>>6393159
>The Holy Sword (Not all treasure is worth keeping. Someone's going to be missing this.)
Let them come.

>>6393159
>Rock Bottom (Alone, unarmed, naked and hungry. Rock bottom in the middle of the desert.)
Hype hype hype

>>6393159
>The Holy Sword (Not all treasure is worth keeping. Someone's going to be missing this.)
The Blade of Okran... ours...

>>6393159
>>Rock Bottom (Alone, unarmed, naked and hungry. Rock bottom in the middle of the desert. )
The true way.
Also BEEP

Rolled 1 (1d2)

Anyone else for tie break? 1 sword 2 bottom

>>6393159
Damn, too late. Best way to get swole desu
>The Slave (Just another slave working in the pits digging rocks and metal to build a pointless statue.)

File: mark-makovey-secrets-of-t(...).jpg (367 KB, 1920x819)

367 KB JPG

>>6393160
>>6393165
>>6393166
>>6393171
>>6393244

It was a hot day, more than usual.

You decided to stick to your routine.

Woke up, went to the bar in the middle of nowhere. Best alcohol is usually there. You can get drunk all you want and nobody is gonna rob you or suddenly be in the middle of a fight because someone though they were being looked at the wrong way and now we need to fight to the death even if you just there to drink some cactus rum.

Yup. None of that. Just drink, sleep, drink and maybe eat something why not.

---------------

What you didn't expect, was to be so drunk that you actually went wandering around in the desert. It was dark and the wind was strong so you lost your way back. You saw some lights, lanterns flickering against the wind.

You found yourself on a battlefield. Or rather, the part that follows after both sides are decimated and too bloody to continue fighting. Corpses, pieces of armor and broken blades were scattered throughout the blood-stained sand. The light from moons helped as you wandered through the butchery. You heard moaning from the piles of bodies but were quickly cut short to the wind and sand blasting one another.

You would've made a decent amount of money with all these parts and equipment but you could barely keep your feet on the ground from all the rum.

You don't remember much, one of the advantages of being very drunk, which you very much enjoy.

But this is something you cannot get off your head. It was as if the moons themselves decided to guide you to this blade sticking on a sand hill. It seemed to be calling out to you...

You stumbled forward and climbed the hill. You stood still gripping on the handle of the blade. You remember pulling and pulling. Lifting your shoulders and arms almost about to fall until... Until the blade was free. It cut through the wind and sand. It rose to the air almost trying to escape your hands and touch the sky. It felt good.

Until, it wasn't. You were drunk. Keeping balance was a hard thing to do already but now holding a piece of metal almost as tall as a man...

-------------------------

The sand as always being as hard as rock, you stood up slowly cursing and looking what made you fall. Right, the sword's sheath. Pale. Metallic. Strange. Hard to understand. You sheathed the blade as best as you could but on the corner of your eye...

You saw them. Figures. Shadows. Watching. Talking. Looking. Lights dancing in the distance slowly approaching. There was yelling. Moaning from the bodies scattered. Someone pointed at you. Then they all began to do so.

You ran. You ran as fast as you could until your lungs started to burn and then you ran some more. The blade dragged behind you kicking off any rock that dared cross its path.

You woke up to a pounding headache, a burning sensation on your legs and chest. You want to puke but rather not, you feel terrible already.

The cracked celling allowed the sun to enter fully into the house. Somehow you managed to end up inside a house, or rather, the ruins of one.

Didn't took you long to figure it out. You somehow managed to return to The Hub. Had to be, there's no village or town standing nearby unless you want to

The Hub was a "disputed" location by several factions, some held it for a week.. others for months.. eventually, they all leave. Nobody ever holds this place for much longer. Used to be a trading outpost but now is just some very impressive ruins.

It was the perfect spot for criminals, convicts, escaped slaves, and useless nobodies like you. Suddenly, your gaze made a sharp turn. You were still holding it. The sword. Your sword.

---------------------------

Did you.. Did you really run into town with this? Even though there are walls and gates, nobody patrols the hub, there are no police or samuraii to keep it safe. But still, there's always someone watching.. Someone must have seen you dragging this massive blade. It won't be long before the others get jealous.. for there is one thing that is in abundance in The Hub it is ego, ambition, and the desperate need to survive, even if you have to kill the person standing next to you..

But what to do.. You had to decide and quickly. Its still early in the day.

Hide the sword, but someone will find it. No matter how difficult you made a hiding spot, once the locals started asking the kind of questions that ended with a chopped-off hand, secrets don't stay secret for long.. specially if the people who saw you steal the blade come to town asking questions...

And besides.. the thieves guild is working here.. they will find it no trouble.. Or will they? They barely pay attention to the "Hubbers," a derogatory term for the weakling scum that actually lives here.

Or.. on the other hand, you could choose to wear it... This is YOUR sword.. Yeah, you are no sword master.. You don't have training or know anything about weapons.. or fighting.. or how to hold the weighted hilt.. but it is YOUR sword at the end of the day.
This place is filled starving creatures and escaped slaves, nobody is actually strong enough to take it from you. There is no hiding this sword. That is for sure, these houses have nothing but dust and sand left.. and your clothes are barely hanging together as they are

>Hide the sword
>Carry the sword

>>6393257
>Sell the sword to the Thieves guild

>>6393257
>Carry the sword
Realistically speaking we're gonna have to fuck off to the swamp or the Sheklands anyway.

>>6393257
>Carry the sword
Is it still the standard weapon?

>>6393262
Sheklands is easiser to survive so long as we don't get unlucky enough to get caught by a fucking spider while we are in a coma whenever we get beat up by some roaming shek. Just gotta get lucky and don't lose a limb so we don't bleed out.

>>6393257
>Carry the sword
"Live by the sword, get beat the fuck up really badly a bunch of times by starving goofy fuckers and also some dogs and also what the fuck is that giant thing that just came out of the fucking sand holy shit holy SHIT but then you get back up real quick so your Toughness score skyrockets hell YEAH by the sword."

>>6393266
>standard
There are multiple ones, it can be an Edgewalker 1 2 or 3. I hope it's a 3

>>6393260
they would rather not pay you and kill you for it, the killing comes for free

>>6393266
All you can tell is that you have never seen anything like it before.

>>6393262
>>6393266
>>6393269
writing

>>6393262
>the swamp or the Sheklands
idk about you guys, but the Leviathan Coast was always my favorite region in the game, so I'm hoping that we'll eventually make that our base. Nice and far away from the troubles of everywhere else, along with water and good fertility to boot.

>>6393303
The problem is we are literally a nobody scrub who needs to train up first and get a buddy so we don't bleed out to death or something. Otherwise, I do agree.

>>6393257
>Carry the sword
The border zone is a good location to lay low. Just keep to the hub, help restore parts of it and become somewhat of an unofficial ruler of the place.

>>6393443
>The border zone is a good location to lay low
It's pretty obvious this quest is a little bit more "realistic" than the game, so we'd probably just get shanked by the Thieves Guild or some other dude.

Dude needs to train so he can actually wield the Nodachi.

>>6393443
I mean the thieves guild would shank anyone. Honor amongst thieves unless you pay the membership fee and show you're serious business.

Yeah, this is your sword. YOUR sword. They are gonna find out anyways if they don't know already.

You look through the house and to your surprise manage to find something of value, a torn and rotten mattress. You tear it to pieces and quickly put it together into straps and ropes for the blade. The headache comes again to remind you that you need to drink water. Accompanied by a gurgling in your stomach telling you not to drink rum ever again. You pay no attention to your body, as usual, and head on outside.

The sun glares at you making you flinch as you adjust your eyes to the city. Collapsed buildings...Broken streets and the usual boulders that were once a great statue to a great person who's no longer alive and you not care for anyhow.

You pick a side and walk on while you think on what to do.

This place is not safe. It never has now that more and more escaped slaves are coming down south. It's only a matter of time until they realize there is nothing to eat and nowhere to go, and then decide to come together into yet another band of starving bandits. But where to go? You don't know much about where is where. But you have seen a map before the few times you shared a drink with explorers and scouts.

You could always just go outside, find a distant bar, and drink on as usual but now that you think on it, you don't really have money to pay for a drink. Unless you sell the sword, that is.

As quickly as the thought came, it quickly went away when you realized that you were being watched.

You continue walking down the torn and shattered road but the sudden movement on the corner of your eye still makes you nervous. You may not have a talent for fighting, or shooting, or even working, but your stay in the Hub has trained your senses enough to know that someone is paying attention to you and that maybe you should shut up and not tell more jokes before your face is smashed in. And that someone... or rather, by the very faint footsteps, those someone's are following you now.

Now you remember: The Hub has few buildings left standing. Seems that with each occupation they decide to bring a building down; eventually the walls will have to go down if it continues like this. But things are not as bad enough that you cannot lose a few by going through the buildings and losing them in the nest of dilapidated alleys that makes The Hub.

You smile to yourself. This is too easy. You jump between the buildings.

The massive sword slaps your back merciless each time you make a sharp turn into the alleys, its going to leave some bruises. The footsteps are more louder now. You need to continue dodging them until you can reach the gates. And then.. But that never happens.

You quickly realize that a combination of hangover, terrible sleep and a lack of coordination has led you into a dead end as you bump into a cracked wall.

"Nowhere to run, now.. Malco seen you last night run in with some stuff..."

You spin around. Stepping out of a rusted fence, you see a group of white shirts, ragged pants and sunken cheeks. Starving bandits prospects if you ever seen it.
One of them steps forward, his face a mess of patchy stubble and his eyes seem dead but there's an aggressive look burning on his young roughed face.

"Give us everything you got, old man.. we let you walk out with just a beating." He sneers, glancing the others behind him "Told you he had no fucking idea where he was running.. "

They don't wait for an answer. Like bone dogs when they smell a meal, they begin to circle, closing the distance. You have a feeling that words are not gonna help you here.

So, this is it. You expected this to happen, your hand naturally grabs the weighted handle. This is your moment.

>roll 1d100 to flash the sword

>>6393474
>>6393464
>>6393404
>>6393303

Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>6393493
Rolling highest or lowest?

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>6393493

Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>6393493

Okran has spoken, it's a roll under quest...right?
>Narko laughs at us, it's a roll high quest

Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>6393493
Interesting quest. I would've liked a more physically able less srub of an mc, which I assume is the rock bottom or slave options. Sadly missed it. No matter, we rollan!

>>6394114
You've never played Kenshi, have you anon

>>6394117
No, but I did watch that sseth vid about it. Is there something I should know in particular?

>>6394123
Your character pretty much always starts out looking like an african child, but Rock Bottom in specific starts
>broke
>no stats
>malnourished
>missing an arm (literally)

>>6394125
Huh, so its basically hardmode? Well, I'm glad I was late to the vote then.

>>6394129
I mean, the name *is* Rock Bottom

>>6394131
In my defense I thought it was a "sacrifice a comfortable start for higher base stats" kind of deal.

>>6394129
Every start is hardmode, basically, no matter what option you choose you can't enter the game with a stat higher than 5 out of 100 if I remember right? There may be one where you start with a guy at like 10-15 in a few skills/traits, but that's just barely enough to stand up to medium groups of Starving Bandits. Of our three options, all begin the character with no talent, but Holy Sword gives you access to a damn good weapon at the expense of Holy Nation hunting you for their relic back

>>6394133
Yeah, the only real big impact you have on your start is which race you pick. Skellies have the advantage of starting with double the limb help, but in this case we just started as a Greenlander

Of course, making a quest with a Skeleton protagonist would be...very hard. For reasons. Those who played know what.

>>6394133
What about the slave start? I assume the obvious drawback is needing to escape.

>>6394135
Purely game wise, slave start is actually the strongest. Your stats are still horrible but in the game, the slave mines are a great place to increase your strength stats because you can basically just put the game on automatic and go away for like an hour or two while your characters gets stronger.

Also, your captors will always heal you when you rebel, so you can start beating up guards to increase your skills until you're strong enough to beat them.

But that's all very meta and not how a quest would work.

>>6394135
Yeah, as other anon said, you still start out as a soggy muffin, but your captors provide you food and keep you busy doing labor which will gradually increase a few key stats - run speed, carrying capacity, strength of your strikes. If you occasionally fight for your freedom, that can increase combat skills and your resilience, because they will lock you in a cage and heal you up until you're ready to go back to work. Essentially it just takes care of some of your basic needs at the expense of having little control over your character until enough time has passed for him/her to stage a breakout.

>>6394136
>>6394140
Stealth, thievery, lockpicking, and assassin training also. Making it hands down the best start. Its straight up busted especially with a few shackles in your inventory. Slave start is thee start for dem gains so long as you don't get unlucky enough to lose any limbs. An arm isn't too bad so long as your lockpicking is high enough that you didn't just softlock yourself.

Your grip tightens. Breathing slows. Inhale. Exhale. Your body, perhaps for the first time, is reacting naturally to your will.

You plant your feet on the ground. The man in front of you smirks and this time, his hand holding a shiv.

It happens in an instant.

You pull from the handle with all your strength but it slips.

The hand free from its anchor flies right into the face of the man in front of you. As the side of your palm connects with the nose. Bones crunch. A wet warm slime starts to drip into your hand.

He collapses into the ground.

"Shit! Get him!"

Quickly, you pull the hand and try again to unsheathe the blade while they rush at you.

A hand grabs you by the collar. Only to tear it and get handful of rotten cloth.

You respond with a swing of the sword sheath. You still haven't been able to draw it out.

You flail trying to hit anything in front of you. The strikes are wild and they are not able to block them without getting a beating for it.

The rush of adrenaline builds up but a jolt of pain through your shoulder brings you back to reality.

Another with a metal rod pelts you in the shoulder, your entire arm vibrates with the hit, almost making you fall.

"Just give it up, damn it! " He yells while getting ready to take another swing. You flinch and try to block it as best as you can.

Your heels dig into the hard cracked ground as the metal pipe slams against your blade.

Each swing heavier than the last, the numbness in your arm is starting to turn into pain as the muscles tire.

A set of arms yank you back, breaking your defense and lock your throat. The next hit is going to land square on your face...

The metal club rises, ready to crush your skull in.

Thud.

The weapon hits the ground first. A small metal stick, no thicker than a finger, coming out from his throat. He clutches the wound, but the blood pours through his fingers in a dark, unstoppable flow. He hits the dirt.

The group freezes, turning to the side, revealing a new presence. Standing there a figure draped in a loose shirt, her arms bound tight in black cloth.

The air hisses with flying metal. The grip around your neck goes limp. The crowd breaks and runs for escape routes. Even a scratch could be a death sentence here. Ex-slaves know it very well. They vanish into every direction, leaving you standing alone amidst the settling dust.

She draws closer. The gravel barely makes a sound as she moves with a steady form. She doesn't look at the bodies at all, just you. Or rather, your hands.

"Interesting technique. I was wondering how you were going get rid of the weaklings." she says, her eyes half close at the corner as if smiling behind the half-face mask. "This Senior Lin decided to help, am I not kind?"

She stores hers weapon inside the black shirt.

"If you stay here, they'll tear that pretty blade from your dead fingers before the day is over." She says and tilts her head, her voice dropping to conspiratorial whisper

"I just passed through the Western gate over there. No one watching. Let's just say they ran into some problems. If you go through there, you'll be able to get out quick."

"If you're smart. You'll go through there. I'd hate to see such a.. unique talent go to waste" She winks at you and steps away.

Your eyes turn the gate momentarily and when your gaze returns. She's gone.

Adrenaline is fading. You quickly search the bodies. You've done this in the past several times, earning you a.. reputation.. in several places.

A quick search earns you a few cats, some belts and a replacement for the torn shirt. You still look no better than a starved bandit.

Now what to do. Won't be long before they are back or before any of the big groups decide to show up.

You look around your area. You could just hide under the rubble and wait for the day to pass. Western gate leads into Hive lands, strange creatures but they trade with anyone. And the ninja did promise that the way was clear.

Or you could turn to the EAST. Dust Bandits undisputed kings of the valley. It's how you've survived this long, earning a nasty reputation from looting their kills. But if they catch you this time..

You think of North. Holy Nation. Nearest city is there. They've thrown you out a few of times for causing trouble. Still, the farms are nearby, back breaking labor for a bowl of rice. Honest and safe but if anyone sees the sword is to the slave pits.

South. You don't recall heading that way before. Shifting sands. Giant valleys. Lots of rocks. Metal sunglare in the far distance. Good direction if you want to disappear you suppose.

Which GATE should you try to go through? Or maybe just find a hole and wait the night?

>WEST
>EAST
>NORTH
>SOUTH

>>6393497
>>6393498
>>6393505
>>6393515

>>6394114
>>6394117
>>6394133
>>6394226

>>6394623
>WEST
Tally ho

>>6394623

>WEST
Bouncing between Hive and Sheklands would be our best bet. So long as we don't run into beakthings...

>>6394623
>WEST

Squin would be a pretty good place to go...there's training equipment there. The Shek won't be a bother to us so long as we don't piss off anybody and keep our sword hidden in the scabbard so they don't realize what it is.

>>6394623
>WEST

>>6394623
>>WEST

>>6394623
>SOUTH
To Squin (the land of noobs) we go!

>>6394623
>>SOUTH
West means gutters. Fuck no.

The WEST gate.

She mentioned that it would be clear. Why would she even care to mention, you don't understand but what comes to mind is that historically, this was a "safe road"
One of the safest routes if you want to step into Hivers territory.

Hivers. You only seen a few in the past, strange stick-like creatures that walk and talk just like a greenlander would. Mostly keep to themselves and when they aren't, they try to sell you something.
Most marauders ignore the WEST gate for that reason. Getting in the way of trade is a good way for hive soldiers to come after you.

But with all the recent escaped slaves and starving bandit hordes. The HN Outlaws turned this road into a much dangerous one.

You navigate through the skeletal remains of the city, sticking to the long shadows the buildings. When you reach the main street and stop. The gate looms ahead.

The beating sun makes you cover your eye when you finally see the massive metal gates. The walls are ruined and crossbow defenses are long done. Most of the valuable metal has been stripped away.. sold.. or ruined by the rust.

The desert air is thick with smell of rust and old dust. You stand in the shadow of a massive decaying archway, the silence feels heavy.

It reminds you of what this place was and what could've been if the Holy Nation remained when the Shek Kingdom decided to fight for it. In the end, only sand and dust got to keep the place.

You scan the area. A few vagrants are slumped in the shade of the wall, sleeping off the midday heat. No refugees or escaped slaves ahead of you. Just the wind.

Just like the ninja said. Clear.

>roll 2d6

Rolled 4, 3 = 7 (2d6)

>>6395869

Rolled 3, 2 = 5 (2d6)

>>6395869

Rolled 6, 6 = 12 (2d6)

>>6395869

>>6396073
So uhm...
we recruit people or something or join a hiver caravan?

>>6396074
I’m leaning towards slavers or bone dogs.

>>6396167
Pretty sure the only creatures around the hub are starving bandits, no?

The other option is that it's the ninjas or the holy nation and at that point we're just dead.

>>6395869

Rolled 2, 2 = 4 (2d6)

>>6395869
oops

Your feet move by instinct. There is something terribly wrong here. The stillness in the air, the lack of sound.

You look back to the vagrants, sleeping in ragged clothes, slumped against the wall. Their straw hats offer a good shade against the heat.

Rice hats carefully blocking their faces. Arms resting above stomach and legs stretched. Perfectly motionless.

A sharp cold runs through your body as you snap back at the gates. They are dead.

Why didn't you see this before. It is alarmingly clear now. The ninja killed them.

The same ninja that told you to come here. The one that "rescued" you.

She isn't helping you. This is an ambush.

But why?


....................................


You step through gate's threshold. The transition from shade to open desert is a blinding flash. The eyes take a painful moment to adjust to the desolated landscape ahead.

A vast canyon lies before you, past it, the promise of safe passage.

With a sigh, you push forward. Either die here, or die outside.

The dry dead ground crunches under your weight. Keeping a steady pace will allow you to pass the canyon while the sun is still high. But the further you walk, the more panics sets in.

The beating heat often tricks the mind, sometimes alcohol does that for you too, but there is no mistaking it.
Hiding behind the whistling of the wind. Footsteps. Another pair of footsteps. You are being followed.

If she rescued you, she wanted you alive. But if she wanted the blade you carry, then keeping you alive.. She wanted the blade that you carry. A sad thing like you, is not worth the effort.
She wanted the sword, why didn't she took it right then? There had to be a reason. Could it be.. that maybe she couldn't take the blade.

And it hits on you.
She wore black.

The thieves guild. She belongs to them.

They are the only major player that operates in the hub. In the Hub. They took over a defensive tower as their base of operations. All wearing black wrapped bandages.
They are famous in the area. They say that they are able to get anything from anywhere. They steal from the rich and poor. A clan like that is sure to have powerful enemies

That's it. They want the blade. But why didn't they took it from you? Why draw you outside..

Unless the Guild doesn't know about it.. Or that ninja, doesn't want them to know?

But you have the upper hand, you know she is tracking you.

You have two choices. Start running, try to lose her and hope for the best. Or, maybe it is better to.. and you cannot believe you are saying this. But what if you counter her and draw her near enough for you to attack...

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>ENCOUNTER

1 Beasts.
2 Hiver Caravan.
3 HN Outlaws.
4 Scavenger.
5 Useful location.
6 Scout.

>>6396074
Exiled hivers are free and cheap recruits. If we hang out near the hive villages we can snag them for free and the shit the guards or patrols kill while trading with the princes. Just gotta watch out for the fucking Beakthings. When we leave, we are best off following a caravan to escape safely. Shek recruits cost money and eat a lot but they are tough sons of a bitches who heal fast that fight good.

>>6396167
Bone dogs only if we find pups that can be tamed otherwise we gotta buy them. I would love the bigger variants though. Slavers would be an interesting route but you have to trade like...was it like 10-20 slaves with them(buy or sell) first? Trader's guild costs you 50-100000 cats.

I wonder if we can tame other animals, though. That would be awesome.

>>6396171
Thieves guild is 10k cats. Bandits and other ninja depends on how the QM wants to handle it.

It's really not hard, we just gotta go to Squin and hit the gym until we max out sword. The shek never even bother to look anyway.

>>6396614
Should we vote to run or counter or since the gm rolled for an encounter wait for the next post?

>>6396731
dummies have limits and shek dummies like holy nation dummies are shit. I was thinking of looting a few kills to sell for medkits and wait until we get a hive exile recruit first before we follow some patrols to fight with against fogmen or cannibal raids for exp. With a buddy we won't die from coma and the hivers will smash them to prevent us from getting kidnapped. If we are ballsy enough we can even join them against the Holy Nation if they recognize us but that will get us wiped and likely missing a few limbs.

Also easy to visit the Shek because the hivers visit them all the time for trade. Just follow a caravan south. I just want a few hiver exiles first so we don't die like a bitch while in a coma whenever we get our asses kicked. Preferably with a hiver worker to run away with the sword so it doesn't get looted. Ain't nobody catching one of those speed demons especially once it levels its athletics enough to not even get caught by beakthings.

>>6396804
They are akin to starving bandits but less hostile, a bit better in a fight, slightly better equipped, and with a grudge against the holy nation. Depends on if they'll be hostile to us or respect our beef with the holy nation too or not due to stealing their holy sword. It's possible to talk them down if we got cats or food to give them but um...we don't so they'll be hostile if they don't ignore us.

At least it's actually possible to befriend them though. They legit just want food or cats to buy food because they're starving. They aren't like most bandits who just wanna kill/rob/torture you for shits and giggles. If we get lucky, they'll ignore us.

>>6396826
>dummies have limits and shek dummies like holy nation dummies are shit.
It doesn't matter. What matters is that we need to get our skill to start somewhere. At this point we can't even get the sword outta da damn scabbard. We gotta get to a point where we can reliably beat a starving bandit before we think about training with people.

>>6396991
Fair point.
Looting of dust bandits vs shek or beast vs hivers. Save up for thieves membership and basic training. Best easy source of training dummies is...slavers I think. they got mk3 training dummies so we sorta put up a fight. If we follow a hiver caravan down to the southern UC and hit up the slaver trade hub that gets attacked all the time by bandits and beasts(smack dab between swamp and bonefields, a truly brilliant location) we can easily snag some guys to sell until we score enough to gain membership and access to their training dummies. If we want to be fast about slower way is sticking close to the UC cities and snagging the bodies from the UC patrols when they slaughter rebels. Everyone else enslaves them but they just ignore the fallen.

The walk in desert is much harder than you expect it to be. The burning sensation coming from your lower body suggests that water would be a welcome surprise. Still, the panic is present as you continue to think on how to deal with the ninja that is tracking you. Run. Fight. What to choose.

A flash of light hits you in the eye. It's a sharp pain that shuts your eyes. Your stomach sinks when they open.

Dust clouds in the distance. Figures running. A group of people running in unison. Ragged clothes. Thin bodies. Sun kissed faces. When they notice you, their pace pick ups.

"Sword master! Sword master! Help us!"

You turn to flee. But curiosity is faster than your usual cowardice.

The strangers surround you. Their tattered clothes, worn red rags are more visible now. They seem half starved but the clubs and makeshift weapons tell a different story.

Before you are able to speak. One of them steps forward and bows.

"This junior begs you.. You must help us. " His raises his face composed of scar and bruises. "We used to rule the valley... Those fuckers from the nation came out of nowhere.. "

"Most of the gang is gone.. not even the seniors or elders survived.. now all that's left is us.. " His face glows with hope. His eyes fixate on the sword barely handing on your shoulder "But with you! We can take it all back! Teach us to fight, if we keep running, it's a life in Rebirth.. "

[b]Rebirth[/b] That's where the Holy Nation makes slaves out of men. You heard the worst of the worst from the escaped slaves that manage to make it into The Hub. You remember those faces well. There are some bruises that just don't heal. The Holy Nation figured out how to break a person without touching. You shiver at the thought.

But this is curious. The small, soft voice in the back of your mind can't help to feel pity for these people. The louder and bigger voice tells that these people are scum, they would beat and kill you without even thinking it if they someone hadn't done that to them first. Still, a smirk forms in the corner of your mouth. Underlings. You'd like the sound of that.

"Now we just wander trying get by.. one day we will get back at them.. we know where their farms are.. One day.. Please, master.. "

A warm feeling swells in your chest. Surprised you smirk. Having juniors is not a bad idea. They could fetch you booze, wash your clothes. And do anything that you wanted. If you manage to fool them that you are sword master like they think you are...

The wind whistles as a dagger cuts through the air, burying itself in a bandit's chest. Blood sprays into the sand. A clad black figure blurs into motion, katana swinging as it severs a hand in a single arc. The ninja managed to reach you. The bandits roar and throw themselves at her in a single wave. She responds with agile and wide swings, keeping some at distance while cutting gruesome wounds to those that got too close.

Each swing is faster than the last. She glances at you. The time seems to stand still. She nods back at you, her smile hidden under the scarf "Don't worry, I'll deal with these weaklings!"

Her voice is cut short as a club smacks her in the temple. She grunts, spinning backwards, her blade whistles through the air to keep them at bay.

The moment is brief.

What to do. Join them in the fight, and hope to get the ninja. There's enough here to surround her, but you stop to consider. Failing to demonstrate that you are sword master.. If they survive, they won't be too happy.
What if you help the ninja. She is after your sword and by the looks of it, killing you won't trouble her at all. Should you even try to help her? Turning on the bandits might be a way to earn good graces if it even matters.

Or... Run. If you use the chaos in your favor. Starting to sprint now and jump into the hills, you can clear the valley while they're busy killing each other. Enough distance for her to no longer be a problem.

>Run into the hills
>Fight the ninja
>Fight the bandits
>write in

>>6398713
Kenshi rules that ganging up on someone with more skill is a bad idea because one swing and your whole team get destroyed, but I don't know bout this woman...

>>6398713
>Fight the ninja
KILL

>>6398733
If she wanted to kill us she could have easily done so.

>>6398717
Depends on the weapon size, attack slots, and attack speed. Someone using a heavy weapon is gonna give everyone else a very bad day in the general vicinity. Assuming they can even swing it that is.

>>6398713
Ninja was stalking us this whole time. Hence her showing up at this exact moment. So...
>Fight the ninja

>>6398713
>>Fight the ninja

>>6398713
>Fight the bandits
All these fight the ninja votes crack me up. At least give yourself a chance anons.

>>6398713
>Fight the bandits
If we try to fight her we will die.

>>6398969
Right? It's very silly.

>>6398713
>Fight the bandits
We stand no chance against the Ninja.

>>6398763
Lol just realized I entered the wrong option meant

>Fight the bandits

Ninja could have assassinated us at anytime and was stalking us this whole time for some reason. Probably for shits and giggles probably.

QM, are you still there, or can I update this quest? I will wait patiently for a response.

Ok guys I am seizing this vessel

>Roll 1d100, Worst of 3

Rolled 31 (1d100)

>>6404836

Rolled 27 (1d100)

>>6404836

Rolled 59 (1d100)

>>6404836

File: download (5).jpg (56 KB, 637x358)

56 KB JPG

You don't feel fit to fight either way... But you're less able to maintain a lie about it, and find yourself fearing the ninja less than the bandits in the short-term. So you make a decision.

Lunging forward, you arc your Holy Sword down on the hunched mongrel that just clubbed the stranger in the head, and you manage to tear a large gash along his back on the left side, rivulets of crimson blood streaming down as he yelps in agony. He turns to face you, a betrayed, hateful look in the back of his eyes.

[i]SHNKT![/i]

A thin steel blade slides out of one of those eyes, pointing directly at you, then withdraws back out of the poor man's skull. When he crumples to the sand, you see the ninja woman on the other side of him twirling around to block an iron staff and then disembowel the one striking at her, intestines spilling from his emaciated, shrunken gut.

[i]CLONK![/i]

A wooden cudgel clocks you on the side of your head, causing ripples of pain to ring from your ear and across your jaw. You stagger sideways and try to raise up your sword, then another of the bandits leaps forward and kicks you from behind. You tumble forward and land in the hot sand.

"HYUUUGHAGH!" Yet another of their number rushes in and sweeps down with a chipped, rusty polearm, but you manage to roll to the side, onto your back, just in time to see the blade bury itself in the sand where your torso just was. You pitifully attempt to raise your sword in order to defend from another strike as the bandit adjusts his grip to stab down at you. Your form is bad on your feet, and abysmal on your back, but you manage to deflect the blow slightly enough that the blade grazes your bicep, cutting it open below the shoulder. "FUCK YOU!" You scream, spit flying from your mouth as tears stream down the side of your face.

The bandit is about to bring the polearm down again-

[i]THUNK![/i]

An arrow is ever so suddenly sticking out of his chest, and he can't even gasp for the blood bubbling into his lung. He folds forward on his knees, and you scramble back, still on the ground to avoid his head landing in your lap. You kick at his face and the sand to create more space. Looking all about, you notice the ninja woman is still holding onto her sword, a couple of groaning, bleeding bandits by her on the ground, another silent and still as the grave. She is deftly, though not perfectly, managing to hold back two assailants.

>Part 1, continuing

LOL forgot I can't format as an invader

Your head snaps this way and that, and eventually you see the silhouette of a Hiver on the crest of a dune not far away, holding a short bow with a backpack on. Next to him is a man, a Scorchlander you think, with some kind of a cowl obscuring his features and his arms crossed over his chest. The Hiver let's loose another arrow, and you can hear it make its mark in another bandit, maybe a leg based on the pitch and volume of the scream.

You also see, between them and yourself, a large, black-furred bonedog bounding across the sand in the direction of the fray and gaining fast. It leaps onto a dumbstruck bandit, latching snaggletooth fangs onto the luckless bastard's neck, tackling him to the ground screaming and gasping.

Your head swivels back in the direction of the ninja just in time to see a bandit's foot swinging right for your face.

It connects.

Everything fades to black.

==============================

The smell is what wakes you. The sensation of your face, wet, rendered cold by contact from a low wind. Groggily, your eyes open to see that bonedog licking at your cheeks and panting in front of your nose. The carrion stench does literally make you gag, and you roll sideways, ready to hurl, but just heave instead.

You've still got your sword, loosely, in hand.

The ninja is standing over you. So is the Hiver, a Southerner you can tell, because of his pink hue. The Scorchlander is wearing the rags of an assassin, black bandages, and you can see now that his hat is the head of a skinned bonedog, it's top jaw and fangs obscuring part of the man's face from the sun. He has a pair of crescent knives, horn knives you've heard them called also, held in his hands, and arms crossed over his chest.

"You survived. Barely. Not much with that sword, huh?" Says the ninja.

The Hiver glances at her and scoffs. "Hush, Mala. So judgmental. Can't be much worse than us, th-"

He's cut off by an elbow to his narrow chest from the Scorchlander. "Shut UP! Fuggin' chumbo, he don't need ta hear that... Hey! Chumbo! What's ya name, son? Whatcha doin' with that sword?"

>[NAME]
I will pick one if there isn't a consensus

Plus

>I'm nobody, just trying to survive
>I'm gonna be the greatest swordsman in the world one day...
>I was about to get into the bounty hunting business, scavenging is bullshit
>I am looking for someone to buy it, got bills to pay
>I need it... For my revenge...
>I'm an archeologist, chumbo, this thing may be good for cutting but it belongs somewhere it can be studied and preserved
>Write-in

>>6406062
Crumblebob
>we used to be better, but we've had rough days after rough days.

>>6406052
>>6406062
sup, op here, feel free to continue, something came up and didn't continued posting, time flies, also lol writing in second person is hard.

>I need it... For my revenge...
There is no revenge, we just want to sound cool

For the name has to be something clearly made up on the spot

>>6406170
Crumblejon's brother? I dig it. Also explains why we are so attached to that sword. Reminds us of our glory days.

>>6406170
>>6406242
I am down for a Crumblejon run. How would you guys feel about just BEING Crumblejon? I actually planned on one of the next votes being to go to Mongrel to recruit a 'famous samurai warrior that retired in exile after losing his master and his way', so if you just ARE him that'd be useful. If you just want to be the same kind of guy, or his literal brother, that would work for me too!

>>6406206
It's ok anon, happens to everybody. I have a love for Kenshi, figure it'll be fun to write about it a bit.

>>6406062
>Crumblebob
Lol

>I need it... For my revenge...

>>6406254
Crumblebob indicates we aren't Crumblejon but likely related to him. Plus going to Mongrel right now is suicide given our lack of speed. Fogmen would simply run us down and overwhelm us. We need to train first. But being family with Crumblejon would be sweet. Especially since Crumblejon was an extremely experienced Samurai who aged out to 'retire' with an unusual weapon specialty if his starter weapon and back problems is any indicator. His backstory would be sick.

So I'm more down with being a family member of his. Likely another washed out beaten down warrior of some kind. Samurai dynasties/families are a thing after all. Even if we are likely now Ronin without a lord or master.

I will lock in the broad consensus of these votes: Crumblebob, motivated by a nostalgia for his glory days, and a vague desire for revenge.
I am going to have Crumblebob be Crumblejon's father, who is pushing 60 at this point, 57 I would think if Jon is canonically 40? His son's master didn't die, people have short memories - we kicked him out of our house. Haven't seen him since. But we squandered our life with drink and hash and back alley duels, eventually brawls. Crumblebob, Rob The Reaper, as he was known back in his day, now has a broken, weak, old body, and a broken will to match. That sword though... it awoke something in him that he thought had died.

Crumble Cuest

>>6406278
Crumblejon is 45 and married...supposedly. Albeit 'married' is a rather strong term considering how long its been and how it was an 'open relationship' apparently. If we're his father we would be pushing...60-70s at the youngest. brother, uncle, or son maybe.

>>6406279
Oh right he also personally knows Luquin the famous outlaw. The 45 is how old he 'claims' to be. Probably older than that. So 45 at the youngest. Crumblejon is the oldest recruit and will even claim to skeletons to be older than them and slaying ninjas. Apparently doesn't like ninjas too much. Which makes sense given he is a retired samurai.

>>6406254
Happy that my joke is being well received.
>>6406278
Fuck yeah

>>6406279
We'll just age Jon down 5 years and roll with Old Man Crumble
>>6406336
Everybody loves a Crumbler

Will update some time soon

You groan, and use your elbows to rise up off the ground partially, then raise a hand to block some of the sun from your eyes. "Folks round here call me Crumblebob." You say in a hoarse voice, through heat-cracked lips.

"And why the fuck would they call you that?" Shoots back the Scorchlander, half of a wry grin visible under his dog-hat.

"On account of my life crumblin' apart. And my bones. They're crumblin' too." You say, falling back into the sand abruptly as the strength in your arm gives out. You groan, dazed. "Used to be different. Just had some hard times, is all. This here sword 's for... I need it... For my revenge, alright?"

The ninja lady - Mala, you've gathered - leans forward above you, hands on her knees, and the shadow she casts over you blocks out the heat and allows you to lower your hand and see her clearly. "Revenge on who?" She asks.

"Just revenge, ok! Can't a man have a private fuckin' vendetta anymore?! Who the fuck are you wumbo chumbo fuckin' bozos anyways, askin' me all these damn questions, you with the UC newspaper or something? Leave me the fuck alone already!" You wave your hands around in front of you, as if to shoo them off like a swarm of gnats.

"Heh, you're one crotchety geezer, y'know that?" Scorchlander says, placing a hand on Mala's shoulder and pulling her back up to a standing posture, away from you. Then he extends a hand out. "Name's Dog-Spit. This here is Mala, and this is Harpo." He gestures with a side-nod to the woman, first, then to the Southern Hiver. Squinting, you can tell now that he is a 'Prince', with a smaller, rounder face, and he's quite tall, having nearly half a foot on Dog-Spit.

You smack his hand away, and then roll over, trying to get up on your own. But, instead, you wheeze and sigh, and then feel a firm hand grip you under on nearly-sagging bicep and lift you up. Dog-Spit dusts off your shoulders, and chest a little, eliciting a grimace.

"Knock it off, Dog-Shit. Time to answer me. Why're the three of ya helping me survive a buncha bandits, helpin' me off the ground? Coulda cut my throat and been off with this blade before I ever came to."

Harpo tilts his head sideways. "You are displeased by our kindness?" He asks.

"Ain't nobody that fuckin' kind out here, bug-man, so just tell me what's your fuckin' angle." You bark back, placing both hands on the handle of your sword now, and taking a cautious step back.

>Part 2, continuing

"woah, relax now, Crumblebutt!" Dog-Spit teases back, also taking a step back. "Just like you said, if we wanted to jack your shit we already would have. Take a breath."

You eye him and his companions warily, one eye closed shut and the other drifting between them. If it came down to it, you think maybe you could hurt one of them, maybe maim the Hiver if you're lucky. But taking on all three, in your state... Could be rough.

Dog-Spit eyes you up and down for a quiet moment, and sighs. "Just so happens we hit hard times too. Used to be part of a bigger group, the Black Dog Bandits. Used to run protection all over the East. That was before the Trader's cut a deal with the Reaver's to wipe us out... Valomon showed up personally with more slave soldiers than I'd ever seen. Way too damn many. Killed our leader... My brother, Big Dog. Killed dozens of us, enslaved the rest..." He trails off, looking down at the sand. His shoulders slump.

Harpo places a hand on his shoulder, and squeezes.

Mala sighs. "Yeah. We're all that's left. Seeing as Big Dog's dead, we figure Dog-Spit's the new leader. I saw your sword and figured you might have some cats tucked away, or maybe some skill. We were gonna offer you our services. Or offer you a job, seeing as we're trying to build back up. Maybe make the pivot to a legit mercenary company. You want in?"

You grunt disapprovingly. "Ain't got any cats, and not much skill left... As you saw... So scram. Not interested in babysitting." You say.

"Well, what if we made the first five days free?" Dog-Spit chimes back in, straightening his posture and lifting his chin. "After that, you can start making some kinda payment, or get on payroll. We'll work together for food and supplies until then."

>Sure, I've kept worse company, and you three don't seem totally useless. But I'm not paying until five days are up. And if you eat shit, we'll part ways.
>I could use the money. I'll join up now, and we can go find someone to hire us.
>Counter-offer... I used to be the Daimyo of Bast, a powerful samurai lord. Make me the leader of the Black Dogs, work for me, and we can help each other get our vengeance.
>I may be on hard times, but I'm still not gonna fall in with some former bandit losers. Get lost.
>*Try to run away before they decide to rob you*

I don't got Photoshop or AI but if someone could post a picture of grey-bearded Billy Bob Thornton wearing one of those wide brimmed rice farmer hats that would be really based because that's my mental image of Crumblebob

>>6407453
Wouldn't it be easier to...you know, make him in Kenshi?

>>6407454
OH!!!

Great idea(:

I don't know if it would be EASIER though, but I may give that a spin in the next few days.

>>6407429
>>*Try to run away before they decide to rob you*

>>6407429
>I could use the money. I'll join up now, and we can go find someone to hire us.
Plan to ditch them later.
Interesting to know we used to be a noble from Bast. Black Dog mercs this far out...not sure who we could find to hire. They have shit business sense. Hivers stick with their own kind and Shek suck at business. Holy Nation won't touch them. Only option for work is the southern UC or Swamps.

>>6407859
Nowhere else to go now that the Reavers have expanded in the East.
As I continue to run I plan on having some of the factions be more pro-active than the game is able to allow for - the UC/HN war, for example, will probably shift more noticeably, with or without Bob's input. Bandit factions will rise and fall. I've got a soft spot for the Black Dogs, and having them get whittled down to 3 and desperate seemed like a good way to give Bob a touch of backup, some dialogue/color, and introduce some goals outside of just 'survive'. Five days is plenty of time to get somewhere safe to ditch them, and plenty of time for them to die on the way, or for Bob to die too, for that matter. I'm not sure I have any preference or big ideas about what region that Bob/the group heads to next, though, I find all of the setting to be pretty fascinating and mysterious.

And, yes, as Daimyo, Bobby was in charge of the samurai and their training, and just shy of being a Lord himself in terms of rights and privileges. Lady Ryuku didn't lend a hand during his fall from grace, however, and didn't survive especially long in his absence, either. Her successor had a slightly better go of it until the series of battles that reduced Bast to its current state.
Thought it might be a neat hook, maybe rebuilding and reclaiming Bast could be a fun long term goal?

>>6407894
Merc work is honestly pretty grim if you ignore bounties, jobs from major factions, or random adventurers like the player faction who hire mercs. Best money is scavving ruins or battlefields. Most actual employers rely upon trusted middlemen like the Mercenary Guild and such to handle contracts. You even have the professional Trade Ninja that keeps out Shinobi thieves. On top of shop guards, guild guards, and merc guards.

Black Dogs were an odd mix of merc/bandit. Who were liable to either shakedowns or bodyguard contracts seemingly at random. They also, however, had REALLY good loot in their HQ. As in among best spawns in the game outside ruins. So clearly they had some sick side gig going on. Would be noteworthy to keep them around for that alone as that puts on them Tech Hunter level as their loot respawns according to Artifacts.

Being an a noble is actually huge. Admitting that however is suicide, especially given our condition. Nobles look down on everyone else who isn't a noble. So we can actually shut them up on that alone but we also cannot look like a fucking hobo. Plenty of worthless nobles cannot fight for shit. As a Daimyo we do have the right to rally Ronin together and bring them back as Samurai. Of course, that means dressing the part and keeping a low profile until we can act the part. We have the sword but we need the clothing and armour.

I'll stick with my old plan with sniffing around hiver villages for cast out hivers before wandering south for Shek recruits. We should be able to scavenge enough meat and skins to pay for Shek recruits. Plus, there are wandering shek bands that are willing to spar that will kick our ass and not kill/enslave/loot us. They just want a good fight. The best place you can train against good fighters. Just gotta be careful not to lose any limbs...with a squad we don't have to worry about bleeding out.

With a reformist in charge they should in theory be trying to redevelop their industry and farms. So hopefully we can something there. If that doesn't work the Swamps are right next door or a further walk south to southern UC for jobs. Worst case scenario beat up bandits to sell for money. I'm sure we can get a good deal as a noble.

>>6407918
As for reclaiming Bast...we would need to fight off the cannibal hordes to the North and Holy Nation Aggression. So we would be fighting endlessly on two fronts in the greatest war zone between the UC and Holy Nation. Both sides want the place because it's fertile and rich in resources. Pain in the ass to hold given how many forces they throw at it.

The best bet would be to start by crippling the cannibals. By taking out their two easy to find leaders first. Then luring out Canhead with a settlement. That will cripple the cannibal raids into Bast. If we want to cripple the holy nation assaults in Bast that requires eliminating Valtena. Doing both will make holding Bast much easier.

Of course recruiting forces will depend on how traditional Kenshi we are going. Nomads for animals. Basic bar recruits are...shit. Rescuing cannibal captives nets you great recruits, a mixture of tech hunter and Shek warriors. Depending on whether we aim to rescue them from Fishmen or cannibals. I would suggest Leviathan Coast to avoid Elder Beak Things and cannibals. Fogmen don't steal good recruits except from Mongrel. Not a bad idea of we want shinobi tho but we need to be able to run very fast. Otherwise, prisoner recruitment or beast taming. Crabbies are great and bulls are beasts. Garru can outrun Beakthings but suck in a fight. Bonedogs...we are better off with their bigger meaner cousins for taming.

We should be able to snatch some outcast drones and soldiers near hiver villages. Who actually know how work and fight accordingly. Princes will require luck. Slave markets are hit or miss and very expensive. Not sure how the QM wants to play out prisoner recruitment or beast taming given how OP it can be. Ruins are dangerous but we need books if we want to make the big bucks or establish a strong/profitable settlement. Even the UC is limited to Catun quality weaponry. The rest they import from the skeletons. However we can make good money still with simple leather and cloth armour.

>>6407918
>Being an a noble is actually huge. Admitting that however is suicide, especially given our condition. Nobles look down on everyone else who isn't a noble. So we can actually shut them up on that alone but we also cannot look like a fucking hobo. Plenty of worthless nobles cannot fight for shit. As a Daimyo we do have the right to rally Ronin together and bring them back as Samurai.
To clarify - Crumblebob WAS the Daimyo, but he has lost all his holdings, his station, and Bast itself is no longer even a city so much as a handful of blasted ruins. This isn't a royal blood or dynasty situation so much as having previously been part of an aristocratic class. In keeping with Kenshi's theme/tone, Bob has no more sway than any other single digit stat scrub. But he's got lore, and in the same way I always recruit Crumblejon and return him to White Ripper status with a full suit of sammy plate, I think it'd be cool to rebuild the house of Crumblebob and re-establish him as a powerful samurai Lord in the UC, or a Warlord with no loyalty to any greater faction.
Could also be cool to join and rise through the ranks of factions in the game that you tend to have a more static relationship with. Maybe ascending the hierarchy of the Shinobi Thieves, Crab Raiders, Trader's Guild, Tech Hunters, Mercenary's Guild, Anti-Slavers, etc etc. That was something I had always wished there'd been more of.
>Not sure how the QM wants to play out prisoner recruitment or beast taming given how OP it can be.
I want to evoke the mood, themes, and feelings of the game and it's world, but I don't want to recreate it's mechanics one-for-one. Recruitment, trading, travelling, building a base, managing weight and gear - all of it will just be a lot more narrative. As such, strategies devised in order to take advantage of the game's systems won't necessarily achieve the best results. But logic will still apply - freeing slaves IS a way to accrue companions for your group, that logically follows and is a feature of the game. But in this case, you are also risking that some of those slaves might not be trustworthy, or may be carrying diseases, or introduce some other complication that is sensible but which can't be accounted for with the mechanics of the base game. Does that make sense?

>>6407971
The lore and now lost prestige is what matters. Even if you do prove yourself the nobles still treat you like shit. They only barely stop treating you like trash(sorta) if you bring in someone like the level of the Bugmaster to them due to their superiority complex. We would be considered a Noble born Ronin which would matter an awful lot to those pricks as we aren't like the rest of the 'trash' in the wasteland. Albeit still a 'loser' at least we are a 'noble' loser. So long as we dress the part anyway and rebuild a settlement would once more bring us back into the UC good graces.

Assuming we go the UC route anyway which sadly given how stupidly fucked up Kenshi is doing anything about slavery legit makes the world a worse place so...yeah. Unless we rip open skeleton heads for all the juicy knowledge from them and somehow sift through the crazy ones anyway. If only the antislavers weren't such retards or led by a madman who is second only to Catlon(unironically).

Other factions have some good stuff like the hivers and crab raiders. I just don't want to do suicidal trips until we are strong and or fast enough to survive them. Preferably with hiver runners because they are proper speed demons. No doubt why hiver caravans are exclusively hivers and use garru. I bet their fast as shit when they want to be.

Doing stuff with trade would be good since the mechanics would work now for trading and we would need a shit ton of cats to do anything anyway. Especially since booze and drugs are actual consumables now. On top of morale and pay.

Yeah that's fine I was just wondering what kind of mods/base mechanics work or not.

>>6407429
>I could use the money. I'll join up now, and we can go find someone to hire us.
This way we're equals, all responsible for each other. Maybe we can pick up more bandages from starving bandits along the way, and some clubs that our Crumblers can actually wield.

>>6407971
>To clarify - Crumblebob WAS the Daimyo
I thought that was more shit-talking from a Crumbler. Well damn.

>>6409174
Oh good a tiebreaker vote showed up I wasn't looking to changing mine to break the tie as I didn't want to risk bleeding out from being solo.

"If you're hurting for muscle bad enough to be offering me a job, I'd say you three are probably fucked." You start. Your gaze falls on the bonedog that's now sniffing around your left ankle. You lift the foot to nudge him away. "You four."

"That's Beef Supreme." Says Dog-Spit, as if it were a perfectly obvious name for the drooling hound. At the words, it trots back over to its master and circles him a few times happily. By the size and scars of the thing, you'd say it must be a full grown adult, but you've seen them grow to be much bigger.

You scrunch your nose and lower your blade slightly... then slide it back into its sheath. "Well... Fucked or not, I could use the cats. I'll join up now. But I ain't taking orders from a buncha bandits pups fresh off of an ass-beating. You can organize yourselves how you like, but I'm here on even terms. I want a quarter of the income. I'm keeping my sword." You say these things as fact, but cock an eyebrow at the end as if to question the trio.

There's a pause. The wind whirls dust around your feet and breezes between you and the others.

Dog-Spit nods. "Alright. You're in."

You cross your arms. "Great."

Another pause.

"What now?" You ask.

"We find some work." The Scorchlander says with a smirk. He points to the West. "Hub's a bust. I say we head to Squin, find some merchants. Sometimes their guards or mercs get ate up on the road, they stop their for Shek muscle to tide themselves over through the borderlands until they're back in UC or Holy turf. We could cut right into that market."

Mala rolls her eyes, and huffs. "Or... We could make some real money and get out of this bodyguard scam..." She mumbles.

You lift your chin. "Real money?"

Dog-Spit waves a hand dismissively. "She wants to go down to the swamp, where she's from. Wants to hook up with an old friend and smuggle hash. Not as batshit as Harpo's idea to ma-"

"Make the run to Mongrel through the fog! I know the city's location and have the route memorized based on the map I won in that card game back at Black Scratch. The Tech Hunter said that several legendary warriors are retired there... They could greatly aid in the rebuilding of our organization." Harpo finishes the sentence, standing tall.

Dog-Spit is pulling his face down with his hands, looking exhausted by the suggestions of his cohort.

>Squin sounds as fine an idea as any to me. Better than here. Maybe we could find some Shek that's about as fucked as we are? Ideally one with some loose change. Let's head that way.
>She might be onto something. Hash is big money if you know where to sell it, plus the swamps are the perfect place to lay low for a while. I think we should check it out.
>Mongrel, eh? All those old wives tales about monsters in the mist are nonsense. I had a duel with Arc once... Was a different man then. Different time. Curious to see how the years have treated him...
>I have a better idea... [Write-in]

>>6409266
>>She might be onto something. Hash is big money if you know where to sell it, plus the swamps are the perfect place to lay low for a while. I think we should check it out.

>>6409266
>>She might be onto something. Hash is big money if you know where to sell it, plus the swamps are the perfect place to lay low for a while. I think we should check it out.

>>6409266
>She might be onto something. Hash is big money if you know where to sell it, plus the swamps are the perfect place to lay low for a while. I think we should check it out.
Bloodspider vengeance arc