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(oof, no worries)
"Kali? Hmm." Boar-back considered her for another moment. "So tell me. What's a skilled warrior like you doing in a humble place like this, Kali? It doesn't seem like you care much for the people here."
"I don't." Taran snorted. "They can all go to hell for all I care." She shrugged. "As for why I'm here, I don't see why it's any of your business. Now if that's all, I would like to go, please."
"That's not all, no." Boar-back studied the brightening sky for a minute. "Renzi?"
Another figure appeared, this one a younger man with neat dreadlocks. "We tested all the villagers, chief. Most of them didn't make the cut, but a few of them are decent fighters, and we kept the blacksmith like you asked."
"Good work. Take them and everything we found back to camp, we'll be right behind you." The bandit leader turned back to Taran then. "Why don't I cut you a deal, Kali. Come join us. Your talents are clearly too great to be wasted on these nobodies, and the rewards of our life are well worth it. We could use more accomplished, experienced people like you on our side."
"I know you could use me." Taran had easily molded back into the confident, arrogant fighter persona that she had been before. "I was one of the top lone fighters in the country, after all." She pursed her lips. "What would I get?"
"A position of power and relative safety in this hellscape, for one thing. Beyond that, the possibilities are vast. My tribe has superior numbers and an expansive territory, as well as a comfortable campsite and a good supply of food even during the winter. I've already snagged us the best doctor in the six nearest states, so don't worry about staying healthy. And I guarantee you'll never have to bow to someone below you just to survive, like these villagers do." Boar-back shrugged a shoulder. "Besides, good loyal fighters earn a larger cut of the loot we get from raids, and it seems to me you could easily fit that bill."
"I don't know," she said. She leaned on the staff, eying him with suspiscion. "How do I know you'll keep your promises? Most bandits I've met are less willing to share in the spoils."
Boar-back glanced at the other bandits present. "What do you guys think? Do I treat you fairly?"
Muddybones quickly nodded his head, as did the others. "Trust me, lady, the boss always keeps his promises. He's gotta be the most fair leader of any of the big five tribes! He even gives a share of the loot to the guys who're too useless to help out!"
"The way I see it," Boar-back said, "There's no point in commanding a group of warriors unless you can take good care of them. Join our group and I can guarantee you'll be treated well."
Taran's lips twitched at the bandit follower's words. "I see. I'll consider it. The question is, will I be allowed to leave, if I chose?" She was seriously debating it. This was fun. She had forgotten what it was like to be Kali again.
"Well, if you join, you are swearing complete loyalty to me," Boar-back replied casually. "And leaving the tribe without my permission would condemn you to death, once we hunt you down–which we would eventually. And once it's clear that you're one of us, no other tribe will welcome you, but frankly they're all trash anyway. So, to answer your question….no. But where else are you hoping to go? Don't tell me you have places to be?"
"I might, or might not. You never know." She shrugged. "I'm in, I guess. But I want a vacation every once in a while. Every year they stage the Fighter's Tournament, and I want to join this year, so I can't be bothered to rob during that time."
Boar-back tilted his head. "The Fighter's Tournament, huh? Never heard of that. When and where is it held exactly?"
"It's held in about four months. All the elite fighters are participating. It's a few miles from here, in one of the big cities that I can never remember the name of. It's in the east somewhere."
"Hmm. Sounds like the kind of stuff that might happen in a city. Well, I'll tell you what: join us, and I'll let you go to that tournament, provided you tell those city-slickers that you're one of us. Think you can do that without sullying my reputation?"
(gtg for a bit, seeya)
(Byo!)
"I guess." Taran quirked an eyebrow. "You seem to think that I'll lose." She shrugged. "That can't be helped. You haven't seen my full abilities yet. So, what do I do? Get down on one knee and pledge eternal loyalty or something?" She looked amused.
Boar-back gave her an equally amused look. "You come back with us to camp and we'll introduce you to the rest of the gang. And don't worry, you'll have plenty of opportunities to show me what you're capable of in the coming weeks." He turned away, gesturing for the group to follow him. "If you have anything to pack up, now's the time. Looks like we're about done with this place."
"Alright, then. I wouldn't have bowed to you, in any case." She pulled her hair from her face and moved to follow the bandit leader. Stopping for only a moment, she glanced around and scowled at the place where she had lived, before following again.
The bandits soon noticed their leader was leaving and gathered in a pack behind him, most bearing the fruits of their invasion. Food, new clothes, valuables, weapons, tools–everything they could get their hands on. They seemed to be in high spirits, all laughing and talking as they made their way into the trees. By now the sun was almost completely over the mountains, and the forest looked quite lovely compared to the burnt and ruined village they'd just left.
After a few minutes, two of the bandits moved to walk closer to the new member of their tribe. One of them was Muddybones, still looking wary but more relaxed now, and the other was a skinny redheaded man with sharp blue eyes and a permanent scowl. "Heyyy," Muddybones said casually. "So how's it feel to be part of the strongest bandit tribe ever? I hope you feel lucky, cuz you definitely are. The boss doesn't usually accept newbies like you so quick."
"I'm positively thrilled that he chose me so fast," Taran said, pursing her lips. She now had a small dagger at her waist, and a full spear now, luckily, with a spearhead. She spun this around in her hands, her metal arm creaking and whirring with the sound of machinery. She frowned down at it. Hopefully there was oil where they were going, something to make her arm quieter.
Muddybones leaned away from the spear nervously. "Yeah well….good. I'm Muddybones, by the way, you probably already caught that. And this is my buddy, Blue Tommy." He nodded to the other man, who fixed Taran with a lazer-beam stare. "I wouldn't, uh, bother him too much, he's not really right in the head. He don't talk either. But he's a dang good fighter, and not too dangerous once he gets used to ya."
She tilted her head. "Why do you all have such weird names?" She tried not to laugh at his fear of her, and studied the other man.
Blue Tommy did not seem to enjoy the scrutiny. He eyed Taran for a minute, then bared his teeth in a silent warning and edged away like an annoyed dog.
Muddybones, meanwhile, straightened indignantly. "Hey, we're bandits. We can't have regular names. They're not scary enough. Is Kali your real name or your bandit name? 'Cause if it's your real one, you'd better pick a different one quick, or else the rules say we get to choose a name for ya."
"Kali is the name I went by when I was a fighter. It's from folklore, the goddess of death and destruction." Taran shrugged, turning her silver-eyed gaze to Muddybones. "If you think I should have a better name, then good for you. I'm keeping it until the boss says otherwise."
"Huh," Muddybones muttered, slowing to climb over a fallen tree. "I guess it's not a bad name, when you put it that way. Say, you're not like those freaks from the Devil-bird tribe that like to sacrifice people to a god of evil, are you? We don't want anything to do with those guys over here."
"Of course not," she said, rolling her eyes. "I don't kill people unless I'm in the mood, and I certainly don't sacrifice anyone. That's for weird cults and whatever." She shook her head with a sigh. "People are strange."
Muddybones huffed. "Well the Devil-Birds are strange, that's for sure. You don't wanna get messed up with them. They even sacrifice some of their own tribe members once a year to weed out the weak ones….at least that's what I heard. But they're stupider for it, cuz now they have a really small group, unlike us. The only reason they're on the map at all is they're frickin' good fighters." He paused, then added proudly, "But the boss thinks we'll be able to get rid of 'em pretty soon. He says their leader is young and dumb, not like Boar-back at all."
"And your boss seems to think that he can get rid of them?" She raised her eyebrows. "That's mighty ambitious." She moved forward, following the others.
"Heh. Well Chief ain't at the top for no reason." Muddybones swaggered after her confidently. "Did you notice his face? I guess it's kinda hard to miss. Nobody knows how he got those scars, but some people say he did it on purpose to make himself tougher and scarier. That's what I believe. That guy could deck a bear if it got in his way, and look good doin' it. Y'know….metaphorically speaking."
Taran snorted. The bandits had a strange, fanatic, almost worshipful devosion to their leader, and it was getting annoying. "Why did you get the name Muddybones, anyway?" She asked, changing the subject.
"Uh….well." Muddybones waved his hand carelessly. "It's because of how I like to collect the bones of my enemies. And the 'muddy' part's just because my hair's brown."
"That's a bunch of nonsense," interrupted the dreadlocked man, who'd come up behind them without being noticed. Muddybones yelped and scowled at him, but the taller man didn't seem to care. "Muddybones couldn't pick a name for himself, so we call him that because he's always frickin' filthy. Don't let him tell you otherwise." The man smiled wryly at Taran. "I'm Renzi, by the way. Boar-back's lieutenant. Welcome to our tribe."