Truth for Hire

[Cadaverousbirth]

Hello everyone,

I love writing a justification for non-standard crews coming together. One of my favorites is Mercenary Nellie and I will be bringing both her and Von Schill to the Together Fauxever tournament in February. Here's a little scene about how that unlikely duo came to be, enjoy.

Truth for Hire

“It needs more substance, more vibrancy!”

Nellie thumbed quickly through the unfinished first draft from her newest reporter, circling spelling errors and inconsistencies with a fat red pen. She made long notes in the margins; filling in details she knew had to be present for the reader.

“There, that’s a little better.” Nellie handed the draft back to the distressed young girl with a flower hat. She nervously took her draft and stared down at a flood of red ink, crossed out sentences, and re-written paragraphs.

“Bring me your final draft to me tomorrow and make sure to follow my notes. You’re reporting on the Star Theatre, not some street-side juggler!” The reporter glared down at her paper, how she would make sense of the tangle of corrections and additions she didn’t know. She looked back up to ask how but Nellie was already busy at her own typewriter, fingers slamming the keys faster than she could see.  With a resigned sigh she left the small office with the door cracked open, one small revenge before her inevitable termination. Not many people lasted long at The Tattler, every story had to be grandiose and exemplify The Truth, which was whatever Nellie wrote.

The Tattler was bustling. A small room crammed with desks and typewriters in a constant frenzy of writing and re-writing. The Printing Press constantly churned out the latest edition, only stopping to refill its ink pots and collect more raw paper. The noise was blaring but Nellie hardly noticed. She wrote a more accurate report on the Star from memory and placed it haphazardly in the “Out” box on her ever crowded desk. She whistle - a door slammed louder than usual. Nellie looked and saw her door open a crack, one of her pet peeves. She got up in a huff and made to yell out on the floor but stopped short.  

“Who’s big idea was it!-“

Marching towards her, three Freikorps soldiers pounded across the floorboards. The churning office of the Tattler slowed as people turned to stare. The Printing Press paused its work and peaked around the corner to look. The lead Freikorps was a woman, her raven black hair held back in a tight bun and round spectacles held at the bottom of her nose. She walked with a steady confidence, some would say arrogance, but for the two hulking Freikorpsmen trailing just behind her. They openly carried huge pistols and knives longer than Nellie’s forearm, and were headed straight for her.

“Nellie Cochrane!” The woman with black hair and glasses shouted as they approached. Nellie could swear she heard it in her mind more than her ears. A faint ringing echoed in her head for several seconds afterward. A chair fell over. Before Nellie could yelp Phiona appeared and pushed her back, raising a massive pickaxe. Her soulstone eye beamed red.

“Back. Off.” Through gritted teeth, muscles tensed. The Freikorps stopped.  The lead woman raised her hands in a sign of peace, and slowly produced a letter from a pocket on her suit. Phiona glared, but relaxed a fraction. Nellie poked out from behind and her eyes bounced between the woman and the letter.

“For me?”

“Congratulations Miss Cochrane, you’ve just hired the Freikorps.”

Nellie shot out from behind Phiona and snatched the letter from the woman’s hand, her previous fear forgotten in an instant of excited frenzied letter opening. The letter was terse and to the point. ‘I accept’ Written in a quick sprawl by a very busy man with a red rose stamped underneath. A nice touch, thought Nellie. She looked back up to the woman, extending a gleeful hand.

“Nellie Cochrane, pleased to meet you! You’ve just met my friend Phiona as well.” Nellie turned and waved down her friend and bodyguard, trying to calm her before anything impolite happened. She spun back to the Freikorps to catch the extended hand in greeting.

“Miss Cochrane, a pleasure. I apologize that Von Schill could not make it in person today, but he will assuredly meet us before the event tomorrow.”

“No worries, no problem!” Nellie kept shaking the woman’s hand. “Let me just grab a few things and we can get underway.” With a whoosh Nellie was back in her office, throwing supplies in her bag as quickly as she could. Pens, paper, more pens, extra ink, extra paper, extra pens and oh, a little more paper just in case. Nellie fled her office, letting the door smack against the frame and back to the wall. She whistled for the Press as she rushed passed Phiona and the Freikorps. She pointed at the two reporters in front of her.

“You and you, let’s go. Phiona, you too!” She rushed out of the Tattler in a flurry. Phiona stalked past the woman with black hair and glasses, glaring with her red eye as she shoved past, grumbling under her breath. Hannah smirked and gestured for the two Freikorpsmen to follow the reporters. She whispered to herself,

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”