A/N: Hello, and welcome to a story that's been a long time in coming. Honestly, ever since someone left a review on RWBY RPG hoping that the Jaune I had there wouldn't be a White Knight. Well, Kharn, sorry for it being so late, but this one's for you.
Enjoy!
RWBY is owned by Viz Media and was created by the late Monty Oum
Arc's Adventuring Accessories
As the light of the morning sun shone into the large open windows of the plain, and rather ramshackle shop, it highlighted the various items for sell within. From containers of various Dust used by the more magically inclined to rows of walking sticks, knapsacks, packs and pouches for all your carrying needs and even a few select weapons displayed behind the counter, the place seemed like the average, if a bit more run down, Adventuring Shop.
The owner, however, was anything but.
Just as the first rays of light began to rise over the scuffed and worn, if still polished countertop, a key slid into the lone door's lock and, after some muttered cursing and a bit of jiggling with the lock the door finally banged open to reveal a massive and scarred, one armed, grizzly-looking man with long, matted hair on his head face and a pair of piercing blue eyes. He took two swift steps inside the room, assessing the stock at a glance and looking for any surprises. When he found none he grunted a bit in displeasure at the condition of the place before shutting the door and going about his morning routine.
The lone man swept, dusted and cleaned the building's floor and shelves with all the seemingly unhurried expertise of one who had seen and done it all before he lit the four or five or so Everburning lanterns within the place. Then he flipped over the sign on the door, and at the counter, to OPEN and waited, hand on the countertop, fingers drumming away idlily.
/ /
It wasn't long before people started coming in, even with how the place looked, or the owner's less than stellar personality.
A trio of well-build, brawny men, one dark and the others lighter skinned, strolled into the place and bought a set of three pickaxes, a knapsack with three days of supplies each, a whetstone and a map at the man's subtle urgings. They paid for the lot with much grumbling but otherwise made more complaints, even as the more shifty of the two lighter-skinned one eyed a fancy-looking sword and shield combo being display behind the man at the counter. It was the only one not for sell.
A harried woman with a gaggle of more screaming children than one could do with then came by and bought a small kettle, two big bags of rice, a bundle of apples, a shank of beef, corn, two live chickens, and the store's entire stock of hard candies. The man gave the woman a discount of the meats, and the candy was free. She didn't thank him.
A disturbingly tall and thin, shrouded individual was next. They were silent as they floated the store gathering up many more unusual materials. An eye of newt, spider legs, molasses, some small, scared but ultimately unrecognizable critter in a cage, and two dozen thickly made parchments. Also, Dust. A lot of Dust. The gruesome figure played for the lot, including the upcharge for disturbing the peace of the other customers - There were none! - in the same disturbing silence they had maintained since entering the story, then departed.
The man made no comment about the whole ordeal, or the creepy manner of his client. He merely made a note in a book he had next to him. After a moment, he shivered but otherwise remained seemingly unfazed.
A rowdy crew of some eight men, and two women, came next, buying several bottles of the cheap beer and wine that the shop had to offer as well as some blasting Dust charges and a dozen more pickaxes and shovels. They also bought five tents and lean-tos as well as a big pot to cook stew in. When the crew of miners tried to offer up a conversation with the man, he merely remained as taciturn in nature as always. They soon gave up on that and left in as noisy a manner as they had arrived.
At noon, the man took his lunch, a block of cheese, some bread made with a particularly thick crust, and water. While he did so he also shooed away the local bums that were trying to set up shop in the alley way next to his shop, and the abandoned, burnt out ruin next door.
A massive knight in shining silver plate-mail came next alongside a voluptuous woman in a classic enchantress outfit, her loosely-tied bodice doing next to nothing to hold in her rather impressive décolletage. The knight bought five days worth of traveling supplies, new stir-ups for his horse and a tumbling stone for his sword, shield and armor. The woman bought three Lightning Dust vials, two Burn Dust vials, a Plant Dust vial, three Ice Dust vials, and two bottles of fine wine. When she smirked and gave the an a playful wink, he took sighed before lowering the price of all the Dust by one Lien.
He then watched as the Enchantress gave the knight a deep, deeply involved kiss once the two were outside before they mounted their horses and took off for the mountains alongside a trio of equally well equipped and finely garbed individuals. He merely grunted in disdain at the PDA before going back to wiping down the countertop again.
Later on a shifty-looking sneak in a faded green, ratty cloak tried to make off with some Dust, while the man was busy helping an old lady reach the top of a shelf full of pickled beets, apples, and other fruits. With reflexes of someone much younger-looking the storeowner caught the filthy-looking, foul-smelling in his one hand, lifting him up into the air and tossing him about until he dropped the Dust vials. He was then promptly thrown through the window of the shop to land outside in a puddle of rapidly filling water as it started to rain outside.
The thief laid in the puddle for a long while before he finally got up and limped away slowly, not looking back.
When a pair of constables finally came by an hour later to get a statement on what happened, the man grunted a brief description before ignoring all further questions and comments, including the suggestion that he pay the them for some additional "protection."
After the thief, and the old lady who came in at the same time, came a trio of teens. One had black with red tipped hair and other two had dark brown hair, though one was shorn short. The trio wandered about the store for ore than thirty minutes with only the red-haired one seemingly interested in the products on display. Indeed, she went so far as to ask how much it would cost her to get a entry-level Adventurer's Kit from the man. At his grumbled response, her face fell, before quickly brightening up again as she thanked him for the answer.
The man continued to with his taciturn manner even after that. Though, he did give the teen a half-hearted wave as she and her friends left. He made certain that she didn't notice.
The second to last customer of the day was once again a group of Adventurers. This time it was a motley crew of five men in worn out or ruined looking garments of cheap leather or gambeson while wearing torn and ragged cloaks of dark grey and carrying equally worse-for-wear weapons with chipped and rusted daggers being commonplace among them, although there was one or two short swords and a flimsy-looking bow as well. They came in as he was closing up for the day, sweeping the last bit of dust from the porch out front while he awaited the local glassmaker apprentice. The tall Faunus lass was supposed to come by and assess how much it would cost to repair the window he had broken. The group of Adventurers mostly meandered about the place, looking or something and/or serviceable for use. They found little in that way of things, with even the cheapest knapsack costing more than they could afford.
The antlered girl came by soon enough, her lanky form allowing her to eat up the miles with ease. She surveyed the destruction with a detailed eye before giving him her assessment, even as the motley crew of men began to jeer and leer at her. They soon stopped with the owner of the store took the most vocal one of them by the head and summarily slammed him headfirst into the nearby wall. The girl was polite enough to not say anything to that, even ignoring how she had to then gingerly step over a small pool of blood and broken teeth, as she told him that, thanks to his prior dealings with her boss, they'd be giving him a discount on the new window. In fact, it would even be coming by within the next few days.
He grunted and gave the Faunus a half-smile before he went back to sweeping, while ignoring the adventurers still in his shop. At least, the conscious ones. They chose to do the same after they moved their unconscious friend outside of the storefront under the man's menacing gaze. It was still raining outside.
The group of men stayed long enough for the last customer of the day. It was the dark-haired with red-tipped youth from earlier. She was coming back to get a carton of milk and eggs from his shop as he was the closest place to her house, and she lived at the edge of the village of Domremy alongside her mom. Only the man who owned the shop lived further out. The shopkeep kept an eye on the motley crew of men when he noticed them giving the girl a more than passing look of curiosity.
Then, as the last of the men from earlier left, he closed up the shop, locking the door tight while cursing to himself at how his keys once again got stuck in the lock.
/ /
It was as the grizzly older man turned to go up the alley way next to his shop that came upon a disturbing sight.
The girl from earlier, the one who stopped by his shop twice that day, and liked to come in at least once every few days, for some reason, was being harrassed by the motley group adventurers. He thought about ignoring the whole situation, figuring someone would take care of it, but then the girl less a soft, whimpering cry and, instinctually, he began to stalk towards them.
As the man got closer he more clearly see that the one accosting the girl was the man he had knocked unconscious earlier. He held a wickedly sharp, if heavily chipped dagger up up the girl's chin in one hand while his other was slowly making its way over her chest, groping her breast roughly. He was cackling al the while, even as the girl was whimpering at his touch and made to turn her head to one side with he eyes closed, and he kept cackling right up until the store owner pushed past the two men on watch and once more slammed his head against the wall face first.
The girl watched in silent fascination as he then slammed the man's head against the wall two more times, with enough force that there was an audible crack!, before he then cast the lifeless body aside to fall into a boneless heap.
By then, the remaining four potential rapists had recovered enough to draw their blades and charge him, with one shouting out hoarsely, "Yeh dog, Yeh!"
He dodged to one side as the first man swung at him with a broken short sword before veering to the other side as his companion attempted to pull the same with a pair of rusted daggers. He ducked under a second wing from the sword wielder before almost instinctually avoiding an arrow as it was shot his way. By then the third man, armed with a short sword and dagger, had closed with him and he was too busy to see what was going on beyond the melee.
He swung a haymaker style blow at one of them as the man tried to duck back around his own teammate and scored a hit, shattering the man's jaw with one punch. He was rewarded for this accomplishment by being stabbed in the side with a rusty dagger before taking a knee to the stomach. The blow forced to one knee as the wind was knocked out him, but he surged back to his feet, narrowly avoiding having his head lobbed off in the process, to bodily rammed the man in front of him, forcing hi on the ground where he brutally slugged him in the face, once, twice. Then he was dodging the next attack, ducking under it into a roll that had him coming up into a lumbering charge toward the previously unseen archer.
The archer saw him coming, thought. Yelling wordlessly at him in a hoarse, strained tone, the man loosed an arrow at him. He dodged o side, then ducked the other way, avoiding arrow after arrow as he did so, only to take on in the shoulder as he final closed with the man. He grunted in pain at that but otherwise ignored it as he once more bodily rammed into one of his attackers, forcing the smaller man along with him as he continued to charge forth. He threw the archer into the wall of opposing build, the burnt-out ruin, with such force that the man crash into nd through it, tumbling to the ground in a mess of jutting boards and sprawled limbs. The man didn't get back up.
He turned then, to find the last three once more closing with him, two of them still spilling blood from their mouths and broken nose.
He jerked his head from the first swing with such force that his neck cracked, barely dodging the cut that sent several strand of of his hair and beard tumbling in the air, before slamming two swift jabs of his own into his attacker's side, staggering the man as he coughed and winced through cracked ribs. He jerked to one side as the dual-wielding man armed with daggers suddenly appeared at the side of their comrade and stabbed at him. He hissed with pain as the tip of one of the daggers made its way into his side before he jerked his head forwards into a prompt-to headbutt and struck the rogue square in the face. The man's already broken nose and split lip shattered under the force of his more-often-than-not dense skull in a fountain of rich blood. The rogue collapsed after that, his eyes rolling over white as he did so.
The old man jumped backwards then to make some room for himself as the other man with a short sword, and a dagger, charged in towards him while he was distracted with the rogue, but failed to account for his aged reflexes in the excitement, and grunted in pain as the first man he was fighting against slashed at his departing form with his short sword, the chipped and jagged metal cutting a line of red across his side.
He still danced to one side as the last dual-wielder swung at his once, twice, thrice before he cold swing back at them himself with a jab and a hook. The two traded blows like that for a bit before the wounded short sword wielding fighter staggered over to swing at him while he was distracted. He jerked backwards away from the two-handed overhead swing before stepping forwards and into the man's reach to deliver a straight punch a cross his jaw. The fighter collapsed, his head bobbing limply as he did.
Then it was just the old man and his last opponent.
The two squared up again, swinging wildly at each other. But the old man was tired now. He was slower, he could feel it.
And, so did his opponent.
He grunted as the dual-wielder jabbed his dagger into his side once, twice. He shoved the man back, barely dodging once again as he swung he sword at him, and made to swing at him, only to cry out in pain as the man stabbed his dagger deep into the muscle of his shoulder, twisting the blade as he did so. He jerked away from his opponent, deflecting his sword swing as he did so and leaving a nasty gash on his one remaining arm, before he tackle-charged the man, knocking his sword away. He shoved the man down into the muck as lightning crackled overhead and thunder boomed.
The two struggled for a bit as he slowly climbed his up his opponent's chest before attempting to get a grip around the man's throat as he shoved at his jaw and clawed at his face. Finally, in desperation as the man clawed for his fallen sword while still shoving at his face with the other, he rammed his forearm in between the man's neck and jaw and began to shove. He grunted as his opponent began to flail about wildly, their eyes wide with fear. Then, with a resounding crack, the man jerked and laid still.
The old man panted as he weakly roe to his feet and staggered away from his last opponent. he jerked the dagger out of his shoulder with a short, sharp cry and threw it away and then started away. He took one, two steps before collapsing as the world spun 'round.
The last thing he heard before his world went dark was the muffled sound of someone saying something as he laid there in the muck, shaking from the sudden cold.
A/N: As you can see this one's going to be a bit different from most of my usual stories. We got kind of an Old Man Jaune thing going here, of which the following chapters will be devoted to kind of building up his backstory, without really unveiling too much of what that was. Other characters will be showing up, mm, eventually, too. Also, before anyone asks, don't expect the usual ships I write for this one.
Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed it. Take care, and goodnight. Essier out!