Thrown Away (Recruitment)

[Zestyn]

"I got shelter. I got food. Thus, I got enough coin." Vendle turns his head to gaze down the road and squinted. "Only th' casteless can fight for th' casteless. Fightin' the Carta ain't somethin' most casteless can do fer long. If I'm gone..." He turned to Desten and raised a bushy brow. "Th' Wardens? Ye pullin' me leg, human? Wardens got no cause to come down here. What ye got te say about survivors don't make a lick o' sense."

"Are ye tryin' ta take our boy Vendle?" came a shrill cry from above. A female dwarf in dark leathers not unlike what the Carta wore crouched atop a hovel. Her dirty red hair was tied back in a long braid. When she grinned down at them Desten would note several of her teeth were missing. "We don't got much heavy inf'ntrymen down here. Don't be all greedy. Ye got lotsa soldiers up in yer castles already, don't ye?"

Vendle glared up at the dwarf with a grimace. "That's Baxty," he said quietly. "She ain't o' no harm, sir."

[Delcan Damsein]

Desten shrugs as the dwarf reasons against him. As he's about to open his mouth, his head swivels to look at the rooftop. He curses under his breath, still not exactly sure if she was friend or foe, until Vendle calmed him. He then looked back to the woman, and folded his arms. "Didn't plan on stealing him. I was thinking of offering him a new option."

[Zestyn]

Baxty let out a bark of laughter. "Oh, aye! But we got plenty o' options down here, don't we Korfy?" The young dwarf scrambled down from from the rooftop with a couple excellently timed jumps. She landed on the street with a soft grunt and then sprang up to dance about the pair of them. "We kin beg as long as we stay outta sight from folk with real coin, aye? An' we can sweep th' streets o' the dust that settles in an hour later in this forsaken place, aye aye?" She grabs Vendle's bicep and walks in a circle around her with an exaggerated sway of her hips as she finishes in a sultry voice, "Or we can find a noble an' let 'im pop a baby in our tummy, can't we Vendle dear?" She jabs a finger into Desten's chest and bares her crooked teeth to him. "We took th' option what no one else gonna take in this place, aye, aye, aye? Ye take one o' ours te th' surface and they ain't never comin' back, aye? Or did ye not know that either?"

"Baxty." Vendle watched the female with a look of gentle resignation. "I'll hear what this man has to say." He looked to Desten. "I can promise that much."

Baxty's jaw hung open. "Wot? Ye can't do tha'! What am I gonna do, Vendle?" She punches him none-too-gently in the shoulder in a wide gap in his armor. "What am I gonna do wivout me big strong dwarf wiv 'is big dumb 'ead?" Vendle shook his head, his dirty beard wagging, and continued on with a pained expression. Baxty trotted after them. "What am I gonna do?" she asked more fearfully.

[Delcan Damsein]

Desten watches the dwarf woman with a raised eyebrow and a bit of curiosity, trying to discern the relationship between the two. His face turned a bit more hostile as he felt a finger jab in the chest, and opened his mouth to say something dumb and haughty. Vendle's statement, however, made him pause. He took a quick breath, before nodding to Vendle.

As he follows the dwarf closer to the edge of Dust Town, he rubbed the back of his head before speaking. "Your uh...lady?"

[Zestyn]

Baxty continued to follow them as they neared the slope leading up to Orzammar proper. "Oooooooooh!" she cooed. "Didye hear tha', Korfy? I'm a la-ady!" She attempted to adjust her stride to be more proper and ladylike. She turned up her nose and looked about the hovels with pouted lips.

Vendle gave a good-natured laugh at that. "Ah, nah. Baxty ain't a lady." He stopped suddenly. "Ye'd be safe continuin' on from here, sir," he said. "I don' like gettin' close to th' upper level. We get nasty visitors sometimes." He folded his arms over the plate bound to his chest. Baxty stopped and stared with wolfish grin. They bore the same vaguely S-shaped brands on their cheeks, though Vendle had that odd tattoo over his eye as well. "All right, I'll hear yer side. What option have ye got?"

[Delcan Damsein]

Desten can't help but offer a good-hearted chuckle as he watched the female dwarf adjust. He then turned towards Vendle, and nodded somberly. He then pulled a coin purse off his waist, and threw it towards the casteless male. "The Wardens get paid a small amount every month." He then nodded towards the coin purse. "That should be a good amount to take care of your family for awhile. You can pay me back. Consider it an advance." He then offered a warm smile.

[Zestyn]

Vendle looked down at the pouch as it fell to his feet. He raised a brow to it but did not move to pick it up. Baxty bit her lip and then dove for it and snatched it up greedily. Vendle took a step back so as not to get in her way. "Baxty's my family, sir. All th' others fighting the Carta's my family. They don' need coin. Ah, they do. But what they need more is...They need a stout body with metal plates strapped to 'im te take th' big blows. Do ye see the situation I'm in, sir?"

[Delcan Damsein]

Desten slowly walked over as his face turned red, blinking as it was quickly scooped up by Baxty. "Uh, I meant for you to catch it to count..." He then looked back to the dwarf and nodded. "Right...well..." He then looked to Baxty and shrugged. "No offense, but I'm only interested in your friend. But..." He reached up and scratched the back of his head. "I suppose I can hire you as a mercenary."

[Zestyn]

Baxty set to counting the coin that she had claimed with a look of intense concentration. "Yeah, sure, whatever gets me outta this place," she said non-committally. Vendle frowned to her before returning his attention to Desten. "Yer a Warden, aye? Is there nothin' ye kin do fer Dust Town? Ye've seen what we've gotta live through. We're trapped, here. I know ye got more important things with th' Darkspawn an' all..." He shook his head slowly, his great beard wagging slowly. "We need hope. Baxty an' I bring it in our own way. If we leave, what will there be?" 

[Delcan Damsein]

Desten hesitates for a moment, scratching the back of his head. "Well...I bet that we could hold some sway with the dwarven nobles per our pact." He then offered a small bow to the dwarf. "As soon as we handle the Blight, we can look into the matter. And if you join the Wardens, the other dwarfs will take Dust Town a bit more seriously."

 

[Zestyn]

Desten would see Baxty clumsily stuffing the coin in her pockets while nonchalantly inspecting the cave ceiling. [3] Vendle nodded with a smile. "Aye, tha's a good point, there. I must hope me family will be safe in the meantime. An' must hope I don' bring more shame to Dust Town than hope, aye?"

Baxty bobbed her head. "Aye, aye."

"I ain't never been to the surface, though." He looked up the slope leading up to Orzammar proper with a deep frown. "How should I prepare fer it? Anythin' to expect?" He turned back to gaze down into the dust-choked streets of the sprawling slum underneath the mountain. "An' I gotta get word back to th' others, somehow. Baxty an' I can't just cut an' run, ye know."

[Delcan Damsein]

Desten shakes his head at Baxty. Another battle for another day. He then turned to Vendle, scratching his beard as he thought for a moment. "Hmm...how about I meet you back here in an hour? Would that be enough time for you to get everything sorted?"

[Zestyn]

"Two hours. I oughta be careful movin' about Dust Town after killin' a few Carta dwarves."

"Aye," said Baxty with a nod.

"I'll meet ye back here in two hours after I say me goodbyes."

[Delcan Damsein]

Desten nods, looking over his shoulder towards Orzammar. "Hmm, alright. I'll get our supplies for the journey then. That should take me just about two hours as well..." He then gave a small bow and went to give the dwarf his time, but then turned around and offered a light smile. "And no, there's just a lot more greenery and sky. Otherwise, same thing."

[Zestyn]

"Sky," repeated Vendle. He stared at the dusty ground, suddenly unsure of himself. "Right. The dwarf turned and made his way back into Dust Town. Baxty skipped after him and then clambered onto the rooftops when they neared a hovel.

As promised, they returned two hours later. Vendle carried two small and dirty packs over his shoulder. Baxty did not burden herself. "I'm jus' about as ready te see th' surface as I'll ever be," he said when he saw Desten again. Baxty's eyes darted about and then fixed upon the slope leading into Orzammar. Her fingers twitched at her sides.