Wit Cobblestorm walked into the conference room without a care in the world. Over his long life, he had met all kinds of people. The three seated at the high table meant for five reminded him of the worst kind he knew of, the entitled. Still, the dwarven king and many other nobles had begged him to come to this meeting and so far he was not impressed. Not unlike the kid he saw before. No, that one did not waste his time. His summons were versatile and plentiful, he had a plan for his build and future and was actively doing what he was meant to be doing, even if he could be doing it better. No, those in this room he felt much less impressed with than that kid. So he found a suitable spot and took out the most gaudy and cringe-worthy chair he had just for such purposes as this. Then he made a show of sitting on it before even acknowledging the room.
“ You have five minutes, impress me.”
To his right, a young man stood and he paid it no mind, instead only kept watch on his interface timer. Already they were wasting his time.
“ And who the hell are you to barge in here and demand...”
The woman on the right instantly pulled out a bow and conjured an arrow then shot the speaker with it between the eyes. Luckily for the speaker, she used a blunt tip to knock the idiot out. He was still not impressed by the show.
“ Apologies Legend Wit Cobblestorm, some of us have not taken to our etiquette lessons than others.”
“ Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, you have already wasted half a minute of my time. Impress me.”
The archer frowned at that as the man in guild armor stood.
“ We, of The Association, humbly ask...”
“ Forty, forty-one, forty-two.”
The man sighs and takes a crystal out of a hidden pouch under his armor and tosses it to him. The dwarf inspects the crystal contents and then drops it on the floor.
“ Fifty-nine, sixty. That is one minute now. Impress me!”
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The guild armored man frowned at this and looked to the man in a robe to his left.
“ We need your help organizing and training us beyond these walls. We do not only want your leadership prowess but also your expertise and council. We plan on striking deep into the...”
Wit took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Always the same stick with these people.
“ Right, I have given you all enough of my time. You have failed my test. I am not impressed and so I will not be joining you.”
Without anyone else being aware of it, Wit was now standing where his seat once was and began to leave.
“ Wait, I thought you said you give us five minutes?”
Wit paused to look at the archer making a face of utter disbelief.
“ That my dear was the test. Anyone taking me as seriously as they should would not waste a minute of my time. Because in one minute I could have killed everyone in this country, moved to another country, and ordered me a beer. Instead, you decided to put on a show, give me a speech so bad I would not even be able to fall asleep to it, and give me a bunch of scrambled thoughts stolen from charmed minds. You have no plan, you have no build, you are barely organized if you have some fool talk to me like he did.
In order to have even my consideration, I would have needed a reasonable plan of how you were going to achieve your goals, even with or without me in it. A detailed description of what you are asking of me. And the damn respect to not play political games with me.”
With that, he left the room of protesting children.
-----
Captain Lews sat at her desk idly reading a report when her door opened and closed fast enough that neither the guards nor the clerk outside noticed. She however immediately set the paper down and went into a refrigerated drawer of her desk and pulled out a fine bottle of elven wine she picked up fifty years ago for a day such as this. The next moment two glasses found their way onto her desk and she unceremoniously opened the bottle and poured them full.
“ So I take it it did not go well?”
Wit appeared from his stealth and took one of the glasses as he sat down.
“ Bah, a bunch of kids following a greedy prick. Not an original thought amongst them. If he thought I would start working for him via such a roundabout way, he really needs to get that golden stick out of his rear and be more flexible. Now that Cardmancer you told me about. I can tell he listens and learns. He is flexible enough to adapt but will not simply break to the first bit of pressure put on him. Hell, he had a half way decent plan. Not a good one mind you, but given his circumstances, I doubt that was his full plan. But good enough of a framework to work from. It is a bit surprising that I am being told I am needed for a certain role and it is only for that role.”
The dwarf then upends the wine into his mouth and offers the cup for more, which the elf does.
“ I think I will stick around a while and watch him. Don’t worry, I won't interfere with their games, just do the job I was asked politely to do. So tell me, between the Seventh Raid and Raynor’s Downfall, how screwed is he really?”
The elf did not answer, just drank her wine before refilling both glasses again.
“ That bad eh? He really did draw the short straw.”
The elf sets her glass down and pulls out a stack of cards from her desk.
“ He gave these to me for when I find a quartermaster for him., there is also a list of trade skills he would like to see if they can acquire. Do not give them jobs that require communicating with others, like shop clerks. There are about a dozen extra cards as well if you can think of a job he did not list. And he said and I quote, ‘I can always get you more.’ so feel free to ask for more.”
Wit put his glass down, picked up the cards and rubbed his beard in thought.