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Post by Lauren on May 6, 2018 12:09:40 GMT -6
"Thank you." Lauren took the small saucer and cup of tea from her server sipping it slowly. It was good, not as nice as Interminor's personal supply but perhaps she should find out who supplied this tavern for her own uses. An inquisitor in Badon could not mean anything good. Or could it? Her investigations into an illusive smuggler had provided her a new lead about rumors of wyvern catchers. The smuggler Lucius failed to deliver himself on the promise of a wyvern egg in the past but from reports he did in fact manage to get one thanks to connections with these trappers.
The rumors she had gathered about them spoke that they were in Badon, the Western Isles, and Bern. Assuming they were all true then they must keep operations mostly at sea and have an island somewhere to house their base of operations. Rumors could only lead to conjecture and acting rashly without facts was risky. Lauren reviewed some of her notes, written in ciphers and slowly hummed to herself. Perhaps she could turn these trappers into an exclusive ally. Ilia and Bern had most of the sky power while Lycia was famed for their Cavalry. No, everyone would know foul play was at work in Etruria if they suddenly had a force of wyvern riders, on the other hand these griffons of Vinland were an untapped resource and if these trappers changed focus could provide a much needed edge. Yes, she liked this idea but she needed to bring down their current operations first.
"Ehhh," a rough looking man groaned and mumbled before sitting at the same table as Lauren. "You uh, the one interested in trying to fly?"
Lauren eyed the man from behind her papers. They couldn't have sent her someone a little... more well MORE? Their appearances were in far too stark a contrast. "You could say that, yes. It is a dream of many to get the opportunity to fly."
"That it is," the trapper agreed. "So are you looking for a starter kit? or something already set up and ready?"
"Both actually. I'd be interested in getting to peruse your wares myself."
"Don't get ahead of yourself now. We do business and THEN you get to see what you're buying. If you don't like it then walk away, but if our reputation weren't so good you wouldn't be here would you?"
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2018 20:36:28 GMT -6
The green haired freelancer walked through the bustling port city with a smile on his lips. He wasn’t necessarily happy to be where he was, though the wind that rolled off the sea was refreshing, he was more thrilled that Badon had stables that could accommodate a wyvern. Some places had these, especially in Bern, but the further one got from Bern the less likely spaces for wyverns were. Badon likely had them because of the wide variety of traffic the city received. It was very beneficial to the “powers that be” in Badon that the city remained all-inclusive.
It made sense, but really it was just nice to not have to leave Penny in the woods somewhere. She always got cranky if she was left out in the wild for too long by herself.
So Alistair was in high spirits. Badon was a good place to pick up work. Sailors needed protection, merchants needed couriers, sellsword companies needed spare arms to take out pirates. Not that pirates were too much of an issue, from what Alistair understood, but every now and then they’d sprout up. The prospect of acquiring a job that would have him do battle overseas was an exciting one, but really any job that would pay decently would suffice.
...That said he’d have to actually FIND a job. Alistair hadn’t noticed any postings during his tour of the city and so he elected to enter into a tavern. If postings couldn’t be found, often times there was someone in need of a worker within a tavern. That said he had no idea a certain dark haired woman was speaking with a shady man in the same establishment...
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Post by Lauren on May 6, 2018 22:47:14 GMT -6
Taverns had an infamous reputation as places where adventures began and strangers found each other's fates intertwining for better or worse. Today, unbeknownst to Alistair or Lauren was one such day. Outside of the tavern a short distance away the trappers had a fully grown wyvern strapped down to a small ship as well as hatchlings in cages and eggs. Unfortunately for the trappers the grown wyvern was in an bad mood and the restraints were poorly done this particular day.
"You're a shrewd business man aren't you?" Money was hardly an issue for her, she had plenty of it and if she could convince those above her they could fund small projects with ease, but she preferred to keep her business unknown to even fellow inquisitors, and that meant using her personal money. "Very well." She packed away her papers and placed her hands on the table, one folded over the other. "How much would one of your... ugh... STARTER kits cost me?"
The man smiled victoriously. "Well, this far from the source? Its going to nearly double our standard fare and given the rarity scale we're looking at several thousand gold. Literally actually, 7,000 for something standard and if you want something fancy and pretty we're talking up to 20,000."
"Those amounts are quite steep." It was to be expected though, flying through the air on a military beast was a privilege known to only a small few.
"So is that a n-"
"WYVEEEEEERN!!!" A man came scrambling into the tavern knocking over stools. "A wyvern just came flying over the docks and started going crazy!"
Lauren gave an annoyed look at the seller who himself appeared mortified. "Crap! The sale is still on the table but I need to take care of this!"
Lauren sighed and stood with him. "I will help as best I can." She needed to ensure things went smoothly so she could get as much intel as possible before crushing their cell, and if today ended like this there was no telling how long it would take to get a second meeting.
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2018 15:45:28 GMT -6
“Hey, mind grabbing me a glass of water?” Alistair called out to a server as he took a seat. The woman gave a nod and walked off to comply with the rider’s request. Alistair settled into his chair and took stock of his surroundings. Seemed like a typical day in the port city, from what he wagered. Busy but never really frantic. What was interesting were the many different sorts of people in the establishment.
Some he recognized as mercenaries. Having been raised by one and surrounded by many more, Alistair could spot the telltale signs even at his relatively young age. Armed, for one, but there was a sharpness to their gaze that the average person didn’t possess. Soldiers were usually too weary and tired when they came to a tavern, and ordinary citizens were simple too at ease.
Of course Alistair didn’t want to stare at his fellow mercenaries. They’d pick up on it faster than most, and Alistair didn’t come to Badon to look for a fight per se. So he adjusted his gaze to a few tables down. He saw what...looked to be a dark haired woman holding a discussion with some man. It didn’t last long, though, because within moments a frenzied man burst into the tavern.
"WYVEEEEEERN!!!"
Alistair instantly stood up. “No, please tell me Penny didn’t get pissed off and break loose.” It was a very unpleasant thought and, while Penthesilea was very well trained, it wasn’t entirely impossible. Most of the tavern’s patrons either stood or stayed seated. The man and woman Alistair had eyed earlier, though, immediately made for the door...which caught his attention. Did they know something about this? Maybe it wasn’t Penthesilea then.
“Hey! What's this about wyverns?!” Alistair raced after them and attempted the grab the woman’s attention. If they answered his question with anything other than a "what?" then that would confirm they knew something about this. It'd set his mind at ease if they did and, further more, could even lead to a job opportunity practically tailored just for him.
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Post by Lauren on May 9, 2018 16:22:38 GMT -6
"Hey! What's this about a wyvern?!" The words reached Lauren's ears but she was too focused on the situation to pay it any mind until the voice seemed somehow persistent.
Lauren turned to face the eager rider. "Apparently a wyvern has begun rampaging down by the port, I mean to help deal with this problem in order to end the threat before it goes to far. If you need more information than that I suspect the man on the floor could tell you more."
The trapper looked over Alistair not too keen on him getting involved with them but out of his better sense he kept his mouth shut. "Stay and talk if you want but I am going to catch the beast!" and the trapper took off in a run.
"If you want to help I recommend staying out of it, wyverns are highly dangerous in a frenzy." then again, his gear seemed to fit for a riders'. No, they are in Badon,surely its nothing more than her imagination. "Unless you have worked with them before, then perhaps your help could be serviceable." Either way, she didn't exactly offer him a job before she moved to follow after the trapper. -- Down by the docks -- "Damnit!" Three trappers were trying to get around the wyvern and lure it back toward their ship. The last thing they wanted was someone shooting it down or damaging their goods, but it wasn't making it easy. The wyvern circled high overhead before trying to land on a ship's mast that could not support it and toppled it.
The trapper that ran ahead of Lauren arrived just in time to see this. "Alright! Get the shamans! We're going to use 'the chains!'
"Here!?"
"Unless you want it getting away, yes!" there was a moment of hesitation before two of the trappers ran off.
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2018 19:13:22 GMT -6
All right, all right, the situation was one that called for haste, for sure. However Alistair couldn’t help but smirk a bit. Wyverns were dangerous beasts and the sooner this one was brought under control the better it would be for all involved. That said - neither the woman nor the trapper seemed to be aware of how in luck they were. Alistair had grown up around wyvern and pegasi alike. Hell he practically raised Penny himself. There was a good chance he’d be able to resolve the situation, though it was a shame he didn’t have the chance to negotiate a price.
The bigger shame, though, was that the two were in such a rush they couldn’t stop to grab some raw meat or fish from the market on the way. Alistair was going to call to them but they were so hasty...it would have made things easier, but alas.
In moments the three had sprinted down to the docks, but Alistair had heard the beast well before he could even see it. The familiar shrieks. No doubt to the populace it was jarring if not outright terrifying, but he hoped the former over the latter. Terror tended to make people overreact. Having said that, it really hadn’t been all that long since Hargus had led his bandits and sects of the Bernes army across Elibe in pursuit of conquest…
How many locals last saw a wyvern when it had carried a soldier out for their blood on its back? It was an unpleasant thought that Alistair pushed to the back of his mind. “Okay, okay we’re here. If we had food or bait this would be really easy, but…”
Alistair watched as the wyvern’s handlers struggled to keep pace with the creature. It cracked a mast beneath its weight, having landed atop it in an irritable manner. The wyvern was VERY upset and, while they were ultimately animals, they still didn’t wind up that upset without a reason. Alistair wasn’t close enough to make out any physical details of the wyvern, but he couldn’t see anything that could irritate it. An injury or such...
The trapper had screamed something about shamans and chains and...well, chains was sort of straightforward but “shamans” kind of threw Alistair for a loop. Ultimately he was forced to turn to the woman. “I’m going to guess you have no bait or food on you. I’m going to guess you have no rope, and you certainly don’t seem to have a flying mount.”
The wyvern circled a few ships at the docks. Despite its fury it did not seem intent on leaving. Penny was held at the opposite end of Badon so there was no chance Alistair was going to make it to the stable and back before the matter was either resolved or escalated further. For the moment all he could actually do was stand there, so instead he chose to question the woman. “What exactly made you think you could do anything about the situation?”
It wasn’t an accusation but more a question asked out of minor amusement. The beast hadn’t attempted to devour anyone, very few of them ever really did even in the wild, and all that’d been damaged thus far was a ship mast. The situation was still small potatoes.
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Post by Lauren on May 20, 2018 1:30:56 GMT -6
Lauren came to see how the trappers did their work and the curiosity of what they would do with the wily wyvern was a great motivator, if she was to disregard her overall investigation anyway. The trappers seemed to have a plan to take care of the issue, so that was good, and no there was not much she could do to help. Then there was the matter of the other man that came with them. A part of her regretted humoring his inquiries to the point of implying he should just follow, but another part of her instincts said he would be useful.
"I have no mount, no, I do have some dried foods for the road in my pack and I have whips, while not rope they get the job done nine times out of ten." She did not bother to look at Alistair, instead choosing to keep her eyes fixed on the situation unfolding around them. The wyvern took wing again and began to circle the docks. It remained out of range of the people here but it did not attack or outright leave either.
"Truthfully, I came purely out of curiosity. I would do a poor job of capturing a wyvern without tearing it apart." She looked at Alistair then and pulled her cap lower. "There is a reason for the things I do but for now I prefer to keep them close to the chest. You speak like you have experience with this sort of thing however?" Stated like a statement but given a questioning tone.
The trappers were quick as a small trio of ships began to pull around towards the bay. Sure enough each ship had a pair of shamans aboard along with the rugged men rowing. They were still too far to take action but they moved in quickly.
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