Fantasy World Creations

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Once the group was packed and ready to go once again, they started their second day's journey. They didn't run into any more kobolds or goblins this morning, though, instead, up ahead looked to be some people with their wagon to the side of the road. There was a rather rotund man, who was sitting glumily, as what looked to be two armed guards looked like they were examining a broken axle or wheel on their wagon.

When the rotund man saw your group coming up, he didn't waste any time attempting to get your attention.

"Oi! You over there!" The man said, waving his arms. He was still a distance away, but it wouldn't be long until you reached him.

     Yuki looked side to side from her perch on the driving bench as if some other wagon full of travelers might materialize before looking back into the compartment.  "I guess that's us."

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"Do you think he needs help?" Mimsy asked looking towards the broken wagon on the side of the road.Eventually Mimsy scooted up to the front of the wagon, popping her head out and yelled towards the man in the distance waving his hands towards the group.

"Hi!" Mimsy said cheerily.

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When the group neared enough, he called out again.

"Oi! There's a delivery I need to make... A bit urgent too." He said out loud. "I'll pay well!"

The group with the broken wagon had 4 horses altogether, though, all 4 of them looked completely worn out. On the wagon itself looked to be crates full of various vials and potion bottles.

     At the mention of money Yuki perked up and she leapt from her seat down to the merchant.  "Oh?  What kind of help do you need?"  She inquired as she began to look over the wagon and its contents. 

[info]Perception check to see if Yuki can tell more precisely what the contents of the wagon are[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+3 : 11 + 3, total 14[/blockquote][/info]

[info]Yuki's Perception: 14
There were hundreds of various bottles altogether. You recognize these as various potions and alchemical creations.

Roll Craft (alchemy) to identify, or Knowledge (nature).[/info]

Taiga lets Yuki call out to the merchant as he looks around to make sure this isn't some bait set out to catch unsuspecting travelers by bandits. "If you're headed the way of Orario we do have some room," he says scanning the area with quick glances before showing the merchant a large grin.

[info]
Making quick perception check looking for anyone hiding
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 3 + 8, total 11[/blockquote]
[/info]

[info]Craft (Alchemy)[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+3 : 1 + 3, total 4[/blockquote][/info]

[info]Yuki's Craft (alchemy, identify potions): 4
You do not specifically identify any of the potions from the looks alone. The vials didn't seem labeled either, though, each type of colored liquids were separated into their own containers.[/info]
[info]Taiga's Perception (anyone hiding): 11
You do not notice anyone hiding. There was one rotund man who did most of the talking. Then there were two others who stayed in the back, who looked much more armed than the rotund man. One of was an armored woman with freckles, while the other was a green-haired elf.[/info]

"I'm Jars. Me and my companions are from the Dian Cecht familia..." The rotund man explained. "We're tasked in delivering all of these anti-plague, anti-poison, healing potions, resistance potions, anti-fatigue potions, and various other experimental potions off to a town here in Rakia... Our clients pushed us to get it as soon as possible, and we're literally losing 10% of the price of all these goods on a daily basis after today."

"Simply put... We need to borrow your wagon, or have you deliver it for us. We'll be willing to pay..." He paused for a moment as he quickly went to the wagon, pulling out an abacus. He proceeded to do some quick math. "10 million vals once we arrive at the destination. Provided there are no more delays."

     "Ten million?"  Repeated back Yuki, not managing to contain the excitement that such a sum elicited.  Silk kimono, an entire mansion of her own, sweets, feasts, all ran through her mind at the thought.  She slurped back the tide of drool the was trying to escape via the corner of her mouth before trying to compose herself for a response.  "Well...  maybe we could...  Negotiate?  What kind of profit did you think you were going to make with a timely delivery?"

[info]Diplomacy to try and get their profit margin.[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+2 : 2 + 2, total 4[/blockquote][/info]

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"We're the fastest from our Familia, and the quickest to get things done, that's why we went out first from the village first! We'll definitely make it there."

[info]Mimsy's Aid Another for Yuki's diplomacy. Success grants Yuki +4.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+1 : 13 + 1, total 14[/blockquote][/info]

[info]Yuki's Diplomacy (make request, aid another from Mimsy): 4
The man considered the arguments, but after a quick second of mulling it out, he shook his head.[/info]

"No can do. As it is, you're just random travelers here too. It would be a different matter if you were from Zeus or Hera familia though. 10 million vals once we arrive at the destination when we can liquidate these potions into straight cash would be the deal." He said evenly, looking at Yuki directly.

"So? I'd much prefer to hire your services now, rather than wait for the next traveler... And I can't afford to send these two with me." He said, glancing towards his other two companions, an elf, and an armored woman, both acting as guards for him. "I'm not much of a fighter."

     "Deal!"  Replied Yuki, still salivating at the reward.  "So...  Guess we need to get this stuff in the wagon?"  She said with a look to the more burly members of the party and a jerk of her head to the crates.

"Yeah, Yeah," says Taiga with a smirk. "I'll get on it. Figure out how I should stack this stuff so we don't lose anything with everything else we have." he says as he slides off the cart to begin hefting the goods.

(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/619260284103688211/641393985901953064/Render.Recolor.Armor.Alice_1502187043.png?width=393&height=589)

"Jars, are they going to help us?" There is a call coming from the lady in armor. As she walks up, she does so standing tall as she looks across the group. She is pale skinned with freckles, blonde hair, and green eyes. She is wearing a breastplate with clovers and ivy engraved around the neck and shoulders. In her left hand she carries a heavy steel shield with a crest of a ball of light and an herb emblazoned across the front. On her side is a longsword in a leather scabbard with little green engravings. Her armor is fit over a dress of white and green with a green cloak.

Sotu, having up to this point been watching a bird off in the distance, realized that she could probably be helping Taiga. "Ah. I'll help." she said and hopped off the cart to assist.

"Good day to you, miss," Taiga says with a nod, as he lifts the largest piece of cargo with relative ease. He made sure to hold the wares in both hands to make sure anything fragile was not at the risk of being broken. Due to the added strain, his already small shirt showed every contour of his large six foot six frame leaving little to the imagination. He walked with relative ease, more concerned with carrying things well then the actual weight of what he was carrying.

As he walked by the woman his ears and tail twitched in her direction as he spoke, "Glad to be in your service today," he said flashing her a warm toothy smile. "I'm Taiga, I hope we enjoy our time together. Let me know if I need to be careful about any piece of cargo in particular or anything I shouldn't handle," he said leading her to their own wagon. "May I ask what your name is and the name of your other companion?"

"I am Ciara Breathnach, of the Dian Cecht familia. This here is Rota." She gestures to the elven woman behind her. She then motions towards her large companion. "You've already met Jars. As far as the boxes, just don't drop anything and you'll be fine. "

She places her shield down against their cart and starts helping move boxes to the other cart. "So where are you all from?"

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Seeing everyone hopping to the wagon on the side of the road, and moving the crates one by one, Mimsy of course had to help as well. She wasn't particularly strong, but she would at least try to move the lighter and smaller boxes.

"Hello Ciara, Rota, and Jars. I'm Mimsy." The hume bunny introduced herself as she moved to place a hand on top of Sotu's head, who had just started to move the crates. "This one is Sotu. She's my precious little sister." Mimsy explained. "We're from Thalia village."

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"Damn girl, you're always so modest!" The elf who was introduced as Rota spoke out as she grinned at Ciara. She glanced towards the rest of the group. "She's actually Dian Cecht's familia's captain." She eyed Ciara, her captain. "You gotta strut your stuff sometimes. Ya know, show them you're a bad-ass an' all. But yep, I'm Rota. Rota Helland."

"But ya guys, really appreciate ya helpin' us. I'm actually a bit worried about dem people who called in for a huge order of medicines, potions, and even someone like me to help diagnose whatever sickness is plaguin' the lot o' em."

For an elf, she didn't sound like an elf at all. She had a particular accent that was more similar to those who lived further south, nearer the deserts, than those who lived in the more temperate regions and forests elves typically made their homes in.

Ciara sighs as she looks over towards Rota. 'I do not strut..." As she walks by Rota she looks over in her direction with a very serious glare. "I make sure no one tries to stop you from strutting for me." Then there's a faint hint of a smile as she continues on and places the crate on the cart.

As she turns around and glances the travelers over real fast her face has a quizzical look. "I have never been to Thalia village. What brings you out this way?" With the others coming to help she steps back and stands near Rota to move out of the way and let them continue loading the cart.

"Looking to make an investment in a building within the shadow of the big city." Taiga smiles glancing over to Eydis on the wagon as he placed the cargo on the box to see if she felt anything about the group. He wasn't that well read, but at the mention of their god he hoped she might be able to tip him off if there was going to be problems.

"Our goddess is focused on the arts and likes historical architecture, so she sent us ahead to see what we can find to start building a foothold. Have you ever been in Orario? I imagine with the tower healing items like these can be sold at a premium?" He asked recognizing that they were willing to offer an ungodly sum for what they would have done for free back home. For them to have that kind of money on hand not only were the loaded they must be confident in their ability to not be robbed. It was moments like these that was glad he was his own weapon incase something went wrong.

"I'm actually from Orario. We live and have a shop there. And sorry, I don't make a habit of discussing familia business with outsiders." She watched them, still unsure of what to make of the group. How many times has she seen country folk come to make it in the big city? As they worked she thought to herself, maybe these people are different... They seemed strong at the very least. Optimistic or just naive? She supposed time would eventually tell.

"So, making names for yourselves in the big city? There are areas devoted to the arts, if that's what you're looking to get into. What was it you were planning on doing? Orario is a big place and it helps to have a plan."

"I didn't mean to pry," Taiga nods glad to see at least a little bit of caution from this woman, made it at least slightly less likely that there would be an ambush further down the road. He let none of his concerns show on his face as he maintained the trained facade of a professional who is always meant to take interest in the other person.

"The plan is to get the biggest place that can handle various skill sets that we can afford. Between the five of us we have various skills and mean to make money. Though I imagine most of the time will be spent exploring the tower to try and make the real wait of our Vals. If you are going back to the city for a while an experienced tour guide would be a lifesaver whenever you have the time," he said as he continued the process of loafing the cart.

"May I ask do you enjoy city life?"

"It's good to be versatile. You never know what the city will throw at you. And if you plan on going into the tower, well then you definitely want to be prepared." She gives a soft sigh as her posture seems to relax a little. "I'm sorry, I'm sure you'll do fine. Listen, let's finish our current business and then get to the city. If you'd like a guide, Rota loves newcomers." She pats her friend on the back.

"I enjoy it just fine. I'd ask how you liked country life but seeing as how you're moving to the city... I take that it was lacking?"

     "Ugh tell me about it! Nothing to do out here but murder tourists and use their corpses as puppets."  Exclaimed Yuki, interrupting the conversation. "Anyways, so you're willing to pay pretty well just for a delivery.  Your familia must be loaded."  She observed with a slight questioning tone as she rubbed her hands together.  "Must be nice.  Our poor familia can barely scrape two vals together."   At this Yuki swooned in an exaggerated manner.  "How fortunate that a mighty and generous familia like Dian Cecht happens to have crossed our path.  It must be fate!"

Ciara straightens up again hearing the Amazoness' comments. She gives her an angry side glance. "Well, if you'd like I know a district in the city where you could easily find work." Turning away from the woman, she looks back to the others. "You'll learn that some familias are more willing to work with outsiders than others." She then gives Yuki another side glance. "Orario is filled with the most powerful familias around. We may not be the most powerful but you'll learn quickly it's better to make friends."

     "I kid!  I kid!  So serious!"  Replied Yuki with a foxy grin and hands raised in surrender.  "Our goddess is the embodiment of comedy, the personification of humor.  You can't fault us for a little melodramatic jab here and there, especially if we are going to be spending a long and otherwise boring walk together.  Here, how's about a peace joke?  What's the difference between an amazoness and Ares: god of war?"  She paused for effect before finishing.  "About four inches.  Oooooooooooh!  Must be a barbecue because that shit's on fire!"  She exclaimed as she bounced around the broken down wagon in a circle.  "Speaking of, ladies and gentlemen I need to relive myself.  Don't go make a break for it while I'm indisposed.  There's no way I'll find you in THIS LABYRINTHINE WILDERNESS."  She yelled with a wave to the open plains that surrounded them in all directions as she waded into the bushes to find an appropriate place to answer the call of nature.

Sotu, barely paying attention to anything other than moving crates, cocked an ear when Yuki told her joke about the size of Ares' member.

"Four inches... ah." she mumbled, and then cracked a small smile.

Despite being mentally half a mile away most of the time, even she wasn't above smirking at a dirty joke.

Ciara rolls here eyes and sighs as she turns to Rota and whispers, "This is going to be a long trip."

She then steps back and watches as the finish moving the stuff from the cart.

"I apologize, our goddess is a god of comedy, and therefore values eccentricity as much as reliability in her family members," Taiga said holding up a hand in apology with a smile.

"Every member has their own unique quirks, and Thalia likes to foster those first and foremost. But no one means any harm from on it," he said with a smile, but the look in his eye said he wasn't entirely confident in making that assertion.

"Yuki, is one of the best all-around fighters our group has to offer. She is a real asset no matter the circumstance," he said with a nod towards the woman who left for the bushes.

Ciara turns back around to face Taiga. "Its alright There are many families with eccentric members. Just a word of warning when dealing with members of powerful families. I've heard they aren't all so... accepting." She seems to relax a little as she sighs and leans against the broken cart watching the travelers.

"We will do our best to keep that in mind, Miss Ciara." Taiga said with a warm smile before getting back to work. While loading the rest of the boxes he did his best to keep a careful eye on there new companions. While he didn't get any really dangerous vibes from the three of them, he knew enough to at least be cautious. Yuki might be a little verbose, but she hit his core fear on the head like a nail.

At least for the time being he would do his best to have an open mind and not jump at imagined shadows. But that didn't mean that he would willingly walk into a trap.

He finished packing the boxes easily enough with Sotu's help, before going back over to the others. "I think We're all set when your ready to go. I was also hoping you would be willing to tell us any interesting stories from the city while we travel? It would help pass the time and at least get us a little prepared" he asked Ciara as she was the one with the most authority among the newcomers.

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Mimsy continued helping with the boxes, listening into the conversation, but not really inputting much. She kept an eye on everyone, but specifically one on her little sister Sotu. Some of the crates looked heavy, and though she knew Sotu was pretty strong, much stronger than her, she couldn't help but worry that Sotu might accidentally trip and fall, or perhaps have trouble with lifting.

Finally, when Taiga and Ciara had begun talking amongst themselves again, Mimsy approached Yuki. There was something she didn't quite understand.

"What do you mean four inches?" Mimsy asked, not quite understanding, and feeling quite inadequate about missing the joke completely, due to the fact that she herself was a member of Thalia familia.

[spoiler=RP Excelia earned]1 step, Ciara, introduction
+1 step, Taiga, attempted small talk
+2 step, Yuki, joke

1/2 -> 1 -> 3

CR 3 split between 6 (Taiga, Mimsy, Yuki, Sotu, Eydis, Ciara)

I'll modify the RP excelia earned if the RP continues for unloading, if I think it warrants it. Working on the next scene.[/spoiler]

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Once the Dian Cecht familia wagon was cleared of all the goods, and loaded up on the Thalia familia's wagon, there wasn't as much room on the wagon as there was before. With the crates of potions stacked up high, and ropes to hold them down in place, there was no more floorspace at all. Thankfully many of the crates were sturdy enough, so it wouldn't be too bad simply having people sit cross-legged on top of all the luggage.

Jars made his way to their own two horses, and he pulled out what looked to be a vial. Uncorking it, he spilled the liquid on one of the horses, then repeated the process a couple times on both of the horses. Both the horses seemed to take that well, and quickly got up, more vigorously than what their previous demeanor was. When your group had first arrived, they looked pretty tired, but now, they looked fairly eady for the next leg of the journey. Jars went over to the Thalia familia wagon, looked it over, then nodded approvingly.

"Looks like there's a bit of space to sleep..." Jars then turned towards the rest of the Thalia familia.

"We'll be riding hard. We should make it to the village sometime tomorrow. A third of you should sleep or rest now to take it easy, as to ensure we don't lose any more profits, we need to maintain the same pace as my familia did making it this far. The village is about... a little less than 150 miles away from here, but travelling 24 hours straight should let us reach our destination by noon tomorrow."

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The elf from Dian Cecht familia approached the now-filled Thalia familia wagon, which housed a few others. She looked at the cramped nature of the wagon, but shrugged and eventually climbed in. She had a particularly weary look on her face, as dark bags decorated under her eyes, showcasing the fact that this elf might not have had a lot of sleep at all lately. Those same eyes widened when she noticed the dark elf in the back.

"Yo. Don't see much of your people up here." The elf, Rota, said hesitantly, as she looked at Eydis with wary eyes.

Ciara watched them finish packing the cart and walked up to take a look. "That looks like it should do just fine. As Jars said, this shouldn't take long but we are going to ride hard. So we should probably get a move on." She climbed into the back of the wagon and took a seat next to Rota. She opened her mouth to tell Her to get some sleep but decided better. They had been on the road for a few days at a nonstop pace. She'd let her socialize a bit more. It also meant Ciara might get a break. She almost chuckled to herself. She placed a hand on Rota's shoulder. "Don't stay up too late. You have the next shift." She then looked out over the landscape as she waited for the cart to get moving.

Eydis had been doing her best to keep to herself, more interested in sorting out the logistics of the travels rather than the diplomatic aspect. Keeping track of any newly acquired loot, securing the familia assets now that they were soon to approach Orario, and any other cart-based busywork. For the most part, she was trying to avoid the now-dawning sun, as transition from night to day was always tough for her. In short, Eydis is not a morning person.

'Your people'? She noted mentally to herself, unable to hold back a slight grimace at the comment. A pleasure to meet you, too. She sarcastically thought, turning from the ledger to meet the newcomer's eyes.

"Ay. Thalia needed to get dark humor from somewhere for the familia." Eydis' gaze was also one of wariness, though less concerned with the tone of the new girl, and more that they needed to more closely safeguard their own goods. 10 million vals is a hefty sum, enough to sound suspicious. I'll just make sure to keep tabs on Thalia's savings more often during travel. She assured herself.

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"Haha... dark... Yeah, I get what you mean. Funny..." Rota replied, though from the tone of her voice, she seemed to be forcing it. She kept her eyes on Eydis though, and would dart her eyes away each time it would seem the dark elf would note her stare. It was fairly obvious that she was intrigued, if not a bit uncomfortable around Eydis. In the end, Rota sat beside Ciara, on the opposite side of her, from Eydis, though, even then, she would glance every so often towards the elf.

[info]DC 15 Perception to hear whispers.[/info]
"Yo Ciara..." Rota whispered. "I don't think I've been ever this near to some of dem dark elves before. I heard they live under rocks and caves and stuff. Isn't it.... like kinda weird?"

[info] [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+1 : 5 + 1, total 6[/blockquote]

Seeing what Ciara knows about dark elves.

Ciara leans close and follows Rota's gaze towards the dark elf. After a moment she whispers loud enough for both Rota and Eydis to hear."I don't know but you know what is weird?" She smiles and pauses to let the question hang in the air a moment. Her smile quickly turns into a frown as there is a look of anger and disappointment on Ciara's face. "I think it's weird that you're still awake when you have the next watch. Get to sleep because you're going to start your watch on time and won't skip out early again."

Once Ciara is satisfied Rota has taken the hint she will turn towards Eydis. "Please forgive my companion. We've had a long few days on the road and she forgets her manners."

As Ciara finishes with Rota Taiga sees his oppurtunity to approach Jars, "So friend, now that we have everything loaded do you mind telling us where your goods are headed? I assume somewhere along the way to the big city, but knowing the destination would really help with maintaining a a good pace."

Jars didn't appear to be much of a fighter so he knew he would have to watch this man's words in particular. To make sure they were not being lured into any kind of trap by a staggering amount of money. Due to his and aura Taigas did his best to maintain an innocent air often people on their first meeting would make certain assumptions based off of his appearance, and while not totally in correct, he did not want him to have any room to lie.

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"The town of Tyresia, bordering the Dana forest to the southeast. There's some sort of problem they're dealing in the town, which is why they decided to pool the town's resources to buy this load of potions and healing items. The Dian Cecht familia is known for the quality of our potions after all." Jars said, a hint of pride in his voice. "Even though the rest of the familia is busy with an expedition with Zeus familia in the dungeon, our familia captain, Ciara, our herbalist, Rota, and I, the familia's merchant, were the only ones free to deliver it."

"We're losing 10% of the price they're willing to pay as part of the deal we struck with them, though, they are already paying generously which is why we can't waste any time."

[info]Color change for Jars[/info]

At the back of the cart there is a slight look of worry on Ciara's face at the mention of her familia members going to the dungeon with the Zeus familia. She understands why she had to stay behind and while she would never question Dian Cecht's judgement or will, she still wished she had been able to go to watch over them. "They'll be fine. Probably home already by now.." She seems to be talking to herself more than anyone else.

[info]Continue to Chapter 4.1: Thunderbird Eggs (http://forums.fantasyworldcreations.com/index.php?topic=2099.0)

Still open for RP, and potential Excelia earned, otherwise soft-closing this thread.[/info]