The Golden Venture (RP/IC Thread)

[BubbleLord]

In the Golden Republic's border with the Mercenary Badlands, the air was humid in one of the villages the Republic had donated to a fairly new mercenary band, the company known as the Wild Cadets was setting up shop. The group itself was led by some obese buffoon engorging himself at the town's inn, but the truth was that the man held no power over the mostly human band. Most of them had come from distant lands or been drafted from slaves given to the company, so they had yet to experience the corrupting or magical affects in the land. Save, of course, for one man who was seen more as a leader than the fat slob dining away in their recently gifted town.


"Oooo~ Gridon! More! MmmMMm~!?" "Don't shout, you slut... fuck!"


A few of the troops were acting as if nothing was happening, while many others and the town's people had flushed faces if they were in ear shot. It'd be a few minutes after the outcry that Reya, in ragged clothes, would stumble out with her blonde hair messed up and sweat covering much of her pale skin. Her blue eyes said it all of what had gone on, her hands trying to smooth her clothes out. She was one of the slave girls that the company owned but many knew her as Gridon's number one gal, originally a pirate land-party captain who had been given enough dick from the man that she'd long stopped being defiant and was well-known to be his "favorite"... though the group knew it was more than physical attraction. As she stumbled off to no doubt get herself cleaned up, the tent that Gridon resided in was brushed open and the infamous "Firestrike" emerged. Standing at a height of 6'8", Gridon's skin was tan and covered with the grime one might expect from a natural warrior. A demonic, spaded tail was wrapped around his waist, the bulge of his receding 10" wood visible through his brown trousers. While he was part demon, it wasn't any sort of sexual one but a blood-demon, demonstrated in the man's crimon eyes and buzzed hair. The most telling trait, which had earned him his name, was the fire-like black tattoos that wrapped his entire right arm, upper chest, and back. Moving to the barrels that held their water, the sweat-covered muscular mercenary took the ladle and scooped up a long, slow drink from the water. Once he had finished, he put the ladle back down and looked about with a curse under his breath.


"That fat ass still isn't back... one of these days I should just kill him and take over. At least then I could be the one fucking saying which girls and boys we keep as slaves, hire on, or get rid of. He's just in it for the damn profit like the idiots who gave us this town so we'd bleed and die for them. If Reya gets pregnant one of these days, I'll either have to buy her from him and send her back to my continent or let my child be born a slave to that idiot..."


-------------


(It should be fairly obvious, but at this time Helwen is a slave/townmember [they're the same thing] while Nine and Katyusha are members of the company. First arc will encompass the group taking the company over for themselves/Gridon.)

 

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

"Pfft, like lazy bastard could stop you. You want Reya? She is practically yours already. You want son to be free man? He can not stop you."


Upending her bottle of cider over her mouth to finish it off, Katyusha shrugged. "Why have you not gotten rid of him already, if he bother you so much? No one here is loyal to him, they are loyal to you." After a short pause her eyes widened knowingly. "Aaaah, is administration, yes? You are one for fighting not bookkeeping, yes? I tell you what, if you ever decide you maybe want to lead company but do not want to keep books, I will do it for you." She nodded judiciously, her face flushed from one too many drinks.

 

[Annamalia]

Helwen was silently closing the door of her, hopefully, last patient of the day. Mumbling to herself "With the state of his arm I will be surprised if he make it through the night... I told him the only way to stop the infection is to cut his arm, but he won't do it... People over here have way too much pride"


Even if she hated this place and her job, she was not starving like before. She decide to go down the stair and ask the innkeeper for a glass of water and maybe speak to someone to get help acquiring some healing herb to ease the pain for another of her patient.


She was trying to get the attention of the innkeeper, who was busy trying to stop a heated argument between two drunk mercenary, but at the same time eavesdropping the conversation between Gridon and Katyusha.

 

[Ecnalab]

Nine sat at a corner table, staring into the mug that he had barely touched, trying to keep as low a profile as possible. When he had wandered into town he had not expected to find it crawling with mercenaries, much less ones wearing armor that matched the suit he had taken off the one that attacked him. He still couldn't believe the commander had bought the story about his skin color being a birth defect, or maybe the fat man hadn't and just didn't care. Either way, he had been welcomed into the troop as a new recruit, which mostly meant taking orders from just about everybody, but at least they had given him fresh provisions. He now found himself wondering if he should push his luck and run with the ruse, or cut and run at the first opportunity.

 

[BubbleLord]

Despite the fact their genuine captain wasn't there, there was some degree of order among the mercenaries. But as soon as the argument had started between the two drunks it seemed like the whole place grew rowdy with the unorganized and rather unruly bunch. Gridon looked to Katyusha while the fighting grew, seeming to not terribly mind the disorder.


"It's not books... it's the fact that the asshole hasn't done anything that'd make it legal."

The innkeeper was in a panick, looking between the arguing duo and Helwen but ultimately seeming to ignore her as he tried to push them apart. The two men, however, only shoved the man back or between them as they seemed more and more ready to get at each other. One pulled a knife and the other his sword as the situation seemed to steadily escalate into a potential bloody fight. Suddenly however, Gridon moved toward the woman to gently take the bottle of cider from her grasp thanks to strength and her inebriated status. But he didn't try to throw it away or move it very far, instead putting it on a table nearby. It was a subtle way of suggesting she lay off, but nothing more as the large man moved to disarm the two with firm grips to their wrists. Both shot him looks, but both were too hammered to make anything out of it. The pair sauntered off while shooting glares at one another, just in time for the man to look toward the backroom where the fat slob was no doubt eating. Grumbling under his breath, the large brute of a man moved to a wall near the bar where the company had set up an unofficial armory, weapon racks holding various back-up weapons the company kept. He took hold of a large, one-sided war-cleaver and hefted the weapon to his shoulder before moving back to sit atop a table near the drinking water and the drunk mercenary woman.


"I've been alive for almost sixty years. My kind age slower, but even I know that knocking Reya up now would put our child in slavelock. And I don't have the gold to buy out that fat fuck. Arabore the Fearless... more like Arabore the Buffoon. He turns away anyone who isn't pure human these days, baring if they're a woman and a slave. Maybe twenty years ago when the company started up and I could care less about my future, I'd have tolerated it... but maybe murdering him and sullying our reputation for a few jobs wouldn't be a bad idea. Being human has let him get misguided... he can't control his gluttony and lust any better than a stereotypical dwarf or succubus."


The inn had quieted down somewhat with the shift in the large man's attitude. All eyes seemed to fall on the duo, no doubt making Helwen's attempt to eavesdrop masked by sheer number of eyes and ears turned toward them. Gridon experimentally lowered the cleaver from his shoulder, testing the weight of the large blade before turning it to its flat and resting along his knees. The man looked to the other veteran mercenary with a smirk, his red eyes conveying exactly what he was thinking only a moment before he said it.


"So... how about it? I could use someone with a nice ass to have the men and women stare at... of course, you're not just there for looks, but I figure it's a good start to being my second-in-command. I'll need one if I'm going to take the Company through bloody means. Find a soldier to help us and prove your loyalty, Kat. Once we've done this, I'll be giving you permission to hire-on the town's healers and a few smiths. This will be our base... and you're going to handle all of the bookkeeping and managing things if you want to keep drinking for free."

 

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

Katyusha made a pouty face when her bottle was taken away but made no attempt to find another. "We do not need law on our side, and we do not need to kill... If you do not want to. If we kill, he will never be problem again but we commit big crime. No one care, except maybe locals. They maybe not like murder. If we not kill, maybe we take clothes and shave? Or if you really not like you could make slave? He still may be problem in future, but maybe more satisfying for you." She grinned, "Either way, my ass will still be nice and I will still do books. Oh, and find soldier." She said, pointing at herself triumphantly. "Is easy to find soldier here."

 

[Annamalia]

Helwen was no longer eavesdropping the conversation but rather outright staring at the pair. She was in shock. Arabore was an asshole, she knew it, but this man kept her safe. She was his personal doctor since the day he found her shipwrecked on the beach. She remembered is man capturing her and speaking about doing terrible thing to her. She got out of this by fixing a gash on Arabore hand and since that day he protect her, as long as she help him with his gout and his many other illness.


She knew that Arabore would die soon, one of his organ would fail with all the food and alcohol he was consuming. His heart was full of cholesterol and his liver nearly the double of normal size. But the idea of him getting murdered was sending her shiver.

 

[Ecnalab]

Nine left his drink much as he had received it, and rose to leave. The bar was hardly the best place for thinking, maybe the training yard would prove more relaxing.

 

[BubbleLord]

"Is that so? Well... maybe I should ask Reya to make room for that ass tonight, soldier."


Without much more hesitation, the man rose and readied the cleaver before looking toward the doors that led to the man's dining suite. Starting ahead, he'd motion for Katyusha to follow him while calling out to the inn.


"Boys and girls, go ahead and head outside! Take your weapons and get whatever slavehands you think you'll need! Kat and I have some business to discuss with Arabore!"


The inn seemed to move all at once, drunk and sober mercenaries all rising up in either stumbles or rushes to retrieve weaponry and gear. Tables were left empty, the innkeeper somewhat confused as he looked around no doubt expecting he'd have been paid for holding the group up. The truth, of course, was that the town belonged to the mercenaries and nothing needed to be paid for. But as Gridon walked, the large man noticed a woman who seemed out of place and shocked... the same woman who had been tending to the Company's wounded and Gridon.


"Miss... thank you for the help today. Remind me after this to see about contracting you officially into the Company as more than just a slave-healer. We've been in need of a battle-cleric... and you could probably handle learning to help those on a battlefield."


-------------------------------------------


As Nine would get outside, along with many others, the townsquare-turned-training yard was still rather orderly. Dummies made of straw had been erected, as well as archery targets, around much of the area. The fountain in the center had run dry long before the company arrived and had been converted into a shooting gallery with a wooden backing on one side and various targets arranged and hung over it. Tents were nestled near a large sparring ring marked with wood-plank borders, ensuring if the inn or houses they had taken weren't enough then they could still sleep somewhere. Overall, the mercenary company was comprised of roughly seventy men and women after all. The inn housed forty of them most days, a house beside the building housed their ten mages and their equipment, and the tents housed the twenty other men and women and the slaves they had brought from abroad. The town's population of fifty meant that there were almost as many if not more slaves than mercenaries, but the rations the group brought and their slaves had already begun ensuring the poor and small town could support their company. Banners for the Company flew in the area, a pale orange with black borders and their name printed across it. Unlike most groups, they lacked heraldry from foreign powers supporting or giving them rights... they were a company almost in as bad a spot as this town might have been. But as Nine would try to relax, a very specific person came forward that most of the mercenaries seemed to notice and watch as they went about trying to do something in the field.


A woman roughly 5'5" in height, the woman's hair was blonde and seemed to glimmer with light of a magical variety. A tight-fitting top held her C-cup melons in place and a pair of leather trousers fit her rather normal-sized rump, average hips, and curvy frame. She walked barefoot across the stone, but bangles on her wrists and ankles tilted and remained without any sort of sense. The woman's brilliantly yellow eyes were fixed directly on the man, stopping just far enough that it made one thing clear before the brown-skinned woman smiled and spoke with a smooth and a voice that implied more age than a Human woman with young features and assets might have.


"You remind me of Gridon... the sun shines differently on you. Are you part demon, by chance? Or perhaps something else entirely, hiding in the guise of a human? My name is Gaia, the company's head mage and a Sun Witch. What's yours?"

 

[Annamalia]

As Helwen was leaving she leaned close to Gridon ear and said "I can get rid of him without bloodshed, just promise me to keep me safe and Arabore will no longer bother you... or Reya" and then left the inn. Helwen was even more in shock as she realised what she said. "This place is evil... I am becoming a murderer... At Least I am getting rid of an evil man..." Helwen mumbled to herself crossing the doorway.

 

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

"Maybe you make room for my ass. Listen to me and Reya all night long, Boss-man." Katyusha said, smirking, "Or maybe Reya just make room for my ass and we all be in bed together. Whatever case is, I will follow your lead in negotiation with Arabore."

 

[Ecnalab]

"Damn it," Nine cursed under his breath. Of all the people to take notice of him, it had to be one of the higher-ups, and a mage to boot. Well, this is going to be interesting, he thought to himself as he turned to face the woman. "Nine," he said flatly, as he took stock of Gaia. Despite her soft appearance, and complete lack of weaponry, there was something about the woman that made the hair on his neck stand up, and his tentacles flex; he took a deep breath and forced them to stay within.  

 

[BubbleLord]

While Gridon had been quite eager to go and handle the fat man, a much smaller woman had approached and said she'd handle him without bloodshed in exchange for keeping her safe. She'd departed far too fast to stop, the large brute looking back but halted at the door. Taking a long moment, he at last lowered the cleaver and looked to Katyusha.


"Change of plans... let's see what the healer has in plans. Worst case, we'll just have to take care of him later. And I intend to hold you to your word, you drunk."


The man winked to the somewhat smaller woman before moving to deposit the cleaver at the weapon rack. But Gridon didn't leave, he only lowered to sit beside it. The inn had emptied quite a bit, the Innkeeper having seemed to sigh in relief. That is, until the large brute waved him over.


"One ale. Make it snappy."


-----------------


"Mmm~... Nine. You didn't answer me, but that's fine. Wearing the skin of humans isn't very fun, so I can imagine how terrible it is. I went from being a terrifying demon in a prior life and now I'm stuck in a mortal body..."


Carefully walking forward, she flashed the disguised man a smile and for a brief instant he'd sense a flash of unnatural magics, the ground beneath her seeming to scorch with sunlight itself. As the stone beneath her cracked and drew eyes, however, she chose instead to whisper and cease the magical display.


"I expect you'll fight for Master Arabore and Master Gridon, yes? I won't tell either that you killed the man who you're posing as... but in exchange, you'd do best to try and be as open-minded as possible. There's plenty of profit and women for the willing... but a painful and agonizing death for those who-" "Gaia, where are you? I need my dick sucked!"


The woman turned, smiling at one of the normal mercenaries disrobing and heading into a tent. With only a look back to Nine, she'd blow him a kiss and a wink before seeming to vanish in a magical flicker. Sun Magic, as some suggest, was clearly both a destructive and supporting sort of arcane art. She had almost seemingly teleported to the tent's opening, a few cat calls sounding as she passed inside.


Helwen and Nine were faced with many options, as they'd left the inn. They could try and settle into the bustle of the mercenary groups, head inside once more, or perhaps handle their gear. Katyusha, of course, had Gridon for company either to talk with, fuck with (either meaning, really), or spar with. The morning sun was still on its rise but had been up for some time, meaning there were still many hours of sunlight left for their own interests. Arabore, of course, still resided in his private quarters for those who might want to kill or talk the man down...

 

[Annamalia]

Helwen decided to grab a piece of paper and a chunk of coal. She sit right beside a quiet green skinned mercenary and then started to draw something. Tears started to from at the corner of her eyes, while she was thinking about her past when she was in security and at home.

 

[Ecnalab]

Nine sat under one of the few trees that grew within the town limits. Though he managed to keep his face mostly free of panic, under his clothes his tentacles writhed. His encounter with the witch had left him more than a little rattled, so much so that he didn't even notice the young woman who sat down next to him. On one hand, Gaia had been able to tell instantly that he was more than just a funny looking human, and might even be helpful in some way. On the other hand, while the playful demeanor she threw up had clearly taken in many of the men around her, to him she seemed more like a cat playing with mice, and Nine didn't like being played with. So, if she was going to hold his secret over his head in exchange for open-mindedness, whatever the hell that meant, then there was really only one thing to do... get rid of the secret.


Standing up, he realized that one of his tentacles had slid slightly out from under the coat of his armor. Quickly tucking it back in, he hoped that the young woman hadn't noticed as he made his way back to the inn stealing himself for what he was about to do. As he stepped through the door, his eyes quickly fell upon the demonic Commander Gridon.


"I'm looking for the man in charge here," he said, his tone low enough to be obvious that he was not looking for small talk.

 

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

"Oh? There is change in plan?" Katyusha asked, making her way to a table near where Gridon now sat and taking a seat before propping her feet up on the table. "So, what is new plan?" Glancing around she caught sight of a half empty bottle of something and swiped it from the next table over, though after the Boss-man's previous... Command, of sorts, she declined to start drinking immediately.


"Drunk? I am fine." She huffed in mock disapproval at his later comment, "But of course you will hold me to promise; ass is on the line." She said, winking back at him. "But we must be full of care. You will knock Reya up eventually and one baby is expensive. Two baby? Too expensive."


When Nine entered and asked his question she jerked her finger towards the door Arabore sat behind. "Old Boss-man is Arabore and he is in there. New Boss-man is Gridon, and you talk to him now."

 

[BubbleLord]

Removed.


--------------------


"If I got you pregnant too, then I just kill something bigger to make more. Splitting that bastard's pay would go a long way, as well. I don't knock anyone up unless the can take my full len-"


Gridon cut off as a man entered and questioned who was in command. The innkeeper brought him the ale just as Kat spoke of Arabore and himself. Her indication of him made the man tilt his bottle slightly in greeting.


"Anything you want to tell Arabore you should bring up with me. I've not seen your face before, though. If you're a new guy who tried to make Gaia do anal... well, we don't give you severance pay for that. If it's something else... how can I help?"

 

[Annamalia]

Helwen, when seeign Nine tentacle blinked her eyes. There were no longer there. "It must be the water in my eyes. This place is driving me crazy" she said to herself.


After a couple of minutes her drawing was over.


Her simple plan was made, she left the shadow of the tree and was going back to the tavern. Her drawing in her hand. But decided to stop by one of her patient before speaking to Gridon.

 

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

Katyusha elected to remain quiet for the duration of Gridon's conversation with the newcomer. At least for now. 

 

[Ecnalab]

Nine made his way over to the Commander, and the other soldier, making sure to keep one table between them and himself. "I feel obligated to inform you that one of your men was killed a couple of days travel down the coast from here," he said, while slowly removing the coat of brigandine and battle axe that he was wearing, and setting them on the table. "These were his."

 

[BubbleLord]

Helwen would come to see this patient was doing better than some, sleeping with much of her body-wrapped in bandages. She opened her eyes from her spot on a bedroll, the woman's green-streaked black hair a mess all the way to her shoulders. She wore orange shorts only, the bandages keeping her flat torso concealed flawlessly and putting her pale skin on display for the few servant boys tending to the woman. She was the best rider and scout for the company, having lost her right eye ages ago and covering it with her black eyepatch. Opening her left eye, the woman known as Jen spoke with a raspy, soft voice.


"I-I... n-need more medicine... please. T-the pain... c-came back..."


---------------------


The inn was quiet as Gridon heard the person out. As he laid the gear out and the large man took a sip of ale, he finally motioned to the gear.


"If you fight for us, I'll ensure everyone looks past this. Turning yourself in would waste your skills... which to kill one of us you'd have to be. Katyusha, write him a writ of permit... any piece of paper will work."


Carefully examining his bottle, Gridon finally extended it and offered it to the man with a slight narrowing of his eyes.


"Sit and tell us your name. And if you got any monster or demon blood, tell us. There's only a small amount of us with those traits in the Company. Gaia, myself, and our head sniper Otto. So anyone who had abilities that could help us would be good to know and not met with stigma among our ranks... at least, not for much longer."

 

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

Standing and scurrying around the empty bar, Katyusha soon returned with a filthy scrap of paper and a charred lump of wood from the fire. Scribbling out the Writ of Permit along with a brief note telling anyone who doubted its validly to 'find very comfortable place and go fuck self' and her signature before handing it off to nine and taking up her relaxed position once again. "Welcome to family, Comrade. If you like the fighting, we get into lots of trouble. If you like sex, we have lots of people who like sex. If you like drink, well," she gestured to the bottle in the new recruits hand, "Now you have drink."

 

[Ecnalab]

"Nine, is the only name I have now," he said, as he unclasped the buttons of the heavy wool shirt that was worn under his armor. Removing it, and the light undershirt beneath it, he stood there, bare chested, before turning around to reveal his back. Running down his spine where twin rows of four pentagonal scales, or plates, each one a little bigger than a gold coin. With a quick flex of unseen muscles, the plates rose up to reveal what looked like small protruding balls of green muscle. "And, I don't know exactly what went into my making, but it certainly left marks." As one, the balls of muscle sprang out to their full ten foot length of writhing tentacle, each one about as thick as a broom handle. "And, they are strong." The four tentacles on his right side suddenly coiled around each other until they looked like one large limb. As one they snapped downward and hit the floor with the strength of a war-hammer, splitting the floorboard they connected with.

 

[Annamalia]

Helwen was out of herb. She gave her a tea to make her sleep. And quickly left for the tavern. "I really need to get more herb... At least the one for the pain are just down the road" she said to herself. 


When entering she said "I am sorry if you are busy" in shock as Nine broke the floor with is tentacle "Maybe I am not so crazy after all" she said.

 

[BubbleLord]

"I'll admit they are. You'll do fine with us, Nine."


When the newest member had failed to take the bottle from him, Gridon leaned back with a soft sigh and took a swig of it for himself. Kat would make a far better second-in-command than he did and this Nine fellow had the potential to be a proper leader of the infantry if he grew more friendly with the members of the Company. It was truly Gridon who felt the most out of place in the role he'd seek soon, but the arrival of the healer woman once more brought his focus from the alcohol in his hand.


"You again. I didn't expect you back so soon... have you come to handle Arabore or perhaps join us for a drink?"


Ensuring he motioned to a seat near him without having to drift too close to the tentacled man who'd just needlessly split a floorboard, Gridon offered her a chance that most people in town or serving the company had rarely earned save for a few like Reya. The man's eyes turned to Katyusha, the large woman having so far been following his orders since the decision to overthrow Arabore's command had been made.


"And Katyusha, remind me to try and find you someone to work on your accent. A mercenary in command will need speak clearly... and I'm sure you'd have a few rich suitors from the Republic trying to back us if you came off more refined."

 

[Annamalia]

Helwen knew she couldn't refuse that kind of offer. So she sat on the chair quietly and ask for a glass of water. At the same time she dropped her drawing on the table revealing a flower in a bell shape. 

 

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

Penciling in Gridon's request on the table, Katyusha nodded. "I will keep accent, but I will learn to speak without as well. But what is this about funds? How is my speaking going to make money?" Adding a note about fixing the floorboard to her impromptu list she continued in mock annoyance, "Maybe I should take manners lessons too, yes? I am crass mercenary after all. Oh, and welcome too family Comrade Healer. Is nice to know someone has my back."

 

[Annamalia]

"I can teach you the proper way to speak and write. Most of the time I spent in the cloister, I was writing book or reading. It was the only fun thing to do" Helwen said. "Finally another thing to do, I miss writing so much over here" she said in her head. "About what I said earlier about Arabore, I will need help to find this flower in the forest. You see Arabore heart could fail anytime. This flower would make the heart of a normal person go crazy but to Arabore it would be probably lethal. Everybody will think this is a natural death. No bloodshed and you get what you want. I just want your word that you will protect me afterward" she said in a stressed manner. Then she took a big swig at, what she thought to be water, I made a funny face when she realised what it really was.

 

[BubbleLord]

(As per rules, moving on for now.)


Watching the healer present an option as discreet as poisoning Arabore was certainly somewhat hypocritical in Gridon's eyes. The girl taking a swig of alcohol had distracted him somewhat from Katyusha's question, but it was only as the girl was suffering from mistaking water for alcohol that the large man turned his gaze to the woman.


"Manners don't matter, you fine-ass crybaby. Think of it like this... being able to speak means you can communicate contracts clearly. I'm sure talking more cleverly and orderly will make you a better charmer... and once you undergo the training then the Company will want lessons. If this gal here can teach you, we can have them put forward some of their pay toward the Company in exchange for the accent coaching. But better yet, we could charge more to help the town or anyone who comes here that want to get rid of their accents."


Carefully reaching out to the table, the man took the drawing and lifted it up. The forests of the Golden Republic weren't far from the town by horse, allowing someone to ride there quickly. Lowering the picture, he offered it to the healer with a smile.


"I like the idea. I'll protect you if you go and handle retrieving it. Take Kat and see if Jen is capable of riding. It's about time we get our best scout off that bed. The arrow wounds she had should have healed enough to not open up during a ride... and the sooner she's on her feet the sooner she'll feel. I've got to go and see if Gaia and her posse are preparing enough potions and tonics, since knowing that reborn-slut she's probably slacking off. So... think you can handle this, Healer Girl? The sooner you learn to dirty your hands, the quicker you realize living with the guilt is better than putting the job on others to suffer with."

 

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

Katyusha scrunched up her face in annoyance, then sighed. "I see point." She admitted, standing and offering their newest recruit of sorts her hand. "I am Katyusha. If Jen was still wounded I believe you could lead us to her, yes?"