Author: Kawabata, Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2023 1:51 PM, Post Subject: Never Leave Vilpamolan Alive[P,R]

If you were a mercenary in this world and on this continent then at some point you had to come to Vilpamolan. It was inevitable really, with all the gangs, crime, and protection rackets going on in the city and surrounding area there was always work of some kind. Even if you didn’t find work in the city itself, chances were good at some a caravan needing guards or a client needing a bodyguard would come this way. Sometimes for a day, sometimes for a few days and then move on. That’s what the ronin was hired to do at the moment, her current client needed a bodyguard, one that was more subtle and did not draw too much attention, for his journey.

He was an information broker coming to the city to meet with a gang leader here to sell information about a rival gangs activity in Adeluna. This was a simple enough job, as Kawabata’s role was more for when the client was travelling, since the local gang had offered protection while on their turf. This seemed agreeable with the client so he allowed Kawabata time off to do as she pleased until he was finished with his business. They’d spend a night here and then leave in the morning to head back to Adeluna.

”He’ll be done for the evening soon I’d guess.” She muttered to herself sitting outside on a bench against the wall of a food vendor’s place. She had a chicken, a whole chicken, that she was picking away at, for a backwater the cook knew his spices and how to make sure it was well cooked but not dry. She leaned back against the wall as she ate, her smoldering pipe sitting next to her that she would take puffs on every now and then along with a large mug of beer. The gang would send a runner to find her to follow and collect her client once he was done and he’d being paying for a room her each of them to stay in the for the night.

Until then she sat and ate her meal, gulped her beer and puffed her pipe while watching the streets. As it was slowly getting darker now some vendors were packing up for the night to head home, others were setting up now instead, legal and illegal, in this city both were the same thing really. A group of about twenty or so people of various races, but all wearing similar clothing, walked into the street and stopped at one of the vendors that were setting up.

At the same time, Kawabata glanced around a noticed something that made her hackles raise; shadowy figures in the allies, watching the group in the street that just arrived. It could have been nothing, but when the food vendor’s door locked with an auditable thunk of a heavy lock Kawabata sighed. ”Shit…” Figures moved, tension in the air rose, some noticed, some did not, but something was about to happen, anyone above the street might in for a show.