RPGWW

"Introduced a couple drow to the wonders o' dynamite," Larak said smugly. "They won't be botherin' anyone again." So saying, Larak cast about for the next potential trouble spot.

As far as Larak could tell, the two elfies he'd just blown to smithereens had been the last of the hostile drow in town. The other mercenaries didn't seem to have found anything else in the now empty houses, and weapons were gradually being sheathed.

However, what he did note was that the small house that'd just gotten the dwarvern demolition treatment was looking quite structurally unsound now, with collapse probably being imminent unless drastic measures were taken.

Larak's look of triumph faded as he took in the situation. Given some decent lengths of wood, he might be able to shore things up. At least temporarily. In the meantime... "Best to stay clear o' the house," he called to those nearby, "It's none too sound."

With that done, he looked about for any likely construction materials.

Brandon slowly let himself out of fighting stance, looking into the house and whistling in appreciation.

"Dynamite? Sounds like one of those Valthi contraptions. So that's what did this..."

Yawning widely, Brandon looked around. "Anyone else left to take care of? Or should we go back and watch the interrogation of our captives?"

Ree drummed his fingers on his staff, considering the question. "I highly doubt there's anyone left now. But it might be wise to try and fix up this house, before the owners complain too much." Swindler's rule number one: Keep the people happy, so they don't look too closely at your work. "Larak, how many people do you think you'll need to handle it?"

The Valthi, on the other hand, was still at the back of the group, his face buried in one hand, chuckling.

"Y'know, there were probably easier and less...extreme...methods of dealing with that."

Unless Larak felt like thieving a few timbers from the other buildings near by, there was nothing he could do. Besides get clear of the place before it fell.

The red mage spoke up.

"Indeed... one of my spells could have taken care of them, without any damage to the house... But eh... what's done is done..."

"Besides... the dwarf here DID in fact, take care of our little problem..." He added, clicking his sword back into the cane.

"For now... let's just get a safe distance from the building, hmm?"

Edited by: Ghastly Knight  at: 9/17/03 7:09 pm

"Aye, good idea," Larak said, distancing himself from the building. He took the grumblings about the dynamite in stride, knowing that there was no such thing as overkill when it came to drow.

Larak's thoughts were punctuated by a long, foreboding creak from the house, giving the others enough of a warning to get away from the house before it collapsed a few seconds later. It wasn't a particularly dramatic or terrifying spectacle, given that small, single story houses make alot less of a show when they collapse than an royal palace would. None the less, the house was now a pile of timbers, with the meager possessions of the previous owner burried underneath, along with two fresh corpses.

The mercs around them looked on at the mess for a moment, before dividing themselves into their seperate groups again, or what was left of them, with the occasional muttered comment which ran something along the lines of "That's coming out of his pay."

<span style="font-size:xx-small;">(Exerience point time:

Aodhfin gets 25 experience points for learning that large hats are dead giveaways when snooping. RPing bonus of 50. Total of 75
Boreas gets 225 for combat, 25 for thievery, 75 for planning the eve watch and 25 for bullshitting in the interview. RPing bonus of 100. Total of 450.
Brandon gets 275 for combat, 25 for disarming and 50 for his scouting. RPing bonus of 70. Total of 420
Larak gets 250 for combat, 50 for scouting out the town and 25 for amusing the GM to no end with the dynamite. RPing bonus of 80. Total of 405
Ratch gets 300 for combat and 50 for haggling. RPing Bonus of 60. Total of 410
Saen gets 225 for combat, 75 for flanking the enemy and preveting anyone from escaping. RPing bonus of 75. Total of 375)</span>

Edited by: Jak Snide&nbsp; at: 9/18/03 10:21 am

Sighing to herself, Saen was in a rather pouty mood now, "How could you just annihilate those poor drow warriors like that? You didn't even give us a chance to capture them alive! Now we only have TWO specimens to work with..." She let yet another sigh, "So I guess we'll have to be really careful that we don't creak them... mhhh.. well let's hope that won't hinder the process of finding out whatever the hell is going on around here ^_^." Her smile was back instantly at the thought that she may get a chance to have some fun real soon, unless there was another attack...

Mhhh, maybe I'll go for those points on the glutious maximus? But those are real hard to find sometimes.. mhh. well depends how big their butts are. Ooh, more maybe the ones right behind the ear.. well I'll do what I can!

Larak gave Saen a sidelong look for her sentiments. Still entirely too intent on the torture business for his liking. "Ye got enough drow t' be goin' on with lass," he said, "Ye want more, ye can go huntin' for 'em yerself."

Brandon, meanwhile, was looking a bit let down.

"So that's it, eh? Well, I guess we should go back and look on our captives, don't you think?"

Damn... I really wanted to turn one of them into a Drow-sicle

"Hmmmm... I'm surprised you people even HAVE any captives, what with the explosion-happy dwarf and woman who seems a bit too obsessed with torturing..." Calhoun said, snickering.

"Speaking of which... I didn't catch your name, m'lady."

Edited by: Ghastly Knight&nbsp; at: 9/21/03 11:00 am

"Eh? Hey, I try NOT to kill the subjects that I work with, thank you very much. I mean really, it's not for me to get to decide when they go, it's, in this case, my commanding officer." Stretching her wings a little she leaned back, her eyes closed, but her smile still present. "And my name is Saen... sorry I was too busy watching out for potential stabbings and things to stab when you first asked... and what do you mean "obsessed?" It's just a hobby, and a profession... sometimes. Oh, and my compliments on the outfit, red's a wonderful color."

"Excuse me, but did you say you had some captives?"

The group may have recognised the speaker, who was walking towards them with a pair of mercs at her side, as the elven lady that Briggins had appointed as the commander of the night watch on their side of town. Ree even recalled her name, Beralanna, since the drow was used to hanging onto names in his line of work. She was garbed in simple but well made clothes, nothing flashy, but comfortable enough to travel in. Her hair was still tied back, the half dozen small scars that adorned her face suggesting that she was no stranger to combat, or had run into someone comparable to Saen in the past. Her shirt was cut and bloodied on the right side, but she seemed to have been healed of whatever wound was inflicted.

"Mhhh, why do you ask?"

Saen had tucked her arms behind her head again, and her smile had vanished. however her face remained as friendly as always.

"Because, if you indeed have captives, we can find out where the others took their captives."

The lack of panicked villagers suddenly made sense to those who hadn't already figured out what had happened.

"Good, I thought maybe your reason was that you were betraying us because the enemy has a better offer than the employer here ^_^. Yep we have two, want to help or just watch the interrigation?" Saen was INDEED smiling again.

Brandon's expression turned somber.

"We indeed have captives, two of them, actually. We left them back at the inn...would you like us to lead the way?"

"Wait." Boreas instantly latched onto what his fellow 'commander' had said. "'Where the other's took their captives.' Do you mean the drow took prisoners?"

The elf raised an eyebrow at Ree, surprised that he didn't know more about his kin, even if he was born topside.

"It's common practice for any raiding party sent to the surface. They capture people and take them back to serve as slaves. This is unusual, though, since normally they attack one town then pull back before anyone can react."

"Of course," Ree immidiately responded, despite the fact that he hadn't known that. "I was just hoping we had managed to stop them before they got that far. We should send a message to Doma, and let them know about this. They might show more interest in the situation if they knew this might be the start of a major drow offensive, and not just a bad case of border bandits."

"...learn somethin' new every day." The gunman raised an eyebrow. "Well, I s'pose that after devil woman over there 'aquires' their location form the prisoners, we're gonna have to go in and get 'em, eh?"

"Only if we're paid t'do it."

It was one of the mercs at the elven woman's side that spoke up. The other followed after him, saying "After fending off that, they're going to have to offer alot to get me to risk my neck again."

Ratch grinned.

"Somehow, I doubt they're gonna have a problem with that."

"'Devil woman?' Humph, now what sort of devil has white wings? And what's so devilish about my work? Aren't you at all concerned about those poor people that were hauled away by these drow? You can't even shed a tear for those poor souls?" Her arms were crossed, her head lifted high in indignation.

Edited by: Dark Xia at: 9/22/03 6:51 pm

Larak took in the conversation, but his thoughts were drifting down a very troubling path. He was certain they'd be paid to go after the drow, and that could only mean one thing. A return to the underground realms he'd fled so many years ago. The mere thought of all that rock pressing down on his head, the horrors that might be lurking in any shadow, was enough to set him shivering.

But he couldn't just abandon the poor townsfolk to the tender mercies of the drow...

"Well, y'see..." began the mercenary. "You're "Devil Woman" because you just...are. And of course, I'm concerned about them, that's what I'm paid to do. If I just went and rescued them without pay, know what I'd be? Not a mercenary, a hero, and that just wouldn't do."

Ree folded his arms over his chest. "I agree with Ratch. We're here to do the jobs we're paid to do. However, at the same time we're under contract, meaning we've got to do what they tell us, at least until the contract is up. Given the nature of our enimies," Ree grimmaced, "they'll probably want to send me. Who else goes is anyone's guessing. In the mean time, I think we should head back to the inn and have a let Saen," he paused to raise a meaningful eyebrow at Ratch, "have a talk with our friends."

Without waiting to see if any of his 'crew' was following him, he turned and trudged off in the direction of the inn, to see if the guards had actually bothered to retrieve the prisoners there. Knowing what priorities they were likely to have, he doubted it. And he was worried, too, about the advent of the drow here. He knew nothing beyond the normal street scuttlebut about the drow, and there had never been any real reason for him to investigate them. They were the drow, and he was Boreas. The one had never really concerned the other, and he hoped to keep it that way. He honestly hoped word was sent back to Doma, so that an army could be brought out here to deal with the drow, rather than leaving it in the hands of mercinaries. Ree himself would much rather be back in the big city, relaxing in his small house on the seedier side of town...

Half an hour later, Saen walked out of one of the rooms at the inn where they'd all been sleeping mere hours ago, done with her little interrogation. While the drow who'd managed to drink the healing potion back during the little skirmish proved tight lipped no matter what she did, his injured companion proved to be far more persuadable, with the torturess managed to get him to speak in common after a mere minute. After that, she managed to extract a few useful bits of information.

The group that'd attacked Malmuth was composed of about thirty or so drow; less, now that some of them had been killed off. Their leader, who's name went unmentioned, had seen fit to have them stay on the surface for more than they'd originally planned, and conduct extended slave harvesting. They originally came from a drow city North of the area, which would place it in Southern Riva, if Saen was right. As for their base camp, all that Saen got was "North East."

For those that'd watched, it'd been quite the unique experience.

The group found Briggins downstairs, waiting for them. After he extracted a report, he told all present to get some sleep, but be outside the barracks at 11 o'clock in the morning.

-----

The hours passed, and the time for the gathering came. The dead of both sides had been buried, the clergy of the temple of Ishtar being insistent that everyone received a proper burial, much to the resent of the remaining townsfolk. A sombre atmosphere hung over the entire town, the regulated watches that'd once provided a sense of security now disbanded, the vast majority of the people still coming to terms with what had happened. Not that there weren't a few of the commoners inside the town hall, shouting at the elders and demanding to be told what was going to be done. While the coffers were inevitably going to be drained a fair deal once the remaining mercenaries claimed their danger pay, they couldn't just forget about those captured, especially with the irate representatives of the commoners present.

They wouldn't have needed to even consider employing the mercs for this task, had it not been for the runner that'd arrived from Doma city early that morning. A detachment of a mere 20 soldiers was on their way to safeguard the town; not nearly enough to protect and track at the same time. Apparently, rumors of a potential invasion had sapped the number of troops available for dispatch.

Thus, at 11 o'clock, Captain Briggins addressed the two dozen or so mercenaries that remained who'd gathered there, gathered in no particular formation before the tired and irritated looking man.

"As you may know, last night we were raided by a thirty something strong group of drow, with the intent of capturing slaves to take back to their blasted city. As you should know, many of our citizens were abducted for this reason, despite your best efforts."

From the tone of his voice, all but the most airheaded mercs could tell that the captain clearly didn't believe that they'd done as well as they could have.

"The town elders have decided to end your term of service as hired guards, pending the arrival of the Doman Guard. However," he paused for a moment, letting the word sink in, "they have authorized a reward of twenty five thousand gil to those who track down and rescue our townsfolk, as well as doing as much damage that can possibly be done to these raiders."

Again, he paused, looking over the assembled men and women.

"For those that are interested, I do not recommend working alone. There are some twenty or so drow left, by my estimate, which is far more than any one man could handle. Dismissed."

And with that, he turned around and walked right into the barracks, leaving the hired help to decide what to do.

Larak, standing with the rest of his watch, was torn. On the one hand, there was the prospect of a return to the underground realms, which filled him with dread. On the other, he couldn't just leave the townsfolk to the tender mercies of the drow. The bounty didn't really enter into it.

In the end, it was his dwarven heritage which decided him. The drow had attacked a town he'd been guarding, set fire to it and stolen its people. If he did nothing, there would forever be an unresolved entry in his book of grudges. Whatever other parts of his past he might have cast aside, that much remained. No dwarf could abandon a grudge.

"So," Larak said, "Who else is game?"

<span style="font-size:x-large;">25000 GIL!?</span>

Glomping Larak from behind, her smile bigger than ever, SAen lifted her hand up righteouly. "I'm in! We have to free those people... and who can argue with 25000! ... welll if the offerwas 50000 now.... but it isn't! So, who else is in? Huh? Comon, don't leave us two poor lonely folks to battle aronud 20 drow..." Her HUGE smile became a puppy dogish plea in an instant.

Ree considered. He did owe a considerable portion of money to the person who had sent him to this job. But if at all possible, he wouldn't much mind bowing out here. Ree's gaze swept the room, looking to see if the person who had originally 'escorted' him here was still in town. Hopefully, the man's self preservation instinct was strong enough to spook him off...

As if to answer his question, Ree felt someone placing a large hand on his right shoulder. Looking behind him, he saw it was, indeed, his large "friend."

He also noted that he now had a four piece drow ear necklace.

"I think yer should take that job, friend. Real lot of money, you know. Would do you good."

The accompanying look he gave the dark elf suggested that, if he didn't take this job, it'd be very, very bad for his health.

Ree flashed a sheepish grin. "Eh, sounds like an excellent idea, my friend. After all, I could use the money."

"Good to have ye aboard, lass. Ye can let go now." Not that Saen stood much chance of succeeding in her attempt to squeeze the air out of his lungs, but this was embarrassing.

"Huh? Oh.. oh so you're like THAT, oh, that's fine ^_^." She let go of him and stood coontemplatively, her hand on her chin. "Mhhh, eh we'll have to divide up that 25000 mhh, oh well, we'll deal with THAT later. So, anyone else interested? Istill think we're a bit outnumbered ^_^;;;"

So it would come to this? Brandon, a strapping young man in his prime --strong, skilled, intelligent, and handsome-- would be going underground with a motley group of mercenaries to retrieve captives from the clutches of dark elves? He would be risking his life and limb, gambling his very freedom, and for what? Quite a bit of money, honor, and fame...

Sure sounded good to him.

"Well, I'm game!" he announced with a broad smile.

Their gunman ally stepped out of the crowd.

"Well, that is a considerable sum of money. I'm game." Ratch grinned, looking to Ree. "Got a plan ready yet, chief?"