Another Day, Another Dollar (post-round mingle)

[midpointmods]

PLAYERS: Everyone!
LOCATION: Midpoint, and anywhere else people want to explore
GOAL: Time to relax after some hard-won rounds.
WARNINGS: None
OTHER: The setting post for those who want to explore

The stagecoach reaches the Ranch... and the cargo isn’t with it. A large, feathery dinosaur reaches the Ranch a little later, with only some of their cargo, having been hit mid-route and between transformations by the bandits.

“Well, we’ll take what we can get,” Lee says sourly at what’s left after the bandits’ raiding - maybe half of the empty crates. He hollers at his ranch hands, “Come get 'em, boys!” Between him and the other workers, and any of the remaining driver team able to be pressed into service (which is mostly just Groot), the crates are unloaded and stacked and filled with supplies for the next train out. Looks like they were useful, after all.

At the end of the day, Lee sends the drivers on their way back to Midpoint, and the bandits can do what they will with their portion of the cargo. Got any use for sturdy wooden crates, friends?

In Tycoon Depot, Tiffany Jamesson has spent a(n enjoyable) day and a half in hiding with Inara, Daylight, and Irene, peppering Daylight with questions and flirting demurely with Inara and Irene, presumably out of boredom. The hand-off with her father goes pretty smoothly, with only Fuwa on the outside - he might be furious, but he's not willing to interrupt and risk the target’s life in a firefight.

Exchange made, kidnappers and bodyguards are free to head back to Midpoint.

In the saloon, North has laid out a buffet of everyone’s favorite foods to choose from, with beer and wine on the house for two days only: the traditional post-round congratulations-or-consolations feast. There’s someone on the piano almost all night providing music, and extra hot water for baths whenever people finally retires to their rooms. Most Players make good use of the additional free food and drink for as long as it lasts; whether for enjoyment, self-medication, or to stave off boredom is their own call.

The dead don't remain so for long, and wake up in jail cells - the same ones they started their round at - at the edges of the game arena around the same time as the round ends, ready to be collected by friends - if there’s anyone who wants to come get them.

The next week and a half belong to the Players to do with what they please, be it sleep all day, spend their hard-earned points on more alcohol, ask lots of questions, or explore the arena. There are no events planned, nothing to steal, no one to murder (unless you really want to, anyway), and plenty of things to learn about and try to get to the bottom of, for any Players not too jaded to try and search. Good luck with that, anyway.

Oh - did you want to know if you won, or how badly you lost? Gonna have to ask North or Booker for your points totals, because there’s nobody who actually announces whether you won or lost...

Comments

Booker's General Store

[midpointmods]

For point tallies, supplies, and more!

[unofficial_ambassador]

All right, it's time to be a grown-up and spend some of her own money. It's still a bit disconcerting to see the exact same man here as in the store in Tycoon Depot, but Inara hides her double-take and smiles.

"Good morning, I'm here to check my balance."

[midpointmods]

Booker's not as good at hiding his own, completely blank, stare when she walks in, but he very quickly lights up with a charming grin. "It's a pleasure seein' y'all again, Ma'am. Your current balance is..."

He pauses, tapping one hand on the counter as he thinks, and gives her another smile. "One hundred points! Congratulations - that must've been a decisive victory!"

[unofficial_ambassador]

It definitely hadn't felt that way, what with one of their team dead and the deal with Irene meaning that Tiffany had never actually been out from under the watchful eye of her bodyguards, but Inara isn't about to complain.

"It must have been, " she agrees. It would have made for an exciting broadcast, anyway. "In practical terms, what's that worth? I didn't arrive here with much and I'm trying to better outfit myself for the next round."

[midpointmods]

"That depends entirely on what you're lookin' to buy." His smile turns a bit apologetic. "I'm afraid that's not terribly helpful, but a hundred points ought to keep you fair spoiled if you plan on spending liberally until next round ends. Is there anything in particular you're looking to kit out with?"

[unofficial_ambassador]

"I think practical clothing is probably at the top of my list." She gestures at her outfit, the sundress and flats she had been planning to wear at the plant shop front counter before all of this are already looking worse for wear. "I don't want to have to ride across the countryside again in this." Especially not on a standard saddle - even the thought is enough to make her hips hurt again.

The next step after that is ditching the gun. "And if you carry any archery equipment I wouldn't mind taking a look at it." Getting a bolt-thrower is definitely beyond her means right now but even the most basic bow is better than a gun.

[midpointmods]

"I don't imagine anything here's gonna fit quite as we-we-we-we-well--" He clears his throat briefly, looking awkward. It didn't sound quite like a stutter as it did an audio glitch. "Beg your pardon. Quite as well as something y'all might g-get up at Tycoons' Depot, what with the professional ta-tailors there, none so fancy either, but I definitely have some pants and shirts in your size here."

He nods at the second request. "The bow might run y'all a bit mo-more, that ain't a typical weapon round here, but I think..." He looks aside, hand tapping on the counter in the same rhythm as before, before he smiles. "Yeah, we oughta have two shortbows, a long-longbow, and a few different styles of quiver to pick from - each quiver comes with thirty arrows."

[unofficial_ambassador]

"That's fine. I'll be wearing them in the barn, anyway." Inara smiles reassuringly. She's not too concerned as long as they don't restrict her range of movement, and really if her clothes hang a bit loosely that's something for Aethon to chew on that’s not her hair. Win-win.

The other thing prompts her to stop and think for a moment. Obviously, a longbow is superior in terms of range and power, but it's also slower and more difficult to fire from cover or horseback. With multiple snipers already available, the likelihood of winding up stationed on a roof with a bow is pretty low. "A short bow suits my needs, I think. And I hope that thirty arrows would be enough to last me a long while."

[midpointmods]

He nods cheerfully, before his expression turns pensive. "Then that'll b-be-be..."

His tone abruptly turns quite monotone: "One outfit, inclusive one each shirt, pants, set of underwear, ten points. One shortbow, twenty points. One back quiver, inclusive thirty arrows, twenty-five points. Your total comes to-to fifty-five points."

And then in his normal conversational tone. "But haggling's acceptable round these parts, if y'all ain't hap-happy with that total."

Re: Booker's General Store

[chalicejoker]

"We have a balance?" Hajime is trying to act like he knows exactly what he's doing. He does not. But he's also got a few things he wants to try to buy, or at least price, and this is how he's got to go about doing it, isn't it?

"Do you have candy?" Ryo's got his own priorities. "Or toys?"

[midpointmods]

"Every active pl-player has a balance--" Booker stares with an odd blankness at Hajime for a moment, before his polite smile is abruptly back in place as he continues, "Mister Aikawa. Y'all can earn up to fifty points for losing when you participate i-in a round, and up to one hundred for winning. It all depends on how entertaining the higher ups thought y'all ma-ma-made it."

He turns his attention to Ryo, and smiles gently. "What kind of candy would y'all be interest-ested in? We've got a pretty wide variety," he adds, gesturing behind him at the lower shelves - there's hard and soft peppermints, peanut brittle and taffy, gum and sherbert wafers, and a line of jars with numerous different kinds of pickled jalapenos.

[chalicejoker]

Well. That was just a little weird. Hajime refrains from commenting on the blankness and name-knowing and whatnot. "How many do we have, then? And how much would a gun cost?" That's a terrible idea and he knows he'd be more likely to use a gun as an oddly-shaped club, but he might as well ask.

Ryo excitedly perks up at the sight of the candy, and if he is not stopped, will hop right over the counter to go look at it at eye level. "Oooh, what are these?" Of course he's stopped in front of the pickled jalapenos.

[midpointmods]

Booker seems to turn a bit uncomfortable at guns being brought up - despite the few rifles sitting at the top of his shelves behind him. So Ryo trying to jump behind the counter is an excellent distraction, and he manages to grab the mantis in midair.

"Hold your horses there, li-li-little fella!" With one hand he picks up the jar of jalapenos, before he puts both bug and bottle on the counter. "The-these are called pickled jalapenos. They're real sharp and real spi-spi-spicy."

He looks up at Hajime then. "Y'all have fifty points, Mister Aikawa."

[chalicejoker]

"Still wanna try one!" Ryo insists, absolutely not minding having been caught. "One pickled jalapeno, please!"

"Ryo," Hajime says patiently to the mantis, "it's going to be like that time you tried that wasabi." Ryo had liked the color! He wanted to see what the taste was like!

Ryo had been very disappointed in what the taste was like. "But I wanna try!"

"Ryo."

"Wanna try!"

Hajime sighs, tries to ignore the mantis's terrible decision making skills wherever could Ryo have picked up such a thing and asks, "How many points for a gun? Not that I'm buying right now." He's just curious, that's all.

[midpointmods]

"My price range for guns st-sta-starts at fifteen for handgu-guns, and forty for rifles," Booker says uncomfortably. "Y'all can get an unlimited amount of fre-free pistols from the jails, but mine are noted higher quality, and I'm the only genuine sell-ell-eller of local-made rifles."

To Ryo, whom Booker immediately shows a much more relaxed face, he says kindly, "I can give y'all a re-real small one, but it's gonna cost your da-daddy one point per pepper."

[chalicejoker]

Hajime nods and makes a note of the discomfort. "We'll hold off for now; I was just checking."

Speaking of discomfort, it's Hajime's turn to squirm a bit at being called Ryo's daddy. Again. In a new place they've only been at for a few days, tops. (What had Ryo told people while Hajime was dead?) "How much for a couple of hard peppermints and a piece of taffy with the jalapeno?" Because Ryo's going to need some sort of Actual Candy after his brush with the jalapeno. Hajime can tell.

[midpointmods]

Booker is honestly just assuming. It's a very fatherly tone the man is putting on.

"That'll be four points to-total, sir," he says warmly, and turns to pull down two more jars: one filled with paper-wrapped taffy pieces, and one with soft peppermints: the green kind, rather than the red, and he puts the requested candies in a paper bag. The jar of peppers has a ribbon around it, on which a pair of small tongs has been strung, that Booker uses to take one of the peppers out and hands it carefully to Ryo.

"Now make su-su-sure you take small bi-ites, Ryo."

[worthallthis]

Soldat always checks in with Booker between rounds, just to make sure he's doing okay. Usually, they're not coming to buy anything-- they got their rifle ages ago, and there's really not anything else they need, unless it's a specific item for a mission, and even then, they don't generally bother unless it seems critical.

Today, they have an idea, if it winds up being possible.

Starting with pleasantries, though, always. Because Booker is as much a person as they are, dammit. "Hi, Booker. How're the circuits today?"

[midpointmods]

Soldat gets a slightly warmer smile than most people. It's got a bit of extra crinkle in Booker's cheeks, a slight drop of his shoulders as he relaxes a little. He's known Soldat for five years, after all - it's nice seeing him finally open up.

"Well as they ever are, sir." And part of it is no names for Soldat, despite Booker knowing his real one. "A bi-bit more fried than most folks, but still doing their j-j-job."

[worthallthis]

And that kindness is appreciated so much, even if "sir" is still weird. "Doing it real well, seems like. Shop's been busy today." They've seen a number of the newer players coming in, at last, seeing about supplies and anything else they might need.

[midpointmods]

"Some of the new Pl-Players checking their totals, making use of them. Young mister Ryo seems to have an awfully curious sweet tooth," he adds brightly. Booker doesn't exactly get to see a lot of children, so he's rather taken by Ryo.

[worthallthis]

Soldat smiles a little. "Ryo is pretty cute. Think everyone's gonna love him, before long." And they're already the poor little guy's least favorite person. Well, they're a lot of people's least favorite person. They can deal with it. "What did he try of yours?"

[midpointmods]

"He was achin' after the pi-pi-pickled jalapenos," he says, with a fond laugh in his tone. "Mister Hajime was real determined to talk him down, but he don't seem the type to be strict on kids a-at all."

[worthallthis]

"Pretty sure he doesn't know how. I know I wouldn't." Soldat has dealt with children before, back in Beacon, but it's been a long time, and they were a pretty soft touch back then, too. "Jesus, the jalapenos though? What a choice. Hope he's learned better, now."

[midpointmods]

"I think Ryo might be just as stub-stu-stubborn as Mister Hajime," he says, lifting a loose fist to his mouth to cover what's trying to be a broad grin. "I only g-gave him a little one and he ate the whole thi-ing, trying not to spit out ev-ev-every bite."