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Futuristic The Fleets of Talavah

Dezdin fared the two ladies with a proper goodnight as each one took their leave. From the way they both had said their farewells he double marked Aliz as the one to be part if not majorly affiliated with the Congregation. Her tone reminded him a lot of his companions from the years he had spent in the Sect, always rude and straight forward when interacting with others. It brought him back memories and it was nice to see again that resilient laid back tone she was exhibiting... not to mention the fact that as she passed by him he had been slammed by the Gohlar aroma. That was far more of sealing the deal than anything else. Did that mean anything in the end? Not really, it had just caught his curiosity to see a Sect member this far from the last closest settlement that he knew of. He'd more than likely offer her a ride in the morning if she was trying to get back to her home and if she didn't have a Gohlar out there somewhere in the ice.


"So, beyond that recent experience is that all you have for the day?" The Keeper, having remained silent through the exchange, had already poured another glass of the moonshine for the both of them, a standard expectation plastered on his face as he waited. Laughing through his nose Dezdin took another sip before continuing. "Did I tell you about those three weeks I spent surviving with the tribe of cannibals?...."


The night passed for Dezdin as he spent a few too many hours retelling his stories, and drinking, with his friend before he finally settled into his room. By the time day break had come the finishing touches to his tradition were about to play out. Like many nights before, after a retelling of his stories the following morning would come with a grueling hang over that would last at least until he was done eating his breakfast and drinking a few buckets of water. Letting out a groan as the light made his way onto his eyes he tossed away his blanket through sheer will, and slowly got up from his bed. It took him another fifteen minutes of leaning against a wall before he found enough energy to make his way to his door, while double checking he still had proper clothe on, and stepping into the main corridor of the Inn. The Keeper was already at his position looking none worse for wear despite having had equal amount of alcohol as he had the night before. Dezdin let a pout form on his face as he slowly paced towards the food already set out for him and a humorous bucket sitting next to it. "You damn monster..." he muttered as he slowly ate away without complaint. "Gives a hang over, but nothing to complain about stomach wise... that's a plus."


"You always try to look at things for the sake of your products don't you." Letting this out with a chuckle the Keeper, left him to his meal while preparing a few more things in the back, receiving a groan in return from Dezdin. By the time he had come back Dezdin was already back in his room, refitting himself with his attire and preparing to visit Hin and maybe talking to Aliz afterwards. Stepping back into the corridor he took a deep breathe before letting the smile fade from his face. "I heard the commotion. Fleet?" Dezdin took the Keeper's nod as an affirmative before creating a makeshift hood and face cover with his scarf and stepped out into the cold. It only took him a minute upon seeing the fleet to figure out where it was they were from. He had done dealings with the 8th fleet before hand and looking at the way the were swarming the infirmary more than likely they had gotten into a scuffle with someone else. Opening one of the canister on his belt he took a look at some of his less than superb make shift medical supplies that he had at his disposal. He hadn't thought about getting higher quality medical supplies at the infirmary while he was here, but now that someone else was more than likely hogging them his inner struggle set in. "Maybe next time." Closing the canister he started pacing towards the Smith's Shop paying no mind at the grunts that were eyeing him from a distance.


From what the Keeper had told him on their situation, there was little he could personally do to the give and take relationship that had been forcibly established by the Fleet. He didn't have much sway in the removal of the savage Gohlars that would massacre all the inhabitants of this small town if the Fleet wasn't around. What bugged him the most frankly was that fact that the Fleet was able to extortion their hard earned materials for a price that was ridiculously cheap and allowed for barely any funding for growth in the town. He swore that if this hadn't been happening the Inn would've become a hot spot hotel at this point by the way the Keeper maintained his life's work, poor guy.


Gripping the bottle of moonshine at his side and a glass that he had swiped from the Inn with his arm he knocked on the Hin's shop before stepping into the main room where most of the business was done. "Hello? Hin you up yet?" stumbling past a door, he over heard Hin's words,


"I'll wait until I'm instructed before attacking."


While he doubted it would get that bad he didn't put it past the man for having these thoughts, especially for how long this had been happening. He knocked once again on the wall before peaking into the room Hin was in while noticing he had company to boot. Dressed much like in the manner Shifra was he payed that little mind as he went to business. "Hey Hin, this might be a bad time for you, but I was wondering if you could check my gear for maintenance before I headed out for the day." He asked politely to the man, hoping that the presence of the Fleet wouldn't kill his business for the day. Figuring the Moonshine wasn't the best way to start off, he kept it hidden behind his back until he said yes or no to his request.
 
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Normally the unmistakable sound of the Fleet hovercraft would be enough to instantaneously rouse Aliz from her otherwise light slumber, being used to defend herself on a moments notice. However the alcohol she had drank the night prior and the heavenly bed (by her standards) caused her to sleep much harder than normal and so she did not wake until rays of light hit her face through the one window the room had.


Her eyes flickered open with surprise, not being used to it the light was blinding enough to force her to close them until she had sat up. Opening them once more she looked around at her surroundings, suddenly remembering where she was she let out a small sigh of relief. Waking up and not feeling the familiar and comforting presence of Sifirh had startled her, but fully awake she wasn't surprised at all. Too much distance to where he should be sleeping after all.


Finally looking up at the window after her eyes had adjusted to the brightness for the most part (she still had to block out some of the sunlight with her hand) she realized how long they had slept... "Crap!" She said out loud, not thinking she'd oversleep for several hours... Turning to Shifra who was also still asleep she moved over and nudged her lightly on the shoulder. "Hey, Shifra? 'bout time to wake up." She continued with this until Shifra woke up.


Once awake she pulled her armour and other gear out from under the bed and put it on, and then did her best at 'making the bed' before leaving the room with Shifra in tow, moving into the main room of the Inn where the Innkeeper was at his counter as usual. "Hello old man, what's your cheapest breakfast?" She asked with a grin.


@Wavebird
 
Sleep was pleasant, and persistent. If Shifra had trouble falling asleep last night, then, waking up this morning was an obstacle impossible of clearing. Just like the case was with Aliz, the events of the night prior had taken a bigger than expected toll on Shifra. If it hadn't been for Aliz waking her up, she'd probably sleep for another hour at the very least.


"Hey, Sihfra? 'bout time to wake up."


Shifra rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked around. Right, I'm in Artin. It took until she placed her gaze upon Aliz and saw the rays of the sun in the window before she realised she had overslept. Jed! I must catch up with Jed! She almost panicked as she threw her boots on and was already out in the hallway, following Aliz, when she buckled her belt and swung her backpack and crossbow on her back, all seemingly in one hasty and clumsy motion.


Shifra had been heading for the door and was planning on rushing out on the street and directly into the desert. But when she heard that Aliz started ordering breakfast Shifra halted. She knew that she would probably have a better chance traversing the desert at a high pace if she had something to eat, for during the warm hours your energy would quickly be used up, and if Jed had started already at dawn, he'd probably gotten way to far for her to be able to just rush. She needed to be smart, to perhaps catch up with him in a day or two. It was a thought that scared her, camping alone in Talavah. But first things first!


"I'll have whatever she's having, and It'd like to refill my water canteen. As long as it's less than..." She counted her money again. Better spend it. "A five-worth." The innkeeper nodded at Aliz and Shifra. "That'll be some half-bread I baked this morning. It'll cost you nothing, you gals will have a bad enough day as is..." Shifra knew what half-bread was, it was half ordinary bread and half Gohlar bread, made from the bonemeal of crushed Gohlar bone and carapace, but what she didn't know was whatever the innkeeper meant by what he said. At any rate she shrugged and went to sit down by a table with Aliz. "What do you think he meant by that?"


@RejjeN
 
Aliz knew that the both of them had overslept by quite a few hours but she was still a little surprised by the rush Shifra was in, until she remembered the other Nomad whom she had probably traveled with until their "falling out" the other day. She was a little sad that Shifra would just up and leave like that though from what she had picked up it made sense for her to try and catch up with the other one. She had little reason to stop her however and just proceeded to order herself some food.


She was pleasantly surprised when Shifra halted at the door and turned back inside to get some food herself. Though they had their obvious differences Aliz felt like she and Shifra got along surprisingly well, something that was unusual for her. When the Innkeeper mentioned half-bread as the cheapest thing he had she couldn't help but make a grimace. Out of all the things made (partially) from Gohlars, half-bread was by far the worst... She was thankful when he then told them it was free, though she felt his following comment was rather ominous...


Ignoring the ominous 'warning' for the time being they both sat down at one of the tables and as they did Aliz turned her head to look at the door absentmindedly as she considered her options. Maybe she should offer to travel with her for some time? It would be interesting to see what a young Nomad like her was doing out on the wastes, of course she doubted this other guy would approve... Oh well, one thing at a time.


Turning her attention back to the present she looked at Shifra as she asked her question. "Not a clue, maybe the weather's gonna go bad? Gohlars learned to fly? The ice suddenly melted!? Someone stole the Fleet Admirals breeches!!?... But I guess it doesn't hurt to ask." She started out pretty casually, but her tone went ever more dramatic as she put forward her "out there" theories, which should hopefully be pretty clear they were intended to be jokes.


@Wavebird
 
Shifra giggled at the joke that Aliz just made. It actually made her feel sort of refreshed. See, if there was one thing that you missed when travelling with Jed it was jokes and humour. At least if you name was Shifra. She had seen Jed telling jokes and being quite the jolly fellow once or twice back with the clan, but that was only as long as he was surrounded by other 'true' nomads. With Shifra, he was always serious; serious, annoyed or angry.


"Now, flying Gohlar would be pretty bad. Would be nice to send a brood or two up to the Skadian Empire though! See if they know how to handle it.” She said with a smirk to follow up the joke. “But even so, let's hope that's not it."


She turned to the Innkeeper as he came walking up to their table, holding a bottle of water and a tray with two small half-bread loafs. Shifra smiled and nodded at him as he put the things down on the table. She then untied her canteen from her belt and handed it to him so that he could fill it up with water from the bottle. "What did you mean earlier? By the day going to be a bad one?" She asked, tilting her head slightly on the side.


"Oh, a handful of fleet folk arrived in the early hours and headed straight for the infirmary. People like yourself should be wary. See, if they've been in a battle and lost some of their men they'll probably be looking to pick up some slaves." He poured water into the canteen till it was full, then he placed the bottle on the table so the two ladies would have something to drink along with their half-bread.


Shifra shrugged. "You said there were only a handful of them, you really think they're here slave-grabbing?" She knew from experience that resistance was common when fleets went about to abduct people, and only a handful of fleet hands could very well be at risk if they tried anything, despite probably being both better armed and trained for a conflict than any of the townsfolk.


"Not yet, but if Slug and Bolt appears I'd say that is a possible scenario. See, the ones that arrived in the morning came with their speeders or whatever they're called. You know, the ones with the big ol' propellers on them." The mans tone was serious, and as had mentioned the two names Shifra knew exactly what he was talking about. Rumours about Slug and Bolt had been around ever since she was in a fleet herself, heck, she had even seen Bolt with her own eyes at one occasion. A vivid thought appeared in Shifra's mind; a thought a giant machine crawling closer to Artin, slowly making it's way across the Red Ice curshing anything that came in it's way. I should be wary...





@RejjeN and anyone who is at the inn! @Lucya Kunzenov ? @Goldenkitten perhaps?)
 
The remainder of the walk to the inn was filled with tense silence. He didn’t know if his traveling companion was aware of it but he saw the occasional movement in one of these foreign buildings windows, or a face peeking out from a doorway. It made sense that the village had measures in place to defend itself and it seemed like that was the case here, as the movement he caught was that of someone hatching a plan. All-the-same if this “Fleet” left without causing trouble then it was likely all just a healthy exercise, but he got the strong feeling from the tension in the air and the stories he’d heard in his weeks out here that things wouldn’t go that simply.


As they had reached the inn Erevel had held the door slightly ajar allowing Zazjh to walk in first and his keen ears picked up the end of the conversation two girls and an older man were having, which cemented these thoughts. All he could do was laugh at their lack of luck which caused the older man near the bar to notice them and for a moment he looked like a frightened child who’d been caught telling a lie, but as he recognized they weren’t members of this Fleet he settled down and quickly fell into a “Welcome! Welcome! What can I get you?”; clearly the stores proprietor or so Zazjh believed.


Erevel approached the group first while Zazjh had a look around. The inside of the building was utterly foreign to him, not a single element harkened back to home and it served as a reminder of just how far and disconnected he now was with his past. Thankfully there was a small fire in some form of chimney keeping the room warm and for now that was reason enough to be thankful for its existence, even if he still felt out of place.


He heard Erevel say, “Just two glasses of water please, had a run in with the Skadians so we don’t have much on us, but this should be enough yes?”


He produced a few coins that meant nothing to Zazjh though he clearly understood they were currency, where Erevel had been hiding them was a mystery. The bartender counted the paltry amount and with a sigh that clearly showed his annoyance at not getting some customers that could truly fill his coffers he headed toward the back with a wave, “Just barely…hold on.”


Zazjh approached Erevel with the two girls nearby enough to hear and leaned against the bar nonchalantly; “Um. They did take everything from us…where…exactly did that come from?”


Without batting an eye Erevel added, “Some things in life are better off not being known Zazjh. This is one of them.”


Zazjh groaned in fake disgust as he shook his head and then focused on the innkeeper as he returned with two…very….very small cups of water. But having been days since they’d had more than a few sips here and there both men quickly threw any other worries away and downed both cups almost instantaneously.


“Just so you two know I don’t give out free refills!”


But both Zazjh and Erevel were too busy trying to drain every last drop from their cups to bother worrying about that right now. Finally when he was convinced the glass was indeed empty Zazjh set it down feeling sufficiently refreshed. It hadn’t been the harsh working conditions or the cold of last night that had really done him in as he’d experienced such situations from time-to-time in life. It had been how little sustenance the Skadians had given them and expected them to live off of it, being only a quarter or less what a grown adult would truly need to live. Now though even if his belly wasn’t full the far stronger pull of needing water left him, at least for a time and let him focus on the situation.


With his back still to the bar he spoke out loud enough for all to hear, but hushed enough that nobody outside could listening in, “So, from what you were saying before I guess we can expect this day to go from bad to worse? I suppose that’s why so many of the villagers seemed to be preparing themselves and keeping an eye on the “Fleet”?”


The look on the innkeepers face suggested he was surprised Zazjh had picked up on their militia preparing in case of emergency to which he added, “Most people aren’t as subtle as they believe. But anyway, say that does happen what will you do? Sell out the poor saps like us who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or do you intend to fight them?”


With a sigh he looked to Erevel, “Either way it looks like we can’t catch a break eh Erevel? Guess we should find something to use as a weapon before things get worse.”


The old man shrugged as he continued to try and nurse the cup in hopes there might be more water hiding in a secret compartment or something. The utterly laid back nature of both men in a situation of imminent peril probably looked strange, but in reality they’d just become hardened at this point. They’d lived through more situations than any one man should have, after weeks of being mired in not knowing if death was but minutes away what did the knowledge that, that potential still loomed really mean to such a person?


@Wavebird @RejjeN
 
Aliz laughed with Shifra at her own joke, not because she thought it was amazingly funny but more as a reaction to her 'friends' reaction. "Hah, well it's doubtful they know how to handle something that can get on their level!" Aliz added jokingly to Shifra's followup with a laugh, before she took one of the half-bread loaves that the Innkeeper had just delivered and took a bite out of it, bracing for the horrible taste. 'Eugh... Well it's free food...' She thought as she forced a smile to the Innkeeper, though her disgust was more than a bit obvious.


Her fake smile dropped when the man answered Shifra's question about Fleet Folk having arrived in town, a bit of anger showing in her expression as she took in his message. It was probably best to get out of town ASAP and avoid them, but part of her wished to kill them and leave the town to deal with the aftermath, but without Sifirh it would be very difficult and there was a high risk someone else would interfere on the Fleet's part if they saw her shoot the first arrow... Too risky...


She continued to listen out of interest while trying to figure out what to do, though the names Slug and Bolt didn't say much to her (She wasn't from these parts after all) but she had to assume they were either nicknames for some bigshots or the names of some big veicles, either of which would be bad. Though it was subtle Aliz could tell Shifra was nervous upon the mention of the two names, which only made her feel even more insecure herself...


Just then the creak of the Inn door sounded and a second later a laugh sounded from it as two men stepped through, snapping her eyes in their direction while reaching for the hilt of her blade (having the same idea as the shopkeeper) she immediately let it fall with a sheepish expression on her face when she realized they weren't part of the Fleet (At least she doubted it based on their clothing, or perhaps lack thereof in the younger mans case).


Looking them over as they approached the counter she found they were quite the unlikely duo, the old man looked like a typical Nomad or villager from around the desert, but the younger man shared seemed to have features similar to that of the giant man whom she'd seen briefly the other day, and he was also similarly tall (though not quite a giant compared to the other one). On the other hand this man was heavily tattoed in a manner she'd never seen before, but who was to say that the other one wasn't under his clothing? Either way she was intrigued and wanted to figure out more of these two, so she remained quiet as she listened in on what was being said while observing.


Apparently they had been accosted by Skadians and lost almost all of value, but the older man had somehow been able to hide some coins... She could imagine a few ways to accomplish that, and she had respect for the man for being able to pull that off. She was a bit annoyed by the Innkeeper's insistence on them paying a fortune for a proper glass of water when they were obviously dehydrated... A helpful gesture was apparently beyond him.


Having let the older man do the talking until this point the younger one finally spoke up, casually mentioning the villagers hiding and arming themselves, which Aliz found interesting. While she knew that there was a LOT of complaining about the Fleets among villages, she never thought they'd actually have the balls to try and stand up for themselves at any point... Of course it could just be a show to try and dissuade a handful of Fleethands from taking a bunch of stuff without repercussion. Either way she found their casual reaction to the potential threat quite amusing, even if she was pretty nervous about the threat herself.


Leaning back in her chair she beckoned for the two to come over to their table as she put on an inviting smile. Assuming they did she filled up her now empty glass with the bottle that the Innkeeper had so graciously left with them, passing it to whomever sat down next to her, while winking at Shifra to do the same. It didn't really occur to her that they might also be hungry, so she continued doing her best to 'enjoy' the half-bread loaf she'd been given earlier. "You two seem like you've been through a lot, did you just arrive in town? Please don't tell me you were wandering the desert until now?" She asked, sounding almost horrified at the prospect of wandering the desert at a night like the previous one. Very few even among her own Sect would have been able to survive that...


@Wavebird @Goldenkitten
 
His nightmare still gripped him like a vise, and the fear he felt at hearing about yet another Fleet incursion compounded it. In fact, Hin was so absorbed that he heard neither the knock on the wall nor the opening of the smithy door.


"Hey Hin, this might be a bad time for you, but I was wondering if you could check my gear for maintenance before I headed out for the day."


The familiar voice shook him back to cognizance. He glanced up, a happy expression upon his face. Anything to distract him.


"Dezdin! Good to see you!" The blacksmith stood up and approached his newest visitor with an outstretched hand. Once they had shaken, Hin gestured back to the nomad. "Jed, allow me to introduce Dezdin, one of my oldest customers. Forgive me, but I must attend to him."


The blacksmith turned back to his athletic customer. A practiced eye roved carefully back and forth across the man's gear, or at least what was exposed. Finally he nodded.


"It's not in bad condition, for once. What do you need, specifically?"


An expression of realization crossed his face.


"Ah, but I'm not enthusiastic about working while the Fleet is in town." He shrugged apologetically. "They've not yet figured where my smithy lies, and I'd rather not given them as generous clue as the sound of metal upon metal and a pillar of white forge smoke. Though a sword sharpening wouldn't be so bad."


@RubyRose @Irubus
 
Even if it wasn't outspoken by either part, Shifra agreed with Aliz's idea of the innkeeper being a bit of a cheapskate to the newcomers, especially since he'd just handed herself and Aliz free drink and food the moment prior. Perhaps he'd already taken a liking to the two girls? After all, they'd been pretty sociable with the innkeeper and his friend the night before. Or maybe he treated the two men differently because he hadn't yet earned any money on them, unlike the case of Shifra and Aliz, who had paid for both a r room and dinner last night. Pondering whatever reasons lay behind the innkeepers behaviour was something that Shifra had to cut short, because Aliz had motioned for the two strangers to come join their table. Shifra offered a friendly smile and nodded at them when they looked her way.


Once (if) they sat down she would extend her hand to offer a handshake. “Shifra, clan Durrah”.


Aliz had poured one of them some water from the bottle. Shifra wasn't late to follow suit and did the same thing, letting her glass slide over to her new neighbour. She remained silent awaiting an answer from any of the two after hearing the question that Aliz just asked them. It was a relevant question if anything, for if these people had not come with the fleet then how and when had they come? They didn't exactly look like they'd been in Artin for long due to their clothes being all dusted with red snow and ice.


@Goldenkitten @RejjeN
 
Taking the man's hand in his own firm shake Dezdin nodded towards the other inhabitant of the room "Name's Kraft, if you're looking to trade." he added in before looking back at the larger man. He had met the man during his first few travels a few years back, and much like the Inn Keeper, Hin had set a standard for him in their service provisions. He had yet to truly understand why the man had yet to leave for a far more prosperous location where he could set his expertise for a greater profit. Of course while that information was of no business to him he'd gladly help him establish a location as a business partner in Skadia if he were to ever say something that could lean towards that idea. While his own clan would gladly help him fix and maintain his equipment for no price, he couldn't really grasp what the point of economics was if one didn't go out of their way to find up and coming methods from others. In turn he had made it a point to motion some of his customers towards this man's smith shop if they were in the area...asking them to give his name on who told them about his shop when they arrived of course.


"It's not in bad condition, for once. What do you need, specifically?"


Letting the man's jest towards his inability to maintain out of trouble slide by, he motioned to remove his shoulder pad before cut off by the man's continuation.


"Ah, but I'm not enthusiastic about working while the Fleet is in town." He shrugged apologetically. "They've not yet figured where my smithy lies, and I'd rather not given them as generous clue as the sound of metal upon metal and a pillar of white forge smoke. Though a sword sharpening wouldn't be so bad."


Clicking his tongue at the implications he took a moment to think his next move over, his fingers rubbing against the surface of the moonshine bottle almost like a connection to his brain processing the information. He had thought as much when he noticed the fleet enter the town, out of hope he'd come over just in case something could come of it. Taking his katana like sword out from his sheave he gave it a proper scanning before placing it back in its position and shaking his head at the man. "Despite my... regular scuffles, I actually haven't gotten into anything bad for a sword maintenance since it's last once. I appreciate it either way. Though..." he motioned towards the moonshine and placed it on one of the shelves with the glass from the Inn sitting next to it. "I traded this a while back from a fleet, and it's a gift for the years you've treated me with your great service." he smiled at him before continuing "Keeper already gave it a shot and he gave it his approval, he even purchased a few bottles on the spot." Pacing around the room nonchalantly he let the man take a look at the moonshine before adding in a minor thought that was in his head.


"The remainder of the fleet should be heading in soon." he gave a spear that was on a wall a light touch as he examined it without much thought. As a Peltin he had little to fear with the fleet he had traded with before, but he didn't want one of his more favorable towns to get wiped out while more proper methods of handling the situation could still be looked for. "From what I can tell, there are a few more extra people in town today too, three ladies in the Inn, I saw two more coming in just as I was about to get here, Jed here and myself. This is really going to be an interesting day not just for the town, don't you think?" his voice was not laced in it's usual humor as he continued to look through the man's valuable goods. Dezdin considered Hin to be kind at heart; that was one of the things he could accept as truth, and he trusted that the man wouldn't get outsiders involved. The man alone had a large voice to match his size in the town's action. As the sole smith owner within the town he was more than likely reason why the place had yet to fall apart, and those within the town knew that.


"I borrowed the glass from the Keeper, he shouldn't mind if you gave it back to him later once you've finished the bottle." pacing towards the door he had just come in through he stopped just at door before raising his hand in gesture of his leave. "I'll be at the Inn for a bit longer before heading out, if the fleet leaves before then I'll come back." In all honesty one of his shoulder pads had cracked from the inside, and he was afraid that it would get to the point that it would be too large to repair and would have to be scrapped. Stepping outside he payed no mind to how little they had actually talked, they maintained a professional relationship unlike the Keeper, and if he couldn't get his business done while the fleet was here then there was no point in wasting both their times.


Walking towards the fleet's guards positioned just outside the infirmary, he beared both his hands in view out of kind gesture. Placing his mark before them they lowered their weapons, and walked towards him with no hostile intents. "You're Kraft ain't yah?" the congested voice of one of the grunts stated as Dezdin nodded to him, unsure which of the faces he had seen before matched his. "I'm going to be in town for a while longer before leaving for the day. I have firewood, nails, moonshine, and warm blankets on me at the moment if your fleet wants to trade. Also... I assume the larger fleet is heading in soon,let them know that I can set up new contracts, or look over old contracts if they need maintenance." his message wasn't really for the grunts, but letting the fleet commanders know that a Peltin merchant was within the town would lower their hostility. Harming a Peltin member would in turn cause massive repercussions to their trade, or an out right embargo. "Ah, alright I'll let them know." bidding them a farewell he made his way to the Inn and stepped inside while shaking off the cold of a gust of wind that had caught him just before entering.


"Shifra, Clan Durrah."





Stepping past the two men with a proper "Excuse me." he sat down at the bar stool in front of the Keeper, listening idly to the other travelers speak to one another, while starting up a conversation of his own with the Keeper. "Hin's gotten a bit fatter hasn't he?" The Keeper gave him a blank face as Dezdin smirked at him, before scanning over everyone else without putting too much attention on himself.


@RubyRose @Red Thunder @Goldenkitten @RejjeN @Lucya Kunzenov @Wavebird
 
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Zazjh heard and saw the two girls but kept his eyes on the shopkeeper a while longer. For a few moments the shopkeeper returned the look but after a moment he looked away and busied himself with some glasses without answering his question. Whether he was intimidated by Zazjh or simply didn’t trust that he wasn’t with the Fleet and trying to shake info about the villages “militia” out of him he didn’t know, but it was clear that was a dead end. After giving him a few more seconds of stare down all Zazjh could do was shrug and turn around to the two girls, though he wasn’t keen on giving too much information away they had to learn where they were and right now they were the only two that seemed willing to talk in this village…though Zazjh’s cynical side reminded him that meant they probably had something to gain from the info.


He found the two short girls a strange sight even if he hid it behind a mask of neutrality. It wasn’t that women weren’t allowed to wield weapons in his Clan, with the constant danger of prowling predators that would have been foolish. But usually they were taught to wield weapons only in self-defense and were rarely seen casually wearing them around town unless the danger of a Great Beast or war with another Clan loomed. To that end he still had a hard time gauging this duo or anyone else since he’d been roughly introduced to the fact that out here females took on all the same jobs men did when several of the soldiers lording over him on the ship had been women.


Thus he admitted he wasn’t entirely certain how to speak with such women, regardless sitting around doing nothing wouldn’t get them anywhere. As such when the smaller of the girls offered what appeared to be some sort of vessel for liquids in his direction Zazjh was quick to take her up on this offer…and was not at all prompted by the fact he was still thirsty. But before he could take a step he witnessed a miracle as Erevel was filled with a vigor beyond this world and took the seat he’d been headed for, taking the container and quickly refilling his cup before speaking.


“Erevel, Clan Arren. The one with more tattoos than clothing is Zazjh. I don’t suppose you could tell us what village this is could you?,” he said, answering the girl’s first question and prompting his own.


Zazjh was left dumbfounded for a moment before Erevel turned to him and added, “You gotta learn to act quick boy” before he handed the vessel in his direction.


His attention was briefly drawn to a passing…man…wrapped up more than he’d ever seen a person be. He watched him out of the corner of his eye for a moment, carefully analyzing anyone who came close enough to cause him harm right now after what had happened. But as he went on to speak with the storekeeper in a way that suggested familiarity that didn’t result in the storekeeper shaking in terror he took it as a sign he wasn’t with this Fleet, didn’t mean he wouldn’t stop keeping tabs on him.


Returning to the shenanigans at hand he took a deep breath before sitting down, taking the vessel and filling his glass, and then following what he’d watched the others do and assumed was some tradition among travelers passed it to the next girl. He’d known Erevel was quick witted, it was why he was still here and he’d acted as focal point for the other villagers on the ship, at least those who weren’t drunks or unlucky travelers. But only now that they found themselves free of worrying for their lives (for the moment) did he truly have a chance to appreciate his years.


In the end he supposed this was for the best. Zazjh had learned a bit about this world on the Red Death…enough to know that “Red Death” was an antiquated term, but one he was unlikely to purge from his mind anytime soon. But he was still rather unlearned, he wouldn’t consider himself naïve, but he could definitely say something that would make him a target to a cleverer mind than his.


Erevel had kept talking as he’d been thinking and answered her second question, “Well, I wouldn’t call it “wandering” so much as “surviving”,” he gave a wry smile and small chuckle at his own joke, “Luckily Zazjh knows how to track and hunt so with his help we found this place and spent the night headed this way. I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky the Skadians actually let us keep our clothing as well…not that it helped the others…from the caravan,” he added the last part as if an afterthought to back up what they’d said until this moment but his moment of solemnity said that it was more personal than that.


For the first time Zazjh saw through the act the man had been putting on, after all those they’d left back on the ice…those whose clothes he was wearing at that very moment had been members of Erevels clan. He suddenly realized the strength it was taking him to keep pushing on as if this was just fate and he had to deal with it; of course somewhere in there it was bothering him. Zazjh should have known as much as he himself had gone through those same feelings just weeks prior upon his exile, even now he felt it strongly with only the fact that he’d been the one to willingly accept it softening the blow.


However it was only a momentary thing and without knowing what had really happened it was hard to say if a stranger like the girls would even have picked up on it as a forced smile quickly returned to Erevels face. Zazjh felt it was somehow his responsibility to pick things up from there and draw attention away from it even if he didn’t know where to start.


Regardless he finally settled for the obvious, “So…we haven’t exactly made our situation unknown. Any ideas if there’s work to be had here to get us back on our feet?”


Erevel seemed to liven up with something to talk about in front of him as he pointed at Zazjh, “He can lift things! Heavy things!”


Zazjh felt his spirit plummet as he was relegated to sanctioned lifter as he put his face into his palm, “Yes, Zazjh supposes he can lift things,” he knew from the Village of the Red Death that talking about oneself in such a way was odd to outsiders, but twenty-plus years of manners weren't going to leave him anytime soon.


Erevel pointed at himself and stated in a chipper voice, “I’m old, I can’t lift things.”


“…you’re doing this on purpose aren’t you?”, Zazjh was unfamiliar with this breed of humor.


“Probably,” was all Erevel said as he returned to taking sips from his refilled glass.


@RejjeN @Wavebird @Irubus


OOC: Edited in Zazjh referring to himself in third person. You'll have to forgive me if I screw that up occasionally, it's not exactly something I'm used to when writing character dialogue. I'm sure it'll come to me easier as we do more.
 
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((OOC: Sorry about the delay. Will try to post in a more timely manner next time))


Aliz was impressed with the vigor displayed by the old man as he practically snatched the seat next to her from the larger man before he'd really gotten the chance to react, she knew thirst could do many things but she'd never seen it make someone 'younger', if only for a brief moment. A smirk crept up on her face as she saw the dumbfounded expression on the larger mans face and the comment from the old man, she found they were an interesting duo to be sure.


Once the two had been situated next to Aliz and Shifra the old man who called himself Erevel spoke about himself and their situation, at the same time this was happening Dezdin entered the Inn and walked up to the counter to have a chat with the Innkeeper. Noticing he was looking their way while trying (probably) not trying to draw too much attention to it Aliz winked in his direction before turning her attention back to Erevel as he answered her question, and as she had 'feared' they had been wandering the desert during the night... She was quite impressed they had survived at all, though from the sound of it they'd left a few bodies in their wake... The sheer willpower required to push on in such a situation was astounding, she doubted she'd be able to do anything like it herself.


Finally the younger of the two spoke and while certainly not the most surprising question she found it interesting he'd ask about work from two outsiders, especially when the Fleet was in town (or were about to be anyway). It was possible he thought they were local hunters, but he did seem rather...Exotic... For these parts, so maybe he just didn't know much about how things worked here? Not a lot of clear information so she'd keep observing for now. Either way she found their 'comedy routine' rather funny as she let out a short laugh.


"Haha, well I don't know about work, but I don't doubt there's something heavy to lift. Dunno if you'd really like to stay if the Fleet is coming to town however, if they're out slav e hunting they'll be looking for people like you in particular." She said all this with a rather light hearted tone, though with a bit of foreboding as she pointed at Zazjh. "But of course if that's your preference then who am I to argue?" She said with a smirk as she leaned back in her chair again. "Names Aliz by the way, nice to meet you!"


@Wavebird @Goldenkitten @Irubus
 
Shifra was growing more distant, and didn't know what strategy to go with in this situation. Aliz, was seemingly getting along with the two men that had seated themselves by their table at Aliz's invitation. So, on the one hand she could join in, socialising. It felt like something potentially fun and enjoyable. But on the other, the two men didn't seem to have much to offer in terms of information about the Fleet that was in town, and that was what Shifra was really interested in right now.


First of all, she needed to know why the Fleet was in Artin. Part because she had to know if she could safely get going without running into them first thing after she left the settlement, but mostly because she was worried about Jed (who Shifra thought had spent the night in the desert). What if the fleet had stumbled upon him and taken him prisoner? Perhaps there'd been a fight in which Jed was hurt, and that was why they'd returned him to the infirmary in Artin? Many possible scenarios started to crowd Shifra's mind, making an itchy feeling of panic grow inside of her. She had to find out, but time was scarce. Her train of thought led back to the two men at the table. Perhaps they had actually seen something when coming in after all? Anything could be vital information to Shifra right about now.


As she was weighing how much the two (Zazjh and Erevel as they called themselves) knew about the situation at hand, and how to best extract that information without being too blunt, Shifra noticed Dezdin taking a seat by the bar. He probably knows more. She thought, and then turned her gaze back to the people around the table.


"I agree with Aliz, there'll be nothing to find here if the Fleet is coming around with their mind on slaves." She took a sip of water from the glass that had been passed back to her. "But that isn't necessarily the case, see, the 8th they are one of the bigger fleets and shouldn't be in need of slaves unless-..." She paused as she realised that their visit to the infirmary was just about the worst possible sign they could get. Sending hovercraft in the middle of the night was a risk, so it must've been something urgent. A fight? An accident? Both cases could mean they'd actually be in need of slaves! Again her mind was racing to create as many scenarios as possible, most of them pointing at her having to leave Artin without delay. She continued with a tiny bit louder voice, as to make sure that Dezdin would also hear if he was paying any attention: "Did you happen to see the fleet folk when you came in? How many where they? Did you see any vehicles?" She spoke quickly, but still maintained a calm quality to her voice.


@Goldenkitten @RejjeN @Irubus
 
"I wonder if I'll ever meet those guys again, despite their ... diet... they actually weren't half bad once you got to know them and got past their smell..."


The Inn Keeper didn't voice his comments as Dezdin reminisced on one of the many tribes he had met during his adventures. Looking as if he were trying to shake his momentary depression he made to sneak another peak at the others as they had continued their conversation. Erevel seemed to be the leader of the duo as he made his way around the other man's less than outstanding intelligence to the matter. What caught his curiosity the most was the fact that the both of them had some how survived the grueling night without shelter. During the coldest nights people considered the stomach of a Gohlar to be more comforting than being left to die in the middle of the desert. But beyond the light amusement the elder was causing him he didn't really care much for their bantering as he drank some of the water at his table as he caught from his peripheral the wink of Aliz that reminded him on the fact that he was going to offer her a ride before heading out.


"Did you happen to see the fleet folk when you came in? How many where they? Did you see any vehicles?"


Having zoned out in the process of thinking of a way to approach Aliz he was caught off guard by the sudden question that was gestured towards him. How many...? He gave it about a thirty second thought before answering from what he could make out. Turning at his chair to properly face them he leaned back in a relaxing position before answering "No, I heard them come in while I was still changing but I saw about..." Dezdin clicked his tongue in momentary thought before continuing . "...seven or eight at the most while I was out there. Three vehicles. Two or three of them were in the infirmary I think. Beyond that, nothing for now, but the big fleet is definitely going to come in if it's someone important." he took another drink from his cup before adding a bit more.


"I talked to some of the grunts standing outside that I was going to be in town for the day so I doubt they'll cause too much trouble as long as I'm here since I'm a Peltin. But that's not an absolute protection by any means, I doubt they're that desperate and since this town is resource farm, no offence Keep, for them taking people from it would only hurt them in the long run." Adding his last word with some amusement he gripped the back of his head in pain as Keeper had hit him roughly. Continuing "But that's only if they're not dumb. At the most I'd say that you should all pretend to be workers in the town for the mine, the Inn Keeper, with his permission, or even my "apprentice" if the stroll in... only one of you for me though" he lightly quipped before turning to the Keeper and addressing him personally. "Oh and I talked to Hin and some guy named Jed, a new apprentice?" raising his eyebrow in question the Keeper shook his head in response "... either way I lightly told him to keep the town from causing anything dramatic while so many outsiders were still in here. You know how that'd turn out in the end." The Keeper made a grim face before adding in his own words to his guests, "Two of you at most if you'd like to keep yourself busy while they're still in town, simply sitting around and then saying you're a worker wouldn't look so concrete if you're approached."


Letting out a sigh he continued to drink his water as he thought over what was his limit protecting these strangers. By any means he didn't want others to die while he could still do something about it... after all it wouldn't look good in his reputation if he let his customers die, nor would it look good when he looked at himself in a mirror once it was done. "Only one of you for me." he put his hands out once again in a relaxing position as he let his mark hang in front of their view. He gave Aliz a glance a second longer than he did the others as he looked over each of them if they were interested. The old man and Shifra would probably do good in pretending to be part of the Keeper's staff if they changed clothing to match, while Zazjh would be the one most likely to be taken as a slave would do better in hiding or pretending to be a miner.
 
Jed was not impressed with Hin's decision to wait for orders to attack. It would have been nice to have the man-bear at his side when he attacked... without the backup of strength Jed wasn't sure it was wise to attack the Fleet. Jed was considering something he could say to change Hin's mind, to get him to go into battle against the slave collectors when a new person walked into the room. Jed was instantly on guard, shocked that he had missed the intruder's initial sounds of entry- but Hin remained at ease, so Jed kept his weapon loosely held in his hand and pointed away from the newcomer.


He listened to the conversation quietly. An old customer of Hin's? They certainly spoke to one another in friendly enough terms. When Hin mentioned that he wouldn't be able to run his forge, the stranger left a bottle behind for Hin and then promptly left. Jed watched him leave curiously- it must have been strictly professional, or perhaps he had somewhere else he needed to be? Though he didn't seem in any hurry. Jed turned back to Hin, wondering if the man-bear were as powerful in the town as his customer had made him sound. It was possible, Jed supposed.


Now that the newcomer was gone, Jed rested a little easier in his stance. Then he recalled the earlier conversation before the interruption and turned to Hin. "Will you truly do nothing while the Fleet invades your home space?" He asked curiously. He didn't know the way of the towns people, and he couldn't say much for nomads because when Nomads met up with Fleets it was almost instantaneous battle. There was no allowing for the Fleets to wander in clan territory peacefully and the fleets certainly didn't allow the clans off when they ran into them either. So... it was Jed's natural instinct to want to battle... but Hin knew of the ways of the town. Perhaps it was best not to fight... though if they were at the infirmary they may be weakened. If they were weak, it would be an easy victory for Jed and Hin to destroy them- bringing both of their names strength and honor.


"If the town rose up as one, they could crush the Fleet. Especially if your.. customer... was on our side, and with two from the Clan Durrah (because Jed was sure Shi would join in the battle... or at least pretty sure) we four could tear them down. We could have much celebrating tonight if we attacked those who would seek to invade your town, Hin." Jed pointed out.


@Red Thunder @Irubus
 
"'Invade' is a rather, eh, harsh term for what they do."


Hin had watched his regular customer leave impassively and now strode slowly toward the orange blade standing in its corner. Hefting it in one hand, he gave it a few swings.


"They've always come, taken what the wanted at heavily reduced price, if indeed they felt like paying for it at all, and left. I've never raised a fuss about it, and as a result they've never picked up on the fact that a smithy lies within their reach. If they did..." The blacksmith trailed off, shrugging. "Well, the Fleet isn't the only nightmare townsfolk have to worry about. Far better I think to prepare for worse things and let the annoying fly do what it will."


Still carrying the sword, he thudded over to the door and peeked out, trying to see past the sunlight.


"So I wait for a call to attack, hoping against hope that it will never happen. I don't care to awaken the accursed Fleet to thought of our little village being a threat. That really would bring hell down on us. Raids like today would be looked back upon fondly indeed."


@RubyRose
 
The girl who called herself Aliz seemed friendlier than Shifra, however Zazjh quickly picked up on the fact she was also more manipulative. Though he didn’t fully grasp the nature of her words due to a simple lack of details he realized she was trying to get details out of him in a sly way, whereas the other girl seemed agitated and went bluntly to the heart of the matter. If his suspicions about this Fleet were true (seemingly confirmed by what they said) then he could understand both, he’d be doing the same in their situation. Regardless he internally took note of the fact the smaller girl seemed more devious, or at least world-weary; she might simply want answers but if she was after more than that he would need to guard himself just in case.


Still he couldn’t deny the importance of the situation and in all honesty he wasn’t the least bit interested in a job at the moment, he’d simply been giving Erevel a moment to breathe. In all honesty he was far more concerned with the immediate situation than his long term survival or plans. After all, there wouldn't be a “long term” if he didn’t survive the next hour.


To Aliz’s comment about them being prime targets for slavery he offhandedly remarked, “That much is true” though he didn’t say anything further. After all he’d experienced firsthand how quickly these inhabitants of the Red Death were to turn on and use each other, it was why he was being so careful in the first place.


Regardless when Shifra began her questions it appeared to Zazjh to be with a simple and earnest drive. He could be reading her wrong and maybe she was the one he should have been wary of, but the way she acted nervous and perhaps…worried…if he was gauging her right seemed too real to be an act. That didn’t mean he was going to tell her his life story but it did mean he saw no harm in explaining what he’d seen. After all it worked both ways and if anything he was the one who needed this information for what was to come, he had no plans to be a slave or be dead so playing the conspirator was probably his best bet right now.


As she finished her questions his eyes subtly scanned the room, he supposed it could all be a trap but if it was they were screwed anyway. Speaking quietly enough that nobody but those at the table should have heard…unless they had super hearing, and as Zazjh still wasn’t entirely certain that these people weren’t Daemons who was he to say that wasn’t the case? Regardless, he had to start somewhere.


Tapping his fingers on the table for a moment he traded a glance with Erevel who just nodded at him, obviously they were thinking somewhere along the same lines. Finally he turned back to the girl, “Three outside, but given the size of the vehicles and the building they were guarding at least nine, probably a dozen in town if they crowded in (OOC: I just listed a random number since I don’t know exactly how large the hovercraft are, but I can change that if they’re larger/smaller than I’m imagining). Zazjh didn’t see anything in the…desert…” he had to pause for a moment to use these peoples casual descriptor for the Red Death before continuing, “-but we came off it just at the start of dawn so even Zazjh couldn’t see to the horizon. As quickly as the vehicles moved it would not take long for any that had been lying out of sight to arrive.”


Ervel piped up, “They were recon, hovercraft, saw one before but for them to have three…well, we picked a great place to wander into didn’t we?”


Zazjh simply nodded at Erevel, thankful the man had added to his statement. He had been careful to use the ambiguous term “vehicles” since he honestly hadn’t had time to ask what he’d witnessed and had obviously never seen one before. Still, if they’d pursued the topic he’d probably have been forced to say something like “floaty machine things” so he was glad the old man was there to wrap things up and he briefly wondered what he was going to do when he wasn’t there to give answers. As for the towns militia he remained silent for the moment, probably noticeably so but there were two reasons. Firstly he only had a vague hint at what they were, for all he knew it was just a couple agitated locals and not a coordinated defense. Secondly if he’d judged anyone here wrong or spoken to loudly he didn’t want to give too much away and sink their chances.


With what he’d seen stated he waited a moment before adding, “So it sounds like you know this area better than us. Given that information do you have a better idea of what we’re dealing with?


@RejjeN @Wavebird @EveryoneElseWithinEarshotYouCanDecideWowIHopeNobodyHasThisAsTheirScreenameOrItllBeAwkward
 
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After hearing the tale told by the man at the bar, as well as the tattooed man next to her at the table, Shifra had started to get an idea of the situation at hand. Three hovercraft (of the kind that Shifra could recal that the 8th Northern Fleet had) could, just as Zazhj had guessed, mean up to a dozen fleet hands, as the craft could carry up to four passengers without any problems. On the other hand, Dezdin had guessed for them to be fewer than that; just above half a dozen. Probably less than a dozen, but not much fewer than half a dozen either... In the end, the exact number didn't matter. She knew that they where many enough for her to be careful. But few enough that they weren't going to start any fuzz. Yet.


“So it sounds like you know this area better than us. Given that information do you have a better idea of what we’re dealing with?”


Shifra nodded slowly as a response and took another sip of water. As she did she analysed the situation one more time, putting things together the best she could, before answering the question verbally: “My best guess would be that the Fleet in question had someone important get ill or badly hurt.” She offered a glance at Dezdin who had suggested that as a possibility. “I mean, why else go here and set guards at the infirmary? If they only needed medicine or appliances, they'd already looted whatever they needed and been out of here by now.” She shifted position as she readied herself to continue. “Further more, there are three hovercraft, probably all they have, which means that they're trying to look big and scary till the rest of the fleet arrives. Now, I am just making guesses, but if there was a battle the Fleet suffered big losses... Well, then we're not in for a happy day.”


Promptly and with her new-found determination glowing about her, she rose from the table, grabbed her backpack and started putting it on. “Good luck with the acting, but I am not going to be here when they arrive.” There was nothing mocking in her tone, she was honestly wishing them good luck with whatever strategies they'd go with to evade the Fleet. “Instead, I intend to first find out what is their actual reason for being here, then I will find out what direction the Fleet is headed and go the other direction myself, wouldn't want to get in their path.” She looked at Zazhj again, no longer smiling, but instead looking clearly serious: “Perhaps you know what direction they came from? You said you saw them during the night, yes?”


She said nothing about it, but she had scouted the name Jed in the discussion going on between the Inn-keeper and the man at the bar. It made Shifra hopeful that perhaps Jed was still in town after all. She intended to find out sooner rather than later.


@Goldenkitten @RejjeN @Irubus
 
OOC: A little rushed, probably not the best post ever :P


After saying her piece Aliz remained quiet as she continued to observe the people present. She didn't trust the newcomers, their arrival seemed too convenient with the encroaching fleet but she had to admit it seemed unlikely they were actually affiliated with them... Still it was a suspicion she couldn't shake so she kept an eye on the pair in order to try and figure them out. As to be expected Shifra followed up on Aliz statement regarding the Fleet, though she seemed like she was going to refute it for a second before growing silent.


Aliz had to imagine this was Shifra's personal experience with being with a Fleet that was speaking, she seemed to have an idea of the workings of one even if she wasn't sharing the details. When Shifra raised her voice slightly to ask her question Aliz got a bit worried, the subtle but noticeable change in her demeanor meant something, probably that she had realized the main fleet was likely to arrive... Something Aliz herself had feared might occur.


While waiting for someone to take the bait Aliz made sure her sash was tied properly and adjusted the belt that held her sword onto her back, and after roughly half a minute Dezdin finally spoke up and turned in his seat by the counter to face the group before recounting his estimation on the Fleethand numbers and mirrored Shifra's sentiment on the main fleet being inbound. Great...


The man then made a curious suggestion to the group, to avoid being taken by the Fleet by pretending to be workers in the town. Seemed like a reasonable enough suggestion, at least for those like Zazhj and Erevel who probably were too tired after their nightly treck to head out into the desert again. From what was being said they were going to be able to 'shelter' three people, though she had to assume there'd be at least one person able to help the one that would be left out. Assuming they went with that plan of course. Aliz herself wasn't too comfortable with the idea of pretending to be a villager to avoid the Fleets attention, she'd rather just get out while she could.


Her curiosity regarding the current situation sated Aliz turned her attention back to her half-bread and tried to force it down as quickly as she could, missing out on the look that Dezdin gave the group, in particular her. She had hoped he'd come over to their table when she winked at him earlier, overall she had been looking for information which she had received aplenty, but it would have been nice to learn more of this Peltin as well. Right now however there were far more pressing matters to attend to.


Even with her mind on her "food" Aliz still listened as Zazhj and Erevel answered Shifra's question as well, giving their estimation on the potential numbers. So it could be anywhere from 7 to 12? Oh great... Something she hadn't quite picked up on before however was the odd way in which Zazhj spoke, he repeatedly said his own name during his sentences to refer to himself. What an odd quirk... She was ever more certain Zazhj was not from around these parts, though at the same time who was she to say that there were no clans out there that had such a custom? She'd have to ask him about it later if she got the chance.


Once they had answered the question about the Fleets numbers they asked Shifra if she had anything more to share, and what she said seemed to mirror the general idea that had been building in Aliz mind. Something big had happened and the Fleet was likely to arrive soon, wether they would be looking for slaves or not remained uncertain, but she wasn't about to take any risks. Putting the last piece of half-bread in her mouth just as Shifra stood up and began putting on her backpack, Aliz quickly swallowed it and stood up in tandem, grabbing her quiver and the bow attached to it in the process. "I'm of the same mind, I'd rather avoid the Fleet if at all possible." Aliz said to the group before looking at Shifra directly. "Mind if I come along for now? Got nowhere special to be, just need to grab some gear from my shelter outside town first."


@Wavebird @Goldenkitten @Irubus
 
Dezdin had expected as such from the few that he had offered a hand to. Since the Inn Keeper and himself were nothing more than strangers to them it was made apparent that they would rather avoid the problem all together than risk their safety. Understandable by all means, and Dezdin could only nod in acceptance as each one voiced their decisions, however he mentally never let down on his offer if something were to suddenly happen that was beyond their control. Out of all of them he was the most worried about the Keeper of the Inn, while he doubted the man would be taken as a slave due to his position he never knew what would happen during times of desperation. Facing away from them as Shifra stood up, he gave the Establishment Owner a raised eyebrow in worry.


"Hey Keep, you going to okay right?"


The man gave a barely visible smile in response but didn't voice any absolute certainty on the matter, after all no one could ever be sure. Letting a breathe out through his nose Dezdin accepted the answer while finishing the drink at his side. As the years passed everything seemed to be getting far more grueling for the people he met, resources and luxuries were become much harder to come by. Eventually some of them would run out, minerals and precious metals would become scarce, and with how often people fought and distrusted each other on the day to day basis they would eventually be their own demise. Over all Dezdin almost accepted the fact that people would kill each other before the lack of food or water did. Of course that was the acceptance of his internal gut, his head and heart felt otherwise as they consistently made him want to help others and over all help establish a far better place. Unknown to the Keeper or other of the town Dezdin had made it a point in his studies to find a way to remove the Fleet and the Gohlar infestation from the small town in a manageable way. The main issue was the the key principles behind why each of the two were present; both were simply the same uncontrollable beast that wandered the dunes searching for its next meal. While not trying to be harsh to the lesser nomadic tribes they were much the same as the Fleets but simply lacked the power to exert themselves in the same way. In the end was that a sin on their parts? Not at all, and Dezdin accepted that, each one of them were simply trying to survive in a way they knew best and if living for yourself is a sin then by all means they should all be lifeless pawns left to wither away.


"I'm of the same mind, I'd rather avoid the Fleet if at all possible." Aliz said to the group before looking at Shifra directly. "Mind if I come along for now? Got nowhere special to be, just need to grab some gear from my shelter outside town first."





Turning towards Aliz, Dezdin looked at her for a second before standing from his stool and paced towards the window of the Inn letting the town's main road come into his sights. His fingers tapped on the glass as his mind muddled the thoughts in his head and he considered his options. He was still planning on remaining in the town to repair his shoulder gear with Hin and making sure nothing too harsh happened in the town while the Fleet was here. "Aliz." Dezdin directed his attention to her, "If you plan on leaving soon I can give you a ride to your shelter to cut the time. I have a motorcycle in the back and I wouldn't mind just helping you guys get away as sooner." Now fully directing everyone. "Also, if you guys leave as the main fleet arrives I'll distract them for a bit while you head out, just out of precaution." Perhaps beyond all things he could at least do this for them with what little he had to offer, but much like his previous thoughts he hoped they wouldn't take his hospitality with distrust or even aggression.

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The Keeper could only watch and pity Dezdin's actions, while hoping it wouldn't happen, one day the man's own hospitality would be the source of his pain or even death.

Quantum_Leap_rear_wheel_ste.jpg

*With spiked tires for traction.
 
“You claim ‘invade’ to be a harsh term… and yet you then explain the cruelties and unfairnesses they do to your town.” Jed said, shaking his head. He stopped to ponder over the situation. He wasn’t used to being in this kind of situation… what he was used to was: see a fleet, attack the fleet- or go back and get the strength from the clan to attack the fleet. It was like an itch you couldn’t scratch having the Fleet so nearby and not having attacked them yet.


“I don’t understand how your town cope with these… raids… but I don’t feel it in my place to cause trouble for the town by acting in my normal ways.” Jed said, rubbing at his face. “Perhaps though, if I were to go alone… though I don’t know if I have the strength to conquer this fleet. I’m at quite the impasse. “ Jed said aloud, speaking sincerely. “Besides, my life is yours for now to hunt the betrayer… so I have lost my right to risk it without good reason.”


Jed sighed, feeling quite a bit calmer than usual. “As long as they don’t find us and attack me first, I will follow your lead, Hin.” Jed pledged finally. “Unless I have reason to act otherwise, of course.” He added as an afterthought… for one if he saw any of his own clan as slaves, which was unlikely yet still- if he did, he would not hesitate to attack.


“Do you never feel bad for not freeing those who have been captured by the fleet?” Jed inquired after a moment, mostly out of curiosity. He, himself, felt no remorse for the slaves- they had been caught, they deserved their fates.


@Red Thunder
 
Hin didn't respond immediately. He eased over to the chair, his step heavier than usual, and he sat just as heavily. With a long sigh, the smith bent forward, elbows on his knees, and placed his head in his hands.


"It's different for you, I guess. Life as a nomad means you can travel. Be on the move. If you anger someone, you merely leave, any consequence you may otherwise have suffered left in the snow. Moreover, I've always heard the nomads were fairly warlike. You and your lady friend are evidence of it."


There was a hollowness in his voice, accompanied by surety, as if he was certain of the dangerous situation he described.


"We are merely a small town, Jed. An island at the mercy of the chaos that it sits within. The Fleets would ride over the top of us without so much as a special note in their logs, chalking up the loot they grab to an everyday plunder."


The orange sword sat propped against the table where he'd placed it, it's glass-like blade reflecting the in coming sunlight. Hin glanced at it.


"Of course we feel bad for those in the Fleet's brigs. Anyone with a soul would. But we are in as an unenviable position as they, only not so obvious." Finally the giant of a man looked back at his companion and scratched his black beard thoughtfully.


"So I wait for the word to attack whenever they arrive, hoping to the gods it never comes. For the day it does will be the day I lose everything."


@RubyRose
 
Zazjh was unfamiliar with the way Shifras personality was turning. If he was still in his homeland he would have called it protectiveness, defense of ones kinsmen was of the utmost importance to the Ri’leyn, but did certain groups out here hold the same stance? Or perhaps it was some form of defending herself? Whatever was causing it he thought her comment was unaccounted for but he stayed as neutral as he could since he saw nobody else taking offense. It was simply that while the idea of “luck” wasn’t foreign to him most Ri’leyn would never suggest someone had it or should rely on it, as it was an insult to an individual’s own skills. Thankfully he’d heard similar expressions used in polite conversations before this point by others so while he didn’t quite know how to feel about being wished it, he knew it wasn’t meant negatively.


When she asked him which direction they’d come from he had to think for a moment as they hadn’t passed him during the day and the ride in the skyship had rendered his sense of direction disoriented. Thus he had to remember where they had been in reference to where the sun had risen, finally settling on; “Westward”.


He was thankful at least that some things were the same out here, and the words for directions were one he had quickly learned they shared. Sometimes he wondered how it was possible they shared a language at all since in the hundreds of years of recorded Ri’leyn culture they rarely had anything to do with the culture from other Clans, much less the Red Death. He’d already considered this meant at some point long lost in the past there was some merging point of cultures, but he could hardly fathom it.


He’d been aware of the man taking an interest in them and when he actually spoke up let the other two answer first to try and gauge what his interest was. Though he talked a good game about how to deal with the situation it sounded like too much good fortune to be true after what Zazjh had experienced in the days past. He strongly suspected there was more to it than pretty ideals, though at the moment he had no way to know what a total stranger was thinking. Still from the actions of those around him he at least gathered he was a familiar face in the area which at least made him less suspect…or, at least less of a suspect in relation to their immediate problem, he could still be all sorts of trouble for different reasons.


Still he said nothing and simply let the girls respond, chances were they understood the situation better than him and if they didn’t trust the man it was probably best for him not to. He heard a small “hmmm” from his side and looked at Erevel to find the old man seemingly deep in thought. Much like the girls he trusted the old man’s judgement far more than his own given the circumstances and so asked him, “What?”


Erevel perked up and looked in his direction, “Oh? Well, hmmmm”, he stopped to think for a few more seconds before concluding, “Well this is probably where we part ways. As much as we do make a good team there’s no way they’ll take you for a local, even if you tossed on all the clothes in the village. Better for you to follow one of the young girls perhaps? Help each other get out of town and then do as you wish; part ways, go to the next town together, go explode things. It really doesn’t matter what you decide after getting out of their territory but it’d just be taking to many chances trying to blend in, and though hiding might work if the Fleet just came to pick something up or bandage one of their fighters that won’t be the case if they do start tearing the town apart looking for labor. At that point you’ll be forced to fight or flee with them actively looking for you. Clearly leaving before that happens is the better option, but if they’ve got eyes on the town that could be difficult to accomplish by yourself. And not just you, I’m talking to all of you, if there are Fleet waiting outside town then working together is the only way you’ll get past them, or more importantly beat them if they notice you.”


Zazjh nodded as he took in everything that was said. Though much of this world on the Red Death was foreign to him tactics for evading, hunting, and combat were something he was intimately familiar with and he could quickly process. Everything Erevel said made perfect sense and he briefly wondered where this was all coming from. He quickly realized Erevel was an elder who had survived out in this place for easily three-times as long as Zazjh had walked the world and had doubtless protected his own village for many years; likely having had run-ins with such “Fleets” before. He and his village wouldn’t have still existed if someone didn’t know how to handle them.


But while it made sense he did feel torn leaving the only person he had any connections with behind so soon. Especially since he didn’t like the idea of leaving him here when something bad could happen at any moment. Even so he recognized the tactical soundness of what was proposed and so instead inquired about what he would do in that situation, “What about you?”


Erevel turned to him with a slight smile, though he wasn’t sure if it was genuine or just for show; “It’s like I said when we came into town. I’m too old to get the resources and make it back out onto the ice and to the caravans”, Zazjh had to give the old man further credit, unlike him Erevel had taken to their story quickly and was selling it without a moment’s pause, “I know my way around healing wounds, it shouldn’t be difficult for me to get a job at this so-called Infirmary after the Fleet have left town. I don’t like parting so soon either but I wouldn’t survive out on the ice so soon after last nights ordeal and would only hinder you, and you will only find it more difficult to leave town the longer you stay. So, it’s a rather sound plan yes?”


Zazjh still wasn’t entirely sold on leaving Erevel to an uncertain fate, but he understood the man had his own type of pride and clearly wasn’t the sort to just lay down and die. He would give it everything he had to try and make it here, for Zazjh to do anything less would be an insult to his fellow survivor.


And so with a slight sigh, though he couldn’t hide the dark anger at the Fleet that had forced this on them from showing in his face, he turned to the girls. Though he spoke to both of them his comment was aimed more at Shifra, he could tell from her reactions she was nervous and wanted to get out of this situation; “You wish to gather your things and leave as well? If so as stated Zazjh is a hunter, it may not appear it but he can hide and track quite well. If you will provide him with a container of water after we are free of this place so that he can survive and directions to the next closest village then Zazjh will aid you in leaving this place unseen.”


@RejjeN @Wavebird @Irubus
 
Shifra did not know what to make of the offers to follow her made by Zazhj and Aliz. They were both, more or less, strangers in her eyes and she had no idea if she could really trust them, and there was no telling what Jed would think and say if she presented him with a handful of travel companions. But then again, they weren't Fleet folk, that much was clear. And having them around sure would add that enjoyable feeling of safety in numbers once they got out in the desert. She bit her lip before answering, allowing for Dezdin to sneak in an offer to give Aliz a ride out of town on his motorcycle, and to delay the Fleet would they arrive in town at that.


With the help of all these people the chances of getting away had grown from slim to decent. Before she got to know what Aliz would answer to the offer made by Dezdin, Shifra spoke up again: "Any of you are welcome to follow me, but I have things to sort out in town first. And you should know that I will risk speaking to the fleet folk that are here right now in order to find out more." She turned to Dezdin, whom she now was certain enough was on her side that she dared asking about Jed. "The Blacksmith? Where do I find him?"


Shifra knew her planned actions contradicted the wisdom that the old man had just shared with Zazhj – that it would be best to not even let the Fleet acknowledge one's existence, in case the decided to go looking for suitable man-power to abduct. But the fact stated earlier hadn't changed, any information about the Fleet could be life-saving at this point, direction and destinations in particular. From all her years in a fleet she knew they rarely took any detours unless they really had to; anything to save in order to save time and resources!


Shifra moved towards the door, ending up leaning against the door-frame. "Anyone coming with? If not, I suggest we rendezvous outside town, once we're all done with what we're doing here." By the time she was done speaking she reached back and detached an empty water-skin hanging on the side of her backpack. It was the one she'd got from the nomads in Clan Durrah and was of the same fashion as the one Jed would probably carry. She passed it over to Zazhj, and nodded as he caught it. Luckily, Shifra had it as a spare since she preferred using the canteen from her time in the fleet as soon as they got out of sight from the Durrah elders. Sure, it was mostly to mock Jed, but also because it kept the water at a slightly cooler temperature.


She still leaned at the door-frame, awaiting any response from the others. It was going to be dangerous to interact with the fleet folk and it had been years since last time she did (if you didn't count the few times she'd fired crossbow bolts toward their kind). She was nervous, but determined.


@Irubus @RejjeN @Goldenkitten
 
With the looming threat of the Northern Fleet closing in on them it took little to start the inhabitants of the Artin Inn on their path of getting the way out of dodge, namely Shifra starting by readying herself to leave. It wasn't surprising to Aliz that Shifra was a 'bit' uncertain about the offers made by her and Zazhj after a bit of dialogue between the old man and the foreigner, even if they had shared a room for the night that was an entirely different story to travelling together through the harsh desert.


While Shifra was contemplating this Dezdin addressed her by name, making her turn to look at him with a curious look on her face. She knew he was interested in her for some reason, his gaze had lingered on her almost uncomfortably long after his offer of taking one of them in as his "apprentice" earlier. She assessed this was because of his Congregation connection, and how rare it was to meet another member while travelling in the "civilized" parts of Talavah. Though admittedly she was a bit curious about him as well, mostly how this whole "Peltin" thing worked. It seemed unreal that a clan somehow managed to marry the Congregation beliefs with a merchant system that took advantage of everyone.


As such she couldn't really help but smile at his offer. She felt it was a bit silly since her shelter was literally just under a kilometer away from the town, but if he wanted to give her a ride, why not? Normally she'd suspect foul play since that was the common way in the desert, but members of the Congregation weren't allowed to kill each others without good reason, their lives were to serve the Deep One and to end one such life for ones self was a great act of hubris.


Aliz wasn't really able to give her answer to Dezdin right away however, as Shifra then spoke and agreed to let anyone willing follow her, which raised Aliz spirits though she had to admit she got a bit worried when Shifra warned she'd take the risk of speaking with the fleet that was currently present in order to gather further information. Exactly what kind of information Shifra was looking for Aliz didn't know, as far as she was concerned there wasn't much to gain from it, but it was probably some Fleet thing she didn't understand herself.


With that out the way Shifra asked Dezdin about the local blacksmith for some reason. She thought she'd heard Dezdin talk about him earlier but she hadn't really been listening so she wasn't certain, either way she wondered what she wanted with a town smith. Her experience was that they were barely adequate at their job, but maybe that was simply her biases speaking. Either way things could certainly turn this into a very interesting, if perilous day. She had to seriously consider her options now, the smart thing was obviously to cut her losses and leave before she got dragged into something really really bad, but her curiosity seemed to be getting the better of her.


"I appreciate the offer Dezdin, and I'll gladly accept. Though you should probably know it's not very far, and I do not want to waste your time needlessly." Aliz replied, all nice and diplomatically (Something rather unusual for her), but she felt she had been a bit mean to him the other day, she was often very blunt about how she felt regarding certain issues and spoke before she could truly consider the impact it might have. It hadn't landed her in serious trouble yet (well, that's a lie, but she'd gotten out of it at least!), but it was inevitable that it would eventually.


While waiting for Dezdin to respond Aliz looked over to Zazjh, sizing him up with an amused smirk on her face. She felt it was funny someone of his stature was offering them help with hiding and getting away unseen, to her it seemed highly unlikely he'd actually contribute much in this particular instance, after all sneaking around the Fleets was something almost everyone who travelled the desert had experience with. However she refrained from saying anything, feeling the opportunity had passed (and not wanting to anger the big thug-looking man) so in the end she just turned to Shifra instead. "I'll follow you for now, though I'll keep my distance from the Fleet. You could attempt to pass yourself off as one of them, me not so much." She said with a smirk as she lightly tapped her black leather armour.


@Wavebird @Goldenkitten @Irubus
 
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