Synopsis: Shallah is invited to the Tienzan Crater by members of the Tienzan Militia, who proposed to supply her with alchemical goods in the war.

Setting: The Tiezan Crater

Characters: Shallah

Run By: Gilgamesh (Rewarded with 3 xp by Kukla)

The Tiezan Crater. Formerly named the Tienzan Plains, an area known for gentle rolling hills and large open fields, it was renamed the Tienzan Crater some fifteen years ago and is now known for its gentle rolling hills plus one giant crater. It's a smallish kingdom, with the majority of the citizens living in separated in small villages and farms across the landscape. The capital of the nation is built right along the edge of the Crater itself, with housings lining the edge of the crater, almost like a protective fence. The only person who actually lives inside the Crater itself is the ruler of the land, Marquis Gilgamesh von Enkidu. Shallah was invited to the small kindom, but not by Gilgamesh himself. Instead, she finds herself speaking to someone who identified himself as the "Head of Military Operations", a portly looking fellow in peasant garbs. Their meeting takes places at the local tavern, situated right on the edge of the Crater. 

Shallah slithered into the tavern with three companions; a stout, visibly Jokun-Blooded goremauler, a slight Marukani and a huge, one-eyed and scarred wolfman. The serpentine leader moved to sit at the table, coiling up her table and looking at the military commander. 

In contrast to the diverse range of appearances of Shallah's companions, the other people in the tavern all appear cut from the same mold. Well fed, healthy peasant men with little combat experience, but fiery personalities and "Strong Opinions" about certain issues. No one appears to be armed, but of note is that everyone seems to carry various bottles of alchemical goods on their belt pouches. "Thanks fer meeting with us, Miss Serpent." Comments the self-named Head of Military Operations. "Mah name's Wang. Wang Fire. That's Fee-Rei. I'm the leader of the Tienzan Crater Citizen's Militia." 

Shallah bowed coolly. "Shallah," she responded, giving her name and then making no further note of it. "And I must say that I'm rather curious as to why you wanted to ssspeak with me. Did you need to hire my talon after my term ended?" 

"Well, somethin' along those lines, ya." Replies Wang. "The Citizen's Militia is more then enough to keep the peace around these here parts, so we won't need to be hiring you for a contract or nuffin." Wang paused as this point as the Tavern wench arrived with a platter full of mugs of ale for him, as well as for Shallah and her crew. "But what we do have see, is a bit of a business proposition." 

Shallah swigged a sip of ale, and her companions did the same, the wolfman looking at Wang with something of a disgusted expression until Shallah looked at him. Back to Wang, she considered. "A business proposition? Do tell," she suggested, an eyebrow lifting in her face. 

Wang didn't swigg his ale so much as quaff it, throwing it back with such speed that you'd think he would get the person behind him all wet. "Y'see, a couple of days ago, we was visited by that plume-headed, fancy-pants wearing no-good-nik, Darius Firebrand. I'm sure you know who that fellow is." There's a general murmur of consent as the others in the tavern agree with Wang's description of Darius. "He met with our Marquis, and the two of them talked about somethin' or another. We're not exactly sure. But in the end, Marquis Gil handed him a big ole box of alchemical stuffin', and he left, all happy lookin' like." 

Shallah looked at Wang and raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Darius is equipping his forces with alchemical potions?" she asked. "Interesting to know where the Prince makes his purchases," she said, remembering to keep her mouth shut, as if prompting Wang to elaborate on his suggestion. 

"Y'see, we don't like folks like him round these here parts. We heard stories. He's what we like to call around here a bad turnip." Wang continues, all the while indicating the tavern wench for a refill. "We don't like the idea of having much truck with that fellow. There's a war going on, and mah wife and kids would sleep more soundly at night if they knew that we weren't about to be sacked next as his next conquest for his nasty little empire. 'Course, the official stance of the country right now is that we're 'neutral'. We're not taking sides in this war, see? So all we's can do as concernered citizens is ta make sure that the odds are better, for the sides that's them fightin' against Darius." 

Shallah nodded calmly. "I sssee," she said, a smile slowly creeping onto her face. "So what you suggest is that, should I be fighting against Darius Firebrand in the future, you and yours would be open to providing elixirs for my talon's forces? That would be mosssst helpful." She leaned back, unsure as to whether Wang intended to sell or gift...but not about to run her mouth immediately on the question. 

Wang nods twice, then smiles as more ale arrives in his hands. "Glad ta see we're on the same page here, little snakey missy." He replies before quaffing down this mug as well. "Now, we can't exactly just /give/ it ta you, there's costs and everything. But you can be darn sure that you'll find it a mite lot cheaper here than you will anywhere else in the area. We grow pretty much all of the herbs and basic supplies we need, and Marquis Gil is a mad genius when it comes to this stuff, he is. He locks himself in his place all day long, and just makes potions and elixirs and stuff that blows up."

Shallah nodded calmly. "I'll of course need to discuss purchases and usage with the men," she responded, "as the payment will have to come out of communal funds. But given that you appear to have good supplies..." She considered. "We probably won't need explosives or fire pellets, but I believe that a couple specific potion types would be useful. I hear of an elixir that gives a soldier the strength of three men, and another to fortify courage better than ale. Can those be provided easily?" she asked. 

-= OOC =- Shallah says, "She means Valiant Warrior Formula and Tiger's Heart Elixir."

"You sure about that? Nothin' more satisfin' than seeing your enemies catch on fire that won't wash off, or be blown to smithereens, y'know." Wang says, looking somewhat confused as Shallah suggests that she won't need explosives. "But if you want, we got that stuff you're talking about too. That's definately something we can provide."

Shallah nodded to Wang calmly. "Explosive weaponry is for other types of units. I'm sure you heard of the little dust-up we had at the Lakesss..." Shallah grinned. "Our focus is bow and blade, and something that aids us in that will be more effective than bombs."

"Alright. I'm sure you know ya own business better than anyone else, so it ain't like I can really comment." Wang replies, looking somewhat dissapointed. "We've got the other stuff you're taking about, things that'll give your boys a boost n' a perk, that sort of thing. So you'd be interested in a deal then?"

Shallah nodded to Wang. "Indeed," she responded, as the technical discussion over amounts of jade began.