Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo rolled his eyes at the quip. “Yeah You’ll probably need the chairs more then me.” He said, catching up to Rufus’s side. He was completely unaware of the unease that Rufus felt. To him, the building seemed like perfectly fine. A metal structure that marked the goal of the trip. The only opinion he had about it was he opportunity it provided the two of them with rest.

“Wonder what’s in the box.” He mumbled, kicking a rock in the process.

 

[Da Doofus]

"Probably mail or maybe a delivery item like considering it's from a store." He shrugged, glancing at the strongbox hanging from his belt. "Maybe a money delivery, Hell I don't know.
Not our business."

They approached the building, which had a fence lining the perimeter built to repel animals obviously. The misting air of the altitude and weather silhouetted the shape of the trading post, at the same time making the lit windows appear brighter by contrast.

 

[Chai_T3a]

The surrounding mist blurred his vision of the building, giving it an almost eery look. He didn't give it much thought though, quickly opening the fences gate and heading in. It was suffice to say that he was pretty intent on getting this done with. He heads over to the door and gives it a few loud rasps.

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus stepped up to the door and gently pushed past Kairo.
"It's a trading post, Kairo; not grammy's house." He scoffed, pushing open the door and stepping inside.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo stepped aside, watching as the man walked in uninhibited by the formalities he assumed he needed. He felt embarassed, even though he probably didn’t need to.

“Hey! I’m tired okay?” He quipped, following in behind him.

 

[Da Doofus]

The interior was dimly lit, and had an appearance similar to a bar. One section was designed for meals and drink for travelers, and another was lined with supplies. Clearly this place was here to serve as a pit stop for all sorts, although unlike the Traveler's Rest, this location was made for quick resupplies rather than any sort of comfort.

There were seven individuals inside the post. One was an Irokai sitting in a booth tapping his claw on the table. Unlike the Feral, his scales were a clean silver (except for his brow and crest which shifted to a dark charcoal color), his eyes were a brilliant blue, and laying atop his table was a rusty, long barrel musket.
Although he was over a foot taller than either Kairo or Rufus, he was certainly young.

At the bar were six individuals of questionable repute.
Two Irokai, two humans, an orange crested Vindav, and a Syndroid in tattered rags and made of various parts of other bots.
The man in a black coat and fur collar glanced at the entering humans, a curious look on his face.
The larger Irokai, an orange-scaled aged male with black on his arms, legs, and tail sneered at them with a curled lip. The smaller, dull-grey female with no crest but a white strip along her neck to her eye, cockedher head.

The other human and Vindav sipped on drinks and ignored the strangers, and the Syndroid's one green eye squinted at them.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo pretty instantly began to take in his surrounding. The building itself wasn’t much to marvel at, but what seemed to catch his eye was the people. This was the first time he’d met an irokai besides the Guest, and oh boy was Bom right when he said he was a runt. These guys were absolutely towering compared to the Guest. The one sitting at the bar towered over the two of them, he wondered if this was the patron they were delivering the package too.

Speaking of the people, why the hell did they look so intimidating? He didn’t show up, but Kairo was deathly aware of how they acknowledged the two of them. It was almost as if they didn’t belong here or something. Maybe he’d let Rufus do the talking, at least for now.

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus waited in the doorway until Kairo entered.

"Go find a table away from the bar." He said quietly. "Don't look at anyone, while I go find whoever I'm supposed to deliver this to."

The group by the bar continued to eye the two, while the blue-eyed Irokai glanced at them in acknowledgment, but quicklt returned to whatever thoughts occupied his mind.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo cocked an eyebrow at that statement. If Rufus was being so cautious, then maybe he wasn’t wrong to be worried about these guys. He gave Rufus a slight nod, acknowledging what he said.

“Good luck man.” He whispered, tone serious, before heading to sit down at a nearby table. With his head leaning against his fist. He tried his best to stay as neutral as he could. Though he couldn’t help and occasionally glance at Rufus’s exchange.

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus approached the counter with the product shelves behind it.
He glanced at the group further down to his left and acknowledged them with a small nod before tapping on the counter.

Shortly after, a grizzly man with hairy arms emerged with a scowl on his dirty face.
"What can I get ya?" He slurred through gapped teeth.

"Looking for someone expecting a delivery." Rufus got comfortable on a stool.

"You come from Drafisl?"

"Passed through there for work to be exact."

The man in the black coat peeked at Rufus's conversation. He was a young man, seemingly Kairo's age, with dark brown hair and a confident smirk.

"That'd be me you is lookin for then, fella." The proprietor huffed. "Bout time that dwarf sent me that payment."

Rufus handed over the lockbox.
"He late on credit purchases, then?"

"Oh no, not Vincent himself. He just mailed the payment. The customer I'm talkin bout always gets the money to me late.

Can't call him out on it, I like having all my limbs." The grizzly man popped open the box and admired the contents within.
"Still ends up payin tho. Damn bomb was expensive."

Rufus cocked his head at this information.
"Bomb?"

"Yeah he bought one of the old tech weapons I keep in the back. Don't know what he used it for, nothing electronic round these parts."

The coated man chuckled.
"You got Fatty talking again. Nothing's going to shut him up soon."

The bearded man scowled at the younger patron, and set the box below the counter. As he did, Rufus was putting pieces together as to who may have been the buyer.

 

[Chai_T3a]

With nothing better to do, Kairo had eavesdropped on the entire conversation. It probably wasn't any of his business, but there wasn't much else to do here anyway. The conversation didn't seem particularly noteworthy until the grizzly man over the counter had mentioned a bomb. That quickly caught his attention. He didn't understand why, but the mention of a bomb seemed to stir something from within him, as if a deep memory was trying to push itself to the forefront of his mind.

He let himself mull over everything for a second, trying to get something to come up. A bomb, bought by somebody who had to be a pretty intimidating guy.
.
.
.
The feral!

Kairo's shook his head slightly in shock. So that's how he'd gotten the bomb? Through this guy? That seemed almost a bit too coincidental. It felt as though that Irokai was always in the background. First at the tavern, here, and in the back of his mind. He felt the uncontrollable urge to speak up. He knew Rufus had told him to keep quiet, but this could be a prime opportunity to hopefully learn a bit more about the feral. Hopefully Rufus wouldn't be too pissed off afterwards.

"That customer, does he come here often?" He asked, hiding his apprehension. He needed to strike up some conversation, from what the coated man said it probably wouldn't be hard. "Think I know who you're talking about."

 

[Da Doofus]

"Yeah that crazy Irokai that lives in the jungle." He answered. "I don't ever see him unless he comes in to buy food and scare off what few customers I get."

"That's where we come in." The coated man intervened. "Victor Lorenzo. My associates and I feel it best we stick around in case unsavory characters like this Feral come by to harass honest businessmen like old Carl here.
We provide an essential service, ain't that right Carl?" He smiled at the store owner as the orange Irokai glared.

The store owner gulped and pulled out the box once more and slid it over to the group. The Syndroid snatched it, and took out over half of the coins inside before sliding it back over, purposely at and angle so it would fall to the floor.

Carl sighed, and knelt down to pick up the scattered coins. Rufus remained still, and didn't look at either of them.

"Making a good living, huh?" He asked Victor.

"As good as one can get in this mudhole." He smirked. "Least we're doing better than the sad sack over there." He turned to look at the silver Irokai.
"How goes the prospecting life, Darrek?"

The blue-eyed male snorted.

The female Irokai smirked and flicked her tail at the clearly struggling male.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo couldn’t help but feel for Carl. Must have been a hard life with these guys constantly breathing down your neck. The way Victor and his cronies acted was terrible, and Kairo wanted oh so badly to say something about it. But in the end of the day, it wasn’t his place to do so. Besides, he’d rather not cause unnecessary commotion, especially at a time like this.

Instead, he gave Rufus a quick glance, clearly trying to gage if the more experienced guy was as uncomfortable as he was.

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus glanced at the obvious thugs with distaste, but said nothing. He turned to look at this Darrek character.

"Prospecting?" He asked. "That imply gold?"

Victor chuckled. "No, it means he goes around-"

"I was asking HIM, sir." Rufus snapped at the fur-collared fellow. "No disrespect, but I'd like to hear him tell me." He patted the countertop.
"Come up and chat, I'll buy you a drink." He waved Kairo over.

The young Irokai seemed surprised at first, but stood with his musket's barrel in hand and moved next to Rufus. He sat on the stool only five down from Victor and his gang.
Rufus glanced at Carl.
"How bout instead of money, I get credit for the pay? I was told I'd get half here, and since the half-pint stuck it to me I figure may as well get the most out of it."

Darrek eyed Rufus and Kairo with curiosity, his expression friendly but cautious. His size was imposing, almost eight feet of silver-scaled muscle yet there was a soft nature about him.

The other two of his kind were definitely weathered from harsh lives, and their looks were almost predatory.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo visibly sighed in relief, Rufus definitely understood how to handle this situation, and thank gosh he did. He didn't know what he would have done if the man hadn't been here. Probably die in the corner, yeah, that sounded like something he'd do.

Kairo stood up, pushing the chair back neatly before heading over to the bar. He smiled at the Irokai giving him a slight nod in acknowledgment and he sat down. The irokai at the bar definitely seemed much more approachable. The whole not intimidating people out of their money thing definitely helped with that aspect. He was glad that the people in this trading post weren't all terrible.

"Thanks." He whispered lightly to Rufus. His eyes gliding over to the group of 5 to highlight what he meant. He then directed his attention at the Irokai that sat beside them. "Darrek right? I'm Kairo, and this smartass here is Rufus." He casually pointed at said person. "Nice to meet'cha."

 

[Da Doofus]

"Feeling's mutual." Darrek smiled.

"So you're a prospector?" Rufus swiftly asked, tapping the counter for Carl to fill some glasses.

"Yes, but not for gold." Darrek sat down and leaned his musket on the counter. "There's money to be made finding Archaic ruins and artifacts."

"Archaic?"

"Ancient human stuff. Technology, pieces of an old vehicle, valuables like that."

Rufus grew a smile. "Well you and I share a similar profession.
'Prospecting' . . . I like calling it that." He looked at the six enjoying a bottle of unknown drink further along the bar.
"So who's Pretty Boy and his friends?" He asked.

Darrek huffed. "Bunch of crooks. Without the Kendians around for another month, they roam around here muscling people around for whatever they want." He gestured at Victor subtly to avoid suspicion. "Victor acts like the boss, but Bazin; the big Irokai, is the one in charge. Discharge from the Rithian Navy, I heard. Real mean. The Vindav is Gnakib, feisty but a coward. The robot calls itself TB, don't know why." He glanced at the other human in their gang and the female Irokai.
"That other guy is new, and the woman is Seyth."

Rufus sipped a glass of something in an amber color and was caught off guard by the potency.
"How you know em?"

"Year ago, I met Seyth and she convinced me to bring them along for a possible find by the mountain. Found a buried convoy, and a fortune of old armor and klópe like that." Darrek downed his own drink. "They took it all and left me broke with no way to bounce back.
I've been living off of scraps ever since; so thanks for this." He held up his glass.

 

[Chai_T3a]

“Sounds really rough.” Kairo seethed. He cringed just hearing Darrek talk about it. To have something you worked so hard for taken in a second? If he was in that situation, he was pretty sure he would have lost it. His bitterness to the group of six grew exponentially at that moment.

“Can’t believe there just allowed to roam free. Not a single person has ever tried to stop them before?”

 

[Da Doofus]

"Happens all the time, kid." Rufus sighed. "Bunch of punks cause trouble for a bunch of people either too scared or too good natured to put a stop to it."

"Except for the Kendians." Darrek admitted. "Once they show up for the festivities, Bazin and Victor will lie low."

Rufus glanced once more at the group; just as Bazin stomped to a corner booth with an entire bottle of the amber alcohol. He wore a vest of stitched leather with patched chainmail on the shoulders, leaving his chest exposed.
Decorating his lighter orange underbelly was a tattoo of tribalistic style in the shape of a snarling reptilian face.

He settled in the corner booth and began guzzling down the bottle. His companions talked among themselves, Victor and Seyth remaining quiet and only the human sipping drinks.

 

[Chai_T3a]

It was hard to ignore how he downed the entire alcoholic beverage. His obnoxious drinking seemed to almost scream attention, which was amplified with how reserved the others seemed to be. Kairo watched the Irokai for a few seconds before rolling his eyes. Might as well pay Bazin no heed for now, it was only making him more uncomfortable anyway. He turned back, attention now at Rufus and Darrek.

"Wouldn't wanna get on their bad side that's for sure. Bet the kids could probably beat me up." He said, attention now back at Darrek. "Is their any specific reason why? Or it just that there big?"

 

[Da Doofus]

"Only 'kids' in that bunch are Seyth and Gnakib. Newer members." He said. "Bazin is about three times my age and used to be a soldier. Victor . . . I don't know. He and Bazin are sort of co-bosses I guess."

"Kairo . . ." Rufus leaned over. "Groups that get a reputation don't get there by being young."

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo looked a bit confused for a second, before finally realizing what he meant.

“Oh no I meant the Kendian. Why are they” he discreetly pointed at Bazic. “So cautious around them.”

 

[Da Doofus]

"Kendian law is; if they are in a land that is part of the clan's migratory route, and someone pisses off one of them then they have the whole clan to deal with." Darrek explained. "Trust me, not even the meanest Irokai wants an angry Kendian after them, especially with friends."

Rufus glanced at Darrek's size, and then at Bazin's.
"We met a Kendian yesterday. Older guy, but still pretty big. I can only imagine a younger one."

Darrek perked up at this.
"Old Kendian? Hey, you guys are coming from Drafisl, yeah?"

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo shivered a bit at what Darrel told him. That was definitely a good reason to not piss off a Kendian. Even though he was pretty sure he wasn’t capable of that in the first place, he made a mental note anyway to not mess with them, just in case.

Kairo took large gulp of the drink, sidelining his thoughts from the previous conversation with the familiar buzz of alcohol.
“Yeah.” He said, setting the mug down. “You happen to know Bom?”

 

[Da Doofus]

Darrek smirked.
"Know him? He practically raised me." He leaned back to look past Rufus at Kairo.
"Took me in when I just hatched."

Rufus glanced at the Irokai.
"Hatched?"

The young male readjusted his posture to lean on the counter again. "Yeah . . . Apparently my egg was found in the forest near Drafisl."

 

[Chai_T3a]

“Oh!” Kairo exclaimed, clearly surprised. That was the last thing he was expecting Darrek to say. His little outburst quickly embarrassed him, as he looked around to see if anyone caught notice of it. Thankfully it seemed he hadn’t attracted to much attention to himself.

“That’s crazy.” He added. “Small world isn’t it?”