The Freelancer's bar was full of nasty vermin and noble warriors alike as they all bought food from their money they collected for usualy bounty hunting, or jobs from The Deadwood company and The Warriors of the Feather.
Anaya sat in the back, relaxed in a chair. She was bored and without a job for about two days now, almost. Her last job had involved brining a bum in, and it had been chump change, but the man didn't have a death sentence, so it was ok. She picked up a needle from the table where she had left it laying and twirled the long thin object among her fingers, watching the door for the next poor, desperate man to come in.
A man stumbled over to her table most likely drunk. "Hey there pretty lady...hck!" He put his hand on her shoulder and smiled.
Anaya made a face and took his finger, gently removing his hand from her shoulder. "Hello, sir," she greeted evenly.
"Would you like to go HiCK! to the bathroom?" He looked back at his equaly drunk buddies and gave them a thums up.
She froze a moment, and a completely sarcastic excited expression graced her features. She looked at him and said peppily, "Yeah! But first, why don't you tell me where you found that glacier in hell? Or should I send you there, so you can try to find it again?"
"I didn't find a glace...er what ever... I just want to save a-" He was interupted by slipping in his own beer. He steadied him self by puting his hand on her shoulder again.
Again, Anaya removed his hand and this time she stood. She stepped away around the far side of her table, waving her hand over her shoulder at him as she made to leave the bar.
"What? come back!" The man then passed out on the ground.
A young woman, not much younger than Anaya, and nearly bumping into her, walked into the bar with a grin on her face. She had just finished a bounty in another village not too far away, and sat at the bar, dropping a fat bag of coins on the table. "Gimme the biggest plate of your best steak and a nice tall ale!" she smiled. She hadn't eaten in days and had a hunger for meat.
"Yes mam!" The bar tender looked at the bag of coins and looked at her before taking the bag of coins and counting out how much was needed. The steak arived quickly and steaming hot. The Ale was a bitter pale ale made from weat.
A man next to her was staring at her until finaly speeking."What was the mission?" He asked her and then ordered what she was having.
She looked to him and smiled warmly. "Just going after some child rapist who was terrorizing a small village." she said proudly. "The families were willing to pay a lot of money to get their kids back."
"I would imagine." He said taking a large swig of his ale. "I hear their is some work down a that Warriors of the Feather. They are paying less now that they are suffering from the Deadwood company tearing down their forest."
"Hmm.." she said, looking to the ceiling and tapping her chin. "I'll have to look into that." she then cut into her steak and stuffed the rare meat into her mouth, chewing it with passion. "Mmmmm..."
"Good eh?" The bar tender said as he smiled at her.
"Amazing!" she smiled once she had swallowed. She took a sip of her ale and then another bite of her steak. "Mm, do you rent rooms too?" she asked with her mouth half full to the bartender.
"Yep! 10 credits should do the trick." He said nodding his head and stereotypicly cleaning a glass.
"Okay.. then I'm gonna need one of those too.. fairly small I won't be staying long." she shrugged, and continued eating her steak. She took another sip of her ale, draining it down to half a glass, and finished off her meat. "That was good." she sighed.
"The beds are upstaires."
"Thanks!" the girl smiled, giving a small, two-fingered salute and pushed away from the bar, heading upstairs.
"Oh and... If you find my dog in there, you can have it." He said still washing the mig as he took another's order.
"Dog, huh?" she grinned, turning to look at him, walking backwards towards the stairs. She laughed. "Thanks kindly. Always wanted a mutt of my own." she joked. She turned, heading up the stairs two at a time. She found a small room at the end of the hall and closed the door behind her, sighing happily as she collapsed onto the bed. "An actual bed! I'm in heaven!" she giggled, snuggling the down pillows.
Drac pulls up to the bar, parking his motorcycle outside. He walks inside the bar, his black power suit seems to absorb the light, his pistol is securely strapped to his holster on his side and an axe is hung from his back. He walks over to the bartender; "Give me a shot of your best whiskey," he says, "and the name of someone who is hiring mercs."
"Heres your wiskey, and heres your name, See that man in the back of the bar..." He pointed to a man looking around suspiciously. "That mans name is... uh... Well we call him Gary."
Around this time is the time the bar always gets rowdy, And just as he said that, a bar fight broke loose between 2 tall strong men that almost looked the same.
"Thanks," Drac says, downing his shot of whiskey and paying the bartender. He then straightens up and idles his way around to Gary, observing the fight, ready to fight back if needed.
Gary looked around dodging bottles being thrown around not paying attention to the man coming near him.
Drac heads over to Gary, "You Gary?" he asks, "If so, I heard you were looking to hire someone."
"Yes thats what they call me... uh... look." He said shaking and looking around franticly. "I need a man like yourself who can." He looked around again. "Find my dog... It calls by the name of pup. If you do... I'll give you 1 credit eh?" 1 credit could buy you a soda if that.
"What are you looking around for?" Drac said, "And do you have any...more exciting work?"
"Hello. Excuse me for a second gary." A man interupted the two. "If your looking for some work. We have a certain mission for you if you can call it that." He said in a snobbish tone of voice. "By we, I mean the city of Fante."
Drac turns to the guy, "What's the job and what's the pay?"
"Well we have been getting certain complaints about The Warriors of the Feather and the Deadwood company fighting on our terrain. The citizens are complaining, the tourists are and we have heard enough." He said moving his hands in unison with what he was saying. "The point is we need reinforcement on this situation. Moneywize, it pays 4,000 per month plus free medicle services. Sounds good eh?" He said smiling politely as someone beat a guy half to death behind him.
"Alright, but it's on a monthly basis, with the first months money up front. And you pay for my gas whenever i need it. Also, I get a discount on all armanent suppliers you are affiliated with." Drac says
He held his hand out. "Deal?" He looked at his watch for the time.
"Deal!" Drac says, shaking the mans hand. "Now when do i start and where can i get a place to live?"
"You'll be sleeping in the police barracks." He nodded his head then took a sip of some club soda on the table. "And you can start... lets say tomarrow!"
"ok then, Where should i report tomorrow?" Drac asks.
"To me, I'm the cheif." He said taking another sip of his drink.
"Where will you be? At the police headquarters?"
"You bet. I'll see you then." The man said shaking his hand once more and then attempting to end the bar fight.
"Hey buddy," Drac calls to him before he leaves, "What's your name?"
"Pardon my manners, Richard Cambell. And yours?" He said still imbetween three men.
"My name is Drac Mishkonev, My call sign is The Hunter."
The next morning.
A man walks in dressed like he's going clubbing "So where do I sign up?" He says and sits down.
A dark haired girl a seat down from him raised an eyebrow. "Are you new?" she asked.
"Sign up? It's a bar! All you have to do is pay me and I'll give you a drink and food." The bartender said laughing a little while he spoke.
"I think he was talkin' to anyone who wanted a bounty!" the girl from the day before called from the stairs. She stretched and yawned, covering her mouth and went to the bar, giving a smile to the dark-haired girl and man. "Can I have a glass of milk please?" she asked the bartender, placing a few credits on the bar.
The milk came quikly and he set it down in front of the woman. "Welcome to bed booze and breakfast. The place where the mercs hang out and get jobs." He said still cleaning the same glass he was the night before.
The dark haired girl, Anaya, stood up, leaving her empty glass on the bar. She thanked the bartender and, having already payed, turned to leave. She made sure to nod politely to the other girl and the new man before leaving the bar.->
The city of Fante
"Well then, I guess I should pay for my drink." He says and fishes some money out of his pocket.
"First ones on me pal. Consider it hospitality." He kindfuly remarked as he grinned.
"Hey! You didn't do that for us!" Said a couple of people in unison.
"Ahh shut up hounds. Give him a break, he's fresh meat!" He yelled at the men.
Back to...
W.O.T.F. story