Star Metal Marauders- Highway Harvest

Vars straightens out the front of his coat, “As a matter of fact I have.”

"Ok my friends." Sparhawk looks around. "I feel each of you has different qualities of leadership and you all sell yourself short." He looks at Bjorn. "Bjorn, you are extremely creative and intelligent. Your use of deception and illusion are the best I have seen. Frangipani, you exhibit kindness, patience, and loyalty. Bjorn, you stand bravely in the face of difficult odds, your faith strong in your heart and your courage clear. And Vars, you are decisive, quick whited, and have guided us on the right path since we have known you."

(Not sure why, but I feel like Sparhawk (tin man) is part of some wizard of oz conversation, you are brave, you have a heart, you have a brain!!.)

"I think unless you would like to vote or say additional comments, I will take on the role of "Captain" for now. It is somewhat ironic to me that you would allow an exiled half-orc paladin for such a position, but I will accept." He smiles a toothy grin.

"Let us finish packing up these belongings on our cart and make sure it is secure. Bjorn, please take a full inventory of all that we have so we can account this to Fist. The small box, we will continue to try to pick instead of me breaking it. "

"Also, if any of this armor looks like it would fit you and be of assistance, consider it a loan from Fist for now."

"As you have suggested, lets travel to the location on the map and explore this mystery, and then we will likely head back to town, complete our business with Fist, and have a hot meal, a cold drink, and a warm bed."

(LOL)

Vars hesitates for a moment, but then shrugs.

"Hmm, whatever. I suppose we should still vote though to ensure we all agree," He looks to Frangipani, Eberk, and Bjorn. "I won't vote, that way we can avoid ties. So, who'll it be? Me or Sparhawk?" 

Sparhawk looks at Vars, smiles warmly, and agrees. "Very well, there is an easy way to do this." He takes out his beer mug and asks for Vars mug.

He reaches into his pouch and passes out a copper to each person, including himself and Vars.

"Ok, each of you has a copper. You may vote for either of us. Absolutely no hard feelings if you don't vote for me. And no funny business or slight of hand," he winks at Bjorn.

Sparhawk then places his copper in his empty cup.

Vars raises an eyebrow, unsure why this is necessary when they could just use their voices. Oh well...he takes his mug and places his copper into his mug. 

Frangipani is confused, " Oh! like when we would choose which prisoner to eat and which to put back in the corral! Fun!"

She looks back and forward between the two......

" Oh.....do we have to eat the loser? Because......I don't really like to eat things I know."

" But Vars looks tastier.....so I have to vote for Sparhawk.", she dropped her coin in with a slight curtsey.

Sparhawk looks both frightened and grateful as he watches his friend. 

"I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or a threat," Vars says, giving Frangipani an odd look. 

"I'm starting to think we should put Frangipani in charge. That would definitely be the most interesting choice." Bjorn chuckles nervously.

"Here, catch!" He flips his coin high into the air and steps back.

Sparhawk looks at Bjron, not surprised by his actions. He does not reach for the coin. If Vars grabs it, fine, if it falls to the floor, fine. He looks at his friends, "I will be your leader if you wish it, but if you don't, that's ok with me. I will not fight my friend Vars for it like a hungry dog fights for scraps." He looks at Frangipani, "and I certainly don't really want to be your next meal!"

Frangipani just smiled back at the men with an excited expression.

Vars catches the coin, but then tosses it back to Bjorn, "Come now, that's hardly fair. You really want to choose a leader based on chance?...I mean, I'll take the vote if that's what you want, but it means nothing if you don't care either way."

"I won't fight for it either. That would be silly, no team gets anywhere with a leader who got his position through fear and force."

Sparhawk smiles at Vars with respect and looks at the others. "You see my friends, each of us can be a leader, and Vars just demonstrated he would be an excellent choice. Let's get this over with so we can get paid and have a warm place to sleep."

Eberk takes his coin and holds it in the air. “As far as I’m concerned, this is for name only. We still make our decisions together.” Eberk places his coin in Sparhawks cup.

"Eberk, you are as wise as your beard is long.", Sparhawk winks at him. "Well spoken, we are a team, and we make decisions together."

"Both very interestin' responses. Regardless, it seems the vote is cast." Bjorn grins. "For what it's worth, I'm glad to have it settled." He hands the coin back to Sparhawk, leaving it unclear who he actually supports, if anyone.

"It'll take a long time to cook Vars, Cap'n. May I recommend we save him for later, so we can get moving?" He keeps a straight face for about as long as he can muster. Deception: 18

Vars let’s out a huff, “Like Eberk said, it’s for name only.” He dumps his copper out of his mug and into Sparhawk’s.

Upon hearing Bjorn’s remark, he gives him a flat look, “The only one going in the pot is you, since you didn’t vote.” He offers a laugh, but then gives Frangipani a look as if wondering if she was considering how best to cook him. 

Frangipani just smiled.

"Ok, that was fun...With this group, I'm sure I'll regret being in charge and maybe a giant octopus will suck me away as well." Sparhawk falls to the ground as if being sucked down. "Now, let's get our stuff together and head toward the key. Anyone need upgraded armor or weaponry? You wanna try another crack at this chest?"

Frangipanis nose wrinkled at the mention of wearing armour, " Can I blast the chest?"