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[StormLord]

Friedhold & Nessa

Friedhold nods once.
"Then we may go?"
An extremely pouting Nessa follows along where Friedhold leads.

[AzyWng]

Group 1: Ehto

Rasma stares at Ehto for several seconds before looking away and stowing her baton. "Fine."

Bludd and his colleagues look instantly relieved. "I... thank you." The three place their weapons on the ground and step away, where Prevus and Rasma confiscate them along with the camp’s supplies and put the three in restraints. Though the worst of it seems to be over, Prevus still seems bothered by something, and has trouble meeting Ehto's eyes.

Bludd, Pock, and Krikith like Ehto - convinced Rasma to capture Bludd rather than killing him.

[] Ask Prevus what the problem is
[] Talk to someone else
[] Just return to Imiko with the Boggers in tow

Group 4: Carlito

The Jarackle nods uneasily. "Uh, okay, if you say so..."

The trip is uneventful, with the shantytown eventually receding to a dirt road and then a path through uninhabited parts of the Bog.

Uninhabited, that is, save for a small assortment of tents around an extinguished campfire.

Brill’s fur stands on end as one, two, three, bandits come out of the tents, weapons in hand. One of the bandits - a Jarackle with an eyepatch - approaches the pair.

“Why are you here?”

“My friend. Veep.”

“Ah, I see. You want him back. How much did you bring? Three hundred shills?”

Brill gasps, and wide eyes flit from one bandit to the next. The bandit leader grins as he seems to understand the laborer’s situation. “Heh. Of course not. You look like you can barely scrape together a hundred-especially since you've hired that grifter.” One of the bandits drags forth a battered human - and Brill quails after seeing the shape he’s in.

The human looks up and whatever was left of his defiance disappears. “B-Brill? Why are you here?”

“Veep, r-relax! I’m gonna-”

The smack of a club against Veep’s face shocks Brill into silence.

“Now, now. I’d have thought that all your servitude to the Barons would’ve taught you not to interfere with a business transaction. Now, here’s my terms. You and your grifter friend there are going to drop your weapons and everything of value. If you can do that, then, maybe then, we’ll start thinking about letting him go.”

[] Give in to the Spree’s demands
[] Negotiate with the bandit leader
[] Attack the bandits
[] Try to flee
   [] Get Brill to flee with you

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Ehto
[] Ask Prevus what the problem is

Well that was that. Didn't even have to smack anyone around a bit. Ehto was rather proud about that, looked like civility could still win out even in rougher worlds after all. As they prepared to head back though, she couldn't but notice that something was still clearly bothering the younger of the Barons in her company. He'd claimed it was simply nerves over being the new guy, but... that couldn't be the whole story.

"Hey, Prevus!" She called... well more like shouted in his ear, given she vanished from where she stood and emerged out of his shadow, clapping an arm around his shoulders in congratulation. "Ya did alright out here today, I can tell you got a good heart. Now that we're finished here, let's pick up where we left off earlier- what's really going on? I get the feeling it's not just new guy syndrome. You aren't afraid of me or anything are you?"

[AzyWng]

Group 1: Ehto

Prevus begins to shake his head, but stops, his eyestalks drooping. "I... I guess I am. I mean, I knew we were getting outside support, and I've heard of people with strange abilities, but... I don't even know what it was you did. And if we're calling on people like you... How can I help at all? All I've ever done was make something to help with the laundry. Arint's been saying we need to stand together, but... more and more I've just felt like a weak link... But I guess you wouldn't really know what that's like."

[] Keep talking with Prevus
[] Talk to someone else
[] Just return to Imiko with the Boggers in tow.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Ehto

[]Give Prevus a Pep Talk!

"Huh, I see..." Ehto said. "Look, Prevus, don't be so hard on yourself, okay? Like I said earlier, everyone starts somewhere. I might make what I do look easy, but I've been practicing my whole life, and I had the best teacher around too. You'll find your footing around here with some time, I'm sure of it. Though..."

She looked the lad over, pondering the tidbit of how he'd gotten to this position in the first place. His posture, his stance, his soft heart... he was no warrior. She could see that plain as day.

"If I may suggest something?" She asked rhetorically, "Maybe being out in the front isn't the best way for you to contribute. I think that's the real problem here. An organization like yours is made up of more than just enforcers and directors after all, there's gotta be support staff too. You seem to be pretty good at tinkering, so why not try to focus on that? You've already made something to help clean everyone's clothes, so maybe you should make more stuff to make life easier around here? Or help everyone by maintaining their gear? Or anything really, I'm sure if your smart enough to make your own machines you'll figure something out. Look, my point is: I think you've a lot of potential to help this place, but you're never gonna realize it if you're stuck out here doing grunt work."

She let go of him and looked him in the... eye stalks. As best she could anyway. "And If you're too afraid to approach the bosses about it on your own, I can back you up! I'm not sure how much weight a grifter's word will carry, but they'll listen to reason. And they should probably take into account that I resolved things here without a drop of bloodshed."

[Machiavelli Corleone]

Carlito

Carlito was less concerned than he imagined he would be upon taking this job. Based on his surroundings, he had pictured a huge swarm of goop covered extraterrestrials or colossal brutes casting shadows down upon buildings. This on the other hand was hardly a posse carrying prehistoric gear. It was even a tad disappointing. Carlito discerns two potential problems: Veep was already banged up and another solid hit from that club could mean this whole job was for naught. Second was the bandit strapped with a crossbow, since a single arrow would be enough to kill someone, or at least put them out of commission for a solid while.

Transitioning from thought to action, Carlito brandishes his pistol from his belt loop and waggles it at the kidnappers. "Youse' all know what this is? It's called a piece, and it shoots balls of metal at the speed of lightnin. And not just one ball, I'm talkin ten, twelve, whatevah. Point is, I've used this baby many, many times like it's my own hand, and I know what it's capable of."

"Now I'm looking at youse' all and know what you're thinkin, cuz it's either of two ways. One, you think I'm bluffing, talkin bullshit, and I'm happy to prove otherwise. Second, you know I'm for real, but you think you can take me anyways. Three of you, one ah' me, I know where you coming from. Let's break that down: the three of you try and take me out." Carlito steadies his aim on the bandit with a crossbow. "Buddy over here is gonna take a shot right? So I take him out before that. I put two, maybe three holes in his body for sure at this distance."

"Now you all realize that, cuz the other two of you are running at me while I'm blastin. So you have to bet you're gonna reach me before I can turn and line you up. Maybe, but it's a roll of the dice. 50/50 you hit me before I can hit one of you. And if you do hit me, you gotta kill me otherwise I just hit the dirt but I keep shooting. So that's about a 80% chance I get two of you. By that point, I'm out of shots and whoever's left has a real weapon, know what I'm sayin? I'm done, at the point. But that's really the best outcome: my life for two of yours."

Carlito shrugs. "If that's the kinda operation youse' running, go ahead. I've had more than enough action for one life. And whichever one of you three is left alive, you make out like a bandit, sorry for the pun. You can take whatever's off my body, and do whatever you want with Veep and this chick right here. Course you'll have to tell your buddies families what happened, but you'll have enough time before the funerals."

" 'Course, you could always ice that boy right here right now, but then you lose all leverage and it gives me more time to start blasting and I for sure walk outta that situation, so it don't matter to me."

"Here's a lil proposal that makes everyone peachy: you hand over that Veep boy and we all go home and have a laugh and some booze and we forgive and forget, get on with our lives. I won't even ask for an apology or nothin." Carlito wipes his nose with his free hand, "I ain't been round these parts too long, but back home I know hospitals are reeeeeeal expensive."

["Negotiate" with the bandit leader]

[AzyWng]

Group 1: Ehto

Prevus seems to brighten up a bit as Ehto gives him the pep talk. "I-is that so? Well... All right. I'm sure Imiko will let me switch roles - especially if your buddies were as successful as I was..."

The rest of the trip back to the Regional Headquarters is uneventful - but when they arrive, Imiko seems to be speaking to someone else - and they don't appear to have noticed Ehto or the others yet.

[] Wait for the two to finish speaking
[] Try to listen in
[] Try to get someone's attention
Group 2: Sal, Hibiki

Hibiki and Sal return to Imiko, unconscious Assassin in tow - though their burden is quickly relieved by a number of Barons who drag away the Assassin, putting him in restraints and hauling him away.

They see Ehto and her team returning, with their own prisoners, but Imiko is occupied with someone else at the moment...

[] Wait for the two to finish speaking
[] Try to listen in
[] Try to get someone's attention
Group 3: Utzi, Friedhold and Nessa, Tsubasa, and Shel

The team of hunters, accompanied by a pair of Baron guards, make the trek to the site where the Erchinlord was spotted.

Just like Imiko warned, the smell is the first thing that hits the team. It seems to seep through even the strongest forms of protection that the party can muster, and those of weaker constitutions have to keep from vomiting.

A pair of miserable-looking Barons are standing at a perimeter checkpoint, with flamethrowers and a security robot at the ready. "Are you the folks who're gonna take down that Erchin? If so... good luck."

[] Ask the on-guard Barons for help
[] Decide on what the two Baron guards will do
[] Just enter the worksite and attack the Erchinlord right away
Group 4: Carlito

The bandits look to one another for a moment before one of the bandits laughs. "Fine, fine. You lot can go. Nadan'll sort you out-" His colleague gives him a swift kick in the shin. "Go."

Brill takes the offer, making sure to bring along Carlito with her. Once they're safely back at the shantytown, Brill passes Carlito a pouch of coins.

Carlito gains 100 shills!

Brill likes Carlito - helped rescue her friend!

Veep takes a deep breath, finally finding an opportunity to relax. "I... Look, I know it was a job for pay, but... we... No, I owe you, big time. If there's anything you need..."

"That warrants something from what you've got, right?"

Veep nods. "Yeah, I got it. Go ahead, pick one..."

Veep loves Carlito - saved his life!

Veep offers Carlito one of the following items:

Shrapnel Grenade

Healing Vapors

Automech Blaster

[] Accept one of the items
[] Try to convince Veep to give more of the items
[] Refuse Veep's items

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Ehto

She knew it was rude to ease drop and all but well... there was still information to be gathered about this place. She was giving them the benefit of the doubt for now but she couldn't shake the feeling something wasn't entirely right around here. As they approached the distracted pair she removed her hood and let it fall to her shoulders. Almost immediately her ears perked up and swiveled towards the conversation.

Having a dog's hearing could come in handy sometimes...

[]Try to listen in

[kj1225]

Group 5: Rory

Gnak looks around nervously. "Uh, just... you know... t-the Barons said he was a low-earner, and what with all that's been happening... I just thought that if they caught him... they'd toss him out or worse..."

The way his ears lie flat against his head makes it painfully obvious this is not why he's sheltering his friend.

[] Inquire further into the matter
[] Just leave and return to Imiko to report in

Rory

The faunus nods casually, the rather obvious lie working to confirm what he thought. "Ah, I see. Well, can't say I'd disapprove of earnings being low overmuch. If you want my advice, tell your friend that they need to stay out of trouble unless the both of you want a grifter that's a bit less sympathetic coming by.... Or get in touch with me if they can't. With a shrug and a quick wave, Rory starts heading down to report his success.

[Machiavelli Corleone]

Carlito

Carlito does not raise his pistol but keeps a firm grip on the handle until Veep is in his possession. He fires a half-smirk at the bandits; "Real simple yeah? No problems. Go home and tell your mother's you love 'em," he concludes while dismissively waving the posse off and heading back towards the town.

Once back, Carlito opens the pouch and inspects the coinage. It's an unfamiliar currency, and he has no idea how to properly count unless it's given in quantities of 1, but his intuition tells him that Brill isn't fucking him over on this particular occasion.

The gangster purses the equipment that Veep offers. He inspects the grenade, rolling over in his palm, before indifferently putting it back. He takes a vapor, sniffs it, wiggles it by his ear, shrugs and returns it. Last is the blaster, and while inspecting it Carlito does not hide his interest. But in the end, he shakes his head and hands it over. "Cool piece, but not my steelo y'know?" Carlito could admit to being particular about his handguns. Chunky, thick revolvers or compact pocket pistols never felt comfortable in his grip, and this astronaut gun was no exception.

"Here's what youse' all can do from me. I just blew into town." Carlito realized he needed a good cover story at this point. The more details that you put out into the grapevine, the less work someone had to do to track you down. That included family, friends, lovers, job history, and so on. Brill and Veep might not exploit this info willingly, but if some miscreants got their hands on either of the duo that could all change. And seeing how they had already had one run in with local trouble, Carlito was not going to be real with them. In this instance, he required somewhere that he could feasibly be from. "Just got off the plane from Canada." A stroke of brilliance, an impermeable fiction.

"Why don't youse' both give me a tour, let me know what this lil' place is about, where all the important spots are?"

[Ask for a tour of the shantytown from Brill and Veep]

[nuclearwhale]

Utzi
Utzi sniffs the air, a disgusted look on his face. "They were not lying about the smell. It's like this whole place had a cave lion pack come through and poop everywhere."
Shaking his head slightly, and not even bothering to plug his nose, Utzi slowly moves his eyes over the environment, looking for any sign of his quarry, as well as trying to get a lay of the land for anything that might prove useful in preventing the Erchinlord from escaping, or being a useful escape route for himself.

[AzyWng]

Group 1: Ehto

As the prisoners are being put into processing, Ehto listens in to the two Barons. The others are too busy with their own work to even notice Ehto.

The woman Imiko's speaking to - a Baron wearing some kind of chest plate - talks in a calm, steady voice. "What about the status of the workers who were near Warehouses C and D?"

"One of the surveillance teams spotted a grifter and two workers returning to the shantytown just a few minutes ago. One of them was Veep - the worker who got abducted in the Spree attack."

"I see. Send a pair of Barons - I want to know if any of them overheard something useful. Their increased activity is making me think they're planning something bigger than random raids. I'd also like to know how that grifter got in here without passing by the gate guards. What about the other grifters who came in earlier today?"

With that, Imiko turns around, spotting Ehto - who flips her ears down just in time. "Well, you're back. And it looks like you brought in the Boggers."

The Shroke woman Imiko was speaking too also turns to Ehto, and nods at the captured Boggers. "Acting Regional Manager Arint. Good to hear you took them alive. We'll have the Boggers put into cells for further interrogation. What have they told you?"


Group 5: Rory

Gnak nods, understanding what Rory means. "Y-yes, thank you."

Upon returning, the Spark Baron Regional Headquarters looks the same as ever - though Ehto, Sal, and Hibiki have come back with some captives in tow. As Rory approaches, Imiko waves him over - and the Shroke woman who's at his side turns to Rory.

The first thing he spots is the cannon installed in her chest. The Baron takes two steps forward...

Then nods politely.

"Acting Regional Manager Arint. Imiko's told me about you. I've got another job that needs doing soon - we'll discuss it once the rest of you have returned here." As she turns back to Ehto, awaiting her answer, Imiko turns his attention to Rory. "The situation at the Caffy. Has it been resolved?"


Group 4: Carlito

Brill and Veep glance at each other. "Well, not really much here besides..." Brill gestures a hand at the shanties - heaps of scrap metal, junk, and detritus. "Really, you should be heading to the Last Stand or the Grout Bog Regional Headquarters. The Last Stand's this bar - lots of folk like to go there and get drunk, offer work, that sort of thing. Don't make a mess and you should be okay. The Regional Headquarters is where all the Barons are going. Been a lot of folks heading there in the past few days 'cause of the Regional Manager disappearing. Besides that are the worksites - but it isn't really safe there at the moment, what with the Flead Queen and other monsters out there... And, uh... then there's the Deep Bog."

Veep shakes his head. "Woah woah no, don't... don't go into the Deep Bog..."

"Yeah, don't. I'd go see what's up with the Barons, myself. Heard they and a bunch of other grifters are forming up to take out that Flead Queen. Dangerous and all, but they could always use an extra pair of hands."

Spoiler: Arint, Acting Regional Manager of Grout Bog (click to show/hide)

[Chevaleresse]

Tsubasa

The Demon Slayer's nose wrinkled. That was vile. She was glad she wasn't one of those swordsmen with the sharp noses - she'd take her eyesight, thank you very much. "Anything weird about this thing's behavior? We'll handle it on our own, but information will help with that."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Ehto
Hmm... another one? Wonder who they're affiliated with...

It was something she'd keep in the back of her mind for later. For now she produced the folded map the Boggers had given her and briefly relayed their account of what was going on in the deep bog to Arint, dire warning for preparation and all. "...and that's about it. They can probably tell you more directly, part of the reason I took them alive and all. Out of curiosity, did you guys know anything about this High Priest Glofriam character before all of this?"

[cronos5010]

Group 2: Sal, Hibiki

Hibiki and Sal return to Imiko, unconscious Assassin in tow - though their burden is quickly relieved by a number of Barons who drag away the Assassin, putting him in restraints and hauling him away.

They see Ehto and her team returning, with their own prisoners, but Imiko is occupied with someone else at the moment...

[] Wait for the two to finish speaking
[] Try to listen in
[] Try to get someone's attention

Group 2: Hibiki, Sal
[] Wait for the two to finish speaking

Having marched all the way back to the regional headquarters with the unconcious assasin in tow, Hibiki decides to simply wait it off, figuring that Sal at least would also appreciate the chance for a break, no matter how short it ends up being. "Might as well take a seat somewhere for now, no sense in rushing things when we're the first ones back right?"