Fateful meetings / Alexander | KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

once more into the fray...into the last good fight i'll ever know. live and die on this day, live and die on this day

As far as cities went, Lilla wasn't one of the higher ranked places for Nikolai to seek work. But after walking for who knows how long, he was looking forward to bartering for somewhere to hunker down and sleep for a little while. It was simply a matter of finding someone who needed the kind of help that Nikolai could provide. Whether that was manual labor or the use of his sword arm, the former knight really didn't care. So long as it was honest work and earned him enough for food and shelter, he would do almost anything. Sadly, a place like Lilla needed that caveat -- almost anything -- for over the course of his long life, he had to turn down more than a few questionable deals within the purple city.

Nostrils flaring, he inhaled deeply and let it out in a low sigh, adjusting the weight of his pack on his perpetually sore back. It was a delicate balance, finding a good way to hold the bag against the hidden lash marks along his spine, but Nikolai wasn't one to complain. He simply carried on as he always did. Well-worn leather boots thudded against the stone pathway as he steeled himself to enter the city proper. As always this place was bustling with activity, and many a proposition went ignored as he wove his way through the crowd, until he managed to reach the city's center. Here, at least, away from the reaching grasp of the Brothel, Nikolai could seek the sort of work he was suited for.

With a shift of his weight from one foot to the other, he slid his bag off his shoulder and rested it on the ground next to him after approaching one of the bounty/work boards. Brilliant blue eyes narrowing some as perused the offerings. Only vaguely aware of a presence nearby, possibly doing the same thing as he was. Free hand raised, he rubbed at his chin, casting a sidelong glance towards the individual for a half-beat, before he regarded the posted bounties again.

"Any luck today, friend?" His soft voice lilted slightly -- not a statement of recognition, no, just a curious inquiry in an attempt to make conversation. After all, sometimes the best kinds of jobs came from speaking with people.

ALEXANDER MANDULIS - sorry for the wait and the lame starter, haha uwu;;

coded by Mura of KXK

It's amazing, the things you can find...

Ah, the honorable and noble profession of the bounty hunter. If prostitution was the world's oldest profession, then bounty hunting was probably somewhere not far behind. As long as man had been walking and talking, it had probably been killing. The only problem was the fact that not everyone had the proper strength, dexterity, skill, bravery, or luck to kill everyone else. Therefore people who did possess the requisite abilities simply began to kill people for those who could not kill for themselves, for a nominal fee of course. Thus was one of Alexander's favored professions born unto the world.

Oh yes, hunting people for money was one of the favored duties of the man who was once referred to as the Silver Knight. Perhaps not entirely knightly of him, but then again it had been some time since he had been the man who had once borne that name. He had held several duties that he had not expected over the years, some filled with great valor and virtue while others would have caused people to go wide-eyed in surprise and perhaps the faintest bit of revulsion. It just so happened to be that bounty hunting was one of his favorites among those.

It was mobile work, such that one was hardly ever truly bored with it; the schedule of the work was up to the hunter unless a limitation of time was imposed on the mark, unlike the grueling work of craftsmen who were forced onto time schedules for crafting and selling their wares; and it was reliable work that could be found anywhere. Beyond that, it was something that Alexander was good at and had been good at for quite some time, therefore it was his typical go-to job when he needed a quick burst of currency.

The need of currency was not necessarily what had dragged him to the bounty board this time however, at least not entirely. At the moment, he was simply seeing how plentiful the board was, gauging the potential market in a sense. There were others around, though he was for the most part paying them little attention. He was as well armed as any of them and better armed than most, so he doubted that there would be trouble for him so long as he did not seek it. Though there was apparently conversation, which was always welcome. "Oh, I'm just here browsing a bit. Gotta keep up to date on who wants whom captured or executed, you know? What about yourself?" Alexander said without turning around for the moment, as he had seen something particularly interesting just in front of him.

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Even when they aren't expected.

deltra of gangnam style