Of Barfights and Brigands

Intern Rep! : 12 Location : The Living Room Couch

Of Barfights and Brigands

Taverns and the ilk associated with them had never really attracted the Knight beyond information-gathering and learning of possible new jobs in the area. However, after a long day of hunting wild game, Alicia had managed to stumble upon a small village in her general area- and rather than hiking all the way back to her unfinished dwelling immediately, she had taken it upon herself to make her presence known to the community. The owner of the pub was nice enough (a tall, bald and mustachioed bloke who went by the name of Tarim), telling Alicia about the forest around them, what people in the village were pleasant and who to avoid as well; as well as giving her a drink on the house for being a new face in a boring old place such as the village (which she politely refused, not being the type to allow any sort of reflex or intelligence dampening drugs into her system).

After spending roughly an hour at the tavern, a small group of shoddily armored and armed young men entered the tavern. With a look of disgust, the bartender leaned in close to Alicia and muttered, "Group of mercenaries that have been hanging around here since we paid for them to kill a local monster. Seems they're just constantly looking for trouble, and I don't know why they're still here, considering they slew the beast almost three weeks ago." Nodding slightly, at this, Alicia jumped slightly when one of the mercenaries slammed his fist down on the bar and sat next to her.

"Well, well, well..." he began with a big, toothy grin, "Wot 'ave we 'ere? A new fair maiden roipe fer the pickin'?"

Disgusted, Alicia ignored the man, sipping at the cup of water before her. She had often dealt with opposing parties comprised of such men when she went out on her little adventures to gather more bartering items for the tribe she had once been a part of, and she didn't like them any more now that they weren't rivals in a job. Her other hand dropped to the seat of the stool she was sitting on, not far from the quiver of arrows on her hip.

"E'y, I was talkin' to you, girlie!"

Wincing slightly at being called "girlie", Alicia turned to the man, who was eying her as if he could see straight through the tight-fitting layer of chainmail she wore. "Not entirely sure how to respond to someone who seems so intent on my chest. Perhaps if you'd actually greet me instead, you'd get a response?"

The mercenary stared at Alicia, dumbfounded for a moment before turning back to his men. "Oi, mates!" he began, laughing, "Seems we've got a feisty one on our 'ands!" He turned back to the Knight, who had since returned to her conversation with the barkeep (who was keeping a steady eye on the men), "I'll 'ave you know you should be singin' us praises, girlie. We slew that beast Yellerclaw (presumably Yellow Claw) barely more than a week ago now. So, I think that me and my fellas 'ave the common roight to take a gander at wot you've got to offer."

What self-control the Knight had was being terribly strained by these men, though she still managed to ignore them and sip at her drink. After a brief moment of awkward silence, the barkeep cleared his throat and approached the men. "What'll you be having tonight, gentlemen?"

In a flash, the mercenary who had been pestering Alicia whipped out a knife and reached for the big man's shirt- taking him by surprise and pulling him toward the small blade- which was now positioned at his throat. "I was talkin' to the lady 'ere-" he began before he was abruptly cut-off from having an arrow protruding from his side from Alicia's quiver. Having not bothered to draw her bow, Alicia quickly drew another bolt as the man shouted and released the bartender and knife on the counter. The four men who had entered with the first one stood up in unison, knocking over their stools as they did so. At that, Alicia grabbed the screaming man and stood up herself, putting him into a choke-hold and holding the arrow to his throat.

"Now..." she began in a calm, level tone- "I would like to go back to my conversation with the barkeep. I'd love to not have to kick all of your asses and kill your buddy- but if you're going to keep causing issues and pulling blades on people, I think I'm going to have to."

The man's head began to turn purple as she tightened her grip on his throat, her voice still level, "Get out of here. You've been an issue in this place long enough. I'm sure the village will be more than happy to be rid of you."

She released her hold on the head mercenary's throat just enough for him to wheeze "Listen to 'er!", and the men filed out the door, throwing baleful glares at the Knight as they did so. Once all of the men were outside, Alicia wrenched her arrow from the man's side and released him- causing him to fall to the ground gasping for breath. Extending her hand to his wound, she concentrated briefly and muttered "Hielen" under her breath, causing the bleeding hole to close. At that, she picked him back up onto his feet and kicked him out the door, closing it behind him as he fell unceremoniously to the dirt.

"Well, that was an adventure..." she muttered, picking up the stools that had been knocked over by the men. The barkeep looked at her, aghast at the display she had shown before him before he shook his head and chuckled lightly.

"About time someone around here taught them how to show a little respect. Hopefully they'll clear out of here by tomorrow." He rummaged under his counter for a moment before drawing out a few small bones and trinkets and offering them to the Knight, "I know it's not much- but here you go. And don't try and be all high and mighty with me- telling me you don't need it. I'm grateful for you getting rid of those men."

With a moment of hesitation, Alicia accepted the gifts from the man and picked up the small knife from the counter as well, stowing them away in her pack. "You're welcome to come back whenever, Miss Alicia- I'll make sure you're treated good and that the people in the village know who you are. If there's anything you need from us, give me a holler, and I'll see if I can't get it for you."

Nodding slightly, Alicia turned back to Tarim and bowed, "Thank you for your hospitality, sir. I'll have to be getting back to my home, however. Gaarm is probably worri-- On second though, he's probably fine; but I should still be getting back."

After bidding farewell to the man, Alicia stepped outside and was glad to see that the mercenaries had since scrambled to leave the village- judging from the tracks in the dirt, by any means. She was a bit worried that they would come back for more- but the Knight would now be known throughout the small town and, if they needed any help, they would know where to find her.

"Hopefully Gaarm'll be happy to see me returning with some food at least..." she muttered.

xp: 1367 # 1367 xp
Item Get Roll!
Land Claim: 1367/1000 Land Claim Successful!
Other: +1 Follower (Tarim, Contact/Tavern-Owner)

Intern Rep! : 12 Location : The Living Room Couch

Item roll:

Very Common Loot

Veteran Rep! : 5

The member 'Soothesayer' has done the following action : Dices roll

'10 Roll' : 7