Hunting the Crow

[Komosatuo]

The ninja sighed.

What I do for money these days.

Albeit he wasn't all that short on cash and it wasn't that he couldn't keep his hands full most of the time with things to do; he just happened to see the wanted poster and could help but look into it. Apparently, as the poster not so clearly stated, an man only identified as 'The Crow' had stolen something of value from the queen of this region, and the queen naturally, and probably with good reason, wanted it back. And now it was up to him to find it, get it, and bring it back.

He sighed again the looked up from the wanted poster in his hand and into the eyes of the watch warden standing in front of him. A gruff man who had seen better and more profitable years, the warden looked to have only taken this job to prolong the boredom of retirement, and he wasn't too happy about it.

"You say he was spotted not an hour from here?"

The man grunted. "That's what I said, didn't I?"

The ninja nodded and looked back down at the poster. "Only an hour away, the fool."

"Huh?" The warden was hard of hearing and probably only heard a series of mumbles. The ninja quickly smoothed the situation with a curt, "Nothing." He then handed the poster back to the warden.

"Any idea what he looks like? What clothing he was wearing? Anything?"

The warden sighed and reached into a pouch lashed to his left thigh. "All we have is this." That was when he pulled out a long black feather, most definitely from a crow and the ninja took it. "It's his calling card," the warden said as he button up his pouch. "That's the only reason we knew it was him."

Why leave a calling card? The ninja thought as he turned the feather over in his hands. He wouldn't find any clues here, just looking at the feather, he needed to start investigating first hand. "The forest you said?" He went to hand the feather back but thought against it, an idea suddenly coming to mind, but the warden didn't notice and replied to his question.

"Boy, do you not have ears? Yes, the forest!"

The ninja smirked, but the man didn't see it. "Just checking my bases."

"Well," the warden spate. "Check your bases elsewhere and stop bothering me. I have a debt to settle with an Inn and a few low life brawlers. If you will excuse me."

The ninja nodded and moved clear of the warden's path, letting him pass out into the street beyond. And then he was left alone in the warden's office.

Well, no use in just standing here. Best be on my way. Could use some help though, this might get tricky. I'll see what the Inn offers me.

With that he pocketed the feather carefully, making sure not to bend it too bad, then exited the office and walked the short distance between it and the nearest Inn. Luckily it wasn't the one that the warden was visiting, else he'd have to make an embarrassed exit, and he planted himself firmly in the most noticed position. This time he spoke loudly, a little gruffly but still clear.

"I need an able bodied man, woman or beast to assist me in the capture of a known and deadly criminal by the explicit order of the queen and her royal knights. Any takers?"

He waited for a response as the room quieted and then slowly resumed in hushed, conversational tones. Hopefully the whole 'known and deadly' criminal thing hadn't scared away a good portion of this crowd. Well, it was a small hope anyway, most people were lilly necked and cowards.

Open to one male, female or beasty like character. :)

[Ravenok Kinnes]

"Shouting out the fact that you're hunting someone wouldn't be a good idea, now. Would it?" Said Ravenok, who was then standing pretty much in the front of the crowd. He looked around himself, noticing few who could for one, fight, and two, were of the "beast" type. Upon ascertaining that fact, pretty much no one stood as high as Ravenok. He laughed to himself, considering how many infidels that this ninja had just tried to recruit for his cause. He felt that the ninja aught to consider himself lucky for the fact that Ravenok happened to be within the Inn at this time.

"You wouldn't think that a friend to The Crow could be standing here within these very walls?" He let the question marinate for a moment, but spoke again before an answer came forth, "No, I would suppose not. Most fools don't tend to think ahead before shouting into multi-colored crowds." He smirked at the last remark, wondering what response he could reap from this ninja. He also wondered why someone like him would even be calling out in the open. From his few and only experiences with people who looked like him, didn't they prefer shadows and things of the like? Nonetheless, this one was here, in the open, asking for help.

Ravenok did not even know if The Crow was even the man that the ninja was talking about. But he did state that the petitioner was the royal Queen. A safe assumption would say that it was the Crow, for Ravenok had already heard of him. In fact, Ravenok had looked into hunting this "Crow" for sometime, but had decided not to for several reasons. He didn't feel like leaving Scara Brae yet, for he had business. Though if he were with an acquaintance or two, the operation would presumably run more smoothly and finish quicker. Ravenok could use some extra ale money anyway.

He crossed his arms with a casual subtleness that showed Ravenok's layed-back personality. His muscles bulged clearly, obviously Ravenok wanted to show Komosatuo that he had found an "able bodied man." That is, if Ravenok decided to help out or not.

[Alearto]

It was a long day for Alearto.

The most recent in the chain of rowdy bars, taverns and inns he visited was shaping up to be no more promising than any of the others. In a town with so much going on, he found it hard to believe that no one, anywhere, had a job he was suited for. He was beginning to grow desperate, and by now had resigned himself to a table with a few strangers, chatting idly about the weather.

"The whole reason I'm here is to get stronger, so I can go back to the Temple and help my dad... but how can I do that unless someone actually lets me do some fighting? Maybe I can just pick a fight with somebody in here..."

Peering around the room, he caught sight of an enormous man standing across the room. He was massive, at what Alearto figured to be more than six and a half feet tall. Taking note of this, Alearto quickly decided against starting a fight.


Around this time, a new figure entered the room and addressed the entirety of the inn. "Finally," he thought, "Someone worth listening to. I can't believe I've been wandering around all day looking for work and now somebody's shouting one at me! Figures."

Before he could answer, the man Alearto noticed earlier spoke up, chiding the ninja for speaking about his mission so openly. At this point, however, Alearto didn't care; he'd been at this too long, and would take whatever work he could get.

"How about me?" he spoke aloud as he stood up from his seat. "I'm not as... muscular... as the gentleman over there, but I try not to look gift horses in the mouth. Whoever you're after, I'll help you catch him."

With this, he proceeded to buckle his longsword back into place at his hip and put on his cloak with the white side facing outward as though his offer had already been accepted.

[Komosatuo]

The ninja couldn't believe his luck. Here he had thought he'd have to wander through multiple inns before gaining the adventurous streak of at least one person but instead he enters the first one he sees and nabs two, right off the get go. Even though each one looked as though he hadn't seen as much blood as a finger pricked by a thorn, the ninja had a feeling that both would suit his needs greatly.

He made quick mental notes on each man based on their appearances, first few lines of speech and the way they held themselves. The first one was arrogant, flaunting his muscular body around as if it were a show horse on parade, and to be honest, he looked to weigh to little for his immense height. Which, he was tall, towering a full ten inches above the ninja's head, but height could save no one if the shorter knew how to handle him or herself. He looked to carry no weapons of the visible nature so the ninja guessed that he was either a caster or a fist fighter. It didn't matter, the ninja could already see that this one was going to be a handful and probably be the muscle of this little endeavor. The second one however, the second one could be called his complete opposite.

Two inches shorter than the ninja and considerably smaller in body size than he, this man looked to have never spent more than five minutes outside of a dark room, behind a desk the whole time. But the ninja could see by the way he buckled on his sword that he had some idea of how to use it and despite his small and wiry appearance, the ninja saw that he possessed a great more strength then he was letting on. Both of them were useful, in their own separate ways, and each would serve his purpose well, despite being young and head strong, the both of them.

"Right," the ninja said with a smile. "You can put your muscles away tiny, you're not impressing anyone here, much less me." He then stepped down off of the small stool he had stood upon when he first spoke and dusted his hands. He then swept his arms wide to the remaining ladies and fellows who occupied the room. "Thank you all for your time, enjoy your drinks, your music, your pleasurable company and I wish you a good evening." Ho boy, did that earn him a few stares or what! He just smiled though, Let them think me weak and soft hearted, it means little to me. He turned his attention to his two new companions.

"If you two gentlemen would follow me, we need a few supplies before we leave and I need to see a man about a dog."

With that he spun and walked quickly, and quietly, as was his nature, out of the inn and into the street beyond, where he paused for a moment before letting the other two follow.

~~~**

He really did have to see a man about a dog, a blood hound as it were, but not because he needed the more friendly company of mans best friend. That feather was touched, most likely held for a long period of time, by their quarry and what better creature to find it than an infamous blood hound. He found the man he was looking for and quickly spelled out what he wanted and the man returned with a young female bitch, eagerly following him as he went.

"Her name is LaSalle and she's a good dog, follow orders from most men, hates women for some odd reason but she'll find whatever it is you're looking for, that's for sure."

"Thank you good sir," the ninja said kindly as he knelt before LaSalle. "Commeer girl, commeer! That's a good girl! Yes, you like that don't you? Yes you do, yes you do! Ha, easy up with the face there, you've only got one spot to lick and I need those to see." Still chuckling he rose to his feet and motioned for LaSalle to sit, which she did thankfully, then met the eyes of the man. "What do I owe you?"

"Just a one hundred gold deposit, to be refunded once you return her safe from harm or any other ailment that she might catch while she's with you. Should she catch something though, I'll keep the hundred to pay her vet bill and you'll get the remainder, should any be left. If it all gets used you'll have to make up for the rest of the cost."

"Seems fair to me," the ninja said as he dug into his pockets to find the requested amount. The thing with having so many pockets was that you spread everything everywhere, and it took a long time to find if you didn't remember exactly where you put it. "There, and again, thank you and have a good day." With that he turned, motioned for LaSalle to follow him, and walked outside.

LaSalle, ironically, took one look and one good sniff if the man the ninja had dubbed "Tiny" and set off into a fit of growling. The ninja couldn't help but laugh. "Seems she doesn't like you," he said as he bent to pet LaSalle on the head. "Her name's LaSalle, see to it that you treat her with the utmost respect and courtesy for it will be her who finds the Crow, not us. I'm not much for tracking and I don't suppose either of you are, so we'll need her nose. Am I clear?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Good, now, who's the one who's going to go get our supplies?"

He waited calmly for an answer as he kept LaSalle occupied with a good heart scratch behind the ears. He could be nice and kind hearted when he needed to be, being a ninja didn't always mean cold stares and even colder steel. He wondered how much it would cost to buy LaSalle out right after this was said and done. He thought he could use her nose, as well as her friendship. He stored the thought in the back of his mind and diligently went about scratching behind her other ear.

The dogs name is pronounced La-Say-Lee, just incase you were wondering.

[Ravenok Kinnes]

Tiny? Ha ha! This guy must be a riot! Ravenok joked to himself. "I don't flaunt anything. Though..." He thought to himself for a moment, "Speaking of impressing, I would flaunt your head after it was ripped off of your shoulders well enough." Ravenok thought himself a comedian, and only assumed that Komosatuo would come up with a smartass remark again. The thought made him angry, but if he were to be helping this man find the crow, he had better try and get along with him.

He was especially interested in the yet even smaller person who had made his presence known. Ravenok did not even believe that one such as that could hold his own in a fight. Though through the years Ravenok had learned not to judge entirely on exteriors. His eyes analyzed Alearto's body from top to bottom. Again, I am paired with another set of pansies. At least one of them has a smart mouth I can laugh at. He thought. He watched Komo leave abruptly, and stood for a moment before deciding to follow. "Not much of waiter, and straight to the point, is he?" He followed slowly after asking the rhetorical question, exiting the inn nd not even caring if Alearto was behind him or not.

Ravenok waited patiently while Komo rented the hound to help on our hunt. He had never been really fond of dogs, didn't think that they needed one for this hunt. He did know that a dog's senses were better than his own, though, so maybe he could do with one for the time being. He spoke up while Komo came back with the dog in his possession, "It seems that I have happened to come upon one who likes to decide what to do and when to do it. I'll see to it personally if you keep up with the monotony." Yes, a threat. Judging from Komo's person, though, Ravenok could guess that he had several tricks up his sleeve, if he were to fight. Ravenok wasn't much into figuring those out, not yet, at least.

He kept his attention away from the dog when she came up and growled at him. He didn't know why she growled, or what she growled at, but he knew that if he let himself be bothered by this mutt, he would be forced to execute it. That wouldn't bid well for his future... His interest stayed all the same when Komo mentioned the acquiring of provisions.

"I have all that I require, trust me." He said, looking on his own person briefly and noticeably, showing that he had nothing and saying that he needed nothing. He thought for a moment though, How long would this take? He quickly perked back up and spoke again, "Though if we must acquire rations, I am telling you now that I am not doing it. Learn to get provisions yourself before asking strangers to join you in a Bounty Hunt."

[Alearto]

Alearto followed wordlessly on the way to retrieve the dog, contemplating his newfound companions. The bigger one was a bit livelier than he expected; in his experience, size was inversely proportionate to intellect, though he never quite understood why. A natural handicap, perhaps, to give the smaller individuals a fighting chance against the brute strength of their larger rivals. In any case, the man’s tongue was sharp enough, and Alearto somehow doubted he was a fool.

Alearto was slightly disconcerted to find that his new employer was serious about getting a dog. He wrinkled his nose, trying to restrain a sneeze at the mere thought. Dogs were fine and all, but they tended to trigger his allergies. He’d simply have to make a point of avoiding LaSalle, and hopefully he wouldn’t have a sneezing fit while they were trying to sneak up on their quarry.

It occurred to Alearto during the exchange between the other two concerning provisions that he didn’t know their names. In the haste to get a dog, introductions seemed to have fallen by the wayside. Perhaps neither of these men particularly cared to know names. Maybe that was just how they worked. Alearto, however, was uncomfortable working as a bounty hunter alongside two others he didn’t know anything about. After all, how was he to know he was after a legitimate criminal? It could be a personal vendetta, or some kind of scam. Regardless, he resolved to at least introduce himself, hoping the others would follow suit.

Apparently, however, that would have to wait for a few moments more.

“Hm,” he muttered thoughtfully before turning to the ninja and speaking aloud, “What kinds of supplies did you have in mind? That’s a really open-ended request. I’ll help out with it if it means we can get going faster, but I’ve only got so much money. Are you planning a week-long expedition, or what?”

[Komosatuo]

"Well, than don't," the ninja spat back at Tiny, laughter touching his voice despite himself. The man had a tongue like a razor, something that the ninja had gotten used to dealing with at the compound but had fallen out of when he left, it was good to reminded of home. He was just about to say that he'd go and do it himself when the smallest member of their quad spoke up.

"Thank you," he paused, groping for the name of the fellow, but couldn't dredge it up. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know either of your names." He laughed, a quick short bark, his head tossed back and his eyes closed. "No matter, we'll soon enough have them, me being first. My name is Komosatuo Isachi Satuo. If you are confused as to why my last name is part of my first, well, if you're curious I might tell you, if not..." he shrugged and chuckled again.

He then reached down to pat the top of LaSalle's head before speaking to the member who had voiced that he wanted to retrieve the supplies. "Mostly simple things really. Food, preferably trail food, bread, cheese, dried meat and the like. A few water skins, maybe two for each of us and one for the dog. They should be relatively cheap. A piece of flint, unless either one of you knows how to make a fire bow, I'm in the dark on that one, never paid much attention to it in class and I lost my piece a few days back. Umm, two lengths of rope, fifteen feet in length maybe, if you can find it. A couple of snares too, for when we stop and want something warm to eat. A few pots and pans and the like, for boiling water, coffee, tea."

The ninja paused for a moment then, silently running over the list in his head, and then nodded. "If you can think of anything else you might need, see to it that it's gotten. I'd rather have something I don't need than need something I don't have." He gave a quick nod and then reaching into his pockets and began pulling out coins by the hand full. He then placed them all into a sack he had stored in another pocket and handed it to the small man. "That should be enough, if it isn't then spare what you can. You too," he said pointing to Tiny. "If you can, or want to that is. Like you stated before, you have what you need so I'm only asking for the two of us. If you need anything, best you get it now."

He then nodded again to the other. "We'll be waiting right here, unless someone comes along and forces us off to the side of the road."

That finished he went back to petting LaSalle.

[Ravenok Kinnes]

"I don't care about your name's origins." Ravenok responded quickly. "Nor do I care if you know mine or not. But for the sake of formality," He sighed deeply, "My name is Ravenok. You don't need to know any more then that."

He hadn't listened to a word that Komo said regarding a list of supplies. He didn't care, really. Ravenok had spent a week or two camping out in the forest without buying food or water beforehand. He was very resourceful, and didn't feel the need to always spend money. If Ravenok had to spend money on provisions each time before one of his journey's, he'd be broke and trying to pay off a couple of debts likely. His interest did perk though when flint was mentioned, for fire. "We don't need firemaking supplies." Ravenok said, holding up his hand and cupped it, so the palm was facing upward. The air around his hand turned to a reddish-hue and after a moment a small ball of flame lit in the cup of his hand. He held it for a moment, tossed it up and down a couple of times, then dropped it to the dirt ground below, where it immediately dissipated. Ravenok grinned maliciously.

He was glad that the other member of their group had offered to get the supplies. Quite frankly, if Ravenok was forced to go do it and he was given any money to buy the things, he would just simply take it and go drinking probably. When it came to battle, he might have showed a little honor, but when it came to snatching a couple gold pieces from a seemingly well-meaning ninja, his mind veered towards stealing. But it wasn't the case right now, for it wasn't him that would be getting the supplies.

"I'm sure that will be enough for supplies." Ravenok said, in reply to Komo stating that he could donate to the pot if he wanted. He didn't have much gold anyway, at least for all these two knew. "So good luck," Ravenok told Alearto with a snicker, "We'll be here, or near here. Whatever strikes the mood, I suppose."

[Alearto]

"Heh, I was just about to point that out," Alearto answered in response to the introductions being passed around. "Komosatuo, Ravenok, I'm Alearto. Nice to... er, formally meet you."

Alearto's eyes angled upward as he made mental note of the supplies Komosatuo listed.

"Okay," he confirmed, "Water, food, rope, snare, pots and pans. Got it." Accepting the coins, he added them to his satchel.

"So, we don't need flint... I have one myself, and apparently Ravenok can create fires on command anyway. And Ravenok, you say you have all you need, so that's settled... I'll get you a waterskin anyway, just in case, and some extra food in case hunting doesn't go well. Alright, you two wait here, since if you don't I'm just keeping all the supplies." Here he winked, and set off down the street, eventually snaking his way down an alley between two buildings and out of sight.


*****

Roughly twenty minutes passed by the time Alearto reappeared around the corner of the kennel, bent forward slightly under the weight of the canvas duffel slung over his shoulder. Trudging slowly to a stop at the side of the road, he dropped the bag heavily, a sharp clink of metallic objects arising on the impact.

"Okay," he said brightly, "Pans, food, water, rope, snares. There's some dried meat and fish, dried fruit, powdered cornmeal, waterskins which we'll have to fill later, coffee beans, and... some biscuits. I had the shopkeeper throw in some other traveling food, but that's all I remember offhand. If we need anything else we'll have to get it elsewhere, because that's about all I could carry back. There's another bag rolled up inside if you want to divide up the load, and I can carry some things in my satchel as well. Oh!"

Alearto paused, fishing around in his pockets, producing the sack of coins, now considerably diminished in weight, and passed it back to Komosatuo. "Here's your change, before I forget. Don't want you to think I'm trying to swindle you or anything."

Satisfied, he folded his arms and waited expectantly, a contented smile on his face.

[Komosatuo]

"No," the ninja said silently, staring at the pile. "No I wouldn't." He hadn't realized how large the pile of supplies was going to be and now that he saw it, he felt that he should have. There's no way the two of us will be able to carry that, and not be exausted at the end of the day. His mouth drew down into a worried frown, he had to find a way to carry it soon, or else his momentary hold of command would be lost, never to be regained.

A loud crash brought him out of his moments respite and he whiped his head up and around, eyes locking instantly on the source of the crash. A man was just picking himself up from the ground, dusting and trying to rub his sore butt at the same time, but it wasn't the man that he found his attention fixating on. It was the stable and the shaggy mare standing out in front of it, a sign hung on its chest, words large, bold and in black.

For Sale! Cheap!

The ninja smiled an turned to Alearto. "Thank you, now if you two will follow me, we'll secure us a pack horse and then be on our way." He stooped to grab a hold of the sack, grunting as he slung it over his shoulder, it must have weighed close to eighty pounds, and turned to walk towards the horse.

It was a short walk, but with the bulk of the supplies on his back, it felt like three miles. He set the sack heavily on the ground beside the horse, gave it a quick overview - he wasn't good at determining the quality of horse flesh, but he knew of somethings - and found that it would do.

"Right," he said with a smile in his voice. "She'll do. Alearto, would you see to the securing of the supplies, please." With that he strode into the stable and confronted the first man he met.

"That horse, how much?"

The man blinked, startled from his apparent important job of staring at a near by wall, and then peered out the front of the building. A small glower formed on his face and his mouth twisted, as if trying to find words. Finally he looked back at the ninja.

"25'll do."

The ninja blinked. "25? You sure?"

The man nodded, slowly and deliberately. "I'm sure. Been looking to get rid of her for months now. Just takes up space and eats. Oh, which reminds me, what do you plan on feeding her?"

The ninja blinked. "We're going into the forest, I figured she'd eat leaves and grass."

"Uh-huh," the man nodded, sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth, playing with the corner where his lips met. He glanced outside again before facing the ninja. "Tell you what, give me 45 gold and I'll throw in enough feed to keep her going for two weeks."

Two weeks? Seems a long time. He thought about saying so but abruptly decided not too. No need in bantering back and forth on a price that was more than fair. "Done," he said as he dug out the necessary coin. There appeared to be just enough. He'd have to borrow from the others should a need or problem arise, but he thought that it wouldn't matter soon, as they would be in the wilderness shortly.

The man took the coin and stuffed it into his pockets without so much as glancing at it. "Right then, I'll be back with the feed and then I'll see to it to load it on her. Keep the light stuff towards the back of her though, don't want her to fall on her ass and not be able to get up again."

The ninja nodded as he watched the man disappear. Then he himself disappeared, but back out the front door.

"Change that Alearto, everything on the back of her. We've got feed coming."

A few minutes later, as well as a few muttered curses and crushed fingers, the horse was ready to go. The feed bags numbered four total, with another bag to hold it up to her face so she could eat, as well as a brush and hoof scrape and clipper. It was his horse now, he had to take care of it. He'd have to figure out how to use those later, for now. . .

"Right, gentlemen, if you will please follow me."

With that the ninja stepped off, leading the horse by the four foot length of lead rope, LaSalle following behind like a long time, faithful friend.

[Ravenok Kinnes]

The freelancer smiled slyly at the small man's attempt at picking up the supplies. The smile was quickly replaced with a proud grin. He knew that that load wouldn't be much for himself, and even offered to do it for the man just to show it. But he decided not to, wondering if the weight would break the ninja's back. Not like he would care too much, of course.

He didn't notice what he was going towards until the ninja actually got to his destination. "A horse?" the freelancer thought to himself, "Why the fuck do we need a horse?"

"So... I suppose our plan is to go running into the wilderness, shouting out our presence to this 'Crow,' so he can just get away, hm?" Ravenok shouted as Komo went inside to do financial business for the horse in front of him. He shrugged, maybe if that was the case, Ravenok could either just ditch the two men and come back or leave the group to hunt the Crow himself. Whatever, though... He guessed that the ninja had decided to assume the position of 'leader' on this Bounty hunt. Normally, Ravenok would've protested against it, but just didn't feel like it. Not like he had given the monk any direct orders yet and as long as it stayed that way, Ravenok would live.

He waited near the horse patiently, tapping his metal foot on the hard dirt ground. His dark eyes were just searching the surroundings without much real purpose, just noticing the events going on around him. He wasn't paying any attention to Alearto at the moment, just wondering when the hell Komo would come back out. He did, soon enough, come back out. The horse had been bought, apparantly, and now they just needed to hit the road. That's what he intended to do right away, but Komo had beat him to the punch. The ninja grabbed the horse's rope and led it away, telling the other two to follow.

Without much initial thought about it, or a glance to see if Alearto was coming as well, Ravenok followed on Komo's side, rather than behind him. Leader or not, Komo wouldn't be able to look back and see Ravenok. He'd be to the side, equally.

[Taskmienster]

This thread has been sitting for a full year. Since no response has been made to create activity I am going to be moving this. If you would like it to be reopened please feel free to PM myself or another admin and they will be able to move it for you back to Scara Brae.