Highwaymen RPG Opening Act: My Way or the Highway (part 2)

[SilkScarf]

Continued from the original thread, due to forum display issues. These threads will be merged together when the issue is resolved.

[Kaede]

Going to post the two posts that were hidden.

kaede:

She gives a look to ruru that says you cant be serious, before turning her attention to Brue "I'm only offering my suggestion on what to do, got any ideas?"

the lord kelvin:

"In this nation, your average man is just throwing what he's got at a delusion. Eventually they'll lose sight of their original motivation. What difference does it make whether everything they have is taken by the system or by us?"

---

"Well if you want to steal indiscriminately you can, but remember the threat the officer gave us, kill on sight." She returns her attention to Brue. "So you got any ideas on what to do?"

[dinasemrys]

Pepe eats some tendies. The conversation is too confusing for him to get much out of.

[SilkScarf]

Brue puffs out his chest and grins. "The same thing we always have, steal from the rich and give to the poor! We can take that lady's offer, but we don't have to forget what's right. Our spirit of brotherhood is why I crossed an ocean to immigrate to this wonderful country! besides that other thing..."

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru responds to Noire's look with a snarl
"I'd rather not let them put a leash on me. Once they don't think we have any value, they just need to pull that leash a bit harder to get rid of us. Our lives would already be forfeit."
Maintaining traces of the previous snarl, Ruru turns her attention to Brue.
"I see you're a big boy with big dreams..."
Ruru then turns to Pepe and her snarl melts into a slightly sad smile.

[Kaede]

Her look softens to try and bring down the hostility. "Trust me, I'd rather torch the whole government for seizing my families assets and ruining us this year, but something my granpappy always said: 'Even in the worst of times someone turns a profit', so lets make that us. My families company makes yearly trips here and will be back in a year, so one year of service while getting money from legal robbing with the letters of marque for all of us to buy passage and we sail out of here and make a new life back home."

She turns her attention to Brue again and smiles. "Totally agree with that, no matter what we should never forget who we are."

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru puffs up her cheeks and stomps around angrily in a display of frustration.
She turns her head and snaps at Noire, opening her mouth as if to unleash her mind at the woman.
But no sound comes out.
Ruru promptly closes her mouth and makes her way to Pepe's corner, taking a seat next to the pasty man.
"huh... who... hmph..."

[Kaede]

"If you have something to say, say it. We're all trying to figure out what to do about this situation. As a senior member of this group you have more of a right to speak than me I'd say. So please talk. What is your idea of getting us out of this situation?" She leans back into the chair and rests the back her head in her hands.

[The Lord Kelvin]

The girl looks up at her older junior gang member, her eyes on the verge of leaking tears.
"I don't want to be their slave... and I don't want us to change..."

[dinasemrys]

Pepe - "Ruru want tendies?"

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru nods her head at Pepe, accepting his fried chicken.

[Kaede]

A look of regret crosses her face as she walks over to Ruru and gets down on one knee to look her in the eyes. "Look I apologize for my tone, and I do agree with you, I don't want to be a slave in a land that isn't my own. This plan of mine is one I don't even want to do, it's only an option we could take. This plan of yours, revolution against your government, could you see it all the way to it's end?"

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru lowers her head, avoiding eye contact with Noire.
"... I dunno..."

[Corenat Rovarnus]

After an oddly long period of inaction, Ronaldo Roebuck finally speaks up. "I reckon I'm more senior than little miss Ruru here in both crew status and age so how's about you folks listen up: First off, I ain't an expert, but I'm fair certain that a letter of marque is for capturin' ships, not land-based robbin' like we do.
Second, let's not entertain any ideas or delusions a' grandeur dreamed up by a yearling whelp what's whacked in the head. By that, I mean the little missy here."

He indicates Ruru. "Sorry, but I can't be the only one who gets the willies from a girl-child talkin' about serious stuff like revolution and 'the system' that most kids her age don't even know about, much less understand. That shit ain't right. Now don't you be fooled by those crocodile tears, all she wants is ta murder and rob as she pleases with no consequences.
I dunno about you folks but I joined this posse because they got standards, and go about things with a modicum o' civilization.
Even if it were a good idea, we haven't the right people or skills for a revolution," he says with a side glance at Pepe. "I like everyone else's ideas though." He gets up and starts to pace.

"So here's what I'm thinkin': we keep along with the deal for now. We get the rest of our crew sprung, find out what this mystery government man wants us to do. If it's too risky or they're gonna watch us too closely, we give 'em the slip, go to ground. Else-wise we go with Noire's plan. "

[Kaede]

She simply pats her on the head. "Another saying my granpappy had that fits you to a T, 'the bigger the smile, the sharper the knife' no matter what happens just keep your smile big and your knife sharper, ok?"

She gets up heads back to the chair she was sitting in and leans back in it again. "A contract is a contract until something better comes along as they say."

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru sniffles and smiles at Noire before rolling her eyes at Ronaldo.
"Oh yeah. I want to murder and rob without consequences. That's why I'm against the offer to murder and rob under the consent of the system.

Ruru taps the right side of her head with her index finger.
"I see you over there with your big horse and big brain."

[Corenat Rovarnus]

Ronaldo throws his hands up. "There ya go again, tryna sound smart-like. Didn't you just explain how havin' "the consent of the system" counts as consequences?"

[The Lord Kelvin]

"Murderers and robbers really hate not having to fear the system cracking down on them... Also, who's whackier? Someone who's whacked in the head? Or Someone using a whacko's reasoning after shitting on their reasoning as a whacko's bullshit?"

[Corenat Rovarnus]

"It's good that you've admitted you got problems, there may be hope for you yet. Now hush up and let the grown-ups talk."
Ronaldo starts chewing another straw.
"We're heading on down to th' chapel in a day or two for the hostage exchange. Anyone got a reasonable objection to that?"

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru walks up to Ronaldo and punches him in the dick.

[Corenat Rovarnus]

Jensine snaps at Ruru to halt her approach.

[Xenoe]

(Ronaldo is on the high side)

Rolling 1d6: 4

---

The horse senses Ruru's malicious intent towards her master's family jewels and sticks out her equine teeth in a threatening manner.

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru covers her mouth with her hands and chuckles.
"Hehe. Aw, how cute. I never realized you were so scared of little 'ol me."

[Kaede]

"I swear I can hear the lady we captured muttering 'dance puppets dance!' our fighting one another helps no one but her in the long run."

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru pouts and looks at her feet.
"Awww, ok."

Looking back up at Ronaldo, Ruru pets Jensine's menacing face.
"This was fun, mister. Lets do it again sometime. Don't forget to think about that insurance. I know some good people."

[Corenat Rovarnus]

Ronaldo hasn't moved an inch. "Uh, yeah? I just finished 'splainin' how much you creep me out. Your folks shoulda had you exorcised while they had the chance. Now I know you were just tryna throw a tantrum, so I'll let that slide. But you gotta find better ways of coping with being beat."

[The Lord Kelvin]

"hahaHhahhahahahHAHAahaaha... folks... good one. It's not like I'm an orphan or anything."
Ruru avoids any eye contact after saying this.

[dinasemrys]

Pepe watches this all confusedly. He blanks out part way through and stares off into space.

[SilkScarf]

Brue watches all of this unfold, unsure of what to say. Halfway through, a daydream takes hold of his drifting mind: the same daydream as always...

He smiles.

[Kaede]

"So now that us regular folk have talked, what does our leader have to say about this?"

[Xenoe]

(Sound of a lot of people talking at the same time)

After an hour long chaotic deliberation, it seems that the gang has come to a consensus that the hostage exchange needs to happen.

"I suppose we can decide where we go from there once we see what type of tasks they have us do," says Harry.

---

The day of the hostage exchange you arrive at the scene with a group of twelve gang members, not too much to seem threatening, but not too little as to be defenseless.

You arrive at the abandoned chapel to see the missing members of your gang lined up in a line with their hands tied behind their back. Behind each one of them is a musketeer and their leveled bayonet.

Your supply of hostages looks a little meager compared the other side, but its the best you can do.

A heroically built middle aged man with a disproportionately gaunt face steps out from the other side to address you.

"I see that even though you are a group of outlaws, at least you keep to your promises. I believe that is a good foundation upon which we can work our, cooperation," says the man, "I am Lieutenant Colonel Jeff."


Harry, as your leader, steps forward in response.

"And I am Harry, the head of our noble band. I believe we should each have our men back before we discuss any further, as a measure of good faith of course."

Jeff grins menacingly, although it may be just because his face is naturally menacing (maybe its Maybelline).

"I suppose so, on a count of three then, we will release our respective captives, one, two, three!"

The more paranoid members of your group wince a little at the oddly intoned three, but the ambush they were expecting doesn't happen.

Jorna returns to her side, while you gain your numerous buddies back.

"Alright, now that that's done, I'll need for you to sign a contract," Jeff takes out a roll of parchment, "of course since you're outlaws its not like you view legal obligations with any amount of regard, but it's standard procedure."

Harry carefully reads through the contents, and finding nothing too extreme, or rather nothing to a fine degree of specificity at all, signs his name at the bottom.

"So as per the terms of the contract, we will provide you a lump sum of three thousand Rues a month, and you are to station a messenger at this location at all times for us to contact you. You are to cease all your illicit activities, but any extra items obtained during the course of your assignments is of course yours to keep, unless we demand them from you. Of course you can also try to break this contract, but since we can find you once, we'll be able to find you again, and next time it will be kill on sight." says Jeff in whole paragraph block form. If nothing else, you're quite impressed at the man's cardiovascular fortitude.

"Also, since the time count for your salary starts today, it wouldn't be fair if you had nothing to do, right? You'll get paid at the end of the month."

Jeff grins while he hands Harry a thin paperback booklet.

The first page of booklet reads as follows:

"Cross the border in the south to the Hill kingdom, kidnap the Luwian ambassador as they cross over into Hill."

You go back to your camp to discuss.

[Corenat Rovarnus]

Ronny: "Hold on, now. Is that the ambassador from Hill to us, or from us to Hill? Seems kinda dumb to kidnap our own ambassador."

[The Lord Kelvin]

"It's a good thing we don't have any Luws with us that might have an issue with this."
Ruru eyes Brue.
(wups, got my territories mixed up. No one needs to know)

[Kaede]

"Something tells me were going to need better equipment to tackle this. Is there any time frame for this assignment?"

[Xenoe]

"Hmmm, it does say the Luwian ambassador, so that i suppose means the one from our country." says Harry, addressing Ronaldo.

"It says here at the bottom that the ambassador is leaving on the first of next month, so that gives us... around a week to prepare?"

Harry nods after carefully counting off the days on his fingers.

(You guys have both a blacksmith and a gunsmith among you, although their quality may not be the best...)

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru raises her right hand into the air.
"So, boss man. How are we splitting that salary?"

[Xenoe]

Harry rubs his chin.

"I suppose as we always do, evenly. We'll set aside a tenth to donate to the local schools, even though we probably won't make as much money anymore, and another tenth for public supplies."

[Kaede]

She rubs her chin in thought. "Well if we get enough loot I could open a stall in a market and sell it off for a profit."

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru's eyes sparkle as her eyes lock on to Noire's.
"Sell? What! Why didn't you say so sooner!? I'll help you sell whatever you need."

Ruru flashes Noire a toothy smile and rubs her chin as if to imitate her.

[SilkScarf]

Brue rubs his chin, and wonders when he'll start growing some real facial hair.

[Corenat Rovarnus]

So as not to be left out, Ronaldo rubs his chin as well as Jensine's.
"Anyone got a map of that area? We ought to set up our ambush in a place where it'll be hard for 'em to fight back."

[dinasemrys]

Pepe finally snaps out of his daze - "We go where?"

[Xenoe]

"Hold on, theres a map in this booklet, let me get it out" says Harry.

---

"The legend says that the black lines are major roads, the blue lines are rivers, the green and brown triangles are forest and rivers respectively," says Harry.

"Man, who drew this map? It's so shit. Anyways the border with our country is to the north, there seems to be two main roads that lead from our country to the Hill Capital, converging eventually in some unmarked city. A little note at the bottom says that the usual route of the ambassador is the one in the west."

[Kaede]

"Any mention of how many guards the guy usually has or how good they and their gear is?"

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru walks over to the bandit blacksmith.
"Hey, hows it going?"

[Xenoe]

Ruru finds the strategy meeting uninteresting and instead turns her attention to Bronan, your resident blacksmith turned bandit.

"Uh, hey." he says.

---

"He will have an entourage of six bodyguards, armed with pistols and sabers. Nothing we can't handle, unless of course, its another trap."

[The Lord Kelvin]

"How's the side smithy job going? Been to town lately?"

[Xenoe]

"Uh," says Bronan, "its alright, I guess. Sold a couple of hoes. I really love the peaches that the town sells."

[SilkScarf]

"Could we try pouring some caltrops into the stream right before they ford it?"

[Kaede]

"Does it say of the diplomat is hiring any guards? We could try and sneak a couple of our men on if he is. Baring that we could set a trap by blocking the road with a busted cart."