Wild ARMs: Group 4, Chapter 1, Every Answer Brings Another Question
 

An tall studious man, wrapped almost entirely in cloth, sat next to his companion--a man who dwarfed all others in the street with his immense proportions, covered all by his great holocaust cloak.

They had met some weeks ago, and had entered into something of a symbiotic relationship, the studious man needing muscle, and the large man needing an intelligent individual who could watch out for him.

As a result they now travelled together, and the studious one had heard something which had interested him. An ancient ruin had recently been discovered, but it apparently had some kind of barrier about the entrance, turning away all intruders. All attempts to gain entrance had thus far failed.

Of course, information of that sort drew drifters from all around, and so Darel was not the only drifter seeking information on this particular building. The thought of ancient treasures untouched brought in many more.

(OOC: I'll leave everyone but SS and IHMN to getting into a team by themselves. I don't care if you do it now, or upon getting to the place or whatever...)

Darren had walked into town expecting just another place with a few jobs and some leads, but what he got was something completely different. There were a lot more drifters than in previous places, and all of them didn't seem to be here for the typical "protect this person, hunt down that guy" set of jobs. Word of some sort of treasure kept getting spread around... something that didn't really interest Darren.

So, with his first day in town spent trying to get the lay of the land, Darren just went to the local bar and found a table for himself. Walking through the doors got him a few looks, but there weren't that many of them, in actuality. He was just another drifter. Rougher than some, not as rough as others, but still a drifter.

"Great, now I have to deal with competition..." Darren mumbled under the hustle and bustle of the bar as he sat down at a table near the middle of the room.

OOC: No, I don't plan to let Darren go of his own will, but I'll just say one of you (Secret or Twiddy) should hire him as a bodyguard to get him to go. It's convenient that way.

Darel finished running through his mental notes, and looked up at Bob. "We should be arriving at the ruins within a week", he told him. "More drifters are arriving at the ruins every day”, and it is likely that some will try to eliminate their competition", he continued, and as always, Darel sounded as if he were discussing the color of the sky, rather then a serious mission. "I may need to find more protection, though I think a set pay would work better, then an actual share of the profits."
Darel had no real reason to discuss this with Bob, but ever since they had met, he and Bob hadn't talked overly much, and he preferred to know as much about his companion as possible before they began, and conversation was the best way.

Sitting at a table in the corner of the local bar was a thie- er… a man. This man was Jack Devorian. He had been sitting at the bar for the past hour with nothing but a glass of water, checking out the drifters that walked in. He had recently come across a streak of bad luck in his “business.” People had seem to become more “aware” of his bad “deals,” if one wanted to use horrible and blatant suggestions. In other words, the number of dumb-asses not watching and protecting their monies and valuables had dwindled by quite a bit lately.

In any case, Jack was low on money. He had such streaks of bad luck before, and they always seemed to follow some rather good luck. He had no doubt in his ability to come through this in the end, but until then he needed a quick buck to get back on his feet. In the back of his mind, though, the rumors of treasure in the area captured his attention. If he obtained said treasure and artifacts, he wouldn’t need to worry about expenses and his cash problem. However, he needed help to get to the treasure, so there he was sitting in the bar drinking his water watching the drifters fly by.

By the time Darren walked into the bar, Jack was bored of waiting for a big tough guy to walk in. As soon as Darren sat down, he got to his feet and walked over to the drifter. He sat down next to the man and asked, “So, what are you in town for?”

Bob grunted at Darel, to acknowledge that he was listening, though he didn't care. Darel did all of the thinking and planning. That is why Bob partnered up with him. He didn't care what he did, what the reward was, or even if he would come back alive. It also helped that Darel wasn't a scarred freak, so people were more inclined to hire him over Bob.

Darren looked at Jack for a second before before answering his question. It was a rather easy question to answer, really.

"Just looking for a job and a few leads," he answered in a dry tone. "And if you're here to hire me, then just say what you want me to do. If I get good money for it, then I'm not going to argue."

OOC: I hope this gets the thread moving again.

Darrel sat at his table thinking, for a moment, and got up, taking his quill and ink with him. He went over to the nearest wall, and flipped over one of the ads on it. He dipped his quill in the ink and began carefully writing on it.
The ad read:
_____________________________
Employer searching for bodyguard
Pay is negotiable
Ask for Adrian
_____________________________

They didn't have enough time to stay in town and look for a bodyguard in the proper way, so Darrel would have to settle for this risky way. The line about pay being negotiable should attract attention if the stunt itself didn't.
He hung up the ad, and went to inform barman of where to send people. Afterward he returned to his table, and sat down without a word.

OOC: I know, I know. Laziness abound and delays mucking things up. I'll try and be more reactive in the future.

IC: Darren watched Darel put his ad up, wondering if it really was something worthwhile. He knew he would go for anything that would end up paying better, so this was at least worth checking out, even if someone was offering him a job right now.

"'Scuse me, I just have something to check out," he said to Jack before getting up and walking over to the poster. "Pay negotiable, huh? Hehe, I guess I can deal with that."

Walking over to the table he saw Darel come from, Darren made sure to stay at least a little sociable and less business-like for the time being.

"So I saw that you're looking for a little extra man power, huh?" he asked the rather scrawny man.

OOC: A collaboration by Secret and myself. So finally we can get moving.

Darel looked up at Darren. "Yes", he said simply. There was an awkward pause for a few moments. "Ah. Your payment will be 250 Gella, and you will recieve food. The expedition shouldn't last for more then two weeks."

Darren thought for a second before repyling. "What is it you plan to do, anyway? If it's going out to that ruin everyone's looking at, then I don't plan on walking through the desert without some serious shooting. I say 550."

Darel raised his eyebrow. "There is only a chance that we will run into any danger, and it will be at the ruins if anywhere. 400 Gela"

"You have a point, but there's still no guarantee about that. 500."

"450 plus 25 for each day beyond the 14th, and... " Darel almost smiled. "plus 100 for any lasting physical damage. Agreeable?

Darren snickered at the last part. Lasting physical damage wasn't something he was ever hoping for again. "You have a deal, Mr. Employer," he said, offering his hand to solidify it.

Darel shook it. "Darel will do fine," he told him tone-lessly, wondering if he would notice that it was a different name then the one on the add. "If you have anything you need to do, do it today. Were leaving tommorow, we should arrive in a week."

Darren nodded, then stood up and started to walk off. "The name's Darren, by the way," he said, turning around for a moment and then going back off to his table, sitting across from Jack again. He then mumbled under his breath, "Why do I get the feeling I'll be asking for a raise in the middle of this?"

Reneil watched silently from the back of the bar as the skinny guy put up his flyer. Once the two drifters started to talk Reneil went over and took a look. He didn't think the job had much pay potential but he didn't have much choice without even a single gella in his pockets. Besides, if this had to do with the ruins everyone was going nuts over, he was reasonably sure he could find a safer path to them than most.

When the two finished talking he made his way over to where the skinny one was sitting with a huge guy all covered in a cloak.

"You Adrian?" he asked. "If you're still looking for extra help then I'll take whatever you just offered him," he shot a thumb back over his shoulder at the departed drifter.