Happy Odin’s Day!

Many years ago, I hired my first employee for my old pub. Tequila was her name and she became my first barmaid. This was long before my involvement with the Silver Shields. In the ned, she became a good friend, partner, lover, and wife. When she died at the hands of the last vampires, I lost it. She and my other wife Constance died almost at the exact moment. The Vampires didn’t turn them or even try to turn them, they just straight-up killed them.

This time, hiring the love of my life was probably a remote possibility. Mostly because the whole hiring process this time was a bit of a sham. The Silver Shields were basically screening the personnel. I got to pick my team myself, but there was no one on the list that wasn’t an agent. I felt bad because there were some local applicants, but they had little to no experience so realistically I wouldn’t have hired them anyway.

So I was balancing two things with each applicant. I needed certain things to keep the pub a viable business – a second bartender when I was out, a couple barmaids, and someone to play a regular patron but was also part of the team for the other concern. A team of agents that could investigate and deal with supernatural activity in our little city here. The beauty of this was of course that they didn’t need to be human. The fact is unless you are exposed to the supernatural world or become aware of it, most paranormal people look like humans. Wierd humans, but humans nonetheless. This increased my options.

So after looking through 100s of applicants and interviewing about ten of them via Zoom, I picked my team.

1. My bartender was going to be an ogre. – he was about a foot taller than me (short for an ogre) but his nature made him a perfect bouncer as well as a bartender. He had both alchemical knowledge and as an Ogre a large amount of resistance to magic, and disease and was tough as steel. He preferred however a submachine gun as a weapon. So I liked him already. My Muscle Agent but not a stupid one.
2. My acting patron agent was human and female. She however was also a werewolf. She was an interesting case of a woman who was to be blunt as sexy as Miss Wine on my wall. Her dress in most of the photos reminded me of old-time spy thrillers of the pulp variety. It explained her favorite weapons – a Beretta and an old-fashioned dagger. Both strapped to her hips under her dress. Her beast form was savage and if possible sexy as well for a werewolf. My Stealth Agent.
3. Barmaid One was also female but she was also a Fae. There are a lot of different types of fae. I have personally dealt with a dryad and pixies up close, but this one seemed like she was somewhere in between. She was also an accomplished scholar in science as well as magic. I gathered she had lived a long time. My Knowledge Agent. Actually more like an oracle as if she didn’t know it off the top of her head, she could research it. From computer science to summoning magic. As a fae, she also would be a magic-user.
4. That left one need – transport and crafting. My Technical Agent. What I found was a human woman to fill Barmaid Two. She also would double as my bar food cook as well. But mostly she was simply resourceful by all accounts. Need a truck – she could find it. Need a howitzer – she would get one. She then had enough knowledge to modify that howitzer so it could fit in the back of the truck. Her red hair of course sealed the deal.

Now all that was left was to wait for their arrival. As each one did both the pub and our operations would start to come to life.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!