2017-04-02: Barroom Business II
- Log: Baroom Business II
- Cast: Bart Fatima, Fei Fong Wong
- Where: Adlehyde - Starfall Saloon
- Date: 4/2/2017
- Summary: Bart finally lets Fei out of his room, and the two talk business. And alliances.
=======================<* Adlehyde - Starfall Saloon *>======================== Located in the southwest quadrant of Adlehyde, the Starfall Saloon is situated next to the local Adventurer's Guild outpost and kitty-corner from an ARMs Meister; the mostly-happy not-at-all-coincidence has turned the Saloon into a popular gathering place for Drifters. The Saloon has been carefully constructed to recreate the feel of a frontier alehouse - it has stables and a livery out back, and the main floor is taken up almost entirely by the sort of dark, slightly dank wooden tables and chairs that appeals to its clientele. An old harpsichord even sits in the corner, although it does not seem to be heavily used. Or in tune, for that matter. The Saloon's proprietor and bartender is known as Honest Tom; this is a bit of an in-joke among the regulars, as the man rarely speaks more than a dozen words over the course of an evening. The Starfall Saloon is widely known among Drifters for offering warm beds, cold beer and decent grub for a fair price, and so it sees a great deal of out-of-town traffic. It is also known for the three rules hung over the bar: NO GUNS, NO FIGHTS, NO CREDIT. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MQRL7xws7w
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
So, Bart has basically locked Fei in his room for a bit after the rescue. This was sort of ironic, given that Fei had already been in jail before when they had broken him out, but the one eyed pirate hadn't wanted to take the chance that the strange young man was going to run off and turn himself back over to Gebler.
Bart hates redundancy when it comes to rescues and that sort of thing, so he figured that just keeping Fei contained until he seemed a little less crazy was probably the best way to go about things.
Now, this was a nice saloon with a nice inn nearby, and Bart's decided to see if Fei is ready to settle down and talk some sense. So he's in the saloon, with a plate of snacks and a pitcher of beer, when Sigurd brings Fei from his room and leaves him to Bart's tender mercies.
"So, I've really only got one question for you right off here - regardless of anything else kid, you still planning to go throw yourself back into the arms of the Gebler bastards, or have ye settled down some?"
Direct, to the point, and making sure that the core problem has been addressed.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
LAST TIME ON YOU'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED FEI FONG WONG!
BART: Lets find your gear, I mean a big ass gear, or maybe I'll just cutting your throat is better, you can pilot it until your brain turns to mush, my buddy! And just before the lights go out, you'll see my smile and you'll know you have a friend, with a gear, who cares, I mean a big ass gear!
TALISE: How about some rope? I've got some quality rope, made for a man who's devoid of hope like you are, my buddy, Fong Wong Fei
FEI: That's Fei Fong Wong
TALISE: Right. I won't leave you there, twitching as you can't move, this pal of mine, I'll leave you in a cell--and strand you with pirates.
BART and SIGURD: This world is cold when you're alone, and they ignore you, but don't kill yourself! We'll do it for you...
NOW
Fei Fong Wong's doom approaches ever closer. He expects that he will be called to go into that murderous annihilation killing gear once more and they'll want him to massacre something. Maybe a village? Probably a village or something. That's the sort of thing pirates like, right? It'll be either that or live in a holding cell forever. Or be murdered. He doesn't really know what Bart's up to here. But he's being...friendly now, which is confusing. Then again he was pretty friendly when he kidnapped him.
"No... No I'm not going to go back." What's the point? He'd just be broken out again. If not by Bart, by someone else who wants to use his power. Fei mumbles and doesn't look directly towards Bart as he adds, "But why'd you go to all this trouble anyway? Whenever I get in a gear, people get hurt. If I fight people die. Maybe I look like a guy that likes to hurt people, but I don't! I don't want to hurt people. I don't want anyone to die. I hate it." He sighs. "Can't you see that? I know you didn't pick me up to paint your portrait."
He pauses.
"Unless you did..? I mean, I could probably do a pretty striking portrait--I mean anyone in an eyepatch can look incredible in a painting.
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
Sigh. Well, this at least helped to alleviate one of Bart's fears at this point - that Fei was some sort of Herald of the End as had been mentioned by certain spiritually sensitive folks that Bart knew. He doubted that someone who waffled that much about things would be capable of Heralding any sort of end, but... hey.
"Have a seat kid - I'm not gonna eat you or anything. I've had my fill of babies for this month, and I think you'd still be a bit too stringy even for my taste." Bart means it as a joke, but he can see that the kid is on edge. The pirate sighs, and gestures to the chair across the table from him with one hand. "Not gonna hurt you to at least have a seat and hear me out, and no. I'm not going to throw you back in the Gear right this second and make you go out and fight."
When he hears that this kid can paint, Sigurd had made the comment that maybe they could have the most lethal royal painter ever. Bart hadn't been terribly amused by the comment.
"Anyways, my biggest concern is just you going back to Gebler - I can tell you that they wouldn't have any problems with making you fight if they could find a good level to do so. But hell." Bart waves a hand in a general northern and western direction. "But let's be clear - you WERE involved in that fracas out in Lahan, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Oh. Would they really do that? It sounded like Elly was trying to warn him about more than just 'interrogation sucks'. He bites the inside of his cheek as he considers this information from Bart. He remains quiet on the matter of eating babies. It's a little less funny when you've accidentally killed some.
But he does seem to relax when he hears Bart's not going to MAKE him get into the gear. In fact, he seems pretty reasonable right now. Maybe--maybe he better chill out. He takes in a deep breath and then slowly lets it out, leaning back in the chair. He takes some pretzel sticks (or whatever is local) and munches on a few.
"Okay." He says. "I'll hear you out."
And he listens for the moment. He says, "I won't go back to Gebler," seriously. "Especially if they're just going to make me fight ANYWAY. That's why I went to them, figuring I'd be less dangerous." But then Bart does mention Lacan and his face darkens. He takes in another deep calming breath and manages, "Yeah." He closes his eyes, rememering those strange visions, seeing Timothy get killed again and again. When he opens them again, he sees that he has dug his hands into the table so hard it left a small dent.
"Yeah. It's my fault. I got into that gear and it went crazy. Or maybe--maybe I went crazy. I wanted to PROTECT Lacan. But my friend got killed and--and I blacked out. And when I came to, Lacan ... Lacan wasn't there anymore."
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
"Sounds like a hell of a machine. But sounds like you didn't have access to it beforehand, and you didn't have any experience, so I'm inclined to say it might be some sort of automatic defense system as opposed to anything you did. At least until I know more," Bart comments, before pausing to take a long pull from his mug of beer. He wasn't... entirely sure that was true, especially seeing the rather potent martial art the kid had used, but it was probably what Fei needed to hear at this point.
"I feel for you, kid - I really do. But Lahan's not the first small town on the border that's been wiped off the map by this war, and it probably won't be the last. I've seen too much blood since I started this whole pirating thing, and our goal has been to try and shut the fighting down when we can." He waves one hand, pushing aside any protest regarding how it was 'his fault' from Fei with a rather dismissive gesture. "Push comes to shove, if there hadn't been Gebler and Kislev troops in your village, no one would have been hurt. I don't blame people who are trying to defend themselves after ending up in a crack somehow. The fact that the people who attacked you didn't walk away from that mess is more justice that a lot of other people chewed up during this war ever get."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei's hand twists into a fist as Bart, by HIS feeling, shrugs off the destruction of Lahan. But Bart continues and he relaxes again. He promised to listen. So he will listen instead of punching Bart. Keeping his word matters to him and if he would prefer to END the fighting, so much the better.
"I'm... I'm not sure I agree with that. I know the survivors don't." And that, to Fei, probably matters to him more than what a well-meaning pirate thinks.
"...But thanks." He adds. It's hard to keep beating himself up for what happened in Lahan like that, but he doesn't really know what else he'll do.
"Well it's not like I'm gonna bring them more trouble," Fei admits. "But you're saying you want to end the fighting? How's a pirate gonna do that? I mean, peace isn't really good for...piracy, is it? I mean if you can't take advantage of a war, it's a lot harder to plunder...I'd think."
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
The questioning about how peace is going to help Bart's bottom line is enough to get a laugh from him. Aaah, if only this kid knew. But he didn't, and he wasn't going to go ahead and explain exactly why he wants the war to stop. At least not directly. Being oblique, on the other hand...
"Hey, I don't go tellin' you know to mix your paints, so show me the same favor and don't tell me how we're gonna pirate," Bart declares, although the grin and his amused tone of voice show that he's not taking any offense at Fei's not exactly unreasonable commentary. Believe me, I've got a long term plan, and ending the war between Aveh and Kislev is a major part of it. Not sayin' its gonna be easy or anything, but there is a goal in the end there."
He holds his hands out, and shrugs. "I feel for your loss kid, and I know it's gonna be rough. You gotta decide how you're gonna make it up to those folks, though. I know you don't want to fight, and that's cool. I'm not someone who's going to force someone to stand up and throw a punch just 'cause I saw so."
But Bart leans over the table, and his eye is intense as he stares at Fei. "So we'll keep you safe and out of Gebler's hands. But I won't lie - I don't think you'll be able to sit on your hands for the rest of your life. The sort of guy who jumps into a Gear to protect his town doesn't just sit back and let people get mangled in front of him. Especially when he knows he can make a difference."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong says, "I'm--I'm not telling you how to pirate, I'm just--" Wait, was he just joking around there? "--oh, haha. Okay. Ending that war..." He thinks about it. It's because of that war that there even IS a Weltall, isn't it? It's because of that war that it landed right in his village. If he's actually serious about ending that war, then--well, he's in support of that. "You're right something like that isn't going to be easy. But if you're serious about that--then I guess you're a pretty good guy after all." WOW FEI!! Though wait--this pirate. This pirate is calling HIM kid? Just how old is HE? Still, he can't help but wonder if Weltall could really help with that. He supposes it's moot. He doesn't have Weltall right now.
"--Alright." He says. "You've convinced me. I'll help you out, Bart. I don't have Weltall right now, but I'm still pretty confident in my martial arts." He hasn't accidentally murdered anybody important with THOSE.
Sure you haven't buddy
Fei pinches the bridge of his nose briefly but only for a moment. "If you want Weltall, you'll have to find Doc--er, Citan Uzuki. I know Gebler's gonna be after him too though--I mentioned him during interrogation. I figured he'd be safe anyway, since Doc knows what he's doing. He's uh. He wears green, black hair, glasses. If you find him, he's got Weltall with him but for the moment all I can relaly do for you is uh, you know, punch people."
He pauses. "And kick them. I'm good at that sort of thing."
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
Bart has been calling people older than him 'kid' since he was 14.
Sometime things happened that ended up making you grow up way, way too fast. And while he sympathizes at the hard time Fei has had... the kid also hasn't been running an entire rebellion for the last six years either.
"Ain't got no plans to make you fight, either using a Gear or not. Seems like you can handle yourself, but if you decide you want to help out is your choice. Just keeping you out of the bad guys' hands is already a pretty good down payment as far as I'm concerned. " Bart picks up a fried pastry and tosses it back in a single outsized bite. Because good food is meant to be enjoyed whole, apparently.
"And I'm no gonna lock you up again. But for right now, until we head back to the ship, there's one job I want to give you here in Adelhyde." A quick gesture encompasses all of the saloon - and more, the city beyond. "A good friend of mine has received some... well, supernatural advice concerning something bad happening out here in Adelhyde." Said incident is - probably - not the Cucco invasion. "I want you to keep an eye out for anything unusual happening. Strangers that don't seem to fit in beyond our usual crop of 'HI I'M FROM THE MOON' we've been getting lately, although hell if you can keep an eye on them too, I don't think it would hurt. Hell, get some paints and a canvas, ask about hiring out a rooftop or deck somewhere and paint things if you're of a mind to. Just keep an eye out for anything strange, and let me know if you do see something concerning. Easy enough, eh? And no need for any punching or kicking."
Bart hopes, at least.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei says, "Huh." as Bart says all he really seems to want in exchange for freeing him ... is for him to not go back to jail. This guy, fei thinks....is strange. But--he can do that, he figures. He just has to not help Gebler, something he's already pretty inclined to do! Well, except for ONE PARTICULAR Gebler, but the odds of him running into Elly again are, what, a billion to one?
When Bart says what he wants him for, Fei thinks: 'The Cuccos', but it soon becomes apparent that Bart isn't talking about the Cuccos. He isn't, right? Not the Cuccos? That's a real menace but there's probably plenty of people helping save Filgaia from the Cucco Storm.
"Alright. I can do that. I can paint on rooftops too. I don't have money but I can keep my eyes open. I have a good eye. Though uh, I do have a bounty. What do you think I should be looking for, about? What's the general story?"
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
"What part of 'supernatural sources' didn't make sense to you?" Bart grumbles, and then spends the next few moments pouring himself another glass of beer. Draining it. Pouring himself ANOTHER glass. Draining that one. Pouring a third, ordering a refill, and considering if he wants to chug down this glass to keep the other two company.
"Look, my source doesn't tell me how to pirate, I don't tell them how to get the spirits of the planet, the Guardians, or whatever the hell is speaking up this week to cough up whatever warning de jour is being beamed into their brain." Bart decides that four is a bit much at the moment, and puts down his mug with a rather loud thud and a small splash of beer on the tabletop.
"So you have, literally, now heard about as much of the story as I know. They don't get these tips for things like locust blights or riots - generally if they get a warning about something bad coming, it's gonna be less 'oh damn that's not good' and more 'get the women and children and flee for your lives'." He grumbles, eyes the beer again. Maybe? No, he'll be good. "So kinda bad. Anyways..."
A small bag of coins is produced from Bart's jacket, and he tosses it to Fei. "Consider this your pay for a couple weeks. Should cover room and board. If someone tries to grab you, scream bloody murder - most bounty hunters aren't stupid enough to try and get people in town, since it gets messy and is technically kidnapping if your bounty isn't from the crown. I'll let Lily and Leon know to keep an eye out for you, and if anyone tries to grab you they should be along to help you bust heads.
"Any other questions?"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong thinks--The Baskar? Is this the SAME Baskar guy he kept running into? Probably not. That's a little too coincidental.
Bart tosses a small bag of coins towards Fei. He can tell from the jingle and weight that this is more money than he made in a week of doing art commissions on the side of the road. Fei never thought he was a particularly mercenary individual, but room and board. ROOM for that matter. Board is nice, but ROOM? He hasn't had ROOM since Lahan exploded. Well, if you don't count prison cells.
"Just keep an eye out and report it to you if I figure it's anything. Or if it's nothin' I guess."
Seems like Bart gets it but lets be real here. Bart understands whom Fei is pretty well.
The odds that he'll just sit on his hands and do nothing if he sees something concerning? Lets just say nobody's taking that bet.
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
"Believe me," Bart comments, and raises his glass. "I am SINCERELY hoping this turns out to be nothing."