Balthazar007

The Six Crystals

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Tempum City (K7), Night at the Docks

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...So, he decided to ask. And conveniently, there were two people here to answer him.
"What profit is there in ferrying children?" He wondered aloud.
That was probably his most pertinent question.

@Spin The Wheel

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Floating in the air, next to Mougin, the pale skinned, black haired young woman answered his wondering question. She spoke softly and without much emotion. "Slavery. Most likely."

"The hell are you two doing?" The bald muscular man said as he closed the gap between them. "Whatever's in that crate, it's not worth crossing the mob." He stopped a few feet away, outside of anyone's reach. "You need to put the lid back on that crate, and forget what you saw. Or we're all in for it."

Meanwhile, on the dock below, Officer Charles was handing the ships manifest back to Mr. Silum. "I hear you, sir, but I'm still going to have a look inside that ship. It won't take long." Not waiting for a response, he started to walk in the direction of the ship's wide open door, the one Mr. Robot Arms entered through.

The black armored guard moved quickly to intercept, but Mr. Silum's words stopped him. Officer Charles also paused to listen. "You can absolutely look around the ship. However, you'll still need a warrant to open any locked containers. Privacy must be respected after all."

Looking over his shoulder, Officer Charles simply nodded in understanding. He had some sharp words for the business man, but he held his tongue, for now...

And so, as Mougin and his coworkers were just starting to debate their next move, they were already running out of time. Officer Charles was quickly approaching. Right on his heals, Mr. Silum's body guard was looking ready to pounce. And bringing up the rear was Mr. Silum himself and the second officer.

The Six Crystals

@Spin The Wheel Apologies for the late reply. Life. Am I right?

Anyways, I'm excited to see how Mougin responds in this situation. There are so many different directions this could go.

The Six Crystals

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Tempum City (K7), Night at the Docks

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...The mystery deepened as he got closer. A familiar scent wafted from the crate, the scent of home. But if that was the case, why was it moving? There seemed to be crying coming from the container too. Now he had to know. Briefly, he contemplated if it was worth risking the ire of his employer to simply satisfy his own curiosity.

The minotaur's broad fingers pried the opening of the crate, lifting. The lid of the crate opened with a loud crack and revealed the 'cargo'. Children were inside, very obviously beastmen children, in various states of distress. Mougin was very confused.

@Spin The Wheel

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The beast children looked up at Mougin in surprise. Their crying quickly came to a stop as confusion took over. Why was another beast person looking down at them? Was he here to rescue them? Or was he with the bad guys?

Now that Mougin could see the captors, he could also see a collar on each of their necks. He had heard about such collars once. They were were designed with a magic curse that kept the wearer from turning into their beast form, and it also dampened their strength and magical powers while in human form as well. Basically, they were as defenseless as a non-magical human. Even worse, removing these things without deactivating them first would result in death for the wearer.

Then came a quiet voice that Mougin had not yet heard. "What do you think we should do?" It was the pale skinned girl. She floated in midair, eye level with Mougin, also looking into the crate. "They are beast-folk like you yes?" This was the first time she had spoken since Mougin laid eyes on her.

Meanwhile, outside the ship, Mr. Silum was assuring the clean cut officer that everything was normal. Their last ship had arrived a little later than scheduled, that was all. The officer accepted his explaination without question and looked as if he was about to leave.

But then Officer Charles stepped forward. "Even so, a ship arriving after the dock master has gone is out of the normal. Would you mind if I saw the manifest and had a look inside?" The other officer looked angry with his partner, but he didn't say anything. The Boy Scout was doing what he always does, making a fuss about nothing.

Mr. Silum responded back with confidence. "I have the manifest here." He took out a tablet and turned it on. It pulled up a manifest document right away. "However, there isn't much left to see on the boat itself. Almost everything is already inside the warehouse, and unfortunately, you would need a warrant for that."

Mr. Silum's armored body guard, shifted his weight slightly as he listened to the conversation. This caught Officer Charles' eye, but it wasn't enough to cause alarm. However, it was enough to raise suspicion.

Back on the boat, the shorter coworker with mechanical arms stepped into the opening of the boat. "What are you two looking at?" He asked clumsily from across the large room.

The Six Crystals

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Tempum City (K7), Night at the Docks

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...The brown furred minotaur snapped out of his reverie as instructions were yelled. Right, work. Perhaps the exhaustion was getting to him. He quickly got back into the groove, picking up boxes and handing them down to the forklifts. When there were no forklifts he moved them himself, drawing a little strength from the earth to alleviate the burden. The work was somewhat easier than this afternoon's, so he had a little more strength to spare. He paused whilst holding a crate and scanned the area, wondering how his fellow workers were doing.

@Spin The Wheel

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While Mr. Silum and the man in all black combat armor stood off in the distance talking quietly among themselves, Mougin and the two others unloaded the ship.

The bald man with cybernetic arms handled the smallest crates, though he kept insisting that the heaviest, densest materials were always in the crates he chose. After the first twenty minutes he had to stop to rest his legs. While resting he was sure to let everyone know what he would be spending his money on, a set of cybernetic legs to match his arms.

The pale skinned lady in all black clothes was actually the one carrying the largest crates, and she made it look effortless. Without a sound, she would grab entire crates with one hand each and slowly walk them off the boat. In fact, she typically took two at a time, one in each hand. The way she carried them, made no sense given her size, and the way she gripped them. It was as if she were escorting giant balloons, not solid metal containers.

As the ship was nearly unloaded, blue flashing lights appeared on the docks. The source of the lights were two police officers, each riding their own hover cycles. One of these officers looked familiar to Mougin; it was the same officer that spoke with him the day before. The other officer, was clean shaven with a standard haircut.

"Sorry to bother you Mr. Silum." the clean cut officer called out, as he turned off his lights and dismounted from his bike. Officer Charles, as he had introduced himself the day before, did not turn off his flashing lights as he dismounted his bike.

Meanwhile, back on the boat, Mougin heard a feint thud coming from inside one of the larger containers...

The Six Crystals

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Tempum City (K7), Night at the Docks

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... In any case, the minotaur had regained a healthy stock of mana over the sunset period. Tired as he was, he never forgot to save some his resources for an emergency. With that stockpile he should be able to complete the task fairly easily. That was what made the man's request suspicious. Even so, the man had treated him to dinner.
"Very well." Mougin said, getting up from his seat. "In return for the meal, I will cooperate."
Effort for effort. Goodwill should be reciprocated, even to the most suspicious people.

@Spin The Wheel

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"Wonderful!" proclaimed Mr. Silum, as he placed his utensils on the almost empty plate in front of him. He then stood and motioned for Moujin to join. "Let's get going then, if you're done. We're in no rush as of yet, but if the boat arrives early, I'd like to get started right away."

The two walked in relative silence back to the docks, with desert pastries in hand. The sky above still relentless with fireworks and music still dancing in the air. It was a joyful veil of ignorance.

As assumed, the boat arrived early, as others were pulling away from the dock. Mougin waited for the ship, along side two others. One of whom, Mougin had already worked with earlier today, a brawny man with no hair and cyborg arms. The other was female with pale skin and a frail looking body. She wore all black casual clothes, and did not look prepared for heavy lifting.

As soon as the boat docked, the doors slid upward quickly, and a ramp descended just as fast, down to dock where Mougins and his coworker's stood. A man with a fresh cut on his bearded face appeared in the ship's opening. He wore black armor and was armed with a large assault riffle and a visible sidearms as well. "Things went as planned Boss." he announced.

"Wonderful" Mr. Silum replied, before directing his orders to Mougin and the others. "Alright everyone, you know the deal." The doors on the warehouse behind them also opened, revealing workers on floating forklifts, that would be meeting them as they got off the boat.

The Six Crystals

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Tempum City (K7), Night at the Docks

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... Mougin snorted. Well, he couldn't exactly say no to that, could he? Not with his current financial situation.
"Lead the way, and I will listen." He said to the man.
It wouldn't hurt to hear what he had to say afterwards, surely.

@Spin The Wheel

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The festivities were still going at full blast, as Mougin and this wealthy new character walked to the restaurant he claimed to own. Along the way, the man introduced himself properly, "My apologies, I've been all business. My name is Conner Silum. What is your name?" Mougin responded with only his first name. "Well Mougin, what is your favorite kind of food?" Mougin's response was vague, along the lines of "anything works for me".

The short answer didn't slow Mr. Silum in the least. He pressed a button on the side of his neck, and began speaking with someone unseen. "Rudy, I have a guest." After a moment of silence Mr. Silum continued. "He is beastfolk, vegetarian I believe. Whip something good up for him, and I'll have my usual." In another moment of pause, Mr. Silum looked over at Mougin and smiled, but when he spoke, he turned back to the sidewalk ahead. "Yes, thank you."

The entire walk, from the docks to the beachside restaurant, took about ten minutes. The restaurant was packed with party goers, but the two avoided this by entering through a back door. The smell of delicious food greeted them as entered. The clinking and clanking of dishes could be heard at the other end of a short hallway on their right; that was the direction to the kitchen. They, however, kept walking straight, through a single door, and into a small empty dining room.

"Please take a seat." Mr. Silum said, motioning to the table. There were a number of different sized chairs circled around the table. Mr. Silum went straight to a medium sized one at the head of the table. The largest chair, halfway down the table from where he sat, was already pulled out. Cutlery was placed in front of it, along with a large, pitcher sized glass of water.

Mere moments after taking their seats, a man in a white kitchen uniform entered the room, pushing a cart of food. He placed one covered dish in front of Mr. Silum and three covered dishes in front of Mougin. "Let's eat first, then talk." Mr. Silum said, after a quick nod of thanks to the man that delivered the food.

The two ate in silence for about fifteen minutes. Mr. Silum's plate was filled with seafood and vegetables, while Mougin's large dishes were a variety plates: one of vegetables, one of fruits, and one with warm pastries.

Setting down his fork and knife, Mr. Silum got straight to business. "In short, I need your help doing exactly what you've been doing all day. In about forty five minutes from now, one of my boats will be arriving with some heavy and quite precious cargo. We'll need to have it unloaded and into my warehouse as quickly as possible. With your help, things should go quite smoothly."

The Six Crystals

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Tempum City (K7), Night at the Docks

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..."...No." Mougin said, after a pause. "I am hungry."
To be frank, he wasn't. He was tired, hungry, and worried about his savings. One and a half times what he had yesterday. If wealth was enough to attract predators, then more wealth was surely more attractive. Unfortunately for him, he still had to travel back to his lodgings to eat. The food there was... well, it was at least edible. He could have gotten something to eat with his money, but he wanted to save every penny he could. He didn't know what he would need it for.

Mougin sighed and began trudging away. He didn't really have the energy spare to think of anything other than dinner.

@Spin The Wheel

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The man in the pinstripe suit wasn't used to being turned down this way. His face went a little red as Mougin turned and started walking away. His voice, on the other hand, rang confidently. He sounded completely unfazed. "Of course you're hungry! I am as well to be honest.", the man proclaimed. "Luckily, I own a restaurant close to here. What do you like to eat? My chef can cook anything."

The Six Crystals

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Tempum City (K7), Night at the Docks

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...With a start, Mougin was shaken out of his reverie. Fireworks exploded in the dark sky. Before he noticed, it had become night. He was sitting on the stone floor, panting heavily. There were no more ships in the harbor, no more crates on the dock. He was exhausted, but somehow in a good mood. He slowly stood up onto his feet, and his stomach rumbled. He was also hungry, apparently.

@Spin The Wheel

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Mougin's stomach wasn't the only thing that was empty. He hadn't been paid yet. His fifteen golden "coins" were still quite lonely.

"Hey, Big Guy!", the supervisor said in a loud deep voice. He was walking to where Mougin was resting, and by his side was a new face. This man was as tall as the supervisor, but much thinner. This man wore a suit that screamed, "I'm important!".

Another firework exploded in the distance as the supervisor came to a stop a few feet away from Mougin. "You did pretty good today, fella. Here, take this." In his rough hands, he held out a single gold disk. "This here's got thirty coins on it. I was going to give you twenty, the normal starting rate, but you impressed me." The man next to the supervisor cleared his throat, prompting an introduction. "You also impressed my associate here. He says he's got more work for you, if you're willing."

"Why thank you," the man said in a measured voice. "I can speak for myself now. You can leave us be." The large framed supervisor grumbled an indifferent response and walked away. The new arrival continued, "Now, would you be interested in making another 30 coins, for only a couple more hours of work?"

The Six Crystals

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Tempum City (K7), Morning

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...Mougin sighed and rose to his feet. As his master said, it was better to strike while the iron was hot. This was what he wanted; to experience life in a city was to be a spoke on the wheel as it turned. As for the money in his pocket, he would have to take that risk. Surely he wouldn't be targetted again today. The minotaur carefully inched around the myriad moving humans as he walked towards one of the supervisors he had identified previously.
"Hello. I wish to obtain work." He said to the man.

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Tempum City Docks

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The large framed supervisor (large for a human at least) eyed Mougin cautiously as he approached. When Mougin stopped to speak, the height difference between the two was more pronounced, at least four or five inches.

The plump man contained his excitement behind a calm, almost indifferent façade. He knew this hulking creature would speed up productivity on his dock, but if he let on too much, the beast-man might ask for a high wage.

He adjusted his foreman's hat as he began to speak. His voice was rough like gravel. "Lookin' for work huh?" He looked around the dock, as if deciding where to put this newfound muscle. In truth, if this beast-man was as half as strong as he looked, he would be a great help at any spot on the dock. With a sigh, the supervisor pointed at a ship that was currently being unloaded by one of the cranes. "Go help over there. If you don't get in anybody's way, I'll pay ya."

The Six Crystals

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Tempum City (K7), Early Morning

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...An account was a record. It was supposed to be a record of his finances, then? That was indeed what he wanted. He needed an ID for this, whatever that was. Sensors... Related to senses perhaps, therefore what this man used to sense things. A strange way of speaking, not that he could throw stones in that department, but also, it wasn't very relevant to his current issue. Well then.
"What is this ID you speak of?" The minotaur asked.

That seemed to be the most pertinent question at the moment. The rest would have to wait for later.

@Spin The Wheel

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The android, bank teller took a few seconds to process Mougin's question. In those few seconds, one hundred and twenty three different simulations were taken into consideration. After all, this was the first time that someone had not known what an ID was, or at least claimed not to know.

The android spoke with little clue as to how much thought he put behind his answer, "ID is a short term for identification. You can receive one from any government building. Conveniently, there is one across the street. However, you will have to pay a 20 coin fee." The teller took a thoughtful pause, to allow his guest a moment to process everything he had just said. "If I may, I suggest you find some temporary work down by the docks. Surely, there will be people there that are willing to pay for your assistance unloading ships. Last minute deliveries for tonight's festivities are still arriving."