"Finally, the last one." Atnem thought, as he posted his advertisement in one final town.
Fame and Fortune! it said.
Now all he had to do was wait. Hopefully it wouldn't be long before he could begin his trek to the fortress. The thought of the loot that awaited nearly made him drool.

OOC: Please sign up here to join this story. When we have enough people, I will contact you to let you know that you may begin posting.

Meanwhile, at the fortress of the Redhand Knights...

It was dark and hot, and someone smelled like tuna. At least there was shade from the intense desert sun in the cramped wagon full of new recruits. It was so dark though, nearly impossible to see a thing. The young woman felt something on her breast, quickly grabbed it, and broke a few of its fingers. A howl of pain quickly followed. She was the only woman in the wagon, probably. Why did she agree to such a ridiculous plan anyway? Invade their ranks, gain their trust, and blow shit up. "Oh yeah, that's why," she thought, with a smirk. She felt a little uncertain, though. What if Atnem never showed up? She'd be stuck there and there would be no explosions. "You can handle it," she thought. "You're Maggie Noel. Besides, it wouldn't be so bad to belong to a group. And there are probably all kinds of great benefits." The wagon stopped, and the covers were thrown open, flooding the small space with light, blinding everyone but Maggie, who was still wearing her tinted goggles. "Alright you lot," a dusty, sweaty man in heavy armor spoke, "fall into rank."

She observed as much as she could. The man in charge was baking in that armor. He looked like he could pass out at any time. Hopefully she wouldn't end up in a suit like that. He wore a short cape with a red handprint on it. They were in the fortress already, just inside the large front doors. The outer walls were at least thirty feet high, with watchmen patroling along the top. There were plenty of noticeable cracks, probably from failed invasions. She would take a walk later and find the weakest point. At the center of the fortress was the towering central keep. It was stronger than the outer walls, and much taller. The loot would be in there, at the top probably.
"Private No-Ell?" She cringed. Why did everyone pronounce her name wrong? She stepped forward anyway. The armored man perked up, obviously excited to see a woman. "Yes. You will come with me. The Captain would like to speak with you. Everyone else, stay here a while and get used to the heat."

Maggie followed the man as they ascended the central tower to the second level. They entered a large room decorated with Wanted posters featuring officers of the Redhand Knights. A desk sat at the far end of the room. In the chair behind it was a handsome man with a big beard and a bigger hat, the Captain.
The armored man saluted. "Captain, sir, the smart one, as you requested."
"Thank you Sergeant." He returned the salute. "Head on down and get those boys some water now. It's a hot day." His voice was deep and calm.
"Yes, sir." The Sergeant left.
"Please, take a seat, Miss Noel." She sat in a chair across the desk from him. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Captain Hoppman. I'm in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly for the Major here at Ironfist Keep. If something goes wrong, it's my fault, so I hope you can forgive me for making this as quick and easy as I can." He smiled at her.

Maggie was led to another room on the same floor that was very similar to Hoppman's. "The fourth and fifth floors are off limits without my own written permission. Feel free to explore anywhere else in the keep during your leisure time. You are more than a simple recruit to us, Miss Noel, so if you need anything at all, find a way to contact my Sergeant. I will order him to see that you are kept comfortable. I don't know much about what you do, but I know that you will be quite an asset to us." He saluted her. "You have your orders. Please, enjoy your stay, Miss Noel."
"Thank you, Captain." He left her alone in her room. She looked around. A desk and chair sat in the back in front of a window. Workbenches littered with every kind of tool imaginable lined the walls. "I guess I'd better get to work, then." She gathered some supplies and sat down at her desk.

Finally, after weeks of preparation, everything was ready. Maggie had been working hard to upgrade Ironfist Keep, making sure that every "improvement" would make it easier for Atnem when he arrived. The lookouts were supplied with her duped telescopes that actually hindered their vision. She had installed loudspeakers with microphones hidden inside, and had found out quite a bit of useful information, all of which was included in the letter she had just sent to Atnem. She had built a small flying device to carry the letter, and calibrated it so that it should land exactly where she expected him to be waiting. Hopefully he had found enough help to begin the attack on time.
She heard a knock at the door. "Miss Noel." It was Captain Hoppman, and he looked upset. She had heard him arguing with the Major and his Elite Mage earlier, but she didn't know why. "Major Strom has requested your immediate presence." He handed her some papers for admittance to the higher floors and left.
She quickly climbed the stairs to where the Major was waiting. She opened the door and stepped into a large chamber that was lit only by thousands of burning candles. "Ahh, Maggie, there you are." A strong voice came from a small man. "So good to finally meet you. I hope you can live up to your reputation." A tall, robed figure, the Elite Mage, stood next to a table and held a strange, small machine. "I just need you to make a small incision and attach a few wires. Shouldn't take but a moment." Strom laid on the table and unbuttoned his shirt. "Right here," he said, and pointed at his chest.
"What!? Major, I... I can't do that. You could die."
"I'll be fine. My Mage is more powerful than his skirt might have you believe. Now come on. When we're finished I'll have you give me a look at some of your fancy toys. If I'm impressed I might consider having you join my Elite Guard."
"No, I can't," she backed toward the door. "Please don't make me." She turned to run, but bumped into another dark figure, an Elite Ninja.
"Bring her here. We can make her do it, whether she wants to or not."

Back at the edge of the desert...
Atnem squinted into the bright sunlight. He was expecting a report from Maggie, somehow. She assured him it would be there. Something was flying toward him, hovering above the desert sand. It was a small flying machine. Definitely Maggie's work. He pulled out his bow, ready to shoot it down if it were to miss its target by far. But it wasn't necessary. The contraption dropped a capsule that landed directly at Atnem's feet before it turned and flew back the way it had come. "Perfect landing. Damn good job, Maggie," Atnem thought.
He opened the capsule. Inside were two pieces of paper. He read them both several times, memorized them, and lit them on fire to keep the wrong people from learning his plans.
"Alright. It's time to go."

In the hot desert air, something was moving. It was nearly impossible to see what exactly it was, other than that it was a living creature. It was moving against the wind, making it impossible to hear any noise. And when it was just about out of a swords reach of a man, a human voice said.

" You must be Atnem Mackey." The voice, it was clear and loud. Most certainly, it belonged to someone old and experienced.

" I'm Ryoko Kuroshiro, and I'm here for a job." Told Ryoko while revealing his old face. A face of a warrior one would say, covered with scars and burn marks. And that emotionless gaze.

OOC:Let the fun begin

Roisin shielded her eyes and looked around, there off to her left were two figures. "Finally," she said walking towards them. "Hello, I'm looking for Atnem, are either of you him?" She said approaching them with a smile on her face. But wary lest she have the wrong group.

"I think you got us lost," Jake said poking his brother in the side with his bow. James pushed it away and put his brother in a headlock.

"We're not lost, see there's people right up there." James said pointing up ahead. "Now shut up and act your age." He said letting him go and approaching the group. "Hope I'm not late, and I hope you don't mind, I brought my brother along he can be pretty handy in a tight spot."

A smile formed on Ryoko's face when he saw Rieka getting closer. And then James, with his brother.

" It's nice to see you guys." Muttered the old man and reached out to hug Rieka, his old companion. It wasn't too often that Ryoko Kuroshiro hugged anyone. To be honest, the only person still alive that he hugged once in a while, was Rieka.

Atnem was pleased to see everyone finally showing up. "Thank you all for coming. Yes, I'm Atnem and I'm the guy that posted the note. We're still waiting on a few more people to get here before we can start our trip. Until then, please, feel free to acquaint yourself with the people you will be fighting alongside."

Ryoko gave a quick look around and continued.

" I'm Ryoko Kuroshiro. I'm here to get the job done and as long as you are doing good, I'm okay with you. But if you fail, or even worse, betray us, I will kill you with my own hands." His voice was low and strong, his gaze emotionless, his face dead-serious. At the same time, he threw his hood away, revealing his scarred and burnt face. And if one looked carefully, he could have seen Ryoko's only hand resting on the handle of his blade. (yes, Ryoko only has one hand. The other hand got badly damaged in a fight and was slowing him down so he cut it off).

" That's about everything you need to know about me." Said the old man with more relaxed voice and started laughing.