~The outskirts of Cyril, late afternoon on a Wednesday in spring.~

"I've never heard of your clan before... what was the name again?" queried the old man, straining to read whatever Li had scrawled on the contract. Reading and writing were never much of a concern to simple country folk, especially Bangaa; he was literate enough to get by, but his penmanship and spelling left something to be desired, and obviously that "something" was clarity. It was apparent from the old rancher's squinting and straining that he wouldn't be able to decode the chicken-scratch on his own.

"Sharpclaw," responded the Bangaa, matter-of-factly. Was it really that unintelligible? He'd tried his best.

"Spelled with a k and two L's, no less. How exotic," noted the man, apparently more perceptive than Li had given him credit for. He certainly didn't seem like the kind of man fit to be raising Chocobos, a profession Li surmised to be among the most taxing and arduous in Ivalice. It was no wonder, then, that this old hermit was having problems with Chocobo rustlers and thieves; he seemed about as intimidating as an old droopy barn dog, standing at barely over 5 feet even without his considerable hunch. From his thin and bony frame, tattered old cloak and patchy overalls it seemed obvious that he had seen better days financially. Exactly the kind of client that would be desperate enough to enlist the services of a fresh group of vagrants masquerading as a clan of adventurers. "And you're sure they're the best warriors in town?"

Whether or not Li had chosen to advertise the fact that they were no more than a bunch of strangers who'd banded together in hopes of making a bit of coin was an entirely different matter.

"I'm ssscertain that you'll find no better sssswordsss for sssale in sssCyril, Mr. Klauser," rasped Li. From the superfluous number of Ssss's it seemed fairly obvious that Li was definitely on the less civilized, less gentrified end of the spectrum as far as Bangaa were concerned. For everyone's sake I will omit the phonetic spelling from here on out, so it's best to use your imagination and put the S's wherever it tickles you the most. "We may be new to the game, but I've handpicked every man on the team and they're all legends in their own right," he continued, leaning up against the old wooden wagon Klauser had arrived in. Like its owner, the wagon (more of a glorified cart, in all honestly) had seen many lean winters, and it gave something of a discomforting creak as Li put weight on it. Better than walking, I suppose. Why can't we just sail everywhere? Life would be so much easier. He'd already begun to miss his old boat and his peaceful home on the river, but such thoughts were behind him now.

"We've even got ourselves one of those demon conjurers," added the Bangaa, rapping his clawed fingers against the wooden siding of the wagon. The politically correct terminology would have been "black mage" but for a country hick like Li the two were close enough. "Suspicious types, I know, but they're capable of such impressive feats. I heard they can melt a man's brain with their thoughts, and fill your eye sockets with spiders and roaches. Very dreary."

"How dreadful!" exclaimed Mr. Klauser, shaking his head. "You'd do well to tell him not to melt my brain, and I'd prefer to keep all the spiders and roaches outside of my body for the foreseeable future," smirked the rancher. He circled the wagon to attend to the old tired Chocobo harnessed in front of it. The once proud beast seemed to have long outlived its racing days, now resigning itself to the humble job of carting around an old coot and the company of sellswords he'd chosen to associate with. The bird ate reluctantly and resentfully from its master's hand, chewing the pellets slowly. Li let out a slight sigh of relief. At least he'd secured a paying job, even if it wasn't particularly glamorous.

"I can assure you that our ranks will be more than enough to scare off some two-bit Chocobo rustlers. How long is the ride to your ranch?" asked Li. He turned away from the wagon to face the city gate, glancing up at Castle Cyril looming in the distance. Li's world had been so small only weeks ago; he still wasn't used to massive stone walls, extravagant castles, and waves of townsfolk. He'd lived his whole life with no sense of scale, but this only pushed him forward. He longed to fill in the empty corners of his mental map, and he was about to get his chance. The road into the countryside stretched out before him, inviting him to push beyond one more horizon.

"About an hour, maybe two. Depends on whether or not we run into goblins or bandits along the way. Knowing my luck we probably will, especially considering I managed to slip through unnoticed this morning," grumbled Mr. Klauser, glancing over his shoulder to make sure none of the guards patrolling the outskirts around the gate were within earshot. "If the soldiers around here would just do their jobs and actually go out on patrol like they used to, we'd be just fine. I probably wouldn't even need to hire mercenaries at all..."

"Trust me, you're better off," scoffed Li, adding a crooked toothy grin. "Even if the knights did take care of the problem, they'd never give you the same level of professionalism and personal attention that you'll get from Clan Sharptooth."
"You mean Sharpclaw."

"Right, right. Clan Sharpclaw. The name's under consideration, anyway. But that's not important," chuckled the Bangaa, slightly embarrassed. "You'll be able to tell when you meet my associates. We're the best there is," he claimed, reassuringly. "They should be getting here soon. We're still a little early." He would be impressed if any of them made an effort to show up early too, but he wouldn't be surprised if no one did. I guess it's like a test. We'll see if any of them are responsible. Who's professional, and who's not? How fun. This would be Li's first time leading anyone, really, let alone a bunch of adventurers who likely knew much more about the world than he did. The thought excited him.

Having remembered the time agreed to meet for their first Clan job, Cici quickly grabs her equipment, strapping the small-ish bag to her right leg and leaves the inn, headed for the edge of town. Better early than on time, but I'll only be a little early. I know it's usually the Guild leader's job to do the initial chat with the client, but that old Bangaa might need some help. Making her way around, she hears the distinctive hissing of that sailor-turned-Guild Bangaa mentioning it still being early. "Hello. Cici reporting in!" Putting on a big smile, she closes the gap between her hire-r and client, ready to start working for a Guild. Her father would've loved the chance to be in one again, but his days are better spent in rest, if he can ever get out of that nasty business... Shaking herself mentally, she continues on about introductions. "I'm Cici Verdin. Pleasure to meet you, sir."

It was around this point that the first of his new team arrived at the gate, the Viera girl. He spotted her from a distance but quickly looked away so he could pretend as if he'd just been daydreaming to create the illusion that he wasn't eagerly awaiting anyone's arrival. In choosing to take up leadership of the clan, Li decided he would make a conscious effort to look the part of the nonchalant, distant veteran despite the fact that he was much more excited about his first ever adventure than he would be willing to admit.

Maybe this would be the first chapter of the story of his rise to fame. The tale would start with "And on the first day of the adventures of Clan Sharpclaw (name still under consideration), Li'Kemnon and his company of brave heroes met up at the front gate and set off for adventure." I should probably get a scribe to start working on my tales of heroics. If I start early, I won't have to leave anything out. Li's gaze drifted upward to Castle Cyril in the distance. I'll be there soon enough. I won't even have to worry about getting my heroics published. I'll just have them woven into tapestries. Reading's such a bore anyway.

All the daydreaming about glory and legacy made Li entirely forget about his conscious decision to pretend to daydream, which was a very convenient not-problem to not-have, I guess. As a result he was genuinely startled by Cici's brief announcement.

"Hello. Cici reporting in!"

Li snapped to attention a little more slowly than he would have liked, so he came off as looking more hapless and doofy than he did cool or casual. "Oh, well, hello! Um, nice to have you..." he responded, absently. Reporting in? That was professional. And she's early too. But not too early. Maybe a salute would have been nice? He stroked his chin, roughly where his beard would be if Bangaa's could grow beards. Nah, a salute would have been weird. It's better that I keep things lax. Friend first, leader second, right? No, they have to respect me. That's probably not a good idea.

It occurred to Li that he should probably attempt some small talk with the Viera. That's what adventurers do, right? Witty banter about adventuring things. You know, talk about adventurous stuff. Maybe I should talk about swords. I use a sword, and she also uses a sword, so we could talk about swords. But it's a different kind of sword. That's not relatable enough, I guess... Li opened his mouth as if to say something, but realized he hadn't yet thought of what they should be talking about. Normally he would be embarrassed for making it look like he had something to say but then totally freezing up, but he came to a second realization shortly afterward; namely, that Cici had already walked right past him and was in the process of chatting up the client. Er, yeah, I'll just talk to her later, I guess. It's a long wagon ride.

"The pleasure is mine! I'm Bartz Klauser, ma'am. I assume you're not the one who does the brain melting and demon summoning, then. You seem a little too polite to be caught up in that business, I reckon," chuckled the old rancher. "I would shake your hand, but I'm afraid I've got Chocobo spit all over both of them," he added, with another chuckle, albeit slightly more awkwardly this time. "I appreciate you helping out my ranch. I assume your boss over there will give you all the details once everyone gets here."

Li nodded absently, lost in thought again. Do Chocobos really have slobber? That's gross. Grosser than I thought, I guess.

Moguri walked eagerly along the pathway to the start of his new adventure, not quite sure whether to sprint, jump for joy, or both. He decided on both. His dark red pom-pom bobbed up and down in rhythm with Moguri's rushed stride, as if frantic to arrive as well. Moguri stopped for a brief time along the way. He gazed up at the castle in the distance, wondering. His wings fluttered in the gentle breeze.

Basking in the rays of a sunny spring day, his mind wandered back to the ships, to the life he had left, as it often did. The memories started out, as usual, as an array of Moguri's happiest moments. His first airship ride, his apprenticeship, and so on. His mind then recalled a name, Rebellious, which left as quickly as it came. He often tried to remember any correlation between the name and how he had woken up miles from home in the city of Cyril, but could never make the connection. It was as if the memories were locked away far out of reach, visible but not attainable, glimpsable but ever elusive. This reminiscence ended the same way, as a frustrated attempt to recall the past. Moguri let out a deep sigh, deciding that it was time to depart from the safety of the sun in favor of the uncertainty of an adventure. After all, if his mind was occupied, the past could not trouble him.

He left then, resuming with the skip-hop-jump enthusiasm that had a moment ago left him. After a short time, Moguri heard voices closing. The distinct speech pattern of a Bangaa was easily identifiable, and two other voices not so easily recognizable. He wondered which of his clan members would be the early birds. As the three figures became clear, he noted the Viera girl, Cici, he believed her name to be, moving towards what could have been the client, as it was likely not a clan member, and their leader, standing seemingly unexcited. He heard the girl call out her name. Cici approached the client eagerly. Upon seeing his soon-to-be companions, Moguri walked excitedly forward until standing in front of the Bangaa. "Moguri here! It's a pleasure to see you again, kupo!"

Chapel hadn't really been a part of any kind of group since he left his home, so the idea of being part of a clan was more then a little exciting. Granted, it would most likely mean that he would have to fight more often, but it would be worth the companionship. Granted, the smarter thing to do would have been to join a more stable clan, but he honestly hadn't thought about joining a clan before he saw the advertisement for this one. So that was why he currently found himself headed form the edge of town.

It looked like he wouldn't be the first one (besides the clan leader and the client) there, as he could see a viera and a moogle pom pom 'I wonder just what sort of purpose those serve?' Chapel thought to himself about said pom pom. Once he got close enough, he spoke to them "greetings!" he left it at that for a little while before he was close enough to reach out and touch them "hello good sir, my name is Chapel" Chapel introduced himself to the old man with a handshake. "I hope I'm not late. I sort of lost track of time"

Sarina's ears flopped up and down as she ran to the correspondence point. She had slept in, the inn bed had just been soooo comfy. It was just sooo hard to get out of it. Eventually Kashaka has forced her out of bed and Sarina instantly realized she had slept too long. She had spent moments grabbing breakfast before hurriedly making her way out of town. Sarina was going to make a terrible impression on the first clan she was ever part of. At this rate she might get kicked out and then how would she be able to travel and look at monsters and learn things?

When she finally made it outside the city she saw the people she had met only briefly before. A Moogle, a Bangaa, a Viera, a Hume.... wasn't there another hume? Maybe she wasn't the last one after all. Maybe she wasn't even late! "Hey guys." she said excitedly. "I guess we're just about ready to go, so what's the plan cap'n?" Sarina asked cheerfully of the Bangaa, his name was.... Li'Kemnon? Ya that sounded right. Maybe if she just avoided saying his name until someone confirmed it for her, until then she could just refer to him as cap'n. Sometimes Sarina marveled at how smart she was. Kashaka was comfortably curled around her neck napping. After forcing her to get up and everything.

The rest of the crew was trickling in now, and with each new arrival Li seemed to care less and less about his "distant leader" guise; how strange and validating it felt, having people report to you. Not just people, but warriors! Adventurers! Surely this lot had been on a dozen adventures each already, and here they were, calling him leader, greeting him with respect. This adventuring thing isn't too hard. I bet I'll have my own squire within a month. I don't really know why I would need a squire, but I'm sure I'll find something for him to do. Perhaps he was getting ahead of himself. There would be plenty of time for daydreaming during the wagon ride.

The first to arrive after the Viera was the moogle. I would describe him as a master of "unauthorized acquisitions." Li had no qualms associating with known thieves, and was glad to have one on the team. He cared little for the law out in his remote river town; the Ivalician courts never dabbled in the affairs of the tribal fishermen and both groups seemed to have no problems with that arrangement, even before the government became corrupt and ineffective. Tribal councils were no more lenient, however; the penalty for thievery was losing a hand, so most of the thieves Li knew were good enough to avoid getting caught and ending their careers. He knew they had great stories, at least.

As the son of a dastardly pirate, he wasn't in much of a position to judge anyone. The thought of a little moogle running around snapping necks and mugging townsfolk in the alleyways did make him chuckle a bit, at least internally. Growing up in a backwoods fishing town with a bunch of yokels had saddled Li with a great number of prejudices, unfortunately, but he was making an effort to broaden his horizons in more ways than one now that he considered himself a full-fledged adventurer. Resisting the urge to say "But I thought all that the moogle were good for was making magic trinkets and building airships" upon recruiting Moguri was part of this effort. This young cutpurse seemed to have all ten of his stubby fingers left, so he must be competent, at the very least. "Moguri here! It's a pleasure to see you again, kupo!"

If Li wasn't a cold blooded reptile-man, he would have blushed just the slightest bit. It's a pleasure to see me again? Me? Aww shucks. And they actually do that 'kupo' thing, huh. I thought that was just like an exaggeration or whatever. At least I don't have any weird speech problems. "Sssssssssssalutationsssssssss, friend. You look quite ready for an adventure," he noted, looking the moogle over. "That's a fine cloak you've got. Looks very...thiefish. That's a word, right? Surely," mused Li, thinking aloud. "We'll be dealing with Chocobo rustlers on this job. Are you familiar with the business? Any chance we'll run into old associates of yours?"

The monk had arrived now, and Li responded with a quick nod and a muttered "greetings" before returning his attention to the moogle thief. Monks had always been respected among the Bangaa and Li was no exception; he himself had been considered for joining the clergy as a young boy, but he was deemed unfit to commune with the gods on account of his low birth, not that he particularly wanted a life of chastity, worship, and toil. He did envy their strength and piety; Li had never spoken to a god nor torn a man in half with his bare hands, so I guess Monks 2, Li 0 for now. Soon! The thought of a human monk did make him a bit curious though; perhaps he was a different kind of monk? Does he converse with other gods? How can humans speak to Bangaa gods? Strange. At the very least he could probably be trusted if he was anything like most pious men.

The Nu Mou wasn't far behind, arriving to the sound of the clock tower bells. "Hey guys!" She was exactly on time, but the conjurer of demons and hellfire had yet to arrive. Perhaps he had lost track of time performing experiments in his magical laboratory; Li recalled an old myth around his village of a shaman who would snatch up children who ventured too far from home, then take them back to his lair where he would rend their souls from their body and imprison them inside forest animals. Whether or not Li was aware that this was only a tale the village elder had spread to stop the children from wandering out at night seemed to be in question, but one could be certain that this myth and all the others he'd grown up with were certainly affecting the way Li thought of the strange magister that had deigned to join Li's clan of adventurers.

"I guess we're just about ready to go, so what's the plan cap'n?" she asked. Li swooned internally. Cap'n? OOooooooh, if only my dad could see me now. Father and son, both captains of a legendary crew. One day I'll be a household name too, I'm sure of it. Something of an overly smug grin spread over Li's face, but with Bangaa it was always hard to tell; their reptilian features made them all look like smug snakes, to a certain extent. Speaking of snakes, Li was surprised that one could sleep so soundly in broad daylight. The serpents Li had grown up with were all feral watersnakes, dreadful creatures and a bad omen to the more superstitious folk. This one seemed well-behaved, though. The Nu Mou really did appear to be good with beasts. Li was certain she would prove useful in light of the recent problem with monsters plaguing the countryside.

"The plan was to set off at three, but we're short one such weaver of chaos, it would seem," sighed Li. He couldn't appear to be too bothered with the mage's tardiness, as that would make him seem too harsh and strict. But he couldn't let it go unmentioned either; surely they'd think him soft and doubt his authority. Any reasonable person would note that deliberating over how to respond to a man being a minute or two late is clearly overthinking things, but Li, a fledgling leader still savoring his first taste of power wasn't what most would consider reasonable. He figured it would be best to make a joke about it. That would be endearing, right?

"If a man can call lightning down from the heavens and summon fire from hell itself, you'd think he might be able to craft himself a way of telling the time. Why not just teleport here in a cloud of smoke and brimstone? Why not just raise a dragon made of bone and curses and fly in at your leisure?" he wondered aloud. "Perhaps we mere mortals can teach him a thing or two about punctuality. Apparently it's not something you can learn from a dusty old tome." Maybe that was too mean? I don't want them to think I'm petty...

Meanwhile, Mr. Klauser greeted the monk with a hearty smile and a hello, accepting Chapel's handshake absentmindedly, forgetting that he'd just specifically refused a handshake because he had Chocobo spit all over his hands. As such a rather unsettling squishing noise resulted from their shake, and a considerable "moistness" was imparted to the monk's palm. "Oh, a thousand apologies, sir! I've just finished feeding my friend Boko here," explained the old rancher, mortified. "Sorry, you'll have to excuse this old fool's clumsiness; I used to be like you lot, adventuring around and such. Boko and I were quite the team... oh! Terribly sorry! My name is Bartz Klauser. You'll have to pardon my rudeness a second time, sir," he added, sheepishly. The fact that Chapel was a very tall and muscular MEAT STACK of a Hume made the old rancher nervous to meet his gaze, despite the monk's generally gentle nature. While looking down at the floor, Bartz noticed Chapel had no weapons on his belt.

"You seem to have forgotten your weapons there, sir. The road could get nasty on our journey; there are many bandits in these parts. Perhaps one of your companions brought an extra blade for you?" he queried, a little concerned. Chapel wore no symbols to indicate his monkhood, and it would seem to the average commoner that he appeared indistinguishable from your typical warrior type.

Chapel just waved it off "It's no trouble at all. A little chocobo saliva never harmed anyone" he wiped his hands off on his clothes "you'll find I'm not easy to offend" he added. "As for my lack of a weapon; I assure you this was no mistake on my part. As a Monk, I have trained my body to serve as my weapon, should violence be unavoidable. I realize it must be strange to see a Hume like myself a Monk, but I was raised in a monastery for as long as I can remember, so it makes sense that I was taught the ways of the Monk. Your concern for my safety is very much appreciated, but unnecessary."

Mentally counting, Cici came to the conclusion that the team was one short. The Hume Black Mage didn't seem to be showing up. He didn't seem to be the one to be tardy, but nobody here really knew each other yet. Well, we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other. Especially with such a small clan. Lost in thought, Cici almost missed the Monk getting Chocobo slobber handshake'd onto him, which made her stifle a little giggle. [color=bc8dbf]So we have a Sailor/Warrior, a Thief, a pacifist-ish Monk, two different Mages, and myself. What do we even make? Is this the whole point of clans: to bring a bunch of strangers together just to help people?

"Oh, my apologies. I find it strange that you would wear no holy symbols, but perhaps that's more of a priestly thing than something you monks are concerned with. Nevertheless, I am glad to hear that the gods fight at your back; it inspires hope for our race in me, brother," he admitted, with a warm smile. "Surely we will need their favor in these troubling times."

Just as there were five races in Ivalice, there were five main gods in the Ivalician religion: Phoenix, god of the Humes; Ifrit, god of the Bangaa; Shiva, goddess of the Viera; Ramuh, god of the Nu Mou; and Carbuncle, god of the Moogle. Madeen was seen as the father of all the Gods, representing balance, harmony, unity and keeping watch over time and fate. As the monks espoused neutrality and purity, they were devoted more to Madeen than any of the other five, although specialized sects of monks devoted to certain gods were not unheard of.

Li visibly frowned for the first time all day. On his very first day as clan leader, one of his group had already neglected to show up, it would seem. This only seemed to affirm all the negative preconceptions Li held towards sorcerers in general. I guess I should have expected this; untrustworthy folk tend to be unreliable as well. I'll have to hunt him down later and we'll have a talk about punctuality... and perhaps reconsider his contract. It was ten past three already, and Li felt ready to call it.

"We'll be departing now. No use in waiting on the shaman any longer; maybe a spell backfired and he's turned himself into a swarm of locusts. Not unheard of where I'm from," mused Li, trying to disguise his irritation with a bit of humor. "My apologies, Mr. Klauser. Great sorcerers have a tendency to be eccentric people with... nebulous schedules," explained the Bangaa, not that he'd ever known any great sorcerers in his time. Bartz, Cici and Chapel made their way over to the back of the wagon to rejoin the others.

"No worries, friend. This lot seems to be quite enough to handle a couple of brigands on their own. One less adventurer to pay, I suppose. The ranch has seen better days, but I've enough to compensate you all, don't worry," he assured the group, nervously. It would be ill-advised to leave this group of somewhat imposing warriors uncompensated, after all. Surely this man could pay them... right? Li had his doubts, but the old man seemed kind enough. There was a certain warmth and genuineness about him that made him easy to trust.

"If you haven't met him yet, this is Mr. Klauser. He'll be our first client; he owns a Chocobo Ranch about an hour or two east of here on the plains outside the western edge of Lutia Pass, but he's recently been having trouble with Chocobo rustlers and his business has been hurting because of it. He hasn't yet been able to determine exactly who the culprits are, but considering there are two known bandit clans that operate in the pass, Mr. Klauser doesn't think we'll have to look very hard," continued Li. "I'll explain more on the way. Everyone into the wagon, if you please," he requested earnestly, gesturing towards the rickety old cart.

"Be mindful of splinters! I mostly use this old thing to carry bags of feed and hay so it's not exactly a luxury carriage," warned the rancher, slowly but surely climbing into his seat at the front of the wagon and taking the reigns in hand. Li helped his new companions up and into the wagon (if they needed it; he dared not offer any help to Chapel, for the monk seemed to be the kind of rugged man who would do such things on his own) before taking his seat in the back.

With a quick snap of the reigns, they were off on their way, leaving the gates of Cyril behind them. Even so, the high towers of Castle Cyril loomed on in the distance, flying the red and black banners of Lord Ingus of Sasune, Duke of Cyril and shrewd military tactician. Under Ingus' rule, the countryside surrounding Cyril had been considered among the safest places in all of Ivalice due to the diligent patrols of Cyrilian troops. However, ever since a magistrate from Bervenia, Chancellor Hein, was appointed as the Grand Vizier of Cyril, Ingus was reduced to nothing more than a political figurehead, powerless to help his people. This forced appointment of Bervenian Chancellors was one of many unpopular decisions made by Matoya in order to centralize the power in Mewt's kingdom.

The towers eventually vanished from sight too, and the countryside rolled out before them. There didn't seem to be any monsters in sight for the moment, but remembering how dicey his journey into Cyril had been left Li with very little hope that the whole journey would be so pleasant. He endeavored to continue on with his explanation before things got too hectic.

"I did a bit of asking around about these two bandit clans we might run into, the Red Arrows and the Hawks. Fortunately they're pretty unremarkable groups, and both seem to have fallen on hard times. With less travelers coming through Lutia Pass and more monsters showing up every day, it's becoming less and less profitable and more and more dangerous to work out there. Much of the clan members have deserted in search of better paying work, which has been forcing the unlucky saps who've remained loyal to branch out and start rustling Chocobos and raiding settlements to make ends meet," explained Li.

"Mr. Klauser's ranch was first attacked two months ago and the rustlers have struck nearly every week since then, usually in the dead of night but sometimes very early in the morning. Last week, one of Mr. Klauser's stablekeepers was killed during a raid, and a precious heirloom was stolen from his home; a necklace bearing a golden Chocobo feather," he continued. "After the raid, a message was left for Mr. Klauser, the first time the rustlers have attempted any communication. The note instructed Mr. Klauser to pack up all his possessions and leave the ranch, taking his family and laborers with him, or else the bandits would return with a larger raiding party next week and hit them even harder," he noted, taking the small piece of parchment out of his pocket to read the note firsthand. "They still didn't sign the note though, so we don't know which of the two clans to pursue at this point, although I'm fairly confident it has to be one of the two," supposed Li, casually tossing the note into the center of the wagon in case anyone wanted to read it.

"Specifically, our job is to defend against this potential raid and prevent any more Chocobo from being stolen. If possible or necessary, we will also be rewarded for capturing or dispatching any bandits we come across, once we determine who the culprits are, of course. Should we come across it, Mr. Klauser has also promised an extra reward for anyone who recovers his Chocobo feather necklace intact," he finished. "Our contract lasts until the bandit threat is sufficiently neutralized, and we will be paid according to the time our services remain necessary," he finished. Li didn't think he'd left anything out. Being a leader is so much talking. Once I get a squire he'll handle all the briefing and explanation and I'll stick to making jokes and cool macho manly man remarks.

Li heaved a sigh of relief. That wasn't so bad.

"Anyway, I thought it would be nice to hear a little more about you guys. I've spoken with all of you individually when I recruited you, sure, but I feel like you guys don't really know each other that well. I bet you've all got interesting stories. I don't need a complete autobiography or anything of that sort. Share as much as you feel like. Hopes and dreams? Special talents? Weird snake companions? Just say a bit more, I guess. Oh, and if you've got any questions about the job or our contract, feel free to ask," he added, leaning back to get a little more comfortable. Perhaps he was coming on a little too strong with the team-building song and dance, but he really felt as if he was sitting in a wagon with a bunch of people he hardly knew, and that didn't seem like a good idea if he was about to fight alongside these other stray adventurers.

Cici listened intently at the briefing, noticing Li's seeming exhaustion afterwards. Once he brought up sharing about themselves, Cici figured it would be good, especially if any of them were in it for more than just money. Cici didn't move at all into a better position to speak, but it seemed more like she was thinking out loud, contrasting with the super-friendly public face she put on earlier. She begins speaking with her head atop her hands. "Father used to be in a guild. Parents urged me to get in one because it's work for life. Without working to death."

Chapel merely shrugged "I have more or less just summed up my entire life up to this point. It might not have been a very exciting or eventful life, but it was my life, and I wouldn't trade it for any other in the world." Was his simple answer. While the no show mage was a little upsetting, it seemed that the others here were decent people. 'We might have just met, but I can see myself working with these people for quite sometime. Although...Brother Moni always did say I could be overly optimistic. I hope we don't run into any bandits, since I doubt we could talking things out peaceful. No use complaining about it now I suppose.'

Sarina raised her hand like a schoolgirl, "Oh I have a weird snake companion! Her name is Kashaka." She tapped Kashaka's head lightly to wake her up. Kashaka rippled and 'stood' on top of Sarina's head looking at her new-ish companions. She simply yawned exposing her small fangs and then slithered down and resumed her more comfortable position around Sarina's neck. "She's super sweet and my best friend. Uhm, other than that I can do a little magic and I'm here to learn more about, well everything." she said cheerily. Sarina hoped Chapel was right, she wasn't sure how'd she react if they had to get into a fight. All she could do was hope that they didn't. If they did well... she would figure it out then.

Moguri thought for a second on what Li had asked him. Had he known in chocobo rustlers? He couldn't recall any if he had. Honestly, Moguri was best suited for thief-combat because of his dexterity and sleight of hand. He really hadn't established a name for himself as any sort of criminal, and certainly wasn't familiar with any chocobo bandits in Baguba. However, he was just as unfamiliar with Cyril in general. The recent startup of clans had drawn back the airship business in that area. Moguri's first trip had been this one. "I hate to be unhelpful but I can't say that I do. If it was anyone serious though I'm sure we would know who it was, kupo." After speaking to Li, the group boarded Mr. Klauser's wagon and began their journey.

Moguri listened quietly to the others' brief description of their introduction to clan life before beginning his own story. At first he was unsure how to go about explaining his situation, as he could not recall the majority of it. He decided to start at the last place he remembered. "I used to be an airship mechanic, kupo. My last flight I was working on becoming full fledged mechanic. We were flying to Cyril to deliver...something, I don't recall what, but it was important. Next thing I remember was waking up here, injured and...without a crew. I decided to try something different. And here I am, kupo. The last 'kupo' sounded more like a sigh than enthusiasm. As he finished, Moguri placed his head in his hands and let out a quiet "Kuuuupooooo....". His pom pom drooped as he covered his eyes momentarily, partially to wipe away tears, and partially so his fellow adventurers wouldn't see. Unconsciousness had made it an easy thing to forget. But it was much harder, more painful, to remember.

Speaking her thoughts again, but speaking clearly enough for all to hear her aloud thoughts."so there we have it" she mused. "A guild-daughter, a pacifist, a magical snake charmer, and a mechanic-turned-thief. Then our guildmaster. Plus a no-show mage. What a bunch we are." Realizing she spoke her mind aloud and it was loud enough for all to hear, Cecelia covered her mouth with the hand her chin was resting on as her eyes grew wide and looked around.

Li chuckled as Cici summed up everything so neatly, making a mental note to add "guildmaster" to list of things he would allow himself to be called from now on. "I couldn't ask for a better group! Considering I handpicked all of you from hundreds of other wandering sellswords, I'd say most of the credit for this amazing team is mine," he joked. These were, in fact, the only sorry excuses for adventurers willing to sign on with some no-name country bumpkin Bangaa. "Handpicked" was a bit of a misnomer when there were only a handful of them to begin with, but such distinctions were of no importance to him; after all, for all they knew, he'd actually scouted out hundreds of potential applicants.

"Well I suppose we're still missing my story, aren't we? I'm not one to talk about myself that much, but I guess I can share," he figured, leaning back in his seat a little more and crossing his arms nonchalantly. He'd been rehearsing this story in his head since he woke up that morning. "I was the captain of a merchant ship. Just a regular ship, not an airship or anything like that. For years my crew and I ferried passengers and goods from Bervenia to Baguba and everywhere else in between. The last few years had been tough for the crew; it just wasn't nearly as safe to sail anymore. Pirate attacks became more and more frequent, and soon, nearly all of our business had been take by airship merchants, who could move cargo more quickly and safely than we could," sighed Li. He then leaned forward a bit, closing his eyes and looking down, as if the next part pained him to say aloud.

"The crew became unhappy. We were small time even when business was good, and back then we still barely made enough to feed our families. We didn't have the gil to upgrade to an airship and finding any work at all was a constant struggle. I could do nothing to help them. Then, one day, my first mate staged a mutiny, and all but a few of the crew rallied behind him. They planned to join up with a pirate fleet to make more money, but they knew I would never allow it. They killed all the men who refused to mutiny, and they wanted to kill me too. But I escaped, by some miracle. That was three months ago..."

They're eating it up, I'm sure of it. I never knew I was such a great actor.

"But now I'm here! And I couldn't be happier with my new crew. As far as I know, none of you are currently planning to kill me, which is a marked improvement over the last group I led. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in the contract, but attempting to slit the guildmaster's throat in his sleep is frowned upon," he noted, dryly. "But I'm sure that won't be a problem. You guys seem alright to me," he added, casually.

Sarina looked at the guildmaster with awe. Wow, he had already been on an amazing adventure and escaped from a whole crew of people that wanted to kill him. "Don't worry sir, we would never betray you." She said cheerily. "What have you done since those three months?" Sarina asked eager to hear more about their guildmaster's adventures. She still couldn't believe she'd gotten handpicked from hundreds of other candidates. What an honor!

Chapel found himself shocked at the story his new guild master told 'the brother's warned me about the cruelty that people could be capable of, but to hear of it first hand...' he shook his head 'it's just so sad the things that people will do for money. Were they truly that desperate, or were they motivated by nothing but greed? As much as I'd like believe te best in everyone...even I understand that there are people out there with dark hearts' Chapel sighed. "Your story is surprisingly tragic. I can only hope we do not find another like it"