~~~ The Story So Far ~~~ [spoiler]A small party of eight travelers have entered a small tribal village, entering immediately at sunrise, having traveled during the long night. They appear to be Relic Seekers, scavengers of ancient temples and cities built in the past, before the huntsmen arrived. Relic Seekers are seldom united by one, common desire. [/spoiler] [spoiler]instead they are often brought together to walk the same path due to a paradoxical conflict of interest, which becomes mutually beneficial to the Seekers. Some seek vengeance for the crimes committed by the Huntsmen, while others seek powerful artifacts with which to rebuild civilization from the ground up. Some seekers are motivated by a simple greed, while others search for a way to rekindle and restore what they have already lost. This party was no different, and eventually, assuredly, they would become victim to their own ambitions, As all Seekers do.[/spoiler] ~~~ The Town ~~~ [spoiler]Ever since the war against the Huntsmen had ended, The people of Aslo - the name for this harsh world - have lived a sheltered existence. No permanent settlement can be made, as either the Huntsmen or the elements will eviscerate it before it may bloom. People cannot congregate into societies larger than rudimentary tribes, lest their amassing wealth and material become a target for the Huntsmen's slaughter. Some Aslo'Rans - Ran being a suffix in the world's native tongue, meaning "people of" - have advanced this philosophy of isolationism as far as the environments of Aslo will allow, becoming Relic Seekers and banding with others in exclusively small, incredibly mobile parties.[/spoiler] The party of eight seekers spent a few moments discussing their options, and decided to split into three separate groups. Four of them - Grayvuus, Cobalt, Thornton, and The Monk - strode towards the collection of merchant shops near the center of town. They stuck to the edges of the buildings, providing them both shade from the sun’s heat and a layer of darkness which hid all but their most prominent features. Two of the seekers began walking towards the junkyard and tribe mechaneer. One of the seekers wore a full-body and mask suit of mechanical armored, with many small solar panels strone about along the upper back, shoulders, and head. These panels were allotted so protection by a small collection of sturdy steel crossbars constructed over them, protecting the vulnerable panels from blunt blows and impacts. This was clearly a modified Huntsman armor suit, specifically from the “Aegis” line of armaments. The other Relic Hunter heading towards the junkyard carried a Heavy Revolver along with a variety of gadgets including a grappling hook, throwing knives, and grenades. However, this Hunter’s most striking feature was his limbs, or more specifically the lack-there-of, as all but his left arm had been replaced with mechanical counterparts. On his left arm, he wore a full-sleeve metal gauntlet with the peeling remains of a brand name painted onto the sheet metal in a dark green; “SilencerCo.” These two mechanized seekers carried themselves with an aura of confidence, strutting down the middle of the village dirt road, metal gleaming in the sun, starkly contrasting the reserved nature of their six party-mates. The final two Relic Hunters headed towards the fire-pit of the town, looking for anything edible at a reasonable price, and also a much more rare, much more valuable, and much more essential commodity; Water. While his ally began searching out the greatest quantity of food for the cheapest price, Derrington quickly walked directly to the Water-dispensary of the town and removed his hover boots. He then strapped them to one of the largest nearby empty barrels, and after leveling it under the nozzle of the dispensary, he began filling it to the brim with water. As the water level rose, so did the price-marker; 12.3cre, 16.2cre, 19.6cre; Derrington decided this was too slow and attached another spout to the edge of the barrel, doubling the rate of sales. The eight and final party member, after telling Derrington to gather a barrel’s worth of water for the band’s next venture, activated his Visor’s hud and had it analyze all the nearby food-stalls for the best price. After crunching the numbers for a few seconds, a small [i]ding[/i] alerted the seeker of the most preferable merchant; A Torsk Meat seller, completely preserved and not at all fresh, but fulfilling and reasonably safe to consume. He approached the merchant, and with a handful of 40 credits, ordered a crate’s worth of meat. He then attended to the secondary matter of the party’s appearance in this town: “The names Smith, and I’m wondering if you could direct me to the nearest bounty board in this town?” The merchant spoke with a thick accent in a rudimentary dialect, but spoke understandably; “No bounty boards, but might find someone looking to hire near the fire pit.” After doubling checking the crate was sufficiently packed with meat, Smith thanked the merchant and met up with Derrington by the fire pit, stacking his crate on top of the now full and sealed water barrel. This strained the hover-boots. Derrington: “Eh eh no, no way, these things can barely handle the barrel alone! You bought that crate, you’re carrying it!” Smith: “Oh please, if the boots can support all that blubber you got on you there, I’m sure they can handle a few Torsk guts. Now meet up with the other’s near the town entrance, I’m going to see if I can’t get a lead here.” With a relenting sigh, Derrington agreed that was a reasonable course of action. As he left Smith to discuss recent wanted sightings and huntsmen activities, Derrington slowly returned to the town entrance. He found four of his comrades there, but Silencer and Aegis were still haggling with the town mechaneer over the price of a power cell. This commotion momentarily distracted Derrington, and at the same time his hover boots gave out. Luckily the barrel of water landed up right, but the crate fell off and some of the meat landed in the dirt. Grayvuus helped repack the valuable food, brushing off the dirt and grime. As she reached the last piece, which was particularly dusty, she announced; “No reason to waste good meat”, and then ate the half frozen half raw bite of Torsk innards. The Monk cast a curious gaze at her while Thornton quickly remarked, “You are, without a doubt, one of the most disgusting people I have ever met.” Cobalt, double checking his ammunition count, quietly marking Incendiary at 18, acidic at 8, and voltage at 11, along with a slew of ordinary ballistics, retorted, “She’s right to do so. I’d rather be a pig than be to pompous to eat.” Grayvuus at first appreciated the support, but quickly realized the underlying message; “Are you calling me a pig?” Before this escalated, Silencer and Aegis returned with a pack full of power cells, and Aegis’ bracelet glowing with energy. This startled Derrington, exclaiming; “Wait, I thought y’all were just debackling the price of one power cell? How’d you get 8? You better not have just turned this whole town against us---” Cutting him off, Silencer reassured him “Don’t worry, Aegis exercising a few charging cycles was just enough to convince him that 12 credits a piece was perfectly reasonable!” Only somewhat relieved, Derrington considered the bounce-back that threatening a touch merchant might have, and decided to tell Smith that the party was heading out immediately, whether he found a lead or not. However, before he was able to put on both his hover boots, he saw Smith already walking towards them, and with an unknown man at his shoulder. Noting this, All members of the party subtly began readying their weaponry should the need for defense arise. ~~~ End Chapter 1 ~~~