Re: Fort Dixie - Toby's Office and Quarters - Chapter 3
Toby's eyes caught the gleam of the candle's flame in Cookie's necklace. The name seemed to fit her but he briefly contemplated if that was really her name. His eyes quickly did a once-over of her body, taking silent note of the confidence her posture held. He'd have to be careful, the woman's presence was formidable. No doubt men before him had underestimated what she was capable of. Toby understood long ago that whatever he was willing to do to protect his people, other leaders were willing to do the same.
Despite his placid countenance, he appreciated that she drank from the cup. It was almost like a peace-pipe to the Fort Leader. They all drank from the same water. He couldn't return the grim smile that Cookie offered, but the fatigued rings under Toby's eyes related to the sentiment. The news of the hostile researchers in the city was news to him, but he wasn't surprised. "We've observed chopper flights over our territory towards the city. I sent people to investigate but no one came back." He replied thoughtfully, connecting the dots of what he'd already known with what Cookie had told him. Toby remained as silent as he could, more keen to absorb information than divulge it until the Caravan spokeswoman had made her case.
"I appreciate your being forthright with what's happened, and you're welcome for the help." The tested and tried Fort leader tried to be careful with everything he said, and took a sip of his cup as he formulated his words. He had to be careful with new people, for a myriad of reasons.
"From what you're saying it sounds like we both want the same thing. We want to protect our people. Here in this Fort, we've done it by fortifying our defenses and treating other groups as well allowable. Here we have moved beyond scavenging to trading with nearby groups. There's an Native Reserve out there, a farming colony, we trade with them and any other people who come through the area looking for shelter or whatever else we have that we're willing to trade." He paused as he tried to pick the right wording next, not wanting to push the point of his talk with her to soon until they'd built up some more rapport, but it needed to be addressed.
"We can help you with whatever you want to achieve. If you want to move on, we'll supply you with ammo, food, vehicles, and people if they want to leave and you want extra hands. If you decide you want to stay at some point, well, we can talk about it then, when you're ready to." Toby offered, draining the rest of his drink. He wasn't normally this verbose with anyone, but the Caravan didn't seem to know about the Fort but for a choice encounter with a former trader who had encountered the place. The dark skinned man wouldn't ask about Cookie's referral, it could have been any of many who had traversed to and from the Fort.
"Here is my problem.. Our trade has been disrupted, our Fort has been attacked..Repeatedly, over the last several weeks. People have gone missing. You are the first non-hostile group we've encountered since another group moved into the forest around the Fort." He moved his cup to the side of the desk and clasped his hands together calmly upon the wood. "I need your group's help to deal with these hostiles so that my people can be safe, and so that we can resume trade with our partners in which case we can supply your group with whatever you need for whereever you want to go. If you want to stay, then you'll still benefit from the effort. You don't have to agree to this, you don't, but we can't afford to supply your people if we don't clear the area of these bandits." It was alot to lay on the shoulders of the woman across from him, but he had a feeling she was used to carrying such weight for her people already. He didn't try to influence her through sympathy or threat, for he only wanted effective, motivated people to agree to such messy and dangerous work.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:40, Sun 23 Feb 2014.