Tor walked up to the slowly growing group gathering by the Brotherhood of Steel Knight. He looked at the Brotherhood Knight with a stern look, "Knight Taylor, don't talk to me like I'm one of your lackeys. I'm not Brotherhood anymore, it'd be good of you to remember that."

He turned to the woman standing there and coldly looked her up and down and then glanced at the protectron. He turned back to the knight, "You must be getting desperate. Brotherhood numbers getting low?" He turned back to Renata and stiffly held out his hand to her, "Tor. Nice to meet you." His cold, emotionless tone seemed to say it was anything but.

The Squeaking of old and likely overburdened wagon wheels is the first thing that can be heard from the largest of paths leading into the square, even moments before the wagon making that sound can be seen traveling alone at a slow plodding pace.  That illusion doesn't hold very long as it becomes clear the wagon is moving in reverse, being pushed rather than pulled, and by a person instead of an animal.

Head down and powerful shoulders bunched up under a furry bear skin cloak it is impossible to make out anything except the enormous bulk, and general male humanoid outline, of the man pushing the wagon down the road.  Inside the wagon is all manner of junk, some of it still covered in dirt, even a few oddly square stones have managed to make the cut for this very low value load.

Renata leveled her gaze at the slightly taller and more-than-slightly older man. Straightening her back and forcing her posture into position, she took the offered hand. Brusquely shaking it once, she intoned, "Charmed, Tor. Don't forget to say hey to the little cutie," before letting go and gesturing to Xan. She didn't want to hold on much longer, lest the other one push to do something drastic.

Turning to figure out what was making that squeaking noise, Renata relaxed. It was something real this time. She wondered if the big guy pushing that cart was one of the Knight's guests as well?
This message was last edited by the player at 03:59, Thu 18 Nov 2021.

Xan hearing her name stood up even straighter and extended her hand up to Tor as well.

Beep Bop Boop - "Hello, pleasure to meet you, Sir."

"That's right, I-- just a moment, please..."




Knight Taylor blinked. "...I didn't. ...Is this just a warning for the future...?"



"I haven't forgotten."




"The problem I'm having right now is people I can count on who aren't Brotherhood... which is why I've asked you all here... But I'll get to that in just a moment..."




"A... pleasure to... speak with you." This was... not what Knight Taylor had quite expected. He knew it was possible to make automata that looked somewhat human... but this seemed to be quite a custom job... Automatronic shell and voice modifications were one thing, but this automata had more body language and personality than most automata he'd seen... Very interesting...


He looked at the large cart approaching-- almost here. Would the ghoul be in it? Taking a nap, perhaps? Or just worried about showing his face in the streets to strangers...?
This message was last updated by the player at 15:22, Thu 18 Nov 2021.

In reply to The GM (msg # 8):

In the cart, laying among the various odds and ends was a body. A man in leathers, his face covered under a hooded cloak. He lay like a corpse, seemingly boneless and moving with the bumps of the road, not as a sleeping man would.

That was proven wrong as the cart came to a stop. The uncorpse proceeded to stretch, its bones creaking and snapping in ways a living person should not. Yet no actually harm seems to be done to the figure in dark leather.

"Good pushing, Big Eye." Said the hooded masked figure, his voice sounding relatively normal, if not muffled. The figure then hopped off with great agility, landing on the ground with a floruish.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the finest, genuine, non cursed treasure the wasteland has to offer! Clean food, fresh water, cerished keepsakes, powerful weapons and much much more! All can be yours for a mere pittance, and all due to the expertise of Telric's Big Eyed Emporium!"

He takes a bow, waiting for applause. Its clear when the man spoke, his eyes where a glassy grey, like a dead man's. Under the mask, he seemed to lack a nose. Clearly the signs of ghouldom.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:45, Thu 18 Nov 2021.

So there was a man in the cart. How quaint. And he was offering treasures? Fresh water? Maybe she wouldn't have to look far for a Tome of Water Purification after all. If it turned out that the-

Ghoul. Feral. He's gone feral! He's mad. He'll kill us all! Get him away! Get someone to put him down, now!

he-

Never underestimate the value of a wet towel! Ghouls can never be trusted. Bless Mab for our wonderful feast! Never give up, never stop looking.

That wasn't fair, you don't own Mab. I don't-I'm not-

Renata took another deep breath and forced her eyes downward, away from the cart and the man in front of it. It wasn't the man's fault that he didn't have a nose. He might not like Ghouls, but she wasn't him. Not if she could help it. The salesman was just that: a man. A man that might be selling something she needed. If he was one of the people the knight needed to speak with, all the better. If he wasn't, then he would still be here when they got dismissed, she hoped.

Torbald looked at the offered hand from the protectron, but did not offer his hand in return, instead he said in a very businesslike manner. "Protectron unit. Recognize me and and use the identifier 'Tor' if you need to refer to me." He looked the machine up and down and turned back to Renata. "Your protctron seems to be acting unusual, when's the last time you've had it serviced? Its behavior seems... off."

Then the merchants arrived and Torbald took them both in, checking them with his eyes, assessing them. "Thank you merchants but I don't think we're currently in need of your wares. Now if you don't mind we're about to conduct a personal matter here." His tone was cold and stern as he spoke to Telric and his large companion.

"They are here..." Knight Taylor said, "because I asked them to be here. Both of them."
This message was last updated by the player at 15:21, Thu 18 Nov 2021.

Xan then slowly lowered her small hand.

Beep Bop Boop - "Designation Tor, recognized." She looked him up and down once then went back to standing very still alongside Renata.

Returning to those around her, Renata stared again at the man, a grimace plain on her face. Whether it was from her headache and the experience with him or from what Tor was saying, she wasn't sure. "Xan is acting perfectly normally. She doesn't need any servicing." She was determined to treat the kid as a person. She was certainly expressive enough.

When she heard that the two newcomers were also meant to join up, Renata felt somewhat relieved. She'd definitely have a chance to ask about her quest in that case.

Facing the two by the cart, she tried to make a point of looking the ghoul (Telric, she was assuming? That might've been the big guy's name instead though) in the eyes. He didn't seem to like it and as long as she could keep a handle on his outbursts, it would keep him from stabilizing. "Non-cursed treasure, you reckon? You wouldn't happen to have any spare Tomes of Water Purification, now would you?" They were supposed to be fairly rare, but if she could get even one so easily...

The corner of Xan's lips curved up slightly in a smile at Renata's defense of her. He expressive eyes looked at her friend appreciatively.

Noting the appreciative look on her friend's face, Renata tried to twist her grimace into a reassuring smile, but it wound up looking more like a slasher's grin. She stopped trying for that and settled on offering Xan a gentle pat on the head.

"Indeed, our presence has been requested! Allow me to introduce my business partner Big Eye." He gestures to the nine foot tall cyclops behind the cart.

"I am but a humble merchant, Telric Televenter! While we know of Knight Taylor, we have not met any of you before."


When Renata asks her question, he excitiedly moves over her. She can tell right away he is indeed a ghoul. He may not smell like the other mobile corpses she has run into before, but those milky eyes and lack of nose was impossible to overlook even with the mask. Being closer to him now drove the point home.

"Books you say? A book specifically on water filtration? Hmmm...I will have to search the inventory. We did hit a library recently. While I enjoy reading fun stories to Big Eye on the road, I am going to have to teach him to read at some point. He's more into romance novels, and I and find them to be mushy and dull!"

He glanced back at Big Eye. "You heard me! Lady Jackie collins is a hack! And not a good hack! It's the same stories over and over! I'm sick of it!"

OOC-Telric may be lying, Big Eye. He's just trying to humanize you to the customer. And he often uses you as a straight man in the comedy duo he tries to sell customers on. Unless you do like him reading romance novels, or can read on your own.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:01, Thu 18 Nov 2021.

With him even closer, he seemed to get louder. Telric's milky white eyes seemed to seep into her as he began inching her hand towards her side, reaching for her crossbow.

Now, now! Kill him now! He's already gotten them, you need to protect the rest of the flock!

No, no. He was just a man. A probably-not-living, definitely-not-breathing man. He was complaining about books, for Mab's sake. And she would be the one in control. Her arm stilled, two forces pulling on it in disparate directions. It wasn't enough, he was getting erratic.

"'m sorry, please get away, just a little, I can't..."

In reply to Renata Medb (msg # 18):

Telric peered into her eyes, and noticed her hand hovering over the weapon. "You know, if you shoot me, I may not be able to find your book. Big inventory, hard to look through with a crossbow bolt in one's head." He whisperd mostly so Big Eye did not overhear.

"Well, let's take a look, shall we?" He says in his normal loud voice. He then moves away, springs back onto the cart almost like some sort of acrobatic move. He proceeds to start searching through the various odds and ends.

OOC-is there something I should roll to check the inventory?

After bringing the wagon to an almost, but not quite, gentle stop Big Eye takes a moment to let it settle before he releases the yoke frame that he was using as a handle and steps back one long step.  Standing straight up after having been hunched over to reach down to the wagon for so long causes several popping sounds from his back that sound more like something breaking than anything healthy, a quick roll of his shoulders and he settles back into a stooped position that makes him seem to be only slightly more than seven feet tall.  At no point does he let the hood of the bearskin cloak fall away from his head or reveal his face.

With Telric moving away from her, a weight removed itself from Renata's chest as his voice grew quieter. She threw her hand away from her side, wringing and twisting it in her other hand. Guilt pooled in her boots as she shook her head. She would need to apologize later, maybe explain her situation. But not now, not today. Getting close again on a bad day would just rile him up.

In place of that, she would just say, "Thanks, Telric." It was nowhere near enough to pay back what had amounted to a threat against his life, but she hoped the vague thanks would tell him that she hadn't meant it.

Sarcastically, she mused that this was going to be a lovely quest.

(OOC: You do not have the kind of book Renata needs.

I was (unpleasantly) surprised that you suddenly had a cart of goods in the first place.)

In reply to The GM (msg # 22):

OOC-sorry, but when the cart came into play it just seemed  like it would make sense Big Eye and T would be coming back from the wasteland loaded up. We can say its largely useless junk.

(Good idea.

In any event... it's y'all's turn, I think...?)
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:33, Sat 20 Nov 2021.

Torbald looked over those gathered there and sighed. He then looked back to Knight Taylor. "So, why is the Brotherhood looking for a group outside the Brotherhood? Is this job off the books, and if so, would your superiors be happy to know what you're doing here? And what is this job exactly, that requires a retired service member, a vault dweller, and a couple of junk merchants?" He asked sounding annoyed as he wondered if this was some sort of strange joke.

"This job is official... but it's also clandestine. Paladin Ferrar knows exactly what I'm here for. So... shall I take it that you're all ready to be briefed...?"

In reply to Torbald Vorath (msg # 25):

"Ahem...not junk! Recovered ancient treasures, thank you very much!" Telric said with mock offense.

"In any case, I assume the good paladin plans to make it worth our while? Big Eye and myself are not running a charity here..."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:38, Sat 20 Nov 2021.

Xan just looked up at Sir Taylor and occasionally her eyes shifted to Renata to make sure her friend was ok. She seemed happy.