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	[color=598527]"Fortune, fortune, smile and fade, I haven't seen you much of late, I need you now, cannot wait..."[/color] 

	It was the dawn of the meeting day that brought the tiefling mercenary and hunter Defiance strolling towards the town of Forsaken, singing to himself to pass the time and steady the pace of his march, having departed his last camp before the break of dawn to make the meeting on time. The individual carried all his worldly belongings with him, from the pack on his back with his supplies and tools, to the curious blades on his belt and the strange design of his armor, everything he had to his name was somewhere on his person. It was how he preferred to live, and as the town that was his current destination came into the view, the red skinned tiefling grinned as he continued singing to himself, strolling steadily along as he smiled, crossing the edge of the town's boundary, moving at a steady pace tempered by his song. He unfolded the letter again, pausing to read it once more as he continued to sing to himself, not quite as loud now as he was not here to cause trouble. Though given the trio of individuals approaching, well, they seemed to want to have a word with the singing swordsman.

	"Now what's a devil like you doin' walking in at the crack of dawn singin' that strange song of yours? Mind explanin' why your here son? Local sheriff and authority, before you ask."

	The song paused, and the tiefling looked the three men, sheriff and his deputies no doubt, up and down with a lazy smile on his face. Golden orbs took in their stances, weapons, and general disposition before lifting the letter he was holding and waggling it with a laugh. His tone was rather relaxed, and friendly to boot despite the suspicion and concern the three men were regarding him with as he answered their challenge. He didn't surrender the letter to any of them of course, that would be folly given it was his ticket onto the estate proper, so he stood a respectful distance from them, mainly since they stopped there, and chattered away.

	[color=598527]"A job offer from a local estate, and I'm just keeping up the spirits for the march. Any working folk are already up and about, like yourselves I would hope, so I would only be disturbing the lay-a-bouts, the elders, and young ones. Nothing to go fretting your law enforcing manners over I assure you. But, I have a meeting to attend to, so unless I am being detained, my friends?"[/color]

	After a few hanging moments, the sheriff shook his head and stepped aside to let the tiefling go about his day. With a half salute, Defiance strolled on, continuing to hum the refrain of the song he had been before singing, at least showing a modicum of respect to those not yet rousted by his nonsense. He was considering the letter now properly as he walked, easy going stance and stroll hiding his thoughts rather well. The gold was the obvious lure, and for any other sellsword that would be enough. Gold didn't interest him a whole lot, not beyond paying for his supplies and a place to lay his head out of the rain when he wasn't run out of town. No it was the details of the job, the task at hand, that interested him more than anything else. Spites sake, it wasn't even the hippogriffs that interested him. While they were truly fascinating beasts and many stories he heard from these foreign lands seemed to place them in a variety of roles and manners, it was the other guest of this convoy and drive that held his interest the most, and was the ultimate reason he was here.

	A living, breathing Pheonix, captured in the, well, flesh he supposed. How that came about was only one of many questions. He'd poured over books back home and abroad about the flaming, winged marvels, their regenerative properties and everything they were capable of. How so much potential and cunning had gotten captured, from the sounds of the letter, was intriguing. Money could do a lot, it could grease palms, twist arms, scream and shout until it was blue in the face, but it couldn't do everything. He didn't think money alone could capture a pheonix, and the mention of the pheonix reaching its destination being paramount was, well, concerning. It had gotten his interest enough to bring him walking this far abroad this fast, he preferred to meander more as he drifted, but this was too intriguing to pass up. At worst, he made a tidy sum of gold and could afford to get some master's work done on his sword, or what passed for masters in these lands. Still, he could use the edge, literally in this case, and it was expensive getting that kind of smithing assistance.

	It wasn't too difficult to track down the estate, Defiance only had to ask a few times to get someone to give him a straight answer, far quicker than normal. Seems folks were either more accommodating, or quicker to answer questions to get him to go away, and either worked for him. Approaching the estate from the front he was promptly challenged by a guard, demanding to know what business he might have with the head of the estate. The tiefling offered the letter to the guard, with a grin and continued light smile as he spoke while the guard reviewed the letter for its authenticity.

	[color=598527]"As your no doubt told to be expecting, I've been sent that charming little piece of parchment for a job, and I'm here to answer the summons. Defiance, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm sure your superior and I will be getting along quite well, if the contents of that latter are anything to go by."[/color]

	The guard would return the letter and a servant walking by would be directed to show the Tiefling to the meeting room. Wonderful, he didn't get to wander the estate unsupervised, that wasn't any fun at all. He was hoping to sneak a peek at this pheonix before the meeting but, alas, no such luck. He was admitted to some study where two people had already beaten him there. Hopefully it was more than three, or else this would be a very bad look indeed. He offered a formal bow to those present already while his gaze drifted from one to the other, sizing each of them up. First, flaming redhead, spry and lean looking, quite the eye catching presence. Well, if it wasn't for the dragon that accompanied her, which got a raised eyebrow, though one might glean from the brief expression it was genuine surprise if nothing else. He'd, of course, heard of and read a great deal about dragons, though one as a companion was not something he was familiar with. Whoever this woman was, she had quite the stories to tell about how she came about being in the company of such a well respected being back in his homeland. Perhaps he'd even get her to talk about it, or direct his questions directly to the dragon. They were highly intelligent beings, of course, and could very easily speak for themselves should they so desire.

	Next was the other individual present, a massive orc, with all the typical features. Broad, strong, and tough was his kind, and not one to lightly tangle with, all things he could respect and see why such a being would be requested. He carried the kind of presence some retainers of powerful nobility did back home, the kind of air that would silence a room to let their lord speak, or to carry such words themselves. An air of command, almost but not quite, but what would a mercenary of any flavor need with such a presence, and why would they not find steady and gainful position with a powerful warlord if they had such a presence? More questions than answers to be had from mere analysis, and the strain on the bench was apparent as well, only confirming the orc's weight of muscle and gear. He knew some allies who dismissed orcs as brutes and nothing more and it cost them dearly, and this one would be worth watching intently. The silence was palpable, and that simply just would not do for this Tiefling, who rose from his bow with a trademark grin and flourish.

	[color=598527]"Well met my no doubt soon to be comrades. Defiance, mercenary and hunter, a distinct pleasure to make the acquaintance of both of you. I do hope that I'm not the last one and, by extension, fashionably late?"[/color]

	Defiance grabbed a chair and took a seat, seeming to recline back and rest, setting his pack down beside the chair he was thoroughly misusing, two of the feet resting off the ground. His tone had been genuinely friendly, regarding the two with equal ease, an open offer to start their potential working relationships off on the right foot, as friends or at least friendly coworkers. Not all bought into that nonsense of course, but if they had been backed into a corner, better to be on good terms with those you would be heading into the afterlife with. His smiling grin remained, light as it was, as he either listened to their responses, if at all, or otherwise watched for those others who would be joining them on this venture to make a great amount of coin. And, for those who had other motives or interests, see about fulfilling those. The sooner he got a look at this pheonix, the happier he would be, though he wouldn't let that impact his currently sunny disposition in the slightest. Oh no, that would be no fun at all, and if he were in the mind, he might just start humming again. That would probably irritate though, so he kept his peace for the moment.