( npc ) enter: the packrat

[officialnotice]

mini-event: the packrat

The community of Wayward Pines is nothing if not cemented in its routines.

The children go to school in the morning, as the adults go to work. It's not a terribly large town, and business is about what you'd expect for a town like that. Often, local shops are able to close briefly around noon, to allow their employees to leave for their lunch hours, before returning at one to complete their day.

It's very... stable, if not terribly exciting. The sort of town that you could almost set your watch to - a fact that the recent arrivals are becoming intimately familiar with.

...which is why abnormalities like the one this morning stand out so much.

An old, rusted-out pickup truck is parked on the side of Main Street, next to a fire hydrant. In the bed of the truck, a small tent has been set up, and a small cardboard sign has been duct taped to the bumper. It reads: "SHIT FOR SALE."

Anyone approaching the truck will be met with a rough, male voice greeting them from within the tent.

"Greetin's, friend," the voice says. "You lookin' to buy? Here, check out my catalog."

The voice doesn't wait for a response - he's already unzipping the bottom of the tent door and pushing a dirty white binder out at whoever is standing nearby, containing many pictures of items, some of which may be familiar.

( mod notes! )

This is an NPC merchant known only to locals as 'The Packrat.' Through some ICly unknown means, he's come into possession of all of the items that characters have been missing since their arrival.

The good news? He's more than willing to give them back.

The bad news? He's going to ask for something in return. He doesn't seem very interested in money, either - and as such, he operates entirely on a barter system. Your characters will have to find items within their homes or around town to trade with him, or otherwise offer him an appealing favor as compensation.

The Packrat will be a reoccurring character. For the first month a character is within the game, their player has OOC dibs on the item that was taken from them. In subsequent months, however, it becomes fair game and anyone will be able to trade for it if they want it.

Any questions regarding the Packrat should be directed to the FAQ page.

Comments

ooc

[vdova]

Natasha knocks the packrat out and takes her jacket.

ooc

[overdraws]

Allison agrees to his bargain.

ooc

[paragon]

I'll be giving up Steve's dibs so Clementine can barter for the shield.

ooc

[inventor]

howard will trade a hideously ugly rug to reclaim:

• (1) pair of gold rimmed Ray-Ban brand sunglasses (Aviators with dark lenses)
• (1) pair of tan suspenders

[officialnotice]

That rug is hideously ugly, and the Packrat expresses only mild interest. These are some supremely stylishly sunglasses, after all!

Throw in a pair of boots, and you've got a deal.

[officialnotice]

Noted, thank you!

[officialnotice]

The Packrat seems pleased to hear that. What does she have to offer?

[officialnotice]

Noted! Natasha gets her jacket back. The Packrat will remember her actions, however.

Also there are several unwrapped hard candies in the jacket pockets. They're sticky.

ooc

[zymasoldat]

Giving up Bucky's dibs on his diary! It'd probably be more interesting if somebody else got a hold of it.

[overdraws]

A stack of old books, probably published sometime in the 1920s. The covers are worn. Some of them have pages that are stuck together.

[inventor]

sure, jefferson's got a ton of ugly shit howard can peddle out. call it a community service

never stipulated the pair of boots had to be cute

[royalpassport]

PLS. Like Jefferson ever would've been caught dead wearing those. They're CLEARLY YOURS, Howard.

(that rug was awesome, though, and he's going to kill you for giving it away)

ooc

[smudging]

Noah agrees. In exchange for his Goofy Festive tropical themed snowglobe, he offers up:

2 (two) pairs of very used skateboard trucks (not attached to a skateboard)
2 (two) pairs of also very used skateboard wheels (not attached to the trucks)
1 (one) coffee table book

[inventor]

his boots or not, howard can help jefferson to the "dead" part

just say the word

[officialnotice]

The Packrat accepts this deal.

Re: ooc

[officialnotice]

The Packrat will accept the skateboard parts but he claims he's already pretty familiar with the Rockies, and so he doesn't want a book about them.

You know what he does want? Rain boots. Get him a pair of those, and you've got a deal.

Re: ooc

[officialnotice]

Noted, thank you!

[officialnotice]

The Packrat seems interested, but unwilling to cut a deal on just that alone. Allison is asking for a bow case and all the things within it - surely that's worth more than just a couple of dusty old books.

[overdraws]

What does he want?

[inventor]

( in an act of supreme charity, howard will intervene and bargain on allison's behalf. )

Listen here, Rat Pack. And be straight with us. None of that philosophical bullshit. Now, how are we gonna find out what we gotta find out if you don't tell us what we gotta find out? It's only fair that we learn the exact terms of this here transaction. That'll cover a lot of ground. Speaking of which, you cover a lot of ground yourself. You'd better beat it. I hear they're gonna tear you down and put up an office building where you're standing. You can leave in a taxi. If you can't get a taxi, you can leave in a huff. If that's too soon, you can leave in a minute and a huff —

( any attempt to speak by the packrat will be cut off by endless and loud chatter from howard. )

— You know, you haven't stopped talking since we met. You must've been vaccinated with a phonograph needle. Don't look now, but there's one man too many here. And I think it's you.

ooc

[greyaria]

Emily's initially taken aback by the thought of bargaining for something that's already hers (theft does not transfer ownership, okay) but decides to save Drastic Measures for later if the haggling goes south.

In exchange for her medical scanner, she opens with:

• 4 old issues of LIFE Magazine, rather battered but retaining their covers and all their pages: June 6, 1969, July 4, 1969, August 8, 1969, and a special issue. (I have all of these IRL. Unless they're mint, none of them are worth more than like $10.)
  
• A Snickers bar. Who doesn't love Snickers?

ooc

[immoderation]

Stefan isn't initially aware that the alcohol is his although he highly suspects it might be after he finds Damon's daylight ring in the mixture of items up for barter. While the idea of compelling the Packrat comes to mind, Stefan will actually inquire first about what he might want for all 3.5 items.

[smudging]

Can you really know enough about the Rockies, though? Really?

Luckily, he finds these. His mothers, she won't be home any time soon to use them, anyway.

ooc

[theophilia]

Initially Pucci is just here for the Bible--while there are plenty of Bibles at the chapel, this one is His and he Wants It. However, he sees he collection of stupid tacky green hearts and feels obligated to take them back to their owner*. He offers one ornate candelabra that was purchased and then immediately dismissed as ridiculous by his household in exchange for Bible and tacky-ass hearts.


__________
* I have permission from Dio's player for this & they're going back to him anyway but I can bully her into checking in here too if y'all prefer :|b

OOC

[keephimtalking]

I am giving up dibs on Lantar's Omni-tool! Mostly because he doesn't know what it is right now.