Chapter 2: Chapter Two: Shotgun Diplomacy
A marketplace on the edge of the fortress capital bustled with activity as people lived their daily lives. A government building sat at the border, with pedestrians walking in and out a young man no older than sixteen unloaded bags of grain from a horse-drawn carriage onto a wheelbarrow beside the carriage. Once it reached three bags lifting the wheelbarrow, he headed to the double doors of the building.
Walking out of the building, an older man stomped out of the building. "Ya are fucking ridiculous!" he yelled over his shoulder, startling the young man. "What's the problem, Mitch?" the young man replied, confused.
"Those fuckers won't send the tax collector to us. Lazy fuckers want us to keep takin two weeks to give them our supplies." the old timer crumpled up the paper he was given, throwing it into the back of the cart, leaning onto the side with one hand.
"Well, ya know that they don't care about us, just the land around us." He handed the wheel barrel to a warehouse worker and walked back to the cart, wiping the sweat off his forehead with a rag.
"I tell you what, Klay," Mitch moved to haul himself onto the front of the carriage, "if we don't find some extra hands, we are gonna be in trouble."
"Well, ain't none of these city folk gonna be willing to go out to the sticks even if they are from the adventures guild." clay moved to close the back of the cart.
Closing up the back of the cart, Klay hopped next to Mitch on the bench of the rickety cart. A voice came walking behind them. "Sorry to listen in on your talk, but yall say ya need some extra hands?" another young man showed up in blue overalls over a plaid shirt mud-caked his bottom seams.
Looking the young man up and down, Mitch grunted. "You ain't from the city whatcha doing here?" it wasn't strange to see dirty farmers at the edge of town, but the black pole he lazily held on his shoulder was.
"Some unfortunate circumstance has left me lookin' for work, and I don't find the city much to my liken." the young man spit into the dirt as he said this, almost to emphasize his point.
Thinking for a moment, Mitch couldn't see the problem in taking on another set of young hands. "Well, you seem like the working type. I guess it's ok if you hop on." looking to Klay, "you good with him coming along?"
Klay smiled, looking at the older man. "Shit, ya don't got to worry about me. Having this guy around will give me less work." Klay jerked his head towards Mitch, holding out his hand. "That old timer is Mitch. My name's Klay. Good to meet ya."
Swinging the bag from his shoulder into the back of the carriage, the young man grabbed Klay's hand and pulled himself into the cart. "Names Joshua. Good meetin ya." Klay groaned as he helped Joshua into the carriage.
Mitch snapped the reins, and the topless carriage lurched forwards and began to roll shakily out of the marketplace, passing by people as they moved along the bricked road. Minutes passed by as the three men sat in silence in the carriage. They finally left the bricked road. The noise of wood wheels scraping against stone disappeared as the street turned to dirt. Hours turned into days as the cart bumped down the road stopping only for their rests at night before Joshua and the others knew a week and a half had passed traveling on the road.
Mitch and Joshua were sitting in the back of the carriage as Klay drove. "We got a few empty houses since the kingdom took our area from the Demons." Mitch worked on a little wooden statue as he talked.
Looking up from his phone, Joshua responded. "That sounds pretty good, but would that be ok with the owners?" waving off his concerns, Mitch said assertively, "It's fine. We can't keep leaving the houses empty for sentimental reasons" smirking, he added, "We needed some fresh blood anyways after the kingdom took over our valley allot of families left leaving this younging and a few others to continue the village and he ain't popular with the ladies." Mitch chuckled at Klay's expense. Looking over his should, Klay was red in the face. "Why you gotta be telling lies like that, ya old Fucker!" Joshua couldn't help but laugh along. "Ah, fuck don't you be laughing too."
Klay turned his head back to the trail, barely having enough time to stop before the horse came up on a fallen tree. "Shit, we got a tree." annoyance dripped at the end of every word.
"Well, ain't that something." Mitch sighed, shaking his head "could ya hand him the axe, Joshua" he pointed to the axe mounted on the inside wall of the carriage.
As Joshua handed the axe to Klay, he groaned. "Why the fuck? I gotta do the choppin." Mitch glared at him. "Well, yer not the one with a weapon, are ya." turning to Joshua, "that stick is somin like a magic staff, right?" Shaking his head, Joshua replied. "Nah, I ain't no Disney princess." he put his phone away and patted his shotgun. "But this will make an animal disappear before midnight," Klay mumbled as he got off the cart. Joshua picked up the M97 lying next to him. "Don't worry, ill be sure to keep ya from getting your ass ait." Klay was still annoyed at having to do the chopping as he nodded in acknowledgment.
Joshua jumped off the carriage as Klay lifted the axe prepping his first swing. "You would think the kingdom would maintain better road maintenance." Joshua was feeling a little nostalgic for home with that sentence. "Ha, why would they just make people like us want to move closer to em for cheap work," Mitch spoke as he got onto the bench on the front of the carriage, ready to move forwards.
As soon as the axe hit the downed tree, an arrow sprouted out of Klay's left arm. He screamed out as it sunk in. "Ah, what the fuck!" he left the axe sticking in the tree as he fell on his ass gripping his arm. "Holy shit!" Joshua raised his shotgun to where the arrow came from, trying to see whoever shot it.
"Well, that's no good," a sickly sweet voice came from inside the tree line. The voice owner walked out with a short sword lazily resting on her shoulder. "Some country bumpkins seem to be damaging my property while I was away." two men came out beside her, one holding a bow with an arrow already notched and ready. "Well, that's no good, Katrina," he said, chuckling. Cocking her head to the side, the woman grinned wickedly. "Well, I think I should introduce myself." Flipping her hair over her should, she stuck her left hand onto her hip. "I'm the rising bandit Queen Backwoods Katrina, and you will be my first tributary's." She smiled at the men Evilly.
Patting the mountain of the man to the left with her free hand, "though if you got problems with that, you could take it up with our frie.." Before she could finish her sentence, a thunderous bang tore through the air as her friend lost his head and shoulders. Katrina turned her head towards him, half covered in red, as his giant axe fell to the ground. "Well, I can't give ya Dandruff shampoo as tribute," Joshua remarked as he ejected a spent 12 gauge shell out of his M97.
Katrina couldn't believe her eyes as she saw her trump card crumpled to the ground. Another bang and scream sent the archer to the floor, yelling in pain. The archer gripped the stump where his shoulder used to be. Another spent shell dropped onto the ground.
Walking forwards, Joshua kept the M97 pointed toward the remaining two bandits. Once again covered in a fresh coat of red, Katrina fell onto her ass, dropping her blade and scurrying backward in terror until she hit a tree.
"You fucking son of a BITCH!" the archer screamed at Joshua. "Oh fuck off, asshole," Joshua remarked before ending the conversation with another shot to his head.
Katrina's mind was filled with thinking of ways to escape this situation. When she finally thought of something. She looked up, ready to swoon this man off his feet but was instead met with the end of a barrel. One last bang cleared away any thought of escaping as the tree behind her was given a new hole and paint job.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone