07.09d: Pecking Order

[Joshua]

On cue, Rogbar will arrive. "Greeting Cameron. It has been a while, although, I think I did miss you last time you were here. I am glad to see you have returned and apparently know how to keep orcs in line. That's not easy to do." The 4' and a half (ish, he's a cat, length is all relative) orange cat in boots* will walk up. "Thanus, it is good to see you again. Though I expect you to decline, once again, I must ask if you are willing to join my crew." He doesn't wait for a response before ordering the equivalent of a white russian with extra cream.

"It is good that you two are becoming friends, allies in here are hard to come by. Cameron, have you seen my company in action yet?"
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*: No relation to any other puss who may or may not be able to wear boots.

[khadjair]

Cameron chuckles just a little. "I needed to remember some things from my own people's history. Strength is respected, but there's more..." he takes a good long swallow. "I don't want to say I want to civilize them, but there are certain things that I think will need to be taught regarless. Like the fact that a strong, quick mind is as valuable as a strong, powerful arm."

He considers then shakes his head. "I'm sorry, I don't believe I have though I woul dbe interested in seeing sometime, I did some work with siegeworks and I'm curious.. what even still works here. I imagine few of my skills translate well."

[NPC]

"Rogbar. It's good to see you again," Thanus says cordially. "But yes, I intend to. One would not put-" he pauses here, looks at Cameron, before changing his mind. "I would not do well in combat." Thanus proceeds to order a finger of everything, then pours it into a single horn and drops a cherry into it, before lighting it very carefully with a single spark. It goes FWOOSH as it ignites, before dancing back down into a jolly, jolly glow. "Cherry bomb," he calls it, before blowing it out and sipping at it.

"Now. As to other artisans unrecognized by the guilds for one reason or another. There's a Tinker Gnome, goes by Rakfasa, who got ostracized because he makes mechanical contraptions, the likes of which you might be familiar with. The gnomes don't like him because it's not pretty; the dwarves don't like him because he gets some very, ah, impressive work. The goblins love him - everything he makes explodes one way or another." Thanus coughs slightly. "I think the last thing he was trying to work on was some kind of mass-bullet shot using vast quantities of a material he calls 'rubber'."

[Joshua]

"he asked us to field test that. Turns out this rubber can be hard as a rock or soft as goo depending on what shadow you're in. We weren't able to find one where it worked properly. It even fluctuated here enough that the repeater broke." Rogbar will shrug, lapping at his milk and vodka. "The laws of the world change where you are. It means that most things, like magic or devices need to be fine-tuned to be able to use. Magic and things you can mix up quickly usually only take a few minutes, but often that's a few minutes you don't have. With enough time though, most things will work almost anywhere, you just need to adapt it to multiple laws and hope for the best."

He will pause, "We did consider bringing him on as support, but he was a little... too apt to tinker. He can barely sit in a carriage without taking the wheels off."

[khadjair]

Cameron takes a deep gulp from his mug then nods. "Rakfasa sounds like the sort I would like to meet, since I'm a mechanician by training, a craftsman by preference, and a siege engineer under duress." He looks over to Rogbar and tilts his head. "No offense meant, of course."

He thinks a little on this. "I also think having an area where the more.. adventurous craftsmen sorts have open air available, or at least are less likely to bring down a cavern when things explode would be a good thing. There's a little too much... energetic experimentation, I think, for underground testing. And building it so that it's safe? Well... I have a few ideas on that. Some would call it cheating."

He considers a little further. "Rogbar, I may also need to ask your opinion on things as time goes on. Right now, frankly, the orc camp is great if we get assaulted by an Iron age horde. However, I worry that if there is a move they will use more.. sophisticated siegecraft. I want to design proper fortifications, but my specialty with them was always trying to bring them down, not putting them up, so I may miss some of the finer points or worse, overbuild and minimize interior space. I may need to have the plans, and later the construction, inspected for that purpose."

He takes another swig, emptying his mug. "Excuse me, I seem to have discovered the bottom of my stein. I'll be back in a moment."

[Joshua]

Robgar will lean over to Thanus and whisper. "That was fast. Do you know if he's that much of a drinker or that upset by the question?"

He will ponder. "Battle-shock maybe? That's a tough one."

[ShadowOfPreservation]

"Maybe just the stress of responsibility," says a black feathered tengu as she makes her way over. "I don't think you offended in any way," Jiga says to Rogbar before giving a slight bow to Thanus. "Greetings good sir. Standing up to that massive Orc was rather impressive. I'm fairly sure I'd not have had the courage to stand my ground like that."

[Joshua]

"Jiga, have you met Cameron yet? He is one of the other Amberites of Ht'Gon. I could introduce you, if you wish." Rogbar will offer, still enjoying his milk.

[ShadowOfPreservation]

"We haven't formally met, no. It'd be nice to get to know more people here of course. Hopefully he'll make his way back over once he gets a refill. I hardly know anyone and I'm generally not the most outgoing person so introductions to just about anyone would be nice, but don't let me keep you from any other business you need to attend to."

[khadjair]

Cameron will return shortly carrying two steins, both laden with a heavy orcish mead (that in some shadows would classify as minimum E85). He sees the tengu there chatting with Rogbar and Thanus. "Oh, hello. I hope I'm not interrupting." He gestures with a hand as though to offer a shake, then realizes it's full.

"Er.. apologies. I am Cameron, though i am pretty certain by now more people recognize me than I do of them..." and without thinking he takes a swallow from the mug on the right. *

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* Anyone with reasonable psyche will realize Cameron is not only not drunk, but any drunkenness is largely an act.