A Skull of a Good Time (open)

[Bones]

"Very well then", spoke Bones as she pushed the tent flap aside and walked in. On her right and left were two wolf hounds that began to sniff the two of them. At Bones they did not flinch, but Yorick they gave a low growl.

"Back off flee bags", spoke Bones as she looked at the dogs. "If you don't you might end up dead."

"Now that is no way to talk to my dogs is it", spoke a deep voice from the corner of the tent. From the darkness came a man who looked nothing like a bandit. He was tall, almost eight feet. He was covered from his neck down in thick armor steel armor. He had a square jaw and a very prominent eyebrows. His eyes were a blood crimson and his hair, which ran down to his back, was a raven black.

"Paleface", spoke Bones as she looked up to stare into his eyes. It almost looked as if they were having a conversation between a man and a child.

"You left with twenty men and only came back with four", spoke Paleface getting down to business. "Not only that, but one of the four is not a member of the Skulls. You have a lot of explaining to do Bones", spoke the man as he looked down on the war maiden.

This was the reason Bones hated him so. First off his nick name made no sense what so ever and second their size difference made her feel inferior to him. Not to mention the way he talked to her. No one had ever talked down to her like that.

"It could not be helped", spoke Bones trying to hold her own. The fiery bandit looked the man in his eye and began to speak back to him. She refused to be intimidated. "The boys got drunk and out of no where we were assaulted by masked figures", spoke Bones as she tried to explain the situation.

[Yorick]

"Paleface. Well, I see where you got the nickname. Yeah, I don't really. What kind of a name is Paleface, anyway? You want people to think you're sickly or something?"

A smirk on her face, Yorick spoke up. No doubt she seemed out of place. Well-polished armor, an array of weapons... Yorick was no bandit. Yet here she was, in front of a bandit leader. And she was poking fun at him.

"Bones may be speaking dryly, but it's all true. They hit the kids like the fever, and they all dropped like flies. Hell, they'd probably be dead... But I stepped in."

The halberdier had a small but menacing glint to her eye. It was a feral look, the look of someone who'd experienced life on its fringes. It was the look of a hidden weapon. The look of someone who'd been pushed around, and who pushed back... with a knife in hand. It was a scary look.

"So by my count, you owe me one, Paleface. I saved your crew's asses. And as repayment, I'd like a nice place in your crew. Say, a second or third, maybe at the lowest a lieutenant.

Don't screw me over, Paleface, or you'll understand why I have the scars... Believe me, my blades are as sharp as any man's and my armor's just as good as yours."

[Bones]

Paleface looked down upon the new woman. She was bold, and he liked that. However he had no idea who she really was, or if she could be trusted. "Paleface", he spoke grabbing everyone attention. "That name comes from the time I first started to swing an axe. Back in the day I was sickly and thus I gained the name Paleface. The name stuck, even after I became mature."

"Now about the town", spoke Paleface as he looked at Yorick. "I have to thank you for aiding my boys. However I don't know you. I don't know your name. I don't know your back story, and I don't know your true motives. Still you aided my men and I like your attitude. So I will let you in. You will take the spot of Charles. You never knew the man, but he was one of the men cut down during the party. You will be over a squad and will answer only to me. Don't betray the trust I am giving you", spoke Paleface as he turned back toward Bones. "You are proving to be a poor second", he spoke.

"And you are proving to be a poor boss", she retorted back. "Was it not you who recommended the town we were attacked in", spoke Bones.

"Fair enough", spoke Paleface as he ended the conversation prematurely. "I tire of this pointless argument. I have a appointment to keep", spoke the big man as he walked out the tent.

"Great", spoke Bones as she watched him go. "Good luck you are in", spoke Bones toward Yorick.

[Yorick]

"In... Yes, I suppose I am. But what have I gotten myself into? This Paleface is not quite what I'd imagined. He doesn't have the... the Vibe."

Shaking her head in bemusement, the halberdier turned towards Bones with a questioning look.

"So. What's what and who's who around here? You might as well brief me, since I doubt old Red-eyes is going to. After all, if I'm supposed to lead some of your punks, I better know how things operate. I don't want to make an ass out of myself."

Yorick waited for Bones. Hopefully, the woman would give her a tour and an explanation of how it all worked.

[Bones]

"Oh Right", spoke Bones as she realize Paleface left without saying anything. "I guess I have to be the one to give you the grand tour", she spoke as she opened the tent and walked out. "He said you were taking Charlie spot right", spoke Bones recapping on what Paleface said. "Your taking over Charlie unit. You might remember him because he was the first one of the drunken fools to go down. He and his boy's had that place for barracks", she spoke as she pointed to one of the few wooden houses in the camp. Bones opened the door to the building and let some light into the structure. Inside of it were ten individuals. Half female and half men. They were all gambling with dice when they entered.

"Hey who goes", spoke a bandit as he narrowed his eyes to get a better look.

"None of your business", shouted Bones back and closed the door. She did not want to be the one to tell them somebody else was being placed over them rather than one of them being promoted into the position. She would leave that to Yorick herself. Let her deal with that time bomb.

"Over here is the mess hall", she spoke as she walked over to a open structure with a roof made of stone.

[Yorick]

Huh, so that was who she got to take over for. The first death. Well, whatever. That was okay by her, and she'd get to know her 'crew' soon enough. Looked like a decent bunch, by bandit standards. There were other women, so that also solved another issue. Good enough for her.

"Right, the mess hall. What else do we have here? Any armory or forge? I like to work with weapons, so if you've got one, I'd gladly craft stuff for you. Learned that from a bunch of smugglers in Bern a while back."

The camp looked pretty good, so far. What else was there she hadn't seen? She couldn't imagine a lot.

[Bones]

"Ugh", Bones let out a sigh as Yorick mention armory. "Well I guess I have to take you over there also", she spoke with dread in her voice. The maiden began to lead the way to one of the other buildings. Unlike the other permanent stations this one was made completely of stone. The building had four chimneys and the light of a fire could be seen from within. The Bandit took a deep breath as she opened the door.

"Ahh the light", shouted three voice in unison as the light entered in from the outside.

"Oh stop your winning", she shouted as she walked into the building. "It is about as bright outside as it is in here", spoke the maiden as she stared at three identical triplet boys. They all had orange hair and had the faces of a teenager. Each one looked exactly the same as the other. The only difference between them was the aprons they wore while they work. "Let me introduce you to Shu, Wu, and Wei", she spoke.

"Oh it is somebody new", spoke the green apron.

"Man she is ugly", spoke the Blue Apron.

"I don't know I think she is pretty", spoke the Red apron.

"I think you all need to shut up", spoke Bones. "They will fix your weapon and armor real good, but they will never stop talking", she spoke with anger in her voice.

"What is wrong with you Bones", spoke the green apron.

"Maybe she does not have enough calcium", spoke the Blue one.

"Oh Bone joke", spoke the Red one.

[Yorick]

"Ah... Er."

Staring at Shu, Wu, and Wei, Yorick's eyebrows practically burst off of her face, and she broke into chuckles, despite her attempts to remain stony-faced and stoically silent.

"Well, you three got spunk, that's for sure. Good to meet ya, Shu, Wu, and Wei. I'm actually a smith myself, so if you three have any tricks of the trade, I'm more than happy to learn. I'm glad to be aboard.

Bones, thanks for the tour. I'd better go get my unit in order."

Nodding to Bones and the boys, she exited the armory and slammed open the door to her squad's barracks.

"Right. Everyone shut up. I'm in charge here from now on, and that's not an option."

Ten heads swiveled to look at the halberdier, whose eyes were flashing menacingly.

"I'm the new leader of this squad. Charles is dead. I've been placed here on an executive order from Paleface himself. So if you want to grumble, take it up with him. I will brook no insubordination in my unit."

Ten heads nodded. They knew a strong leader when they saw one, and they could tell that this was no bluff. The new woman had an iron spine.

"So, it seems like I should probably get to know you all. That being said, I don't care about your life story. So let's talk style for fighting, so that we can truly be the deadliest bandits ever to walk the face of the earth. Sound good to you?"

Ten voices roared their approval. This was a promising start.

[Bones]

"Finally", spoke Bones as Yorick walked away. It was not that Bones was ungrateful for her help or that Bones disliked the woman. In fact it was the exact opposite, Bones really like the woman and thought she would make a great addition to the gang, but she hated giving tours. It just was not her thing. She would rather tell people to go find out themselves and let them walk around an give them a tour of the whole fort. For her it seemed like a waste of time. Still presentation meant a lot when you were bringing new people in. Bones understood that and thus she kept a calm face and did the best she could.

"Oh looks like that woman was giving Bones a hard time", spoke Shu the green one.

"Ehh, is that not our job", spoke Wu the red one.

"Crap, we have replaced already", spoke Wei the blue one as he rose his hands up to his face to place on a fake shocked expression.

"Will you three shut up", spoke Bones. "And for your information she was not getting on my nerves. You all were getting on my nerves. Compared to you three she was pleasant company."

"Well that is not much of a comparison", spoke Wu.

"Yeah we go through great lengths to find the best way to annoy you, you know", spoke Wei.

"Yeah we hold biweekly meetings in order to discuss stratagems on how to get under you skin", spoke Shu.

"Your annoyed face is quite charming", spoke Wei.

"And funny", spoke Shu.

"I find it a bit attractive", spoke Wu.

"Wu you perv", spoke both Shu and Wei in unison.

"If there is a higher power out there kill me now", spoke Bones as she walked away leaving the three brothers behind.

[Thread End]