- Location
- Brazil
I want to go for the three quiet ones, but I'm not sure we will get what we came for if we do.
Shadows of the Past
- Thread starter Azel
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
- Location
- Germany
You can try with another group if you can't cut a deal or don't like the terms.
This being a public setting though, the others might react differently to you when approached second. Depends on how of a scene you might make.
- Location
- Brazil
I'd say slip them a note, except, y'know, illiterate barbarian girl.
- Location
- Germany
Odds are, there isn't a single literate person here.
You guys make a pretty big deal out of not having the local equivalent of a university degree.
- Location
- Brazil
[X] The three quiet figures.
Fuck it, stealth archery here we go.
Fuck it, stealth archery here we go.
- Location
- Germany
[X] The three quiet figures.
[X] The three quiet figures.
- Location
- Germany
If they are hunters we might work with them, I guess?
But it doesn't look like that, who'd use heavy bows for a hunt of animals?
- Location
- Germany
Longbows to be precise. Full Warbows would look noticeably clunky to Yaxkin.
Metrux
Gentle Demon Lord
- Location
- Brasil
I for a change don't care about tribal origins, all about discovering about spirits, common man are boring in comparison :B
Chapter 24: Pulling Teeth
- Location
- Germany
[X] The three quiet figures.
1.6.17.10.9.14 - 14th of the Green Storm
At first your gut instinct draws you towards the familiarity of the hunters. It's a woman not unlike them that taught you all you know about fighting so far, and yet you also know the limits of their skills. They too favor spears, a weapon you never really felt any affinity towards. So your eyes wander over to the unassuming three in their quiet corner. They seem quite happy to stay to themselves, so it would be a gamble to approach them at all, but who knows? You might have more luck with them than with all the others. As you approach them, one looks up and tracks you the whole time. The other two make no move on their own, but you have the feeling they are well aware of your presence all the same.
Even as you stand right next to them, no one speaks and so you make the first step before the silence grows even more awkward. "Hello. I'm Yaxkin." The slight pause you leave for them to introduce yourself stretches. Had you not seen them talk among each other before, you would think them mute or deaf. "I'm a trained huntress and healer and seeking companions for a month long hunting trip. Preferably people who would be willing to share some of their skills for me in exchange for a larger cut of the haul." And again, there is no response. You look them over more in depth during this pause. Beneath their cloaks they wear quite expensive-looking leather armor and you think you can spot the pommel of a dagger peeking out of the belt of the young man that keeps staring at you. The other two still sit half turned away from you, not even acknowledging your presence. Might as well try one last time. "You three looked like you know you way around the jungle quite well, so I thought you might be interested."
Yaxkin: 30 + 50 (Charisma) + 50 (Charisma) + 60 (Charm) - 50 (Go Away) = 140
vs.
???: 239
Like talking to a statue.
vs.
???: 239
Like talking to a statue.
"You talk a lot." To finally hear the man, no, the boy, speak is quite a surprise. He looks quite a bit older than he sounds and you get the sinking feeling that whoever is in charge of those three has delegated it to the apprentice to get rid of you. You admittedly feel rather silly right now, but this isn't nearly as embarrassing than it would be to actually go now. With the chances of actually getting what you came for already gone, you might as well leave a few barbs of your own.
"Given that you are only slightly more talkative than a Stone Man, it's no surprise that you think so." He just quirks is eyebrow in what is probably supposed to be a dignified manner, but after hearing his slightly squeaky voice the novelty of his act wearing down quickly. Now he looks more and more like a puffed up idiot. "I'm glad that you silently approve of my proposal. Shall we meet here tomorrow to depart?"
That gets at least a scowl out of him, which deepens to compensate your growing grin at having gotten a rise out of him. Finally he caves in and speaks again. "I agreed to nothing."
"Well, you certainly didn't disagree or tell me to go away either."
"I thought that much was obvious." The response comes immediately this time and he is getting slightly red in the face.
Finally the person to your left injects herself into what may be called a discussion if you squint a bit. "Give it up." At first you think this is directed at you, but the boy wilts before you and the hooded figure turns to you. Under her cloak you see a young woman, maybe ten years your senior. "This is a stubborn one." That she doesn't look disapproving of that fact kindles a bit of hope in you.
"Maybe. Seems we have something in common there."
Yaxkin: 89 + 50 (Charisma) + 50 (Charisma) + 60 (Charm) = 249
vs.
???: 242
Barely
vs.
???: 242
Barely
She scoffs and gives you a once over. Unlikely most others you've met lately, she apparently couldn't care less about your pendant, but takes a good moment to look at your blade and bow. "Apparently. Though I see no reason why I should take your offer."
"Well, you would earn a few beans for it, and if you treat all your potential customers like that..." As you trail off, you throw a meaningful glance over the court. Beside the warriors, there is nearly no one here today and those few looking for someone to hire ignore the groups and just pick with a few lone fighters.
She shakes her head and turns away again, but at least she keeps talking. "The few beans are the problem. We can get a good deal more with other work. I wouldn't mind to do a bit more than sitting here, but it's a bad habit to sell yourself under worth. Besides. You might pack decent gear, yet that alone doesn't mean you know how to use it. Saw more then enough traders get who thought themselves great masters with blades they bought with their parents earnings. I'm not in the habit of training amateurs."
Just once you would have preferred to be called a tribal. You stand there in a loincloth and chest wrappings, well-armed besides, and she compares you to a city dweller playing huntress. "Luckily for you, I learned the blade since I was eight. Carved up dead animals since I could hold a knife, so I thought it a good investment of my time to learn to do the same when they still move."
"Well, if you are so good, prove it." It might have been a challenge, but she doesn't move or turn around again. "I want an even two-hundred beans in advance, then I will go on that trip with you. Not your money though. You will make one of the other groups here pay for your training."
"What do you mean by that?"
She chuckles a moment and the boy before you awkwardly tries to laugh along. As he notices you looking, he immediately scowls at you again, prompting another bout of amusement from the woman. "Simple. I don't care how you do it, but you have to pay me with money you got from the people here. Convince them to lend you the beans. Challenge them to a duel for it. Steal one of the drunkards purse. Tidy up your loincloth a bit and charm them for all I care. Either you prove that you are not only talk or you prove that it would be fun to spend a month with you. Either works for me, but I'm not going to trek through the wilderness with anyone who asks me to do it." Then she turns around to you for a short moment and gives you a slight wink. "It will be well worth your time, if you manage it."
You blink and look around you again. The huntress is either still not finished with her story or already started the next, the drunkards are pretty oblivious to anything around them and the macuaitl wielding band is deep in some discussion with the graying man presiding over it like their chief. If anybody bothered to look at your chat here, they probably lost interest a while ago.
Which leaves you with the question what to do now.
[] Accept the wager.
-[] Write-In how to get the beans.
[] Approach another group.
-[] The graying man with the massive macuaitl.
-[] The maimed huntress.
-[] The drunken group of men.
AN: Writing the beginning of this chapter was just as awkward for me as it was for Yaxkin to stand there.
Last edited: