The entirety of the company was assembled in the clearing. Nine of the strangest adventurers that Kre had ever thought could possibly be arranged, though he admittedly had no basis for comparison. They were also oddly silent, watching him as he entered into the clearing with Ras, who very quickly joined his colleagues to make a complete circle of ten.
Kre sought out the ebony-skinned face of Kersath, as he felt that the dark elf would at least offer some sort of clue as to what was going on. A toothy smirk was all the support he received, which at least told him that he wasn’t in immediate danger and that this was likely another sort of test for him.
Talimar cleared his throat, but all eyes were still focused on Kre. “We’ve discussed the matter,” he said solemnly, his hands folded in his lap. It was clear that the matter being referred to was Kre himself. “After the discussion, we took a vote. This is a company, not an army, so each member has the same authority as any other. I lead in name only,” he said with a small shrug.
The tall Ylveryan brought his hand up from his lap, his fist clenched around a handful of mostly red feathers. “The vote is required to be unanimous,” he explained, gently plucking a black feather from among the bouquet of red, “in order to be offered a position in our august company.”
“I see,” Kre said. “I’ll be honest… I don’t know if I’m relieved or disappointed. In the short time I’ve been with you, you’ve all had me assaulted, threatened, poisoned, interrogated, and belittled.”
He paused there and immediately realized how insulting that must seem to seemingly end his speech on that low point. “Yet,” he added quickly, “I still find you among the most interesting, earnest group I’ve met in my life.”
Kersath chuckled then, despite the dark look Talimar shot his way. “Oh little friend,” he murmured in his raspy way, “the black feather is mine, and is my sign of acceptance. It irks Talimar so, which is why I do it. Were any of us to vote against you, the feather would have been white.”
“So…” Kre said slowly, his mind processing the information as quickly as he could.
“Yes,” Talimar nodded, “you are being offered a position with our most interesting and earnest company.”
“A trial basis,” sniped Ortho from his side of the clearing. “You must prove yourself worthy of the red feather afore we pin it on you.”
“But,” added Ras from nearby, “it does mean you can travel with us and share in our work.”
Talimar cleared his throat again. Even though he claimed to be a leader in name only, he clearly preferred to have control of this conversation. “Yes, all of that is accurate. You will be a probationary member of our company, taking part in all of our work but only reaping a half share of any rewards and spoils. The other half is put towards the party funds, to help defray the initial costs we will spend to outfit you properly and such.
“But we can discuss the details later. What say you?”