Gauging the Situation Cont.

Robbie walks into the barracks and looks around a little. It looks messy and he notices all of the crappy gear. For a minute he is regretting even having come here. As he looks at all of the busy guards he tries to decide which is the Captain. He then decides to speak up, "Which of you is the Mastah of this Dojo?"

This question gets a few weird looks from the guards. He starts to wonder if the captain is even at the barracks and he is showing some impatience.

Captain Lardass comes out after hearing this question. "I am the master. Why have you come here? Do you have a token?" As he finishes asking this he sits in a chair and leans back in it. It is obvious that he does not care much about his position in the guard. Or he has grown accustomed to the fact that his job with the guard is very secure.

"How can a fatass like you be the Mastah of something as important as a Guard Barrack?" asks Robbie with honesty. He has no intention of being rude he just speaks as he sees things. He stands there waiting for the Captain's response. He still does not completely believe that he is the Captain of the barracks which is why he asked what he had asked. The guards around him look at him in shock at his blatant disrespect.

Lardass gets up and into Robbie's face, "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!! You think I'm not Captain material? DO YOU!?!? That's it, we're fighting. Ready yourself you impudent whelp!", Lardass gets into a fighting stance that shows that he does at least know a little about hand to hand combat. Lardass is really worked up and all of the Guards in the Barracks have a worried look on their faces.

Robbie gets in a Capoeira stance. "Come at me you fatass, you may know your technique, but without the physical form you will achieve nothing." To the guards Robbie may look foolish, but his stance is great for helping one dodge opponent's attacks with constant unpredictable movement. He stares at Lardass with an intense facial expression showing that all of his focus is on the supposed Captain. It is obvious that Robbie is better built physically than Lardass, but perhaps Lardass really did deserve the position of Captain.

Lardass watches as Robbie takes a defensive counter-stance. It looked to him as though Robbie was just trying to get him to drop his guard so he can hit him with a good counter. Lardass focuses intently on Robbie as he is moving about. He punches directly at Robbie's face getting the timing perfect. Unless Robbie can dodge with almost inhuman speed he will be hit. Lardass is familiar with the fighting stance and while it makes one harder to hit, if one can time their strikes well it makes the strikes harder to avoid as well.

Robbie's eyes open wide as the fist comes at his face. Before his body can react to the attack the fist hits him directly in the face. He staggers for a second before his sight blacks out. He falls to the ground unconscious with a loud thud and stays motionless. Apparently hidden in the fat unathletic body of the Captain was some great strength and skill. The Guards start to laugh at the unconscious Robbie. This is why they put up with the horrible leadership of the Captain currently on duty.

The ground shakes a little as Kai reaches the entryway of the barracks. He arrived just in time to see a rather fat looking man punch a man in the face... Bending down so he is able to enter through the doorway, he is barely able to stand up straight, the ceilings were not designed for him. He looks down at the now unconscious man, then looks up at the fat guard who had... assisted him to the ground. "I hope this is not the way you treat Every person who comes here as requested," his voice was deep, causing the rafters to rumble slightly. He holds out his token for the guard to see. "My name is Kai Takeo Fayshade. Who do I talk to in order to get started?" Kai's voice carried authority... or maybe just strength... that did not allow even the people in the back to ignore him.

Looking at the unconscious man, he thinks *If he is still not awake by the time I am finished, I shall carry him to the hospital*

"I am currently in charge. This man insulted me, so I put him in his place with the dirt on the floor. What kind of weapon do you want? And what type of clothing. I don't even know if we have something your size, but we can look." Lardass then goes to a table with pouches and hands one to Kai and drops another on Robbie's stomach, the sound of coins jingling can be heard. He then waits for a response from Kai. Typically Lardass would be ruder to Kai, but he is a little intimidated by Kai's size as are most people he imagined. The guards that had been laughing at Robbie had stopped laughing the minute the Minotaur had walked in the door.

As the coin pouch hits Robbie's stomach he shifts his head to the side and a light groaning sound can be heard from him. He is slowly regaining consciousness.

*It doesn't look like it be hard to insult this man since there was so much to insult* Seeing this man's treatment of another human, brought a sour taste to Kai's mouth. On the other hand, this unconscious man may not be the victim here afterall, who was he to judge.

"Your armor will probably not fit me... but cloth and leather can be reshaped easily enough. Also that staff over there, while a bit short for me, will suffice until I can aquire better." Grabbing his new gear, he bends down next to the unconscious man. "Wake up!"... He did not want to attract more attention by carrying this man to the hospital, but he would if needed.

Lardass motions to some guards and they get Kai musty mage robes, wornout leather chaps, and a cracked staff. Lardass sits back down and reclines. He is waiting for Robbie to indeed wakeup so he may be able to rub it in that he was obviously the superior fighter. The guards are hesitant to give the gear to Kai as they are intimidated by Kai. To a lot of kids in Mendefera, Minotaur are monsters that in stories attack children. Some stories are told to get kids to keep a curfew.

Robbie opens his eyes and sees Kai, his face shows no fear, nor anger or hated. He sits up and grabs onto the pouch of coins. He slowly gets up and turns to Lardass, bowing, "You have bested me in combat Captain-San. I now see that you are indeed a true warrior. May we spar again someday when my skills have improved." He then straightens up again and ties the pouch of gold coins to his belt.

The look in this strange man's eyes seemed pure, and he was even polite to the guard, something that would take a certain level of acting or genuine respect. *Odd man* Kai straightens up from his bent position after the man woke up *At least it does not seem I will have to carry him anywhere* He takes his gear from the petrified guard closest to him, the one who drew the short straw and was holding his new armor and weapon.

"Thank you for the coin and gear. Would anyone be able to tell me where the nearest tailor shop is?" Looking back at this overly polite young man, he decides to share a small amount of advice, "Your frankness is rare and, unfortunately not everyone will appreciate it... like the people here who were laughing when you were unconscious."

Lardass doesn't know what to make of Robbie's show of respect. He was going to pick on him, but no longer feels like it. "There are a few tailors around." Lardass then takes a piece of paper and draws a map and circles a few points. It is actually a fairly accurate map. "There are a couple of Tailor's, this'll lead you to them." Lardass then turns his back and goes to a room in the back.

Robbie replies to Kai with a natural response for him. "I care not what other people think of me. If they think me foolish then let them, if the truth as I see it irates them, than so be it. In the end people will know me for who I am, not who people want me to be." Robbie then watches Lardass draw the map for Kai and then immediately leave the room. Robbie then turns back to Kai, "I mean no disrespect, but you seem to be quite polite towards us humans. Why? Most humans make up monstrous stories about minotaurs and treat them as though they are monsters that lack intelligence." Robbie's tone is not disrespectful, but curious.

Kai raises an eyebrow as he thinks *I see how he ended up unconscious... His frankness could easily be taken as offensive. If I wasn't already accustomed to many types of people, even I may have been offended*

"Are all humans good? Are there not many of your kind working as bandits or beating their wifes? Humans are a race of good, bad, and inbetween, why is it not possible that there are good, bad, and inbetween Minotaurs as well?"

Bringing the map up to look at, he sees the closest tailor shop is called Laliel's Sew Shop. Hopefully they had tall ceilings... He looks up again and notices that the man hadn't grabbed any gear. "Are you not going to take of their generosity?"

Robbie scratched his head for a second. "That was not the question, I know that not all Minotaur are bad, that is not what I was saying, I was saying that it was simply human perception. I was speaking about the general public, not myself. I understand what you have just said. The question had been why, or how, are you being so kind to humans when their general perception is that Minotaur are evil and unintelligent." Robbie hoped that he had explained it better this time as he had not been saying that he felt that way.

He then answered the Minotaur's question. "I do not accept the gear they offer, because I do not need their gear. My weapon is my body, my defense is my skill." He knew it probably sounded strange, but his body was well honed so that it could withstand things that most could not.

"I was raised in a multi-cultural place by parents who chose to live their lives changing the image of Minotaurs. I live my life as I choose, not by how people perceive me. If I judge all humans by a perception..." He stops talking, a split second of rage crosses his face before he controls himself again, but his beathing is faster than it was before and he was lightly touching a toy sword that was strapped to his waist. "... If i judged you all based on even my own experiences with a few specific humans... I might try to kill you all." He smiles slightly, liking the thought, but his eyes are sad. "But I am me, and my entire life has been about changing what people think"

Thinking about what this man had said about not needing gear, he reaches a conclusion. "It is good to not Need gear... but free is free, perhaps they would offer you a few coins instead or it could be reworked for a different purpose like bandages, Mr...? What is your name? Mine is Kai Takeo Fayshade." He offers his right hand to shake, it is only good manners after all. Having talked more in the last few minutes than he has in a year, he was glad to see he had not forgotten good manners at least.

Robbie shakes Kai's hand. "My name is Robbie Gauge, it is truly a pleasure to meet someone as yourself." he then goes to explain why he does not take the gear. "I don't feel I need extra coin. I am decent at making money, as for using the material for bandages, I would prefer to leave the clothing for people who can use it. If everyone that does not need something, take it anyways then those who are in need may be unable to acquire it." Robbie then thinks for a second about the flash of emotion that had just been shown by Kai. He wants to say something to comfort him, but he does not know enough about the situation to do so, or at least so he believes.

"Leaving more for others more needing, is also a good path to follow. But now I fear I must get someone to tailor this into proper armor for my size. It was good to meet you Robbie Gauge. Hopefully we will meet again."

Kai checks his pocket *hair clip, ring* his waist still had his son's sword and his money pouch, and checking his hands, *staff... robe... chaps... all good* Bowing slightly to Robbie in farwell, he heads to the door. Bending down almost in half, he exits the barracks on his way to Laliel's.

(exit)

Robbie bows out of respect as Kai leaves. He then tries to figure out what he should do next. While he does not need much he figures that he ought to head off to a general merchant. He goes over and asks a Guard and is told where to go. Robbie leaves and heads for where he was told the Merchant's District was but the Guard.

(Exit)