Dastardly Duo IC

[Rizban]

For the past few days, you've trekked through the mountains. With winter setting in, the nights have been bitterly cold, and you find yourselves weary and worn as you reach the zenith of the mountain pass. Laid out below you is the small town of Breccia, which existed for many years as only a small base camp for trappers and loggers until a significant silver deposit was discovered. Now, Breccia is beginning to grow into a small mining center, and the population has grown considerably.

The wilderness town has become as good a place as any for someone looking for a fresh start or just to lose themselves for awhile.

[Capt. Infinity]

"Alley-oop!"

With the grace of years of practice, and a front flip for good measure, Kairnin Zale manages the final, impossibly well-done jump to clear the almost sheer rock face and reach the zenith of the mountain pass.

Landing with cat-like grace, the Skarn Warblade pauses to stretch in the wake of his taxing climb of the mountain. It would have been significantly less tiring had Kairnin merely walked the winding path leading up the mountainside, of course. But, ever the adventurous one, where most people saw an insurmountable situation, Kairnin saw a challenge, the young Skarn opting to pepper his ascent with a series of acrobatic leaps up cliff faces and sets of boulders, cutting his time of ascent in half as he sprung from rock to rock in a near straight line up the mountain.

The man basks in his success as he looks down at the village before him. The 6'10" giant standing with his hands on his hips, hair damp with sweat despite the early winter chill. His sapphire blue eyes sparkle at the sight of the city before him, and the chance at new challenges, and new opportunities it presented. There were few things certain in times of great economic growth. But one thing that was always an absolute probability was that someone somewhere wanted someone else dead. And would be willing to pay through the nose to get it.

And Kairnin was more than happy to oblige.

"Helloooooo Breccia." The young humanoid grins. "I can only guess what lies ahead for the two of us, but one thing's for certain: I cannot wait to find out."

Now, this revelry did not necessarily mean that Kairnin was unaware of his surroundings, and any individuals who were present nearby on the mountain pass were no doubt known by him. But, as it stood, he had yet to acknowledge their presence, were they truly there.

[asdflove]

Tired from walking for far longer than he'd like, Harin Lightbringer had stopped to rest, sitting on the ground, with his back against a small rock outcropping, and is rereading a book he's read multitudes of times, just gathering his thoughts and energy when out of nowhere this massively tall man just lands in front of him.

What on-!?

Slowly rising to his feet, Harin just stares at him suspiciously, and still more than a little surprised, sighing, he tucks his book back in his bag.

No point staying here if nearly a foot taller than him giant of a man is going to be here talking to nothing and disturbing the peace. He might as well finish his journey to Breccia, though given the giants words, he's headed there as well.

Brilliant

He clears his throat. "Excuse me, sir, but you're blocking the path, so if you could kindly not."

Harin doesn't look like much, standing at 5'10", and very skinny, dressed with his armour hidden under his clothes, and with large, almost innocent looking golden eyes, one covered by his fringe swept to the side, and a dainty magic circlet in his hair, but his words have a certain strength behind them and his stare up at the man is fierce.

[Capt. Infinity]

Kairnin looks back behind him, curious as to the sudden boldness from the waifish man behind him. He'd half-expected him to not acknowledge the Skarn's presence, or at the very least be meek about it.

Intrigued by the up-front behaviour of the brunette man, the giant man with midnight black hair turns to smile down at him. Kairnin, a massive man dressed in adventuring attire, and carrying a ridiculous array of oversized weapons (with the six-foot-something length Falchion serving as the centrepoint), gives a surprisingly friendly and upbeat look at the youngish man before him.

"Oh! Sorry about that, friend. Allow me." Kairnin steps to the side allowing Harin a chance to see the city from behind the man's massive stature. Kairnin extends a hand out to the meek fellow wanderer. "Sorry to drop in unannounced like that. I was making an effort to take an... unconventional method of travel to climb the mountain. The name's Kairnin Zale. I'd give you my titles, but that sort of thing is worthless around here. What's your name? I assume you're headed for Breccia too?" The Warblade asks, seemingly genuine and innocuous in his curiosity.

That's not to say that learning every face he can as fast as he can ISN'T beneficial in the long run. Just that such thoughts are not his primary motivation in this random act of cordiality.

[asdflove]

He was about to walk right past the giant of a man without another word, but the man insisted on introducing himself.

Always be polite Harin.

The thought, sounding like his grandfather in his head, brings Harin to a dead stop, and he sighs, turning back around towards the man.

What a farce politeness is when most hate everyone they meet.

"Prophet Harin Lightbringer." He extends a hand to shake, his tone coolly polite, his own title included, despite Kairnin's intentional exclusion of his. "It's a pleasure to meet you Kairnin Zale." He smiles, still distant, but polite. "I am indeed travelling to Breccia."

[Capt. Infinity]

Kairnin returns Harin's seemingly genuine smile with an actually legitimate one. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Prophet Harin Lightbringer. For what it's worth in a foreign tongue, my full title is Sko Zarn Kairnin Zale. Though this is neither a court of nobility, nor a battlefield, so simply Kairnin is fine." He pauses to consider Harin's final statement. "Well, since we're both heading the same way, perhaps we should finish it together then? The slopes are rather treacherous, and there's less of a chance for misfortune if the roads are travelled in pairs."

The young Skarn shrugs. "Besides. The town guard asks less questions when you travel in a group. And I don't know about you, but I am not in the mood for questioning after the climb I've been through." Kairnin's final statement, whilst innocuous enough, perhaps contained just enough questioning inflection in the word "questions" for it to seem like the man was speaking towards... a less than savoury reason for approaching the burgeoning silver mining town. The average traveller or adventurer may never pick up on it, but perhaps someone of an equally unsavoury ilk would pick up upon the signs, and find equal merit in his words anew.

[asdflove]

Of course he would want to travel together.

Harin keeps his polite smile fixed on his face, staring at Kairnin. "Ah, well..." He trails off.

There would be benefit to traveling the rest of the short distance. The behemoth of a man would serve as a deterrent to any others who would want to bother him the short rest of the way to Breccia, and he has a point about the guards, though given his generally cheery disposition, he likely just doesn't want the bother of talking to the guards, and not for the reasons Harin wants to avoid them if he can.

"I suppose so. That works well enough for me."

[Capt. Infinity]

Kairnin grins. "Excellent! Then let's be on our way. We still have quite a walk ahead of us, after all." Kairnin cheers, leading the way down the mountain for the Aasimar to follow, happy to have the company, and happy that he can now safely avoid the guards questions as to the true intentions for the Skarn's arrival.

We're ready to move forward to when you next have something GM-worthy for us. Be that the town gates, the nearest inn, or some indeterminate point along the way.

[Rizban]

As you approach the town, you notice a complete lack of walls or other defensive structures beyond a low pile of dried thorns and brambles around several of the buildings that does little more than keep common animals from getting too close.

The town itself can be best described as ramshackle. The buildings seem hastily constructed from nearby materials and even more hastily repaired a few too many times. The only building in the town of any real quality also happens to be the largest in town. From all appearances, it would be the local tavern, road house, and social gathering spot. Apart from a small general goods shop across the street and a stables, the rest of Breccia appears to be composed of private residences.

No guards hassle you as you enter the town. In fact, you don't even see anyone resembling a guard; however, you quickly note that the entire populace appears armed, and the suspicious, hard looks they give you makes you wonder if guards would even be necessary...

Just a note: I'm a very reactive DM. If you don't say that you do something, I'll assume you don't do it. As long as your characters stand around talking, I'm not going to progress the scene or just godmod you into another scene (barring random encointers, of course). So, if it ever seems like we're waiting on each other, it's because I'm waiting for you to act. Also, posting your characters considering actions to take isn't the same as posting that they act. I tend to completely ignore all internal dialogue.

[Capt. Infinity]

Kairnin looks about the area with a friendly smile on his face, meeting the suspicious gaze of the townsfolk with a pleasant, perhaps jarring enthusiasm. He leans in to whisper into Harin's ear.

"Well, they all seem rather friendly, don't they?" He chides sarcastically. "Though, I don't know about you, but people like me thrive on this sort of tension." He smiles to his far shorter, perhaps in a way that seems... suspicious, given his wording. But, then again, he does seem rather innocent, even if he is extremely intimidating.

"Well, the inn's not gonna walk into us!" The Skarn decides, walking forward into the inn/tavern/what have you, with his head held high, and a smile on his face.

[Rizban]

You approach the small, two-story building that appears to be the local tavern and inn. A sign above the door reads "Dancing Orc Tavern" and has a crudely painted image of an orc from the waist up pulling desperately at the noose around his neck. Two small wooden carvings of his legs are hooked to the bottom of the sign and sway in the wind... explaining the name of the place.

https://alaskanroadhouses.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/two_men_standing_at_entrance_to_wortmans_roadhouse _on_valdezfairbanks_wagon_road_alaska_ca_1906.jpg? w=768&h=574

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5es4BUkUXUQ/maxresdefault.jpgOpening the door, you are immediately hit by the overwhelming reek of sweat, burnt meat, and manure. The rushes on the floor are matted and filthy with mud and scum, making keeping your footing slippery if not hazardous. There's a small bar area crowded with 5 or 6 patrons drinking and laughing with the barkeep while several groups of men drunkenly gamble at different games at the three tables scattered about the room. A hapless bard, signs of extreme fatigue worn into his face, plays an out of tune lute in one corner while seated on a stool on a small, raised platform while a mean looking hobgoblin snarls threateningly at him anytime the music falters but smiles and hums to himself while the music plays.

The back wall of the small, crowded room contains a fairly large fireplace, which appears to open into the kitchen on the other side, serving as the primary cooking hearth for the establishment. A blonde serving wench slams six tankards of ale down on a table for a group of locals, apparently mining men, who quickly grab them and pass them around the table. She fends off a pair of groping hands then turns and approaches you with a slightly forced smile.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/48/55/c2/4855c231db4e79091892fb959802a05c.jpg

"New in town?"

[Capt. Infinity]

"Huh." Kairnin murmurs as he sees the sign, a questioning look on his face. "That's odd. Why name a tavern after somebody doing their job wrong?" He lets this utterly point-missing statement stand as he walks into the tavern in full.

The bad smells are nothing new. Neither is the wretched decorum. Kairnin has spent far longer dealing with far worse, but seeing the whole of the humanoid "splendour" out in the open makes him instinctively flash back to his childhood, and the old teachings from his masters of the inferiority of the mammal-born races, despite him believing such things to be foolish in their own right.

He gives a cheerful grin to the barmaid. "Hopefully not for long! The name's Kairnin Zale. I'd shake your hand, but you seem busy."

The young Skarn gestures to the man beside him. "And this here is Seer Harin Lightbringer." He explains, whether or not the shorter Aasimar was okay with being introduced.

"Now I can't speak for Harin, but I'm rather tired. But I'm also eager to get to work. I don't suppose you'd know who we could talk to if I were looking for work in this town? Not mining work, mind you. I'm talking more... Eclectic jobs and missions. The stuff that usually requires a fellow with a very large sword or a man with a very strong connection to their god to do properly."

His voice wasn't loud by any stretch. But it was not quiet either. As a matter of fact, one might say his voice was at the exact correct volume that it could be heard by any nearby patron to whom such a request may or may not be relevant.

[Rizban]

A wry smirk forms on her face as her eyes wander down to your chest. She leans slightly forward, pressing her arms together to accentuate her cleavage.

"Well, if you're looking for a job here, you don't seem to have the proper... assets."

She holds it together for a moment before a mocking laugh escapes her lips and she turns to go back to work. Waving almost dismissively over her shoulder to you, she says, "I guess you can ask around. Good luck."

[Capt. Infinity]

"Thank you kindly, miss." Kairnin nods his head to the tavern wench, unfazed by the overtness of her derision. The Skarn warrior, bearing his amazing stature and intimidating weapons, attempts to stride over to what passes for a barstool in this nowhere tavern. Should he make it there unaccosted, he will sit down at the nearest available barstool, with Harin sitting beside him, perhaps out of wariness of the other patrons, or perhaps having nothing better to do.

"Evening, barkeep. What passes for too damn expensive around these parts? Whatever it is, gimme two of it. And give another one to my friend here. My treat!" The Skarn grins at the barkeep and then at Harin, attempting to make friends with a chipper attitude that was both annoying, and for some reason, perhaps more than a little disconcerting.

GEEZE. Yeah. Sorry. Classic case of "who talks now". We're both good to move forward. Love said that Harin was just going to follow Kairnin's lead. Sorry man. :smalleek: