The heads on pikes disgusts Ayla
Ayla speaks in a diplomatic tone, though uses her taller height to add to some subtle intimidating body language.
"You can just call me, Ayla."
Bluff rolls please anody. Sharae, creik and ayla can aid.
'Eskarae' tries her best to be a Numerian... No longer is she the fresh-faced Desnan of the river...
The guard nods
well, i think you are crazy if you think something like that is here, but that's not my problem. As long as you respect people's property. You can enter.
Avoice calls to the guard from inside.
wait a moment, if you would.
He goes to the door and talks to someone, then comes back.
my boss wants to talk with you. Do you mind?
Anody looks at the others and shrugs.
"Of course... I'd love to meet your boss", Sharae smiles.
Sho's eyes narrow behind his helm. "This place is surprisingly more friendly than it looks. Strange." His thoughts are suspicious as he shoulders his naginata and moves forward with the group.
You move into a small room, with a table and chairs. Two heavily armed guards are there, moving away from arrow slits. They must have been concealed on the outside. One has a rifle, the next a crossbow with a strange device on it. Good thing you're not hostile.
The first guard says sit a spell
He lets you sit
He looks at you a second
you look capable enough. If you're going to stay a spell, you might want to earn some gold? Possibly some tech? I have a job. What do you say?
Tech is what we're here for Anody says brightly And we'd like to make friends of course. So depending on the job I'd say we're in
"Mister, it's been a couple o' hard harvests the last few years... and works bin kinda hard to find... I'd say, as long as the pay's fair, we'd be okay doing some job for yer... What you got in mind?", 'Eskarae' maybe overcompensates in her attempt to be someone that she isn't!!!
Sho removes his helmet to look at the others and the guard.
"Well I have no problems with a little extra work for some extra gold."
Sho gives a small smile to the guard.
Criek continues his quiet, deferential stance, while trying to surreptitiously eye the strange device on the crossbow, and any other visible tech gadgets, to figure out what this group's capabilities might be.
Ok some information that may be useful
If you have already rolled, use that roll.
After a few minutes, an imposing woman entered the room. She is wearing studded leather armour, but carries no weapon. Her left ear appears to be made of metal. She sits at the table with you.
I am Sevroth Slaid, and for my sins, which must have been pretty bad, I am in charge of this gate. I decide who enters or stays. We are not interested in any who are here with notions of cleaning this place up. We are happy with the way it is.
She grimaces a moment, then grabs a mugs of ale and has a drink.
Well not completely happy, but this place is ours.
She looks at you balefully
So why are you here. The real story. Are you running from something. Because I heard your taleshe taps her metal ear and if you think there is a power source, then you are mad
'Noddy' bounces up and down excitedly. There wasn't one before but we got news that the weird stuff that went down when the light went out in Torch? That all came to Scrapwall! Uh, is this place really yours? I heard the Lords of Rust been pushing you Stell guys around pretty bad.
”Mebbe there is… Mebbe it’s all fanciful talk but like my frien’ Noddy says, that’s what we bin hearing after Torch went out… We thought it would be worth a look… if it’s all rubbish then at least we tried… an’ we needed to stock up on supplies anyhows”.
…the Professor’s been keeping his ear to the ground!!! Good, that’ll see us in good stead when working out who we need to keep on our side… and who to steer clear of.
That's steel eagles, lawn ornament. Get the name right. She pauses a moment then
boys she says to the other gang members give us a moment
With quizical looks the others leave the room.
Sevroth looks at you and says you seem a capable group. Would you be interested in a job? A bit dangerous, but if you do it I can help you find what you are looking for. So are you willing to hear me out?
Yes yes please. Eskarae just cares about the farm but if we find something wondrous then we could do anything... including fix the farm of course Anody says while grinning at 'Eskarae'.
Sevroth looks at anody and Sharea, then shakes her head. maybe i should find someone else. If you a just clod farmers, i don't know if you are capable enough. My concious has enough on its plate to send people into dangerous situations.
Anody, you think the "aw shucks" approach has made her under estimate your abilities.
She turns to Mel, sho and ayla. you three seem like warriors. Please tell me you aren't farmers with delusions. Are you open for dangerous work for reward? She seems to have overlooked creik, perhaps lumping him in with the farmers.
Eskarae and I may be farmers, but we can take care of ourselves. We got here in one piece didn't we? Noddy retorts in a huff and casts Mage Hand on a small item from Sevroth's desk and snaps it to him before sending it back. And I and the ratfolk know a bunch about tech. Probably more than you bigfolk
how hard is it to fight a turnip? But perhaps you aren't so incapable. And your rustic accent has slipped a bit.
She has another slip of ale.
Listen, to understand the job, you need a little history. The steel Hawks used to be the most powerful gang until recently. The lords of rust changed that.
She sighed and shook her head.
Our leader was butchered, and they installed a new leader over us, an ex smiler called Birdfood. What we want is him gone. We can take over our own gang. What do you think, farmer?
Sho raises an eyebrow.
"If we are competent, then you have made gains. If not then what do you lose?"
‘Eskarae’ narrows her eyes and adopts a slightly more forceful stance, ”It is true that Noddy and I work the land… but if you, for one moment, think that is a task for a ‘clod handler’ then you need to travel out in the lands around here a little more… beasts, natural and mechanical, attack our herds monthly… and I think you will find, from the trophy wall of skulls and junk that adorns our barn, that we have more than what it is you need…”
Relaxing, ”Now… this Birdfood, you want him gone? Tell me, what crimes is he guilty of… I will not imprison nor slay an innocent man”
Criek pushes back his hood and pipes up with some alarm, "You say the Lords of Rust killed your leader and put a Smiler in charge? That's quite the consolidation of power among the gangs -- more than I've known Scrapwall to ever have in the past? What's their end? ...And how would you hope to keep your independence if Birdfood is removed -- wouldn't the Lords just put another of their own in his place?"
Birdfood! Sevroth turns an spits Smilers are cannibals, and that doesn't sit well to start with. He's also killed many in his power grab. His favourite method is to have his victim tied down, and then pecked and ripped to death by his pet birds. At which point he makes the remains into soup for himself and his thugs.
To creik she says [bI don't know why he was put in charge. The smilers are allied with the lords, so maybe it was a payoff.[/b]
She shrugs Don't know how the lords would react. Not well, but they don't seem to care for more than some "purpose" they have. Something to do with Hellion, I reckon. She makes a sign against evil, and shivers a bit.
If birdfood is offed, The steal hawks can rally. They took us by surprise last time.
She looks at you.
So are you in? If so I can detail where to find him, and I can give you more information on the situation in scrapwall. Help you build up your scrapworth.
Anody looks at the others at Sevroth's mention of 'Hellion' and her fear of it.
I'd say in
"Wellllll... he sounds like a delight - and the kind of straw doll tyrant that any town would be well rid of... I'm in as well", Sharae rests her hand against the starknife that she is no longer concealing, "So, where we go about looking for this 'Birdfood'?"
"Can--can you tell us more about this 'Hellion'? If he--she?--is behind the takeover of your gang, we should know whose ire we're raising when we help you?"
Hellion? She looks away. A demon or god. Seen it. Pops on the view screens around the place. Controls those heads out there.
She grins weakly. so its already had a look at you. So I hope your story is right, cause it also seems to have an incredible memory for faces.
Anyway, Birdfood. He lords it up in our HQ. That's directly north of us through hawk square. Large structure about a thousand yards in. Got a hawk statue on it.
See looks at you seriously. Now he has three bird friends, and a few orcs he brought with him from the smilers. That's it. We others, the true Hawks, won't step into the place it we can help it. Look for his throne room. That's where he'll be.
She has another sip of ale and says Anything he has, is yours. And I'll help you with finding this "power source". Can tell you a lot of other stuff about scrapyard.
So. Can you do it?
Anody looks at the others and then nods. As good a time as any I suppose. But Sevroth surely you can see that any help you can give would help us do this. More people to attack, some tech, some hidden way in, some healing... anything.
I have nothing to offer but information. You say you are capable. You shouldn't need help.
Everybody needs help Anody huffs. But for information. Any hidden ways into your former home?
"Noddy is right, storming the place would be bold and brave, but in the end suicidal. Even a back door would help."
why should it be suicidal? It's not a fortress, and there is no backdoor. It's built up against the wall. You walk in, you go to the throne room.
so its already had a look at you. So I hope your story is right, cause it also seems to have an incredible memory for faces.
Criek gulps. So we'd best make haste if we're to secure Sevroth's aid; Hellion may be mobilizing against us even now!
"What should we expect of these bird friends of his? May we assume they're more than ordinary pigeons?"
three hawks. Tough and nasty. More vulture than hawk, I'd say.
"Ugh!!!", Sharae has a disgusted look across her face, "Filthy birds... the hawk is a noble creature, soaring high upon the winds whilst it hunts its prey... the vulture, on the other hand, is a scavenger... a bird that feasts upon that which others have brought down"
A wry smile replaces the grimace, "Sounds appropriate from what we have heard about this Birdfood... Come friends, let us strike now - before these Smilers hear of our presence here".
You head towards the steel hawk hq, crossing a vast area filled with piles of junk. Every now and then plantlife juts out of the wreakage, some of it looking local, some looking alien. There are people here, manning stalls selling food and goods.
Some are just sitting around. And look odd. Most here are ratfolk, humans and half orcs. But there are others.
You see a dwarf with insect eyes, sitting and giggling, a ratman with no fur, shivering and starring into space and an elf with eyes glowing green, who stares at you as you pass.
A group of orcs with steel hawk markings on them spies you, and moves away as if avoiding you.
At last you approach the HQ. A large opening looms in front of you, a pair of orcs slouching as if on guard. They are armed with halbards. A large hawk made of scrap sits on the roof.
Actions?
I suppose I could turn someone invisible to scout further, but they may detect us. And in any case, we will have to deal with these three in any case. What does everyone think? Maybe we could try and talk our way in and if that doesn't work we start the uh, screaming and stabbing?
"Screaming and stabbing has the advantage of being simple."
Sho smirks at Anody's squeamishness.
Sharae nods at the professor, "We must satisfy ourselves that this Birdfood is everything that Seveoth would have him be... I will take no part in a fruitless assassination nor a full-frontal assault without knowing our enemy. We introduce ourselves and we take it from there"
Oh dear, well, talking it is Anody says and walks foward with the group and starts.
Hello sirs, we're newcomers to Scrapwall and heard that you lot were the ones we need to talk to to get permission to scavenge he calls out.