RP: 5th Fleet [Chapter Seven] We're Not In Yamatai Anymore...

YE 37
(Not) Far, Far Away (Enough)

Though its floors were strewn with straw, that the lighting was a little dim, and its air rather smoky, the fact that this tavern was bustling with life perhaps said all that needed to be said.

It was the right place to be.

The entrance to the tavern opened, a cloaked figure standing in its doorway as rain fell and thunder flashed. Everyone was too busy eating food, talking, trying to pinch the wenches or otherwise being merry to notice. Not that the figure was anything out of the ordinary - after all, who would travel in the rain uncovered? Plus, everyone else was more interesting. A group of halflings were seated around an old man with a pointed hat in a corner as he told them stories, gently puffing at his pipe. At another table, a burly ork rubbed his temples at an energetic elf's antics as she bounced up and down with excitement. There was even a fire-haired ifrit, panicking alongside a barmaid as she tried to stomp out some straw that one of her stray embers had lit.

There was really no reason to pay particular attention to this figure.

This figure made its way over to a newly vacated seat at a small table, and basking in the glow of the fireplace, removed her hood. "Bread, cheese and a pint of ale please," Kuroneko asked the nearest serving girl; the orange and blacked Haired Nekovalkyrja's own feline ears drew little interest. Since coming here to covertly scout the planet, one thing was certain. This planet could not be easily ignored by Yamatai. The source of the 'magic' this world had was far too important to turn a blind eye to, even though it was far from their borders. The Ancient AI responsible for making this all possible through the nanomachines that flowed through this world had to be found.

But where?

As tempting as it was to just land and search Star Army Style, nobody wanted to awaken the sleeping mind. Since quietly making planet-fall here just a few weeks ago, quickly learning the language and even taking a few odd jobs, it was clear that finding the heart of the world was not going to be easy, and that it was time to set out as adventurers.

And so she waited.

A short female figure made her way through the muddy street, carrying a large burlap sack over one shoulder. A dark brown cloak hung around her small frame and a hood was pulled low over her head to ward away the worst of the rain. Also slung over her shoulder was a longbow and a leather quiver with several arrows contained within. She made her way down the main street of the small village, walking past the busy smithy and heading directly for the town square.

On a normal day, the town square would be bustling with commerce as merchants sold their wares. But not today; the rain kept most of the patrons and merchants huddling under their small canopies. Thankfully, one particular merchant stall had the appearance of being occupied. A burly middle-aged man wearing an apron stained in old blood and meat juices was carefully wrapping portions of meat to keep them from the rain. The cloaked woman strode up behind him, making the man flinch when he realized there was someone there.

"Ah! There's me girl! Rain nor shine keeps ya from the hunt, eh?"

"It was a good hunt today. Venison," said the woman, heaving the sack up onto the counter. The large man opened up the sack and inspected the animal remains.

"Skinned and ready to sell. I am keeping the hide of course."

"As always. You do me well girl; the meat ya get me is the best." The man produced a small bag of coins from behind the counter and tossed it to the hunter; the woman catching it easily.

"There ya go as always, fifteen silver pieces." The woman opened the bag and shook out some of them into her hand. She tossed one into the air and then quickly caught it. The smallest glimpse of red skin and golden eyes could be seen under her hood.

"Thank you, Matthias," said the woman, bowing towards him. The large man nodded.

"Thank ya as always, Rae. Ya gotta tell me one o' these days, you half-ifrit, half-elf?" The woman smirked slightly.

"That is a tale for another time, Matthais. Good day," said Rin, bowing again and then turning back towards the way she came.

"That's what ya said last time!"

Rin turned right at one of the streets and made her way towards a particular tavern. It was time to meet up with Kuroneko.

Off in a particular tavern, a certain person yawned.

A two horse carriage arrived at it's destination, a large well made house that obviously belonged to someone with a lot of money. Dimitri stepped down and took a key from a hand that reached out of the window. He took the key and unlocked the front door to the house and opened it, the moved to open the door to the wagon and hand the key back, allowing the occupants to walk straight in without having to stop. And stop they did not, the man inside escorted his wife right into the home, only tossing Dimiti a single coin as a tip. The coin barely covered the ride and left a top large enough for the driver to buy some bread, by no means was the man being generous.

After the couple retreated into their how out of the rain Dimitri stepped back up to the front of the carriage and headed off. Luckily he had a cloak own, and under that a coat and hat, so he was sufficiently warm and dry, but he still did not like the rain, and he would rather give his horses a rest so they do not over work themselves in this heat. So he decided to head for the tavern, he knew he could get a good meal for cheap and he could relax.

The trip was a little drab with the rainy gray skies, but on the way he spotted a familiar face, Rin. He pulled his carriage up to her and stopped. "Would you like a ride? I have a feeling we might be going the same way, so I wont charge you." He said in a joking tone as he looked down form his seat at her.

Rin smirked.

"Better than trudging through the mud."

She hopped up onto the carriage and sat next to Dimitri on the driver's seat. She decided getting mud all over the inside of the carriage was not the greatest idea.

Another figure was making her way through the rainstorm. She was slight, and her blue hands hugged her long, thick jacket around herself for greater warmth. The only thing protecting her head from the torrential downpour was a hood, and if she lingered outside for any longer it was likely to lose the battle for dryness. If anyone had cared to pay close attention, they may have noticed something poking against the side of the jacket - a simple shortsword in its scabbard, and one hardly likely to attract attention at that. Aya took a look at her surroundings yet again. Where's the tavern...? She knew it had to be around here somewhere.

But she still wasn't familiar with the settlement, and many of the buildings looked exactly the same. This did nothing to ease Aya's confusion, and she almost blundered into the wrong place several times (ranging from a blacksmith's to a hapless local's home). Just as she was about to give up, however, she finally spotted the tavern. Trying to ignore the incipient weariness in her body and the dull ache in her legs, Aya opened the door and scanned the room for a certain person.

Dimitri offered a hand to Rin and helped her up onto the carriage before continuing on towards the tavern. "You look pretty cheerful, at least compared to most when faced with this kind of weather. Did something good happen?" He gave her a curious smirk as they continued, without much hassle, reaching the tavern in just a few short minutes.

As Rin and Dimitri just arrived outside the tavern, Aya had already made her way inside.

"Hey!" A familiar voice called over the noisy clamor. Waving at her, was Kuroneko, covered from head to toe in a brown cloak still a little wet from the rain. "Get over here already and grab a drink - there's no telling how long it'll take the others," she added, taking a bite of her bread and cheese before taking a swig of her ale. "Ahh! You know it's the real deal when you see bits of hops still floating around in it."

"I made some coin," shrugged Rin. She climbed down off the carriage and back onto the muddy street, making her way to a small little tavern named 'The Roaming Gnome.' Upon entering the tavern she managed to locate Aya and Kuroneko sitting at a small table near the fireplace. Carefully navigating her way through the crowded tables, Rin made her way to the other nekos and pulled up a chair to the small table. She pulled back her hood, revealing her spiky black hair and hairless ears.

"I met Dimitiri outside. He should be in shortly."

"Hora-horaaa!~ There's Rin!" Kuroneko beamed. "Now we got a Red one, and a Blue one!"

Idly resting her hands on the table, the tiger haired Neko lifted her fingers just enough to drum out a lazy tune, looking between the two with her green eyes. "I really hope you two have gotten along well in these parts - I ended up as a maid of all things!" she suddenly pouted at the end. "I came here seeking dungeons and adventure and dragons, not to dress up in a black and white maid's outfit while cleaning up some rich person's house! It's so not faaaaair!~" Kuroneko mewled at the thought. Stiffening her back, she took a grumpy bite of her bread and cheese. "My master is even writing a book now, 'The Lusty Kitsune Maid' and I'm not even seeing a single gold of profit off of it even though he obviously got the idea from me!" the older Neko went on with her mouth full, eyes closed as she sought to fight off the displeasure.

Opening one emerald eye however, she quickly added, "And neither of you tell the boy! I'll get scandalous thoughts of him getting scandalous thoughts if you do! Scandalous!" Opening both eyes and blinking in thought however, Kuroneko realized something else. "What's taking him so long anyways? He's keeping not one, but four ladies waiting!"

That caught the brief attention of some male tavern-goers.

Dimiri had been offering his carriage service to quite a few people today, and did not have much time for a break in the rain, so now that he could relax he decided to unhitch the horses from the yolk. Getting the horses and the carriage secure separately took some time, but in the end it was better for the horses. When he finally finished he headed inside the tavern.

He came in several minutes after Rin, taking off his hood as he entered, late enough not to have caught the conversation going on before. He removed his hood and cleared the doorway, looking around for the others, unlike himself they stood out a bit so they were easy to notice as he made his ways over. "Sorry for the wait, I wanted to give the horses a bit of a rest, makes it harder to steal the carriage too."

Aya wasted no time in joining Kuroneko at the table. She took the tiger haired Neko's advice and ordered an ale of her own, trying to take in her surroundings. However, before the blue skinned woman got a chance to properly acquaint herself, Rin made her own entrance. Smiling sheepishly at Kuroneko's rant, she replied, "Weeeell, it's not quite that bad, but I wouldn't exactly say I've been doing spectacularly myself. Just a sword for hire protecting merchants - though I wish people paid better..." Aya's expression turned sour.

Her expression brightened as Dimitri entered. She almost asked him what had been taking him so long when he answered the question himself. "So that's what you're doing? Sounds like you've gotten the best deal out of all of us! You lucky so and so!" Aya moved to give him a gentle punch on the arm.

Rin flagged down nearest bar wench and asked for an ale as well. She cocked one eyebrow and glanced at Kuroneko.

"What exactly does your 'master' have you doing all day? How did you even land that job?" she said, taking off her fingerless gloves and setting them on the table before her.

"And if you dislike it so much," said Rin, accepting a pint of ale and then taking a sip, "Why don't you leave and find something more 'adventurous?'"

"A carriage? We get to ride on a carriage?" Kuroneko incredulously asked as Dimitri took a seat. "That means no walking, which means no sore feet," she observed. "Oh, marry me now!~" the Neko airily joked with him, resting her chin on her hands. With Aya's sour remark though, the woman immediately encouraged. "Look on the bright side - you're already well prepared for what's ahead! Adventuring probably isn't that different at all save for the fact we're in a smaller group," she pointed out. A drawn out, "Weeeeeeelllll...." escaped her lips when Rin playfully averted her eyes. "He's so demanding, and his shenanigans never stops! Always asking me to do things like polishing his big spear and such. Or, sometimes he has a big loaf to fit in my oven, but it hasn't even risen yet! Asking me to knead it right then and there of all things..." her voice trailed off.

"He has board, good food and booze for free in addition to the pay, basically," a familiarly flat, slightly annoyed voice spoke up. Her head rising from Kuroneko's hood, Sif sat up in all of her miniature not-glory, one of her little feline ears twitching - she seemed to have just woken up. "So we're going to go on an adventure to find out things," the little brunette referred to their scouting objective, rubbing her eyes. "We'll need to get ready. Weapons, provisions, stuff. What do you all have?" she practically demanded in that flat, uncaringly bored voice of hers.

Dimitri softly chuckled at Aya's response. "It sounded fun when I took the job too. But horses smell so bad." He had no idea what he walked in on however as Kuroneko began to explain all the things her master had her do. He wanted to speak up and ask if maybe she was a bar wench or something of the sort, but he had the feeling he would get punched so he kept quiet for now at least. The fact that Sif popped her head up from under Kuro's hood amused him.

"It looks like Sif decided to become a bear and hibernate." He carefully reached over while Sif was still partly asleep and maybe not paying full attention and then rubbed her head with his finger trying to ruffle her hair so she looked more 'wild'. "I've got a carriage, and a little saved up. I could maybe trade it for a wagon to carry us and supplies."

"Oh hey there, Sif. I thought you were going to sit this one out?" asked Rin, her eyebrow still cocked. "I am surprised you are hiding in Kuroneko's hood and not in a sling for an infant or something similar."
Rin took another sip of her ale and then motioned to the bow and quiver of arrows strapped on her back.

"I have this bow and some arrows. Game is relatively easy to come by in this region it seems, so at least food should not be a problem. I also have accumulated a decent sum of coin should that be necessary."

It Comes.

From up high, It Comes. Daunting in size, descending down, down, down. Right onto her head. Sif gave out a small "Mrrrr," from her throat as Dimitri pet her on the head. It honestly wasn't like she wasn't so sleepy as to not notice his intent, but, she was used to it. Such was life as a Mini-Neko. "I hope whatever you've amassed is enough - a one handed long sword alone would cost 15 gold. Or 150 silver. or 1500 coppers," she pointed out. "Something cheaper, like a short spear for one gold, is likely a better choice for us however," Sif added as Kuroneko reached into her cloak. It was a brief glimpse, but they could all see a certain black and white uniform underneath as she produced a small brown bag - her purse.

"This is what we made together~," the older Neko chimed in. Opening it up, it was only 52 gold coins, which wasn't surprising at all. "What do you all have? Or, maybe I should ask, what would you all want to get before we set out?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," said Aya, her mood brightening. She tried to avoid blushing as Kuroneko decided to explain what her master had her do in the most innuendo laden manner possible, but failed. A flat, unamused voice sliced through the group's chatter, making the blue skinned Nekovalkyrja almost jump in surprise. "Hi, Sif!" she chirped. She almost waved, but felt the Mini-Neko probably wasn't in the mood for excessive exuberance.

"All I've got is a short sword and a handful of coins... those stupid merchants keep milking me dry! I can barely support myself on this budget," Aya prepared to go on a rant about how unfair it all was, but thought better of it. "Um... I genuinely have no idea what we should get! Except for some sort of medical supplies, maybe?"

Dimitri pulled his hand away from Sif after a moment's satisfaction and let the conversation continue into serious territory. He didn't forget about the mission but he definitely could've been thinking more about this part when he was saving and spending, he had no intention of admitting that however. "Well I have a crossbow and a dagger, it's a little weird for a carriage driver to carry anything more dangerous than that." He decided to take a seat and thought a moment at Sif's last question. "I would like some kind of protection, medicine here isn't too advanced so I'd rather just not get injured at all."

"So we have a long bow, crossbow, a short sword and a dagger so far," Sif counted off. "Aya, you'll probably have to get a shield as well, since two of us are already using ranged weapons," she decided, soon explaining what was on her mind. "You'll have to be up front with that sword if we run into any wild animals or monsters. Otherwise, Dimitri and Rin might get rushed."

Pausing, she looked at Dimitri and Rin, a glint in her eye. "With your bow, how many pounds is the draw weight? Anything between sixty to eighty is fine for hunting, but it needs to be a hundred at least to tackle real threats. Preferably 120 pounds or even more," she grilled her. The young man was roasted even more thoroughly. "And what kind of crossbow is it? Stirrup? Even then, are you using a belt hook or rope and pulley, or just pulling it by hand? If not, is it a Lever type, or a Latchet? Is it a larger Windlass or Cranequin? And what is the draw weight? You'll have to speak up, since they're nothing like just a short or long bow," the seven inch tall Mini-Neko pointed out to him. Despite her stoic expression and serious tone of voice, it was clear she was enjoying all the poking she just did at him. In fact, it was quite likely that Sif enjoyed the idea of Going Medieval on someone.

"Ara, what does it matter right now? We'll have to see to the blacksmith tomorrow morning anyways, so let's turn in for the night, hm?" Kuroneko suggested. "Since we're on a budget, let's all share the room I've gotten together. It'll be more fun that way, I promise!~"