Astrid walked towards a corner that a single man sat at. She'd gotten Tomas, the barkeep who insisted he was just an employee and not a Guild representative of any type, to give her a room key, where she'd dropped most of her stuff off, keeping her shield and hammer on hand. The man, his face was already ruddy from alcohol as he swayed where he sat, half watched her approach. Dark, sunken eyes framed by lank hair looked almost sightlessly up at her. His head rolled back and forth before grunting wordlessly. He turned back to his drink, still generally unresponsive.
"This… is Skandr?" Astrid asked, her hopes dropping further. Her plan… would not work like this.
"Unless there's another Skandr Lightningmage, yes." Markus confirmed. Then, his mission complete, he shrugged. "I'll be around. Find me if you need to, happy to talk with you when you need to."
Astrid just nodded as she strode forward to stand beside the table. Then, thinking about it, she lowered herself onto the bench and spoke.
"Morning, Skandr. You doing alright?"
"Just… perfect." He rolled his head towards her, and seemed to have made himself feel sick by doing so as his pale face went green. "You… wanna see my… magic?"
"No, not here at least." Astrid shook her head with a forced smile. "No, my name's Astrid, and I'm told I'm going to be in your party now."
"There's… two of you now?" He asked, though he didn't seem particularly upset at the prospect. Astrid fought down her anger.
"I'm not a Barbarian, I'm a human. Born in Stalhardt, just a little ways south of here. How about you, Skandr? Where are you from?"
"Mmmm." He seemed almost confused by the question. Then, after mulling it over, he smiled and, with more energy than she'd seen from him so far, said, "I'm an orphan! Dunno how I got this Class, but it's pretty cool! Sometimes I can get money for it!"
"Ok." Astrid forced a smile onto her face. "So why did you become a delver? Because we're in the same party now."
"Same as everyone else!" He leaned in like he was telling a secret. "Money!"
"That's not why I'm here," Astrid said, "but it's a pretty common reason, sure. So, why aren't you delving today?"
"B'cause Muti's busy." He shrugged. "She's a Rogue, but she's real strong! Fights… like a… Fighter or something."
"She doesn't fight like a Rogue?" Astrid asked to clarify.
"Mmm sometimes?" Skandr's face slackened, then after a couple seconds, he locked eyes with her. "Do I know you?"
Astrid groaned and lowered her face to her hands.
"Yes." She mumbled through her fingers. "Yes, we just met today. So we do know each other."
"Okay. Cool." He nodded slowly and reached towards his mug. Astrid put her hand between him and the drink.
"Is there something I can do to help you leave off the alcohol for a little?" She asked. "Just long enough to maybe work together as the three of us?"
"Mmmm." He drew out the sound for several long seconds. Then he looked into the mug. Then he met her eyes again. "There's just a little left. I'll finish it, then we can… what did you want to do? Not delve, not like this. But your armor's on, so…"
"I just wanted to get to know each other better." Astrid said through gritted teeth.
"What better way to do that than over drinks?" He asked, suddenly much more energetic. "Tomas, a round over here! For my friend…"
"Astrid," she supplied, but she raised her voice, "and we don't need anything else over here. Thank you though!"
Turning her attention back to Skandr, Astrid felt a sudden prickling along the back of her neck. Trusting it, she thrust her right elbow back. It caught a glancing blow on someone, and as she turned to look who was there, a fist flew towards her face. Astrid barely managed to get her shoulder between the bulk of Muti's punch, so she wasn't stunned entirely. Instead, she grunted and was able to tip over the bench as she stood. The combination of her armor and the bench interrupting Muti's follow up kept the punch from doing anything more than striking her breast. It smarted a little through the pauldron and chainmail, but going off Muti's grimace, it was better than the other option.
Astrid pressed in closer to Muti, her teeth bared in a rictus of a grin. The golden-haired Barbarian's face seemed more approving than it had been just half an hour before then, and she seemed to be about to say something. Astrid didn't think any further. Instead, she squared up with Muti. She was even taller and broader than Astrid, even with her armor and boots on, so around 240 centimeters? Size didn't matter, though. She was a Rogue, so Astrid would outclass her in Power and Fortitude.
With that knowledge, Astrid made her decision–teach her a little lesson, then see if that didn't help. She stepped forward, closing in, and to her surprise, Muti did the same instead of leveraging her greater Alacrity. Astrid blocked and dodged the worst of the first attack, but even as her fist scraped off Muti's ribs, the Barbarian continued with a combo of punches and kicks, each focusing on the weakest parts of her armor. Despite herself, Astrid took a solid blow to her head while struggling to get anything more solid than a single punch in on Muti's torso.
Astrid knew her enemy was a Rogue, so why was she so strong? Her blows hit hard, harder than any hit she'd taken from anything, including Boss wargs. Maybe it was because she wasn't using her shield, but she knew she'd be heavily bruised after all this. Again and again, Muti moved too quickly for Astrid's blows to land, and Astrid continued to take attacks all over.
Finally, though, she caught Muti's hand. She rasped out a chuckle as the Barbarian's foot smashed into her thigh. Didn't matter. Astrid pulled Muti close, turned on her hip, and threw her into the ground. There, though, Astrid didn't stop. Instead, she mounted and started pummeling at her upper chest, neck, and face. With Muti's only real advantage taken away, she could only fend off Astrid's attacks half as well as before, and she was flagging. Finally, Astrid stopped and stood up.
"Nice to meet you too, Muti." She said. "Forgive me if it's offensive, but can I offer to help you up?"
"I did not lose." Muti said instead of responding, staying in the same position she'd been in on the ground. Her accent and tone were clipped, and she spoke deliberately to ensure she was understood.
"Yeah, I don't think either of us did." Astrid replied, nursing her cheek. "So is it offensive if I offer my hand to you?"
Muti's eyes narrowed. "The fight is not over."
"We can finish it outside where we won't be disturbing everyone else. I'm sure there's a training ground or something. And there's something I'm missing. If you want me to leave you be, I will. Anyways," she said, raising her voice for the rest of the inn to hear, "I'm sorry about that. Just a little test between new party members. If you need to, I can buy you a drink tonight."
The rumblings of "Barbarians" were quickly replaced by happy murmurs about free drinks tonight.
"Just one each!" Astrid laughed. "And while I don't know who you are, I'm sure I can get Markus or Bogdan to help me make sure nobody's doubling up."
The happy talking became good-natured grumbling, and a couple people walked up and patted her on the shoulder, muttering things about a "good fight" and "win next time." There were still a dozen angry pairs of eyes, but Astrid had done what she could, and letting Muti ambush her would have resulted in the same thing, just with more aches on Astrid's side.
"Would you take a seat, Muti? Klara says that we'll be in the same party, so I wanted to have a conversation so we can get things figured out."
"You… will be an acceptable party leader." Muti allowed as she got to her feet and reset the bench where it belonged. "You do not lack strength. Your determination… lacks. But that can be taught."
"Sure." Astrid replied, finding a seat at the table that allowed her to see both of her new party members without sitting close enough to gag on Skandr's odor or open herself up to more ambushes from Muti.
"So. I'm Astrid. Klara said that I'd fit in in this party. I'm a Warrior, and my focus is on being a finisher, but I suspect I'll fill more of a frontliner role for now."
Muti's begrudging acceptance shifted to something different. Her ears, sticking out a ways and pointing up, drooped down and she faintly bared her teeth, where the jagged points seemed to be subtly threatening Astrid.
"You?" She asked Skandr, disregarding the change in Muti's bearing for now.
"Skandr Lightningmage. I…" He drifted to the side a little, then snapped his fingers at another delver nearby. He sighed, stood up, and laid a hand on Skandr's shoulder. The mage perked up at that, his eyes clearing as he looked more directly into Astrid's eyes. "Ok. Yeah. I'm Skandr, I'm a ranged attacker, though I also have a buffing Skill that increases Alacrity for up to two people."
Once he was healed, Skandr sat up straight, flicked a coin over to the person who'd helped him, and laced his fingers on the table.
"Sorry about that." He continued. "I just… It doesn't matter, does it? I'll make sure I'm always able to delve whenever we make our schedule to. We've been pretty sporadic of late, and we've missed a couple of our scheduled times. I wasn't thinking we'd have someone else in here so soon. And before we continue, that was an impressive fight, both of you. Looking forward to delving with you."
"Not a real fight." Muti disagreed, her face still stormy, her red eyes seeming to flash with anger. "No victor declared."
"Yes, of course." Skandr shook his head. "Anyways. Muti?"
"I am a Rogue." She said simply. There wasn't anything else she thought she should follow that up with, and Skandr decided to supply that information.
"She's got a Stealth Skill, something for detection, and some Skills with something to do with daggers. You're almost more of a finisher than a skirmisher. Is that about right?"
Muti grunted. She didn't say anything, but she continued glowering at Astrid.
"Is there some reason for this?" Astrid asked. "I don't think I've done anything to earn your anger, so tell me if I have."
"You're weak." Muti said, spitting to the side with disgust. "A Warrior would have defeated me quickly."
"I don't think I'm weak," Astrid replied, feeling her smile get brittle once again, "you're just immensely strong. What's your Power gain per level?"
"Merely 5." She scoffed, as if the number was embarrassing.
"That's… what I get." Astrid trailed off, confused.
Muti looked at Astrid, cocking her head to the side. "You do not know the Barbarians. We do not get your foolish growths to every attribute. No, we get Power, Fortitude, and Alacrity. You can be whatever you want, but you will be mediocre. The Hordes are strong. Our weakest are stronger than most of your people."
Astrid thought for a moment. A Rogue's Power growth was +2 a level, so did that mean that every Barbarian got a +3 to Power for every level? Just because of their race? Then the other 3 attribute points were given to Alacrity and Fortitude… If Astrid could redistribute the +1 she got to Magical Potency, Self-Master, and Acumen into her three physical stats, that'd be immense. But there wasn't anything she could do, so instead of allowing herself to wallow in comparison, Astrid shrugged.
"Thank you for telling me. Do you want to tell me why you're here in the Bulwark instead of your home?"
Muti gestured to a long, shallow scar along the right side of her jaw. She seemed to think that should mean something to Astrid, so she just looked at her and nodded slowly. Maybe that'd be something she could ask Klara about. For now, though, there was something more important that she could do.
"Do you know when our next scheduled delve was supposed to be?"
"Tomorrow." Skandr answered. "That's why we're here and I was so deep in my drink."
"Ok." Astrid offered. "I'll see what I can do about getting us a short entrance today, just to kill a couple gnolls and seeing where we end up."
"They do not accommodate." Muti disagreed. "We can fight instead."
"I'll ask," Astrid sighed, "and if they say no, sure, we can fight."
"Good! Grappling rules, true ones! No ambush rules!" Muti's eyes glowed. "I prefer this!"
"Great." Astrid grinned uneasily. "So, I'll be back."
***
To Skandr's surprise and Muti's amazement, Astrid got permission for them to enter the eastern door and kill a total of 20 gnolls or less on the first floor.
"Did you give them money for the privilege?" Muti asked.
"I don't think they'd take bribes, at least not so blatantly." Skandr disagreed. "There's just too much that can go wrong. Instead, I wonder if she promised a favor? Roughing someone up, being a cheap bodyguard, or something else."
"Neither." Astrid sighed. "I just asked around and said that we were a brand new party looking to get the feel for each other's combat style. The person behind the bar asked the assistant Guild representative and they said it was fine. So here we are."
"Tomas did?" Skandr asked. "If he did, then we can trust his words. Anders speaks with him frequently."
"That's the name of the assistant Guild representative?" Astrid confirmed. When Skandr nodded, she shrugged. "Ok. How long will it take for you two to be ready to delve?"
"I need two minutes." Muti said, standing and turning to walk away. "While Skandr takes his time, we can prepare the other's warbraid."
She was gone before Astrid could ask what that meant. She looked at Skandr.
"I'll be ready before the warbraiding is finished." Skandr shrugged. "It shouldn't take too long, though. I just have to get a couple insulating layers on to ensure I don't end up electrocuting myself."
"I…" Astrid trailed off. "I know nothing about your magic. I'm looking forward to learning more."
"Great." He turned and went up the stairs. Most of the bedrooms were there, above, though Astrid's was on the first floor this time around. Just as soon as his steps had faded on the top floor, Muti came… well, not thundering, but with the way she moved, it certainly seemed like there should have been more sound. She still wore the same segmented, layered leather armor as before, and now she had two short swords, one belted on each hip as well as three stacks of cheap throwing knives on the same belt. She saw Astrid still sitting where she had been before and grinned her strange, almost frightening smile.
"Warbraids!" She declared and Astrid nodded.
"Would you do mine first?" Astrid asked, hoping to understand what it was.
"Yes! An honor!" Muti smiled. "There is not sufficient time for true braids, but I can do triple."
"That's great." Astrid responded. She pulled the strap of leather free from the club of hair where it hung between her shoulderblades, and turned her back to Muti. With the Rogue behind her, Astrid was ready for a dagger to replace the comb, but she figured that, since Muti hadn't seemed to want to kill her, she wouldn't now. Fortunately, that was the case. After just a couple of minutes, Muti had managed to braid both sides of Astrid's hair into tight, orderly french braids that kept all the hair on the sides of her head from poofing out. Then, she pulled the top section of her hair back and braided it with the other two, keeping the top loose and a little puffy instead.
"Yes, that will keep your hair back and your head safe." Muti nodded in self-satisfaction. "Now, you will do it for me!"
"Great." Astrid replied, turning around on the bench, where Muti had already presented her back and massive unruly mane of curly golden hair to Astrid. Fortunately, though her hair was more tangled and densely curled than Astrid's, it was largely the same as what Astrid was already used to working with. Before long, she had the two side braids complete and she got to work on winding them all together. As she was getting close to finishing, Skandr showed up, wearing a thick robe and what appeared to be three layers underneath.
Astrid tied it together, but feeling at her own head and looking at Muti's she could see the difference.
"I'm sorry Muti." Astrid said as she offered a hand to the Barbarian. "I've never done this before, so I'm not sure how I did."
Muti pawed at her head, finding a couple places where strands of hair had gotten loose. She grumbled in her native tongue, but then, she shrugged.
"For a first attempt, it is okay. Now we will bind it."
"Aren't they already tied?" Astrid asked, confused.
"Yes. But they are not bound."
Muti pulled a higher quality knife from behind herself and cut her palm open. Then, with a strange familiarity, she took her bloody hand and pulled it over the end of Astrid's braid. She couldn't help herself, and flinched back at the strange motion. Muti scowled down at Astrid and repeated, "It is bound."
Knowing what was now expected of her, Astrid pulled her own side knife out and drew it across her palm. It stung, and she flinched back at the pain and the movement. Even so, she cupped the hand and then drew it across the end of Muti's hair, staining the gold scarlet. The hair dragged through the fresh wound and made Astrid hiss in discomfort. Even so, as she pulled her hand back, she said, "It is bound."
"And so are we." Muti nodded. Astrid looked at Skandr, who shrugged almost imperceptibly. She went ahead and spoke to the other two.
"Ok. So. Shall we go hunt some gnolls?"