Three stooges (D- rank mission)

Mission Specs:

The sun had taken its position high upon the sky, high noon striking, as Shinrah had finally left the land of fire and made his way into the land of Iron. He had heard stories about this place from his father growing up, a bordering nation without shinobi. Mostly home to the militarily organized samurai, however he did hear that the summit meeting of the major village leaders was held here as well. His final destination however wasnt in the land of Iron, as Shinrah hoped to simply pass through on his way to the deserts of wind country to continue his training and search for inner truth.

Having been so lost in thought Shinrah had almost not noticef the band of miscreants huddles around a carriage up a few meters from where Shinrah now stood. Shinrah could see a small village just down the road from where the carriage was parked, something didnt seem right so Shinrah decided to investigate having drawn closer to the carriage within a few moments. At the back of it there were three men, whispering amongst each other. While Shinrah could tell they were plotting something he couldnt hear what was being said quite well enough to make it out fully. They hadnt notcied his approach however and when he spoke they jumped, seemingly startled by the young man.

"Yo, is there a problem here?" Shinrah said firmly.

"Get lost bud.." The man began before stopping having noticed the sword that rested upon Shinrahs back, "wait a second, your some kind of shinobi arent you?" the man asked with a different tone than when he first spoke. Shinrah wasnt technically a shinobi, thats to say he didnt belong to any of the major village militaries. That being said, the skills he had learned and were currently learning meant he might as well be in some aspects.

"What of it?" Shinrah asked calmly. The man quickly got up approaching Shinrah closely as to speak more carefully. "Well we got some, how do you say, contraband items we are trying to get into the market up ahead. Nothing major just some bootlegged cigars. The tippity top in terms of quality. The man who purchased them spent a lot fo money on these." As the man spoke Shinrahs arms crossed, and while his facial expression stayed blank, once could tell impatience was settling in.

The man hurredly continued, "Anyways, long story short, they search all merchants for contraband items at the checkpoint ahead. So if you were to say, carry said items in your trench coat and pose as our guard what reason would they have to search our security?"

Shinrah sighed, shaking his head in disappointment at these petty criminals. Shinrah wasnt exactly a hero, but he wasnt known for dealing in illicit substances and smuggling neither. However, what the man said next was something that caught Shinrahs interest, "How about 1000 ryo for the job? A small incentive compared to what the items worth." The man said apparently sensing Shinrahs doubt in accepting the job. Once the offer was on the table for that much cash though, Shinrah agreed pretty quickly. Such a simple task for a decent payout couldnt be ignored, plus Shinrah didnt really stand out as one to deal with said items so he probably wouldnt raise any suspicions.

"Well, if you put that way, hand me whatever it is you wanted me to carry." Shinrah said with an oustretched hand. A smile plasted upon the mans face as he dug into his vest pocket and pulled out a wooden box with a delicate gold symbol on the top. Something quite valuable amongst bootlegged items no doubt, which to Shinrah explained the somewhat decent payout for the task. As the man handed it over, he quickly ordered the others to get ready to move. As Shinrah walked to the side of the carravan, he slid the small wooden package into the inside of his trench coat. He then noticed a single lone guard at the gate, the distance wasnt far so no doubt he had been watching the cart for the past few minutes. Though, exact details would be amiss as they were covered by the car standing at the very back. As they began to move forward, they approached the date within a few moments, and before any of them could speak up, Shinrah stepped forward and addressed the gate guard, "Sorry about blocking you road way, small sinkhole in the ground tripped up the wheel. Threw everything everywhere, had to make sure none of it was damaged. Im sure you understand."

The guard smirked, moving towards the other three before looking back to Shinrah, "Yes well, been a lot of illegal traffic this way, gonna have to search the cargo if you would be so kind." In response Shinrah said nothing, merely waving his arm to the guard, signaling towards the back as a form of permission for the search. The guard moved to the back of the carravan, the three that were with Shinrah visibly nervous while Shinrah remained calm, tasks such as these benefitted well from his emotionless expressions.

After a few moments the guard moved back to the front, looking over at the three illicit merchants having noticed the sweat forming on their skin. He moved towards them, a stern tone in his voice that would commonly be used in interrogation, "Something got you shook? Hmm?"

Shinrah, thinking quickly wanting to avoid conflict in case they were caught, stepped forward, "Dont mind them, I told them if they didnt pay me id chop all their limbs off and feed them to wolves." Been acting like that ever sens, shouldnt worry though as long as im paid my dues for this security detail."

The guard, chuckled slightly, obviously having a darker sense of humor before moving away from them and back towards Shinrah. He handed Shinrah, a piece of paper, a passport of sorts granting them entry and permssion to set up shop in the village markets. After handing it over the guard spoke once again before signaling them entry, "Keep that with at the shop owner at all times, oh and keep those weapons in check would ya? Dont wanna startle any locals or your deal with me and my men."

Shinrah simply nodded proceeding through with the others in tow. Arriving at a busy section of the market, Shinrah and the main contractor did the exchange amongst the crowd as to not arouse any suspicion. The flock of individuals surely hid their movements well enough from the average onlooker. Shinrah handed back the package and in return receieved a small pouch containing his payment, the weight seeming on point. As he turned to leave, the man turned back and in his hand he held a single cigar. Shirah accepted the cigar and disappeared amongst the crowd, the cigar had a small note tied around it. The man hadnt removed any while Shinrah was present so he must have had this one stored away from the beginning. The note read, "A small little extra thank you token, enjoy. Its worth more than the 1000 ryo anyways."

Shinrah wondered what could make such a small item so, expensive. The taste perhaps, or the aroma, or perhaps the relaxation it brought. As Shinrah exited the crowd, leaving the gates and passing by the guard a second time, he was stopped again. "Well your leaving fairly quickly. Aren't you gonna stick around and make sure those cowards dont get into some trouble?"

Shinrah simply kept on walking, the illegal cigar hidden in his offhand, not visible to the guard from the side. As he got a fair distance away, he did choose to give the guard a reply, "Never planned to stay, just had a job to do."


[Nature energy stack +1 (1/6)]
[WC: 1,306]
[Mission Accomplished]
[Exit]

Claiming:
Flaming Impact Fist (1000/1000 WC)
Pheasant Hunter (306/1750 WC)
+6 stat points
+1000 ryo
+3 Ap
+1x bootleg cigar (cosmetic)