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Post by Zeno on Jun 4, 2013 6:51:38 GMT -5
Gokoro always attracted strange looks, especially in Kattarn. Since the major cities were mostly populated by humans, with the other races being only a small percentage, they were used to seeing normal humans, wizards, warriors, et cetera, maybe a few mercenaries and adventurers of other races here and there.
However, no one ever got used to a Freak, especially one who was somewhat of a regular, but not enough that one could get used to him. Gokoro was one such Freak, though he abhorred the term. The people of Arnstolflundr had always been wary of him, but they always became especially nervous when he walked through town dragging a bounty with him.
The current bounty, this one hundred and thirty gold bounty, was a minor one, a small-time thug, but a strong one. The man had given Gokoro quite the fight. Not because the man was really super powerful, or anything, but he was fast, and speed wasn't an area where Gokoro excelled at, though he wasn't exactly a sloth. The bounty just happened to be faster.
Well, in any case, the wanted poster said for the bounty to be taken alive, which had been a hassle. When Gokoro got agitated, he tended to kill whatever made him agitated, so it took a lot of restraint for him to spare this man, who was bruised and bleeding as Gokoro dragged him by his leg.
Gokoro knew the path to the bounty office well, and the bounty officer was probably the only one in Arnstolflundr who had gotten used to him. Therefore, when Gokoro approached his desk and tossed the man onto it, the bounty officer, Jacob, didn't even flinch.
“Wow, that was quick,” Jason said with a bright grin as he grabbed the bruised man's hair and lifted his head to get a good look at the face. Studying it for a while, he turned to the wall with the bounty posters. “Ah, Medrik the Vile, the one thirty bounty,” he concluded, to which Gokoro nodded. Jason headed into the back of the bounty office, then came back with a money pouch in his hand, setting it down on the desk. “I'll take it from here. Good job.”
“Yeah,” Gokoro said shortly as he picked up the pouch and spilled the contents onto the desk.
“Now, Gokoro... You know I keep one pouch for each bounty, all of them the right amount, all of them counted...” Jason muttered, looking a bit uncomfortable. Probably because he knew that if even a single coin was missing, Gokoro would without a doubt kill him, or at least hurt him very badly.
“It never hurts to be safe,” Gokoro said, scooping up a handful of coins and dropping them into the pouch one after another. “One, two, three, four, five, six...”
Once Gokoro had counted out one hundred and thirty gold coins, he left the bounty office, still feeling unsatisfied. That bounty had been a bit too small for his tastes. Usually, he never took one under five platinum. Platinum was not only better, but also fewer. Many these days seemed to want to get rid of their smaller coins. That was probably why the bounty on this guy was one hundred and thirty gold, instead of one platinum and thirty gold...
“Well, money is money,” Gokoro decided as he opened his coat and put the money pouch in one of the pockets lining it.
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Post by deadsent on Jun 4, 2013 19:28:35 GMT -5
Outside the bounty office a plain looking man in a brown cloak using his hood to obscure his face leans against the side wall. He'd been hired to watch the man called Gokoro to determine if his employer could use him, and if so, he was to deliver a letter and guide him to the meet up location. He had determined that this 'Gokoro' was good to be hired on. Upon seeing his target enter the office he emerged from his position and stood outside the door waiting for him.
Once he finally left the man moved to block his path, "Mr. Gokoro, my employer would like to have a word with you."
Holding out his hand the man offered up a parchment letter with a silver emblazoned letter 'S' on the front and a wax blank red wax seal on the back.
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Post by Zeno on Jun 4, 2013 19:37:48 GMT -5
When Gokoro made to head off to his next destination (wherever that might be), a man, his features obscured by a cloak and hood, stepped up to him, speaking to him about an employer. Gokoro was never one for getting a boss. Having a boss meant that he would have to take orders, and if he had to take orders, he risked receiving one that would piss him off, and he would end up killing his employer...
Nonetheless, Gokoro took the parchment the man handed to him, staring at the S on the front, then turned it around to see if he recognized the seal. Unfortunately, the seal was blank, which meant that this... 'employer' was a secretive person. Before Gokoro opened the letter, he looked up at the man who handed it to him. Slowly, he reached out and lifted the man's hood slightly, taking a good look at his face. He didn't recognize the man from any of the bounty posters, so he turned his focus back to the letter, opening it.
Mr. Gokoro,
If this letter has reached your hand then my associate has deemed you worth of my investment in platinum on a special job for the two of you. Should you choose to refuse the mission now, return the letter and be on your way; you will not hear from us again. However, if you accept please put a sample of your blood in the space provided at the bottom of the letter and follow your contact to the meeting location. More shall be explained upon arrival.
- Mr. S
Gokoro's eyes narrowed at the letter. Why would his blood be needed? As a 'Freak,' his blood was valuable, due to the changes he had made to it. However, this Mr. S had said the magic word, and so Gokoro pulled back his sleeve to show the stitching on his forearm. The stitches loosened, and he pressed his forearm against the letter, leaving a splotch of blood on it, before the stitches closed the cut again.
“Well then, associate,” Gokoro told the hooded man in his gruffest voice, “lead the way.”
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Post by deadsent on Jun 4, 2013 19:54:07 GMT -5
The man kept his composure as his hood was lifted, he knew he looked like a nobody seeing as that was his intention. Once the letter was marked with blood the man nodded and turned away, "Please, keep close and do not attack anyone at the meeting location."
Heading down the road from the bounty office the man took a sharp turn into an alley way just before reaching the main road, "We will take only the back roads to reach the location, Mr. S does not want to worry about prying eyes. All will be explained upon arrival."
The man moved quick and with perfect silence, every step calculated in split seconds to maximize speed and minimize noise. At every intersection in the alleyways he would stop and glance around for a few seconds before moving on. Finally the alleys led to a dead end, the man approached an old stone wall and knocked in a two-one-two pattern. The wall slid open to reveal a clean stone stairway. From the side stepped two women, one as pale as snow and the other as dark as midnight and dressed in clothes of their opposite's color. They smiled and bowed speaking in unison, the pale one in a soft melody and the dark one in a sharp hiss, "Mr. S received your acceptance, Lord Gokoro and welcomes you. We are Blanc and Noir and we will take you and Lord Chameleon to the meeting room."
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Post by Zeno on Jun 4, 2013 20:02:04 GMT -5
"We will take only the back roads to reach the location, Mr. S does not want to worry about prying eyes. All will be explained upon arrival." Gokoro followed the man, looking him over as he walked. This man was a stealth-oriented man, Gokoro could see that. Not the best physical fighter, though the chances of him actually ending up in a fight were low, given how he made no noise whatsoever as he walked. Could probably hide himself well, too.
“Well, you have no need to worry about that with me around,” Gokoro said conversationally, but even that sounded grumpy and threatening. “People tend to look the other way when I walk through town.
When they reached their destination, Gokoro had a split second suspicion that he had been led into a trap, but common sense told him that a weaker fighter wouldn't be used as a decoy for such an operation. The man knocked on the wall, which opened up, revealing two women. Gokoro wasn't exactly someone who paid attention to beauty, but even he could admit that Mr. S had good tastes. "Mr. S received your acceptance, Lord Gokoro and welcomes you. We are Blanc and Noir and we will take you and Lord Chameleon to the meeting room."
Lord Gokoro? First it was Mr., and now Lord? Well, at least these people weren't disrespectful, which was a plus. Therefore, Gokoro glanced at the man, who was apparently called Chameleon, and then at the women again. “Very well, lead the way,” he spoke gruffly, stepping inside.
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Post by deadsent on Jun 4, 2013 20:29:54 GMT -5
The stairs led down to a large open room with shelves lines with books and an entire wall of bounty posters connecting various people to other people and organizations. At the far end of the room sits an old man with his hands laced in front of him, "Mr. Gokoro, a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Mr. S, and we have much you discuss. Whilst I normally prefer to handle matters within my known channels I find myself having to reach out more and more these days, and that brings me to you. I have a job for you and Chameleon, it will pay well and upon success will open you to more contracts from me. You may back out now and you will wake up tomorrow in a tavern you will not be able to name with no recollection of these proceedings if you accept now however," Mr. S holds up a copy of the letter and blood, "You will no longer be able to back out until the job is done or you are dead."
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Post by Zeno on Jun 4, 2013 20:40:21 GMT -5
Gokoro followed them downstairs, and immediately took in the appearance of the room, along with the man sitting at the end of it. He held the appearances of a frail old man, but Gokoro had seen enough of those to know that looks could be deceiving. As the man spoke to him, Gokoro turned his head to look at the bounty posters on the wall. These were all high-paying targets, and some of them weren't even in the bounty office...
Gokoro brought his attention back to the old man as he held up the letter and explained what would happen if Gokoro accepted and then decided to back out, which made Gokoro narrow his eyes. “I've been in this business for a long time. I'm don't back out of a mission once a deal is struck. But before I accept any job, I want to know how much you will pay me for it,” he growled out.
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Post by deadsent on Jun 4, 2013 21:05:47 GMT -5
Mr. S smiled slightly, "Mr. Gokoro, you will be paid five platinum coins up front and ten when the job is completed. This offer is non-negotiable but is one of many potential contracts for you to take. I am a very wealthy man, Mr. Gokoro and that can work in your favor. If this is enough for you perhaps we can begin detialing the job at hand."
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Post by Zeno on Jun 4, 2013 21:09:08 GMT -5
Fifteen platinum for a single job. He doubted it would be a truly difficult job, so that was one hell of a pay... And more jobs like this in the future, too... A smirk appeared on Gokoro's face behind his mask as he stared at the mysterious Mr. S. The old man must have been loaded, to be able to spend so much money on a single job. Therefore, he nodded.
“Very well, Mr. S. Tell me the details.”
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Post by deadsent on Jun 4, 2013 21:22:04 GMT -5
Mr. S stood and walked over to his board, taking down a picture of a scarred human and showing it to them both, "This man is the head of a local deep underground crime ring, you and Chameleon will be infiltrating his group known as The Plague Guard operating out of this very town. I have reason to believe that they are connected to The Eastern Pirates and have been smuggling high tier drugs into the city. I need you to find evidence of this connection, along with any other connections within the city, destroy the shipments, and then sabotage the relationship between the affiliated groups. How you manage this is up to the two of you."
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Post by Zeno on Jun 5, 2013 5:38:01 GMT -5
Gokoro stared at the picture Mr. S showed him. The man was dumb enough to get his appearance recorded, and he was the head of a crime ring. Despite it being underground, word of it had leaked out, or Mr. S would never have found out. This meant that the man was probably known, and most likely had a bounty on his head...
However, since he wasn't in any of the bounty offices Gokoro had been to, it was unlikely that his bounty was higher than the pay for the job, so he wouldn't go off killing the man as a side objective. Gokoro liked to have his cake and eat it, too, but he got the feeling that Mr. S didn't want his involvment known, and Gokoro killing the man would probably bring too much attention to them, and something else gave Gokoro the feeling that Mr. S could make good on his threat to have him killed.
"I have hunted a couple of bounties for the Eastern Pirates in the past, so I'm known to them, and most likely their associates," Gokoro said thoughtfully, but the change in his voice was barely noticeable. He still sounded like he was gruffly threatening whoever was listening to him. "That could be a possible way in..."
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Post by deadsent on Jun 6, 2013 14:25:55 GMT -5
Mr. S nodded, "Perhaps. I will leave the method of infiltration up to the two of you. All I ask is that this remains unable to trace back to me. Chameleon knows the capture protocols. When you're ready I believe the criminals are operating within the local slums."
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Post by Zeno on Jun 7, 2013 9:21:26 GMT -5
Gokoro stood in silence for a moment after Mr. S had spoken. Then, he said, "Understood. Then, I will just need the five platinum up front, and then we can leave," as he held out his hand to Mr. S.
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Post by deadsent on Jun 7, 2013 9:27:12 GMT -5
Mr. S nodded and reached under his desk, pulling out a small pouch and tossed it to Gokoro, "Blanc and Noir will show you both out."
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Post by Zeno on Jun 7, 2013 9:31:06 GMT -5
Gokoro caught the pouch and immediately opened it, counting the contents to make sure he had gotten the right amount. Counting five platinum coins, he nodded and slipped the pouch into a buttoned pocket in his sleeve. Now that he had been paid, he turned and headed back toward the stairs.
Before he ascended the stairs, however, he stopped and turned his head ever-so-slightly to the side to glance at Chameleon. "Your name was... Chameleon, right? Since it'd be a hassle if things went sour, I'll give you a warning right from the start... I don't usually have partners, because if they piss me off, I tend to just snap and kill them, so..." Gokoro turned his head fully to stare hard at Chameleon. "...don't tick me off on this job..."
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