"I hear the Greenscarves aren't doing so well these days. Sometimes, I wonder if that's really a good thing."
+2 from King Zultan, Naturegirl1999
"...got that from Honest Dave? Are you sure we're talking about the same Honest Dave? Last I heard..."
+1 from King Zultan
+1? from Naturegirl1999
"I haven't heard from anyone in Teford in weeks. Just get there and get out. The Duke doesn't need to know about this."
+1 from Naturegirl1999
Spread rumors of a pious, dashing Chicken Knight to build up Knightly Renown
+2 from Stirk, Maximum Spin
Priorities:
A: King Zultan, Superdorf, Naturegirl1999, Maximum Spin, Yellow Pixel
Highwaymice:
A: Naturegirl1999
B: King Zultan, Maximum Spin, Yellow Pixel
D: Superdorf
You continue listening to a select few conversations to see where they end up.
"I hear the Greenscarves aren't doing so well these days. Sometimes, I wonder if that's really a good thing."
"Agreed. Their scams and thefts had an endearing...innocence? Like they were kids who grew up on Rosin Rick stories and decided they wanted to become thieves when they grew up."
"I swear it's the Duke's patrols. They only grab the easy ones, and now we have...the unmentionable ones."
"Probably. My...protection money got doubled this month now they're gone from here. I almost miss when the worst that could happen was having a few items replaced with naughty notes. Still have a few of them myself."
"My friend whose cousin's wife is in the ducal guard said the old Corvid was killed by one of those unmentionables. That the Duke wants a fight."
"Careful not to talk too loudly. Never know who might be listening."
"...got that from Honest Dave? Are you sure we're talking about the same Honest Dave? Last I heard, he was peddling painted scrap as enchanted dragonslaying gear in somewhere in Eregland."
"Well, what I last heard is he was selling scribbles and scrap metal on a stick as treasure hunting gear in Inksworth!"
"But look, if I press the pad on the sole, a knife pops out!"
"You fool! Put that accursed thing away before someone sees it! 'No weapons allowed,' remember?"
"Look, it even cuts bread! All I'm saying is Honest Dave's wares aren't always garbage."
"I don't know. I think if you tried to stab someone with it, you'd wind up lopping your own foot off."
"Look, do you want it or not? I need the cash more than I need a souvenir right now."
"Eh, I'll pass."
"I haven't heard from anyone in Teford in weeks. Just get there and get out. The Duke doesn't need to know about this."
"Fine, but double the reward. Wouldn't want anything leading back to you, now, would you?"
"You drive a hard bargain. Double it is, but make sure the report is back here by this time next week."
"Hmph. Until next time, jumpy. Not like it's your job your risking."
"Did you hear about that devilishly handsome Chicken Knight who killed a thousand dragons with a single wing tied behind their back?"
"Is it really that impressive if they had their wings tied behind their backs?"
"Why, but of course! A bound dragon could still breathe fire or roll over and squash that suave Chicken Knight."
"Umm...alright."
"Have you heard the tail of the Pious Chicken Knight who saved an orphanage from being devoured by a horde of goats, then donated his vast fortune to repairing the damage?
"Orphanage? Do̭̖̞̳̦n̨'̭t̛͎̰̰͔̦̦ ̶̜̼y̨̯̮͎̙̺͈̭o͔̺͝u̘̗̱ ̛̩͖̙̹̠̟m͚̙̣̩̺̞͓͢e̙̰̲͉̤̩͚͈a̼̘̮͓̬̱n̷̫̫̼̩̤͕͜ͅ ̪̻̞͕̝͚́́͝r̴̡̘̗͔̬͍̤͞ͅe̸̢̛̞̰̼̗̠̥͕̣̹̘̣̜̝͚͉̜͟ͅs̶̢҉̹͖̭͎̀͜t̵̷̝̤̫̻̬͍͍̘͇͈͈̟̺̣̣̫̠͘͟͞a͇̗̱̪̯̫̤̫̬̣̥̠̪͈̩̺͖͢u͏̬͖̼̪̙̪͇̰̦̜̰̫͔̠ŕ̨̡͖̪̥̖̞̳̮̞̺͔͇͙̪͈̥a̷̡̩̣̬̻͠͞ͅn̢̳͖̞̠͖͉̹͍̼̺̺̝̕͟ͅt͉̦̹̫̫̩͎̜̮̕͢?̨̛̜͈̱͓̪̩̦͎̞͚͙͇̫̪͓͡͝"
"Eep!"
"That charming Chicken Knight who solved all the crimes in Inksworth sure sounds like a legendary hero. Must be a child of the gods or something."
"I mean...I guess anything and anyone can be a child of the gods these days, so why not?"
Did you perhaps involve yourself with any of them? Time and causality can be so fickle sometimes.
(A) Yes (-> Further investigations yesterday)
(B) No (-> Leave for Shaybury now)
(C) File not found
The next day, after the tired pursuit party has arrived, you call a meeting to get the details on the highwaymouse-chasing operation and split the resulting loot. Dr. Phyllis is glad to see that Seek and the stolen medical supplies have arrived safely. Goldteef tells a frankly rather implausible story about blending in with the shadows and silently killing all the highwaymice one by one. (Based on Goldteef's animated reenactment of the motions, you are very sure there would've been loud screaming.) Still, that does explain why they didn't arrive until this morning. You consider reprimanding him for causing an unnecessary delay, but maybe striking under cover of darkness somehow helped with the mission after all. Either way, the highwaymice are unlikely to bother anyone again, and that's good enough for now.
Next is everyone's favorite part of the post-mission business: Loot distribution! The Order sifts through the pile largely made up of holey clothing and shiny but bent swords with the odd souvenir/trinket (and surprisingly few purses and pouches of money) to pick out what would be better off sold. Most of the gear being intended for mice, pretty much all of it is too small for anyone and is quickly flagged for selling, and you and Bawk-Bawk-BAWK look around for buyers. A local blacksmith happily buys up all the damaged weapons at a slightly unimpressive price, but no one wants to pay anything for the damaged clothes. Ultimately, Cluck-Squawk-Cluck claims them and has them sewn together into a somewhat tacky looking cape which she proudly wears. At some point, Pigeon Footpad Pauline and Rat Footpad Fink manage to swindle a passing merchant into buying up a bag of highwaymouse trinkets at a huge markup. They seem anxious to leave as soon as possible.
Taken together, the extra cash should be enough to cover wages for another two or three weeks or promote two footpads/recruits and cover wages for a week. Would you like to nominate anyone in particular for a promotion at this time?
Footchicken Doodle-Crow
Chicken Knight AWWWK AWK AWK AWK AWK B-KAWK
Footchicken BAWK-Cluck
Footchicken Cluck-Squawk-Cluck
Footchicken Bawk-Bawk-BAWK
Chicken Recruit Cluck-Bark
Chicken Recruit Meow-Ma-Mew
Rat Rogue Goldteef
Rat Footpad Fink
Rat Footpad Ratchel
Rat Footpad Horatio
Pigeon Footpad Pauline
Chicken Footpad Chuck
The captives are currently intended to continue working as steeds.
(An extra update is scheduled ~12h from now)
Author
Topic: CHICKEN KNIGHT [SG] (Read 25662 times)