bar was mostly empty, letting you and Riya drink largely in peace.

"I'm gonna let Tomas come along with us on the next mission." You said, looking out across the rest of the tavern.

"Why?" She asked simply.

"He doesn't have anyone, he knows how to fly a plane, and knows how to fight. And I'm not leaving him here with nothing." You explained, counting on your thumb, pointer, middle, and ring finger.

"Please tell me you didn't make this decision while we've been smoking and drinking." Riya said, giggling.

"No, no. I invited him along before I came here." You responded, also giggling.

"So you've already made this decision without me?" Riya asked, looking a bit put off.

"Well-… yeah, I guess, but what's the harm?" You responded, feeling a little small now that you realized you might have made Riya angry.

"This isn't a decision we should make lightly." Riya said, sounding angry to you. "We'll have his maintenance to worry about now. And what about his living expenses? Gas protection costs a Thaler most of the time, what if he needs a new suit? Or gets injured?" You looked down at your hands and anxiously rubbed your right hand with your left thumb.

"It's just for one mission…" you said very quietly, unsure if Riya even heard you.

"I mean he's never even flown a plane before, it's not like there was just fresh castor oil in that city. I don't know how he knows how to fly but how do we know he can even dogfight?" Riya asked before taking a huge swig of her beer. You didn't respond. Alcohol would help this though, it definitely worked last night when you started thinking too much about what your mother was doing now that you were off living it up in the broader world while she was stuck in the woods with no one but a bunch of assholes. Whatever, she never helped you anyway, fuck her. You poured your whiskey glass nearly completely full and drank the entire thing in less than twenty seconds, feeling the searing liquid and spicy taste nearly make you spit it out, but managing to force it down. It certainly helped the situation once Riya realized you were unable to have a conversation with now that you were hammered. You stopped thinking about your mom or Riya being angry at you.

"Fuck it, we'll discuss this tomorrow." Riya said, before finishing her beer and rubbing her temples.

"Mm. Alright." You managed, before standing up from the booth after noticing Edgar fiddling with what looked like a flute made of bone on a small stage. You stumbled over and decided to say hi. He looked far more approachable and less like a world-killing scumbag with beer goggles on. "Heyyyy! What's ya playing?" You asked with a wide smile, knowing you sounded drunk but not caring at all.

"My flute."

"No dummy, what song?"

"Shanties, probably. It's fun to get the bar bumping with the right tune." Edgar said, smiling back.

"Ohhhh, that sounds so fun! Can I sing along?" You asked, going wide eyed and clapping your hands.

"Yeah, that's what a shanty is. Watch this." Edgar said, before starting a tune on his flute, and in a few seconds nearly the the entire bar was stomping a foot in unison, almost absentmindedly. Then the lyrics started, some cheery tune about doing your duty to your community earning your evening drink. You joined along, a bit behind the other patrons of the bar as you didn't know this song, but it felt incredible to sing in general sync regardless. You got into the flow of it. Soon you were just about screaming the song, even though you'd never worked a day in your life or desired alcohol until yesterday evening. You LOVED this. You danced with around four people you couldn't remember the faces of, not sure when a sing transitioned to another, but knowing it probably did, with no idea how much time was passing. You drank to your heart's content and sung until your throat burned, you weren't sure from which.

Eventually you turned back to the booth where Riya was sitting, seeing there was no one there, with the whiskey bottle empty. You quickly scanned the bar, and Riya wasn't there. You couldn't in good conscience let someone that drunk walk away off into town, so you immediately walked out into town yourself to look for her. After stumbling about town for a while, you find Riya with her back to the wall of a closed for the night shop, with three Fischer men in green robes and one in blue looking to be speaking aggressively with her. She was obviously very drunk, and attempting to move away, but the men weren't letting her.

[ ] Get Riya out of there (Roll Brawl +Daring from swashbuckling to get her away without actually hurting anyone)
[ ] She yelled at you, leave her to deal with it.
[ ] Intervene gently to try and figure out what's going on (+1 Stress from confrontation)
 
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[X] Get Riya out of there (Roll Brawl +Daring from swashbuckling to get her away without actually hurting anyone)
DYNAMIC ENTRY!
 
[X] Get Riya out of there (Roll Brawl +Daring from swashbuckling to get her away without actually hurting anyone)
She's our oldest friend. We can't just abandon her.
 
[X] Get Riya out of there (Roll Brawl +Daring from swashbuckling to get her away without actually hurting anyone)
 
[X] Get Riya out of there (Roll Brawl +Daring from swashbuckling to get her away without actually hurting anyone)

We might not be agreeing about our Survivor Frend, but we ain't leaving her hanging!
 
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