2017-03-21: Somewhere Interesting
- Log: Somewhere Interesting
- Cast: Kahm Yugh, Morgan Newkirk, Gwen Whitlock, Maya Schrodinger
- Where: Starfall Saloon
- Date: March 21, 2017
- Summary: Kahm enters the Starfall Saloon to put an ear to the local mysteries and rumors and perhaps gets more than he bargains for when a smattering of faces both old and new happen to join him.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
The Starfall Saloon enjoyed what one could only guess to be a typical crowd of gin swillers, card sharpers, and general ne'ee-do-wells, each pursuing his or her respective vice to the well-cadenced tune at the tips of the piano man in the corner. Behind the bar, Honest Tom plied his trade with all the genuine craft his name implied, the sounds of arguments, crooning, and open threats fading into a smooth melange of orchestrated chaos as business ran its course.
That same boisterous commerce came to a screeching halt as Kahm stepped past the saloon's swinging doors, his low-hanging black felt hat and grim demeanor suggesting one of two things to general commonwealth: Lawman, or outlaw.
There was a brief, sucked-in paused as the disguised Captain's blue-tinted eyes surveyed every other pair watching him from the other side of the room, punctuated by each step of his boot heels across the floor, sword and gun holstered openly at either side of his hip. Then, as if nothing were amiss, Kahm took a seat at the bar and waved Honest Tom over.
"Your usual, if you please." He asked, padding the offer with a few shiny gella on the counter.
The saloon immediately took up as it had been the second before Kahm entered, all now apparently right with the world. The Solarian shrugged his shoulders and mused aloud, "You'd think they do that for every stranger that walks in."
<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
"Not every stranger," Comes the amused words from someone a bit further down the bar. From the mouth of a Drifter with long ears, long tail, and wide grin. "Just the ones that look like they might put a round into someone that looks at them the wrong way."
Obviously it doesn't bother him in the least.
From his fingers dangles a glass with a warm amber liquid in it, and he seems perfectly at home in the chaos of the bar. Mostly because Morgan is. He's adapted to it since his time here.
"I take it you havn't been round here long?"
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Almost as if to throw Kahm's experience in the appropriate contrast, a few moments after the Solarian has made his way to the bar and ordered, allowing the saloon to return to its previous rambunctious state, Gwen comes in.
Not a thing stops as she walks in, save for a few stray stares and assessments. If she was going to rate high on the 'get a good look' scale, today is not that day, as she stumbles to the bar, dark circles under her storm blue eyes. She even has to raise her voice in order to get the bartender's attention. "Hey, bartender." She waits, her lips spreading in an irritated down. Waiting an appropriate amount of time, she calls again, finally getting the man's attention. "... C'mon, I know I'm not a big spender, but my business's been cut in half... Oh, ah, mutton pie. Maybe some tea." The bartender squints at her, causing Gwen to laugh awkwardly. "I'm.... trying to cut back, okay? ... Do I really need to go over it...? It's not a pretty story..."
Fermented cactus juice. Never again. At least until she forgets how she felt during her hangover.
Rubbing her face, Gwen happens to look over and spot the familiar black clothing of Kahm. "... Oh. Good day, Mr. Rider." Lifting her fingers in a lazy wave, her flat black hat hanging behind her shoulders, she adds, "I know what you're gonna ask me, and I'm sorry to say that I've seen nothing. Turns out, criminals don't get much mail, unless you're in the Badlands." Her smile falls flat. "... That was a horrible joke."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Now, if you'll pardon the interruption and suspend your disbelief for a moment that a horse's passage would be audible above the din of the Starfall Saloon, perhaps in that moment where a mysterious lawman's entry brings a hush to the bar:
A grey horse outside passes by. This isn't a really big deal, by itself, but there are two interesting elements about this horse that bear mention:
1: The wildly-kicking legs of a man being dragged behind the horse in an expertly-caught lasso.
2: The rider atop the horse, wielding an ARM that's hard to classify in the moment it's visible. Gigantic green tube of some kind. Rocket launcher? Metal Gear!?
Allow for a comedic beat after the horse disappears past the doors, the clouds of dust settling. Count to five, if you will.
- CRASH~!*
A tornado of orange (that's the colour of her dress) and stormy grey (that's the colour of the dude in the lasso's shirt) makes an entrance through the swinging doors of the sallon. Ace Drifter, Maya Schrodinger, is hauling a mostly-dazed looking ruffian behind her across the floor and cupping her brow with a hand as she peers around and--
Oh GOD Morgan she NOTICED you and she's LOOKING FOR AUTHORITY! Wanted poster in one hand and human cargo in the other, the gunslinger is shouldering her way through the crowd.
No, uh, no sign of the ARM. At least. That's good.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
For his trouble, Morgan earns a fixed look from Kahm where he sits. It was not a particularly threatening look, but it was a cautious one, as if the man were trying to determine from those few choice words whether or not Morgan was trying to lead him into a conversation that would end with an attempted con. He shrugs his shoulders, and answers honestly, "Not too long, no. A few weeks at most. I didn't expect to be staying this long, but business..."
At this moment, Gwen walks through the door, and Kahm's eyes briefly wander in that direction. He pulled his hat a trifle lower.
"...is business." He said, taking his drink from the bartender's grasp and having a sip. "Marcus Rider." He introduces himself to the other man at the far end of the bar, noting the style of clothing he wore. Kislev. "I don't suppose you've been here long, yourself?" He asked?
Unsurprisingly, Gwen manages to find him. He waves off her apologies and lifts his glass, "No worries, Miss Whitlock, i'm sure you did your best. I'm pleased to say that we managed to catch our man all the same, and he presently awaits transportation." He took another sip from his drink, "So, I can allow you a bad joke or two.
Maya enters with a tempestuous presence, and Kahm raises an eyebrow at the spectacle. "Seems a rough time for criminals on the run in general. I don't know whether that's bad or good for business." He says.
<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
"Morgan Newkirk," The fox-eared man replies with a chuckle as he leans against the bar. "Adventurer's Guild member and liasion. And no, usually I work out of Kislev but..." He waves a hand vaguely. "...things being what they are. I'm suck here for now."
Which sucks. Because all his stuff isn't here.
"The Guildhouse here is nice though, so I manage." A glance then towards Gwen as he chuckles lightly. "Miss," He adds with a tip of his hat. He remembers her. Ida's friend.
He would ask about Ida, but at that moment the door flies open and in stalks...
"Maya! Ha! You're looking better than the last time I saw you." Entirely ignoring the fact that she's dragging someone behind her right now. Though he figures just what she's doing here. Almost casually he downs his drink. "Did you bring me a present?"
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
It's probably a miracle that Gwen has her face pressed into one upturned palm, distorting whatever expression her face may have given at Kahm's news. "I see," she says, looking down. Fei said that Gebler was chasing him. Is Mr. Rider and his associates part of that mysterious group? Nothing seems to point to it, directly. A lot of the more suspicious details could be easily explained by Aveh's blockade messing a lot of daily patterns in this part of the world.
She sighs. It's not really worth it to act like she's neutral. What done is done. "Still not sure what to think of it all, but that's why I don't deal with bounties. But anyway, it was a pleasure doing that dig with you and your associate." Aunt. "If you're ever in need of an extra hand, I'd be willing to help." Her smile is a smidge lopsided there. Kahm, if he was unfortunately enough to possess the same sort of humor as Gwen, would probably realize she's onto joke two.
Admittedly, it's mostly just a ploy to keep herself from revealing any more unsolicited emotions from the courier. Did Fei... really deserve all this?
Trying to keep her mind off things, Gwen moves onto another topic. "Oy, you're from Kislev? Man, that place is cold!" Gwen looks to Morgan then, digging into the mutton pie that's just been served to her. "Do you guys even get a proper summer up there?"
Before such pressing questions can be answered, that's when Maya bursts in on her horse, carrying some poor soul she's managed to catch in her tornado of JUSTICE. "... Um... is he... okay?"
.... It could be a case of dehydration, after all. Some people just... don't have a good sense of how to handle first aid matters.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Morgan ain't wrong: the last time he saw the blonde with all the guns, she was pulling a railroad spike-sized bullet out of her torso and limping away with the help of a bizarre-looking creature who isn't visible here tonight. Either the heal berries in Adlehyde are way more potent than the stuff on civilization's periphery (possible) or Maya is secretly Wolverine (possible).
Begrudgingly, grown-ass men get out of the Drifter's way. A gloved hand points first at Marcus Rider, though it doesn't have an accusatory zip to the motion to worry about. "Hey, plenty more where this idiot came from. Riding on past a holdup isn't my style." and then, swivel, Maya indicates Morgan. Her grin is almost predatory. "Mister Newkirk, guilty as charged. What kind of Schrodinger family head would I be, lying around feeling sorry for myself? Anyway--I'll leave this idiot here, you guys can handle the rest."
Now it isn't that Maya is a tiny girl, but she does seem to have an easy time of depositing her perpetually-stunned prey next to Morgan's stool by way of lifting his leash up and dropping him there. Plonk. She dusts her hands and only now realizes that she has all but charged into a conversation and interrupted. How rude!
"Oh. ... yeah, I didn't shoot him or anything, I just--" the blonde mimes a spinning motion with her wrist, and a flick, as Gwen asks a very fair question of her, "--as I went past. Did I interrupt something important? Heh, apologies, Mister... Miss...?"
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
"Ah, Kislev." Kahm said, nodding to himself, "That would explain your clothes. I've been there once or twice." Usually on surveillance missions, that is.
For all of Gwen's emotionally conflicted response to Fei's capture, Kahm...well, didn't really care. Though he's not so callous to state it outright, the man merely shrugged his shoulders, "You're a private citizen, Miss Whitlock. You've the luxury of being able to think whatever you like on it at all." Provided, of course, that she didn't got and get in anyone's way about the whole mattered. "And my thanks for your help at the dig as well." He added, putting a few twos-and-twos together about the blonde girl's identity as conversation carried on over his head, "It was well for me and Elly that you and that other woman arrived when you did." What her name...?
Meanwhile, Maya's imposing gesture earned a turn of the head from the captain, who sized the curiously strong drifter up accordingly. "Maya Schrodinger.." He said, since she'd already introduced herself in a roundabout way, "Of the Schrodinger family, I take it?" Kahm had never heard of the Schrodingers-why would he?-but he knew a thing or two about how to lead others on.
He took on look at the dazed man in the stool next to him, then back to Maya, "You seem to do good work."
<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
"Technicly Miss...Gwen wasn't it?" Morgan asks with a flash of a grin. "I'm not from Kislev, but...they sort of took me in..." Well arrested him on suspicion of being a spy. "...after a shipwreck, and after winning their Battler arena a time or two they actually started to think I wasn't that bad a guy." His eyes are amused at that as he glances towards her. "But more to your question, yes. Its damn cold. I'm glad for the little extra fur my tail and ears provide." A flash of a grin. "Functional and they look good."
To Kahm he nods slightly, though his choice of words are intresting. That doesn't sound like the typical free wheeling bounty hunters he's met, but he holds his tounge.
His ears cant slightly as Maya explains and now the man just laughs and shakes his head. "Well mighty kind of you to bring him all the way here. I'm sure there is a Guild bounty out for him, so I can handle it. They trust me enough, even if I can't quite continue on what I was doing orgionally."
A shrug at that.
As if it doesn't matter to him as much.
He'll get around to it.
"But yeah, just a bit of a tap is all. No shooting involved." he adds with a smirk as he reaches out to take the criminal by the scruff.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Gwen allows herself a grin, seeming to relax into her stool at Kahm's indifference. "Guess I'm just not used to guys in your line of work acting like proper professionals. Where do you guys work out of, anyway? I got it in my head you were all based around Adlehyde."
This time at least, it's a proper question, its tone as casual as Morgan's earlier. No wide-eyed innocent act of throwing questions out, only to draw them back. Even if Fei were to fall into the hands of Gebler, it wouldn't point fingers at Kahm and his associates; they could have easily just been a third party, hired to do the dirty work to avoid suspicious glances.
After all, you'd know if you were dealing with someone from Gebler, wouldn't you, right...?
"Oh, yeah. Didn't introduce myself properly last time, did I?" Her eyes move back to Morgan's face, her lips spread in an easy smile as she touches two fingers to the side of her head, flicking an invisible hat. "Gwen Whitlock, super courier." Her smile quivers slightly as she says the word 'super', but it's becoming easier to say, at least. "Provided it doesn't go past Aveh right now, I can deliver just about anything." Fake it until you make it, until you have to acknowledge reality. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr..." God, what *was* his name again? "... Newkirk." That's what Maya said, right.
Looking to Maya, Gwen adds, pinning a piece of mutton pie onto her fork, "I can't deliver him, though. But man, you're one of the Schrodingers? I've heard some things about you guys- you get around! It's a pleasure to meet you too! Come on over if that guy's taken care of- you're not interrupting anything."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
If Maya suspects Kahm Ryder of faking it, she doesn't show it. And she doesn't seem like the kind of person to keep that kind of thing secret, so, he's probably doing just fine on that front. "Well, thanks." she quips back with ease, "I don't usually stop to take out the trash like this, but it just keeps leaping out in front of me, lately. All yours, otherwise."
Morgan's carefree approach to the would-be highwayman also doesn't seem to bother Maya at all. "Sure. You can say you found him, for all I care, I just don't want anyone getting roughed up because this loser can't turn an honest coin." her point is punctuated cleanly by her tossing the handling end of lasso loosely onto the bar in front of Morgan. Ownership transfer complete. "The money on Janus Cascade still valid, or did that little charity act of his clear his name...?" she asks, with just a touch (a pinch!) of yandere obsession in her voice.
Luckily for you, and I, and everyone involved, Gwen successfully lowers the tension on the entire situation in a single comment. If there's one thing a glory-hungry Drifter wants, it's recognition. Maya leans on the bar with an elbow, the leather of her holster creaking very gently. "Oho~, a fan? Here? Why thank you, thank you. I assure you, most of it is true. All of the good parts." she's very... animated. Exaggerated motions, loud dress and style, almost a cartoony carciature given life. Curious. "If you and the gentlemen here have any need of safe passage anywhere interesting, why, do let me know? The roads sure are treacherous and the ruins even moreso, these days..."
A gleam in her eye. Please. Please take me somewhere interesting.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
A kislev and a gear battler. Although 'Marcus Rider' showed no particular interest in this information, Captain Kahm Yugh meticulously filed it away in case it would become relevant at some unknown, future date. It was uncommon to find someone from that nation's gladiatorial games so far from home, but it also wasn't relevant to his current mission.
Gwen gets the bulk of the Solarian's attention for now, seeing as how she'd asked him the most involved question. "I like to think I hold myself to a higher standard than other...colleagues as you might turn them." He said, folding his hands patiently, "As for my employer, Smith and Luio has branches in several cities. Elly and I are out of the Bledavik office, but our headquarters are in Aquvy." It was the sort of explanation that seemed too casual to be anything but earnest, unless Kahm was an exceptionally talented at the improvised lie. However, Maya might know there definitely was a Smith and Luio company in the Bledavik that offers the kind of service the black-garbed investigator seemed to be offering, and that they were entirely up on the level. After all, that was generally the point of a front company.
To Maya's offer, he raises his hands, "No good to me, I work strictly on conference. Freelancing is generally frowned upon in my world."
Nonetheless, there is something curious about the way the woman conducts herself-she could be useful. "That said, if you're looking for work, it may be I could have some for you at another time and place. It wouldn't hurt to have a Schrodinger on our side." He said, taking a long, cool, drink to polish off the last of his glass. He didn't particularly like the idea of cavorting with Lambs, but orders were orders: Without the ability to levy their own troops, the Captain was left to recruit local resources as he could.
<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
"Heard good things about Smith and Luio," Morgan says with a nod. "Much more focused than the Guild, but..." Morgan shrugs slightly as he scruffs the poor highway man right off his feet to set him on the stool next to him. "...the Guild is a bit more free with their ways." He adds as he pats the man's shoulder with his gauntleted hand.
"Don't go anywhere, alright now?" He says cheerfully enough.
"But regardless, please just Morgan will do. For all three of you, no reason to be too formal unless this is business. And this isn't quite business, this is just a bit of meeting of the minds. Right?" A flash of a grin. "And Maya, you'll still get your due. The Guild always pays whats due, its part of the rules. Might not have many, but I try to keep the ones we have."
His eyes twinkle at the attention that Gwen's recongnition gets. "And its a pleasure to meet you properly, Gwen Whitlock. Courier is something of a difficult profession at times...but...knowing one can come in handy."
A grin. "And if any of you need help with a bit of exploring, well thats what I like to do, and why the Guild is around."
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"Ahhh." Gwen nods. "No wonder. Aquvy, huh? It'd be neat to go there some day..." Quick, Kahm, slip out while she daydreams of sunny islands, tropical flowers, and fresh ocean breezes. You know, paradise. "I heard it's really green there..." The piece of mutton pie seems drab and flavorless compared to the spices her imagination is inventing to go along with the cheery, unrealistic picture. "You're probably ready to back after all this, lucky b- er, person." It's a well-meaning insult even if Kahm is possibly distracted when she corrects herself.
It's a good sign, really. Gwen's just learning to accept Kahm as a part of the landscape- a part that will woefully be gone, along with his aunt and... that women with the ringlets. Crossiant the XI...? But yes, green hills, trees, ocean, blue waves...
Her fantasy is interrupted by the appearance of a sudden Maya next to her. "A-ah, well, yes. I mean, there's stories." The courier itches the side of her head, displacing a tuft of pale ginger red hair. "I mean, anyone who's colorful enough to stand out often gets talked about sooner or later, and your family's one of those types. Can't say I didn't hear anything bad. Ish." At Maya's offer, Gwen shakes her head, waving one hand. "Ah nah, I'm fine for now! Part of my business model is that I'm able to do most things without extra help. Though, if I get anything really dangerous, I might see if you're free. You too, Mr. Newkirk! Though the pay's not exactly that great at times..." Her shoulders sag. "Maybe once things go back to normal I'll get some good commissions. So, just warning you guys- you got every right to refuse if I come a-callin', y'hear?"
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Business is business, and Maya seems to respect the gravity with which Kahm E. Rough-Rida carries himself, even if she's a little flamboyant and over-the-top by comparison. "Company business only, huh? Makes sense." his refusal seems to have been the right conversation option to score 05 respect points with the drifter. "Oh, I'll be around here until the excitement all dies down and I find what I'm looking for, so you come and let me know if you need to cook up a contract for something interesting. Or I can skip on back to home to Bledavik and come knocking, no big deal."
And then Marcus Rider vanished in a cloud of logic.
Maya turns her back on the departing investigator, her attention on Gwen and Morgan. She has no reason to suspect that he could be anything like a space cop, given the serious reputation his front company carries. "We'll see about the greaseball with the rifle, huh? Rather not think about him for a bit, no matter what the reward is." she claps her hands once as if to close the case, fingers remaining clasped together. "He'll get his in due time, that's all I'm saying. I'd rather we do something a little less violent together, sometime."
Maya can't lean any further back into the bar, sadly, because that would be a fine motion to make while the redhead frets about the health of her business. "The more dangerous something is, the more interesting it is. And that's what I'm really about, Gwen, the interest." the blonde explains this fact very cheerfully, in stark contrast to her earlier need to murder Janus Cascade for shooting her. "Besides! What good's a reputation for if all I do is tell people to get lost with it? Getting a big head like that isn't the Maya Schrodinger I want to become."
<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
"Well to put your mind at ease, the bounty still stands. Charity or no. I think all that charity got him was that he didn't have to fight me too." Morgan replies with a shake of his head. "Though I have to admit, you're pretty damn impressive with those weapons of yours. I was impressed." He nods at that, leaning back against the bar to cradle his drink in one hand.
Maya's catch starts to slowly edge away. One lazy eye fixes on him as Morgan smiles. "So, do ya wanna walk down to the Guildhouse or do ya wanna be carried. Either way is fine by me."
The poor man settles back onto his seat and huddles there. "...can I have a drink at least?"
"Sure! Bartender! Water for my friend here."
The poor crook looks insulted and sullen.
Morgan nods again before looking back towards Gwen. "Don't think anything of it, like Maya here. Its not about the payoff, its about the traveling. The finding out." A pause. "Well its a little about the payoff, man has to eat, but comissions ain't gonna bother me much." A pause. "If you like, I can pass your name around to some people I know. Might help you get some business. Guild has contacts in most of the major cities you can think of and the pay is steady enough."
He drains his drink dry. "But, I think I should be getting this fella back to the Guild before he gets any crazy ideas. Like runnin for it."