It is a little past dusk before Kug and Toothsnatcher return to the meadhall.
Shaddar walks down to the main hall as soon as he senses their approach. Toothsnatcher is happy and Kug is ecstatic. Their thoughts bode well.
He sees that they both carry a heavy load of stolen loot, but not nearly as much as the minotaur’s first sortie.
“Pickin’s were slim, master,” Toothsnatcher explains as he unloads the loot. “But we did get some weapons.”
“Oh? Were some of the victims armed?”
Kug answers, “Naw. We jumped a couple of constable patrols. They had some nice stuff! And it was good to get a bit of payback against ‘em!”
“Perfect,” Shaddar says with glee. “Well done!”
“Yeah! They won’t be bothering us ever again!”
Shaddar raises an eyebrow in question and Toothsnatcher dissembles a bit, “Well… You didn’t say not to kill constables, just the folks we mugged. They had swords and stuff, so we just killed ‘em.”
Shaddar shrugs. Too late to change things now.
“Fine,” he says in a bored tone, “Let’s have a look at what you have brought me.”
The loot includes eight constable uniforms with a variety of weapons. Most of the uniforms are heavily bloodstained, but they can be laundered. Shaddar notices that the uniform is a form of padded armor, but it obviously didn’t help much against the might of his two violent muggers. The weapons collected include eight clubs, three maces, four short swords, and a silvered dagger.
Toothsnatcher lays out the goods for Shaddar to examine, but Kug is much too busy telling Shaddar all about his experiences.
“The power, Master! Never have I felt anything like it! Their weak little necks would snap and I never felt more like a hobgoblin!”
“Yes. You are awakening to your true nature, Kug, as is right. I hope that more of your fellows will be able to share in your delights soon…”
Kug picks up on the unstated query and responds. “Oh, yeah! I’m sure that some of the grunts I talked to while we was out will be stopping by later to see about joining your army.”
“Ah? Good!”
“Yeah! I found that I was much more convincing after I had killed the first four constables. Once those lads could see the blood on my hands and smelled it, a little fire would twinkle in some of their eyes and I knew just which ones to talk to – private like.”
Shaddar is worried that the hobgoblin he has selected for his general will become overconfident. He is certainly enjoying killing and from his thoughts, Shaddar can see that he’s not at all certain that he didn’t kill some of the civilians that they mugged – nor is he upset about that idea. Shaddar also learns that he secretly cut off some grisly trophies from his fallen enemies and has hidden them in his pocket to show others and revel over later.
His thoughts go out to the minotaur: “You will need to teach this one more self-control. Violence is a tool – not a drug! He behaves like a youth let loose in the slave pits. Teach the hobgoblin how to control the flow of hate and aggression and not to allow his emotions to rule him completely – at the next opportunity!”
Toothsnatcher nods. He too, thinks that the hobgoblin is a bit out-of-control.
Shaddar sends a mental message upstairs to Loolipo. “Collect Jorin, Bort, and Cutt. We have goods to be put away on the main floor.”
Soon the four of them come downstairs. They make enough noise that Hawke comes up to the bar to listen in on whatever conversation might ensue. Jorin is excited with the prospect of more gold, but Bort is wondering where it all has come from.
Jorin is a bit unsure of himself after the disappointment he heard in Shaddar’s rebuke of his lack of bravery earlier in the day. He asks timidly, “So… Four percent, Boss?”
Shaddar sighs, but nods his assent, “Yes.”
“And all I had to do for this gold is hide under my bed all day? This is the best job ever!” Jorin thinks. Shaddar’s tentacles make a gesture of resignation mingled with threat as he thinks, “Oh, you’ll be earning that gold later…”
Bort picks up the pile of constable uniforms with a raised eyebrow. “Boss? Where did these come from? And what’re these stains?”
“Use your imagination, Bort.”
“Is it… tomato sauce?” the man asks carefully.
“Good imagination!” Shaddar says expansively. Bort grins with pleasure at the compliment. Shaddar continues much more briskly, “Now, clean the ‘tomato sauce’ off these uniforms and patch the sundry holes, rips, and cuts. I will need them back to a pristine-looking state. Can you do that?”
“Oh, certainly, Boss! Never met a stain I couldn’t get out!”
Jorin pipes up while stacking coins in neat piles, “Yeah, Bort is good with a needle, too – he’ll patch ‘em right up! Must have been on sale, eh? Constables wouldn’t be caught dead wearing such filthy and torn outfits!”
Kug and Toothsnatcher find this statement hilarious for reasons that perplex the humans. The monster’s nasty chuckles are hearty and loud.
Shaddar is surprised that the two men haven’t figured out where the loot comes from or what might be done to obtain it. The thought of the level of violence that would be required to forcibly take the items can’t seem to get into their forebrains. The men can’t make the leap past their prior life experiences and moral disbelief.
Hawke is pale and is chewing the inside of his cheek with discomfort. His thoughts make it clear that he understands exactly what’s so funny to the beefy-sounding and aggressive voices.
Hawke brings out bowls of stew that Evicurra cooked for supper to mask his feelings and to occupy himself with something familiar and normal.
Everyone takes a bowl and eats while the sorting continues.
Shaddar overhears Kug ask Toothsnatcher, “So that’s the biggest axe I’ve ever seen? Are you a woodcutter, then?”
The minotaur grunts, “No. But I have hewed things with it…”
“Like what?”
“Nothing here in the city. Things here are too soft to bother – I can just use my fists or horns. But you stick around, Kug – you’ll see what…”
After the stew is consumed and the goods sorted, Shaddar orders his minions to put the remainder away. He can sense the approach of a group of humans. Their thoughts seem to indicate that they are the ones that Jorin and Bort invited. He orders the hobgoblins to return upstairs and remain until called for.
When the five humans arrive, Jorin and Bort greet them warmly and orders a bunch of ales for them. Their conversation and thoughts are quite revealing and Shaddar is silent for a few moments while he eavesdrops. He notes that they have varying degrees of intelligence – mostly on the low end of the scale…
“Why are you all still in costume?”
“What’s it all about, Jorin?”
“Is that him? The Boss? Ugly costume, innit?”
“Shhh!”
“We’re have a Guild Trial here? In the meadhall? A bit strange, that…”
“Probably a drinking contest.”
“Then you’ll lose for sure, eh? Might as well hang it up now! Har!”
Soon Shaddar wanders over and Jorin makes introductions. Shaddar only pays attention to the one fellow whose mind is sharp enough that he might prove useful to him: Helmnald Moonfast. The others? Well. One doesn’t learn the names of one’s dinner, does one? No. That would be tacky. Four men just as dumb as Jorin? One minion that stupid is more than enough! Now that those that he can not use have seen him and have learned where his hideout is located, they can not be allowed to talk…
“It looks like I’m having a four-course meal,” he thinks nastily, “but the separation of the recruit from my new feed-animals must come first.”
Shaddar motions to two different rooms and says, “Gentlemen! We will begin. If you will come with me into that room, Helmnald, and the rest will please wait for your turn to be interviewed in this room, we can get started.” He turns to Jorin and Bort and says, “Thank you, men. I will send for you when I have need.”
The humans all obey and Shaddar is once again amazed at how easy things are here. How simple and perfect for him it is. With not a flicker of fear or uncertainty, the four doomed men walk into the room and shut the door.
If he’s not careful he will lose his edge and grow soft – he resolves to never let that happen. Just because it is easy now, does not mean it will remain so.
He sends a mental command to Toothsnatcher and Loolipo to make sure none of the four dumb human’s leave the room they have just entered. He shuts his own door and turns to the man who might have enough utility to survive his encounter with Shaddar.
“Tell me about your background, Helmnald,” Shaddar prompts as he sits opposite the man.
“I work in the border zones, sir. Doing slight of hand shows, party tricks, that sort of thing. That’s what got me into trouble… I used to work in the Guild of Villains, but I got… well… er… bored.”
“You were banished to the border zone for the crime of being bored?”
“Well tricks and entertainment were my job, see? But it was too easy to just slip folks purses while I was doing the show. When the Guild found out I was kicked out at once for unlicensed villainy.”
“But I thought you were a member of the Guild? How then could your acts have been unlicensed?”
“I wasn’t in the department of larceny, was I? No, just worked for the entertainment captain. They don’t take kindly to villains crossing those kinds of lines and blurring the activities of villains everywhere,” Helmnald answers with a sigh, “Petty larceny was outside my bailiwick.”
“I see. And is the captain of the larceny a man with an eye-patch? A Flame Albion?”
“Oh, no, sir! Flame is the right-hand of the Guildmaster himself! He doesn’t do anything so tedious as run one of the Guild’s depatments. All of the department captains report to him and he takes the news to the Guildmaster.” Helmnald’s thoughts continue with slightly more information, “Not that anyone knows who that is – or even if it really is a ‘he’ at all. Far too secretive, if you ask me! And too political by half! I was better than their own burglars, that’s why they really wanted me gone – I made their lads look bad!”
Shaddar leans forward and asks, “Petty larceny? Were you good at it, then?”
The man blushes a bit as he answers, “Well… I don’t like to brag, sir, but yes. I was quite good.”
“Excellent. I just so happen to have an opening for captain of grand larceny in the Guild of Swashbuckling Rogues. Interested?”
“Grand,” Helmnald rolls the words as he says them slowly, “larceny? What’s that, sir?”
Shaddar speaks as patiently as he can, “You enjoy picking coins out of someone’s pocket? Or lifting an entire purse?”
“Yes. Petty larceny.”
“Grand larceny is merely emptying whole shops of their contents. It is doing what you love, but on a grand scale!”
The man’s eyes grow round as he whispers, “We can do that?”
“We can do whatever I want. Join us and you can do whatever you want.”
The man is tempted, but is smart enough to dig for more details. “Really? What kind of arrangement do you have with the Heroes?”
“The Heroes?” Shaddar asks with a laugh. “The Heroes. Ha! We do what we want in spite of the Heroes.”
“In… spite of the Heroes?”
Shaddar waves a hand in the air lazily as he continues, “The Heroes are far too busy drinking milk and tripping over their own feet to run away with their tails between their legs to have any kind of a say in how our guild operates. We are far above them, my friend,” his voice picks up power and excitement as he continues, "As are you! Who are those fools in the Guild of Villains to judge your talents unworthy? Bah! But don’t blame them – for it was destiny, Helmnald… Destiny! The reason they sent you away was so you could find us and live up to the true expression of your capabilities!”
The flattery is gaining a foothold on the Helmnald’s opinions. He rubs his stubble with one hand and mumbles, “Grand larceny? I’ve never considered anything like it before…”
“’Grand’ is so much better than ‘petty’,” Shaddar pushes gently.
“You know… it is, isn’t it?” The man begins to smile and Shaddar knows he has hooked another minion. A few seconds later the man verbalizes what Shaddar already knows by saying, “By the Mist! I’ll do it!”
“Good.”
“Where do I sign up, then? Do I get a Villain’s coin?” Shaddar sees in his thoughts that members of the Guild of Villains had a magical coin of some kind as a token of their membership.
“Yes, of course. You will get to wear the outfit of the Swashbuckling Rogue complete with mustache!” He hands Helmnald a paper mustache and the man raises one eyebrow critically.
“No disrespect meant, Boss, but… could I get my own outfit made to order? Y’see I know this haberdasher who does really fine work with clothes and wigs and such…”
“Excellent idea! In fact, see if he will make outfits to order based on just measurements! I will need more and higher quality outfits for some of our other guild members,” Shaddar says with satisfaction.
“Does it matter what I practice my skills on, Boss? Do you have someplace in mind for me to perform my first act of grand larceny?” Helmnald continues to roll the phrase slowly over his tongue as if experimenting with it.
“Not for now. I would only encourage you to return items that are of value to the guild, such as items made at the blacksmith’s, jewels, non-perishable foodstuffs, that sort of thing.”
Helmnald rubs his hands together. “Good. I have just the place then. I live near a blacksmith and whenever he mangles a horseshoe, he saves it in a pile so he can throw them at me when he sees me. I know exactly whose shop I’ll empty to the walls first, Boss…”
Shaddar chuckles.
The man continues, “In fact, I have an idea that might work this very night!”
Shaddar stands. “In that case, I’ll see you in the morning, Helmnald! And may I say: Good hunting and welcome to the Guild!”
Chapter 1 < Chapter 23 Chapter 25 >
No comments:
Post a Comment