Morek stared hard at both the Dark Skayleigh and the Woad Elf that strode past him. Well, he had leftovers of his initial glare, and decided to show it to the rude Elf. He deflated when Zin and Laila strode in however, and simply gave them a defeated wave. Kayden eyed Nuva and Arasell, and chuckled at Geremiah, having heard and seen a few flamboyant Vrettonian Knights. The Prince winked at Laila, quite enjoying a mischief maker in the group. Behind them, three rough looking men followed them in and took chairs of their own. Two hand bastard swords, one at their hip and the other along their back. The third was a heavy Knight with a morningstar, his helm covering his head in its entirety. 

As if on cue, as everyone sat down, there seemed to be a quiet energy about the young man at the center, as if he was suddenly 10 years older. Judging by his eyes and the hint of melancholy to his smile, he'd probably seen some things many haven't. "Ok, I believe that's everybody." Kayden said confidently, then stood up out of his chair, one hand resting comfortably on the hilt of the sword  that was scabbarded to his belt, and the other on his hip. He gazed at them all levelly, and nodded in approval. "As some of you hadn't heard, but probably had guessed, I'm Kayden. If you accept these terms I am about to give you, that makes me your captain as well." He stepped and turned a bit, letting everyone have a good view of him. Morek grabbed a second torch and lit it as dusk turned to night. The insects chirped outside as they began.

"Before we begin, there are a couple things. First I'll speak about what is on everyone's mind. Loot." The three men that had entered, and possibly more, murmured in approval. "You get the bounty for what you kill yourself, but if we find loot somewhere, we save it, put it in a pile, and distribute it evenly. I'll hand you out items that will suit you, but of course you can discuss who should get what in a preferably non-violent manner. Which leads me to something I'll let you know before we start too. I'll say that just because I am a leader doesn't make me a strict boss. I'm not here to take away anyone's freedom. These are the Borderlands after all. The one place on Torek you get by on the sweat of your own brow, short of making the suicidal journey to the Southland. I'm wanting an open forum, and letting everyone have say." he said, and then sighed. It looked almost as if he didn't want to say the next part. 

"That being said, I expect you to adhere to my orders when the swords are drawn, because the worst thing to happen to any company is a lack of discipline and cohesion. If I see someone screwing over another to satisfy their own interests, I'll kill them myself. I will also warn possible traitors in the group. You see I have a fail-safe or two on those who think they can fuck us over. Let me introduce you to Morek." 

The muscled Dwarf strode over and stood beside Kayden, giving everyone a nod. "Well met." the Dwarf said. His first words since the meeting had begun. Kayden continued. "I count myself as a more than capable warrior, but I really have no doubt that Morek could kill anyone in this room, including me. I've seen him do things that I didn't think were possible or sane. Don't let the lack of speaking or the comical expressions fool you. Even if you could somehow kill him, he'd take you down with him." 

A large and heavy shape landed with a graceful yet powerful force just behind Kayden, crouched. The shadowy figure loomed over him from behind, and let out an ominous hiss. Kayden didn't turn around, but glanced backwards and gave a pleased smile. "Meet fail-safe number two. His name is Jex." Morek gave the advancing shape a nod of respect, almost a bow. The shape stepped out of the shadows. It was a Drabarian, albeit an odd and particularly fierce one at that. With armored scales of green, and orange marks in the shape of blades running along its back and forearms, ridged spikes ran down its spine, it looked closer to a creature than a humanoid. Perhaps its most unnerving feature were its teeth, that glinted like metal in the torchlight. It's spiked tail flickered back and forth as it's yellow eyes gazed around with an unnatural intelligence. Despite the obvious beastial quality of him, he wore functional leather armor. Jex held a wicked recurve bow in his right hand, and a double headed Battle Axe was strapped to his back. 

"Jex is a bounty hunter, and is playing a pivotal role in helping us find the quarry I invited you here to see. Which leads me to explain the mission." The Prince knelt down, reached under the table, and then pulled out a [url=https://67.media.tumblr.com/b45a9744e5f1996ed3e793ece7053545/tumblr_oa5683E8xz1sx8o26o1_1280.png]map[/url] that showed the region west of Starkvale. "Despite the prowess of me and my two friends, it's a harsh undertaking to relieve a keep of 50 men. Bandits." he said. "Many of you might have heard, but there have been an increasing number of attacks on caravans heading to the city through the greater Dethu'lun. These men have been organized and well armed, and they've disappeared time and again to an unknown location. Jex here was hired by them to pursue a runaway of their crew. He did his job and caught him, but instead of paying Jex like they promised, they decided to make some extra coin and betray him, and sell him as a slave." Jex bared his steel fangs at that. "[color=f26522]No longer.[/color]" the Drabarian said. 

"It just so happened that we found our friend and freed him. He can lead us to their keep, which is in a secretive location. If we capture the keep, not only will we have 50 bandit bounties to our name, but a cavern system behind the keep leads us overlooking a camp of Ogres and Rogs that we can snare unsuspecting." he explained, meaning the fierce, and ugly creatures that frequently enjoy raiding human settlements. "Not only will we have the largest haul of bounties, but we will have two areas to conduct our guild business. A Guild hall in the city, and a Keep out in the wilds to establish a forward base, and sally forth as we wish. However, there is something we must speak of first."

Morek turned around, and walked over to a shadowed corner of the tower as Kayden paused for a moment, and with one hand, began pulling out a giant treasure chest that must have weighed hundreds of pounds. It was rimmed with brass, with a stout iron lock at its center. Morek set it behind Kayden, then bashed the lock apart with his Axe. The young captain turned around, and nodded to Morek. The Dwarf opened up the chest, to reveal not treasure, but a man with tousled hair bound and gagged. His eyes were wide and pleading, and he muffled a yell. "This is one of the bandits." Kayden explained before anyone could accuse him of kidnapping. "If he were caught by the Starkvale authorities, he'd have been hanged. We're a bit kinder, in exchange for information. Jex pried it out of him that tomorrow afternoon, there will be a prominent lord escorted by 15 knights to go through the forest-" he said, nodding south of them, 'closest to here. 30 of the bandits will be out collecting that juicy prize." 

Morek shut the chest, and Kayden's face turned to them, youthful features now looking cut from stone. His dark eyes flashed in the torchlight, steeled. He seemed every bit the commander he claimed to be. "If you're not with me, leave now. Take the drink if you wish. But if you are going to be apart of the group, then I will let us have the decision making happen now. Do we attack them tonight, at their full strength, albeit unprepared for us. Or do we risk the Lord and his men's safety, while attacking on two fronts. I will say that I am loathe to simply attack their keep in full force and leave the caravan to die tomorrow, which is why I suggest some of us go to the Knight's aid and the rest of us attack the keep. I'll not leave them to their fates without aid, in good conscience. While you're at it, let us know who you are and what you can do to be an effective addition to the company." 
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