The Wastes

DeletedUser

Elias' heart skipped a beat, as he was alerted to the smoke twisting high above the rocky outcropping in the wind's embrace. He smiled, where there was smoke, there was most probably other survivors, survivors that could possibly be bartered with, Elias glanced over at Griff Or kill he thought. He jogged along behind the rest of the party, trying to conserve his strength.

The outcrop loomed above, as Elias came to a stop in it's shadow. The rocks looked sharp and they ascended rapidly, Elias didn't think an unskilled climber could make the ascent without falling down and hurting, or killing themselves. The hand and footholds were few and far between, but Elias thought he could make the climb, as well as a few of the survivors that were now sitting around in the shade.

A rock that didn't look too uncomfortable beckoned to him and Elias took a seat atop it and breathed heavily. Looking around, Elias hoped they could sit for a few moments and allow him to catch his breath. They didn't, for Griff spoke up and said
"There's an owner to that smoke people. I don't think it's wise to break up out little community here to have some investigate, while leaving others behind. So, we either all climb up those rocks, or none of us do."

Elias saw an opportunity to make himself a little more popular to the group that had been ignoring him for the most part, so he decided to try it. He took a swig of water and sloshed it around to dispel the dryness that had taken hold there, like an old boot left in the sun. He swallowed, before taking a deep breath and beginning "With all due respect, don't you think one man could do it better than an entire group? There are some of us here who don't look as though they could climb very well." Elias let his gaze hang over Griff's immense bulk for a moment, before continuing. "These wastes are dangerous and people don't often come into contact with each other, let's say there is an ambush waiting for us? One man would be less of a risk to the community, then all."

Elias waited for a reply.
 

DeletedUser25825

Griff looked at Elias and said, "It's true they could be waiting in ambush up there, but then wouldn't you want as many bodies to throw at them as you could surround yourself with? Or what happens when the first person goes alone, deals are made, and the rest of us are wiped out in trade? No... I say all or none." Griff stood up.
 

DeletedUser28032

"Yes but if only say...two people were to make the ascent then they may be able to approach undetected or at the very least warn those below of what awaits them...it would be much quieter too, we wouldn't want to find them waiting for us due to some oaf making alot noise" Gabriel spoke from the shadow of a large rock, the relative cool of the shade was bliss after the hours of treking through the hot sun "At the very least let me go first I am a skilled climber I could find us a safe way up" he said glancing up at the sun baked rock above him, it would have been so much easier if he had still had his climbing spikes but he reckoned he could still make the climb well enough without them "So what do you reckon Griff Shall I accompany our friend to the top?"
 

DeletedUser13682

James was walking with the rest of the group, as the rest of the group was walking with the rest of the group, and came upon the body with everybody else. Observing the work that was done, James eyed the items and calculated their worth. Everything could be worth something, the coins as money somewhere, the knife and canteen as more metal, the arrow and the satchel could be part of a billows. And that glass could be used as a firestarter. Unfortunately, most of it had been taken, all that was left was the satchel and canteen. Better those than nothing, James supposed. He continued on with the rest of the group, eyeing the smoke after it was pointed out, agreeing that it was smoke, they continued toward it and the outcrop.

When they arrived, Griff proposed that the entire group go up the rocks and head to the smoke together, after they had arrived in the shade. Now some started disagreeing with that plan, saying it'd be better to go it alone or in a pair, while the rest stayed by. James could see some merit in their plans, but felt Griff's the best plan of the bunch. Herd mentality and whatnot, they always said. Well, there was a way James could get this plan going, hopefully. He was part salesman. "Now folks," James began, standing up, putting one foot on a rock, and leaning forward on the platform created by his leg, "I propose going with Griff's plan. He does have some awfully good points going for him. You got your herd mentality, and you have security. Will one scheme against the all when the all is present with you? Didn't think so. And besides, if the best fighters go off to investigate, who will protect the rest if some horrible thing or things comes to get rid of the ones who stayed behind here? What if you get left behind to die by the ones to investigate the smoke? I don't think you want that happening to you, so I propose we go with Griff's plan and all stick together to investigate the smoke."
 

DeletedUser25825

Griff looked up the rocks, and then up at the line of smoke. He shook his head and stuffed his waterskins into his waistband. He said, "I don't care what you all do. I'm climbing. I'm not leaving my fate to being left behind by people I assume are just as likely to leave anybody else in the sand to keep breathing. I suggest you all do the same. You might not make the top, I might not make the top, but at least you're not at the bottom." So saying, Griff began to climb up the rocks.

The climing was not overly arduous, due to the rocks not being a vertical assault. Patience, and sure footing, was all that was needed. Jamell, looked at the others, shrugged, and began his own ascent as well. As the climbers neared the top, they detected the odor of roasting meat, and quietly relayed that information down to the others who were climbing below, or still at the base of the rocks deciding their next move. The journey thus far hadn't been overly long, but the succulent smell still caused several guts to clench, as the outcasts were reminded they hadn't eaten since the last time that they had.

As the climbers all scaled over the last of the rocks to the plateau of sorts, they observed a curious looking mixture of men and women. There were perhaps thirty or so, all sat around a pile of rotting tires that had been lit. The source of the tires was a rusted out car, that sat on its top nearby. The men and women were all caked in a white clay, and had black stripes painted along their limbs. The only clothing they wore was loincloths of various animal pelts. The smell of meat, came from a large flat peice of rusted metal with a large amount of meat sizzling on its surface.

Griff, narrowed his eyes, and looked at the others as they began gathering nearby. He whispered, "I don't recognize them. Anybody else?" As he looked at the others, Jamell cried out as he began to slip while still trying to get over the edge of the rocks. Griff moved over to him, grabbed his wrist and bodily jerked him up and onto his feet. The cry alerted the group near the fire, and several looked over and jumped up to their feet. One of the men shouted excitedly in a language that sounded soft and musical, as opposed to the harsh guttural language that was spoken at Pratt's. As he did so, the rest of the members of the band began gaining their feet. As they stood, they gathered up various weapons, which consisted of maces with stone heads, and spears made out of ragged rusted metal.

The man who had been shouting, picked up a fanged animal skull and pulled it onto his head. He shook his spear as he shouted, and then loudly hooted, "Whoop!" About fifteen of the men and women formed a tight line with spears brandished in front of them in a picket line, and they all began to stomp one foot and grunt rythymically in unison. They remained stationary, as they continued to stomp and grunt, and as the apparent leader occasionally hooted loudly again from just behind the picket line, they responded with a similar hoot.

Griff looked at the others and said, "We have a big problem here. Rocks behind us, and it's not looking much better ahead of us. Back down the rocks!" Griff's shouting seemed to motivate the enemy, and the leader shouted out something more, and followed it with the hollared hoot. The men and women hooted in return, and began to advance quickly toward the group.

Griff roared in fury, more so at the hopelessness than anything, and charged toward the group of hooting savages. He crashed into the advancing foes, and knocked clumsy spear thrusts away. He smashed his clenched fist atop one of the women's head, and plucked her spear and mace away as she crumpled to the ground. He skewered one of the men, lost his spear to him, and began swinging his club savagely back and forth at the other spears thrust at him, or the clay covered people as they got close enough. He was soon overwhelmed by sheer numbers, and fell beneath the continued thrusts of the spears. Quickly, the group encicrcled his fallen form and made short work in killing the pit fighter.

The leader shouted out, and the men and women who still stood, left Griff's body and began running at the others. Jamell shrieked and flung his arms up, empty hands forward, as he shouted, "I give up! I give up! Don't kill me!" Two women ran up to him, and leveled their spears at his torso. They bared their teeth at him, growling animal-like. One jerked her spear downward, shouting at him in her own language, and Jamell sank whimpering onto his knees. The woman hooted triumphantly, and kicked him onto his back. She stood over him, with her spear pointed at his throat. The other savages continued their pursuit of the others.

 

Deleted User - 819397

Lucas hadn't begun the climb when the attack broke out as he had wanted to remain as far from Griff as possible. Thus, when all hell broke loose, he had a bit of an advantage, albeit a temporary one. He turned and walked quickly toward the rocks, but slowly enough to make a clear print. He reached the rocks and continued on until he saw a decent hiding spot. He passed it, then stopped, and carefully began to step backwards, meticulously placing his feet in his old footprints. He reached the hiding spot and flung himself behind it, pulling his cloak around him so that he was better camouflaged. This was one of the many reasons Lucas loved his cloak...the vanishing footprint technique worked so well with it. With a guilty start he remembered James had been over at the trouble as well...however, if he left his spot now there'd be no way he'd be able to come back. Thus, he hoped James would get away, and waited...
 

DeletedUser28032

Gabriel watched in shocked dismay as the clay covered tribals managed to overpower the mighty Griff, dragging him down to the ground before finally killing him with a flurry of blows before turning their attention to the rest of the group.
Two of the tribals; a tall man with a scraggy beard and a young woman with short dark hair charged towards Gabriel, their spears held high, shouting the weird ululating cry as they came in for the kill. With nowhere to run and hiding an impossibility, Gabriel drew the knife from his belt, he crouched low bared his teeth like an animal hissed at the two tribals before charging towards them, the knife held low ready to strike.
He leapt through the air, twisting past the mis-timed thrust of the mans spear to crash bodily into him, his blade thrusting deep into the mans kidney as they fell to the ground in a heap of tangled limbs as they both struggled to regain their feet. The man screamed in agony as Gabriel ripped the knife free of the sucking flesh in which it had been buried, leaping to his feet just in time to watch the womans spear thrust pass mere inches from his chest. He had been lucky so far and with more of them charging towards him Gabriel feared that he would suffer the same fate as Griff if he didn't act soon.
Moving past the out thrust spear Gabriel brought the knife down in a short and viscious arc slashing the back of the womans hand, causing her through either shock or severed tendons to drop her spear he quickly followed up the attack by driving his fist into her stomach, forcing the air from her lungs in a single blow.
Unarmed and winded she was unable to prevent Gabriel from wrapping his arm about her throat, the point of his knife digging into the underside of her jaw "One more step and I gut her like a fish Amigo's!" Gabriel screamed at the approaching tribals as he whirled around to face them, his hostage firmly held against his chest as a human shield. The tribals seemed to pause upon seeing the girl in Gabriels grip as if in deliberation as to what they should do Good now with a little luck i'll be able to walk out of here alive Gabriel thought to himself as he slowly backed away from the man on the floor he'd stabbed only seconds ago.
He had no idea whether this would work or not all he had to go on was his exeperiences with the street gangs, taking a girl ...preferably a young pretty girl hostage was normally a good tactic after all no one wanted to be responsible for young girls death, however these weren't street thugs...he had no idea how they would react or even if they would care if he was to kill her...hell they may even kill her but he had to try something, he just hoped that his choice of hostage was a good one "Now lower the weapons its time we had a little talk".
 
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DeletedUser13682

James started climbing up behind Griff, and got up on the rocks shortly after him. He had arrived shortly after Griff and was near him when the tribe slew Griff. The small guy who was always with Griff was taken captive by the tribals, who didn't speak the basic language. How could he communicate with them if they didn't speak the same language? James thought he had a few moments to grab some things from Griff, while they were distracted by the small man. He grabbed the glass and a water skin before the tribals gave notice to him. He ran as fast as he could, climbing down the rocks while another one of their group distracted them. He ran and hid behind a darker coloured rock hoping not to be found.
 

DeletedUser

The horde of mud covered human savagery coursed like a wave over Griff, bringing the massive man down, like one of the great Mastodons of old. All of the exiles fled in terror, the sole exception to the rule being Jamall, who threw up his hands and screamed, to Elias'es ears at least, like a little girl.

It was only prudent to retreat, it didn't show cowardice, in the face of overwhelming odds only a fool or a martyr continues. Thus it was that day that Griff was the only martyr, at least on the side of the exiled folk from Pratt's Haven. Griff had taken many of the hooting natives down with him and, as Elias was backed slowly into a corner by two spear wielding men, the number of aboriginal deaths was raised again.

Elias was being herded, the two clay covered men hooted in their own, primal, language. Elias figured they were saying something along the lines of "Dinner will be served soon, Children" or maybe "I don't care what you like, you'll get what we make.". One of the pair of spears thrust forward and Elias managed to dodge to the side with enough grace to come down on the mud man's back step. Elias shook his sleeve and the finely made arrow he had salvaged from the skeleton earlier that morning fell into his grasp. With the speed of a striking snake, Elias brought the arrow up under the savage's jawline. The arrowhead and a great deal of the shaft broke off, when Elias snapped it.

As Elias'es first victim fell to the dirt, the exiled assassin desperately clawed up the mud man's dropped spear in his hands, immediately dropping back. Elias waved the spear in front of him in vaguely threatening motions. In truth, Elias didn't know what the hell he was doing, he'd never wielded a spear before in his life. The exile from Pratt's Haven knew he was in a bind, the mud man knew better than to get too far away from Elias, who would then be able to throw the spear at him. As Elias batted away a thrust that was without power, he used his forward motion to throw the spear underhand at the mud man, who to Elias'es horror, deftly caught it with a single hand.

Elias knew when he was outmatched, so he turned and ran towards the rocks that he saw his companions in treason disappearing into. Elias'es legs pumped furiously, as he put his head down and pumped his arms, like his life depended on it because it really did. Just as Elias jumped for the first handhold he saw, he felt a pair of hands clamp onto the back of his shirt and pull him down. The impact of going from full gallop to laid out on your back both knocked the wind out of Elias and caused him to see stars for a moment.

As the archer's vision cleared, he felt more then saw one of the mud men clamp their hands around his neck, squeezing with unrivaled intensity. Elias'es vision began to blur, as he feebly tried to pry the savage's hands from around his windpipe. He kicked his legs, bucked his hips like a mechanical bull and batted with his hands at the man who Elias now knew would be his murderer. Elias finally gave up and simply let his hands drop, accepting the inevitable.

His hand landed, miraculously, upon a fist sized rock. The contact with the outside world braced Elias for a final Hail Mary play. Elias, with a small background in improvised weaponry, took hold of the rock and, putting all of his failing strength into the blow, smashed it upwards in the general direction of the mud man's face. He felt the impact all the way up to his shoulder, as already cracked and decayed teeth gave way under the rock's onslaught. Drops of crimson dripped down onto Elias'es face, as he smashed the rock upward again. This time the grip around his neck gave way and Elias took in a blessed deep breath of air.

Elias had expended all of his energy and could not go any further. In his last conscious memory, he wondered why Pratt had exiled his pet assassin and sentenced him to this purgatory. What have I done to deserve this betrayal?


((Sorry about being gone so much. My computer died...again. I think I have it sorted out now. DON'T DIE, RP, DON'T LEAVE ME LIKE THIS!!!!))
 
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DeletedUser25825

The tribe of warriors moved forward, grunting with each step, and occasionally hooting loudly in response to their apparent leader. Griff was gone, Jamell was a prisoner, and Elias was having the fight of his life. The warriors focused on Gabriel paused as he took one of their own hostage, and nobody seemed to notice Lucas and James were no longer accounted for.

Gabriel discovered he'd made a blunder in his hostage theory. The two men, looked at each other and began thrusting their spears at him AND the girl. She screeched at the two men in their foreign language and dodged left and right, making it very difficult to maintain a grasp on her as her fear of her tribe mates was greater than that of her fear of Gabriel's blade.

The whole situation came to a headway, as a massive explosion caused everybody to take a moment to figure out the source. The tribe began shouting excitedly, and retreating. Gabriel's momentary lapse of concentration on his hostage, allowed her to sink her teeth all the way to her gums into his forearm. She escaped amidst the uttered oath, and scurried away with the rest of the tribe who were now in full retreat across the desert, and away from the fire and outcasts.

The explosion was apparently caused by another group of people. They were dressed in scrounged articles of clothing, and armor. They carried a variety of weapons, which included blunderbusses. Their were only six men, but they looked quite apt at handling themselves in fights, and it seemed the tribe was agreeing with that assessment. The tribe, minus a few members who lay dead in the sand, fled.

One of the taller men of the group told the others to watch the Hooptie, and approached the outcasts. He rested his blunderbuss on his shoulder, and raised his other empty hand in greeting. He called out, "Do you understand me?" When he saw several heads nod, he smiled. He said, "Great! I'm Deegan. What brings you out to the wastes?"
 

DeletedUser28032

Gabriel had made a mistake, that much was clear when the two men in front of him decided to attack him despite one of their own being held at knife point. With an arm still wrapped tight about the girls throat Gabriel dodged the spear thrusts as best he could causing him to decide that he would have to lose the hostage if he was to stand any chance of escape.
Bringing back his free hand Gabriel made ready to shove the girl onto the oncoming spears in the hope that it would buy him the precious few seconds required to make his escape, only to stop and stare up at the horizon in shock as the air was split by an explosion.
He watched as a group of people armed and armoured with an assortment of weapons came towards them, part of him thought that he was saved from the mad tribals and yet another merely wondered whether or not these new people were just another foe for them to overcome.
Distracted by the arrival of the newcomers and the flight of the tribals Gabriel all but forgot about the girl in his arms, thats is until she decided to sink her teeth into his arm causing him to scream with pain. Clutching his now bleeding arm Gabriel directed a foul litany of street slang at the fleeing girl before turning his attention to the approaching men.
"My name is Gabriel and we are outcasts...banished from our town for crimes we didn't commit" Gabriel felt it would be prudent not to mention that he was in fact guilty of his crimes at least not until he could figure out how these people would react to the news that he was a criminal. "If you intend to rob us Amigo i must warn you that we have nothing....tell me Deegan what brings you to our rescue?" Gabriel continued, noticing for the first time that with the exception of Elias who was currently fighting to regain his breath and the coward Jamel, he was all alone he just hoped that this group of wastelanders would be friendlier than the last lot.
 
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DeletedUser25825

Deegan listened to Gabriel's response, and smiled congenially as he nodded. He said, "We don't intend on robbing you. We've run into outcasts before, hunt them down even." He shook his head and waved his hand dismissively as he saw the outcasts tense as he quickly corrected himself by saying, "I'm sorry... hunt is a poor choice of wording. More specifically, we seek them. You never know what talents and skills you might come across with new friends. I am the leader of a group of survivors who refer to ourselves as the Roughnecks. Never heard of us? Engh... I'm not really surprised. We have a stronghold at an oasis not a few days walk from here. We're trying to establish a city state around it, to protect it from savages like the Hooptie... who you've already had the pleasure of meeting I see."

He pointed at the fallen clay encrusted people. He pointed at the large unattended fire, which was still roasting succulent smelling meat as he said, "They're nothing but a bunch of savage cannibals. Probably a good thing we came along when we did." He looked at the group and asked, "Is this all of you then? Just three? I mean... I see you lost one... but I'm half way surprised you're alive still. The nearest city state I know of is Pratt's... and that's easily a day away from here. If you want to, you're welcome to join our group. We were heading back, when our scout caught sight of the plume, and we decided to investigate. You don't look like you have anything to trade, but if you've strong backs, are willing to submit to my rule, and don't want to keep wandering around in the wastes... you're welcome to join us."
 

DeletedUser28032

Gabriel scanned the surrounding wastes buying time before he would have to answer although the prospect of finding a new city wasn't all that unappealing "no...there should be another two...they can't of gone that far and their company would be preferable to that dogs" he continued vaguely pointing in Jamell's direction, his earlier cowardice not forgotten.
" Now I can't really speak for the others but i would be willing to join you after all as much as i enjoy wandering aimlessly through the wastes I would like safe place to sleep at night" and a place to ply my trade face it Gabriel was a people person and without anybody to con, trick or lie to he was just another two bit thug and not a very good one at that.
Turning to look at the black clad man whom he would later learn to be Elias, Gabriel called out to him "Amigo...This guy know's the way to the oasis do you know where the others are?" it would be ashame to abandon them out in the wastes but then again they weren't exactly friends of his so why should he care? it was every man for himself out here.
 

DeletedUser13682

James was still hiding behind the sift rock, trying to decide on whether he should help or not. Lucas wasn't among the group above the rocks, so he felt no strong desire to help them, except for the human helping human bit some guys talked about. But no, there was no time to become a hero, or a martyr. Probably a martyr. The issue didn't matter anymore, as there was an explosion nearby. This caused all the clay men that weren't dead to run away in fright of the explosion. James was considering joining the men when one of the ragtag grenadiers spoke in English.

James listened to this for a moment, before he felt the coast was safe enough, from listening to what the man known as Deegan said about establishing a new city state. James walked out from the hiding spot, and waved out to the group. He joined the others of the outcasts that were already with Deegan's group, and introduced himself. "I'm James Forge, named after my trade. I'm a shaper of metal, I make everything. My specialty are gunpowder weapons, especially the arquebus. I was working on a new idea I call the wheellock if you want to see it." Just then, he remembered that Lucas wasn't there still, and recalled the soft rock he hid behind. He walked over to it, a smile on his lips, and softly kicked the soft rock, which upon close inspection, looked like a cloak. "Wake up, Lucas. It's your turn to meet our new friends."
 
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Deleted User - 819397

Lucas had heard someone moving behind him, but hadn't done anything as it would give him away. The cannibals were screaming at the top of the ledge, and things sounded like they were going badly for the exiles until an explosion went off. After that there was more screaming, but that then died away. This meant that one of the sides had won...but there was no way to determine which side without moving, and that would just get him killed if the other side were the victors.

The person behind him had left, and now that his breathing had deepened it was clear there was some sort of conversation going on, although he couldn't make out the specifics. Still unsure who had won, he stayed still until someone approached and nudged him. Recognizing James' voice, he uncurled and jumped to his feet. "So you were the one who used me for your cover." he laughed. "Seems like the two of us are destined to help each other, eh?" He turned to the group's rescuer. "Thank you for getting us out of that tight spot. I'm Lucas, alchemist, metallurgist, and medic. I'm also good at telling when someone is lying or hiding something." He nodded again, then settled into a more comfortable standing position.
 

DeletedUser25825

Deegan listened to each, looked at Elias, and shrugged. He said, "Well, you're welcome to come with us." He shouted, "Roughnecks! Divvy up the gear. We have new friends here." The men pulled backpacks off and pulled out various leather bound packages, and canteens. They handed each of the outcasts a canteen, and a bundle. Deegan said, "It's all the water we got, and we still have a few days to get to the center. The bundle is dried meat. It's not human at least eh?" He chuckled, and looked at the fallen tribe members. He said, "You might want to grab their weapons. Spears and maces, even in that form, are better than nothing out here."

The men waited for the group of outcasts to grab up the dropped weapons of the tribe, and then began walking again. They paused to look around the fire, and discovered nothing of interest in the rusted out vehicle, before they continued on. Deegan moved over to James and draped an arm over his shoulders. He asked, "So... weapon smith eh? The gun stuff even? Wow... can we ever use that." He looked at the others, dropped his arm, and continued plodding through the sand.

Deegan said, "It's pretty easy with us friends. We all survive because we rely on each other to do so. We base at the oasis, but send out two parties of six or so men to search different areas of the wastes. When the parties locate things, if they're able to bring them back, they do. Otherwise, they camp on it and send two runners back to get more man power. All the take from our finds and conquests gets split up amongst everybody. We do it fair enough for everybody. I get choice of course... being your fearless leader..." he grinned and chuckled before saying, "and so on and so forth. You new guys will get something almost every time... but you still have to prove yourselves before you get choicer picks. We all went through it, so don't feel dismayed. Otherwise, we only have a few other rules. We don't fight each other, unless it's something we can't mediate through. We don't steal from each other. If you're caught you forfeit all, including your life, to the other roughnecks."

Deegan looked at the outcasts and said, "There are women at the oasis. Prisoners from conquests. We have a rule about forcing anything out of them. If you do, you're dead. They otherwise serve our needs. Cooks, cleanup, entertainment to a degree. If you can think of other things for them to do, or want... generally if you ask nicely... or give them some trinket they'll submit." The man shrugged as he continued walking. He said, "It's all fairly easy to get along. We fight for what we get, and to keep it. Once we get those walls up, we'll have a fairly powerful city state. The water is fairly free flowing there... especially during this time of year. We get attacked often enough, but we have a fairly solid defense set up now. Lots of men, so I'm not too worried. I just hate losing them to skirmishing. With James here to help with gun stuff... we might become strong enough to really take on other places... become warlords even."
 

DeletedUser28032

Gabriel shook his slowly shook his head at the mention of grabbing the tribals spears before replying with a smile "Spears?....No...give me a sharp knife any day of the week" he had no talent with with anything larger that knife and the one weapon that he did desire was not among the dead though from what he had gathered he may yet be able to rectify that.
He listened quietly as Deegan explained the rules, no stealing, no fighting and no forcing yourself on the women pretty basic and nothing he couldn't get around if he so desired he'd survived within Pratts Haven he'd survive with the Roughnecks.
Taking the proffered canteen and meat with a smile, Gabriel moved in besides James and Lucas as the group started moving "you are James am i right?....my name is Gabriel a pleasure to meet you" he said offering his hadn to the James and then Lucas, it didn't pay to insult someoen by forgetting such a simple curtesy as a handshake "I hear you are a weapon smith? tell me James if i was to acquire the metal would you be able to forge me a throwing disc..a....Chakram?" he asked unsure of the weapons correct name, it had been called many things on the streets but rarely by its true name.
With the sun still high in the sky and a long way to walk, Gabriel awaited the smiths answer as they made their way to the oasis and their new home.
 
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