Bizarre Bazaar [Job/Chimera]

Job Overview: A traveling bazaar has been set up in the middle of the Plains, drawn by the discovery of a dungeon. Unfortunately, the local wildlife does not appreciate the intrusion and has attacked the bazaar. Take out the attacking animals and save the bazaar and the caravan leader will rewards you for your efforts!

Spoiler:

Lexi hummed softly to herself as she wandered through the small caravan that was on its way to take advantage of the adventurers who were on their way to the dungeon, keeping a sharp eye out for anything of interest. While the settlement was doing fairly well, they would be packing up to travel soon and needed a few odds and ends supplies for the move and to make it through winter, which was approaching faster than she would have liked. She had left Nymeria with Shana, so she had the freedom to move around as she needed to without being weighed down by the ever-growing infant.

The wares were plentiful, the bazaar had obviously seen more than its fair share of trading, and Lexi was enjoying the hustle and bustle of the surroundings. Her trademarks jaguar ears were covered with a small scarf and her tail was out of sight thanks to her long skirt, so no one raised an eye at seeing a Kimeer in such a populated place. She found it was also an excellent venue to hear rumors about slave traders, the gossiping of the various tribes passing through the area giving a basic outline of probably strike areas. She was relieved not to hear about anything in the vicinity of her own settlement, but she would still be cautious.

As she was looking through the fruit, her attention was grabbed by a conversation when she overheard something about ‘Trader Joe’ and she forgot to pay attention to her surroundings, causing her to accidentally stumble into a woman. Turning to the stranger, she immediately began apologizing as she straightened the bow slung across her back, making sure it did not slip off her shoulder.

“I am so sorry, miss. I wasn’t looking where I was going. I hope I didn’t hurt you!”

[480/1500]

The clamor and chatter of the bazaar was exciting. The brilliance of the sun radiated across the fields of the bazaar on the beautiful day, which had plenty of the workers sweating behind their stalls. However, there was a gentle breeze to accompany the warm of the sunlight. If there was one way to describe the day, the word would be perfect. While there was a disorder the noises surrounding the caravan, it was almost as if it was the heart beat that kept the bazaar going. There were musicians of all flavors, performers of all varieties and animals of all kinds.

Chimera had found herself travelling with the caravan with sometime after she had heard they were heading towards the dungeon. To the slaver, it wasn't even a question. This was a mutually beneficial symbiosis, so to speak. She had offered her help with the bazaar, and she stayed there earning a bit of money to feed herself and get somewhere to sleep during the night. All the while she got to see the spectacle of it all. It was essentially a travelling circus in her eyes. She had never been around something so exciting and pleasant throughout her years.

Today, her eyes were focused on the beasts that were being sold and traded. It had reminded her very much of slavery, but it was evident that none of the folk, Balbaadian or not, saw anything wrong with the taming of animals as such. As she stood back, observing some animals from afar, a younger girl than she had misstepped while taking in the scenery. Chimera's face left a microexpression of surprise, but quickly changed to one of adoration for the youngster. She was dressed as cute as a button, with a young countenance. "Well, aren't you the adorable one?" Chimera extended her hand into her hair, ruffling it as if she had known the girl much like a little sister. There was something about her that let Chimera feel a bit in control.

Chimera continued on. "I bet you're here to conquer the dungeon on the island, huh?" She said it jokingly as if it were a humorous thing, but she herself was on her way to do such a feat, but perhaps... things would change. Going to the dungeon was still not set in stone in her mind, she had no information to go on, but she wanted the title more than anything.

406/1500

Lexi forced herself not to flinch when the woman was overly familiar with her petting and barely kept from glaring. She knew she looked quite young, but she certainly did not feel young. She sometimes forgot that in the eyes of others, they were likely to see an innocent girl just blooming into womanhood, not a mother that had lost her family three times now. When the woman mentioned the dungeon, Lexi simply arched and brow and shook her head.

“I have no interest in needlessly risking my life for a slim chance of riches and glory. I am just taking advantage of the bazaar to gather supplies for my tribe. It is nearly winter and trading is occasionally necessary to survive the harsh chill that blows across the Plains.”

The other woman looked kind enough, but she was having trouble getting a straight read on her. Not wanting to delve too deeply into her personal information, Lexi held out her hand to shake the other woman’s, her calloused hand giving a firm, but not unkind grip. Her palms were rough from hours spent with her bow but the calluses were a blessing, preventing the blisters she used to get when she had first starting learning the weapon she had nearly mastered.

“My name is Lexiara, pleased to make your acquaintance.”

[701/1500]

At first, Chimera was intrigued by the girls's speech. She definitely had an old soul. Chimera herself only saved that sort of logic for the confines of her mind, which left a smile on her face to see someone so young being so mature and composed. Something she didn't see in the eyes of the children in Heliohapt, slave or not. Chimera's mind played with the thought of enslaving this tough young girl in her mind as she offered a hand.

Chimera smirk grew deeper. It was atypical for her to shakes hands with a lady unless it was business. This little girl was quite guarded, but she merely matched in etiquette as she normally would under any circumstances. However, the grasp wiped the smile off Chimera's face. She slowly pieced together the woman's toughness, no longer seeing her as a child, but as an adult. Her hands had revealed that 'Lexiara' was definitely no kid in any sense of the word. Her eyes finally noticed the bow that Lexiara had been carrying around.

There was a small turn around in her own demeanor as she gave a dainty handshake. "You may address me as Chimera, it seems to be what eve-" She was suddenly interrupted by a halt in motion of the caravan followed by some shrieks. As she focused on the noise, she could hear the the tremors of a small stampede. She backed up, creating some distance between herself and the incoming chargers. "NOOOOOMS." A loud, echoing battle cry resonated throughout the bazaar, as some... antelope? Not quite.... Some strange antelope monsters came charging between  the fields and heading for.... the other animals? Were these giraffelope in heat?

Chimera dropped her satchel to give herself some breathing room. Perhaps now she would have some time to test herself before the dungeon.

710/1500

Lexi couldn’t help but let a smile lift the edge of her lips when Chimera reassessed her after her handshake. You could learn much from a simple handshake. At least the woman, Chimera, seemed to have a better grasp of at least the age of her experiences. Just as she was about to respond to Chimera, Lexi felt the ground shake and was instantly on guard. Growing up on the Plains, she knew immediately what it was. An earthquake wouldn’t be like this, no… this was animals in a panic, charging. She released her bow in a flash, her eyes quickly scanning her surroundings. As the giraffelopes came into view, she tried to quickly track where they were headed and saw them directed towards crowds. Many of the people were as experienced as her and were doing their best to move out of the way.

Lexi knew she needed to try and at least create a barrier between the stampeding animals and the remainder of the crowd. With swift movements, her fingers found the special arrows in her quiver and notched them on the string. Pulling the string back, she aimed for a couple of meters in front of the creatures and released Quad Boom.  The arrows traveled to make a line in front of the creatures, the small explosions not intended to hurt the animals but to keep them from charging closer to the crowd. The front Giraffelope reared up in a panic at the explosion near it, frightened by the sudden appearance of flames but intent on its path. Before it could try to breach the flames, Lexi had another arrow pulled taut on her bowstring. With an exhale, she released the Death Shot, the arrow finding its mark in between the giraffelope’s eyes. The creature fell to the ground instantly, leaving only three more of the stampeding creatures to be dealt with.

Lexi turned her attention to Chimera briefly, wondering how the woman would deal with the sudden appearance of the odd animals. She shouted out a warning, having encountered the creatures a time or two during her travels.

“Careful of its Screech!”

On more than one occasion, she had dealt with the ringing in her ears from the odd animal’s unique cry that was intended to deafen and disorient anything that might be trying to harm it. Hopefully, the other woman would heed her advice.

[1100/1500]
[Magoi/Stamina: 180/250]

Abilities Used:

Debris filled sky from the detonating shots, as chunks of terrain soared threw the area, Chimera's eyes caught glimpse of one of the giraffalopes at the end of the, veering away from the arrow as it caught glimpse of the incoming barrage. It managed to preemptively get out of the way, but she was quick to match it's route to intercept it. Her eyes locked with the beast... and she started giggling. During the beasts canter pace, it's tongue would bounce along flapping uselessly in the air.

"Careful of its screech!" The little girls voice carried through the entirety of the bazaar. The people who had been working had finished scattering and most were hiding behind stalls and had left the general vicinity of the area with now caged animals panicking from the commotion of the battle. Chimera had processed more information as she saw Lexiara fire an arrow right through one of the beast, incapacitating it at the very least, quite possibly killing it.  To have the strength to wield a bow, would have taken a lot of experience, that plus the accuracy and range from her prior shots....

By now the giraffalope was a dozen or so meters ahead of her, she put her left arm out defensively, ready to palm the hoofed beasts head to stop it, as her other hand swept her short hair back, and as her finger glided through her follicles, the shape of her hair became several thin tendrils finally coiling together into one, obeying her command as if it were her own limb, which swung beneath her underarm, striking the beast through the neck at the last possible second.

With that motion, the tip of her elongated hair was soaked in blood, and the giraffalope let out a small death cry, sounding like "Nooooms..." Chimera used her foot to push the twitching carcass off of her crimson-dipped hair, as her eyes transformed... becoming similar to that of the creature she had just vanquished. Her pupils morphing into bars parralel to the floor as she got a better view of the ongoings. Her hair floating in a coil behind her as she took notice of Lexi's and the two remaining targets.

1078/1500

Stamina:160

Abilities:

Lexi’s small explosions had been effective at deterring the creatures from causing too much collateral damage to anyone, but the giraffelopes were still crazed and intent to continue their war path. She gave a hum of appreciation at seeing Chimera take out one of the creatures using what appeared to be her hair. It didn’t even make Lexi bat an eye. After some of the things she had seen other Kimeer do with their appendages, using hair was not particularly confounding to her. She turned her focus back to the two remaining creatures, notching another arrow into her bow and shooting off Death Shot once more, the arrow flying to bury itself in the giraffelope’s chest, the creature falling to the ground with a cry of distress.

Lexi felt slightly bad about having to put the creatures down, the odd features of the face making them somewhat adorable and repulsive at the same time. It was not in her nature to strike down a creature unless she needed to eat or if it was a danger, but stampeding through a bazaar was fairly dangerous, both for the creatures and for the people present. She looked back at the final beast as it stamped its feet in confusion, unsure of which direction to go. She placed another arrow in her bow, aiming carefully for the creature before pausing, waiting to see what the other woman would do. Chimera seemed capable enough to handle the last of the giraffelopes, but just in case, Lexi was prepared to strike.


[1356/1500]
[Magoi/Stamina: 160/250]

Abilities Used:

Chimera's goat-like eyes saw the people of the bazaar start to find security and comfort in her own abilities to take down the Giraffalope's as well as Lexi's markmanship which had just taken the life of another beast. She sped to her own maximum pace as the giraffalope began to panic in fear as it's herd was taken out in a matter of seconds. The beast that was initially protecting it's territory had been dealt an unfortunate hand by fate. Now that it's pack was gone, it became frantic with fear. After standing on it's hind legs and stamping its fore legs in place a few times in succession trying to assess the situation, it began to storm out of the bazaar. However, Chimera's animal instincts wouldn't allow such a thing to happen.

Chimera's arms coiled together into a spiral as she distorted her arms, gathering and holding her breath as she dived into the ground and her arms began to unravel as drill carrying her beneath ground at a much faster rate than she would be able travel on regular ground. As she displaced all the dirt, getting some on her attire, she spawned behind the goat as it was cornered by the explosion-distorted terrain and herself.

In a quick slash of her hair, she bisected the beast in two, some of the blood discharged spraying directly onto her. She sighed as her body slowly relaxed from all the excitement... emphasis on excitement. Chimera had never had the chance to kill another living organism... it was almost as if something primal inside of her had taken over, enjoying the thrill of the hunt. She took the time to wave to Lexi, appreciating the teamwork. The wave, quickly became a thumbs up indicating her approval on the job well done.

1378/1500

Stamina:115

Abilities:

Lexi have a small smile as Chimera waved at her and then gave her a thumbs up. As the dust settled and people began making their way back out to shuffle among the carts, a few patted her and Chimera on the back in appreciation for their quick action to preserve the safety of those in the bazaar. As Lexi approached Chimera, she could not help but noticed the hunter’s glow emanating from the other woman. She recognized the look of success and power resonating through Chimera, every hunter got it when they took down their prey, regardless of what that prey might be. She gave Chimera a pat on the back and a small smile.

“Well done, Chimera. Clean kills and no one got hurt. And now we have something to offer in trade to the shop owners, if you are in need of supplies.”

Lexi wasted no time in dragging the bodies of the two giraffelopes she had killed and stacking them together. Fur and meat were good for bartering and she intended to take advantage of the unexpected boon. She made sure to secure her bow across her back once more and straightened out her mussed up hair, being careful not to disturb the scarf covering her ears. With any luck, she might even be able to afford a wagon and horse for the villagers, with the extra bounty she was bringing in. It would certainly be useful for the migration. She was careful to treat the corpses of the beasts with reverence, she did not believe in senseless killings, but the poor idiotic creatures had posed too much harm.

[1500+/1500]
[Magoi/Stamina 160/250]

Chimera's aura slowly began to dissipate, as her heart rate and other vital signs began to stabilize. Her pupils dilating to their proper size, as she took more notice of the people of the bazaar finally feeling completely safe. She then looked to the girl beside her, it was clear she was Chimera's superior in combat, and the compliment despite being innocent, left a sting coming from someone younger than her.

The words that she spoke seemed to blur together in Chimera's mind as she was grew more curious about the child. "Hey, Lexiara, right? How old are you exactly?" She bit her lip to keep from unleashing a barrage of questions. As chimera waited for the child, she pulled out a waterskin she had been carrying with her, tilting her head back at an angle so she could soak the blood out of her hair. It was particularly unbecoming to have the vital fluid in her follicles when it was so short, even if it had a certain flair and style about it.

As she washed her hair, running her fingers through the length, she could see some people were still hesitant about her actions... She sighed, it had happened before. It was why she would typically completely avoid using her abilities out in the public, letting her slaves or other people handle combat situations, but Lexi's actions seemed to have inspired her to act. Even if she did regret having used her abilities, she would have done it again even knowing this outcome.

1500+/1500

Lexi arched a brow at Chimera’s question, chuckling softly.

“Not as young as I look… I have been through about 18 season cycles, I think. Maybe only 17. Time flies when you travel constantly. And you?”

She cocked her head to the side, examining the other woman. She was probably not much older than Lexi, but still had an aura of near innocence about her. Like she had seen things and maybe done things to help her grow, but also like the world had not shown its ugliest side to her quite yet. When she noticed the stares of the bazaar patrons, she gave a small huff. She was used to the stares, but she still felt compassion for Chimera. She briefly considered letting her ears show to at least give the patrons more than one person to stare at, but she did not want to risk drawing slave traders back to her village. The Kimeer were simply too hunted as specialty pets and until she had a chance to eliminate more of the slave trade, it was best to keep her unusual features hidden. The jaguar speckles across her cheeks were easily mistaken for freckles unless someone looked closely at them to see the rosette pattern.

Lexi stiffened slightly as a rotund man approached, a large smile stretched across his lips. His expression fairly reeked of the salesman dishonesty and Lexi was wary of him, but he simply approached and grasped her hand, shaking it vigorously.

“You have saved my bazaar, both of you! Please, let me reward you!”

He immediately began trying to shove bags of gold coins at the two and Lexi accepted it silently. She was not about to deny any amount of monetary compensation, she was here to purchase supplies, after all… and every little bit helped.

[1500+/1500]
[Magoi/Stamina 160/250]

The phrase was a bit foreign to her, but she understood the gist of it. She must have been seventeen or eighteen, but she was rather rural if she wasn't certain about that sort of stuff. It would explain her skills with the bow to an extent, but even as such, Chimera could tell Lexi hadn't exerted the same amount of effort as she had done. All she could do was smile about it, as it had set a bar for her to strive for. "Well, I'm nineteen."

She was looking at Lexiara's face with a bit more investigative work until something had caught Lexi's eyes and Chimera turned to look at the source of her attention. 'Ah, my kind of people.' Chimera was pleased to see the salesman, accepting the money in a quick motion, putting her earnings away. If the man could afford to give this amount of money to two strangers, he must have quite the business in making sure his goods were safe. There was no way he was a bad businessman, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten quite this far, and Chimera wasn't the type to believe in luck.

"Ah, what do you deal in, sir?" She turned back to Lexi for a moment, now she had a choice to make either learn more about the strength of Lexi's or about the financial prowess of the merchant before her, but considering her imminent situation with the dungeon, she had quickly decided it would be better to perhaps learn more about the huntress behind her. The merchant went on that he had organized the bazaar and he was carrying one of the more important goods onboard, the animals that were caged.

Lexi was impressed by the girl’s young age of 19, she had mastered a great deal in her young time and had found some interesting things to do with her body.  When she filered through the coins from the own, she listened as the man gave a response, Lexi giving a violent and sudden reaction at his words.

“I buy and sell slaves all over the world.”

Lexi did not gave him a chance to continue and gave zero thought to her reactions. She immediately and without hesitation drew Onyxia her close quarters to the man allowing her to bury her blade deep into his chest before stepping back and drawing a basic arrow and launching it at the man’s throat, causing him to fall holding his throat as he choked on his own blood. Her eyes were like flint as she looks at chimera. If the girl objected, she would have no problem responding to any block the woman may make. She would not allow anything to stop her from taking out a trader.

Her face was completely stone as the man fell to the ground is his death throws.



[1500+/1500]
[Magoi/Stamina 160/250]
[Ammo 14/15]

Items used:

Chimera saw Lexi drawing a close range weapon, and she could see the actions unfolding. Her first reaction was to save him, and she began to utilize Right Snake Scales, but it was too late. The dagger was deep into the merchants chest. Chimera's only thought was the realization of Lexiara's mission against slavers. Chimera was ready as she saw Lexiara step back to create enough distance to draw her bow. Chimera stepped between them in the new gap and deflected the arrow that seemed to be aiming for a killshot on the merchant. "What are you doing!? DIDN'T YOU JUST SAVE THIS MAN? THESE PEOPLE?" Chimera finally realized who she was trying to stop, someone at least twice as strong as her, perhaps she could reason with Lexi, but her killing intent and immediate reaction was a good indicator of the things to come.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!" There were screams from the people who had been watching the action unfold, now the people who had been previously hiding when the giraffalope attacked, were now in complete hysterics as they ran from the bazaar altogether. A pair of slaves that the slaver had owned came to his rescue, and tried to drag him to safety, looking at the knife wound in his chest. "Help! Help! I need a doctor!" screamed throughout the bazaar as his blood poured out. He might not even survive the knife wound after all.

Ability:

[48 Hour Rule]

Chimera saw the opportunity to save the man's life and she took it. She pushed Lexiara down to the floor to buy some time for her to buy time to save the merchants life. Chimera looked back to Lexiara and she seemed stunned and dazed that she was blocked. Chimera ran to the merchant, and helped him onto his feet with an arm over her neck and shoulders as she supported himself on both legs but still hobbling and his other arm trying to stop the bleeding. She escaped and managed to get potion from one of the slaves who finally admitted to her there were no doctors. The potion seemed to help the merchant as he escaped along side Chimera.

[Exit]

Lexi blinked blankly as Chimera blocked her shot before her eyes hardened and she drew another arrow into her bow. She was not about to let some child with no understanding of the world stop her from her mission. But something about Chimera’s words made her pause for just a moment and the human shield the other woman had created did create an issue with her abhorrence for killing innocent things. She kept her bow held taut as she leveled it directly at Chimera’s throat, the arrow tip nudging delicately at the white skin, Lexi’s eyes hard and sharp.

“If you ever get in my way again, I will not hesitate to bury this arrow in your head. That man buys and sells humans for profit. I will not forgive such an action.”

She lowered the bow before stomping away to allocate the resources she needed.

[exit]