2017-03-27: Barroom Business
- Log: Baroom Business
- Cast: Bart Fatima, Lily Keil, Leon Albus
- Where: Starfall Saloon
- Date: March 27th, 2017
- Summary: Bart meets with Lily and Leon, in order to discuss hiring the ex-soldiers. Also OMINOUS TIDINGS.
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
So earlier in the day had been interesting. Bart had ended up having lunch with a good friend, his fianc?e he had been engaged with since childhood who he wasn't entirely sure about, and the second moon princess he had run into in the last month.
It had been interesting, because his companions had, in order, suggested using giant robots of religious significance as weapons, declared that hamburgers were pretty much the best food ever, and then had a minor breakdown over the suggestion that said giant robots of religious significance were being used as weapons.
In short, Bart was GLAD THAT WAS OVER and dear lord he needed more to drink.
Of course he hadn't come to the saloon just to have lunch - the pirate was meeting a few groups of Drifters who had traveled to hear business propositions from the third most wanted man in the area (#1 most likely to get his bounty paid out, who the hell offers billions upon billions of gella for bounties?). The wanted poster for Bart in the saloon has been quiet thoroughly defaced with a devil mustache and goatee, devil horns, glasses, a heart, and about six dozen dart holes.
In this case, he had gotten in touch with a previous associate that he wanted to talk with about a somewhat closer relationship. Lily had mentioned someone else who might be interested, and thus Bart is kicked back in the Starfall Saloon with a couple pitchers of beer and a few mugs (currently empty) on the table as he waits for his guests to arrive.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Not all the wanted posters get the same affectionate treatment. But Lily certainly notices the one for Bart, as she walks in through the saloon. But that gets a bit ahead of herself. The black-clad woman came here today because Bart invited her.
And she, naturally, invited Leon.
She hasn't been very talkaive today; outside her response to someone attempting to chat with her was to look at them near-blankly until they went away.
She might be a little tense.
She hasn't had lunch yet, though.
She is the first to arrive, dressed similrly to how Bart found her last time they spoke, her steps even, crisp, precise. In fact most things about her movements are even and risp and precise, including the way that she comes to a stop just in front of Bart's table, with Leon nearby. "Punctual," she comments. A pause, "Bart, this is Leon Albus. Leon, this is Bart Fatima. Bar, this is the man I mentioned."
She slides into a seat at the table after introductions are handled. They both already know who she is.
Fei Fong Wong has arrived.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon knew the basics, of course. Lily told him some details of the mission -- and that she worked with a sand pirate named Bart. He hadn't been on the mission by a twist of fate, really. He had been doing a lower key delivery, as way to make some gella, when the offer came. He walks beside Lily, hands in the grey coat he wears, and looking as polished as ever: vest, white shirt, black pants, and the well-kept boots.
He stops as they reach the table. His silver eyes look down at Bart, and he makes a quick study. He nods to Lily's assessment. Punctuality is a plus with him.
"Captain Bart," he says. The name Fatima rings a bell, but he doesn't place it immediately. "If I have the title right. I understand you lead a band."
He nods, then, and doesn't repeat his name. He sits down, next to Lily, and glances sideways at her for a moment. Then, he looks back at the beer. His Kislev accent is a little stronger when he declares: "Ah, beer! Good pick. Nortune lager, if I'm not mistaken?"
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
Hey, more people is always a good thing. And Bart is willing to give most people a chance, especially if they are being vouched for by someone he's worked with and has some degree of trust in. But the pirate leans back in his chair a bit, and offers a rough sort of salute by way of two fingers from the corner of his temple to Leon and Lily. "Afternoon to the both of ya," he states with a grin. "Have a seat - can I get you two anything to eat? All on me, in exchange for at least hearing me out." He grins as Leon identifies the booze, and nods. "Not my usual thing but they had a good deal today."
He waits until drink and food orders have been put in with one of the waitresses at the saloon before he turns his attention back to the pair in front of him. Fairly tightly wound, definitely seemed like ex-military of some sort but hard to place them exactly. No strong reaction meant they were either cool cucumbers or weren't familiar enough with his usual shenanigans for them to make a large impression.
"So let me put it to you straight - I was impressed by how Lily handled herself on the mission we went on. Drifters tend to be a pretty mixed lot, and it's always worth it to see who stands out in the crowd. Some ye can just pour back into the damn goat and be better for the lack of association, but people who can stay calm in a tight spot? Always worth cultivating a bit closer ties." He pours out a round for everyone at the table, and takes a long chug from his mug.
"So here we are. Good beer, good food. Nice chance to have a chat, see how things might work out."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
When they sit down, Lily glances to Leon, too, and says nothing herself about the beer... Though she does quirk a very small almost-smile. Not typical from what Bart knows of her yet, regardless.
"Are you ever mistaken about such things?" Lily asks, and then looks back to Bart. "Yes, since you're offering." She places an order with te waitress herself before she looks back to Bart again, and 'tightly wound' hardly describes it with her.
She waits through Bart's explanation, and his compliments, without much reaction. She waits, until she gets her own beer, and then she picks it up in a gloved hand to take a gulp.
The mug rests on the table again in a moment, "Flattery will get you nowhere unless it comes with more pay," she poits out, and it's wry enough that it might be a joke. "But we accomplished the mission well enough."
A pause. "I'm willing to hear our what you mean by closer ties. But I don't work alone for long."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Thanks," Leon says. He nods, once, and then glances to the side. He could go for some food, actually. His eyes scan the menu, then nods. For him, it's the stew and a hunk of the local bread. He is soon dipping a chunk of that bread into the stew before he chomps into it.
He still hesitates a moment, though, at the compliment. "I've worked with a few Drifters," he says, "since we've started. I see what you mean. We have a few names in the 'I' column in the notebook." He does not explain, precisely, what the 'I' column is. But he does look at Lily, and there are hidden meanings in that glance. (The meanings are not really half as hidden as Leon likes to think.)
Then, he looks back at Bart, and he nods to what Lily says. "We need gella," he says. "That said... having reliable partners is worthwhile. What do you have in mind?"
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
"I've got enough mistakes that if I shed a tear for each of em, we'd not have to worry about half the continent turning into a damn desert," Bart replies with Lily, although there's not really a whole lot of modesty in the reply. Really that was Bart - live larger than life, and rely on audacity to get you through problems. "Learning to fight, hell learning to *live*, means making mistakes."
She might have been talking about the beer, but Bart was willing to take the inch and run with it.
"Anyways, I call things like I see em. 'sides, if flattery didn't work then people wouldn't use it as often as they do." Bart grins, and then takes another sip from his mug. Yeah, this wasn't bad at all. He might have to get a keg to take back to Mason on the Yggdrasil.
"But when you can't get what you need with a silver tongue, a gold coin will usually suffice, eh? And sounds like you're in need of a bit more income as well," he adds after Leon speaks and explains that their gella situation isn't the best.
Bart does note the glances, although he writes them off as these two being long term partners. If it's anything more than that, well... all in good time. Not like he knows them that well, and he sure as heck wouldn't like some stranger poking into his background. But since the two were wanting to get to it. "Right then, to business."
Bart puts all four legs of his chair back on the ground, and leans over the table, resting on one elbow as he considers Leon and Lily. "I happen to run a small... operation that kicks around the Aveh and Badlands region. Might have heard of us, might not have, all things considered it doesn't really matter that much. But while we've got a good presence out in the desert, we're actually kind of constrained out here in the east. Been handling a lot of my own supply acquisition, that sort of thing.
"What I was originally looking for were basically allies in the region. Occasionally deliver messages, arrange for material pick-ups, act as agents for me and my people. In exchange I give you a retainer - funds, access to our safe houses in the area, that sort of thing. I'd also like first call on any military supplies and Gear parts you happen to come across adventuring in the field at a good market rate. Overall, pretty cushy except for the whole 'working as agents for pirates' thing, but neither of you struck me as being sorts who are desperate to stick to the straight and narrow."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily got the same as Leon, plus a side of bacon, plus some eggs. ...She made this order casually, like it was entirely normal.
She's chewing bacon when Bart mentions what he does about mistakes, and keeps watching him for a long few moments. She's stll thinking about it by the time that Bart get around to following up.
A little sound like a laugh escapes the back of her throat on the matter of flattery. "Point taken." She takes a bigger sip from her beer in short order.
She obviously looked back to Leon about the 'I' column; she knows it isn't that subtle. it doesn't need to be.
Business, though.
She watches thoughtfully, inclining her head as she tears off a chunk of break and dips it into the stew. "Mm..." A consideration, "Only in Aveh and the Badlands? That's not what I hear of this pirate operation." A pause, as she lifts a hand. "Leon, what do you think?" she asks, and there's an unmistakable but small note of deference in her voice all of a sudden.
Besides, she knows he may not like it much.
"...One thing," she says, focusing again on Bart. "If we take this deal... I'd be willing to give you first call on these supplies that we don't retain for our own personal use." A look back to Leon. "...Important either way," she says, and waits.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon looks sideways at Lily, sharing a brief look. He catches the deference -- even if they aren't commander and subordinate, any more, he recognizes it for what it is. He looks back at Bart, then. He hadn't encountered those pirates before, but he had heard of them. They were a thorn in the sides of both Aveh and Kislev. He nods, and it is more considered then.
"It's a good deal," Leon says. "Their operation is professional. It's definitely given people some headaches. And after the troubles we've had recently..."
He thinks of Jude Moshe, then his frown intensifies that much more.
When Lily makes her exception, he nods, then looks bak at Bart. "We can agree to that," he says. "We do need our own supplies. We're conducting an investigation of our own. Sometimes, it needs resources." It may not be an investigation, really, all considered.
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
"Alright it's where we PREFER to operate," Bart admits to Lily. Man some people were sticklers for exacly where you were blowing things up. Not like he wanted to blow up anyone, but it wasn't like peaceful protesting was going to get rid of Shakhan anytime soon. Then again, the alternatives hadn't been that great either.
But Lily's caveat does make him laugh. "Not like we'd know if you took something for your own use - although if you're hard up for supplies we can certainly add some in to the retainer, when we've got extra. Drifters generally don't bring anything useful back when they end up dead due to lack of bullets."
It seemed like they certainly were amenable to the idea, at least as Bart had... originally intended it. Unfortunately neither of them had picked up on that... um... little qualification he had made.
Damn he hated having to bring new stuff up when everything was going so well.
"...okay, so... original deal is pretty good, right? Something you two can work with? You seem like reliable people, and I figure it's a win-win for both sides. So... right." Bart leans back again, his brow furrowed in concentration. "How to put this..."
His food arrives (it's a hamburger) (the waitress just gives him a look that one might give to a bandit who had stolen their favorite cow, LOOK HE CAN'T HELP THE ATROCITY THAT OCCURRED EARLIER HERE, THEY WERE ALL REALLY HUNGRY!) and Bart takes a bite out of the burger to buy a bit of time. Pauses. Long drink of beer.
Right.
"Anyways, here's the thing. The situation changed since our mission, Lily. And I kinda need... well, a bit more than just a couple agents. I also need some people who are willing to blow items, monsters, and-or people to smithereens without a whole lot of notice as well."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Is, was, whatever. It's not gone.
She nods as Leon calls it a good deal, though she has her own exception to make, too. First, there's a certain correction, and...
"I just wanted to be clear," she says. But then, it's not as if it really matters where they operate.
"There are just certain pieces of military hardware that we find useful." A shrug. ...Lily gets back to her food. It's not hamburgers, but she's devouring part one of lunch at... quite a pace. It's disappearing quickly.
"An investigation," she agrees with Leon. But then... Well, Lily's weasel instincts kick in as she hears Bart trying to find a way to put something. Her expression flattens. "Yes..?"
Then he mentions what he actually needs, and Lily lets out a quick breath that sounds like a laugh. "..Of course. The original deal isn't on the table anymore. Well..."
Lily shrugs, and looks at Leon. "Why not? I might as well put my demolitions training to work." To Bart, "Assuming you're being literal." Lily picks up another piece of bacon, "It's not as if I have any reason not to anymore. And I'm quite good at it. Really, being asked to blow items, monsters, and people up is old hat." She keeps eating.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"The retainer sounds useful," Leon says, just before he takes another spoonful of stew. He quiets, though, because he also catches the way that he hedges -- the way it sounds like he had something in mind. His eyes narrow, and he half expects a sales pitch or a plea for free help. After the last one that Jude pulled on him, he feels himself growing wary.
But it isn't that. He looks sideways at Lily, and his brow furrows, but he nods.
"We can help with that, too. We have some experience in that field," he says. That may be an understatement. "So you want us on call. You want people who are ready to fight something. That means... you have something that you expect to fight."
He leans forward, his expression more thoughtful, and his expression is interested instead of wary. "What is it?"
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
"Nah, original deal is still good," Bart replies - he doesn't want them to think that he doesn't find their help valuable even as it was originally stated. "Think of this as something of a supplement due to... um... information that has come into my possession. Information that I honestly find..."
He pauses, and looks up at the ceiling. This was going to sound SO STUPID wasn't it? It's not like he was ignorant or anything, he was just... focused on his own field of study. Not the whole mystic mumbo jumbo thing.
"Right, I'll do the best I can here. But..." Bart holds up his hands, in a sort of 'what can I say' sort of gesture. "I have... a source that has told me that they are expecting something bad to happen to Adelhyde soon. Some sort of disaster or crisis or something. Now, they were... not terribly specific." That was an understatement if he'd ever said one. "Because their information on whatever said crisis would be is already kind of vague.
"Now Adelhyde has generally done right by us, and I don't want to see the people here take a hit if I can avoid it. At the same time, well... man." Bart scuffs his hair with one hand. "I HATE this whole mystic mumbo jumbo. Basically I also want you two to keep an eye out for anything weird, and be ready to help push back if something bad does happen. Problem is I have no clue what 'something bad' could be."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily nods along at the matter of the retainer being useful, finds herself with little to say to Leon directly for the moment as they look at one another. SHe waits instead for what Bart has to say.
"Ah." The deal is still good. Bt the question of information tries Lily's patience; she pauses in what she's doing to pick up her beer, drinking it and looking over the glass at Bart while he figures out waht he's goin to say. She waits.
"...So there's a problem, but you don't know wht the problem is, except that it's bad and it's significant enough to affect the Adelhyde," sh says, in a flat sort of tone of voice. "Well..."
"That's kinder than I was expecting. I'm willing to keep an eye out. I'm interestd in this..." Wry, "Mystic mumbo jumbo." Her spirits are already a bit better.
"We'll be investigating around the area regardless. We may see something useful to what you have in mind."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Mm. Good," Leon says, with a nod. He glances sideways at Lily, taking her response in -- seeing the way she seems unsure. His eyebrows furrow, though, as he looks back. A source of information could be anyone; the fact that he admits it was vague makes him wonder about it all the more. He frowns, and then he looks down at the table.
It is vague. So vague that he doesn't even know what to look for.
"Damned hard to prepare for, though," he says. "It sounds like we need to be worried for anything that could pose a threat to this kingdom. I don't know where to begin with that." Especially because Adlehyde is so peaceful. After years of living in Kislev, it feels nearly alien.
"We can keep our eyes open," he says. "And if... 'mystic mumbo jumbo' happens, we'll be ready."
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
"Good lord, who do I look like? Blackbeard the Train Robber? The September Strangeler? Pop in the Box?" Bart looks at Lily for a moment and laughs. "Generally if I've got a grudge to settle, I'm gonna do it myself. Paying other people to settle scores for me isn't my style. But keeping people safe?"
He leans over the table, his one eye looking intently at Leon and Lily. "That's worth good money to me. Especially for people who've been trying to keep things from falling apart while lunatics like Shakhan wreck Aveh up one side and down the other looking for some god damn relic that probably don't even exist anymore."
A sigh, and the chair scrapes on the floor a bit as Bart leans back. "Whatever happens probably won't be mystic mumbo jumbo - I expect it will be big, loud, and far too obvious for my tastes. Might have something to do with the Golems, or some 'Herald of the End'. Hell might even be that kid Lily and I pulled out of that Gebler base. Could even be someone finds the Legendary Omnigear and rolls up looking for a fight."
But Bart does nod in respect to both Lily and Leon. Definitely ex-military. "Not too many people who would agree though, without asking about my source. Says a lot about you two. Pretty much all of it good things."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily, while Leon is watching her, is paused, viewed largely in profile as she watches Bart. Her golden eyes stay on the pirate at first, her posture straight, her attemption clear.
Her gaze is particularly piercing when Bart asks what he looks like, makes all these comprisons. It's obvious enough what she's doing; she's studying him as he says those things, and glances to Leon once before looking back to Bart. "Huh. So that's how you are."
A look to Leon again, "If it's something Adelhyde can handle itself, there's no need for us."
A nod, at Bart's assessment. "So, good and kind things. ...Hope it's not the kid. He was entertaining."
Lily lifts her mug and takes a sip, expression a little lighter... for her. "It says convenient things for you. That's good, isn't it?"
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"There are people out there who would do that," Leon says, levelly. "Either because they're cruel... or they're so efficient that they don't care that they're cruel." His expression stays carefully calm, as he looks back at Bart and his one good eye. He leans back, though, and nods his head again.
"The person you rescued," Leon says. "I hope it isn't any of those things. If it is, we'll do our best to be ready. Even if..." He looks sideways at Lily. "...It's outside of our usual areas of expertise."
Then, he looks back at Bart. His expression remains serious -- but he cracks a smile at the end, when Lily speaks. "We're willing to help. We have our mission... and I put what we're after first and foremost. I should warn you of that. But... that doesn't mean that we're like those people that I mentioned."
He lifts his beer, but he speaks a little more before he takes a sip. "It doesn't make us heartless. We'll help with something like that."
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
"In which case you two can keep your heads down and we're all happy. But... I don't think it will be. Or it might not be or... look I don't know!" Bart sounds both amused an exasperated by all this. It's not his area that he can explain very well, and clearly it frustrates him to not have some sort of concrete bit of information to hand out.
'Look my old friend who happens to be the princess is receiving messages from the planet itself that Bad Things Are Coming' raises so many difficult questions when spoken out loud.
"Anyways, I don't think that there's any problems in our deal here. I wouldn't expect you to put aside whatever it is you're out here for. A lot of Drifters have stories, things they're looking to accomplish. Hell, maybe once day I'll be able to give you a hand." The pirate smiles at that - he always enjoyed giving people a hand. Doing something good as opposed to just wrecking things was always a nice change of pace. "So, do we have a deal? First look after you've had your cut, getting in touch with people for supplies and setting up deliveries on your part, supplies, a retainer, and support on our end if you need it from us." Pause. "And then if things go to hell, three good folks willing to run towards the shooting rather than away from it."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily has little to say about the matter of cruelty. Instead she looks to Leon and inclines her head. "Yes. Even if it's one of those things."
But she di suggest a possibility of her own, and Bart makes his answer to that. She stares at him as he indicates how little he knows, but she can certainly see his frustration. "It doesn't matter; it'll be whatever it is. That's all."
Lily looks to Leon as he mentions they aren't like those people, that they aren't heartless. It doesn't last long.
"...Let's help you first," Lily says, as if almost reluctantly, "And then think about us later. You, and Adelhyde, apparently."
A pause. "...Don't get me wrong. I'm just doing what's necessary. But I'll be there with you if it happens." A look to Leon, "...Will we? I think this deal puts us in a better position than we were in before."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon would be a little more skeptical if he knew that, but only a little. After all, maybe royalty know things.
He looks sideways at Lily, meeting her gaze. There is a slight nod of his head -- as much clearing the situation with her as it is a small reassurance to her. He looks back at her, then, and he nods. "Yes," he says. "You have a deal. We'll assist you with that. And... the rest, as we discussed."
He leans back. "It does," he says to Lily, with another glance at her. Then, he looks back to Bart. "A pleasure doing business with you, Bart."