The sun had already been rising for a little over an hour. The light that shined into Romt's resting place between two old salvaged train cars had woken him up, and he was quick to begin preparing for his latest trip. Generally a larger than average sounding task to him; Normally he'd just have to worry about the target. But now, he had to be concerned with getting a team together. A team of ponies who were probably not guaranteed to become a team at all. This would be, if anything, tedious. But he figured if the mare wasn't able to take on the job by herself, it was quite possibly too dangerous to tackle at this point. He had planned on leaving today anyways, so travelling with the mare wasn't too much of an issue. Aside from the fact Romt himself hardly traveled with others for a long period of time. He didn't mind having others along, though he never looked for company. It'd be hard to travel as he did with others anyhow; He doubted they'd be willing to be as on the move as he was at times. That being said, ponies, and in extension, most races in the Wasteland, were always full of surprises.

Romt knew, before going to the Turnpike Tavern, he needed to gather supplies. From what he had noticed yesterday, Brissletooth had pretty much everything he needed. The hound hadn't thought to of purchased what he needed before going to the bar with Pump-Action. He wished he would have, as it'd of saved him some time today. Or... Maybe he would have missed out on this job if he did that. Perhaps it was best that he was shopping now? The thoughts began making his head hurt, so he simply shook them away and trotted along in search of Brissletooth's caravan.

It didn't take long to find; Ponies had flocked in to purchase the wares Brissletooth brought, and Romt, for a moment, simply stood back and watched as the amount of ponies lessened. Everypony took a little something different; Healing potions, bandages, a nice weapon or two. He was having good business, that was for sure. It worried Romt that he might not even get what he needed after these ponies were through. Soon enough, the group of ponies began to lessen more and more, finally giving him some room to trot up to the caravan and do his own shopping. A small amount of worry lingered in the back of his mind about Freya waiting, but he tried not to think about it too much as to not rush and forget something.

"Aay! Look who's here!" Pump-Action said happily, gaining the attention of both Brissletooth and Cottonbottom, along with the few remaining customers. A smile crossed Brissletooth's face, as he looked over at his niece. "Keep an eye on these ones over here, alright?" He asked, as he glanced out at the customers, unsure if they'd try anything. He simply hoped not, and felt relieved as Cottonbottom responded. "Of course, uncle~" She replied in her usual sweet tone. Though one Romt didn't hear before due to her being tired and irritated from their travels yesterday.

Brissletooth approached Romt, leaving Cottonbottom to keep her word. "Howdy there! Good t' see ya again before one of us took off." He said, generally showing a friendly nature towards Romt. Who appreciated the general kindness. "I'm actually about to take off before too long." Romt said, figuring it'd be a good idea to get to the point and not stay for a long period of time. "I thought I'd get some supplies before leaving. A few Healing Potions if you have them, some water... Two bottles ought to be enough. And a box of ammunition for this gun that I think you're familiar with." He tried to make a joke, and though the humor wasn't exactly laugh-out-loud, Brissletooth was amused anyways. "Heheh, yup. .357 Mags, I'm pretty sure." His words were confirmed as truth when Romt nodded his head, and soon after, Brissletooth was trotting back towards his stock. "Got it. I ought'a have a few of those potions 'round here somewhere. Keep tight an' get a few caps out, I'll be back in a minute."

Romt watched as Brissletooth trotted off, before shrugging his bag strap off his shoulder to plummet downwards until his hand caught it. He brought the bag up to his face and opened it up, digging with one hand in search of his cap pouch and finding it without too much issue. As he usually tried to keep it on top rather than burying it under everything else he had, for convenience. He spent a moment after finding the pouch simply starring off into the distance. Uncertainty crossed his mind more than once while trying to sleep last night. Was this a good idea? He wasn't sure, honestly. He figured he could question Freya once they were on the road, that was about it. There wasn't really a whole lot to know, though... Aside from the identities of these ponies they were looking for, and an actual explanation of these raiders. He tried to not expect too much, snapping out of his circle-running thoughts as Brissletooth came back, a small crate with the items Romt wanted in his mouth. 

As the stallion put down the crate, he looked up at Romt. "There ya go, son. Two of them potions, a few bottles of water, and a box of food for that little gun of yours. That'll equal out t' 80 caps." He held out a hoof, expecting Romt's caps. Romt was quick to comply, dropping his bag to the ground and opening up his money-pouch, pulling out the caps (Which were pretty much all the caps he had) and handing them to Brissletooth. He watched as the stallion counted out the caps, finally giving a nod of approval for Romt to take his items. Which he quickly did, stuffing his money-pouch back in his bag before collecting his items. He carefully placed the potions in his bag, not wanting them to end up spilling everywhere and making a mess if he was clumsy. After getting them stuffed into the bag nice and snug, he reached back into the crate to grab his ammunition and water, placing the items in somewhat more carelessly, before closing up the bag and slinging it back over his arm.

"Appreciate your business." Brissletooth said, and Romt was pleased to hear it. "Appreciate you doing business with me. I have a feeling I'll be needing those potions within too long." His words caused a bit of concern for Brissletooth, and his face showed it. "Heh, well... Be careful, y'hear? I'll always be open for business when you need it, so come on up anytime ya see me." 

"I certainly will." Romt replied, before turning and starting to trot off. Pump-Action whistled and waved a hoof as he left, and Romt raised one of his hands and waved back as he continued trotting. His shopping was done, now all he needed to do was move towards the Turnpike Tavern so he could get going. His hand soon dropped to his side as he got farther away from the caravan, and he focused on moving forwards.

---

Freya was, as Romt expected, waiting in front of the Turnpike Cavern for him. As the hound approached, a smile crossed her face. She was happy to see that he hadn't decided to back out of the job, and instead was just running a little late. Not late enough to be troublesome, but late nonetheless. "There you are. I assume you have everything you need?" She asked, figuring the answer was obvious but she wanted some confirmation. "Yes. I'm ready whenever you are." Romt replied, though soon speaking again. "But I do want some answers."

"Answers about...?" Freya questioned, seeming open to revealing what he wanted to know. Romt asked the most obvious question first. "I want to know more about these raiders. Tell me about their leaders, and what we can expect." His words were responded to with a sigh, and Freya simply began trotting off, gesturing for the hound to follow. "We'll talk as we trot, eh? No need to stand around wasting time." She seemed to want to leave, and Romt decided quickly about following after her, soon right next to the Pegasus as they began travelling out of town. 

"So, these raiders." Freya began, not glancing in Romt's direction. "There's a few groups of them, at least a few groups of really dangerous ones. There's a top-three listing on which groups are considered the most dangerous, and those three are our targets. First, at number three, you have a band of raiders lead by two Earth Pony stallions, the Semi-Auto brothers. They are as brilliant mechanics as they are vicious savages, tending to make their own weapons to slaughter innocents with. I've heard they have been able to make some terrifying weaponry, so after we clean them up we might be able to swipe some of their goods for ourselves. Just make sure we leave room to carry the heads."

"Any idea what those weapons might be...?" Romt questioned, and Freya shook her head. "No idea. I've heard they have some sort of pre-war tech, though. Possibly really dangerous stuff. We'll have to be careful."

Freya didn't take long to get onto the next subject. "At number two, there's Fletch. He's a bit of a special case. His band are still raiders, but they are usually real pumped up on drugs. Buck, Rage, Dash, you name it. He makes it a necessity to have all that shit in your system to be a part of his group. He's got a lot of addicts under his control, but they are generally weak. The drugs will make them difficult to take down, and bloodthirsty consider they have to fight for Fletch to keep them supplied. I've also heard of Fletch possibly having access to Hydra."

"Hydra?" Romt questioned, still not too knowledgeable about the Wasteland and it's many forms of substances. 

"It's crazy." Freya replied, shaking her head. "It's like one of those normal Healing Potions, except way more powerful. I've heard it can put broken bones back in place, and even help with bullets that are lodged in ya. It does it all quick, too. It can make a pony really hard to kill, but it can have some real bad side-effects. You could be dead not before after using it if you're unlucky." 

Romt nodded. "Sounds like this could make our job more difficult if it's true." He said, the effects seeming to be extreme to him. It was actually kind of terrifying how far that could go. "Yeah, it really would. Especially if the other raiders had access to it as well. We could be in some trouble, then." Freya replied, seeming to share Romt's concern on the matter. For good reasons.

"So, what about this big number one?" Romt questioned, curious about it. Freya was quiet for a moment, thinking. A moment of silence passed, but eventually she responded. "We'll worry about that one if we get that far, yeah? Shouldn't bite off more than you can chew, or you'll be too distracted to work effectively." She smiled, looking up at him. "Besides, we have some ponies to track down. One specifically right now by the name of Bridgeback. He's apparently a pretty tough pony, and actually used to run with raiders. I figure he'll be good in a firefight, and might give us an edge over the raiders. Smart, huh?"

"Are you sure hiring an ex-raider to go kill raiders is a good idea?" Romt asked plainly, and Freya thought it over. "Well... Eh..." She glanced down at the ground, before looking back at Romt. "Yeah! I think it's a good idea, since he probably has a lot of experience." Her words brought some concern into Romt's mind, but he nodded anyways. "If you say so. I suppose after hearing about those raiders that we shouldn't pass on the chance for help. I just hope he doesn't get any ideas about going back to his old ways."

"Anypony ever tell you that ya worry too much?" Freya asked, and Romt nodded slowly. "I hear that, occasionally. But I worry for a good reason." He responded, only to have Freya roll her eyes and stare ahead. "Whatever, it'll be fine. Let's hurry along, eh? We have a long enough trot ahead of us as it is." She started trotting a bit faster, and Romt sighed as he followed after her. Hoping for the best out of the situation.

The two soon took leave of New Appleloosa, and began their journey to Junction Town. For better or worse, considering Freya's idea. The Wasteland was a dangerous place, and though travelling throughout it was a normal task, there was usually a few hardships. You never truly knew what'd happen out here...

---
[I]-Footnote ~ Companion Perk Obtained[/I]

[B]Hit First And Last:[/B] [I]Freya's fast nature in combat has rubbed off on you, allowing for you to be generally more agile in combat. As long as Freya is a companion, you gain a +1 to your Agility while in combat, and a +2 to your Combat Sequence.[/I]