Horus continued on his way towards New Reno. The trip gave him much time to think about what he was doing, and if he should continue on this path of a mercenary or go back to scavenging. He considered the dangers, death at the forefront. He knew mercenary work was going to be bloody, and being a ghoul meant he'd likely be considered for more dangerous tasks where expendable employees are preferred. That coupled with the fact that he would now be actively seeking danger rather than avoiding it as he was accustomed to gave him pause for thought along the way. On the other hand the life he had chosen up to this point had brought him no end of strife. Living in constant worry and fear for how he would make the following days meal and just trying to stay out of the line of fire had begun to wear him down. When he tried to gain support and a sense of security by trusting in others he found himself betrayed. His old life had seen no improvement to his sense of safety and he knew something needed to change. He finally resolved the conflict and told himself the only way he'd get his security is if he earned it. Through the bloody work of a mercenary he'd raise the caps to make something of himself. He hadn't quite worked out what he'd do with a fortune's worth of caps yet, but he knew well enough that money meant power, just like it did in the old world. --------------- Arriving in New Reno was a dazzling sight for Horus. Every turn felt like it welcomed him with new lights and fancy signs for casino with criers calling out to passers by in an attempt to usher them into the casinos. He quickly noticed however that none had called out to him. It didn't take long for Horus to be turned away from the first bar he sought entry to. He scoped out a few more but saw them adorned with "No Ghouls" or "No Zombies" signs at the entrance. He had begun to lose hope when finally he found a small bar without a doorman to refuse him, "The Fast Fix". As he entered he felt a few glares but not every patron payed him mind or made him feel unwelcome. He took a seat at the bar and ordered a drink. As the bartender approached him he noticed the man take a visual scan, though he felt it was directed more at his attire rather than his decaying flesh. [color=orange]"What blew your corpse into town ghoul?"[/color] The man barked. [color=green]"Looking for work."[/color] Horus croaked. [color=orange]"Yeah? You planning on being an exhibit of the human body for school kids?"[/color] [color=green]"Looking to make an exhibit for whoever pays the most."[/color] The bartender cut his laugh short after Horus sharply replied to his insult. The man scanned him a second time, leaning over to get a better look at Hours' weapons. [color=orange]"Head out to these coordinates and ask for a guy named Mercutio, tell him Earl sent ya. They might have something for you."[/color] The man passed Horus a slip of paper. Horus quickly slammed back the last of his drink and snatched up the paper with a quick [color=green]"Thanks."[/color] before briskly walking out of the bar. Horus felt pure excitement as he set foot from the bar's entrance but quickly brought himself back to reality. The man could have gave him phony coordinates just to send him on a wild goosechase or could be trying to set him up for pure hatred of ghouls. However, this was the best shot he had been given. It had been the only bar not to refuse him entry and the only man who didn't refuse to speak to him. He plotted his route and began the journey to meet Mercutio. The trip was a reasonably long one and would take 2 days. On the first night Horus made camp sheltered by some rocks out in the wasteland. He dreamt of the old world and his life before the bombs fell before his dream was interrupted by a sharp pain followed by black nothingness. -------------------- Horus groaned and croaked as he awoke, still looking into a void of darkness. He quickly realized his head had been covered and his hand bound with wire. He attempted to struggle for a moment but only felt the wire dig into his rotting flesh. He could hear the thrashing and shouting of a woman nearby and the heavy breathing of others in the room. His mind began to flood with questions. Where was he? Who had knocked him out? Was he set up? Who else was prisoner with him? Where had they put his hat? He began to doubt himself and cursed his ridiculous idea of becoming a mercenary. He suddenly felt the material over his face pulled away and met eyes with another ghoul, clearly his captor. Horus scanned the room and took note of the other captives. His eyes were first drawn to the woman thrashing in place and wondered if the other ghoul planned to shoot her on the spot. Glancing at her face he saw she looked a bit ragged and unkempt. He was about to assume she was perhaps a slave or a captured drifter until he saw her build. He quickly realized an individual doesn't gain muscle mass on a slave's diet and and his mind only filled with more questions as to how she had found herself here. He noticed a man in a heavy black trench coat. Judging by the man's attire alone he certainly had the look of a mercenary but for a 2nd time Horus retracted the assumption upon seeing the man's face. He had an almost dashing appearance to him and reminded Horus of the old adventure serials he watched before the war. The man's look gave him a sense of too good to be true and following suit with the woman, only raised further question. Horus met eyes with another captive and saw the look he gave at the site of a ghoul. He had grown to pick up on the face people made when they saw a ghoul and were unhappy with the encounter. Horus ignored the unspoken comment, over the years he'd grown accustomed to it and began to expect it as a first reaction from smoothskins. The man looked offset to the rest of the captives, not boasting any obvious astounding physical fitness but appeared to dress the part given their situation. Horus associated the leather jacket as a sort of 'tough guy' trope given all the films he viewed pre war. Horus ironically noticed the most obvious captive last. A man who looked as if he had been a bear in a previous life. He looked tough, both due to his obvious physical fitness and intimidating scars across his face. The man certainly looked on the older side but still gave the impression that he could fight like a 27 year old. The sight of him gave Horus a sinking feeling that if this man was captive alongside him, his captors meant business. Horus' attention turned back to the ghoul. The ghoul went on to explain that he had a job for the group, involving tracking down people who had murdered members of his own group. Horus' ears pricked up at the mention of 2000 caps. 'This was it' he thought. The beginning to his fortune. [color=green]"I'm in."[/color]