Daisy looks at Arabella to get her attention, looks at the man and then nods towards the ship. Unless she gets a signal indicating no she says "Sir, please come inside, have a seat and i'll fix ya some tea. We'll need to talk to the rest of the crew about this." She will lead him to the dining area and engage in small talk about the local town and such while fixing a nice spot of tea for him.
Harold comes strolling back onto the ship with his small bag of purchases from the town.
He does a double take at the old fellow, and Daisy making a cup of tea.
Anything I need to know about Daisy he inquires, But please tell me after I get back here.
He quickly goes to his room, drops his few purchases, and then returns to the dining room to hear what she has to say.
Daisy nods and pulls out a mug/cup for everyone, just in case...
Arabella is willing to undertake an expedition to find the flower, if others are. "I've got a few weapons, but don't let that fool ya. I'm not much use in a fight. We got a few who are, however. I know a bit about healing and science and survival, for what it's worth. I've been a few places, seen a few things. You got a partner? Other family here?"
She'll make small talk to learn a bit about his situation, mostly to help him feel comfortable with the group of strangers.
Brook walks in, not really one for tea but he loved the smell of it ...
"Pardon me for interrupting, but I wondered something as I overheard the situation; this isn't one of those things where out here there's an illness and it's "only" curable by this one flower, but if we went to the Core Worlds they would call it the "flu" and perscribe antibiotics ... right?"
He smiled sheepishly
"Just seems like one of those things it would be worth asking someone, or querying a database somewhere. I'm sure the flower is very nice, but if we had a z-pack in our first aid kit and that would do it, we could take care of it that way also."
The man, who says his name is Evan, tells Arabella that his wife died a few years ago, and he's was already barely able to make ends meet when his little girl got sick.
Bryce says to Brook "Good ideas, lad, shows your thinkin'. But to query an Alliance database, you have to be on an Alliance-controlled planet, and they'll track every search you make to determine if it's 'suspicious' or not. Nevermind tryin' to get the antidote without being a member of the Alliance elite".
Daisy serves everyone some tea and sits back to watch and listen.
"My training in medical practices is woefully basic. We've got some money in our pocket from this delivery, so I think we can afford to do a pro bono expedition to see if this flower is capable of a cure. If it cures your child, perhaps I can keep a sample and we can take some tissue samples to see if we can get a research hospital to evaluate both the illness and the cure. It could be worth something down the line."
"How far is this place you want to explore? What are the known dangers?"
The man, who says his name is Evan, tells Arabella that his wife died a few years ago, and he's was already barely able to make ends meet when his little girl got sick.
Bryce says to Brook "Good ideas, lad, shows your thinkin'. But to query an Alliance database, you have to be on an Alliance-controlled planet, and they'll track every search you make to determine if it's 'suspicious' or not. Nevermind tryin' to get the antidote without being a member of the Alliance elite".
"All true sir; yet I had, in fact, meant Companion Data. When I was younger I wanted to become a Companion more than anything; they travel everywhere and see so much. They also share a lot of that with their training outposts. So I had thought maybe we could query one of their data repositories. Just a thought."
"It's been a while since I was a companion, but I think young Brook here is correct. Companions receive training in hygiene and trained to recognize various illnesses, so that database might have some leads."
Evan tells Arabella "The flower only grows at high elevations, so it's up in the mountains. There are beasts up there which thankfully never come down to ground level, because they are ferocious. The few people who have come back alive all described them differently, except for the razor-sharp claws and large teeth.".
Sipping on the tea quietly, Harold chimes in.
so what does the flower that we are going for look like
He continues to sip the tea, while he hears the description.
As for the critters, I guess we will have to take our chances with them. So how many seats on the mule?
"Good thought, Brook but that database only tracks things that a companion might need to worry about in their day to day life. I can check, if I can get to it from here but I doubt this is in it. Don't think mystery beasts of death will be in it either. I'm also good ta try this."
Evan almost breaks down with relief and looks at each of you as he says "Thank you! Thank you for saving my daughter's life! I have a small farm, and I could loan you some horses, but after a while it gets too rocky even for them."
"I might like to go for a ride on a well-trained horse when we get back," Arabella quips, "But I think maybe we would make better time if we can land the ship up there. We might also be able to use the ship's sensors to detect likely places to look for the flowers and maybe spot any of those beasties that roam the area."
"With all due respect, ma'am, you don't know the terrain up there. I doubt there's a level area big enough for this ship to be found. Altho, I suppose you could fly up to the edge of the mountains, as long as whoever owns that land doesn't mind you usin' it for a while."
She will also look for any information on this planet. Who knows, it might say "beware of carnivorous beasts!" :)
Which is why I suggested the mule. It can carry several of us up there, and should have the speed to outrun the beasties
Evan looks at Harold kind of strangely and says "I've never heard of a mule that can carry more than one person, and they're really not that fast".
Well sir, you walked right past it, on your way in here, which reminds me, I need to do something.
Harold quickly excuses himself, goes to his room.
Lets see, pistol w 2 spare mags, extendable stun baton, flashlight, survival knife
He then flips the belt around his hips.
Then he grabs his hunting rifle, loads up the magazines that he just bought along with the stock one.
He then leaves the rifle on his bed, and returns to the group at the table.
I will need to take time to put the sight and bipod on, but not right now.
"So, we doin' this? Yeah? Well, I'll go get ready." As she gets up she'll look at their guest, "If ya know anything about that area, any other dangers or similar, let us know before we head out."
She'll then head to her quarters to grab armor and weapons and extra food and water, just in case.
Arabella leaves her rapier behind, packs what she can do without in a pinch in her backpack, and arms herself with her new shotgun, stun gun, and pepper spray. She's ready to go.
Daisy is small. She'll grab a good blanket for something soft to sit/lie on and will be fine in the back.
Arabella is the same height as Daisy and will offer to take a shift in the cargo area if Daisy needs a break. "These bones may be old, but they can still take a bit of discomfort. Of course, there is the adage of age before beauty, I suppose," she says as she takes a seat.
"I'll let ya know if I need a break!"
So you all pile into the ATV, and Evan directs you to his farm. He asks you to be quiet, and leads you into his daughter's room, where an old woman is tending to her. She appears to have a high fever, and is mumbling incoherently.
Daisy haz no medical skills so she just whispers, "Maybe we ot'ta hurry..."
I agree, we should hurry
Harold checks his rifle, and he looks outside, not expecting trouble, but wary for it.
Well, folks, I guess we should be off to get that plant for this gentleman, so let us be off
Evan says "I wouldn't be much good if I came with you, because I don't know where the flower grows, and I need to stay with my daughter, but I can give you a good description of it", which he does.
So I guess the only thing that we need to worry about are these critters with the big claws and teeth.
As I will be driving, will someone need ta use my rifle?
"Well, unless someone else wants it, I can hold it back here and shoot if I need to while you're driving."
Harold takes the time to pass over his hunting rifle, and a total of 5 loaded magazines to Daisy.
He steps out and gets into the drivers seat of the mule.
Well, lets get a move on, as daylight is burning, and I don't want to run into a beastie at night.
"Now that I've got one, I guess I'll ride shotgun," Arabella says with a wry smile and rides with the weapon on her lap.
You set off in the general direction Evan gave you to get to the mountains (really more of many steep hills, kind of piled on each other). Eventually the forest gives way to scrubland, and you see the hills in the distance.
After traveling around a while in the hills, you see some men on horses ahead of you. What do you do?
Heads up, we got some people ahead, they may or may not be friendly.
Harold eases up on the throttle, so the mule runs quieter and a little slower.
"If it's a small group ad they look friendly we could ask about the flowers. Might be locals who know the area!"
True, shall we go ask, or try to sneak by
You count 6 men and 6 horses. Do you approach them, or wait for them to do something? They've already noticed you because of the sound of the ATV.
"Well, they've seen us, shall we go say hello, ask about the local flowers?"
Harold throttles down, and eases the mule closer, reducing dust and noise to try and avoid making the horses nervous.
When they get closer
Howdy folks. Wondering if you might be able to give us a hand.
One of the men speaks up - "Howdy, strangers. You're not from around here, are you?"[b] he says, nodding at your vehicle. [b]"What's your business in these here hills?"
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As the 'face' of the group, Arabella stands, leaving her shotgun propped up in reach but out of her hand. "We're on a mission of mercy. A resident living back in the nearest city has a child who is sick. Local lore says the disease can only be cured with the medicinal qualities of a certain flower that is said to grow up in these mountains."
She describes the flower briefly and then asks, "Anything you can tell us that would help us find the flower would be mightily appreciated."
Shepherd: +2
Reroll from Charismatic Edge
Shepherd: +2
Best resulst: 4 + 2 = 6
"Sorry, we don't know anything about flowers. We're up here hunting beasts for their fur. Good luck!"
"Oh, we were warned about them beasts. What should we do if we see one?"