Tavern

[Rebel]

He walks over to the four men and couldn't help overhearing some of the conversation. He smiles nodding at the man who presumably wrote him that letter before waving the green ribbon.

"Uh, Zhang Gus, extraordinaire, at your service."

Grabbing a chair from another nearby table he set it up and sat down waiting to be addressed.

[Ashikaga]

(I apologize for the delayed response, I have been doing stuff with my family)

Luanti and his men looked at each other and gave devilish smiles. Finally Luanti turned to the doctor and said "The cart cannot come before the carriage. How can we sell our wares with nothing to sell, customers would not know our capabilities to serve. What we must do differently than the others in a similar field is to provide a significant amount of quality service. During times of slow business we will make our own supply of gold. He!" The others gave a slight grunt or chuckle in approval.

Luanti looked at the other man with the green ribbon and nodded. "Welcome friend. We are discussing the virtues of our proposed business operation. This guy here has some reservations and I seek to dispel them. Do you have any questions?" His tone was overly formal and dramatic, hinting at what he was saying had different meaning. They were trying to be discreet for now. When everything was settled they would come out of the shadows.

Luanti looked back to the doctor, "again, you would be a great addition to our brotherhood, for that is what we shall be, a brotherhood of like minded merchants. As would you. (Looking to the newcomer)... I have already put forth an order for a sizable amount of materials to start my operation. I believe in three months I will be ready for operations. My associates here gather prospects to the business and I teach them what they need to know. Begin in this venture now and you too could be ready in a few months. While maybe not as well equipped, you would still have the goods we could sell."

[Selway]

“You'll forgive me for saying so but it's not a question of selling what we do not yet have. It is more a matter of knowing the market. Who might buy and how much, if at all?” He knew the matter was more complicated than all that. Just the same he wasn't wholly convinced. “One can simply lay out their wares and see what the day might bring of course. That I do daily my friend. I had hoped this would be a step away from that brand of business. I'll have to pass on the opportunity, at least in part. Should you have need of me in particular in the future I would be open to that but raising supporters is not something I have experience in nor drive to take part in I am afraid. My apologies for taking your time friend, think of me should any ailment befall you.” With that Yun took his leave baring any further discussion offered that required his attentions.

[RoiyaruOokami]

A figured shrouded completely by a heavy gray cloak made it's way into the tavern, the shadows from the hood covering the upper half of the face within. The itchy woolen fabric drug across the floor,with each gliding step as the silent figure's head shifted but a few inches to it's left and right for something specific. Two men he recognized joked to one another as they shared a drink, the barked laughter merging with the rest of the noise within the busy building. Fortunately for this person, there was an empty table adjacent to the two. Lips curled up into a soft smile before this stranger made his way to it.

~RRRIIIIIIIIP~ The sound cut through the rest of the noise, causing all movement to jolt for a split second as the large, jagged splinter of wood sank it's sharp tip into the fabric and tore a nice two inch line into the cloak. The face within the hood paled a bit, lips now twisted into a disgusted grin as a sleeve covered hand yanked the cloak free and made a hasty walk towards the table, raising a few odd glances from those he passed and especially the two men he planned to stick close to.

Once the table was reached, the figure fell into a chair with a soft grunt, slender fingers peeking out from the large cuffs to examin the tear, looking as if almost to measure the length and distance it was from points of references on the fabric. Twisting around, the opposite side was picked up as an index finger emerged. A metalic piece shaped like a claw was wrapped around the finger as the sharp tip bit into the fabric and immediately gave a yank that tore a line identical to the first...in a symmetrical direction and location on the opposite side of the cloak.

"These places are always disgusting...." A soft, male's voice spoke out from within...lips quivering a bit to match the shake in his words. "...fools that toss about their alcohol...threatening to spill on someones perfect clothes. Horrid tables with no symmetrical perfection about them....why no one is even speaking out to make sure the patrons fill out the tables in a symmetrical way!!! Why if I...." His voice trailed off, shoulders slumping as his rant led him to the ugly reminder that he no longer ran a city.....hell even a town or village. Kai Zoku was able to make the people under his care beautiful and perfect with his simple laws and rules of symmetry. Now, he no longer had any power to do so, chased out of his home by a man who clearly did not want to help his people and a idiot who followed him around like a sad lap dog searching for table scraps of power.

Sighing, Kai Zoku crossed both arms along the tabletop to rest his chin upon. How long has it been since that day? Seperated from the kingdom he grew to love and from the friends he had made that tolerated his...faults. From his...Symmetrical Goddess. That one thing alone was enough to cause his heart to stop beating from the pain alone. Yet he could not give up and WOULD not give up. True, Zoku had been living in the forest for quite some time with those still with him...so he did not look as proper as he once had. A bit dirty but at least he managed to make his smudges and smeers when he had them match in a symmetrical way. His time for sorrow was over now. He had to come back and reach a level he had held once before or at least follow someone with similar goals. Above all else...CRUSH those who had ruined his dream.

[Jin Shi]

It seemed like this bar was full of the lower sort of people. Possessed by petty wants, enraptured by past glories and mulling over past failures, they were those who had dreams, had plans, but saw them fall in the gutter. Ma Su fell in that category, but he did not intend to stay here for long: he hadn't given up yet.

His helmet was scarred from his fight with Guan Huang, now rotting while on the back of some mule headed towards Chu if the bargain had gone through, its white plume now brown with dirt and a few specks of caked blood. His familial armor was hidden beneath a cloak of maroon cloth, hidden from the world so that he would not damage the Ma name further. the cloak wrapped around his body like a snake constricting a victim, or concealing it from the world. A stoney expression had been carved into the now worn face of Ma Su, entirely a veteran of the world and the treachery it held. He had a long list of people to see for his vengeance, and it would take a while to see it through.

As Ma Su brooded to himself in the corner of the bustling bar another man came into the bar, very much matching the atmosphere of malcontents surrounding Su with his cloak covering his face, and it seemed he couldn't even make it though the doorway without creating another reason to be so gloomy. Su looked to the other side of the bar and smirked at his apprentice, now his close friend, Liao Jian, and turned back to watch the display. Su's eyes followed the figure glide over to a table and plop down with a surprisingly mild grunt, and, assuming that was the end of the stranger's interesting antics, resumed his plotting. Liao Jian ordered a round of drinks for the table of officers waiting for Su and thought to himself why he had returned to help Su. Was it loyalty? Friendship? Duty? It was probably the last, as Su had not treated Jian well during their previous accord, however now that Su was in a state of limbo it seemed he was more caring to those who stood with him. Jian watched as Su turned inward once more to plot...

No sooner had Jian made his order that the stranger started mumbling to himself, ruining Su's daydreams of destruction and death. Su's stoney expression turned fierce in a moment, his eyes flashing at the stranger, his anger channeling towards whoever had disturbed his thoughts. He restrained himself, however, it would be pointless to simply kill the man for complaining about alcoholics and symmetry. Besides, he looked like he could hardly put up a fight, it would not be satisfying for him.

Talks of symmetry reminded him of when he visited Wei and advised that girl, he forgot her name, to make a peace with her neighbors and appeal for aid, lest her kingdom be destroyed as he predicted it would. No one listened to him, and it was destroyed. Sucks for them, he thought, and turned back to his own instances of people not listening, or the multitude of what-ifs that plagued his mind. What if he had defeated Guan Huang? What if he had one more month to prepare for Qi's invasion? Or Chu's? What if--

"Symmetry! No one cares about symmetry except for that idealist from the West. Show yourself, stranger."

He rose from his seat in a flash, his voice rumbling over the murmurs of the tavern, cloak untwisting as he rose. The bar grew silent as everyone looked at this strange person who initiated conversations with something akin to a challenge. Jian and the rest of Su's vanguard, perplexed, looked up at their leader, hoping he would contain himself. He hadn't had anything to drink, but maybe he was intoxicated from his fury?

[RoiyaruOokami]

The booming voice of someone unknown snapped Kai out of his self-absorbed thoughts. Managing not to flinch at such a sudden action, his head lifted slowly while looking in the direction of the man who called out to him. A warm smile was sent his way but one couldn't help the eyes hidden within were calculating at the same time. "Idealist? Hmmm...funny. Wouldn't you say many of those who struggle to gain control of these lands are idealists as well?" Amusement filled the soft voice, making no move to pull back his hood completely. This man was very hostile. It was to be expected though. These were dangerous times and he DID make enemies after all. Only Kai would have believed he was long forgotten by now. Something that saddened him a bit for it what he wanted the most was his symmetrical ways to be passed on to the people of the country so they could continue to live on beautifully and in perfection.

The two men he had been eying the moment he arrived were very quiet now, peering at the fellow who called Kai out over their mugs. Kai Zoku was no fool. Hengmin Kan and Chang Dunwei were both sent some time ahead of him to be around in case any trouble started out. Two of the very few officers that had decided to stick with him. Not even Si, who he trusted like a brother, stuck by his side. Fei...she would have...but in all the chaos the two of them lost one another. There had been no rumors floating around of a beautiful goddess in ANY of the cities. If that bastard had managed to capture her some how....

~SLAM~ In a burst of anger from the scene played in his mind, Kai's palms slammed the surface of his table and half rose. Lips twisted in a half-formed snarl, his head tilted back sightly as light took on more of his facial features. The smooth and handsome face was still there but one could tell it was a tad worn from worry and filth from living in the wilderness. "If more believed in symmetry, most of this land would be purged of the filth and imperfect beasts that go about terrorizing the common people. Forcing them to live in chaos...no organization what so ever!" Kai's voice which started off soft grew louder with each word, fingers curling as the clawed tips of both index fingers dug into the wood...cutting perfect symmetrical lines into the surface. "Oh, some manage to achieve some form of organization yet they are still sloppy with many other things they do! SHE understood...SHE knew it was the key to bringing peace across the entire land!!" Forcing his hands to stop trembling, Kai licked his lips as the crazed flame that was starting to flicker in his eyes died out. That was the trouble he had as of late. Thinking about his Goddess only cause him to lose what little control he had over himself. He felt lost without her. She WAS his symmetrical equal. Without her...well...he practically was a walking abomination. He took a couple of breaths, not noticing the silence he managed to keep within the tavern. For all these people know, two drunken nutcases were about to have a little brawl at the rate their exchanges were going.

"I may just very well be who you think I am, but I have a question of my own....just who might you be, sir?" Kai finally said with yet another smile, "...quite rude to demand someone to show themselves when they did nothing wrong and it was clear they did not wish to be disturbed."

[Jin Shi]

Ma Su stood tall, glaring down the man who rose to his pseudo-challenge. His initial response took Su a little off guard---he had subconsciously hoped he would start a fight in such a simple fashion, maybe the man was not the same one he was thinking of. But apparently this man was not a regular hoodlum... he gave him some kind of queer smile. This was disarming for Su, what the hell was he doing smiling? And then he crapped out some poorman's philosophy on what idealism is. This only angered Su again, his brow creasing into a V-shape, his eyes retaining their hostile presence.

He noticed him eyeing some other seated people in the tavern not-so-subtly, and in a pointless show of strength for his own pride refused to eye his own people, keeping his gaze fixed on his target. When the man slammed his hand on the table Su didn't move a muscle, not intimidated by a weak man's show of physical strength, or lack thereof. When the man turned, the light splashing across his features, a small smirk chiseled its way into Su's features, wrestling between open hostility and amusement. The rant that followed only sent reinforcements to the smirk, grinding its way across the harsh landscape of his previous scowl. The man caught himself, it seemed, and then addressed Su directly, reverting back to a more courteous approach.

Su judged people quickly based on his first impressions. He liked this man, regardless of how he felt of Su himself.

"I am Ma Su of Wei, former master of Dingtao, Waihuang, Chenliu and the countryside of Liang. And you, without question, must be... that girl's boyfriend." he chuckled.

His tone changed dramatically, dropping all hostility in his voice and adopting a demeanor of respect.

"A minor ruler who was wiped out by Huang Fu or Cheng Dang, I can't recall." he took a moment to consider the lack of Kai Zoku's woman, and continued "You are missing our mutual friend. Where did your pretty friend go, former lord of small places?"

He motioned for Zoku to sit in the chair on the opposite side of his table, still standing, his hand outstretched as an offer to talk. Jian and his vanguard regarded the situation carefully, though much less concerned now. Su could almost certainly handle this on his own.