The Bounty Hunter's Guild (Vers)

[Fish Stick]

OoC: You will need to role-play out how you know about this thread in Stranger at the Red Mullet. Please let me mod how you get in and out of here. Don't assume anything...

IC: The Versian streets were empty in this part of town. They were dirty and wet and empty. This was the slums. None of the noble Versian people dared to make their way down to this part of town. It was too risky. From a first glance, it would appear that Vers had no slums. But once you got to this part of town, it was all too obvious. The streets were littered with puddles of alcohol and water. Mostly water, about sixty percent. The rest was alcohol. Pure, vile, horrid alcohol left over from the night club. The Crescent Moon Nightclub, to be exact. Many a man had fallen into the “whoribble” trap that was held inside those putrid walls. But if one went across the street from the night club, he would see a shack.

The shack was not a big one, hence the name “shack” instead of “palace.” It was about eight to nine feet high and ten feet wide. The door on the shack looked rotted and termite eaten. It had no handle, and no indication of there ever being a handle. There was nothing there that gave any indication that this was any building that held any amount of importance whatsoever. Any ordinary traveler would see it for what it was meant to disguised as, a run-down shack that some hobo had abandoned because it was too small. Yes, that was what it would look like. The inscription above the door was hardly interesting: Andy's Shack, and even encouraged the idea that this little place was nothing to lose sleep over. Just an abandoned old good-for-nothing waste-of-space shack.

But, if one happened to knock on the door of the shack, the shack would undergo a massive transformation with a small instance. A square on the top of the door would open up, revealing one large, peering eye. The eye would inquire the knocker as to what it was doing here. ”What da hell do ya want?” Short and sweet. Insightful and to the point. If the knocker had a good enough answer to the eye's question, the door would open slowly, revealing a dark room only lit by a single candle.

The room was empty, made of the same rotten wood as the outside had been made of, except for a hole in the floor on the far left corner. Obviously, this was the way to go. If the knocker happened to turn back on its beeline for the hole, he would see the owner of the eye that had peered out the tiny hole in the door. It was a giant. He was scrunched up in the corner, on a chair that looked to be on its last breath as the massive thing sat on it. The giant had to bend his head down as to not hit the ceiling of the shack. It looked like a jack-in-the-box ready to pop out of its box at any second.

The hole, though, was the knocker's main priority. The hole was about four feet wide and had a staircase in it. This staircase spiraled around and around until it couldn't be seen anymore. There was an iron railing on the staircase, to make sure the knocker didn't fall down the deep hole, as that would result in tremendous pain. If the person decided to go down the hole, he would begin bounce on the stairs and cause dust to release itself from the dirt walls. Then he would smell the smoke. Smoke that defied all other smoke. The smoke was so thick, that the dust that was continually being made would be lost in the smoke. The smoke nearly choked all those that came down the stairs, but if the person was strong, he could make it.

Once the person got to the bottom of the well and the end of the staircase, he would see a room. A room much nicer than the one he had just been in. The room was thirty feet long, and twenty feet wide. The floor was carpeted in red, with a golden crest here and there that was entirely made of symbols. These symbols were surrounded by a number of swords and bows, as well as an axe here and there. The walls were pure mahogany, and were polished finely. There were many lanterns attached to the walls, so it was fairly easy to see the four doors and the desk on the far side of the room. In fact, they were so far on the other side, it was impossible to tell the significance of the other two-thirds of the room that were empty. Probably to intimidate those who dared to make the walk down to the desk.

The desk was cluttered with papers and cigar butts. Some cigar butts were still smoking, others were red hot, and others were just plain dead. The papers were stacked higher than most men stood, but there was an opening in the middle of the desk as to see who sat behind it. Behind the desk would be found the culprit of the dense smoke that filled the room. It was a small hobbit, who sat on a chair that was leaned up against the wall, and had his hairy feet on top of the desk, crunching the papers that fell victim to them. The hobbit had a small tin full of cigars that he was playing with. The hobbit also had about six to seven cigars in his mouth at the same time, puffing them all. The hobbit seemed entirely preoccupied with the cigars, and wouldn't pay attention to anyone save they speak up. That was how things usually ran in the Bounty Hunters Guild.

OOC: Originally written by Guardian.

[Carly Jr'ana]

Continued from here...

Carly followed the suspicious stranger to the little shack in the slums, whilst she was a creature of water she was particuarly displeased with horrid puddles that littered the district. In a town of so many mages, there was hardly any reason for the non-magical to live in such squallor.

She raised her small blue hand to the door and gave it a series of loud raps, smiling at the eye that appeared. "Serale sir, I was told there could be some considerable use of my considerable skills at this considerably drab address."

[Fish Stick]

The eye looked at the blue elf, and then the tiny shutter slammed close. As it did, the door swung back, and revealed a little room lit by one candle. As it was dimly lit, Carly saw a hand from behind the door motion for her to come forward. She would see a large giant as she entered, whom moved over to a little seat that one would think could not possibly hold his body size. As he sat down, he pointed to a hole in the ground with a stairway. If Carly went down it, she'd eventually end up in an office with a chair whose back faced her. As the door to the office closed behind her, the chair would spin around, and a cether (hobbit) looked towards her with black irises. "Is there something I can help you with?" he asked, full well knowing she wouldn't have gotten down here unless the giant had allowed it, which not many people were allowed past him...

[Carly Jr'ana]

Carly was somewhat surprised to see the Giant, a level of overkill for such an establishment surely. And how terribly cramped for the poor Giant. Carly followed the direction of the hand and slinked down the stairway to the levels below, coming to the small office and the seemingly empty chair.

She blinked, slowly, and quite delibrately at the little Cether who inhabitated the chair. His little 'surprise entrance' foiled by her cunningly useful sixth sense. She rolled her eyes carefully, making sure that he could see, and gave a decidedly teenaged huff.

"If you'd be so kind as to forego the power plays, I'm not here seeking help. I was told my particular brand of skills could be quite useful to... whatever this is. And I've yet to be told exactly what it is you do. So, if you can be any help at all, you can help me by explaining why my sword and my Ikos could be a boon to a cether, a giant, and a man who wears lots of black and sulks about in taverns."

[Fish Stick]

"Oh ho ho, you are a charming one my dear... We... are bounty hunters. As for the man whom sulks in a tavern, he is our recruiter, and a very efficient one if he brought an ikomancer to us... Basically, what we do here is hunt for people who do evil deeds... or, well, what one might consider evil. We are the law men that don't have to abide by the laws to catch murderers, rapists, thieves, and other such trash amongst the Versian streets... That is what we do here... does this interest you at all?" asked the Cether, whom awaited her response, his short legs danging in the air as his seat was hovering far above the ground.

[Carly Jr'ana]

Carly cast an eye about the immediate area, sceptically, setting her deep black eyes on the cether and showing off her ever so pointing teeth. "Well, I do like to collect bounties. I'm not sure how you run things here... but in the Capital their bounty hall is a nice big building on a nice normal street with clerks and notice boards and bit fat rewards. Is there some law against bounty hunting in Vers? Or are you just protective about your business?"

[Fish Stick]

"There are no laws about it... but we do make some enemies, and one can never be to careful about their business... if you understand what i mean by that," said the cether, eyeing up the blue lady carefully. "But, if you like to collect bounties, then you have come to the right place in Vers... how about it? I have a few needing collecting, and perhaps an Ikomancer might be able to take care of it for us... Either by increasing your chances of success or the chances of the bounties being stupid enough to get caught, would you care to hear about a few of them?" he asked.

[Carly Jr'ana]

The elves smile widened even further, as if the top of her blue head would crack off and roll aong the floor. She massaged the hilt of her sword, thinking of the extra cash such jobs might provide. "I'm certainly interested, it's been a while since I've felt the thrill of the hunt. I've put a number of new skills under my belt. Let's try it out. Whats the going pay scale? High cash for tricky bounties?"

[Fish Stick]

"Well, here are a list of a few of the bounties to choose from, be advised though, these are not all of them. If none of these suit you, i can find others..." said the cether, and then pushed forwards a piece of paper with a list upon it.

Name of Bounty: The Crooked Claw
Difficulty: Extremely Difficult
Description: Demon that surfaced on the edges of Vers. Considered Extremely Dangerous, but will not attack unless provoked. Needs to be captured, or defeated immediately, as considered a threat to the populace.
Reward: 25,000 crowns

Name of Bounty: Murton Le'viel
Difficulty: Difficult
Description: An adept Mystic that thrives on putting people to sleep, and then stealing all of their possesions. Considered dangerous, and very tricky to deal with. Needs to be captured alive in order to reverse the effects of his spells.
Reward: 15,000 crowns

Name of Bounty: Clariton Troy
Difficulty: Normal
Description: Male prostitute that picks pockets from his male clients. Seems to slip through the cracks whenever the authorities get near him though. Needs to be captured alive.
Reward: 5,000 Crowns

[Carly Jr'ana]

Carly picked up the list of bounties and read them over, cursing her bad eyesight as she leaned in close to read the prices. She mulled them over before making her choice. "I'll do them all, but since I haven't had to do a good bounty in a while. I'll start with Clariton Troy. Have you got any more information on him? What he looks like? Where to start looking?"

[Fish Stick]

"Well, recently we've heard that he's been hanging out around the academy, praying on young male bards... a bit sick if you ask me, but to each his own. Anyways, i'd start looking for him there. If you brought a man with you, i think it might be easier to find him, since obviously he won't be looking for a woman to steal from..." said the hobbit, and then awaited her response...

[Carly Jr'ana]

Carly shook her head. "If I brought a man with me, I'd have to share to profits. Besides, he's not likely to suspect a girl. Unless you know someone happy to give me a majority share in the cut? I like my money in my pocket."

[Fish Stick]

"Why don't you try heading back to the inn, and ask for the man's help there... he only joined our guild for the fun, and not for money... He loves the rush of a chase," said the cether.

[Carly Jr'ana]

Carly grinned, rolling up the parchment and slipping it within her pocket. "Well then, I'll just go and do that right now. I'll see you in a brightening or two I suppose, unless Mr. Clariton is in hiding."

With nothing further to add, Carly made her way back to the inn and asked for the strangers assistance in a matter of... the chase.

[Fish Stick]

Continued here.