Manya was watching the people in the cafe work, also thinking of any jobs they could undertake. He had heard of the factions, like the Monster Hunters, the Lion's Pride, and so on. While they all seemed tempting, he could never really make the jump and join them completely, and the work they offered to freelancers was scarce enough. Requests from people were the most common way he's gotten jobs - people seemed a lot more amicable and open to requesting assistance from others in this world, and the ever-helpful Manya was gung-ho about accepting it too, but that required some very specific situations for someone to approach with a problem. And there were the occasional town boards and quests...but those too were rare. It was to be expected in a VRMMORPG - everyone was grabbing the opportunity ahead of the others. Manya was just about to state the obvious, the fact that jobs truly were a rarity when lo and behold, they were approached by a man. It seemed that some unspoken conversation had passed between Camus and said stranger before he had approached the table. As Manya raised the teacup to his lips and sipped from it again, he noted that Camus did have quite good social skills and that it was best if Manya tried to learn from him as well. The request might have sounded quite a chore to Manya before, albeit a chore he would accept, since picking herbs did not truly require an escort...but after what he saw in town, he was more likely to hedge his opinions until after he's seen a bit more. It did sound simple enough...even if there's a catch, it wasn't likely that it would change their answers. Manya was just curious why this man wished to travel to another town as well as pick herbs, even as dusk had fallen and night approached. Sure, some plants were only identifiable by their bioluminescence but... Oh well, too much to think on. Manya nodded. "We'll accept it. Doesn't sound too hard anyway, and moving to the next town was on the itinerary, to begin with. That being said..." He turned to address the stranger this time, standing up from his seat and then sticking his hand out towards the man to shake. "My name is Manya Boole, White Magician! What's yours, mister?" He wasn't truly gregarious, but he did have to learn to be soon if not from @Camus Varic then by himself at least.
This couldn't have gone any better than if he had set this up-- which he hadn't. It had only seemed to work out in his favour, in their favour. In all reality, the idea of just being there as an escort and occasional bodyguard did seem quite boring to him, Though what would make it interesting would be the one little fact that it was growing darker and darker the longer they were in this cafe. What type of person was this stranger? Who picked herbs at night? Though then again he couldn't exactly talk since perhaps this stranger was like him and simply didn't want to have to put up with others. Perhaps there were types of herbs that could only bloom at night. It made sense, herbs were like some of the beasties in the area. Now he hadn't forgotten how he met Tavion-- he had been up in the Hyland looking for a Yeth Hound or a Crag Cat and Yeth Hounds were night beasties. So it made sense for the herb picking stranger and his request. Manya didn't seem to skip a beat and once more he got to hear the other's title. He was proud of being a white magician. 'You're the one who is still trying to keep him around, remember that. You wanted the Faerin as the sidekick.' Though he would be useful to him, white magic wasn't exactly useless. He would be useful to him, he just needed to be molded-- it would just take a little bit of time. This was what this quest of their was for, it was to get them to bond and become closer. Moving to the next town would actually work well. What was best with his living arrangements was he could move whenever the time called for it, he was ready to go. The stranger looked at Manya as the little Faerin announced who he was. It was clear to someone who was analyzing the person that he was trying to figure out the Faerin as well. "Tank ya youngins it is much appreciated tat there are people who actually care to 'elp a guy out." Perhaps it might have been a trap, but it would lead for an interesting adventure all the same. Now he was curious to see who this man was. "Of course, of course! I should 'ave introduced myself before I came up ta ya. Pardon me fo' my mannas. My name is Erick. It is nice ta meet ya. I look forward ta workin with ya both, Mr.Boole and" the stranger was focusing green eyes upon him. He would smile back at the other, clearly looking more than happy for the chance of work. "Honour to meet you Mr.Erick. You can count on us to get you to the next town safely." He would take a sip of his tea. "My name is Camus Varic." He was finding that some players did give their characters last names and others only gave them one name. Was this stranger a player or an NPC-- that he had yet to see of course. He could be a danger in the long run, but that would only help to prove himself as well. This was going to make for a promising quest for both of them. "Glad ta 'ave ya boys aboard. We should probably get goin as soon as ya two are 'eady. We shouldn't waste any time. I do 'ope tat it isn't tat much of a botha fo' ya two ta travel at durin the night. I do feel much safer wit a white magician bein near me, tat I do. Mr. Varic do tell me wat bout ya. Do ya 'ave someting ya proud of , like tis young one 'ere?" He took another sip from his tea, this was something not even Manya knew of him seeing as they had only just met. Sure the Faerin saw him using black magic, but it wasn't the thing he was going to give the man. So what did he actually give out but some of his original skill sets. "I'm a beast tamer, sir. I do hope that skill will come in handy for you." The man seemed to clasp his hands together "my my wat luck I 'ave. So I can assume ya are knowledgeable of the beasts tat we might 'appen upon, if any." He gave a small nod "yes sir. Now I don't hope that this is coming upon as too direct, but what might the payment for such a quest earn us." The man gave a chuckle "of course, of course. Silly me, you will both be payed well fo' ya services. Now I'll allow ya two ta finish ya tea, tank ya again. I shall wait for ya at the shop down the street. Ya won't miss it. I need ta actually git some tings there." The last part seemed to be as if the man had just remembered something. The man seemed to leave them be in the cafe once more. "This will be good for us."
Manya watched the man leave and nodded his head. "Indeed! It's a chance to get to know something about herbalism, at least." Manya wasn't too concerned with the reward, nor was he all that intent on traveling quickly, but helping people and doing good deeds always made the young Faerin eager to help out. Manya was slightly surprised that Camus was a Beast Tamer, but then it was to be expected that people will have quite varied sets of abilities, after all. It'd also help quite a lot if any wild animals are aggravated by the incursions into their territory by the trio as they are traveling. "Mr. Erick seems like a nice enough fellow.", he noted out loud as he saw the man leave. It seems that they had enough time to at least finish their tea, so Manya sat back onto his seat, got comfy, and then took his glass sipping from it. Stokbon was an alright city, despite all that happened and Manya Boole had already decided that he would return to this place once again, for a better experience hopefully! He smirked to himself, planning to inquire about the Ynglar Brotherhood next time, hopefully. "Well, that was a fortunate turn of events! Let's be done with here and go see what the man was talking about. I don't know about this shop he's talking about, so if you could point it out for me I'd be grateful!" He finished his tea and placed the cup down and to the side, giving a contented sigh. Certainly, @Camus Varic seemed to have a knack for attracting good fortune, and Manya was glad for that. He seems like quite a likable fellow too!
