Realistic or Modern Bastard's Tale

[Deadwood Deer]

The shitty buildings didn't make for the best route, and the edge of one crumbled a bit under Ryder, dropping her off the side. She managed to catch herself, however, landing on top of the remains of a car in the alley below right next to Ethan. "Shit, there's more." She threw a punch at Ethan's throat to keep him from calling for whatever backup was hiding in the shadows beyond so she could bolt.

 

[ScalpelsNSaws]

Seeing the scuffle between the stranger and an unknown assailant had drawn the attention of the strange bone-covered shaman and the wastelander, Shaun taps Jesse's arm and whispers, "Now would be a good time for a power play Jesse"

 

[Lexico]

Aurora lowered her hands. She was still holding her knife. Where did all these rats come from? She watched them talk and tension seemed to be lowering. She saw someone in the alley. And a lady trying to punch him. More than nobility, it seemed like a husband and wife fight.

She studied everyone. The witch do not seem to have any valuables. The younger guy looked tough. It is wiser to aim at the elder guy. He might have something inside his battered uniform. She decided to stand there until things clear up. But surely her eyes were on Shaun.

 

[TheAdept]

Jesse felt no guilt as he saw the lady started beating the crap out of the guy in the alley, even though by now he figured he probably didn't work for the Nobility.

"Ok, we can trade. But quick." Jesse insisted "Why are the rest of you here?" He wanted to make sure there wasn't some resistance. He wanted revenge on specific members of the Nobility, but knew a resistance would be curb stomped in an instance and didn't want to be in the middle of anything.

He noticed the lady eyeing Shaun "Docs with me." He said. He still hadn't put away the hatchet.

 

[Corvid15]

"Various pelts, meat, herbs. Medicinal, recreational, poisonous, and for cooking. Mountain lion pelt, salted and smoked meat. Some small explosives. Odds and ends. Medical care if you need it. I just want to trade, and reach my goal."

Shisa put her bow away again, seeing another woman deck the figure that was hiding in the shadows. These were the right people, but despite the spirits guidance, she still wasn't too sure. Many people would execute her on site, what if they are just leading her on to kill her?

"I am open to any trade, I do not wish to harm you all. Not at this moment."

 

[TheAdept]

Jesse thought about what he had for a minute, which wasn't much. He wasn't going to trade his gun, or his ammo. At least not yet. Definitely not hatchet. He had matches he could trade, probably not for much. He could open a bullet and start a fire with the gunpowder. Or he could trade his water since he knew how to purify more.

"What would a canteen of water get me?" He asked, still ready for either this cultist or the tough lady to try and rob them at the mere mention of clean water.
"You on some vision quest?"

 

[ScalpelsNSaws]

"I've got maps of the local area, greater territories and international. I also got some books, good ones. Medical, scientific maybe a good fictional one. I wouldn't trust the meat you have but that's my own Gripe. I'll give you a herbalism book and some kindling paper for those poisonous plants, I'll give you a few territory maps for the medicinal ones too."

 

[Obsidian]

Ethan watched them right up until one of them looked at him, pointed, and screamed at him. "You've got to be kidding me..." Ethan muttered to himself as he frowned, stepping backwards into the alley only for something to crash right beside him, giving him the surprise of his life, turning to find another waster here; a woman. She seemed as surprised as he was, for about a second. As she tried to throw a punch at him, Ethan stepped back against the wall, the punch only just missing him, before he then dropped his arrow and draw his shortsword. He hated close combat, but when needs must. He leveled his sword at her, stepping away down the alley to get some distance. "Back off." He growled at the woman.

 

[Corvid15]

"Maps and kindling paper, sounds fair. You can pick your poison. And.. any information you might wish to trade. Information on. .. the Nobility."

Shisa knelt down, spreading a blanket and pulling out her wares. If they are opened to trade, they most likely won't kill her. She began to seperate out the plants she had.

"Books, I don't need. And a canteen? Depends on what you wish to trade for."

She glanced around again, protective of her wares. Mentioning the Nobility was a risky move, but a necessary one.

"You could call it a vision quest, oh skeptic one. The spirits have shown me my path to destroy evil, and I am on it."

 

[TheAdept]

Jesse knew more about several now high ranking Nobility members than most people in the Nobility even, let alone anyone outside of it. He figured he could keep his damn water and just trade his knowledge of the Nobility, but if he let on that he knew too much, and one of these people was a double agent...

That would be perfect, actually. The Nobility may have taken everybody's guns, but Jesse knew he could headshot any one of them before they even grabbed their holster. And since the Nobility had so many guns, well, a dead Noble soldier would be good loot. It was time to rip the bandaid off.

"I know some things...about the Nobility. What could I get in exchange for information on the Nobility in Boulder?" He said, putting his arm up in front of Shaun to stop him from trading the books. Jesse seemed like a standard apocalypse asshole, but he understood the value of knowledge. If it weren't for information recorded in books he would probably have died by now.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

And Ryder had missed a second time. This was not her day! And he had a sword, too. Pulling her knives, recognizing that she couldn't compete with a sword, but she could deflect it, Ryder took her own stance for about half a second before she realized this was wasting time. "I don't have time for this, get out of my way."

 

[Corvid15]

"Quite a bit, but it depends on what the information is. I'm not going to give you the mountain lion pelt for what a guard had for lunch, or anything."

Shisa chuckled, continuing to set out some herbs and bones, along with a few more pelts. Some rabbit, raccoon, various. A bird carcass or two.

"There's no need to worry about the meat, but if you choose not to have any, that is quite alright. It's not human, and I didn't poison it or anything. But when it comes to poison, what are you looking for? Injested, injury, inhaled, injected, contact? Something you can apply to a weapon? Lethal, non lethal? What symptoms do you want to cause? Detectable or not? How many people do you want to kill or injure? Instantly lethal, or leave them suffer for a while?"

It was almost frightening how much she knew about poisons, but if you specialize in plants, you need to know what you're working with. She had some animal venom too, but she preferred to keep that to herself. She finished seperating her plants by uses: poisons on the far left, then drugs, then cooking, then medicinal. She also laid out a small, sealed bottle of vodka (she had taken it off the injured man), and a few medical supplies. Nothing more than she could bear to lose.

"Children, there is no need for fighting. The fates have drawn us here for a reason, not for a bloodbath."

 

[Obsidian]

Ethan watched the woman closely, readying himself as she gets into a fighting stance, but then she suddenly disengages. "Oh? Got somewhere to be, have you?" Ethan says to her, keeping himself guarded, "Wouldn't have anything to do with the Nobility, would it? Everyone seems to get spooked by that name these days."

He would have to be careful. There's a chance she's Nobility, and that guy earlier mistook Ethan for being with her. Or she could be against them, making that the reason why she attacked.

 

[ScalpelsNSaws]

"Ingested or Contact is fine, I don't mess with airborne stuff. I've seen Nobility soldiers using that sorta stuff to end sieges. I feel like something undetectable that can leave large groups fully grown men on the ground retching or in pain, nothing lethal. I aint no doctor, like a proper one anyway."

"Oh and Jesse, I do make copies of everything I find book-wise, so you needn't worry about It being lost. As long as books make it to people that need them, it's a good way to make a living."

 

[TheAdept]

Jesse paused a second. No Nobility ambush yet? Really?

"I'm sure you've heard that the Nobility captures some people to be executed, but others are taken to the old college in Boulder. They have banned most books and prefer other people be illiterate and are hoarding knowledge and information for themselves there, but that's not all. The people taken to the college are being interrogated, and you can imagine what that means since the Noble lord running the operation there calls it The Inquisition. If any of your loved ones have been taken, and you haven't seen them impaled on a pike, crucified, or otherwise brutalized..." The Nobility loved their public executions "Then they will be there. Probably mutilated, but maybe still alive."

It was useless really, unless you had the balls and the firepower but most importantly the right planning to bust someone out.

"So what do you think? You got a paralysis poison I can apply to my axe?"

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"That's none of your business," Ryder growled, keeping her blades raised as she skirted her way around Ethan for the rusted remains of a fire escape.

 

[ScalpelsNSaws]

"You keep saying about a mission and fates, shaman. It's dangerous to be that high out here. What do you want for the rabbit hide?" Shaun says to Shisa

"Jesse once we reach the place we were discussing we are going to be having a chat about that college, and get that worried look of your face the Nobility think you're dead, so there not looking for YOU." Shaun says in a conspiratorial tone.

 

[Lexico]

Aurora stood there watching the trade. She was calculating what to steal and how to execute it. When the talk about nobiltity and books popped up, she frowned. If it was not for the books, her lover Mos would not be in trouble. She had never seen any book herself. Mos said it was hidden outside the city. But he always said those books were his guiding lights. And when Jesse spoke about nobility and their captives, she lost her thoughts. She took a few steps towards them. She had forgotten she was still holding the knife. The words, 'mostly captives would be mutilated,' hurt her like hell. She wanted to know more. She was moving towards Jesse.

 

[TheAdept]

"You best keep quiet about my being 'dead.'" Jesse told Shaun "And you better keep your distance." He barked at Aurora

He turned to Shisa "Their methods involve things similar to their execution methods but not as lethal. They're tied to a wheel and have their limbs broken. Sat on a triangle and have their legs weighed down; especially torturous for men. Stretched on a rack until their bones dislocate." Jesse said this without emotion. Purely business "There ya go. Think I earned some poison?"

 

[ScalpelsNSaws]

"Pah, the wheel? That's kinder than what happened to the citizens in Culrud Springs, they used a airbourne nerve-agent, KP-14, to wipe out the locals, boiled their lungs. The leaders there were forced to take microdoses of the stuff through injection, by the end it was like they were skinless husks. Women and children were taken as slave Labour and it was completely looted and razed to the ground. I still regret locating the formula."

 

[Obsidian]

She's not saying anything, it seems. There's a 50 / 50 chance she's with the Nobility, and her eagerness to leave could result in her bringing them here. Or she still thinks Ethan could be Nobility. And now she's circling him, and Ethan cannot afford to have his back to all those other wasters in the car park garage. They are still there, he can hear their mutterings. Something about trading. That changed fast.

"Fine." He said, lowering his sword, keeping himself against the wall before he gestures, "You're free to go. Can't have your lord getting worried about you, can we?"

 

[ScalpelsNSaws]

"Ill check and see if those idiots are done fighting yet..." Shaun says to Jesse, grabbing his knife and strolling towards the alley. As he enters the area he sees them at an impasse.

"Oh, I thought for sure one of you was dead, now that you've decided to be adults get out here so we can have a better look at you in the light and you needn't worry, the original occupant of this uniform is long dead. Dont try anything though, or you will be feeding rats for weeks...both of you."Shaun warns.
"Girl, catch." Shaun mutters as he lazily tosses the throwing knife back to Ryder, the same one she tried to kill him with.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Ryder narrowed her eyes as the situation de-escalated and then re-escalated. "I don't have time for this," she growled hopping up to the bottom rung of the ladder and heaving herself up onto the decaying structure.

 

[Lexico]

Aurora had lost her sense. She got closer and stood there watching them. But after some time, she would not control herself. "How do you know all these?" She asked Jesse, "Do you know how to get there?" She used to be a street smart trader in the streets of Denver. But here she was just a love struck tragedy. "My man is there. He was taken there. Do you know what they would have done to him. No, they would have not tortured him. He is a good man. He does not deserve that." Her voice was turning out of pace. If Jesse sarcastically counters her, she might pull him up by holding his collar. She had gone crazy. All those dormant stress suddenly were about to explode.

 

[ScalpelsNSaws]

Hearing the girl talking to jesse, Shaun turns on his heel and returns to the trade circle.
"So she speaks, I was beginning to think you were a mute."