Mercenary Company: Grand Entrance

[hisdivineshadow]

The door to the company headquarters was flung open with enough force to rattle on its hinges, revealing a broad-shouldered figure silhouetted against the morning sunlight. With a flourish of a cape, the man drew his sword, a slightly overlarge claymore, and stepped into the building with his blade raised in salute.

"Fear not, brave warriors!" he boomed theatrically, "Flay Gunnar, Champion of Justice, has arrived!"

[Deleted]

A cat beast and a younger girl soon followed the red-headed one into the building. "Aaah, Flay, you mean 'Champion of Loudmouths', don't you?" She rolled her eyes and glanced about the room interestedly.

Meanwhile the other girl found a chair and sat down, drawing a long black braid over her shoulder and fiddling with the tips, sighing loudly.

[Kender Bard]

Demon peered at Flay. Being no man of small stature himself, he stood up slowly and flexed the muscles in his thick arms while doing so, trying to make himself seem as imposing as possible. "The champion had better hope he didn't break that door or he'll be paying for it. What do you folks want?"

[hisdivineshadow]

"Why, we're here to join you, my good man." Flay flashed him a winning smile. "We three are skilled warriors, tested in many a battle. What say you to accepting us as members of your organization?"

"Oh!" he exclaimed, holding a finger up. "I almost forgot. I understand there is a small . . . joining fee?" Resheathing his sword, he reached into one pocket, then another, frowning as he discovered what he sought was missing. "Um, just a moment!" he said with a sheepish grin, and turned to the two girls.

"Nikki! Anna! What happened to our savings?!"

[Deleted]

Nikki rolled her eyes and glanced at Anna who stood up and dusted her lap off needlessly. "Oh, well of course we wouldn't let you hang on to it."

Anna nodded, "If we did that, who knows what would have become of it." With that, she detached a small pouch hidden inside her sleave and opened it up. "All right here."

[Kender Bard]

"First tell me a little about yourselves," Demon said with a sigh, sitting back down and making the chair underneath him creak. "Tell me how experienced you three are, and a bit of your background if possible. That will help me assess how much your joining fee will be."

[hisdivineshadow]

"Well, I grew up here on the streets of Ilyamen," Flay began, crossing his arms and placing a hand on his chin. "I always knew that someday I would be a great hero, so to begin my journey I learned swordsmanship from a passing knight errant. Once I was old enough, I sought to join the city guard."

His expression soured. "Never in my life had I thought it was possible for people to call themselves warriors, yet live such a cowardly existence. They hardly seemed worthy of my presence . . . so it wasn't long before I quit."

Smiling again, Flay continued, "I received my inheritance from my father, and set out to prove myself a hero. I worked as a free sword, beholden to no man, working to flush out evil wherever I found it.' For a moment, his look was triumphant, but after a moment he hung his head and shook it slowly. "But alas, a string of bad luck cost me nearly all the copper I'd managed to save."

Abruptly, he brightened. "It was then that fate intervened, and these two brave maidens crossed my path." He made an elaborate wave of his arm, indicating Nikki and Anna. "Together, we have vanquished bandits, brigands, and wild beasts from Humontis to Khelek! You won't find a sturdier band of fighters, nor braver in the face of danger."

[Kender Bard]

Man missed his calling. He should go work for the Bards, Demon thought with a smirk as he listened to the story. Or the knights in Caelium. "Very well. We can take you aboard then. For all three of you, I think the joining fee should be a silver and eighty copper."

[Deleted]

Nodding, Anna came up and dug through the little pouch before setting the one silver and eighty copper exactly onto the desk. "There you are," she said before reattaching the pouch to her belt.

Nikki leaned to peer over Anna's shoulder, "So, is there a room we can stay in while we're here?" she asked the man at the desk, earning her a wide-eyed look from Anna who almost immediately blushed very hard and made a soft sputtering sound.

[Kender Bard]

"Of course," Demon answered, sweeping the money into a large bag he kept with him while Sashi was away. "This coinage helps to pay for the rooms you have here; a separate one for all three of you if you like. You can also stock up on supplies here. I'd introduce you to the others, but everyone else is on missions right now, including Captain Sashi."

[hisdivineshadow]

"Oh, no need," Flay demurred with a wave of his hand. "One room will be enough. After all, we don't want to deprive someone else of accommodation." Turning, he stooped to grab his bag, which he'd left by the door while making his entrance.

"Once we're settled, good sir, would you mind telling us a bit about the available contracts?"

[Kender Bard]

"Not hard," Demon replied, pointing to a board nearby that had bits of parchment stuck to them, of various lengths. "We put all the jobs up on that board there."

[Deleted]

Nikki blinked and looked over to the board while Anna idly went over and glance briefly at the papers. "Alrighty then. Once we settle ourselves, we'll be back to look," Nikki said over her shoulder as she left through the open door, dragging Flay with her.

Soon, Anna was left alone aside from Demon, studying the board. When she blinked and realized the other two were gone, she jumped, apologized to Demon and scooted out after them.