The thickset veteran who stepped around the Kislevite sized up his potential employer with hooded eyes, lips curling into a grimace as he surveyed the interior of the tent and it's owner. It had been an experience, wandering his way through tents to this place. Not like the encampments raised by Imperial Soldiery. So colorful and not because of the banners. While his time cut loose from the Elector Count's vaunted Greatswords had given him a greater appreciation for the road, Fulke was more than happy to rest a day or two. Additionally, there was another great issue facing the Greatsword turned Vampire Hunter and now potentially mercenary. "Aye, sir. The road that has led me here has been long and often dark, as well as alleviated me of what coin I had when I began my journey."
@Casavay Kristoff let out a broad smile as he saw the engineer take a seat with him, "Ah, Nuln child! I am glad to see you aren't blown into tiny bits!" He said as he patter her on the back, sliding over a pint as he continued to drink, laughing merrily as he did so. "Come, drink deep and celebrate with! We had ourselves a fine and bloody bout yesterday, Ulric rejoiced in our slaughter!" He tore into a piece of roasted boar, ignoring any cutlery that was placed before him, while Vorgen stalked around eating scrap and drinking from a bowl his brother had graciously filled with some ale. "So, tell me about yourself friend. I've known few from the south, and your strange contraptions have always interested me. Got any fun ones you can show?" His face was eager like a child. He preferred the cold steel of his warhammer, but couldn't help but be fascinated by them.
<Newcomer> @Skarboy "I see," Constantine nodded in understanding before taking a scroll of paper from the drawer and placing it on the table. "Here's the deal. My name is Thomas Constantine and represent a powerful mercenary guild with the location in Altdorf which specializes in various things, most of them being solving other people's problems and acquiring until then impossible-to-acquire artifacts from various hostile locations." "Here is the contract. If you accept, for every completed mission you will receive 150 golden coins, with possible bonuses including but not limited to: items, weapons, real estates. If you die during the length of the contract, your remains will be dealt with according to your wish or your faith and your belongings as well as the rest of your gold will be transferred to your family. If you don't have one, it will be donated to Temple of Shallya in Middenheim. You will also have a place to stay and will receive free medical care, blacksmith services and food as long as you are the member. There are only two rules - we always do our job to the fullest and we don't kill innocents." "That is all. If you have any questions - ask away. If not, here's the pen, the contract will become effective the moment you sign it." <Relaxing v2> @Maleth With a help of a halfling guide, Aloiza found her tent easily enough. Like Khelandria's (and every other tent for that matter), Sorceress's tent was also quite cozy, with a big bed and carpets covering the ground. There was a table with a bowl of grapes and few chairs on one end, and a bathtub filled with hot water on the other, hidden behind a veil of curtains. She was alone in the tent, the noise from the festivities no louder than a whisper this far out in the camp, giving Aloiza all the time in the world to relax. <Central fire> @Jorimel @Grall_Stonefist @matt23 @Casavay @Keidivh @lord-watchman @Vulpas @TuskatheDaemonKilla (@Maleth also tagging you here because I'm not sure if you wanted to chill with the rest after you relax or not). With the assistance of his halfling helper, Tugg mounted the boar on the skewer and the beast slowly roasted on the fire in front of the long table where the rest of the team gathered up. The halflings also brought the plates, lots of bread and a big bowl of lettuce salad as well as more beer to go with the meat. Those who didn't want to drink alcohol had the tea Mariah prepared for them, its smell quite refreshing in the overall setup of the carnival. It was well past midnight as they dined, the sounds of people having fun and the music around slowly subsiding. But despite the time, the halflings still worked around and carried the drinks where needed, the team so far left alone as none of the locals dared to approach them, leaving them to talk between themselves... OOC just a quick update - I have some test to do on Wednesday on my Uni so expect the briefing for the next mission to happen after I finish that. Ofc, if you want to relax and chill around more, I can delay that as long as you wish. Talents are definitely coming tomorrow as well!
The former Greatsword snorted like a mastiff as his new employer finished laying out the terms of his new field of work, mustache blowing out at the tired exhalation. It seemed like fair enough work, honest enough beyond shedding blood for gold. Though not too far off from what Fulke had done in the service of the Elector Count. At least the pay was something to be happy about. "In grand Altdorf, your company is based? Tell me, how far abroad do you think this company of yours will be operating?" Even as he asked the question however, Fulke stepped forward and signed the contract. Somehow he doubted there would be much in store for him that he had not already faced just south of the Lynsk or in the dark crevasses of the Everlasting Realm. "If it should come to remains, cremation before being thrown across a Garden of Morr would be preferred. And my coin'll go to a few lads camped near Essen." Stepping back and hooking a pair of gloved thumbs into the crimson sash at his waist, Fulke considered the tent around him and snorted once more. "Lodging, would be my next query. I'll need a tent, a few extra torches, and a broth hearty enough to satisfy one of Ursun's own, if possible sir." At that, Fulke tossed his head back in the direction of the Kislevite.
<Newcomer> @Skarboy "Yes, our guildmaster and patron of our guild is located in Altdorf. That is where we are getting half of our funding from as well as where we send the relics we gather. Also, we have two more branches besides ours, one works in the far east in the kingdoms of Ind and Cathay while the other one works in the south, past the Badlands" Constantine nodded, "As for operating area, I don't expect us to go that far abroad, more likely we we'll operate in this part of the Old World, west as far as the great ocean, north up to Troll Country, east all the way towards the World Edge Mountains and south no further than border princes. That is of course, if we don't get a lead on some special artifact that requires us to move outside our working area." "As for the rest of your requests, everything will be done as you ask. Finally, I welcome you to our company Sir Fulke. May you find this stay with us to your liking," Thomas finished and pointed towards the Boyar. "Kolja here will help you with the lodging. Rest well, for tomorrow we'll be going on a new contract which will definitely require your skills to be put to use." Once they were finished, Kolja led Fulke outside Constantine's tent and towards another, although a bit smaller one. Inside his tent, the former Greatsword would find a cozy interior, ground covered with carpets, a small table with some grapes on it, a bathtub on the one side and a bed on the other side. All in all, it looked quite nice. "I'll get ya the torches in a bit and as for the broth, I'll see to it that the halflings make one for you in a wee bit," Boyar said and pointed to the other side of the camp where the rest of the group of mercenaries sat by the fire and feasted. "While you wait for the food, you can go and sit with them, get to know each other better, or you can eat alone in your tent, all is fine with us. Welcome to the company comrade!" clapping Fulke on his shoulders, Kolja left him to rest from the long road and went about his business elsewhere.
Having shown a great deal of patience while the boar took its time getting spit roasted, its massive size not helping the process, Tugg had been forced to only snack on all the other dishes while drinking the ale, even though the ale had a fine taste, to Tugg it might as well have been deminiralised water, so getting drunk would have to wait until he could his troll blood brew was finished, or if he could get his own alcohol stilts running. When the boar was finished and all seemed to join in for a small feast, Tugg was pleased, for feasts would also please the great maw, "WE THANK GREAT MAW FOR THE FOOD IT ALLOWS US TO EAT, WE FEAST IN ITS HONER" he bellowed what was indeed an ogre prayer, before he started tearing whole heartedly into the roasted boar, the grisly eating of ogre feasting
@Keidivh Wiebke flinched when her wolf-priest companion patted her back, expecting some kind of shove or weird punch instead. When there was no hostile follow-up, the blonde instead elected to smile back at him. "It is good to see you well, too, priest", she responded, removing her gloves to reveal scarred, sweaty, yet delicate hands that wasted no time with grasping the pint she was graciously given. The engineer obviously had practice maneuvering around her missing left fingers. Brushing one hand over her face in a vain attempt to tear off the tiredness and figurative cobwebs from it, Feuerstolz emitted a noise from her throat that was a mixture of yawn and hum of displeasure. "I do not carry around trinkets", she admitted with a shrug. After a sip, she elaborated, "The smaller an invention, the finer and more fragile its parts are. You can imagine we usually avoid taking these on long travels." That her desk back home was cluttered with pointless clockwork time wasters was something she elected not to mention. "There is not much story to myself, good man, but my family has always been involved with Nuln's gun-forges. I just happen to have had the luck of being admitted to the college. Personally, I deal with chemistry, not pure mechanics, mostly, though delivery systems are of interest to me as well. There are enough engineers who want to build cannons, if you ask me." Her eyes brightened slightly as she smiled once again. "Incineration and explosions have something special to them, don't they?"
@Casavay Kristoff nodded his assent as he downed his fifth pint of ale, not looking like he'd be slowing down any time soon as he called for two more. He was somewhat disappointed that she didn't have crazy little contraptions that could blow up the entire camp, but he was sure he'd see something like that from her eventually. "Aye, always did enjoy watching a bunch of goblins bursting into flames, or watching bits of Beastmen fly about after a well placed explosion." Kristoff said as his face grew wistful, as if recalling fond memories. "Gotta say I'm curious, what's a southern lass like yourself doing up here? Aye, your deadly enough, but... You don't seem the adventuring type. You got city dweller written all over ya." He spoke frankly, not to insult, but simply because he lacked the social graces to know that could be offensive. Vorgen seemed to shake his head at his brother.
Fulke let the Kislevite Boyar make his way out, observing the tent with something close to disbelief. Thirty years serving, veteran status with double the pay of the average soldier.. And I still haven't seen this kind of opulence in the field unless the Elector Count's family was out for a fox hunt. Offloading the small pack of personal belongings that still remained to him on the bed, the man from Ostermark wipes some of the dust from his face. Long nights trekking through woods, graveyards, and rumored sites of attacks on caravans left little time for personal hygiene. At some point tonight he would have to make use of his tent's facilities. "Draw the water my damn self, at least. Half expecting a servant to come with this tent." With a groan he flopped down onto the bed next to his rucksack, case of djerids at his hip getting caught up and rustling the large stakes within. Now that he had an opportunity to at last sit still, Fulke began to acknowledge a sensation spreading across his body. He ached. Ached to his bones. The former Greatsword had snuck into military service at an early age, eager to put the moors of Ostermark behind him. He had been desperate, driven to exorcise his demons by facing literal daemons. And greenskins. And trolls. And ogres. As mighty as the Empire was, it had not been a life of easy victories. Over the years, Fulke had accumulated a network of injuries that had worn him down in his advancing age. Yet there had always been another patrol to volunteer for. Another battle to fight. Another campaign waiting. He had never really taken the time to consider just what havoc had been wrought on his body. Now after all of these years he had the opportunity to sit still. And all of those pains that he had put off rushed in and he just.. Ached. "Old bastard, if ye sleep now you may never wake up. There are still monsters to be hunted at home. There is still coin to be earned so that hunt can happen." Hands calloused by swinging a large blade rubbed at the dark rings around his eyes before he rose with a half-hearted groan. Fulke exited the tent and made his way towards the campfire, a few moments spent to drop his case of spears and securing his Flammenschwert. He needed to draw that bath.
@Keidivh Feuerstolz knew that she couldn't keep up with Kristoff in drinking, and still slowly sipped from her amply filled pint. She could already feel its effects creeping in - the engineer was quite the featherweight - and slowed down even further as she turned her gaze down to the 'dog' beneath the table. "The realisation that my life had been confined to Nuln until I graduated. I had achieved nothing that I had wished to achieve. Thus, I went to travel, and signed a contract with Mister Constantine. Now I've arrived here." With a short, amused chuckle, she leaned back and looked at Kristoff again. "Not that you're not entirely correct. I could do without the dirt, and the walks, and the 'going-a-week-without-washing-yourself'. Sigmar knows I am glad the powder smell covers up sweat, bile, and dried blood stench nicely!" Her chuckle was chased by a geniune, dry laugh. "Why so curious though? I pegged you and your ilk as loners."
