2017-09-22: A Fair Exchange
- Log: A Fair Exchange
- Cast: Dayton Derrida, Layna Manydays
- Where: November City
- Date: Sep. 22, 2017
- Summary: Captain Layna seeks help repairing an ARM - but it might cost her something other than her Gella.
<Pose Tracker> Dayton Derrida has posed.
All of a sudden there were a lot of Gear-related jobs floating around November City. Dayton spent a lot of time working on a few of them.
Things seem to have settled down since then; it's given him more time to spend not only back at his main digs in Kill Hawk village, but back here at the storefront he set up in the city. It's not too far from the Adventurer's Guild office, easily discoverable by Drifters. The sign in the window is simply printed but tells the tale:
WESTWIND & DERRIDA, PROFESSIONAL MACHINISTS
To enter into the shop is to find less fancy decor and more interesting pieces of machinery - sitting in the window, for instance, is some weathered-looking contraption consisting of a series of rings and orbs arranged around an incredibly complicated array of cogs, gears and spindle arms, about the size of a couple of heads put together. On various shelves, more interesting items can be found - clocks in good working order, mechanical parts that look like they came from Aveh and Kislev Gears, a few more that seem like they could fit into lots of things. Another rack altogether is laden down with gunsmoke ARMs, all of them simple but of excellent quality and in great condition.
One more of those arms is in the hands of the man behind the counter. He's a tall fellow with sandy hair neatly swept back into a short ponytail, and at the moment he's donned a pair of glasses, pale blue eyes peering through them at the ARM he's working on. It's a gunsmoke revolver, which he's currently tinkering with, fussing with the magazine with a tiny, thin tool.
Deftly, Dayton snaps the ARM closed, then gives it an experimental heft with his right hand, checking its balance. He nods, then maneuvers it about, then pantomimes snapping off a shot.
The balance of it seems to satisfy him. He smiles faintly, then carefully sets it down on the counter.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Not too long ago, Layna had found something interesting - a gunsmoke revolver, discarded amongst a variety of others treasure in a hidden stash at the bottom of a sandworm lair. It was not an overly fancy piece of equipment, bearing not much in the way of decorations or engravings, but to her eyes it was well-constructed and looked like must have been a reliable partner to whoever had owned it before her.
Unfortunately, time and its surroundings weren't kind to it. In it's current state, she'd be lucky if she were able to hit anything with it. It needed maintenance and repairs that she wasn't equipped to handle, even if she knew the first thing about ARM repair.
It's for that reason that she can be found strolling the streets of November City that day, her eyes scanning the windows for a shop that'd be able to handle it. Eventually her eyes land on one, and her grin widens.
This'll do.
She strolls into Westwind & Derrida's, looking entirely out of place among all the machinery around here. It catches her eye, though - while she had managed to obtain a working familiarity with Filgaian technology, this was her first time being literally surrounded by it...unless one counted the cockpit of her Gear.
She looks it all over with interest, but manages to pull herself away from it all long enough to approach the counter.
"Ahoy there, lad." Layna greets with a nod. "You work on ARMs here, aye?"
<Pose Tracker> Dayton Derrida has posed.
Time is seldom kind to things, including human beings.
Entering the shop triggers a small bell above the door. At the sound of it, Dayton looks up from his work with the revolver, setting the weapon neatly off to one side to rest next to another pair of ARMs, one of them a long-barreled pump-action shotgun.
"Welcome to Westwind and Derrida. I'm Dayton Derrida, proprietor," he greets the arriving woman with an easy smile, straightening his shoulders a little and giving her a quick once-over. She doesn't look like she's around here - which probably means she's a Drifter.
Perfect.
"I work on a great many things, including ARMs," he confirms with a nod towards the rack of guns sitting nearby, then another towards those on the table. He shifts his weight to lean slightly on the counter, evidently preferring to have a little help bearing his weight. There are certainly bigger people in the world, though he's in the curious position of being the sort who looks like he was muscular well before he put on a few pounds.
"Are you looking for something specific? We've got a fair selection if you're interested in a new one," he invites. "Or do you have one that needs a little attention?"
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna's definitely the sort that stands out. This is often by design, as she's perfectly capable of wearing more casual clothes when the mood strikes her. But why would she do that, if she wanted to make an impression?
Depending on how much he'd been keeping an eye on current events, he might recognise her from some posters that went up a few weeks ago. There was no bounty on her, but she was apparently wanted for some light questioning about something that had happened.
Hopefully that doesn't affect the decision about whether or not he'd help out.
"Layna Manydays, Captain of the Ruby Empress. A pleasure to meet you, lad." She says with a grin. It was her customary greeting that sounded like she'd rattled it off hundreds of times before.
She glances over toward the rack of guns before turning her attention back to the man himself. She reaches into one of the pouches at her side, drawing out the revolver she discovered.
"As a matter of fact, aye, I do. Found this one here a few days ago. Wondering if you'd be able to work your magic on it." She says, setting the revolver on the counter.
It looked like it would've been a high-quality weapon, if it weren't in its current damaged state.
<Pose Tracker> Dayton Derrida has posed.
Wanted posters only make Dayton more interested in the Drifters he meets in the course of his journey. Or rather, his staying right where he is, because journeying's hard for him now.
"A Captain? Don't see many Captains around these parts outside of Aveh and Kislev sorts," he says with a broad smile and a slow nod, seemingly not all that bothered by being called a lad despite the fact that he's probably in his mid-to-late twenties. He may be old compared to drifters, but he's young for a small business owner. "I assume the Ruby Empress is a ship?"
Not one he's familiar with, he realizes. The maritime world must be changing. Either that or she's from abroad. The accent would make it make sense.
Layna pulls out her discovery and sets it down, and Dayton leans over it with a purse of his lips. "Interesting. It's of very good quality," he says as he carefully picks it up in gloved hands. He reaches up to flick a lens into place over one pane of his glasses, squinting through the extra lens as he takes in the lines of the barrel, then turns the weapon over to peer at the base of the grip. "An older one. Not quite Metal Demon Wars-issue, sadly. But the mark here --" He taps a little emblem stamped into the base of the grip, depicting a stylized 'O.F.B.', half-obscured by patina and smudges. "The initials? That stands for Oscar F. Blackbird. He was a manufacturer out of Adlehyde about a hundred years ago who was known for making some extremely well-balanced revolvers. The condition's a little rough...."
Popping the magazine open with care, Dayton squints into it, then looks up to Layna with a light smile. "It's a little scummed up and it couldn't fire right now, but I should be able to disassemble it and give it a good cleaning-out and a refurb on the individual parts. After that, well, ARM bullets for a gun of this caliber haven't changed much in their basic design since Blackbird's time, so you should be able to just load 'er up and you'll have a fine ARM on your hands."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Aye, that she is. She's a beauty, too. Out of commission right now, but I'll have her back on the seas soon enough." Layna confirms with a nod and a wide grin.
She listens as Dayton inspects the revolver she had found, her interest piqued when he goes into some of the finer details of its make and history.
"Hah, I knew I had somethin' special on my hands. I could feel it." She comments, folding her arms in front of her with a confident nod.
Oscar F. Blackbird, huh...? Well, she'd just have to make sure she did his memory proud. Of course, this all left her with one concern...
"So, how much is all that gonna run me?" She asks. Not being too familiar with ARMs, she also wasn't too familiar with what kind of prices to expect. She'd done some study before heading into town, but, well...
Dahlia was always the one with the head for numbers, not her. She may need to get her apologies ready in advance.
<Pose Tracker> Dayton Derrida has posed.
"Really?" Dayton raises his eyebrows, lowering the revolver and tilting his head as he looks back up at Layna. "That's a shame. Mechanical problem, or something else?"
Surprisingly delicate for a large man, Dayton lays the old revolver back down on the countertop. His smile returns, easy but with a spark of interest behind his eyes. "They have a way of telling you that they're special. Sometimes you can tell just from the feel in the hand. The good ones are balanced just right - they do half the work for you. Now the bad ones make you work twice as hard for it, because the weight's all in the wrong place."
As the topic of cash comes up, Dayton reaches under the desk for a notepad and begins to jot down numbers with the stub of a pencil. "Let's see," he muses. "The base rate per labour, straight disassemble, complete clean, re-milling any parts that need re-milling, exterior restoration...." Quiet for a moment, he bites his tongue as he continues to scribble on the pad.
"It'd bring you to...." He names a number. It's on the high end of reasonable.
As though sensing an objection in the offing, the machinist raises his eyebrows. "Though there are options for trade-ins," he notes. "I'm in the market for pieces of technology - ARM parts, landship parts, old stuff from the Metal Demon Wars or earlier. If you were able to get your hands on mechanical parts like that, I'd waive the cost of the repairs and consider it a fair exchange."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna considers this for a moment. She could say 'I got teleported here from another planet and now my ship's probably about a good mile in-land', but...
"Magical phenomenon, ran 'er aground. I'll need to assess the damage and get her transported back." Layna replies. That sounded sensible enough.
Layna grins as he continues, and nods.
"Aye, all good weapons are like that. It's like how you can tell you're gonna like someone when you meet 'em." She agrees. That was a subject she knew well about.
She 'hmm's slightly as he lists off his price, though... She could handle it, but she also needed to save up for construction back home...
As she's considering it, though, he provides a very reasonable offer. Her grin widens.
"Well now, you shoulda said that in the first place, lad. I do a fair spot of Diggin' here and there. Might be able to find you something nice, aye?" She replies. There's a confident to her that suggests she doesn't at all doubt she'd be able to find something.
"I'll do that, then. 'Course, if you had an idea for where I might find something like that, might speed things along..." She adds. Of course, even if he didn't have any, it wouldn't be a problem. Tracking down treasure was no problem for a pirate.
<Pose Tracker> Dayton Derrida has posed.
I'm sure Day would understand you're a weird alien, Layna.
Instead he just raises his eyebrows. "Magical phenomena tend to do unexpected stuff like that. Sorry to hear it," he sympathizes with a slow nod. "I've had a bit of expertise working with ships, in the event you ever need a hand with that."
Picking up the ARM again, Dayton turns it over in his hands once more, though he's watching Layna's expressions more than he is looking at the weapon at this point. "I imagine the same holds true of swords and wands - even Mediums, for that matter, though they're a little different. You know which one suits you once you've had some time with it."
The pirate's grin is answered by a broad smile and a low chuckle. "I had figured. You've got the look of a Drifter about you. Now, there's a few places I'm interested in - there's an old ruin called the Cage Tower that's said to date back to the Metal Demon Wars. The other ones that might have something interesting are the old Mountain Palace and the ruin of the Colisea Arcadia, out in Krosse. Cage Tower's sort of my primary area of interest. Of course, if you've got any sources of materials from Gears or landships that are used today, that'd also be useful - I imagine there are a few places you could find wreckage to scavenge."
Dayton had heard about the big battle out by the Guardian Temple but he's not about to say that in so many words.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Appreciate the offer, but I've got someone in my crew already who can handle it. He might be annoyed if I gave his work to someone else!" Layna replies with a nod and a grin. Of course, he was looking for an apprentice, but someone had gotten to Dayton already...
Oh well. He'd find someone else.
"Aye, it does. My gauntlets, for instance - they fit right on my hand. The weight on the blade and the shield is perfectly balanced for me. Punching or swinging, it's so smooth sometimes it's hard to remember that I've already got 'em on." She comments with a chuckle.
Cage Tower, Mountain Palace, and Colisea Arcadia... The latter two were closer to her new home base, but the Cage Tower was closer to the city here. All three of them would be pretty convenient...but then, there was no reason she couldn't hit all of them eventually.
"Might give that 'Cage Tower' a shot then, aye? Just the name sounds interesting, anyway!" She comments with a shrug.
Gear or landship parts, huh...? The former she'd probably use for her own machines, but she wouldn't have much use for the latter.
"Aye, if I find anything I don't need, I'll send it your way." She says with a nod.
<Pose Tracker> Dayton Derrida has posed.
"That's a world I never got into all that much - melee weaponry, I mean. I was always an ARMs-carrying kind of Drifter," Dayton says with a wistful smile, leaning on the counter with his weight settling onto one elbow. "Aside from the occasional fisticuffs, of course."
As Layna suggests she'll give the Tower a shot, Dayton nods back to her simply. The smile he offers her is warm and gracious. "In that case, we'll consider it an honest trade, and I'll get to work on this for you," he agrees, gesturing to the fancy revolver lying on the countertop. "And in the future, if you're looking for a place to exchange some of your findings for honest Gella, I do a lot of dealing in that sort of equipment. A large part of my job here isn't just engineering, but acquisition."
Every part helps Dr. Westwind, after all.
The big man pushes his glasses up his nose as he gives Layna a considering look over. "Seems like you've come from a goodly ways off to do your Drifting," he muses. "I admit I don't quite recognize your accent. Don't suppose you're Ellurian?"
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"We don't have a whole lot of ARMs where I come from. The most advanced weapon you'll see someone carrying is...say, a crossbow." Layna explains with a shrug. "That's all fine and dandy, o' course, but I've always been an up-close and personal kinda person."
She's admittedly quite surprised that he seems willing to get to work on it without anything to show in return. Sure, she certainly had every intention of filling her side of the bargain, but...
"You're awfully trusting, lad. Hopefully that won't come back around to bite you in the future, aye?" She says with a smile. And then, he asks where she comes from. Well, she might as well be honest with him...or at least try to be, just to see how he'll react.
"Well, lad..." She starts with a slight chuckle. "Would you believe me if I said I came from the moon?"
<Pose Tracker> Dayton Derrida has posed.
"Really? That's interesting. No ARMs at all?" A flicker of surprise shoots through Dayton's expression. "Sounds like you're a hands-on bunch."
Layna declares him a trusting one, and he flashes her a small, sad sort of smile. "Less so than you think," he says without elaborating. "But the honest truth here is that financial gain at the expense of Drifters isn't the main reason I'm in the city. Parts and relationships are a lot more valuable to me right now than Gella. In fact I'd say I've got about as much Gella as I need, and my shortfall's technical rather than monetary."
Then the pirate dame reveals something startling. She's rewarded by Dayton raising one eyebrow - though all things considered, it's a small reward. He doesn't seem all that bowled over.
"I'd heard people talking in the city about mysterious Drifters who say they're from the Moon - and something about a Guard saying they work for a moon goddess called Althena. I can't say I've ever met a moon alien before. But it wouldn't be the strangest thing I've run into in my travels."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"There are some folk talented at Sorcery among us, but for the most part, aye." Layna agrees with a nod.
She looks him over for a moment when he next speaks. It seemed as if there was a story behind that, but she knew better to pry where someone wasn't willing to elaborate.
"I can respect that, aye. Cash'll only get you so far...though it certainly helps!" The last bit is added with a chuckle.
Somehow, though, she's not too surprised that he doesn't seem too surprised by it. The last person she had revealed that too didn't have that big of a reaction, either...but then again, considering who that person was, well...
"Well, I'd be careful around the Guard, aye? I don't know what their plans here are, but back home, they've caused a lot of trouble. Enforcing strict laws, cracking down on so-called 'troublemakers'...they're more trouble than they're worth." She comments.
"All in all, though, most of the rest of us are a good bunch, who're just looking to get by in a new world."
<Pose Tracker> Dayton Derrida has posed.
Evidently Day's a little more than a common engineer. Certainly most small-city engineers aren't also skilled with fixing ARMs or knowledgeable about the dungeons of this part of Ignas, saying nothing of Adlehyde.
The blond engineer nods slowly as Layna explains. "It sounds like they're unpleaant sorts. That's often the case with people who call themselves Guards of one kind or another, at least in my experience. You'll find not much is different in these parts." Grimacing, he looks down to the gun for a moment.
When he looks up again, his smile has returned, pleasant and mellow as ever. "Well. If that's the case, welcome to Filgaia. I hope we're pleasant enough, once you get past the Metal Demons and the endless deserts that get bigger every year."
The big machinist indulges in a quiet chuckle as he picks up Layna's resolver again. With care, Dayton opens up the magazine again, beginning to carefully extract one of the larger parts. "I never could figure out magic, myself. I was a shootist more than anything."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Aye, that I can. I've heard some rumors. Been hanging around Bunker's Lounge, and...well, gossip and dealings fly like birds down there." Layna agrees with a nod. She knew that there were a lot of people with a lot to hide in November City.
Dayton welcomes her, and Layna grins.
"Well, your bars are a lot better than the ones back home, lad, I can say that much!" She comments with a hearty laugh. "And the Metal Demons are practically pleasant compared to some of the nasties running around back home."
There were even some of them she considered friends. Her eyes follow Dayton's movement as he picks up the revolver, before nodding.
"Aye, well, it's not for everyone. Plenty of people get by without it. 'Course, some people get a little out of hand with it, and that's when you start having problems...but you can say that about almost anything."
<Pose Tracker> Dayton Derrida has posed.
The mention of the bar evokes a heartier chuckle from Dayton. He pushes one hand through his hair, flashing Layna a crooked grin. "Some things are pretty universal, Captain. One of them is that drunk folks love to gossip. It was true when I was out in the field and it's just as true today."
With care, Dayton begins to pick at the revolver's magazine with a slender tool. "Oh, huh. There's still a couple of bullets," he murmurs as he carefully extracts one of the old shells. Then he lifts his eyes once more to Layna, once that delicate work is done.
"Sounds like you've got some true nasties, then. Metal Demons are usually considered bad around here. The Metal Demon Wars were reputed to be pretty devastating to Filgaia."
Dayton taps one finger against the counter, then clears his throat quietly. "Seems you've adjusted to here pretty well, though. Hopefully most of the folks from where you come from adjust well, too. Times are already tough around here; we could use all the friends we could get on this crazy planet of ours!"
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Universal, indeed. Layna chuckles and nods in agreement. Things were the same back on Lunar, too - though these days it was a lot harder to get away with. Although, with Leo and a good portion of the Guard here on Filgaia, maybe things were getting a little easier back home...?
Well, she could hope.
Her eyes are drawn to the revolver as he extracts a couple of bullets. That was a surprise...but then again, she hadn't pulled it apart to check. It was a good thing she hadn't tried to fire it, then!
What she doesn't mention is that some of their problems had followed or found their way here to Filgaia, too...unless, of course, they were the ones responsible for bringing everyone here in the first place. She wasn't sure how things correlated here.
"Some of us are adjusting better than others, but for the most part, aye, I'd say we are. I think some of us are a little homesick...but well, that's to be expected." She says, then grins.
"Aye, I'd drink to that. I'd say this planet is just my level of crazy!"
<Pose Tracker> Dayton Derrida has posed.
You will know all is well on Lunar when Leo is the one sampling Layna's goods. And by that I mean the alkeehol.
Fortunately the bullets don't look to be in great condition; a hundred years will do that. Dayton leaves them sitting on his side of the counter, more heaps of wasted metal and gunpowder than anything else.
"Unfortunately I don't know how to build a ship that'll get as far as the Moon, so I can't be of too much help getting you home." Dayton smiles a rueful little smile back at Layna. "If I hear anything that might help you out, I'll try and keep you in the loop."
Then he taps a fingertip against the grip of the pistol. "Anyway! I'll get to work on this as soon as I've got an opening in my schedule - shouldn't take me too long. C'mon back when you've got something to trade in and let me know how your Digging went, and we'll call it a swap."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"I appreciate that, lad. And I'll let you know if I hear anything relevant to your interests, aye?" Layna replies.. Locations of useful scrap or technology, for instance, even if he just passed them along to others.
With a nod, Layna grins.
"Sounds like a plan! I'll do just that." She says. And with that she turns to depart, leaving the revolver in his hands for now. She pauses for just a moment to study some of the assorted machinery around the shop before exiting out the door, to return later when the repairs were finished.