Rūha crosses one pair of arms, the others in the lap. More and more, she's grown certain that it would be more dangerous to let Therace and Hyrsek return to the League, but she's no smooth talker to try to convince them to try another approach. She leans in to hear how they respond to Khalia's suggestion. Given what they've said so far, she figures it won't be positively.
”Plan? I dunno. I suppose we should do as you suggest. I think hiding the goods outside of town and trying for a badge is a good way to go. We can always couple that with bringing a buyer or two out of the city to keep anyone from knowing exactly how much stuff we’re actually selling.” Yambul suggests as they move and discuss other things too.
He's particularly interested in what Khalia's questions draw out of Hyrsek.
He's particularly interested in what Khalia's questions draw out of Hyrsek.
Rhoreen listens, hoping to learn more.
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Hyrsek raises an eyebrow at Khalia's questioning, exhaling through his nose "Are we getting philosophical now? I do not remember asking any of you to justify your choices" his tone is light, almost amused, but there’s something guarded in his expression.
"But fine. Say there is a deer, peaceful, never harmed a soul. It is cornered in a burning forest, with only two ways out. One path leads into a pack of wolves, the other off a cliff. Standing still means burning alive. So, tell me, what does the deer do?" he shrugs "That is the kind of answer you get when the question itself is a trap"
He leans back, arms crossed, and shifts the conversation as you finish eating "But this mission of yours... fighting a god? That sounds ambitious. And, frankly, not my problem" there is a flicker of something, curiosity, perhaps, but it is buried under disinterest "I have had enough interplanar madness for a lifetime. Alien horrors, outsiders with impossible goals, it all starts blending together after a while. Why not just enjoying the loot we got? I thought you were adventurers looking to cash in from the risks taken"
When Yambul speaks, Hyrsek simply nods "Wise"
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Khalia produces three gold coins, and tosses them to the tiefling bounty hunter. "There now. We're even. Your motives are your own. You seek your own survival, deer Hyrsek." The android does her best to infuse levity into the discussion.
"We're aware of a threat greater than what you've seen in the Scar. There is a non-zero chance we'll fail to neutralize the threat. We are protecting more than our own lives in what we do. Including yours. In time, you will come to know this. For now, we will try and enjoy the calm before arrival in Starfall."
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As Hyrsek sheds advice his words reach a distant memory within Zzvkgrogk. ”Oooh, yea… the Black Seers… we met one part- er - talking with Tek Makul and his kellid Gang. Didn’t he call that priest a ‘Zyph father’? Hrm, maybe we should steer clear of them – especially considering that we destroyed one of their altars.." He side-eyes Hyrsek to see if the Tiefling has any reaction to this revelation. "Then again, where’s the fun avoiding them?”
"Plan?"
Not a fan of sharing plans with Tieflings who keep their own secrets to themselves, Zzvkgrogk suggests, "Sure, sure. Like Yambul said, we can entice buyers to come to our out-of-the-way and no-questions-asked-almost-completely-hidden and ever-transient Boutique. But maybe first we'll take our time and infiltrate the town quietly like tourists, secretly ascertaining the market. You know -- see how things work – what's hot -- what's not and set our prices accordingly. Or, do it to at least to know what to haggle for in the Night Market in the event we’re not interested in badges… We should be good at smuggling by now. Maybe we'll take all the approaches. Or maybe we'll do something else. Heck, those are the best plans, right? If you don't know what you're going to do, neither will anyone else.”
”I thought you were adventurers looking to cash in from the risks taken"
”We are. But we’re also going to save this little part of the multiverse from obliteration. Technic Leaguers, Black Seers and Jerks from Space are not going to get the opportunity to take our futures from any of us. They’re the wolves, right? Only when we kill this ‘God’ and close this breach of space will things be able to go back to normal.”
He rolls out his bed and starts to get ready to climb into it. ”That’s right. We’re going to head straight for the cliff with the wolves on our heels, then at the last second we’re going to vault back over them. They’ll plummet off the edge of the cliff, and we’ll walk right out of the forest unscorched and unscathed.”
At least, it sounds like a good plan anyway.
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"I think <*sound*>," Rhoreen makes a sound like a chainsaw ripping through a shrine to the God of Accidental Death, "...has the right of it. That's the plan for now, and maybe we'll change it as we get closer. We're not bound to it, and maybe another path will open themselves after we explore the area more."
Rhoreen nods in agreement, happy to follow her friend Zzvkgrogk straight off the cliff.
Yambul chuckles at the conversation back and forth. He still doesn't trust Hyrsek, but he understands where he's coming from. He won't buy into their high-and-mighty goals. He's a mercenary. He'll help them, and won't double cross them, so long as the coin is good. But he can't be trusted in the long term.
He's confused by Zzvkgrogk's meanderings. He covered every opportunity, and more! Surely he has his reasons though, for being so broad, so Yambul keeps his trap shut.
He takes his watch as needed but otherwise sleeps fitfully. There is danger ahead, but not yet... not yet.
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Rūha muses after Zzvkgrogk's comments "I think whether we want to avoid these followers of Zyphus or not, if they're pulling strings behind the scenes in Starfall we'll probably cross paths with them sooner rather than later." She shrugs "As for selling and buying, we're not committed to Starfall. If the Technic League makes things too difficult, there are other places to trade these kinds of goods. We'll find our way around."
She nods to Zzvkgrogk's assessment of Hyrsek's two-option scenario, then offers to Hyrsek "I assume you cast yourself as the deer in this analogy, throwing your lot in with the wolves to escape the choice of two ill fates. Funny. You don't strike me as a deer." She shakes her head "But I rather expect you'll reach that cliff regardless. Shame the gleam in your eyes doesn't let you consider extricating yourself from all this before the dilemma can visit you."
She doesn't voice her suspicion that the next time they meet Hyrsek it won't be on nearly such cordial terms.