Ragtag: An Unlikely Alliance.

[AnInvisibleUser]

Fam'ila walks camly into the ring, hands at her sides. She keeps one of her pistols holstered, so that once the targets come, she can perform a quick-draw to take down the target. In her other hand, she holds her revolvers' twin. As she walks, she begins twirling it over her finger, tossing it into the air, ect., ect.
Once she reaches her mark, She'll wait camly for the targets. She's done this act before, she won't 'eff it up now.

[MasterBlade]

*YOU'RE DEAD TO ME...*

"Hahahahaha thats right! Well you seem to be accustomed, Ill leave you to it then!"

[ardentApathy]

*YOU'RE DEAD TO ME...*

"Hahahahaha thats right! Well you seem to be accustomed, Ill leave you to it then!"

...

...

wut

Says Narsis, as she reads a particularly puzzling passage. :P

[BlazerC]

Bleren grows a wide, toothy grin across her face once she hears the 3rd option.

"Haaah! A challenge! I'll have the enormous one!"

[dragonpaul99]

Pyth awkwardly feigns a grin. "Heh, sure. I never turn down a free drink." He turns towards some of the other guards that he had been working with earlier. "So, did anything else happen after I left? No more, uh, bystanders injured? It seemed like they got the fire under control pretty quickly at least..."

[foliageFornicator]

Leviticus tightens his hood even more. "I want no trouble from you, stranger, but if you make the mistake of wanting trouble from me... I'm afraid I'll have to escort you to the local jail." Levi then slowly approaches the man, one hand prepared to restrain the drunkards weapon-arm, the other fast on his sheathed axe. If this thug makes a move, it should be fairly easy to hit him with the butt of the weapon.

[Kocel232]

ATTENTION: THIS IS STILL NOT DEAD.

I'll be continuing on with the next turn some time tomorrow. I still need Aniesta's action from Ross_Varn. Hopefully he sees this. If not, early tomorrow, I'll contact him via PM. I'd do so tonight, but, well, I need sleep for tomorrow. XD

[Ross_Varn]

Whup! Sorry, I'm just as bad as you when it comes to updating. You shall have it.

Anista turns back to the barkeep, frowning at him. "You just had a six-inch tall blade wielding rat waltz through your bar, most likely in search of adventure, and you just shrugged it off as normal. Between that and the explosion I heard earlier, which I hear came from that particular guard in the back, I get the feeling this town has seen more than it's share of mad happenings. I believe I'll be off, I hear there's a festival to attend sometime tonight." She stands, pulling her cape about her shoulders again. "As for the wine- if it was Elvish, perhaps I'd consider paying that outrageous price. On the morrow then." She sets out to follow Sorda, watching Pyth as she steps out of the door.

[Kocel232]

Okay, thanks, Varn.

As you all might have guessed, this will have to be delayed a day or two. It's comin', though. Honest.

[chimericWilder]

WE BELIEVE IN YOU.

[Kocel232]

THE SLUMS

The Soured Thug, uneasy with Leviticus's approach, takes a step back.

"'Ey, 'Ey! I dun wan' any trubble... Just..."

(LEVITICUS GRACE ROLL: 91 - 20 = 71. YOU ROLLED... ABOVE AVERAGE.)

The Soured Thug suddenly slashes with savage speed! However will Leviticus defend against this deadly drunk and his jagged weapon of alcoholic death?!
Quite easily, actually. With one quick motion, Leviticus grabs the man's wrist, wrenches the broken bottle from his hand. As the Thug's other hand reaches for the hidden dagger, Levi swiftly knocks him out with the butt of his axe-handle.

"Aw shit, Rotts! I'm a-comin', buddy!"

Levi looks up to the shadows just in time to see a half-empty bottle of some unidentifiable liquid hurling towards him. Luckily, a certain rodent-swordsman was more than ready for any and all sneak attacks. Sorda jumps into the air and, seconds before it can make contact with Leviticus's skull, he kicks the bottle away, sending it flying into the street nearby, shattering it. Both rat and ogre look up to glare at the new assailant...

(SORDA GRACE ROLL: 88 + 5 = 93. LIKE A BAWSS. LEVITICUS GRACE ROLL: 1 - 20 = -19. CRITICAL FAILURE.)

Leviticus can't see a damn thing, for some reason. Then he realizes that his eyes feel like they're on fire. Yeah, that bottle wasn't corked. He can only hope that it was just cheap liquor...

While Levi rubs the firewater out of his eyes, Sorda, meanwhile, is more than capable of seeing who's in the shadows. The terrified Bum Brigand raises his arms, a panicked look in his bloodshot eyes. Other than some ragged clothes and a truly impressive unkempt beard, he looks like he has little else on him... No, wait. You distinctively see a fat satchel on his waist. You try to identify him based on your knowledge of the town-folk...

(SORDA WISE-ASSITY ROLL: 19-9 = 10. EMBARRASSING FAILURE.)

... But, nope, you can't identify him. So many damn bums in this town, you really lose track.

---

THE MARKET STALLS

The man at the counter pales slightly.

"I.... Well, um... If you're sure... That'll be a full gold. If you win, we'll give you the discount once you're done..."

As you pay him, a small crowd of villagers with nothing better to do gather to watch. After what seems like an eternity of meat-slicing and preparation, the cook and the cashier haul out a gargantuan kebab as wide as a manhole cover and at least a foot thick, dropping it on the counter with an audible "WHUMP!" Shocked whispers run through the crowd of onlookers.

"Well, there you go, ma'am. The only rule is that you finish it alone and within sight of the stall... Good luck."

The cook lets out a snort of laughter as he turns back to his work.

"Yeah, you'll need it."

The crowd behind you clears the way to a nearby table. You're pretty sure you can hear some people making bets on whether or not you'll succeed.

---

THE BAR

The Bartender grunts.

"Eh, you see weirder, in my line of work. Sorda's not too bad. He keeps the riff-raff out, most nights. Well, enjoy the festival."

As Aniesta leaves the bar, she and Pyth make a split-second of eye contact. You don't think much of it, though, and, as you exit out to the town square, you notice a crowd forming near the Market Stalls...

(ANIESTA TWAINNESS ROLL: 98-10 = 88, YOU ROLLED... ABOVE AVERAGE.)
[PERSPECTIVE SWITCH -> PYTH]
... As you make brief eye-contact with the strange woman leaving the pub, you can't help but feel a little stunned. You don't know why, as she doesn't seem to be much to look at, on the surface, but something about her intrigues you.

"Hey, Pyth, man, you there?"

You snap back to attention. Right. Your co-workers. Keith raises an eyebrow.

"So, yeah, like I was saying before you drifted out into the mystic realms there, no bystanders were hurt... Well, none were hurt that bad... I mean, there was a couple wives of some merchants that were deafened a bit, one of them fainted, and then there was Timmen, the barber... But hey, he just got his eyebrows and that awful mustache if his singed off, other than that, he's fine!"

The Bartender gestures to you.

" 'Ey, Minotaur! Thirsty? I'll have Liandra bring out a round for you and your buddies."

---

THE TOWN SQUARE

The merchant girl smiles disarmingly.

(JANE TWAINNESS ROLL: 43+10 = 53. MEDIOCRITY!)

You don't fall for it, though, as you can clearly tell a fake smile from an honest one.

"No, it's fine, Helga! I guess we just hadn't met before! My name's Elaine Threepwood. My father runs one of the most successful clothing companies in the area. We moved here so he could supervise his new branch here. I was dreading it at first, but, well..."

She shoots an aside glance at the handsome young man, who is currently involved in conversation with his friends.

"... There are benefits to living in a town like this, I guess. Oh, and, apparently, I'm up for some special honor at this festival... Wheat Princess or something? I don't know, it's the first Festival I've attended, but, well, it's always nice to win things, right? Even if it is some meaningless little beauty contest."

---

THE CIRCUS

(FAM'ILA GRACE ROLL: 37+15 = 52; MEDIOCRITY.)

You manage to pull off the standard "gun-twirl-and-toss" routine without issue, but it's far from flashy. Your head just doesn't seem to be completely in the game tonight, and it's showing. However, this average performance still manages to impress the crowd, most of whom aren't too picky.

"And now, watch as, with reflexes too keen for any other to match, Fam'ila picks targets of all sizes right out of mid-air! And, of course, ladies and gentlemen, by 'pick', I mean, 'obliterate!' Assisting her tonight are our two very own fools, Beppo and Pagli! Come on out, boys!"


Two garishly dressed clowns come bumbling in from the side of the ring, each one carrying a large, bulky sack over their shoulder. They split up, each taking a spot at either side of the ring, and they set their sacks on the ground.

"And now, without further ado, show them what you can do, Fam'ila!"

All other lights except for those on the center ring dim and extinguish. A loud drum roll commences, filling the tent. You hear nervous murmurs from the crowd and the cries of a few children, but neither bother you. Spinning your pistol again, you ready yourself for the targets...

(FAM'ILA GRACE ROLL: 33 + 15 = 48. HEY, YOU MISSED, PAL.)

You fail to anticipate the clowns faking the first throws to knock you off, however. They both collapse into over-dramatic, mock-laughter as you fire at empty air. The drum-roll is cut off with a loud cymbal-crash.

"Oh, she has to watch out for that troublesome twosome, though, ladies and gents. Our Beppo and Pagli are quite infamous for their shenanigans."

You glare at the two clowns. Every time, they try to find a way to sabotage your act. If it weren't for the fact that they play similar pranks on most of the rest of the circus, you'd take it personally. As such, you take a deep breath and quickly regain your composure. The clowns, finishing their bouts of fake laughter, do the same. They reach into the sacks, and, grinning devilishly, prepare to start the act for real.

"Alright, let's try that again, shall we?"

The drum-roll starts up again. Within seconds, the clowns pull out two large clay orbs and toss them into the air...

(FAM'ILA GRACE ROLL: 51+15 = 65, MEDIOCRITY.)

She shoots each one, causing them to release their contents; a glittery, colored powder made by Madame Yselda. These two, green and blue, sparkle beautifully in the limelight.

The clowns reach in with both hands, pulling out two orbs each. They toss them into the air...

(FAM'ILA GRACE ROLL: 98 + 15 = 113. FORTUNES SINGULARITY!!!)

Barely missing a beat, you fire each gun twice. Instead of bursting the orbs, however, you carefully angle the shots so that they merely pop the orbs further into the air. You do this again, and again, and again... And then stop. Beppo and Pagli look in panic as the projectiles drop towards them. They duck, covering their heads...
Then, last minute, you shoot the orbs, saving the clowns while coating them with a cloud of glittery dust. They both stand up, shooting you a frown and an irritated glare, respectively.

"Would you look at that display, ladies and gentlemen! As amazing as it was, I doubt Beppo and Pagli appreciated it."

Laughter and astonished gasps spread through the crowd. Pagli dusts the pink and yellow powder off him, stomping his feet angrily, before reaching back into his sack...

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Sorry for the wait! These take quite a bit of time to type up, you know. :P
Also, congrats on Fam'ila for getting the first FORTUNES SINGULARITY of the game. It might seem underwhelming, but, trust me, it'll have consequences other than this.

[MasterBlade]

"Oh really? In line for the Harvest Godless too? I cant wait to see you there. It will be so good to know the people in attendance for such a prestigious award."

Suppress the urge to strangle the girl in front of you. If you cannot do that, do it in a way that makes it seem like an accident... somehow.

[chimericWilder]

"You - Stop right there. What d'you think you're doing, attacking the faire's guests as you best please? Have you no honor? And whats that at your waist, hm?"

I stay prepared to deal with whatever he might think to do.

[BlazerC]

My god it's beautiful.

Bleren gives the kebab a good look. This just seems too easy for Bleren, if she can eat that entire lion she can eat this, at least, she thinks she ate that lion. Things were a little weird for a while after the whole initiation ceremony, never again shall she consume potions handed to her from any elders, especially ones that were practicing witchcraft. And afterwards her family wouldn't shut up about how proud they were about the blood on- oh right, right, the Kebab.

Bleren does the obvious course of action and scoops up the Kebab, thanking the cook as she goes to the table. She takes off her Bandana and stuffs it into a pocket, and chows down.

[dragonpaul99]

Well... he did come here for a drink after all, and there doesn't seem to be much point in ruining all the other guards' time at festival just because of a little explosion. He can always worry about finding a new job tomorrow. Maybe they could use an extra hand at one of the mills outside of town, or he could always head to the next town over and hope that none of guards there have heard of today's incident.....

Jumping back to reality, he suddenly realizes that this is the second time he's started spacing out mid-conversation in the last 30 seconds. He looks up at the bartender and gives some sort of awkward grin, half-wave thing.

Silently cursing to himself, he makes a mental note to get out of here after this round. He doesn't want to have to start applying for jobs hungover again, and besides, he's just making a fool of himself right now. Well, maybe after 2 rounds, we'll see.

[AnInvisibleUser]

Fam'ila smiles to herself, and considers trying some flashy shots. Possibly spin one while firing the other?
Sure, why not!
Fam'ila spins one of her pistols around her hand, firing with her free one.

[Ross_Varn]

Aniesta moves over to watch the crowd, looking around as she goes. It's extremely unlikely that she'll be able to figure out where that rat went in this atmosphere, but it's worth a shot. Her eyes move over a gaggle of the town girls, and she frowns, then turns back towards the meat stall where the crowd is, stepping to one side to look over the heads of the others -is that a Blood-Kin?

[Kocel232]

Alright, we've got one more. I'll PM him in a bit.

In the meantime, I'll try to work on this update soon. Busy as usual, but I should be able to find time for it either tomorrow or the day after.

[foliageFornicator]

Leviticus is slightly stunned at the sight of a rodent ninja, but the pain in his eyes distracts him from that thought. His most immediate concern is the apparent danger in the shadows, but luckily Levi seems to have an ally. He rubs his eyes until the pain is bearable and addresses the shadowed figure.

"Hey, don't be upset with me sir! Your friend is at fault. I would tell you I don't want any trouble, but I believe it's a little late for that."

(aside)
"Hello mouse, thank you for diverting that bottle. I cannot see very well, what does this man look like?"

Levi prepares his axe.

[chimericWilder]

"Im a rat. And... I suppose he is a man like any other, except poor. They look the same to me, really."

[Kocel232]

Hahahah, "tomorrow or the day after." Oh, the things I say to tempt fate...

Basically, guys, I got a paper and a presentation to work on. Once I get that sorted, I'll jump on this. Just thought I'd throw an update on the progress, here.

[foliageFornicator]

But what better way to procrastinate?