The message comes by carrier pigeon actually, which is a pretty weird way to deliver a message but of course, it's thematic. A very pretty looking brown pigeon swoops down out of the sky to wherever Percy and Nisha just so happen to be that afternoon and holds out its leg. The message is short and simple:
Got a job for you. Meet me in front of the mine shaft at dusk. No show, no job. Keep it a secret, rewarded very well.
- Hal
P.S. Burn this.
Except Percy's note in particular has an addiction:
Don't tell your girlfriend, kid. I'll disqualify you both and you won't be able to win your way back home.
And that's it. Of course, if they choose to listen to the message, they'll find the Sheriff in front of the mines at dusk. They'll be greeted with a tip of his hat and one word:
"Miners."
And then he holds out two small notebooks. Looks like they've been chosen for one of those roles that were mentioned. Good luck.
[Why…is there a bird. He tries to ignore the bird, and Mrs. O'Leary woofs at it, growling slightly but when it persists and Percy notices a note he takes a look.
The message itself was easy to ignore except for the additional note. It's unnerving. The Sheriff knows what to say to push his buttons and Percy, naturally, take it as a threat. His first instinct was to tell Annabeth but he's alone when he receives the note and it gives him time to think. He doesn't want to think about what "disqualify" is, and…he promised. He promised himself he'd keep her safe even if he knows Annabeth can handle herself. They both need to get back.
So…he shows up. He glares at the Sheriff when he walks up to the mines, Annabeth-less and dog-less, and he doesn't return the greeting. He takes the notebook and starts to scan it, taking his time to get the words to focus.]
You're kidding. [Yeah he's. Not happy. The fuck, man. But at the same time, he's glancing at Nisha for her opinion on the matter.]
[ Nisha, on the other hand, was eager to receive the message. Carrier pigeon is a little more out of the ordinary than a bounty board, but not weirder than some other things, and the rest of it seems reasonable. There's not really any question whether she's going to accept the invitation.
The first thing that really surprises her is when Percy is there too. He doesn't look like the kind of partner she'd expect for a job.
She still grins when she reads over the notebook, though, making no attempt to hide her pleasure. ]
[ At the very contrasting reactions, the Sheriff just sort of smiles and has to close his eyes for a minute to savor it. This probably isn't very reassuring of a reply but after a moment, he falls back into his usual disinterest. ]
Thought you both might say that. S'why I picked ya. You're free to answer any questions but uh, one of yous might wanna get the crowbar out of the shed over there. Maybe an axe and some hats for us. We gotta go down in the mines and the usual way ain't gonna work right now.
[Nisha's response sure isn't reassuring either and he's kind of crumpling the rulebook in his hand as best as he can so he doesn't, you know, throw it at the Sheriff's face?
This is not what he had in mind.]
Yeah, I've got a couple of questions. That last rule in your book, the "actively participating" thing. We have to do this and still keep playing your game and maybe kill even more people? [Are you out of your mind?] And how do we know you're actually going to uphold your end of the deal?
[Curiously, he's not outright saying no despite looking very much like he wants to. Tacking on the extra note seems to have been incredibly effective.]
[ Nisha also isn't particularly impressed by the Sheriff's expression. Manipulating people the way he seems to be doing has never really been her thing; Percy's reaction is just tiresome. If she was sheriff, she'd just lay down the law herself.
She shrugs and heads for the shed anyway. ]
"Cache of weapons" is enough argument for me to head down there. But keep talking. Can we get some of these amazing rewards up front?
[ Is it really manipulating if you're just having a good time?
But for now he just nods at Percy's question and shoots out a thanks to Nisha as she heads for the shed. ]
Ayup, that's what the rules state. Play the game and your role. How am I supposed to trust you to take care of who ain't playing if you're not? Though, I suppose you don't really have to kill anyone for the trials but you do have to make sure to, y'know, try at the trials. That would please me, yeah.
[ And for both of Percy and Nisha's last questions, they get the same answer. ]
Since y'all have a role, I can give you some rewards now. Two...? Two seems fair enough to me-- actually, nah. Nisha gets two. Percy, you only get one. And only when you stop yellin' at me for whatever. Would prefer if you asked for something material but you know, do what you gotta. Yous get more privileges if you work with me than if you don't, so.
[His lip turns into a snarl like he's about to pull a Natalie and tell the Sheriff to go fuck himself, but he concedes. He has to play the game if there's any chance of surviving and getting back. The vacation was nice while it lasted.
He grits his teeth when the Sheriff calls him out on his yelling, closing his eyes for a moment to chill out before looking back at Nisha wandering to the shed.]
Try at the trials? You mean participate to figure out who else is killing off the people you dragged here? Because that won't be a problem. [Try. Yeah, he'll show you try, asshole.] Something material? You can start with giving Anaklusmos back. [The Greek name for the sword slips out without him meaning it, eyes fixed in a glare at the Sheriff.] I don't know what you did, but Riptide always returns to my pocket in its resting form and it's been three days and it hasn't. [A pause.] It won't work on most of the people here, but I'd like to have it back anyway. That falls in your guidelines, right? Entertainment value or whatever, being creative.
["With murders" goes unsaid. Riptide won't do him any good here, but...start small and work your way up. But, of course, something else occurs to him.] How are we going to get away with this? If there's no trial, what are you going to do to make sure your game keeps going and our roles stay relevant? [And even so he's looking back to Nisha. How can she be so okay with this?]
[ Nisha rummages in the shed until she finds a crowbar, twirling it a little in her hand before grabbing an axe as well and wandering back out. ]
You're gonna have to come grab something yourself if you want it, I only have two hands.
[ She considers. If there's really a bunch of guns down there— ]
Speaking of which, I'd like my storage deck. If I'm gonna have a decent amount of weaponry I'll need a way to carry it. And for my second thing...
[ She hums. That's a hard one. She doesn't especially approve of the way this guy is running this town, but she's done less savory jobs in the past, and she's not really in a position to bargain much. She could go practical. But still, if she's going to do this job she'd like some assurance the pay is going to be worth it. ]
...Some proof you can do what you say. Tell me the future.
[ When Nisha grabs the crowbar, the Sheriff will step out of the way to gesture towards the boarded up entrance. He's really looking more and more worn out the more Percy throws his anger at him, finding it absolutely ridiculous.
So, his answers are short and clipped with little enthusiasm. He points to Percy first. ]
Sure, I can give it to you but how're you gonna explain you got it back without revealing your role? And that's up to me to deal with. You're a back up role, Percy. Stop acting like I'm asking you to kill everyone, just asking you to take out those dragging everyone behind. Jesus.
[ And then to Nisha -- ]
Problem with that. I can give you your storage deck, sure, but same question as Percy -- how're you gonna hide it? Or explain it. Point is, everyone should be on equal level here, if I give you the ability to hold multiple guns at once on your person with little more than a glance, someone's gonna think you're cheating. Give me a good reason to give it to you and I'll consider. And also, you're dead. Not my fault, just what happened with you. Vault Hunters hit up Lynchwood, you challenged them to a duel, they killed you and your deputy.
[He opens his mouth to argue, face screwed up in annoyance and anger and all of the frustration that's left from being pulled away from something important, but he finds himself at a loss for words when the Sheriff mentions that. That's true. How the hell can he get around explaining how he got Riptide back without explaining he made a deal with the Sheriff? Reveal the role, get Annabeth and himself disqualified, boom, there goes the Doors of Death and Gaea wins.
...so. The fate of the world, really, relies on Percy keeping his anger in check for once. So he's turning away to head for the shed to grab his own tools, an axe of his own since he figures he can swing it enough like a sword if need be.
He's looking at Nisha though, a touch more serious.]
What's he talking about? [But even with that in mind he returns with his axe and stares at the boarded up entrance, chewing the inside of his cheek and taking a deep breath.] How do we know you're not just asking us to give you a reason so you can stall longer? You still haven't proven you can do these things for us.
...Figured I was dead already, that's not news. What happened with Jack? Something to prove you're telling the truth wouldn't go amiss either.
[ Nisha's tone also turns more serious for the first time, but she does head over to start prying the boards off with her crowbar, setting the axe aside for now.
And to the other point: ]
It's not a great offer when you urge us to get us something material and then ask us how we're gonna hide anything material from everyone else, you know. I can be subtle. I'm getting the impression most people here aren't gonna recognize some tech on my hip. Better that than slinging around whatever stuff you've got down here in plain sight. What exactly was your plan there?
[ At both of them questioning his legitimacy, he just sighs and sort of... just... reaches behind his back. It takes no more than a second or so and if they're looking closely, nothing really seems amiss but when he brings his hand back around, two things are clutched in it.
Nisha's storage deck and Percy's pen. He wags them both at the two of them before crossing his arms, still keeping a hold. ]
Not stalling, just questioning. Don't want two of you get yourself killed when I need ya for something. And I didn't say I wasn't gonna give you it, I just wanted to hear your logic on the damn thing first. Point to Nisha there though, since you're right. Most people won't know it. Get cornered in a back alley, hope you don't lose.
[ And the other thing to prove to her, ahh. ]
Jack? Yeah, he died. Killed by some Vault Hunters cause some monster thing, they killed his daughter? Ain't here so I didn't pay attention to the whole thing. Only a bit after you went, if I recall correctly.
[ And finally -- ]
My plan with the stuff down there is you only use it down there. Grab the person, throw 'em down, you take care of 'em how you want.
[Huh. Okay. There's a look on his face that says the Sheriff's a little more impressive and the anger dissipates a bit. He doesn't quite grab for the pen but his eyes are on it.]
It's a pen. Only one person here knows what it looks like and I'm not going to put her at a risk. [Annabeth would also probably kill him for doing this, and normally he can't lie to her but...last time it wasn't life or death either.]
Nice to know you can revive the dead though. [That answers his question and he's hefting the axe, giving it a few test swings.] And what's stopping whoever we grab from alerting everybody else, or fighting back and getting us killed before we kill them?
[ Nisha frowns, just slightly, and doesn't say anything else for a while as she works the crowbar. It looks like she's keeping whatever emotions she's feeling about all that down as she considers how she wants to deal with it.
Eventually, once the last board is off, she takes her storage deck. ]
Just so you know, if you're lying about any of that, I'm going to kill you way more brutally than anyone you offer up for us to off. Doesn't matter if you're a robot. The people behind you will regret it too, one way or another.
[ Despite the words, her tone is still relatively mild. ]
For now, though, I'm willing to see what you can deliver.
I said I could. Why would I say I could if I couldn't? Dumbass.
[ Seriously, Percy!! He's this closing to just knocking you upside the head a little. ]
And I'm there to stop 'em from letting everyone else know. Can't stop 'em from killing you back though. Guess you just gotta be better, huh?
[ :) :) :)
Then Nisha threatens him and he just looks a little surprised. ]
Well, suppose that's fair. Ain't lying though, not about this. No point to it.
[ With the boards off the front, he looks pleased and will hold a hand up to gesture for them to wait. He moves forward to look inside the mines and lets out a bit of an annoyed grunt. ]
Ugh, hate going this way. If you give me your axe, can put it into the ground and tie some rope to it. We can, uh, shimmy our way down. If I put the axe into the ground, it won't come loose, so we should be fine. Y'still might wanna grab a hat though, pretty dark down here and I don't think you both can see in it.
[Just because you say something doesn't mean it's true, dude!! But his eyes narrow a bit at that implication. Still a matter of kil or be killed then. He doesn't say anything, inhaling deeply before handing the Sheriff his axe and quickly moving out of the way to the shed. He digs for two hats with working lights before grabbing them and returning, holding one out to Nisha should she choose to take it.]
[ But he lets Nisha's answer be the answer to Percy's question. Instead he moves in to the Mines and picks a rope off the ground, tying it firmly to the axe. He'll jam the axe into the ground a moment later, kicking it down a few times to keep firm. After that, he tosses the end of the rope into the hole. It's pretty hard to see how far down it is from here. ]
Anyway, off we go.
[ And the Sheriff just goes down first, not even hesitation -- or binding himself to anything. No, he just uses the rope to slide his way down the walls of the mines. ]
[You're welcome, asshole. But Percy straps on his hardhat and flicks on the light, lifting his chin a little in defiance as he watches the Sheriff go. A rope, huh? Consider he's fallen hundreds of stories before this should be no big deal...and so with that, he waits for the Sheriff to go first before he begins to use the rope to guide his way down, bouncing along the walls where he can to prevent himself from slamming into rocks or what-have-you. Once he sees the floor though, whenever that is, he'll jump off the rope to land out of the way to give Nisha room, too.
He won't say anything, but he's definitely glancing around and on guard for anything.]
[ Nisha also has no problems heading down the rope without any safety precautions. She's used to not having fall damage.
She is curious what they'll find down there, though; in her experience it's more unlikely to find a mine not full of spiderants or bullymongs or something than to find one with them, so she's more or less-expecting monsters to come out of the dark as soon as they reach ground. ]
[ So, the first thing that they'll hear where the boots hit the ground is a crunch. The second thing they'll notice is just how damn dark it is down here -- pitch black all over and with the darkness above, there's no natural light coming into the caves.
If they look down at the floor, they'll notice where the crunch came from too -- it's bones, of course. Why wouldn't it be bones? Piles and piles of human bones litter the ground and the more they take in the room the more they'll notice it's just one perfect circle. Eerily perfect. Walls and floors smooth rock as if the place was carved to be exactly like this.
The mines literally are just a death pit.
The Sheriff will whistle to catch their attention and while he's fine, being able to see in the dark just as well, he'll gesture off to the side where a large pile of weapons sits. There's no organization to the pile but it rises nearly to the Sheriff's shoulder and has all types of weaponry resting in it. Rifles, pistols, knives, clubs, and even giant axes of all sorts. Half of the weapons are already covered in dried blood, used over and over again it seems.
The Sheriff looks at the pile, fairly unimpressed before back to Percy and Nisha. ]
Y'can take something from here if ya want, as long as you can carry it back up.
Percy's found himself in some pretty interesting (and terrifying) places before, caverns and chambers where people have died and people have tried to kill him, but it's the aesthetic of human bones that does it. He doesn't scream or anything, though his expression is frozen as he picks his way around the pit, cringing with each crunch under his sneakers.
Still, he turns his head at the whistle and finds the stockpile of weapons, eyebrows lifting almost curiously. He approaches and immediately picks up one of the axes, hefting it up and adjusting its weight in his hands before attempting to swing it. His eyes are more on the knives than anything.
Does the dried blood bother him? Eh. Just a little.]
And then it's our responsibility to hide it? [It's a dry comment, but he sets down the axe and appears to examine a hunting knife. He has thoughts, of course, but...it's the question of risk.] That might be even harder to explain than a pen.
[ This is somewhat out of the ordinary even in Nisha's experience, and she whistles as she looks around at all the bones. ]
That's a lot of bodies. Have you had these games going for a while? Or is it just for atmosphere?
[ She doesn't seem to judge either way on that one. There are a lot of places to get bodies that aren't making people murder each other in an overly-elaborate setup.
She does go over to the pile of weapons, though, eying a few rifles before picking one up, testing to see if any of the mechanisms are rusted before she sticks it into her storage deck, a smooth motion of tucking it towards her hip before it vanishes in a flash of light. And then she glances over the rest of the pile.
You can never have too many guns. ]
Just to be clear, we can't use these if we're killing for any reason other than your assignments? How about self-defense?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sheriffexe) wrote2017-01-13 11:13 am
Page 1 of 9