You walk into the two story bar on the outskirts of Asgard city. The first thing that catches your eye is a large fighting pit in the centre of the building, where a tall and scarred woman is fighting an even large man. The bartender makes eye contact with you and seems to recognize you, but you haven't seen them before.

Surprising, but Timoteu wasn't going to let that bother him.  He approached the bar.

"Who are the fighters?" he asked, after getting a drink.  No reason for the bartender to talk to him if he didn't drink, after all.

"Sunam and Gredd," the bartender said. "Another rematch of theirs."

"Who's the champion?" Timoteu asked.

"Sunam. She's even tougher than she looks," the bartender said.

"I'm impressed," said Iimoteu.  "I can tell she's mighty, though."

"Yep, I get the feeling you are too," the bartender said. "You're Timoteu, right?"

Tim frowned.

"I am," he said.  "But how do you know of me?"

"Plenty of us have no love for the Corp and keep an eye out for fellows willing to fight," the bartender said.

"Ah," said Tim.  "...I'd be very interested in hearing what you have to say."

"Sure. Stick around once the fight's over and we can talk more openly," the bartender said as Sunam landed a heavy punch  that made her opponents knees buckle.

"Well struck!" Tim called, raising his glass to her skill.

Sunam pointed at you as she slipped behind the man and finished the fight with a german suplex.

Tim applauded her skill.  It wasn't a feat he could match-- not in unarmed combat, certainly!

"Ladies and gentlemen, give a round of applause to Sunam, your champion again!" the bartender said, the crowd applauded. "Thank you for coming tonight, but we will have to close early."

There were groans and sighs, but the people slowly cleared out.

Tim stayed.  Clearly he was invited.  That felt... nice.  Like acknowledgement.

After everyone exited, Sunam, a man in a cowboy hat, poncho and boots and a woman dressed in a trench coat made their way over to the counter.

"Who's the new guy?" Sunam asked.

"I'm Timoteu," he said.  "I hear we have interests in common."

"I doubt you mean fist fighting, so I guess this is about our secret rebel group," Sunam said.

The bartender face palmed as he spoke.

"You're right, but you shouldn't be so open about it."

"I'm assuming that you've been careful about who you let in here?" Tim said.  "I'm Timoteu El Segador.  I've seen Sunam fight.  Who are the rest of you?"

"I'm Tremal, I'm a gun fighter," the man said.

"My name is Saya and I'm a private detective," the woman said.

"Well met," said Tim.  "So... what's your plan?  I assume that you have something in mind...?"

"We got news the corp is up to something big. Not sure what exactly, but they're raiding some strip club. Full on soldiers and everything," the bartender said.

Tim blinked.  Strip club?  That didn't make any-- no, no, no doubt someone was using the strip club as cover for some mysterious activity, hoping the patrons would be too distracted to realize that the illicit activity was going on.  It seemed like a reasonable approach, really.

"All right," said Tim.  "Are we going to act against their soldiers, then, and interfere with their operation?"

"Yep, I got my car outside and we're ready to go," the bartender said. "Okay, you guys are. I don't really know how to fight."

"...I can fight," said Tim.  "Let's go."

Striking against the enemy?  Always good.  For a good cause?  Better still.  And with allies?  The best.  The more so if he had stories to tell afterwards.

"To  the parking lot and t hen when we get back, we celebrate!" the bartender said.

And arrived back at the bar.

"That went well," said Tim.  "We've gained information and hurt the enemy."

"I got you all some food," the bartender said. "Plus, drinks are on the house!"

"Thank you," said Tim.  He went to investigate the food-- and figure out what to say to his new allies.

It was mostly simple barbeque fair. Some steaks, hotdogs and hamburgers, with a couple simple salads.

"...so how did the rest of you get involved in this?" Tim asked.  His name seemed to be known here; perhaps they already knew all about him.  But better to not start off just talking about yourself.

"The worked my parents to death," Sunam said.

"It just seemed to be the best thing to do," Saya said.

"My father's pretty high up and a complete ass," Tremal said.

"...varied stories, certainly," said Tim.  "How old were you, Sunam?"

"Fourteen," Sunam asked.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:39, Thu 02 Mar 2023.

"That's a bad age to be on your own," said Tim.  "It must have been hard.  I'm sorry."

"I managed to survive," Sunam said. "It's time that they're gonna pay!"

"Well said," said Tim.  "Saya, surely there's more to be said?"

"I'm sure you know about the various wars they've started. My parents came to Asgard as refugees," Saya said.

"Ah," said Tim.  "That probably made it clear who was causing the problems, then?  You've done well for yourself since then."

"I've done what I can, I've tried to be a private detective, but justice is near impossible here," Saya said.

"I don't doubt that at all," said Tim.  "Tremal... how high up is your father?"

"He once said he was in lower upper management. Whatever the hell that means," Tremal said.

"Almost deliberately vague," said Tim.  "...Does he know about all of this?"

"Nope, I never told him anything. He doesn't even know where I am," Tremal said.

"For the best, then," said Tim.  "My family doesn't really know where I am, but the Corp doesn't really know where they are."

"That's always good," the bartender said.

Tim smiled thinly.  It helped cover up the fact that he had fangs.

"...after our land was conquered, our ruling house had no choice but to dig themselves deeply and sleep long.  But someday, we'll be free again."

"Weird, but cool," Sunam said.

"I suppose we are," said Tim.  "Of my entire family, I'm the closest one to being a human."

"What are you?" Sunam asked. "It's mostly humans around here."

"I'm a Segador-- one of the royal family of L'Antic Regne," Tim said.  "The smallest and weakest of them all, however.  I barely have any power; I've had to work hard to be able to do even the small tricks I know at this point."

"I don't know what that is? Is that like those beastmen from far away?" Sunam asked.

Tim laughed at that.  That made his fangs visible; his red eyes always were, but they were easy to overlook the significance of.

"Not precisely," he said.  "My family has great power-- especially with entropic magic, but also physically.  Our forms are all different-- some fly in the night on great wings, or hunt with sharp claws.  Some unleash mighty magics, terrifying curses or blessings, others can send their mind out great distances, or vanish into the smallest crack, or stand as tall as the highest tree.  But the night is our home; we cannot abide the sun, and we all must drink blood."

He sighed.

"Well, except for me, that is.  The sun doesn't weaken me very much, and I can only manage small amounts of blood.  The dark powers don't come as naturally to me; I have to work hard and study and practice to make them effective.  But I can still go out, at least."

"Hmm. Interesting. I've not heard much of your kind, but rumours," Saya said.

"Traditionally, we never had much to do with outside lands," said Tim.  "There was trade, of course, but we avoided alliances.  Which was, looking back, a mistake.  If the conquered lands had worked together, we might all have resisted the Corp."

"Well, hopefully we'll grow in size. Maybe join with some other groups," Tremal said.

"That would be for the best," said Tim.  "Five alone cannot do what must be done.  We'll need to grow stronger, however it takes."

"We could try tracking down that...what was it? Ancient?" Sunam said.

"That's a good thought," said Tim.  "Do we have any way to do that?"

"I can do some investigation and see what turns up," Saya said.

"Good, good," said Tim.  "Is there anything the rest of us can do to help with that?"

"I managed to get the name of the girl and here associates from the club," Saya said. "There is an area of seedy hotels where they're staying. We should canvas the area."

"We should be careful to look for others searching for them, though," said Tim.  "We don't want to lead them to the Ancient accidentally."

"That would be a problem," Sunam said. "You got it!"

"Let's get moving, then," said Tim.

"Any luck?" the bartender asked as you came back in.

"Some," said Tim.  "We dealt with a couple of squads, but the second was a bitter fight.  They've sent a tank in, too, but I can't imagine what they hope to accomplish with it."

"Damn, we can't deal with that yet," the bartender said. "Might as well give everyone their pay."

The bartender set out a bunch of small bags.

(OOC: Gain 500 Zennit)

"Do we have a sponsor, then?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, plus I got a bit of money saved," the bartender said, looking a bit awkward.

"Good," said Tim, "but I wonder who our sponsor might be?  Still, I'm glad for the support."

"I got some rooms upstairs if you need a place to stay," the bartender said.

"That would be for the best," said Tim.  "Thank you."

The bartender led you upstairs and there was a long hallway with several doors. He opened one. Inside was a cot and a dresser.

"I'm sorry it's not much. The bathroom is at the end of the hall on the right," he said.

"It has a roof," said Tim, "and walls, and so better than some places I've slept."

"It is also free," the bartender added.

"A significant benefit" said Tim, "and greatly appreciated."

"Not a problem. You are putting your life on the line," the bartender said.

"Are the others sleeping?" Tim asked.  He had a most un-Segador like tendency to sleep at night, but perhaps less so than humans.

"Sunam does crash here, but the other two have places of their own," the bartender said. "I don't think I mentioned my name before. The name's Bill Knight."

"Well-met, Bill," said Tim.  "Is there anything else I should know of?"

"There's a fridge downstairs behind the bar for food, There's not a lot there, mostly pickles of various kinds, cereal and milk," Bill said. "Sunam has a horrifying diet for how tough she is."

"Perhaps that's something we should emulate," said Tim.  "But thank you.  I might get more food for it at some point."

"Good," Mike said, tossing you a key ring. "These're backup keys for most things in the bar if you need them. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sounds good," said Tim.  He rested; it had been a long day with a lot of fighting.

And soon morning came.

Tim went to look for food, and incidentally to see if Sunam was around.

You find Sunam downstairs, pouring some very sugary cereal into a bowl.

"Good morn," said Tim.  "Did you sleep well?"

He began scrounging for food.

"it's alright," Sunam said, as you go through the fridge. It turns out that Bill was not exaggerating.

Well.

Tim settled for cereal and milk.

"...Perhaps we should buy more food," he suggested.  "Just for variety."

"if you want," Sunam said.

"More of a cereal fan?" said Tim.  "That's fine.  I just like to get meat.  It's part of who I am."

"Yeah, I guess some meat'd be good," Sunam said, putting a hundred zennit on the counter.

"So where's good to buy food around here?" Tim asked.

"There's a small twenty-four hour place down the block," Sunam said.

"Want to come along?" Tim asked.

"Sure, might as well," Sunam said.

Tim went out to buy food.

"So do you go out on, ah, jobs like yesterday a lot?" he asked.

"Every once and a while," Sunam said. "Like once a week or two normally."

"That's a good start," said Tim.  "I wonder if we could aim higher, though-- strike higher in the company.  Their soldiers aren't the problem, after all.  The problem is the ones who send them."

"What kind of ideas do you have?" Sunam asked. "I'm just the muscle after all."

"Targeting projects or the like at the higher levels, where they're still under development," said Tim.  "Shut down some of their schemes before they start.  Or wreck their weapons manufacturing, for that matter."

"Maybe you should talk with Bill, he usually makes the plans," Sunam said.

"I will," said Tim.  "...I'm glad that you're with us, though.  We clearly need a fighter as strong as you."

"Thanks! You're pretty good yourself," Sunam said.

"...still, not strong enough," said Tim.  "Not yet.  In time, perhaps..."

"No one's really done with that," Sunam said.

"Are they?" Tim asked.  "At their heights of power, I can't imagine getting stronger than my parents once were... I still don't know if I could approach them.  I only lack some of their weaknesses."

"We'll see when you get there," Sunam said.

"...I hope so," said Tim.  "I clearly have a long way to go, however."

"You'll get there, I'm sure of it," Sunam said.

"I hope so," said Tim.  "I have to.  But with strong people like you around me, I hope to gain by it."

"I'm sure I can teach you a thing or two," Sunam said.

"I'm looking forward to it," Tim answered.

The front door opened and Bill walked in.

"Morning all."

"Well-met," said Tim.  "Have we considered taking action at the higher levels against our enemy?"

"I mean, yeah, I just haven't found any good opportunities," Bill said.

"Ah," said Tim.  "Well, fair enough.  We'll hope one appears at some point."

"They are breaking ground outside the city to the north for a new reactor, from what my contacts tell me," Bill said. "We should try getting info on that."

"That sound promising," said Tim.  "Perhaps if we do enough damage, opportunities will open to strike at their heads."

"We should try hitting their north side location to get some more info on it," Bill said.

"Agreed," said Tim.  "When should we?"

"I'll have to let the other two know," Bill said. "Would you be comfortable with tonight?"

"Of course," said Tim.

"Good, good. Then I suggest you take some time to relax, prepare or whatever you need to do," Bill said.

"A good idea," said Tim.  He considered looking for Sunam to spar a bit...

You can see here working on a heavy bag in the back.

"Up for some training?" Tim asked.

"Sure. What kind?" Sunam asked.

"Sparring, perhaps?" Tim suggested.  "Nothing too violent, but a chance to learn."

"Sure, sounds good," Sunam said.

Tim set out to spar with her, but carefully, with breaks.

"Have you done any unarmed training?" Sunam asked.

"Not really," said Tim.  "The basics of footwork and changing angles probably transfer over, however."

"I can always teach you," Sunam said.

Tim considered this and nodded.

"That would be good, yes," he said.  "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. I'm happy to pass on what I know," Sunam said.

"Shall we begin that, then?" Tim asked.  He'd be much worse off, but it was a chance to learn.

"Sure. Let's do it," Sunam said.

Tim moved in, watching what she did, listening to what she said.

Sunam launched a series of jabs in heavy gloves and the sparring match was on.

(OOC: Give me an Inx + Wil roll to see how well you learn)

21:13, Today: Timoteu El Segador rolled 11 using 2d8 ((6,5)).

You pick up quite a few tricks.

(OOC: Gain enough exp for a level up)

"Well taught!" said Tim.  "I am impressed with your talent once again, Sunam."

"Don't worry about it. I'm happy to help," Sunam said.

"Then I hope I can someday help you, as well," he said.

"I'm sure you'll get a chance," Sunam said.

"I certainly hope so," said Tim.

"I mean, you're a strong guy and you want to get stronger," Sunam said. "That's usually a good sign."