Swords, Sex and Sorcery (IC thread)

[Led_Astray]

"My race are the Asterion, Sir..." rumbled Tarik, slightly reproachfully but still with a modicum of respect. "There is no more of the beast in our souls that in that of any human..."

He clopped deftly around to face the newcomer, giving him an appraising eye.

"But aye, you have us correct. It was the four of us, plus the eye catching pair over there." admitted Tarik with a chuckle, indicating the drow and the tiefling with a short gesture. Then he gave an exaggerated bow.

"Tarik the Red at your service, Sirrah. What can we do for you?"

 

[DrStein]

When Kat gave the drow a kiss, Scully once more reminded himself that he was traveling among the incurably insane. "Shouldn't we be charging admission for this?" As the drow stormed off, he took Kat's hand and led her away, thinking it wise to let the dark elf cool her head before attempting to make... "contact" again.

"Come along Melody, we're burning daylight." Once he was sure they were out of earshot he raised a skeptical brow at the catfolk. "You had a reputation back home as a provocateur, didn't you?"

 

[kittenofdeath]

Nizzre was opposed to the Heinrich fellow, no big surprise there, she didn’t seem the type to just up and let someone attach themselves to her at the drop of a hat... Well, he had managed to pull that trick off, but he doubted that it would be happening again considering how shakily their time together had been until this point. Siria seemed more neutral about it, guarded of course, the girl had some common sense, but all in all he would have said she was open to the idea.

“If you are looking for work, then you're out of luck” Zell said with a bit of reluctance, crossing his arms as he did “and so are we” he finished with a sigh, getting work without so much as knowing where to look was a tricky thing. “But feel free to hand around until luck drops something in our laps” he said with a smirk “the gods are bound to throw me a bone eventually, you're just going to have to find a way to not get killed by these two until then.”

That was Zells opinion on the matter, the guy looked like he could catch a few blows meant for him, and didn’t give the ever annoying 'you need me' speech the goat and the little elf had either. So assuming the others didn’t move to make him leave he was as a part of the 'group' as the rest of them were.

********************************************

The masked man sighed as Kat was ushered off and away by Scully, but he quickly recovered his composure, meaning he stopped looking as her ass as she walked away, and responded to Tarik. “It is not what you can do for me, I represent another, one who has a lovely and lucrative offer for the 6 of you” he said, waiting a moment for the initial fact to sink in before continuing “there is an item that in not in the hands it legally should be, my client requires that it be returned to him, but wishes to avoid conventional channels on the matter.”

“It will not be an easy task, which is why all 6 of you will be required, plus any additional support you bring of your own, you will however be well rewarded for you troubles” the man looked from Tarik to the other group across the street “perhaps you should assemble your fellows and discuss my offer before I continue.”

 

[Led_Astray]

"You are mistaken, sir, I am afraid." chuckled Tarik. "Those two lurkers in darkness are not with us, in spite of my best efforts to persuade them of the usefulness of forming a group. I cannot guarantee their attendance."

The big cloven-footed crusader shuffled his hooves a moment as he eyed up the two additional strangers who had approached the drow and the Tiefling. Looks like that fellow in the plate has been rebuffed by the Drow... he might be interested in some work...

"However, I think we can definitely offer you five skilled individuals, and I am sure we can recruit a couple more... one moment..."

He looked over to Scully and Kat and bellowed at them. "Hey you two! Get back over here - looks like the job you were looking for has just found us! Dangerous but well paid, though it sounds as if we will need an extra couple of strong arms."

Tarik's voice carried well over the crowd, there was no way any of the assembled adventurers could have missed his announcement.

 

[Nordican]

Heinrich bowed his head slowly to Zell in appreciation for at least giving him the chance and not condemning him based on race alone. His features were impassive as he looked to Nizzre for a moment before he nodded politely to Siria.

"I appreciate the chance you've offered me. I will not disappoint. And I have faith that perhaps I'll earn a stay of execution once I have the chance to prove my worth." The human with two scars across his right eye said with a small grin towards the Drowess.

Then he heard the bellow coming from behind them and he slowly turned his body towards the source and spotted and impressive looking warrior though off hand Heinrich wasn't quite sure what he was.

"Do you know him? Seems quite the vocal lad and not very subtle." Heinrich commented gruffly as he turned back to the others.

 

[Cherubian]

Siria had to face away from the little discussion Nizzre and Heinrich had so the newcomer would not see her rolling her eyes in annoyance at the way he laid on multiple layers of preacherdom. Sure, who if not her would advocate to abolish prejudices based on first sight, but the schoolmasterly way that idea was presented just rubbed her the wrong way. It almost seemed as if Heinrich thought his humanitarian insights elevated him over the rest, in a paradoxical twist of what he was claiming.

Zell, however, did not share her objections it seemed. And since apparently he had more experience in this whole business of earning gold by beating up people – compared to her almost everyone had - she trusted his judgment and kept her reservations for herself, instead shuffling closer to him, positioning herself slightly to the side and behind his form as she silently observed the continuation of his exchange with the newcomer.

Or she would have, if the asterion’s booming voice had not echoed across the small square.

“Say” she whispered, leaning forward and bringing her chin close to his shoulders, going up on the tips of her toes in the process and planting one palm at the center of his back for support “is that the ‘goat man’ Nizzre has been talking about? It seems he had more luck than we did.”

 

[HotKittygirl]

Nizzre

The drowess simply snorted again, crossing her arms over her chest and tugging her cloak about herself once more. Subtly she shot the girl a glare for a moment as she easily recalled how she had been caught off guard in this position previously. Unconsciously she uncrossed her arms shoved back her cloak, letting the light play across the silvery links of her mithral shirt. Her hands came to rest upon her shapely hips as she listened to the tiefling prattle, like he always did, though his words make sense enough. Those silken lips twitched yet again as the man thanked them, as if he had been given leave to follow them by all. It as obvious by that look she thought little of the man, his armor alone weighing more than all her equipment combined. She put little faith in such heavy and cumbersome armor. To his greeting Nizzre simply snorted again, before she cleared her throat and spat a glob of spit at his feet.

“Try not to cry too loudly when you die,” She said with a soft growl, though the goat man’s words soon drowned out everything else. He had already proven that he lacked any tact of subtly; for the first time in awhile the drow actually smiled - a frightening thing in its own right. Hopefully the masked figure did not want to keep his business secret, then again, walking around in a mask didn’t exactly scream one was on the up and up.

“He is a goat who thinks he is a bull. He fancies himself some kind of...’adventurer’. No doubt you would have much in common,” Nizzre retorted to the human easily, the disdain evident in that thick voice.


Kat



She felt like she was being dragged off from the party early. Those triangular ears easily caught the conversation as it began, though they were soon out of range. Yet those keen amber orbs drifted back towards the masked man, slender brows knitting above.

“Wait a minute,” She said to the rogue, prying her arm from his as she easily spun on the balls of her feet and literally skipped back towards the others. Tarik bellowed the promise of a job before she reached them and those ears perked eagerly at the words.

“Well that was easy,” She commented lightly, slipping back into her place beside the asterion and the elf, her tail flicking out to the side before she interjected.

“We would know more about exactly what we are looking for and any other prudent information you may wish to relinquish. Perhaps we should find a more...appropriate spot to speak?” Her voice lowered and she couldn’t help the subtle purr that rumbled in her throat, nor the shimmering look in those slitted amber orbs.

Lexy

The elf was amiable enough regarding the proposition, though she let her more linguistic and vocal comrades do the wheeling and dealing to see the bargain through.

 

[Nordican]

Heinrich nodded silently and then turned to watch the so called goat-man. If he died in the company of the group however he would die sword in hand and the image of his long lost home in his mind and definitely not giving her the satisfaction of hearing him say a word save maybe a little curse in her direction if she was responsible for his death.

His brow raised slightly as he turned from the group and continued watching the goat-man for a moment and feeling a little tug in his gut as he wondered if he had found the wrong group to try to join up with given this other band apparently had already found some work though it was at the hands of a mysterious masked man.

 

[DrStein]

Scully put his hands up in resignation and returned to the group. "You realize we're going to have to cap membership at some point. Unless you plan on starting an adventurers' guild of course... Come to think of it, that might not be such a bad idea. Assuming we can get through all the bureacracy..."

Scully let that thought trail off as he sized up the rest of the people. He stood with a cocksure grin on his face and his arms folded across his chest, looking for all the world like the consummate smooth-talking con artist. "So... who's who? And have Blacky and Spooky decided to bugger off or am I literally going to end up making a deal with a devil?"

 

[kittenofdeath]

The masked man visibly perked up as Kat returned, his slight slouch disappearing as he did his best to look his best for the startling beauty. “My dear, it would be a pleasure and an honour to be seen anywhere with you” the man said with a genuine bow of reverence directed to her “but if you wish to retire to a more secluded setting to discuss terms, I would have no objections.” His face turned to Tarik, his voice taking on a more reluctant tone “however, the job offer I have is for all of you” he glanced over at the other group that had sprung up “so until such time as all involved parties are in agreement, more details shall remain beyond your grasp.”

(OOC: ok, everyone taking to the masked man, make a sense motive check at an unknown DC, everyone over with Zell, make a perception check at DC 15 to have heard that the job offer was for them too.)

****************************************************

(Perception check, 18+1 = 19 vs DC 15, pass)

Zell held back a laugh at the mention of Tarik not being subtle, at the very least their new comer had a firm grasp if what a lack of subtlety was, fingers crossed that he could do the opposite in occasions where it was required. He was slightly put off by how close Siria had gotten to him though, not that he had issues with keeping his own personal space, he was just used to people staying back from him, rather than coming up close and whispering in his ear. So when she did he paused for a second, looking over his shoulder at her with a curious gaze before answering, at least his long coat had gotten in the way of his tail flicking out to play with anything close by like it tended to do.

“Does look that way” he whispered back, splitting his attention between Siria and the goat mans group, instinct telling him that paying attention to the masked man would be a wise plan “but hey, whenever a door opens for someone else, there’s a chance to get your foot in before it closes” he added with a grin “so don’t you worry, we'll think of something.”

Zells decision to pay some attention to the other group paid off, his ears picking up the general flow of the conversation, as well as the last line the masked man said. On the down side, they couldn’t work the job without bringing the goat along, on the upside, he was going to have to ask for them to join up again. Zell wondered if the goat would figure out what had been wrong with the sales pitch he tried last time. “See” Zell continued with a grin in Sirias direction “looks like luck isn’t being so one sided after all.

 

[Cherubian]

[Perception check 5+12 = 17 vs DC 15, pass]

“It really looks that way” Siria replied, her eyes staying trained on the masked stranger as she spoke. For a moment the doubts came back. This might very well turn out to be a pivotal moment in her life. Previously just an idea, it suddenly threatened to turn into very harsh reality. The beginning of her career as a mercenary. A potentially very short career, she had no illusions about that. This would be so entirely unlike anything she had done before, but the points Nizzre and Zell had made still were valid. So she chased those doubts away, visibly straightening her shoulders as her decision was made.

“So if you think you can work together with that other group …” the antipathy the drow and the tiefling seemed to harbor especially against that strange, hooved creature, had not escaped her “… then maybe we should walk over and start talking with them now?” Her gaze wandered uncertain from Zell to Nizzre, even to Heinrich, to finally come to rest on Zell again. She might be ready to fight for money, but she certainly did not think she had it in her to lead them.

 

[Led_Astray]

Sense motive 8+ roll of 12 = 20

With a grin Tarik answered. "Ah well. it was a nice thought but I've already asked those two to join us and they flat out refused. Why, the big one even challenged me to a duel for having the temerity to talk with him before he realised his mistake and ran away."

He laughed deeply. "And people wonder why I treat life as a joke! Why, this just proves that the gods enjoy their little jokes.

Shaking his head in amusement, his mane of red hair swinging wildly, he continued. "But who knows, the prospect of an actual job might make them willing to swallow their pride and admit I was right to suggest working together."

With that, he turned towards the pair - and their two new friends - and gave them a friendly wave and an equally friendly grin.

"I'm sure you heard all that. Care to come make some coin?"

 

[Nordican]

[Perception check 1 + roll of 11 = 12 vs DC 15 Fail.]

Heinrich unfortunately failed to pick up on the masked man statement as he watched and waited to see how Zell would react to things but it appeared that perhaps their luck was changing based on Siria and then the goat man's comments.

Heinrich turned and offered the Asterion a warm smile not wanting to burn any bridges he may have to walk down the line. Slowly the mercenary from Sueton turned to the others trying to gauge their reaction. If he just waltz over he had every faith that they'd take it as a sign of disrespect and he'd already had to fight enough just to get the chance to hang around so he was content letting them make the first move. If they did not he'd slip away later and join the goat-man anyhow.

 

[DrStein]

[Perception check 15 (roll) + 10 = 25]

Scully kept quiet and made mental notes of the details. He sized up the new faces, including the one hidden behind the mask. For now he'd wait and see where things went. The group was getting rather large and he still edgy about Tarik's efforts to court the demon and the drow. It made his paranoia flare up a little. He tried to swallow that back down however. He was in a strange land and these were the only companions he had. He didn't know if he'd be so lucky as to get another opportunity like this ever again.

 

[HotKittygirl]

Kat

(Sense motive
Roll(1d20)+7:
18,+7
Total:25)

Kat noted that curious reaction to her presence, those triangular ears perked and her smile widened if only slightly. She tilted her head and took him in with those amber orbs easily, nodding to his bow before her gaze turned to the group he spoke of. It was a brief glance and while Kat had no clue if they would agree to such a deal she played along as if it was set in place.

“Of course, of course. While we might not see eye to eye on everything I’m sure we’ll all see the worth of this…agreement,” In that tone there was a subtle rumble of a purr and a glint in those amber orbs. Ah, whoever this was he was indeed mysterious. That in itself was something Kat found irresistible, she just couldn’t help herself.

Nizzre

(Perception
Roll(1d20)+11:
8,+11
Total:19)

Nizzre’s upswept ears perked lightly, catching the none too subtle hint as she cast an annoyed glanced over her shoulder. A masked man, well dressed and seemingly desperate; what a combination. While she had no need to conceal her face at the moment the drow knew all too well the benefits of such, she couldn’t fault the man for that at least. Even as Zell and Siria talked it over Nizzre simply snorted and turned on her heels, snapping her cloak about her as she sauntered towards the group without another thought.

“You would do well to hire me without the cannon fodder and save yourself the coin. But what do I care?” The drow muttered with another snort, shooting daggers as the asterion and elf, though when she turned to glare at Kat she faltered if only briefly, turning her attentions back to the masked man.


(Lexy

Roll(1d20)+4:
13,+4
Total:17

Rolling for sense motive. She has no ranks so just her wisdom.)

 

[JadeKnight]

Drama. That's what Kumio compared everything that was going on to. It's not that she wasn't used to being around such drama, but she certainly didn't expect to run into it so soon. She didn't plan on getting involved into the drama herself, but she doubted she would be able to avoid it with this group. She sighed softly as she watched from her place next to the elf.

She raised an eyebrow at the approach of the masked, but well dressed man. It wasn't exactly the combination that Kumio had seen when someone offered a job. She kept quiet as she listened to the conversation, mostly since she wasn't the one doing the bargaining. She studied the masked man, trying to gauge him.

(Sense motive: 16 + 4 = 20)

 

[Nordican]

After considering his actions for a moment Heinrich decided to follow the drowess over. It seemed she at least was interested in not beating around the bush too much and if he heard correctly the Asterion seemed not to mind a few more helping hands. Once more Heinrich got that tugging feeling that he may have ended up with the wrong bunch but if they all ended up working together then there wasn't much of a problem anyhow.

Standing their in his half plate the man with the slight dirty blonde gruff and scars on his face gave the members of the other group a polite nod hoping to make proper introductions once a deal was set with this mystery masked man.

While he was not super thrilled to have a mysterious individual being the person behind any job offering there did not seem to be a whole lot of other work coming his way and the least he could do was listen to the offer given what he'd gone through so far to get to this point. Besides maybe the man behind the mask was just horribly disfigured and there was nothing nefarious about him save he didn't want to cause people to recoil in horror. Idly Heinrich felt the two drags of scars on his own face itch faintly and for a moment he almost brought his hand up. Yes he knew all too well just what kind of attention one got when ones face wasn't a gleaming perfect example of beauty.

 

[kittenofdeath]

Siria was correct, at this point the best thing to do was to go over and simply talk to the idiots, however, in order to do so without ending up on the back foot, it had to be done diplomatically and tactfully, two things that weren’t exactly Zell's strongest skills, so he was somewhat hesitant to go barging in without some planning. This however, did not end up being a possibility, with Nizzre and the Heinrich acting as the first wave, and Nizzre was being her ever pleasant self.

“Well then” he said with a sigh, stepping to the side and gently pulling Siria forward so they were in line “Time to display a united front.” He gave her a reassuring smile and set off in the other twos trail, he didn’t so much ignore the other party, in fact he couldn’t help but steal a glance at the cat woman out of the corner of his eye, he just focused on the unknown stranger.

“Alright, everyone at least wants to hear the sales pitch” he said to the masked man, cutting him off as he tried to respond to Nizzre “so lead on to somewhere cozy and get on with it” Zell had dealt with many employers in his time, some had liked the theatrics and secrecy that a mask provided, however he didn’t feel like waiting around for what could be nothing while the guy fawned over the cat woman.

*******************************************************

All seemed to be proceeding well enough, so the masked man was happy to just continue admiring Kat until the group was set “That is delightful news” he mentioned, moving closer to Kat as he did. He paid little attention to Nizzre past the original glance in her direction when she spoke, his dedication to his work taking over his attraction to Kat momentarily “Im afraid the job is for the whole...”

Zell cut in, a look of reluctance showing in the masked mans eyes as he realized he would have to continue with the job now. “Excellent, we should waste no more then” he started off for the door to the tavern they had all just left, pausing at Kats side for a moment as he went “if you would just accompany me my dear, we can be underway” he bowed slightly again and gestured for the door, waiting to see what her reply would be before continuing

 

[DrStein]

Scully was skeptical to say the least. Their benefactor was practically slobbering over Kat and refused to disclose his name or even his face. Yes, this was clearly a very auspicious beginning. He leaned in to whisper to Tarrik and Lexi, "Mr. Anonymous over there isn't exactly subtle, is he? Please don't tell me you trust him."

 

[Nordican]

Heinrich moved forward as the procession moved along into the tavern. He remained cuatious and was more then ready to pull his kukri on the masked man or anything else he might use against him or his new found .... well allies was a bit of a strong word. More associates really if at all.

He noticed some of their benefactor's attention landing on the cat girl but Heinrich didn't pay it much mind. The woman had a good form to her and those amber orbs seem to just radiate a playfulness that made Heinrich wish he'd found the other group first but he'd made his bed.

 

[Led_Astray]

Tarik rumbled a low response to Scully, Lexy and Kat as they followed their potential employer into the inn.

"I agree with Scully, but we should hear him out at least... he seems quite struck with our little kitty-kat, though, doesn't he?"

He gave Kat a grin.

 

[HotKittygirl]

Kat

The catfolk put on her loveliest smile as she reached for the masked man and slid an arm around his own. Those amber orbs sparkled in the sunlight as she nodded gently to him.

“Lead the way,” She rumbled softly, the slight purr in that alluring tone undeniable. There was no denying the curious attraction of his man, at least she assumed it was a man, for all Kat knew it could be female with a deep voice. Regardless, Kat followed after him with a flick of her tail, well, perhaps it was more because of it. She was more curious than anything, just who was this man, what was this job? Curiosity always got the better of her, Kat was never one to let things pass by.

 

[Lexavier]

Lexy regarded the masked man carefully. Certainly odd, ostentatious, essentric with a flare for drama. His clothes and his need to conceal his identity in such an unsubtle way suggested a man of high rank or stature. Someone who was uneasy in dealing with the common rabble. Yet it was also clear that although his job offer had the air of secrecy about it, he was taking no precaution in hiding that fact, so obviously there was no immediate danger about them. The fact he wanted so many adventurers on this one quest set her nerves on edge.

She glanced over at Scully and chuckled. "Hey the more the merrier. The more people in the group, the further away from danger you are." she reminded him. "Besides, as long as we stick together we'll be fine." She reached out and clenched his hand reasurringly. "Better the Devil you know...." she finished, with a cheery wink.

Nizzre stormed over first, her usual cheery self. Surrounded as she was by her companions, and the man that seemed to need them, she felt unusually safe. "The first time I save your life, you better be damn grateful." she said hotly, yet with a hint of mirth.

Next was a man in armour, she could hear his clanking as he approached. He was a man of few words, offering them a simple nod. She replied with a polite bow of her head. He seemed a man of honour, and held himself with integrety. Even though he hadn't said anything, she knew she would like him.

As they waited, it was plainly obvious the masked figure was interested in Kat and for some reason that bothered Lexy. His gaze was vulgar and lewd, clearly he was someone who often got what they desired. She ofcourse knew that Kat could take care of herself, but for this man to think he could have her at a whim boiled a small fire in the pit of her belly.

Then finally, she tore her eyes away to see the Half-Demon and the girl who had fought so valiantly approach. She briefly wondered how such a delicate looking flower could join this rag-tag group of adventurers, but then realised thats how she must look to them. She offered them each a bow of their own, determined to set a good tone for this group, despite the glower she received from the Drow.

She turned back to Scully and Tarik and sighed. "Trust is something that is earned, not given to a masked stranger. No, I don't trust him. Needless to say however that earning gold is precisely why we're here." She grinned at Scully. "I'm sure you're no stranger to meeting shady characters unwilling to reveal their identity?" she whispered. Then she glanced up at Tarik, the smile disappearing as she set her jaw. "Yes. And I like that least of all." her tone was probably the only bitter thing she'd said to the group since arriving and she regretted it immediately. She brightened up, smiling confidentally. "Lets find out what this job is." she said, skipping after Kat. She put her hand on her shoulder very briefly, a show of both affection and reasurance - letting her know that they were right behind her.

 

[Cherubian]

Siria continued to follow Zell's lead, trusting his expertise in negotiation more than her nonexistant one, and so she stayed silent and observant as she kept pace with the tiefling, joining the other group together with him.

As the initial negotiations were underway contrary to Zell she did take her time and muster those that she likely would join on this misssion. Quite varied they were, and quite exotic some like the tall hooved man or the slender lef that appeared almost as much out of place here as she did, and most of all the cat woman. Unsure what to make of the masked man's apparent infatuation with her - would this preference lead to an uneven and unfair distribution of the payment? - she took a step towards the door, only to look back at Zell anmd wait for him to join her.

 

[Led_Astray]

"I think, Scully and Kat, that this is where you take over." rumbled Tarik with amusement. "Negotiations are more your forte, I suspect."

He waited at the back of the group, gesturing with a thick, chain-clad arm at the tiefling, the drow, and their new friends to go past, then accompanied the group back into the inn, hanging at the back where he could watch everybody, including their mysterious potential employer.