Fantasy The Omegas (always accepting)

[xCRAZYxFACEx]

Venas Ferro, recruit. I hear you’re interested in joining our little group. First off, I want you to be sure that this is what you want to do. In our line of work, people die. Often. This isn’t for the weak of heart, which is why our motto, our greeting, our way of life, all comes down to Venas Ferro. Veins of Steel. You have it or you don’t, and the only way to get it is by making mistakes and earning your scars. Here, we can’t afford to make mistakes, and neither can you. So you need to ask yourself, truly: do you have what it takes?


...Good. Our line of work is simple: we get paid to do what others won’t or can’t. The so called heroes of the realm can’t be bothered to hunt down a gryphon that’s terrorizing farmers. Nobody wants to track down a cockatrice or a chimera. And people aren’t so willing to find out if a noble is really a mimic. So that’s where we come in. The dirty, the unseemly, the deadly, we take care of it all. Because we’re the misfits, the unwanted, and the feared.


When you’re ready, take a look at the bounty board. We post the jobs there, and people sign up for them. You take care of the job down to the letter, and you get paid. You die, the others get your share. No backstabbing, either, to get someone’s share. You do it, we’ll find out, and it won’t be pretty. Remember, we’re a brotherhood. Now get moving and make some money.


Oh… and welcome to the Omegas.


------


Her speech done, Morrigan turned and left the recruits to their own devices.


The room they were in was high vaulted, and centuries old. It was from another time, when the city had been first formed. The destruction of the old city meant the loss of knowledge and great relics from before. It also meant that the architects were left with only one direction to build: up.


The Headquarters of the Omegas was an old church at the bottom level of Pyl's Gate, one of the greatest and oldest cities. It spanned several miles across, and had multiple tiers and layers that one could spend a lifetime exploring. Being the center of trade on the continent, one could find nearly anything for sale, provided they had the coin.


The bottom layer of Pyl's Gate had as many advantages as it had disadvantages. One could lose the guards quickly, but was inundated with thugs and the uncouth. The bottom layer was nearly impossible to secure, but if one had a good hiding hole, it was nearly impossible to be rooted out. As it was, the Omegas had one such hole in the church. It was their home, their refuge in the refuse of Pyl's Gate.


And one advantage of the Omegas was that anyone with a sense of self preservation knew not to mess with its members. They took the contracts others couldn't, and they made a habit of beating the unbeatable. Even some of the nobility at the higher levels took notice, and used them for less than legal jobs they needed taken care of.


This is where you find yourself, at the throbbing, dirty heart of the city. You hear a pointed cough to your left. Looking over, you see a knight whose armor had seen better days. His faceplate was down, so his voice was muffled when he said, "Don't mind Morrigan. She's always taken her job seriously, and that includes keeping the recruits alive long enough to make some coin."


His voice was scratchy. It sounded like he had gone one too many days without water in his past, and had permanently damaged his throat. The knight stood up, and suddenly one could make out the insignia on his breastplate: he was a former paladin of Altag, the god of life.


"Now, down near the bar, you'll find the bounty board Morrigan pointed out. There's always a job to be taken care of, so you won't be starving for work. There's the bar, of course. We have a few merchants that come by every few days, so keep an eye out for them. You can buy things from them without having to worry about finding someone out in the streets. We have an armory in the back, as well as an enchanting table and a potions lab. Use them as you see fit, just don't blow yourself up. Also in the back we have beds and chests for you to keep your belongings. Don't steal from each other, remember, all we have is each other, and we don't need to go and start betraying one another's trust. If you got any questions or need to know where something else is, just let me know. We have pretty much everything you'd need to prepare for a job in the back, just ask and we can get it out and prepped for you. So good luck, and Venas Ferro."

 

[CoreyXIX]

As Darrick kept his attention on Morrigan, then the former paladin he had little doubt that this place would be his new home. At least here he wouldn't spend a large portion of his time making sure some disgruntled citizen or noble wouldn't be attempting to take his life because of his line of work. He rested his right forearm on the hilt of his longsword and after the former paladin's dismissal Darrick decided to spend some time getting acquainted with his new home. If he had his way, nearly every nook and cranny of this old church would be explored and eventually committed to memory.

 

[CoreyXIX]

It wasn't long before Darrick's exploration took him down to the area where the bar was located. This church likely saw better days, but at least it was safe enough. He was down here at the bar for a different reason. "Ah, there it is." he remarks to himself, finding the nearby bounty board. As far as he was concerned, his priority after learning the area of his new home was getting work. As his green eyes scan the posted bounties he does some rough mental estimates of how well he would do and his odds of finding a second (or even third) person to assist, since this place seemed a bit sparse with people. It didn't take long to conclude that the best risk-reward ratio would be in the bear hunting job. When he got some better equipment he would go for something else. The ex-inquisitor takes the Bear Hunting job off of the board, then looks around the bar in the hopes of finding a suitable comrade to assist.

 

[Ullr]

Miles listened to Morrigan's speech without much care for it, he just needed someone to tell him what to do so he can do it and get fed and live. In the last part of Morrigan's speech Miles realized that for the first time he will actually get paid to do something, so far in his life the only time he had any coin was when he stole it and he quickly traded them away for food and water.


Miles had no idea what you actually do with money beside that, he pondered on that for a few seconds then his thoughts were cut off by the knight. Miles listened and nodded every time the knight pointed out a location and then nodded again when he was done talking. Miles had no belongings his gear was fully prepared already and he had no idea what enchanting or potions even mean so he started heading towards the job board, wanting to earn his first ever paycheck and most importantly eat.


As Miles reached the board he saw three columns so he managed to realize that there three jobs that are open to the taking, it was the first time Miles had a choice about what he has to do in a job which made him hesitate. Then Miles also remembered that he doesn't know how to read and has no idea what any of the jobs are.... Miles was lost... Miles scratched his head and while trying not to show it he was panicking. He watched as another rookie came to the board and after looking at it for a bit pulled one of the jobs from the board, Miles looked at the fellow rookie wondering what he should do he couldn't take a job and not know what the job is. But he didn't want to approach someone out of nowhere and even less to explain to them that he couldn't read, and as far as he knows the jobs might all be solo he didn't really pay attention to what Morrigan said in her speech. Miles sighed he would have preferred if someone would have just ordered him to a job and then give him food and water, he then went to sit in the bar still trying to decide what he should do while gazing at the job board from his sit.

 

[xCRAZYxFACEx]

The ex-paladin noticed that one of the recruits seemed ill at ease. He didn't ask questions, and he looked at the bounty board before sitting at the bar. Did he not like any of the jobs available? Then why not join the other recruit? He decided to intervene.


"Venas Ferro, recruit. I see you didn't take anything from the bounty board. Hesitant about taking your first job?" he asked gruffly, but kindly enough.

 

[Ullr]

As the knight approached Miles and confronted him about not taking a job Miles panicked again, he wasn't sure how he should address the knight or what to say. Saying he doesn't want to take a job will make the knight think he is afraid and truth be told Miles was hungry he needed money fast in order to eat, but he couldn't say he doesn't know how to read as well "Ahhh... I am waiting for... someone to...n-need help" Miles said with almost zero confident, hoping that the knight would find him someone who needs help and a job for him in the same time. Miles sighed again "Being a slave was easier" he said under his breath waiting for the knight's reply.

 

[xCRAZYxFACEx]

The ex-paladin frowned from beneath his helmet. "You know, son, all of the jobs that are currently on the job are at least two man jobs. If you're looking to help someone, why not that fellow over there? The one that took the bear job. At least then you wouldn't need to wait for someone to come to you." Then an epiphany hit the soldier. The board clearly stated how many people were necessary, so the young man in front of him should have seen that. It wasn't like everyone knew how to do it....


"Son, do you know how to read? No shame in not knowing."

 

[Ullr]

Miles cursed under his breath when the ex-paladin figured him out he took one deep breath and said "No I don't know how to read" There was no point in lying anymore, at this point telling the truth would make it all disappear quicker. The ex-paladin gave Miles what he wanted though, a job "I will go over to "the fellow over there" and ask if he needs help in his job" Miles stood up from his sit nodded to the paladin and walked towards the rookie he saw pulling the job earlier. "Do you already have enough men for this job?" Miles asked trying to show no sign of the panic he experienced just a few moments ago, as he said that he thought once again how he much rather go back to being a slave.

 

[CoreyXIX]

The human's search may have come to an end with the person who approached him. Whoever this was, they were easily about half to three quarters a foot taller than Darrick. Heck, he was probably close in stature to the bear he would be hunting. How lucky for him. "No, not yet. If you want to join you're more than welcome to." he replies. "I'm Darrick, by the way. What's your name?" he asks, holding out a hand in an attempt to get a handshake out of the other newcomer.

 

[Ullr]

Miles felt like a stone have been lifted from his heart, he found a job. Then as Darrick introduced himself and held out his hand Miles heisted a bit, he knew the concept of shaking hands he saw people do it but he never done one before. Then trying not to enter into another state of social panic he shook Darrick hand like he saw people do, Miles gave himself a mental nod thinking he manged to pull a normal handshake at the first try and said "I am Miles, anyway whats the job?" Feeling a bit better now.

 

[CoreyXIX]

Somehow Miles seemed to be in a bit of a lighter mood. Perhaps it was his first day on the job here too? Regardless, at least they seemed to be just as much about business as he was. "According to the job there have been sighting of bears near some monasteries to the west of here. We're to hunt at least three bears." he says, explaining the details to his new companion. "I think the two of us could do this. A nice easy warm-up for future jobs."

 

[Ullr]

"Huh bears..." Miles said a bit surprise and maybe even disappointed, his forte was killing men armed men as well. Hunting animals seemed like a downgrade from that "A job is a job I guess" Miles said still with his tad disappointed tone then took a breath "Well just say when and where" Miles said this time with his normal tone after he thought about it he realized that easy job is a quick job which means he will be able to eat soon enough.

 

[CoreyXIX]

Well, Darrick wasn't willing to wait too long to get this underway. He wasn't in much of a position to not go without paying work, and it seemed he wasn't the only one in this boat. "We can leave as soon as you're ready. I already have everything I should bring with me." he replies as he takes another look at the job paper he took off of the wall. Of course, it was easy to have all his gear when you don't have much to begin with. He would definitely be squirreling away parts of his pay to get some decent equipment, maybe even on par with what he used to have.

 

[Yesman]

Xacular Corpus stalked over to the bounty board, eyeing the remaining jobs. Someone had already taken the bear hunting job so the only jobs left were for protecting a merchant and gryphon hunting. Xacular Anima floated up behind the zombie.


"The 'Birds of Prey' job looks doable," said the ghost. His voice was hollow and raspy but understandable.


The zombie looked over to his phantom companion. He had lost the ability to vocally communicate but being the same person as the ghost, they shared a...mental connection.


That's a job for two


"So? I'm one, you're two."


Can you fly?


"I'm a ghost. Of course I can."


In the light? Fast enough to catch a gryphon?


The two debated for a little while longer but Corpus eventually tore the job off the board with a grunt.


We'll do the job, but not before we find one or two more to come with us





"Two? Why? I'm one, you're-"


You're half, I'm half. Together, we make one, the zombie shook shook the piece of paper in the ghost's face. This is a two to three man job.

 

[xCRAZYxFACEx]

"Huh bears..." Miles said a bit surprise and maybe even disappointed, his forte was killing men armed men as well. Hunting animals seemed like a downgrade from that "A job is a job I guess" Miles said still with his tad disappointed tone then took a breath "Well just say when and where" Miles said this time with his normal tone after he thought about it he realized that easy job is a quick job which means he will be able to eat soon enough.

Well, Darrick wasn't willing to wait too long to get this underway. He wasn't in much of a position to not go without paying work, and it seemed he wasn't the only one in this boat. "We can leave as soon as you're ready. I already have everything I should bring with me." he replies as he takes another look at the job paper he took off of the wall. Of course, it was easy to have all his gear when you don't have much to begin with. He would definitely be squirreling away parts of his pay to get some decent equipment, maybe even on par with what he used to have.

Morrigan walked up to the recruits that had already taken a job off the board. "I see you two have some initiative. Good on you. Now remember, the monks at the monasteries can normally handle themselves, so they wouldn't asking for help if they didn't need it. So, take this seriously. Aside from that, don't expect to find bears immediately. You might need to take a day or two to find them. When you're ready, head up to the Aeres Tower in the upper district. They'll be expecting you, and they'll send you to the city of Teirn. From there it'll be half a day's hike to the monastery, at which point you can start. Any questions?"


((I'll get to making lore info on the cities, Morrigan, and the Aeres Towers tomorrow.))

 

[Hanzax]

Vincent paid utmost attention to Morrigan's speech, it was basically their code of honour, the rules he and those around him would have to live by from now on. This of course was something they had chosen to partake in themselves, they could back out now if the tasks brought them in over their head. Although that might not be possible once he had promised to complete a mission on the board.


Vincent felt at ease knowing that the recruits wouldn't slit his throat whilst asleep, according to Morrigan anyway. As Morrigan finshed her speech a knight took right over. The knight clearly had some experiance in the field from the sound of his voice. After the knight finished explaining how things worked around these parts, the recruits began making their first moves. Vincent headed straight for the bar that had all the bounties posted up onto a board.


Vincent let the other new recruits decide which bounty they'd prefer. This way Vincent would be able to decide he would be working with to complete each individual bounty. The first bounty to be taken was the one with bears. Bears weren't exactly something he would be afraid of taking on, the stories he had heard his father and patrons talk about were not all too terrifying. Not long after the man who had taken the bounty for the bears had be paired together with someone quiet close to his height. As the two bear brothers were talking, another recruit took a closer look at the bounty board.


The recruit took the gryphon bounty off the board again began talking himself, or maybe he was talking to the dark ghost flying around him. The stories that he had heard about gryphons were slightly more terrorizing. It was basically a giant-flying-lion-hawk thing if he remembered correctly. It was a whole lot better than guarding a merchant, on one hand it could go without a hitch, on the other they could end up fending off something far worse than a gryphon. Vincent decided and walked over to the dark recuit and ask him what his plans were.


"Name's Vincent, need any help with that bounty?" He said, knowing that it was supposed to be a 2-3 man job.

 

[Ullr]

Miles nodded at Darrick "I already got everything..." Miles said but was interrupted by Morrigan who came to give them some guidance, Miles had some experience in hunting but hardly enough to be called a hunter or tracker and hearing Morrigan say it might take a while to find the bears Miles hesitated a bit "Well I am ready to go, hopefully we will find at least one of the bears quickly, I am hungry" Miles said waiting for Darrick to move on so he could follow him, Miles didn't pay much attention to any of the things he was told about Pyl's gate and had no idea how to even get to the upper levels.

 

[CoreyXIX]

Darrick shakes his head in response to Morrigan's question. "No, we should be good to go from here if the directions are that simple." he replies. From how things sounded, this job would easily at least a week to accomplish. On the bright side, at least bears could be somewhat predictable in tactics compared to people. Miles' remark did make Darrick wonder a bit about him. Was he just that poor, or was he the type of person that only ate what he killed? "You know you probably get a few days' worth of rations before or during our trip, right?" he asks as he walks off towards the church's exit.

 

[Yesman]

Corpus turned to the newcomer.


Yes, we could use a hand.


Xacular had met many different creatures during his life as as adventurer so his corpse wasn't particularly surprised by the half giant.


"He can't hear you," reminded the ghost before turning to Vincent. "Hi, we're Xacular. I'm his ghost, and," Anima gestured to Corpus, "this is what's left of him, Corpus."


The zombie let out a low growl at the ghost, evidently unhappy at being referred to as 'what's left'. The ghost merely chuckled.


"Anyway, yeah. Corpus thinks we'll need some help so if you're interested in hunting gryphons with us, be my guest."

 

[Ullr]

Miles snapped his head after hearing what Darrick said "That woman should have said that in her speech,a lot more important thing to note than the fact we might die, in my opinion at least" Miles said with a bit of an upset tone. Now that he realized he wont die soon out of starvation, he once again pondered on it for a few seconds. Every thing here is so new to him, even the simple sensation of knowing he will have food to eat today is new to him. Then noticing as Darrick already started walking he jogged a bit to catch up to him and then matched Darrick's pace. "By the way do you have any idea how to find the bears?" Miles asked Darrick hoping he was more experienced than himself.

 

[CoreyXIX]

Well, Darrick had some ideas when it comes to the possibility of finding the bears. "I know a fair bit about hunting and tracking. My specialty is in tracking and hunting other people, but I know enough about large animals to get by on it." he replies to Miles as they walk. Besides, the monks at the monastery could probably fill in any gaps in the job's details that they were lacking. Darrick's big concern wasn't in finding the bears, but if the bears got the jump on them. An angry man was merely the same size as him, but an angry bear was a several hundred pound wall of fury and claws. He just hoped most of their encounters wouldn't be too close for comfort.

 

[Hanzax]

The recuit Vicent had found turned out to be an undead and his ghost. He'd be lieing to say that he had seen something similar before, but was taken aback by how civil and reasonably well-mannered he, or rather, they were.


Vincent showed a small sign of relief in his smile that he hadn't found an oddball of a partner.


"Great" He exclaimed to show gratitude, then pausing for a brief second.


"The bounty recommends 2-3 people if I remember correctly, right. Although I don't doubt we would be able to pull it off with abit of thinking I suggest we get one of the other recruits in on it. They're most likely eager to do something more substantial than guarding a bunch of rich merchants."


Vincent continued, his suggestion was partly out of solidarity for his fellow new recruits but also an attempt to make his first bounty as smooth as possible. Dieing or being devastatingly crippled isn't the best sight for sore eyes, especially considering it being their first ever task.

 

[Imperator Penguin]

All through Morrigan’s speech, Cináed kept to back, trying not to look anyone in the eye. The other recruits looked a scary bunch, most of them towering over his short frame. He had traveled through many lands and seen many people, but this was the oddest gathering of individuals he had ever seen. The Omega’s were not quite what he had expected; certainly not the shining armor of the heroes’ guilds but even the roughest mercenary groups hadn’t looked this dangerous. He wasn’t complaining though, this was work and he hadn’t had a reliable roof over his head in years. So long as they didn’t make him do anything against his will, this place would do.


A gruff voice to his left brought his attention to an armoured man who began directing the recruits through the headquarters. Cináed remained near the back, observing the knight as he walked.


Now here is what I expected. Even if his armour was a little rough for wear, Cináed could tell the man had been a great warrior, still was a great warrior. Once, a long time ago, Cináed had wanted to join the paladins of Altag, their order standing for everything he believed in. But he had had no chance and was quickly turned away. A sudden rush of heat in his head forced him to stop and close his eyes. Even if he couldn’t understand what the spirit was saying, Aodh’s meaning was clear. Cináed would never be like the paladins. But neither will I be what you want, spirit!


Cináed’s first stop after the tour was the bar, much like the other recruits. However, he was more interested in the food than the bounty board. He got as much as he could fit on one plate and immediately set into demolishing it.


Oh sweet, glorious food! Cináed couldn’t remember the last time he had been able to fill his stomach. The food certainly wasn’t what they cooked back home but after having lived on rotten bread, cheese, and apples, it was the finest food to him. Finally, once he could eat no more, Cináed turned his attention to the bounty board. If he wanted to get better clothes, he needed to make some coin quickly.


One job had already been claimed and he saw two men deep in discussion. Two others were discussing the gryphon job, leaving only the guard job left. Cináed looked at the description and blanched. He would take it if he had to, but he knew, from past experience, most people wouldn’t take to him guarding them. Perhaps the others would let him join; he had seen that the gryphon job required 2-3 people and the ghost seemed to be attached to the large corpse. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he approached them, praying they’d let him join.


He had intended on a strong greeting, hoping to inspire some confidence in himself, but all that came out was, “Craic the day?” Fuck. His horrible tendency to revert back to his island accent under stress had to come at the worst times. Taking another deep breath he tried again.


“I-I mean, What are you doing today?”

 

[Yesman]

Both the zombie and ghost turned to the newcomer. The ghost spoke first, "We're going gryphon hunting. Are you interested?"


If he wasn't would he come over here and try to talk to us?





"Hey, maybe he's just a friendly guy!"


Friendly enough to approach a zombie, ghost, and half giant. Right.





"He could be an adventurer who's met different creatures before."


Besides us, how many zombies and ghosts are there that wouldn't attack the living at first sight? If he really was used to creatures like us, he would have come ready for a fight.





Although no one besides Anima could hear Corpus, it was rather obvious that their conversation was starting to sidetrack to focus on the boy that had approached them.

 

[Imperator Penguin]

"A-aye!" Cináed was glad he had found a group on his first try. He didn't think he had it in him to engage with another stranger. "Gryphon hunting, much better than guarding merchants." The ghost began talking but Cináed was having a hard time following it. He wasn't sure if it was talking to him or someone else.


"I-I suppose I'm a friendly lad . . .I haven't met a lot of creatures but I have seen . . .Ar-are you talking to yourself?” Cináed immediately began bobbing his head in apology, “I don’t mean in a rude way, I-I talk to myself as well. Well not really to myself. I mean, see, I have this . . . spirit in my head and he . . .I’m sorry, I’m rambling. I completely forgot to introduce myself. My name is Cináed.”


@Yesman