Mental Merc

[Kender Bard]

"As you wish," Pandora replied. She turned and walked deeper into the building, beckoning to Joseph. The building was compact but it held a lot. There was something that looked like a dormitory of sorts with beds and chests. There was also another office for paperwork. A training room, which was quite large by comparison of most other rooms. And, finally, the armory.

It was very well stocked with a variety of weapons, some familiar in their normalcy, such as swords of various sizes and weights, and some that looked rather exotic. There was armor here as well though it looked to all be hard leather.

[backhandoffate]

As Joseph toured the facility, following Pandora to the armory, he took note of how large the training room was. At least this guild knew how to prioritize. Joseph wondered if it'd be rude to ask if Pandora and her family were the original owners of the building, or if it was built for some other purpose.

Finally, they made it to the rather impressive stockpile of weapons. "Wow. You weren't kidding." Joseph took the time to look through the selection of swords, finding one that was appropriate for his size. "I don't think I'll be using this if I can avoid it." Joseph commented. "Do you think there's anything in here a tad less lethal?" He asked, searching for a weapon that was used to subdue an opponent without killing them such as a sap, or club like weapon similar to a tonfa.

[Kender Bard]

Pandora made a slightly disparaging sound at his request but nodded. She pointed out various things. "We have a whip there and a sap there. No clubs. Too crude. You want a club? Pick something hard up off the ground and swing it. There's your club."

[Devon]

Darin had been nearby to see how it went, finally though he spoke up. "I know I said I didn't want the boys to actually use their weapons on this mission, but if you think this is the kind of job where you can get away with being soft on limited skills then you're wrong. As it stands now in this guild the only ones who could go soft with the weaponry on a mission are myself, Pandora, and Sashi. Take a short sword, keep it sheathed and move on."

[backhandoffate]

Joseph grinned at Pandora's disdain for blunt weapons. The family seemed to be a big fan of swords. "That's fine. I'm probably not a club guy, either." Darin had his own insights to lend to the discussion. His attitude was that Joseph, being a novice in deadlier fights should opt to arm himself as best he could so he wasn't at a disadvantage. "I get what you're getting at, I think. Sword it is, then. I'd feel a little better about it if I had a bit of time to practice my swordplay before we go. I've never really used one of these things." Joseph commented, holding the sheathed sword in his hands, taking some time to examine it.

[Kender Bard]

"If you've never swung a sword, then you might wind up hurting yourself," Pandora protested. "Take one for show. Keep it in the scabbard." she grabbed the sap and held it out. "Use this if you actually need to swing something. Less chance of cutting your leg open."

[backhandoffate]

"Sounds like a plan." Joseph said, taking the sap from Pandora and nodding in agreement. He took a moment to examine the sap. Even though he didn't know the first thing about weapon maintenance, the gear he was provided with looked like it was in decent enough condition. "Looks like I'm all set. Do you think there's anything else we'll need aside from weapons?" The answer was most likely a 'no'. Joseph simply wanted to do whatever he could to prepare.

[Kender Bard]

"I doubt it," Pandora replied. "Keep your wits about you."

Seth poked his head into the room, smirking at Joseph. "Ready greenhorns? If so, let's get a move on."

[backhandoffate]

"Will do." Joseph replied, nodding in agreement. He wasn't likely to go daydreaming in a situation that involved potential swordplay. Seth gave notice that the time for departure was swiftly approaching. "Right. I'm ready to go." Strangely, Joseph didn't feel a hint of anxiety the first time he put a sword on his belt. He always assumed that he'd be nervous around these sorts of weapons. Hopefully he wouldn't have cause to actually draw the weapon on this particular outing.

[Devon]

"Remember what I said boys," Darin called out to his twins.

Sawyer rolled his eyes and waved bye to his parents, "We got it dad, we won't let the new guy get hurt," he answered. Giving his brother a quick punch to the arm he smirked and looked to Seth and Joseph. "Let's go to the tavern!"

[Kender Bard]

Once they were there (it wasn't that far by walking, and of course they walked as Seth balked at being teleported when he wanted to look at pretty ladies on the way over), and inside, it was clear that the mood and atmosphere of the tavern was dark, even this time of day. The lights were all dim and poor and there was little to no chatter other than a game of cards going on in a shadowy corner.

[Devon]

Sawyer walked into the tavern with a stone face, coldly sweeping his eyes across the room. Glancing back to Seth he grinned, "Told you I'd make the best face walking in here," he said.

[Kender Bard]

"Bullshit," Seth muttered under his breath at Sawyer, still doing his best to keep a 'tough guy' look on as he strolled deeper into the tavern.

Behind them, a large, heavyset man roughly pushed past the trio as he stormed into the room and went over to where the card game was taking place, bracing himself with his palms against the table and interrupting the game. "Hey boys, how come I wasn't invited to play? You little shitstains afraid to lose your money?"

"I think you know why we didn't invite you," one of the men replied giving the newcomer a stinkeye.

"You say that to my face," the antagonizing man growled.