Content Note: Slavery and Jerk behavior, PG-13 today.
Anfrald Drank on his left a man who was cheerful enough once he was certain that the team was truly and fully human. He'd had uncomfortable doubts on when he'd first seen Holden. Once the ginger-haired Mercenary had heard the story of how a vortex had swallowed the Monk and spat him back out, it was good enough for him, he became gregarious, cracking jokes and recommending reliable recruits. He now cracked a series of cheerfully rude jokes about dwarves to anyone willing to laugh. He brought his own crossbow, but did not say no when the team offered him a cutlass and simple shield to go with, fresh from the market.
Much of the laughing was coming from the tall, amber-eyed and auburn-haired soldier Aeged, who had enthusiastically signed up when he saw Anfrald was in. He claimed to be looking forward to "Taking a break from piracy."
Ealhbun was a hard, steely-eyed woman. It was clear she'd been on the Islands long enough to have developed a hard, no-nonsense air as a matter of self-defense. Her choice of wine over beer, her words, and her bearing all attested to a highborn lady, and the way she hefted her gear. The mark of a knight-errant of the Western Kingdoms. She intrigued Tarrant...
Those three would be their extra men-at-arms in the caves. Extra shields and blades had seemed the wisest plan.
Then there were the other two. Mila, a porter HD a broad face, wide shoulders, and mannish hands. A quirky smile and casual references to her job as a Smuggler and gambler. For today she was content to serve as a porter and push the cart. Hopefully, she'd not be carting bodies.
The final new addition to their contingent was Lava, an ex-slave of a pirate who had recently drowned after a night of hard drinking. She was no concubine. Her rough Grey skin, upturned piggish nose, and the tiny tusk that protruded from her lower lip marked her as half-orc. Silver hair and rich amber eyes, suggested a touch of the elfin in her, too. Her body was cris-crossed with scars and tattoos, not to mention the faded signs of burns and other cruelties visited on her by her recently-dead master. The marks of a drudge, at best. She had been a free woman for only a few days and desperate for coin. Tarrant was going to turn her down for the job of torchbearer, but Neela had taken an instant liking to her
Even now, she, Neela, and Wene sat conspiratorially at another table speaking in hushed, amiable tones.
Perhaps, Tarrant thought, a hand offered in friendship was worth more than the coin itself...
Behind the Screen: This is where I spare you the agony of a "shopping episode." Neela exchanged gems for credit at several consortia of tradesmen and bought Mord some new gear, a handful of Purple Islands Crystals, and the party interviewed and hired a fistful of hirelings.
There are mechanics for the interview process when hiring hirelings in BECMI that are fast and simple. Anfrald and Lava both came in with boosted morales, and aided in hiring the others. I generated them all with Donjon's randomized AD&D NPC generator.
The only real plot development here is that Neela has acquired one of the two crystals she needs to heal her daughter. The other still seems to elude her.
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