A Chance Encounter

The sky is pitch black and the moon is the only thing piercing through the darkness above. Ahead of you is the town of Kaheliki where things seem quiet. There aren't many buildings lit up and even less people walking around; even the local bar seems to be quieting down. It's been a few days since you last saw a town this large. You've been traveling for almost a week straight from Hawaii and have finally come into a sizeable town. A quick glance around the town shows a bar, an inn, and a couple of shops that are all closed up now. The wind howls through the buildings and blows up some dust that you can feel on your face.

Pulling her cloth mask snugly into place to keep out the wind and the dust, Jiang hoped that this town wouldn't be another dead end. Her calls for help in Hawaii had gone mostly unanswered, and last few towns on Kaho'olawe made it seem as though she would be rewarded with more of the same.

She had been keeping an eye out for anything that could give her an edge against the High Evolutionary, secrets, weapons, allies, but the towns she had encountered so far had little to offer her. She was lucky enough that the last town was able to tell her about some sort of feast that was being thrown here, and that a number of warriors had made their presence known.

Using her spear as a walking stick, Jiang made her way into town, ignoring the hushed whispers and sidelong glances of the few people still wandering around town. She headed to the inn, as it was obvious even to her that whatever feast there was had since ended. Those attending however, would need a place to stay, and she was determined to find either the people she was looking for, or someone who knew were to look.

As you make your way to the inn, you pass by a few buildings which you can gather are residences as they aren't lit on the inside and lack any sort of signage typical of a shop. The air around you feels dry and hot, and the breeze blowing is likely to give you windburn. Opening the front door to the inn brings a rush of relief as you feel the cool air from inside wash over you. The sound of upbeat jazz taps on your eardrums as "In the Mood" plays softly in the background.

Immediately inside the inn is a small foyer with a counter and, behind it, a large but faded painting of an alpine view. To the side is a couch and a small coffee table topped with an ashtray. In the wall next to the counter there is a doorway that opens up to a larger dimly lit room. In this room is a small, empty stage. Opposite the stage is a small bar. The few lights around you illuminate the room enough to show you all the particles of dust floating around the air.

The bar is tended by an older black man who appears to be in his 60's. On the other side of the bar sits three barstools, two of which are currently occupied. The barkeep looks up at you and sets down the glass he was cleaning.

"Oi, welcome to the Kettle Inn. What can I offer you?"

His voice is deep and rich, like molasses seeping through his lips. Neither of the two characters look up from the bar to meet your presence with their eyes, and one begins whistling along to the music playing. From your current view, you can only see the backs of the two at the bar, and it is difficult to discern anything about them.

Jiang pulled down her mask to answer the bartender, seating herself on the barstool next to the two other patrons.

"Thank you for the hospitality, but I only need a place to sit, and some information if that's possible."

The act of sitting down after her almost non-stop travel felt almost heavenly, and she felt her tired, aching body weaken noticeably as she briefly contemplated resting here for the night.

Though she was used to more austere accommodations, she had to admit the inn had a cozy effect. Between that, and the thought of sleeping in a real bed, she felt herself slowly starting to relax.

Then she remembered that she had yet to make any progress on her quest. Sleeping even a second more than she had to was to give the High Evolutionary another second to inflict their cruelty on her grandmother.

She tried to suppress the ensuing sneer. Control your anger. Focus on your breathing.

She would rest only when she could go no further.

"...Yes. I'd like to know about this place. Has anything out of the ordinary happened recently? Any interesting people I should know about?"

The bartender's smile fades somewhat as he looks at you. He picks up the glass once again and begins cleaning it.

"Well, I hate to say it, stranger, but this ain't a place you can just come in and ask questions. Not without at least buying a drink. Why don't you bunk here for what's left of the night? You look mighty weary. The room's only 25 caps for the night."

He sets the glass down and puts away the rag underneath the counter. Just after that you hear a belch from the character next to you and the sound of glass hitting the counter.

"I'll take one more."

You look over to see a white man with some scruff on his chin holding his glass, awaiting a refill. The man looks about 30 and he's wearing a leather duster with a leather cap and goggles on his head. He looks over to you and gives a slight chuckle.

"You must not be from around here," he says as the bartender starts filling his glass.

"It's not very polite to take shelter from someone and start askin' 'em all sorts'a questions and not even bother to patronize their bus'ness," the man explains just before he takes a big gulp of his fresh beer.

She would have protested, but they were right. A host had a duty to care for their guest's needs, but such a guest would have had to have been welcomed, and her arrival was probably far from welcome. She dishonored the bartender and his business, and she had to make amends. He did not, and probably could not, understand the urgency of her quest.

She turned to the bartender

"Forgive me, I forget myself. My travels have been long and hard. I would like to apologize for my rudeness. I would like to order a drink of your recommendation, and a room for the night if you would still have me."

She could purchase a room without sleeping in it, and a drink couldn't do her any harm. The lands outside her tribe weren't so foreign that she could treat the people living in them with disrespect. At best, she'd hinder her own attempts at finding allies, and give a bad impression of herself and her tribe. At worst, her disrespect could mean attempts on her life.

The bartender looks at you and cracks a smile.

"Oh, that's alright. I guess that's just a young person thing. Always in a hurry, no time to stop and say hello."

He reaches out and takes the caps from your hand, but only takes out the 25 for the room.

"Here, keep these. For being such a good sport, the drink's on me."

He pulls out a brown bottle from a refrigerator behind the bar and sets it down. He grabs the glass that he was wiping moments ago and sets it next to the bottle. Reaching for his back pocket, he pulls out a small bottle opener with a flower on the handle.

*cksch*

He pops off the bottlecap and begins pouring your beer into the mug. As the man pours your beverage, you can't help but notice the way he's tilting the glass. It's the perfect angle to minimize foam in the beer. After emptying the bottle he slides the glass over to you.

"Now that we've gotten acquainted, what was it you wanted to know?"

Jiang tried her best to reward the bartender with a smile of her own, more than a little thankful for his understanding. She lifted the mug up to appreciate it's appearance and aroma, before taking a polite sip of the drink. No gift was so cheaply given that she could not appreciate it, especially not one prepared with such skill.

"I only wanted to know..."

She hesitated to tell the truth for a second, as a wave of inexplicable embarrassment came over her. She wasn't sure what it was, she didn't once hesitate to give her request for help before now.

"I have a problem. A dangerous one. I need to know if there is anyone who can help me."

The bartender stands up straight from leaning on the bar and looks curiously at you.

"Well, I suppose that depends on how dangerous the problem is," he says smoothly as he crosses his arms.

"Course, there's always folks looking for work around here. It might be pretty easy to gather a few to help, but it might be hard to find the right people. Most guns for hire around here aren't exactly 'elite', if you know what I mean. I had heard some rumors about some pretty talented fellas taking care of Utah Johnny's rat problem over at the Rotten Gut bar. The commotion has died down quite a bit, but that might be a good place to start looking in the morning."

The bartender pulls out a cigarette, but before he could pull out his lighter, the man who had spoken to you earlier has already stuck his hand out with a lit match, offering it toward the barkeep. He bends down and holds the end of the cigarette in the flame, eventually blowing out smoke.

Jiang felt the knot that had formed in her chest begin to loosen. She might just find the help she so desperately needed after all. She resisted the urge to sigh with relief, suppressing the reflex with a long sip of her drink. She spoke again after she was sure that she had composed herself.

"Thank you, I'll keep what you said in mind."

After finishing her drink, she excused herself, slipping away to her room. The weariness of her travels, the days spent walking, the nights spent sleeping in the dirt, even stowing away on a ship to get off Hawaii, took an immense toll on her. The tavern and the shops were all closed, but they'd be open in the morning and she could resume her search, but there was nothing she could do until then.

Climbing into bed felt wrong, but in the end, her tiredness outweighed whatever guilt she felt. She drifted to sleep not long after she entered the bed, deciding that she could rest this night for the sake of maintaining her strength, but that did not mean she could get complacent in her search in the future.

She woke the next morning to the sound of the town waking up with her. She rubbed from her eyes the last traces of her sleep, along with it, the memory of her ancestor, kneeling in front of a murky black pool. With cupped hands he drank deeply from the pool's waters, and he turned to her, saying something even as his eyes welled with black fluid, his veins swelling with darkness. What did he say? She couldn't remember anymore.

Having rested fully, she wasted no time in heading towards the tavern, stopping only to give a brief goodbye to the bartender. She navigated towards the Rotten Gut, determined to find what she was looking for.

You make your way to the Rotten Gut. On your way to across the small town, you're greeted by looks from numerous townsfolk. It's obvious that the inhabitants of Kaheliki town don't recognize you. Most likely due to the fact that the town is very small.

You reach the for the front door and push it open, but to your surprise it doesn't budge an inch. After trying a couple more times pushing and pulling, the door won't open. It's presumably locked.

Jiang sighed as she turned away from the tavern. The inn pointed her here when she asked for information, and the place was closed.

She headed towards the now open shops, hoping that either their owners or their patrons might be able to point her in the right direction.

As you start making your way to the shops, you feel a hand on your shoulder. You turn around to see a younger looking black woman with a cap and a leather jacket.

"Are you looking for Utah Johnny?"

"I am. I was just wondering if he could tell me about the men who helped him."

The woman took her hat off and scratched the back of her head.

"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Utah Johnny up and left this morning. He said he was moving back to Utah. There was a big shindig at the bar to celebrate his leaving."

The woman placed the hat back on her head.

"As for the folks who helped him, I'm guessing you're referring to the ones that cleared the rats out of the basement. Hate to say it, but they're gone, too. Don't know where they went, but they're not around town anymore. Sorry."

Jiang cursed herself. Another dead end.

"Is there anyone else you know who does such work? I have dire need of the help."

"Hmmm, I'm not really sure to be honest. This is a small town, we don't get many mercs through here."

She pauses a moment to rub her chin.

"Oh, that's right! Word is that there's a mercenary camp just a little ways north of town. Maybe you can find help there."

After she tells you about the camp, she kinda shifts nervously and sticks her hand out in your direction, palm up.

"I don't suppose you could spare a couple caps for the information, yeah?"

It seemed that the quickest way to get allies around here was through their coin purses.

Jiang tried not to sigh as she handed over the two caps. Such spending didn’t seem conducive to her plan if it involved hiring mercenaries, but it did make things go faster.

“Thank you for the information I suppose. Is there anything I should know before heading there?”

"Thank you."

The woman bows her head a bit as she quickly stuffs the caps into her coat pocket. She looks up at you and licks her lips before responding to your question.

"There's not much else I can think of. I've never been there myself. All I would say is to be careful. Mercs can't always be trusted."

And with that, the woman turns her back and heads for the inn you had stayed at the previous night.

There's a road passing by some shops before leading north out of the village. Presumably, this is the road that would take you to the mercenary camp. You can't see far enough ahead to scope out any sort of camp/establishment indicating that if there is a mercenary camp, it's some ways north.

Mercs can't always be trusted. Perhaps if she learned how much their services cost, she could earn enough to pay to ensure their loyalty...

This situation was rapidly evolving, she'd just have to see for herself what these men were like.

With her spear at the ready, she began to follow the road north.

As you exit out of town, following the road heading north, the buildings become more sparse until eventually they're replaced by trees; most are burnt and ashen, their bark breaking away slowly as the winds whip against their bodies. The sun is almost directly on top of you as you head further down the road, now made entirely of dirt and gravel. Harsh winds blow against your face every now and then.

After about 2 hours of traveling, the trees have begun to thin as empty fields and hills become the dominant landscape. Patches of dying grass and bushes extend far beyond the horizon. Behind you, the town has now all but faded from your view.

Finally, after 1 more hour of travel, you spot a campsite up ahead. There's a few tents and shacks within view and 2 plumes of smoke rising up out of the center. As you venture closer you can hear the clang of metal, as well as the fire of guns. You hear laughing amidst pockets of conversation.

Currently you're standing about 250 ft away from the entrance. You can barely make out that there are 2 humanoid figures, as well as a smaller quadruped creature standing by the entrance.

The sound of gunfire wasn't a good omen. Jiang hoped that it simply meant target practice. Simply firing them off for fun would be an outcome she'd find wasteful, and unbecoming, but tolerable. If they were using those guns on prisoners or each other, she'd have to look elsewhere.

She strode towards the camp with as much confidence as she could muster, making no attempt to disguise her approach. She would give them no cause to believe that she was easy prey, were banditry their game. Just in case however, she kept her guard up, ready to go for ground at the first sign of bullets.

As you make your way toward the entrance of the camp, the figures standing in your way come into focus. There are two men, both scruffy and filthy looking, and with similar rusty metal armor; the one on the right has an eyepatch. They have a dog sitting close by them who begins growling as you approach closer and closer.

"Oi! State yer bus'ness," the one with the eyepatch boasts.

She wonders for a second who normally hires these men, from where does there business come? She sorely wished for any sort of information about these people she wished to hire.

But one makes do with what they have.

"I have a job."

The one with the eyepatch cracks a smirk. His face is dirty and he has a fair amount of scruff on his chin. He looks at the other man standing by the entrance and they exchange looks. The dog that is at their feet keeps his gaze fixated on you, the newcomer. The man without the eyepatch stops leaning his back against the fence and addresses you.

"Well, you've come to the right place. Though I wouldn't go around announcing that loudly. A lot of these folks will kill for some paying work right now."

"If you want some advice, spend a night in the camp and feel everyone out first. Then approach them about your job," says the one with the eyepatch.

Both men step aside and one whistles to the dog informing it to move as well. They open up the chain-link gates to the camp, rattling and screeching an awful noise as they move.

Judging from the sun, it's a couple hours past noon. You would still have quite a ways to go before nightfall, should you choose to spend a night here.

"Don't go gettin' shot now, kid."