Pacifista

1x1 Anime themed story

I'm down for something! Unfortunately, I'm pretty tapped as far as ideas go for setting, but I'd probably be leaning towards one of the urban/sci-fi or fantasy ones. I've got to go to work at the moment, so I might come up with something! I'll look through some of my older ideas too, see if I can't find anything workable.

It begins with a map....

Nodding at Glenn’s suggestion, Roan replied, “It’s as good a start as any! Lead the way.”

The pair reached the town proper, going down a path and taking a turn to reach a two story building, the lower story marked by a glass-less window to display some wares. As Roan approached the door, he could hear some voices from around the corner. “But we just carried it down the hill!” complained what sounded to Roan like a boy a few years younger than him.

An older man hissed back, “You can complain about your arms hurting after having carried it up a hill, now get! You’ll get your pay when you bring me that bookshelf...books included!” Roan heard a few footsteps before a wiry, middle aged man stepped out from behind the shop, spotting Glenn and Roan with his beady eyes through oversized spectacles. “Oh, excuse me, just taking care of a...goods shipment, ahem,” Winston insisted, before reentering his store. Roan went in after him, going over his list in his head.

“What can I do you for?” Winston asked, rearranging some things as he spoke. Turning, he raised his eyebrow when he got a better look at Glenn, but didn’t say anything.

Trying to make it quick, roan but on one of his best smiles, replying, “Just a couple things for a little trip: some flint for starting fires, a good knife, two skins, two cloaks, and a good length of rope. Yeah, that should do it.”

“A trip, hmm?” Winston repeated. Mumbling to himself as he went about, grabbing a few things. He dropped a coil of rope onto a counter, put the empty skins there, then quickly went out back, returning with two cloaks and a stone after a few moments. He did a bit of fidgeting with his fingers, counting, before finally offering, “Six silver and 5 copper should do nicely. Might I also recommend-”

“No,” Roan said quickly.

Winston blinked, as if he’d never heard the word in his life. “W-what do you mean ‘no’?”

“Your recommendation. No thank you,” Roan insisted. He knew what he was probably about to hear, some one time offer just for him, because he liked the look of him. Unfortunately for Winston, Roan was slightly better at coming up with nonsense to spew, and everyone knew trying to cheat a cheat was a fool’s errand. Before Winston could continue, Roan grabbed at the rock, nabbing it before Winston even noticed. Turning it over in his hands, he noticed Winston’s eyes dart between Roan and the rock. Without hesitating, Roan tossed it out of the open window. Winston glared, opening his mouth, but Roan interrupted once more, “You think I can’t recognize flint? It was still half stained in dirt. Don’t tell me you didn’t pull it out of the ground five seconds ago.” Looking over everything again, he finished, “I won’t stand to be insulted: I’ll take everything for five silver flat. And if those skins break I’ll be patching them with some of yours.”

Winston gaped for a moment, before blurting, “Fine!” Roan smiled, before waving for Glenn to pay him as the street rat grabbed for the things. Spotting something else, he lifted a nearby dagger, slipping it into one of the skins nonchalantly as Winston was dealing with Glenn.

Throwing his cloak over his shoulders, rope over his shoulder, and one of the skins tied to his belt (knife hidden within), he flashed one last smile at Winston, saying, “You have a good day Mr. Crowder.” The old merchant, who hadn’t said his name, gave Roan a look of displeasure and befuddlement, waving for him to leave hastily.

Once the two were out, Roan said, “Well, I got what I needed. Wanna make one last stop? Let that friend of yours know you’ll be gone for a bit?” Roan was of course thinking of Scarlett. He didn’t pretend to know the details there, but even thinking about them made Glenn pleased, and Roan’s teenage mind could only think of ‘a girl’.

It begins with a map....

Yeah, I figure it will allow us both to influence things.

I'll probably have something happen in town for the first event, then you'll do something on the road, then I'll do something on the road. Then maybe they'll hit a town? We'll see!

It begins with a map....

Moments after Roan had finished with the firewood, Glenn returned from above just as Ms Dotta handed Roan the parcel of food. After spending a moment trying to find an easy way to carry it, he decided instead to just give it to Glenn later, simply holding it over his shoulder for now.

Dotta took a moment to give Glenn an axe to grind, insisting it was for the best. Roan concurred, “You sure about that? It gets cold at night, my friend.” Speaking of which, Roan added ‘something to help light fires’ to his list of things to pick up. Thinking they were about finished here, Roan said, “Well, see you in a month, Ms Dotta! If this goes well...on second thought, let’s not count our chickens before they hatch.” With one last smile, the boy headed for the door.

Exiting the farmhouse, he made his way back to town, keeping a steady pace to allow Glenn to keep pace with no problem. Once the two were away from the farm, Roan said, “Well, she was nice. I wouldn’t expect everyone we run into to be that nice though: just a fair warning. Now...” Turning to Glenn, he asked, “You know the locals, where’s the best place in town to get some wares?”

It begins with a map....

Nah, it's cool! I understand. I probably would have poked you eventually, I've waited longer. :B

Anyway, I had an idea. What if, say, after this scene, we start alternating 'events'? Like, for example, Roan and Glenn go out into town and I have something happen to them, then they hit the road and you have something happen to them, then maybe I have something else happen to them on the road or they reach town and I have something happen to them. That way, it's not just one person guiding things around. Just a random thought I had!

And in general, did you see them reached the spot on the map as the end of the adventure or just the beginning? I guess we could discuss it more when we get there, it sort of depends on how long we want the game to go.

It begins with a map....

Roan only had a small bit of his pottage when Dotta sent Glenn out for a moment. He tensed a little, sensing the woman had some words for him. She took a moment to ensure he’d feel guilty later, which left him with some mixed feelings. She didn’t think she was just going to ditch him, did she?

He finished the last of his food as Dotty made her offer to give them a little food. Thinking it over, Roan figured that it would probably last them to the next town over, if he remembered correctly. “Well, I couldn’t ask for more! The support is very welcome,” he said as he stood, draining the last of his ale. Taking to the door, he said, “I’m going to give Glenn a hand or two with that firewood.” With that, he slipped out the door, hoping Dotty would whip up their rations while they worked. Roan was eager to get moving again, the tantalizing treasure awaiting him putting a healthy spring in his step.

Bumping into Glenn a few feet from the door, he tapped him on the shoulder as he passed, requesting, “Hey, don’t forget to grab your money before we leave.” Shuffling off in the direction Glenn had come from, he ran through a list in his head. If they didn’t have to worry about food, it would make it a little easier to get what they needed. Roan made a short list: skins for something to drink, a couple of cloaks so they didn’t get soaked in the rain, a knife that could cut more than fruit and bread, rope was always handy. He walked a little aimlessly as he crunched numbers in his head, before finally stumbling over the firewood pile, tripping a little, catching himself before he face planted. Brushing himself off, he grabbed a couple pieces, turning to head back, mind still buzzing. Returning to the house, he deposited the firewood, before dusting his hands off, satisfied with doing the bare minimum.

It begins with a map....

Always glad for free food and drink, Roan accepted his food quietly, taking a sip of his ale before listening to the responses. When Glenn turned red and mentioned ‘Scarlett’, Roan nodded, as if concurring. Whatever ideas Glenn had, Roan could probably back them, at least until they were out of Noarun.

As Dotta allowed Glenn to leave for a few weeks, Roan quickly took another sip of ale, burying his pleased smile, as he nodded. He swallowed hard when Dotta asked him about Calhoun. “Er...” Roan said, pausing. Something popping into his head, he finally responded, “I’m kin of an old friend of his, who had some business with him. Or had, rather, it was all on something from a while ago, I’d be surprised if Calhoun remembered in the first place. My old man probably just sent me to get some hair on my chest, build character, yadda yadda. Then I ran into Glenn, found a mutual interest, and here we are, prepping to leave as soon as possible. I think it’ll be a good experience...and the money wouldn’t hurt either, let’s be honest.” Taking his bowl, he gulped down a bit of the surprisingly tasty stew before continuing, “I’d tell you where we were going, but the directions were pretty vague, I need to check out a couple of things first...”

Finishing, Roan said, “So, if we have you’re blessing regarding our adventure, any advice or help you could give would be much appreciated!” He smiled inwardly, feeling his ability to spew bullcrap almost on command was coming in handy once more. Hopefully.

It begins with a map....

“Gonna be more than a week to get there, and probably a little longer to get back, heh heh heh,” Roan answered, imagining that pockets full of gold might make travel slower. His fantasies of entertainment ended as they finally reached the farm. Looking around, Roan kind of like the atmosphere. As they approached, Ms. Dotta stepped out, making Roan blink in surprise, thinking she’d be a bit older. Suddenly a bit self-conscious, Roan realized he probably looked like...well, a street rat. After Glenn’s short introduction, Roan turned on his charm, saying with a wink as he followed Glenn, “How do you do?”

Entering the house, he looked around the quaint place, before casually taking a seat, acting natural. As Dotta returned, he insisted, trying to be polite, “I don’t mean to intrude: I just ate, so no need to worry about me.” His eye twitched for a moment as he had a sudden desire for something homemade, knowing the bit of bread and that apple wouldn’t sustain him for that long, but he had a proposal, so modesty and lack of pushiness were crucial here. Unable to resist, he made a request, “Well, a glass of water would be nice...”

Getting to the point, he cleared his throat, asking the woman, “Now, I was wondering if I could borrow your boy for a few weeks, maybe a month? Poor old Calhoun, Erther above rest his soul, seems to have some unfinished business. It’s kind of a walk, but we don’t except to go uncompensated. I think it will be well worth it. Call it an adventure if you will.”

It begins with a map....

Roan scratched his head at Glenn’s proclamation of his life’s savings. He figured a farmer wouldn’t have much more that that though. Doing some math in his head, he said, “That should get us what we need...” He added mentally, And I can just get what I want myself. Throwing his apple into the air and catching it without touching the parts he’d taken bites of, he said, “Alright, sounds like a plan. No sense in leaving without saying bye to your folks.” He paused suddenly for a moment, before heading to the door, quickly stuffing his face with the rest of his apple. Exiting the house, he tossed the core aside. Looking down the hill, he saw the rest of Noarun. Looking to the outskirts, he saw some fields, fit enough for livestock. Taking a guess, Roan took few steps in that direction, before wondering why he was heading that way. Then he realized he didn’t exactly to want Glenn ditch him and take the map and money. Not that he seemed like the type to do it, but still, things happened. Maybe he could bum a less useless knife off them or something...

As they walked, Roan added, “Oh yeah, fair warning, it's a little far. Might take more than a couple days." Mentioning the map again also made him consider trying to find a more detailed one somewhere, to try and get a better bead on where they were headed, and get there easier.

It begins with a map....

After rolling up the parchment, Roan took yet another bite of his apple as Glenn asked a few questions. Noticing the hulk eyeing the map, Roan handed it back (though a tad reluctantly) . The thought of monsters didn’t sit well with him, but the risk could have very well been worth the reward. Roan had his moments of insight, and figured that it would be best not to rush into things. He thought of perhaps snatching the map and leaving Glenn, but his size was too notable an asset to ignore, and he didn’t seem to despise Roan yet, so that was a plus.

“Could be monsters, maybe there, maybe on the way. Bandits are always something to worry about too,” Roan warned. Thinking on it a bit harder, he finally said, “Well, since you seem all for it, I say we go at it. Worth a shot at least.” Turning his head, Roan muttered to himself, “Not that I have much better to do...” Clearing his throat, he said, “But traveling and adventuring isn’t all fun and games. We’re going to need supplies. Unfortunately, I have nothing, so unless you have money saved up you’re willing to invest, we’re going to have to, er, acquire some funds. You’re a local: you wouldn’t happen to have a list of the five wealthiest houses in town lying around, would you?”

Taking another bite of his apple, Roan took a look at the bookshelf, not seeing anything but books. Turning his ears elsewhere, he guessed most of the rest of the notable objects in the house were in the greedy paws of others, but he’d be willing to give it another look if he could get some alone time. Being something of a private person, he didn’t like people watching him work.