mercenary jobs #2 — open to all

[unweave]

Who: Anyone interested in taking some mercenary jobs via Aranea Highwind's offerings. She will be texting people she's made contact with in her initial mercenary network post. However, newcomers can find jobs posted in Wyver.
What: Mercenary posting!
When: N/A
Where: N/A
Warning(s): Nothing particular!

Thank you for stopping by to check out this month's job postings for Highwind Hires — a freelance mercenary group!

Aranea Highwind will ICly be contacting characters and offering them jobs based off the assumption she will receive 30% of the cut. Due to the change in settings, Aranea has waved her fee and is allowing people to keep the full cut of the payment to help them get on their feet.

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JOB #1 — DRAGON RESCUE

With the infection in Wyver, a local dragon-nursery is in need of workers to help tend for sick dragons. They will need baths, feedings, and even surgery in some cases. Will you answer the call and provide the support Wyver needs in this trying time?

OUTCOMES:
- The nursery will pay you 100 silver for a day's work.

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JOB #2 — REDEMPTION FOR FAMILY

An elderly woman named Vetmir has somehow got in contact with Highwind Hire, hoping to find her son's killer. Her son was murdered weeks ago by a former lover. The woman is hiding in The Old City, Alora, is often seen among the trading market near the evening making a living a drug trader.

OUTCOMES:
- Vetmir promises 140 silver with delivery of a locket her son gave Alora.
- Sparing Alora's life will earn you her side of the story, where she had to defend herself after a drunken encounter with Vetmir's son. This earns you 40 silver in appreciation and the locket, which nets you Vetmir's 140 silver if delivered back for a total of 180 silver.

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JOB #3 — BONES FOR A CURE

Criny, a medicine woman is looking for a large supply of Puox bones from their camouflaged exterior. This crucial parts are needed to craft some potions to help relieve aches for the sick. While definitely not the cure, Puox is needing someone to travel to Murkwell Hollow and someone to help assist in potion making.

OUTCOMES:
- Anyone who brings her 6 bonespurs from Puox will receive 170 silver.
- People who help in potion making will receive 30 silver per potion with a maximum of 6 potions a day.

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JOB #4 — SEARCH & RESCUE

Jillam, a street vendor, has not seen their fruit supplier in a few days. Worried they were lost in The Undergrowth, they are enlisting a search and rescue. Traveling to the Undergrowth will prove difficult — gather a small party for back up.

The vendor cart is abandoned with a broken axis, the fruit still good but the driver missing. Exploring further will allow the players to rescue Qun from a man-eating plant.

OUTCOMES:
- Anyone who participates in the search and rescue will receive 200 silver.
- Players can attempt repair the carriage and return the fruit back for cut of the food for free.
- Players who explore for the vendor will be able to fight a large man-eating plant similar to a venus flytrap with sentient vines. If Qun is rescued, you will receive an additional 100 silver.

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Have fun! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me! These are all loosely based on your choices, so feel free to go wild with them. The outcomes only are indication of what the jobs would offer. If you're interested in having your character offer a job in the future, please let me know!

Comments

[emblazes]

[Well, he walked into that one...

At least the dragons have stopped acknowledging him on cue. They seem interested in his voice; maybe he sounds funny to them, or maybe they're just really into humans? Whatever the case may be, it's charming.]

Have you had pets before?

[Maybe it's a product of a big family, but Lance is pretty good with these lizards. Doubly since...dragons don't even exist where they're from, so he can't be going off prior experience.

Minus whatever the red one's doing. It's probably gonna poop.]

[competing]

[ ofc it makes sense that the red one's full of shi— ]

Oh yeah, loads.

[ lance leans back slightly, idly bouncing the blue one in his arms while he tries to count off all that he can remember. ]

I had lizards and dogs and cats and birds and fish and gerbils and mice and grasshoppers and at one point I had a hen I thought was a rooster and boy was I surprised.

[ the blue one starts to get fussy, so he's leaning back forward and gently depositing it into keith's arms instead, whether the other boy is ready for it or not. he handles him like one would a child... or a small dog. the blue dragon, for his part, drags its long tongue down the length of keith's cheek. ]

Aww, he likes you.

[emblazes]

[All over Lance :)!]

Grasshoppers?

[Keeping a grasshopper as a pet is more offensive than Lance being unable to tell the difference between a rooster and a hen. Roosters are the ones that go errrt-uh-errr-uh-errrrrrrrr and hens are the ones that go brrk, brroock, broock, brk-ooock.

All of a sudden he's forced to cradle one of said lizards, but he's not quite at Lance's level so there's no cradling to be had. He's holding it by either side, underneath its tiny arms. Like a child still, it's not such a cozy embrace.]

You don't -- it's tasting me.

[He's permanently wincing.]

[competing]

How the heck is he gonna eat you with that bitty mouth of his? [ aka you cray, man. just enjoy it; bask in the miracle of parenthood. ]

Don't hold him like he's diseased — you wanna cradle him, support his legs.

[ he grants keith a cheeky grin. ]

You know how to cradle someone.

[emblazes]

It's not always gonna be itty bitty!

[Lance knows what dragons are, right? Supposedly? Keith doesn't exactly know much about these guys, but if legends serve...]

He's fine how he is. [Kicking his back legs, swaying his tail from side to side, occasionally wiggling, but not really in a get away-way; more like...trying to get comfy in Keith's not-so-cozy hold.] He's too small to be cradled like that.

[Nevermind that Lance was just cradling him.]

[competing]

[ lance looks Extremely Doubtful, but otherwise keeps his mouth shut. nobody likes a backseat parent, after all...

still, he seems to make it kind of a point to then scoop up the maroon one, easily cradling its near-serpentine body in the nest of his arms. slowly, he starts to rock and sway in, humming idly under his breath. ]

Do you when we're supposed to be bathing these guys?

[emblazes]

[Well see, now Keith can't copy Lance because his dragon's started winding his tail around one of his wrists, making quiet coughing noises -- like when the velociraptors were communicating in JP1.]

Whenever the bath's available?

[His immediate thought was to sniff his dragon, but that seems like a terrible idea.]

[competing]

[ das cute tho... keith, talk to your new son. ]

How do we know when the bath's available??

[ it's not like they don't already smell like dragon anyway... they've been sitting in their enclosure for more than an hour now.

with a huff, lance moves back up to his feet, gesturing with a hand for keith to follow. ]

I guess we'll just have to take a look. [ he moves his hand over the maroon dragon's eyes in a playful gesture. ]

Don't look, little man. Some lady dragons might be in there.

[emblazes]

[He doesn't speak Spanish...]

I guess we check?

[He does just that; as soon as Lance starts, he does the same, up on his feet and giving his dragon odd looks as it starts chittering its teeth together. Why's the blue one so noisy? Hmm. HMmmm.]

Lady dragons? They're all babies...

[DON'T MAKE THIS WEIRD?]

How do you know ours aren't girls?

[competing]

[ lance pauses to think about that, looking like it's really the first time he's had to. ]

Oh. I guess you're right. [ what does he know of dragon biology... ] Well — they can be whatever they wanna be! [ he'll move his hand from the red one's eyes, which is good, because it looked pretty ready to bite him. (HMMMMM) ]

Their dads will support them no matter what.

[ that's them, them's us. ]

[emblazes]

[So weird how Keith's actually the dragon expert when compared to Lance. Mother of Dragons, if you will. He opens his mouth to comment on that -- the fact that red looked like he wanted his finger, but he refrains. Maybe not. These guys have almost nonexistent teeth. They'd break.]

In being girls?

[HOW'S THAT EVEN A SUPPORT-NECESSARY THING. DON'T CONFUSE HIM WITH GENDER DISCOURSE.]

[competing]

In being whatever they wanna be, [ lance will reiterate, but rest assured he'll be leaving off the #discourse there...

mostly because they reach the baths anyway! in this case, the "baths" are really nothing more than a small lake/pond, because it'd be silly to get the baby dragons used to soap or anything. lance pauses by the shore, glancing down at it with a soft, ] hm!

[ he didn't bring his swim trunks 8( ]

[emblazes]

[What a good dad. Keith's looking away, purposely down at his dragon. It's taken to chewing on his shirt, wadding chunks of it into its mouth and gagging it out.

Cute.]

We're supposed to wash them here?

[Where are the soaps? Scrubs? Towels? Whatever other things Lance uses when he bathes? Someone could've very easily peed in there, what the heck.]

[competing]

[ lance isn't a dragon?! ]

I guess so? This is where they'll bathe when their older...

[ he shrugs.

carefully, he sets his own little baby dragon down onto the ground, close to the surface of the water. it inches closer, though lance still hands his hands hovering over its sides, and doesn't hesitate to jump head-first into the pond.

only to realize rather quickly it's pretty deep, and thus it literally gets in way over his head.

hMMmMmm. familiar. ]

Easy there, little buddy — [ he scoops the dragon back up, who thrashes in his arms and gets water everywhere... sigh. ]

Guess we're really gonna have to go in with them.

[emblazes]

[Oh. Oh. Okay, this kind of makes sense then. Acclimating to natural stuff.

Keith busies himself with just holding his dragon, watching Lance go about with encouraging it to wade in...drowning it. That assessment (re: bathing with them) is met with a muted groan; it's all over his face.

Though he has no reason to gripe about this. It's just a matter of being 1943295i9324923ft out of his comfort zone. He's gonna be responsible for the drowning of this lil guy.]

Alright...

[Easy compliance, only because all of his gripes are too embarrassing to put into words, and they only exist in his mind as a means of stalling.

Should he just start...taking his clothes off? This is weird. This is weird to do in the backyard of a nursery.]

[competing]

[ look, the wyver people themselves are pretty loosey-goosey with clothing anyway, so... ]

Here, hold my dragon.

[ now keith's got two in his arms, because lance is gonna take a few moments to draw his t-shirt up over his head. since he's started working here, he's been able to buy a few pieces of clothing, nothing fancy, but he can at least walk around not constantly clad as a paladin. his pants go next, stripping himself down to his undies, but he doesn't seem all that bothered by it. he's probably bolstered by all the new muscles all his manual labor has given him... heh heh heh. (he's still a twink.)

he'll slowly wade into the water, holding his arms out towards keith. ]

Alright, now you.

[emblazes]

[Two too many.

He's fumbling at first, like a magician with too many balls to jiggle. They're too distracting for him to even watch as Lance undresses, which is truly the worst part of this situation. He gets a handle on it approximately two seconds before Lance signals that it's his turn. It isn't his fault, but he's definitely pouting a bit.

He'll hand the twosome over; the red dragon's fine, seemingly grooming itself after getting all wet. The blue one's upside down, for some reason. He's a fidgety one...]

Can't you just do it?

balls to jiggle... heh

[competing]

[ lance's expression flattens slightly, though a brow still manages to find its way crawling up towards his hairline. he stands there with his arms full of dragon, giving keith a Look. ]

I see.

[ if hunk were around, he'd probably marvel at lance's uncanny impression of his mom. ]

Leaving all the dirty work to me, huh? So that's the kind of boyfriend you're gonna be....

[ hm HM! ]

Pardon me?

[emblazes]

[Why do they both have to get wet when Lance is better with them?! He's frowning a little, squinting...]

Don't be so dramatic.

[While reluctantly starting with his gloves, peeling each off, dropping them in a soon-to-be-heap of Keith clothes. His jacket's next, belt, boots....all it took was a playful jab at his inability to upkeep his half of the relationship. Hmm.]

:>

[competing]

[ there is a self-satisfied smirk pulling on lance's lips. he shares a look with both dragons in his arms, who have both turned their attention to keith now, as if knowing he just caved... getting judged by baby dragons, man. how's it feel?

he wades closer, holding the blue dragon back out towards keith. ]

Look who finally decided to join us, gang. [ he leans up, lips pursed out slightly, clearly expecting a kiss. ]

[emblazes]

[He eventually matches Lance in disrobe, though he takes a bit longer...and not just because he has more to peel off. Wyver might not give a shit about modesty, but he still does? Not ashamed of himself or anything, but he's not one to parade around in his skivs just because.

It happens and he's gradually moving into the water to meet Lance, first taking the dragon with two hands -- cupping it carefully between, before meeting his lips with a quick peck.

Message received.]

They don't care.

[Blue dragon's peeking out of the space between his pointer and thumb, bobbing up and down ever-so slightly, trying to create a bigger gap to escape.]

How long are we supposed to be in here?

[At least the water isn't cold...it'd be nice if it were, but lukewarm works.]

[competing]

[ lance shrugs, glancing around. it's just them in the water... ]

Till they seem cleaner, I guess?

[ at that, he readjusts his hold on the red dragon, slowly walking further into the pond where it is deeper. he gets about waist-deep before the wriggling dragon gets too impatient, and splashes happily once lance lowers him into the water again. he keeps a steady hold around its upper body, just under its arms, which have begun to flail about in its instinctive (?) effort to swim.

really, it's just thrashing around. ]

[emblazes]

[He's just following Lance, not sure about specific protocol here. Blue's trying to escape all the while, Keith only offers more of a space for him to do so when Lance stops moving (prompting him to idle just as well).]

Are you sure we shouldn't be using anything?

[Like soap. It makes sense that they're...not, but it seems like. Anticlimactic. Is all.

This question posed as his dragon falls from his palms and into the water. Uh.]

[competing]

I dunno I mean... they seem to be okay with it.

[ the red one seems to be trying to catch up to the blue one, as if falling straight into the water had been on purpose... lance watches the surface of the water carefully, wondering how long is too long to wait for the dragon to come back up on its own. ]

We can give 'em a sniff after and see if they still need more time, I guess.

[emblazes]

Lance!

[As if him dropping the dragon and it not returning to the surface right away is his fault. Without waiting a whole lot longer, Keith submerges himself, dares to open his eyes underwater -- which really offers nothing but a blurred picture of....well, underwater.

He's lucky this isn't the ocean.]