Year 27

"You sure you're going to be fine going to see Flameflower and her gang of reprobates by yourself?" you ask Zalmora.
"I'll be more than fine. Flame's been overjoyed to have someone that can get various supplies for her on a regular basis, so she's probably been friendlier with me than she was in the Talons. We've also been doing well with our dealings with her. I think she's actually starting to get organized. She's got that permanent hideout now and actually came up with a name." Zalmora remarks.
"Oh? What is it?"
"The Flame Blades, though I think it's a work in progress. Anyway, I'll probably be gone a few days. According to the badly written note she sent, she's managed to snag a lot of shit and as usual she's just piled it all up in corner since she doesn't have any immediate use for it. Hopefully some of it is actually valuable, but she hasn't disappointed yet."
"Okay. Be careful."
"Of course I will, but if you're really worried about me, you could go in my place. I'm sure Flameflower would be happy to see you. You might even get us a discount if you were willing to go that extra step."
"Ha ha. Pretty sure if that happened, Flame would just keep me as her sex captive and you'd leave me with her as revenge for fucking around on you in the first place."
"Oh, only for a year, then I'd trade some elven wine for you or something."
"Glad to see I'm in such high demand. Anyway, I'll hold things down here."
"Good, oh and try not to get into another argument with Lorenzo from Little Lorenzo's while I'm gone."
"That fucking Halfling has been an asshole since we opened up shop here. Keeps blaming his financial problems on us and I'm not putting up with him going trying to bad mouth us to potential customers."
"And he's been completely ineffective in that endeavor. Why? Because he's a fucking Halfling and unless it's food, nobody fucking pays attention to shit they got to say. If anything, when you went over and started breaking his windows you drew more attention to his shop…as well as the Governor's Headsmen. Let's try to avoid that again."
"Alright. I'll try to keep that in mind."

Zalmora kisses you goodbye and takes her leave and you're left to your own devices.

So far your time in Hessla has been okay. Though you're still getting used to the idea of having a job despite what Zal says.

Sure you're dealing in a lot of stolen goods and you've done that before on a smaller scale, but you still have been missing the whole hands on approach to how you used to do things. Then again life has been a lot easier and could be a lot worse.

As the day passes you get the usual routine. Selling a few used muskets here, taking in a few exotic vases there, coin given and coin received. The usual.

As you're taking stock of some of the items you have in the store, you briefly look when you hear the door open. You see a woman dressed in traveller's clothing with an eye patch over her left eye walking in with a bag over her shoulder and a little dog by her feet.

"Hey, no anim…wait a minute…Annah?" you say.
"Um…yeah…it's me." She replies a bit meekly.

Part of you can't believe that you're seeing her again, another part of you sort isn't surprised. By the same token, part of you wants to go over and strangle her, while a small part of you wants to go over and hug her.

She walks further into the store with a minor limp. Her dog, which you presume, is still Checkers, follows closely and is still about the same size the last time you saw the infernal furry beast.

While you're feeling a lot of emotions right now, one of the reasons why you aren't acting on any of the negative ones is the condition she's in. Eye patch, limp, if she had a hook, she could pass for one of the pirates in Hessla as this point. When she gets closer, you notice scars around her neck. Like either someone unsuccessfully tried to slit her throat or tried to hang her.

"Annah…what the fuck happened?" you ask.
"I…I fucked up." Annah responds.
"Well obviously."
"Can I sit down a moment?"
"Sure go ahead. I was getting ready to close down for the day anyway."

Annah finds a chair and sits down putting her bag on the floor. When she does, its almost as if some of her burdens have been lifted, if only for a moment. Checkers curls up next to one of her feet. As you're locking up, you're just having a hard time believing it's actually her.

"Well I guess I wouldn't blame you for laughing at me right now." Annah responds.
"Laugh? Annah, this is fucking tragic seeing you like this. I mean…fuck sure I was pretty angry with that stunt you pulled, the last time I saw you. Even briefly thought about chasing you down, but even I certainly wouldn't have done this to you. Shit, I didn't even wish this on you." You say.
"Heh…I guess I always knew that despite everything you'd still have some feelings for me. I suppose that's why I came to find you. You know I tried Klyton first. Had a hell of a time finding out you had moved here. Not surprised you finally moved given how strict things have gotten in Klyton. However, I am surprised to find you running a store of sorts."
"Yeah well, things change."
"Indeed. I'm guessing the woman I heard you were with was one of the reasons for that change. Don't worry; I'm not here to mess that up. Actually I'm glad you found someone because it's certainly hard being by yourself. Wish I'd realized that sooner. Is she here?"
"No. If she were, we might not be having this long of a conversation. Which brings me to the point of this visit. Now I still don't know what happened to you, but obviously, you sought me out so I could help you in some way. So what is it?"
"It's a long story."
"Yeah well Zalmora isn't going to be back for awhile, so start talking."

Annah tells you that soon after your "parting of ways" she went to the Delantium Kingdom. She says that she lived pretty well there, but it all started to fall apart when she got involved with the Ebony Claw Syndicate.

"By the gods, why the hell would you do that for?" you utter.
"I thought I was smart enough to handle them. Of course if I was really smart I would have left Delantium as soon as one of them approached me with their propositions." Annah answers.

Annah goes on about how she dug a deeper and deeper hole for herself with the Syndicate until finally they began to lose patience with her and before she could disappear, they caught her and it wasn't good.

She tells you that in the scheme of things she got off light since the others directly involved in the plan weren't so lucky. She was just considered loosely connected so managed to keep her life. However, she says you're not seeing the scars she has on her back where they also whipped her. It was by the luck of Yag that one of the Syndicate members was such an animal lover that he didn't kill Checkers as part of the "lesson."

After the debt was paid in blood and what little coin she had, she left the Delantium Kingdom.

"And then you came to find me?" you ask.
"Well I actually thought about going home to Teckleville, but despite everything I wasn't completely ready to admit defeat and live some boring life. In fact, that's part of the reason I'm here."

Annah at this point takes her bag and gives you it. You look at her and you slowly open it.

"By the gods..." You utter.

You put your hand inside the bag and pull out a fist full of vials filled with Blue Dream. The entire bag is full of them. There must be a small fortune here.

"This is a lot of fucking Blue Dream, Annah. You realize how much fucking Blue Dream you got here?"
"Not exactly, no. Do you know?"
"No, I don't, but it's a fucking lot."
"Can you give me a fair price? I understand you need to make a profit."
"Annah, I'm not a fucking Blue Dream lord! I mean sure I sold some medical shit back in Klyton, but this is a whole different situation."
"How so?"
"First off, I'm sure you realize that Ebony Claw Syndicate has domination on this product. They're very fucking protective of it. I mean if you're caught selling this shit and you're not ECS, they will take it out on your ass."
"Well isn't Hessla free of ECS influence?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they don't still come here. I start selling this shit in Hessla and I'll have a Syndicate hit squad on me before the Governor's Headsmen can do shit about it. Which brings me to the second point. The Governor of Hessla has a shaky relationship with the Syndicate. If anything causes that tenuous peace to start going south, he's going to take steps to correct it. And if that means turning over the troublemaker to the Syndicate, then that's what's going to happen."
"No way to do it quietly?"
"Annah, I could be as careful as possible and some idiot would blab. All it takes is one damn junkie. The only other option is to sell it all in one sale to minimize the risk, but I have no knowledge of anyone that needs that much Blue Dream and has the coin to buy it. Annah, this is REALLY dangerous to even have this in your possession. You have to know that."
"I know I only got one fucking eye, a leg that has a permanent limp and deep scars on my back now thanks to the damn Syndicate. I might not be able to do anything to them, but I'm getting something out of them. They don't know anyway. As I said, they thought the Blue Dream was lost by one of the other poor sons of bitches they killed."
"And you just happened to have it hidden somewhere the whole time of course."
"I had a back up plan. I always do."

You rub your eyes and shake your head. Annah looks at you with her one good eye and realizes that she may have assumed too much.

"Alright. I can see you can't help me. It's okay. I get it. You got a nice life and don't want to fuck that up. Thanks for at least hearing me out for old times sake." Annah says.

Annah goes to take the bag, and that's when you stop her.

"Hang on. Didn't say I couldn't help you. Though I'm wondering why I should…(sigh) fuck it. I'm hoping I'm doing this because I'm greedy, because if it's because I still having feelings for you, I truly am an idiot. I got an idea of how I can unload this. Letting you know right now however, I'm taking full advantage and bending you over good on this deal." You say.
"You going to kiss me and tell me I'm still pretty at least?" Annah replies.
"Of course. No reason I can't still be a gentleman."

You tell Annah to wait and you head to the back of the store where your living quarters are and then go to your personal safe where you take out the remainder of what savings you have left. It's still not as much as what the Blue Dream is worth, but as you already told her, Annah's going to have to be satisfied with the deal.

You come back and find Annah petting Checkers in her lap. You then hand her a new bag of loot, which Annah looks in.

"It's the best I can do Annah." You say.
"This will do. I can take this and easily make more with it, if need be. Learned a few gambling tricks while in Delantium. Um, this isn't going to fuck up things with your new girl is it?" Annah asks.
"Zalmora? Eh, I think I'll be able to talk my way out of it though. Hope so at least."
"Maybe you shouldn't tell her then."
"Hah. She'd figure out I was hiding something and I'd just get into more trouble. If I've learned anything, I'm shit at deception when it comes to those I happen to be intimate with."
"Well give me the Blue Dream back, I don't want to cause you unnecessary trouble. I did enough of that when we were together."
"Don't worry about it. I used all my savings rather than the store's anyway. So while she'll probably call me an idiot and ask if I fucked you or not, that's probably where it will end, then we'll figure out who we can sell the Blue Dream to and get rich.
"Wait, this is ALL your savings?"
"Yep. You've got it all again. Just think, you didn't even have to steal it this time."
"Y'know, I'm really sorry about that. I wish…"
"Forget it Annah. It was a long time ago and I got over it."

Annah puts Checkers down and slowly stands up. She briefly smiles and moves towards you.

"I…wish things had been different." Annah says getting a bit of a quiver in her voice.
"Things are what they are. No point in dwelling on them now."

Annah looks down and nods. She sniffles and rubs her eye.

"Just, take care of yourself okay? And for fuck's sake don't have anymore dealings with the Ebony Claw Syndicate."
"I won't and I won't forget this either."

Annah suddenly moves in quick and gives you a kiss you on the lips.

"You're still my first and only love. You always will be." Annah says and then turns around to exit the shop. She limps as quickly as she can with Checkers faithfully following her.

And she's gone again.

It's still a little unreal to you and you even get a little emotional after your encounter with Annah.

After composing yourself, you focus on what she left you with, namely a shitload of Blue Dream. Despite what you told Annah, you're not really sure how you're going to get rid of it with ease. Zal will probably have some ideas, though you're dreading the conversation you're going to have to have with her. Fortunately you've got a few days to prepare yourself.

A few days pass and Zal still isn't back yet. When two more days pass after that, you stop worrying about your conversation with Zal and just start to worry in general. Your worries are soon answered when a little boy suddenly comes running in your shop that day with a note saying someone on the edge of Hessla gave him this message to give to you.

Pretty boy,

Bring ALL your shit now or the bitch dies.

Sincerely,

Flameflower

Your heart sinks and you feel sick. At first you wonder why Flame is doing this since your "business relationship" with her and her gang was always positive.

Then again, does it matter what the reasons are? She's a fucking violent criminal and the risk was always there. The important thing is she's holding Zal hostage and you have to do something about it.

You try to save Zalmora

You briefly think about emptying out the store's till and taking all that coin along with the Blue Dream to Flame, but is that really going to work? If Flame has already suddenly taken Zal hostage, chances are she'll just keep everything you bring and kill the pair of you.

It's an impossible situation and the more you dwell on it, the angrier you get. You're going there all right, but you're not going there to negotiate. You going there armed for combat.

You've never been one to seek out a fight; indeed you've usually always tried to avoid such things, be it from the law or other criminals.

But you have killed before, and you know you can do it again. And right now there has never been a better reason.

You don't know if you're going to survive this, as you're not some hardened bandit like they are. Indeed, you've probably gotten a little out of shape due to your less strenuous life. However, some skills you never unlearn. You're a rogue and you'll take them one by one silently if need be or die trying.

While your intention is going to try to be silent as possible, one can never be too sure, so you grab various small firearms you have in the shop and check and recheck them. You then grab a small hand crossbow and several bolts.

As prepared as you're going to be, you head out.

From past conversations with Zalmora, you remember the general location of Flame's hideout. Takes about a day, but eventually you find it thanks to Flame's people being fairly loud while wandering around the area.

You see two of them and mentally prepare yourself for the first casualties you're about to inflict in this task.

You sneak up and slit one of the bandit's throats. He makes just enough noise for him to alert his fellow, which you shoot in the chest with your crossbow. Fortunately you're close enough you can't really miss.

Two down, and who knows how many more to go. As Zal said, Flame's been getting organized so she's probably got more people than when you first met her. You picked a hell of a time to attack a bandit camp.

You kill three more, one nearly escaping to warn his fellows. He still made enough noise for someone to possibly hear so who knows how much time you actually have.

The funny thing is how easy this actually is, you thought you'd have a harder time of it, but so far these bandits have been putting up a pitiful showing. Maybe these bandits are so used to attacking defenseless travellers that most of them don't really have much skill in actual combat.

By the time you get to the camp however, they know something is going on as you see a few running back and forth and shouting. You manage to kill one more in secret before several of them finally spot you.

With no more element of surprise, you shoot two more and severely wound another before Flameflower comes out from her tent and demands that her people capture you alive.

You try to backtrack so you aren't encircled, but it's too late, you've been successfully outflanked.

You feel a bolt go into your leg and then another into your arm. You drop to the ground in pain.

You see one of Flame's people coming and you weakly throw a dagger at him before you feel a blow to the back of your head.

As you lose consciousness, you hear Flameflower's voice.

"Fucking hell, pretty boy got some fight in him! You know how I like me a badass, this is gonna be fun!"

Everything goes black.

When you wake up, you find yourself stripped naked, standing stretched out with your arms and legs tied to two poles. Flameflower sits nearby throwing pebbles at your face. Two bigger bandits stand near the tent entrance.

"Finally up. Shit, been waiting for what feels like forever." Flame says.
"Where the hell is Zal?" you utter.
"I'd be more concerned about yourself right now. Especially after what you pulled. Shit, you really made a mess of things pretty boy. What did you think you were going to do? Come in and kill all of us and save the girl like in one of those badly written fairy tales?"
"Something like that."
"Well that took a lot of balls I'll give you that. Shit, wish someone felt that way about me. I know none of these assholes would try to save me if I was being held hostage. Fucking romantic and shit y'know? Zal always did know how to pick 'em I guess."

Flameflower stands up and walks over to you. She begins caressing your upper body a bit and then moves her hand lower to just grope you.

"Mmm yeah. Now, I know you are probably feeling a wide range of emotions right now. The chief one probably being hate and anger, which I understand, but that shit isn't gonna do you any good except get you killed slowly and painfully."
"Where the fuck is Zal?!"
"THAT BITCH IS FUCKING DEAD! She was fucking dead before I even sent the note! I had my boys beat and rape her before they dumped her in the woods to let the fucking animals eat her dead violated ass. Thought about keeping her body around to taunt you with, but honestly, even I couldn't stand the sight of her. She was all nasty and gross looking. Cum and blood all over her fucking face, flies started crawling on her. I mean I nearly threw up myself y'know?"

You feel a southern "squeeze" on your tender bits, but that pain doesn't even match the pain you feel from hearing this news.

"You gonna cry over that dead cunt? Let me tell you something about Zalmora. That fucking bitch was a damn rat traitor. I have no doubt in my mind that she's the reason that the Klyton militia found our old hideout. You know how I know? Because in her last moments she even offered to trade YOU to me in exchange for her miserable life. So much for true love."
"That didn't happen."
"Oh? And you know this because you were here? You a fucking wizard or something? You don't know shit pretty boy. Nobody EVER really knows anybody. Especially when shit goes down. I mean you think Zal thought I was going to kill her? Of course she didn't. She thought in her arrogance that our profitable business arrangement was enough. That I was just some dumb ass that was easily appeased and granted, I was for a while. Shit, despite thinking she was a stuck up cunt, I didn't even really hate her, just was business."
"Business?"
"Yes. I decided on a better arrangement that didn't involve you two. But none of this shit matters now. What matters now is pleasure AND how much you want to live. Normally I'd just kill you and this would be over with, but I want that dick. Tired of fucking these smelly ugly fuckers. Want some of what Zal had for a change. A nice face to look at as I'm riding that cock. Now I'm going to get that, whether YOU want to or not, but the more willing you are, the greater you improve your chances."
"Better just kill me then because I doubt if I'm going to be up for that."
"Hah, you think I can't get you hard? Shit, I got several ways I could get you hard. I slide that dick down my velvet throat a few times and you'd be harder than a rock golem. I could have one of my boys here fuck you in the ass a bit. Saw that happen to a couple guys a few times, doesn't always seem to work, but still fun to watch though. However, I got a better idea because I want you to last and I want to enjoy this for as long as possible. Lou, get that shit you use on your dick."
"Um, the wart ointment?" Lou asks.
"No, goblin shit for brains, I'm talking about the stuff that gives you more stamina than the usual two pumps you do."
"Oh! Okay boss."
"In the meantime, I think I'll get a taste of things to come…"

As you stand tied helpless while Flameflower has a sword fight with you in her mouth, all you can think about is how the hell you're going to get out of this, along with how many diseases you dick is probably getting right now.

When Lou returns with a small bottle Flame tell him and the other goon to force your mouth open and turn your head up as she pours the contents down your throat. Tastes horrible, whatever it is, but you soon feel the effects.

"Well now. Looks like you really like me after all! Lou, Haylon, untie pretty boy here and get some help holding him down outside, I want an audience for this!"

After punching you in the gut to take the wind out of you, Lou and Haylon cut your ropes and drag you outside where some of the bandits start whooping it up. After a couple more punches to you face several of the bandits hold your arms and legs.

"Hey! Not the face boys! Like I said, I want him to have a clear look at these magnificent tits bouncing in front of him!" Flameflower says as she exits her tent completely naked.

Flameflower poses a bit to the cheers of her bandit buddies and then looks down at you as you remain helpless

"Yeah, I know I'm beautiful. Now brace yourself pretty boy, because you may feel a burning sensation…"

Flameflower lowers herself on you and you're convinced you just shoved your dick in a vat of lava. Flameflower's name has taken on a whole new meaning. You might indeed be as hard as a rock golem, but you sure aren't enjoying this experience.

You still don't know if you're surviving this, but even if you do, your dick might not.
This whole situation is just horrible as Flameflower laughs and people cheer her on and you're utterly powerless to stop any of it.

While it feels like forever, it's only been an hour and you finally release into her, though it feels more like a stream of fire.

"Aww! I was just enjoying that and I'm not done yet!"

Flameflower gets in close and whispers in your ear.

"I know what you can do." Flameflower says and licks your face before getting off of you.

"Get him on his knees lads, pretty boy here is gonna finish me off like a real gentleman. I want all of you uncouth louts to take notes!"

You are forced up and then slammed down to your knees by Flame's biggest goons. At this point you feel like you want to die, but somewhere within you, you still feel that spark of survival.

Flameflower stands in front of you and you're literally eye level to her nasty infested diseased hole. You nearly want to retch from the smell. Flameflower grabs a knife from one of her people, which she runs gently across the side of your cheek.

"Now, I want you to do mommy right. I want you to make me come hard and multiple times. You understand? Because if you don't, what you're experiencing now, can be ten times worse and much longer."

Flameflower begins pushing your head closer to her snatch and you're still trying to figure out a way to survive this.

"Wait, so if I do this…will you let me live?" you ask.

Flameflower starts laughing and then looks at you while roughly grabbing the back of your head to look at her.

"I'm probably still going to kill you. However, IF you show some enthusiasm, then MAYBE I'll keep you around as my lick bitch."

Flameflower holds the knife close to your head as she uses her other hand to push your head into her. As your face gets so close that you can now see the crabs, you close your eyes, mentally praying to ALL the gods that you'll be able to do this without puking or passing out from the smell (and/or taste).

Your tongue nervously starts to exit your mouth…

And suddenly an explosion deafens you and causes you to tip over and you aren't the only one. You look up in time to see the crowd around you disperse.

Another explosion occurs and this one is close enough that a few bandits get caught in it. Someone invested in some firebombs.

Meanwhile Flameflower is standing around barking orders at everyone and then her attention turns back to you.

"I don't know what asshole is attacking us, but YOU are not getting away. Lou, Haylon, get him!"

You quickly start scrambling away only to have Lou grab your arm. Just as Haylon is about to back him up, a shot is heard and Haylon's head partially explodes like a ripe melon.

More shots are fired causing Flameflower to run for cover as bodies start dropping. You punch Lou in the face causing him to let go of you and then grab a dagger from one of his sheaths and stab him in the neck with it.

You look around and that's when you see who it is that's been attacking.

Annah limps slowly around the camp, welding some sort of fancy repeating pistol. You didn't even know she had one of those. She's not missing a shot either, even with only one good eye.

Once again this woman is just full of surprises.

"I got this, go get that naked bitch!" Annah shouts.

Last time you saw Flameflower, she ran back into her tent, probably to get a better weapon, however there are still some bandits that haven't given up the fight and while Annah's a good shot, she's still going to have to reload.

You help Annah

Ignoring Annah's commands, you immediately grab a crossbow off of one of the dead bodies nearby and a short sword.

Annah fires off one more round and then has to reload just like you figured she round. A couple of the bandits try to rush her, but you fire your own crossbow at them. You miss, but it's enough to cause one to desperately try to get out of the way and stop his advance.

The other bandit trying to attack Annah you cross swords with. You do okay, but you're still hurting from getting hit with a bolt in your arm and leg earlier (along with everything else) not to mention you're without any protection.

Eventually the other bandit you shot at, regains his composure and moves in to attack you, however at this point Annah has already reloaded and before either bandit can gain the advantage on you, she's shot both of them.

You turn around just in time to see Flameflower come out of her tent with two pistols and you immediately shove Annah out of the way and try to duck in the process, but then you feel another burning sensation. This one however is on the left side of your head followed by the ringing pain of where an ear once was and a bloody hole now all that remains.

"SHIT!" you shout and fall to the ground holding the left side of your head.

You fully expect another shot to either kill you or Annah as you're both prone and Flame was holding two pistols.

"CHECKERS KILL!" you hear Annah shout despite the ringing.

This is followed by the sounds of growling, shouting and then several shots being fired from nearby.

By the time you get up, you see Checkers happily trotting over to Annah who stands nearby and looking over at Flameflower's body.

Annah limps over towards Flameflower and just as you're about to tell her to be careful, she fires again at Flame's hand, which apparently was going for the pistol she dropped after being attacked by Checkers.

"Argh! Shit! Fuck!" Flame manages to gurgle as she loses a couple fingers.

You and Annah now both approach Flame who is a bloody mess at this point. Still, she's managing to hang on to continue to look defiantly at you.

"(Cough) Fuck…who's this bitch with the great aim? Nother girlfriend?" Flame asks.
"Something like that." Annah remarks.
"(Gurgle) well ain't you a (cough) fuckin lady killer, pretty boy…"

You pick up the pistol that Flame was trying to grab. You then kneel down and ram the pistol in her mouth, breaking out some of her teeth in the process.

"Hold on baby, I'm gonna shoot my load, get that velvet throat of yours ready…" you say.
"Mmugh guh ack…" Flame chokes and weakly tries to struggle against you.

You pull the trigger and blow most of her head apart. Blood splatters everywhere, along with brains and skull.

"Was it good for you?"

As you slowly stand up, you feel a bit numb. Annah touches your shoulder, but you ignore it. You just feel like you're in another place. You aren't even aware if all the bandits are dead, you just walk into Flame's tent and when inside, you sit down and just think about everything that transpired.

Meanwhile Annah looks around to see if there are any more enemies and fortunately it looks like you both killed them all. The pair of you ironically just made the roads a lot safer from thievery and murder.

By the time Annah comes back to check on you, you've managed to gather yourself enough that you've got your clothes back on. You're still sort of sitting and staring into nothing though.

"You um…all…nevermind that's a stupid question. Of course you're not alright." Annah says.
"I'm not. But I will be eventually. I just…got a lot on my mind right now."
"I'm really sorry I couldn't get here sooner. Fucking bum leg…"
"It's okay Annah. Better that you came late, rather than not at all. I'm guessing you were spying on me again?"
"Well, after our exchange in your shop a few days ago, I was still in Hessla pondering whether or not to try to win you back or at least give you back your savings and take the Blue Dream off your hands so you didn't have the hassle. When I saw you leave the shop and then heading towards out of town looking like you had a grim purpose, I knew something must be wrong, so I followed. Hell of a time keeping up. Thankfully Checkers is an excellent tracker. Again, my apologies."
"And again, it's a good thing you did. Fuck…"

You begin to feel the weight of what happened to you and you put your head in your hands desperately trying not to cry, but you can't help it.

Seeing that you're distressed, Annah goes over to try to comfort you, but you stop her.

"Don't. Annah. Just don't. I'm probably fucking crawling with disease and you don't need to be around that. Not to mention that my mind is in a very dark place right now."
"Okay. I understand and I get it. I just want you to know though; I went through something similar so I'm here, okay? I'm going to leave you alone and I'll just be outside looking around again. I'm not going anywhere."

You nod and Annah leaves.

While what Flameflower did to you was certainly traumatic enough, what you're really upset about is Zalmora. She's dead, and you don't even know where the body is, not that you'd probably want to see it after what Flameflower described.

Though the worst of it is, was Flameflower telling the truth or just fucking with your head?

Not about what they did before killing her, though that's terrible enough, but did Zal really offer to trade you to Flameflower in a desperate attempt to survive?

You have a hard time believing that and yet Flame was right about one thing, nobody ever truly knows anybody. Who knows what the hell happened. Maybe the agony was just so great for Zal that she did something so desperate and unthinkable to survive. You nearly did and would have if Annah hadn't showed up when she did.

In the end, does it really matter if she did? She's dead and you'll never really know the truth. You're fairly certain that it was bullshit, but even it wasn't…well you guess you can live with the idea that you understand. You never experienced any betrayal by Zalmora, so you'll remember her as your relationship was with her. A pleasant one with many happy memories.

Because that's all you got of her now.

You slowly gather the rest of your belongings and briefly go through Flameflower's tent. You're not really in the mood to loot, but it's a habit and it's not like you're going to come back here ever again.

You don't find much of actual value except a bit of coin, however what you find more interesting is a few more notes laying on a table. Out of curiosity you read some of them and put one in your pocket before exiting the tent.

Outside, you find Annah sitting on the ground with an overstuffed bag and petting Checkers. They both look in your direction and Checkers even trots over to you as if to greet you. Hard to believe the little furball is friendly with you, though she probably has contributed to saving your life on more than one occasion.

"You ready?" Annah asks.
"Yeah." You answer giving Checkers a quick pet.
"Okay, my apologies if the trip to Hessla takes awhile due to my leg."
"It's fine, but I was going to Klyton."
"Klyton? Why?"
"Because I got a fire down below, I'd like something that's sure to cure it and Klyton has better medical facilities. I'm not worried about the store right now."
"Ah. Yeah I get it. Well I understand if you need to go on ahead. I can meet you in Klyton if you want."
"Yeah…I don't think I'm going to be good company Annah. Not for a long while. I got a shitload of baggage I need to work out and go through. Last thing I want to do is drive you away because I'm in a dark mood."
"Isn't that what you're doing now?"
"No. You know why? Because despite every shitty thing that's happened, I have learned one thing, we always find each other somehow. Maybe we'll part ways now, but I know we're going to see each other again. I dunno, maybe that's how our relationship works best. You have saved my life multiple times now. I doubt if I'm ever going to be able to repay that debt no matter how much you take from my savings. I look at you and I really wish I'd been there to help you with the Syndicate."
"It's okay. You would have just gotten us both killed."

Annah starts to smile and then you chuckle a bit.

"Probably right." You say.
"So this is goodbye again." Annah replies.
"Just for a little while. Maybe next time…maybe next time we'll get it right."

Annah goes to hug you, and despite you reminding her of your carrying of three hundred sexual diseases, she hugs you anyway. She then says she's going to head back to Hessla since it's closer and less of a strain on her legs. She then says she'll probably book passage on a ship to Holgard, since she hasn't been there yet.

The two of you then part ways.

You make your way to Klyton trying hard to ignore your pain. You really hope you can get something before your dick falls off.

When you finally get to Klyton, you nonchalantly nod at the guards and ask where the closest and cheapest medical facilities in the city as you just got robbed and barely escaped with your life.

Given how you look and the serious tone of your voice, the guard has no reason to disbelieve your story and tells you how to get to the nearest apothecary and says they really need to do more to start keeping the nearby roads safe from bandits.

You enter Klyton and from there you immediately know where to go.

You head to Klyton hospital and while you might not have done this in awhile, you never really forget. Fortunately the medicine for curing dick rot is a lot easier to acquire than Numb and the rest of the shit you used to sell, so security isn't as strong.

You grab a couple bottles of the strongest stuff you can find and make haste out of the hospital. You down one bottle of the medicine which tastes terrible, but hopefully it works.

In the meantime you pay for a cheap inn and try to get some rest, which you fail at since you have nightmares the whole time.

A couple days pass and your dick starts to feel better, though still not a hundred percent. The rest of your body still aches as well, but your mind is still dealing with the shit that happened. You weep over Zal a bit despite already having come to grips with it. Your mind always goes back to anger and hate though. You half wish Flameflower was alive so you could kill her slower this time.

You "support" your stay at the cheap inn, the old way. Klyton may have tightened their security, but people remain oblivious idiots that don't watch their coin purses. If anything, they seem to be less observant. Must be due to feeling safer.

After about two weeks, your body is more or less healed and your dick is no longer burning like a blacksmith's furnace. Your mind still isn't quite right, but then was it ever?

Still, you're in a better frame of mind of what you're going to do.

You catch a carriage and head back to Hessla. When you arrive and get back to the shop, you're actually surprised it hasn't been looted or burned down or something. Then again hasn't been the end of the month for the Governor to take a cut yet.

You look around and see everything still in place. When you go to your safe though, you get a bit of a surprise. You find all your savings inside. The Blue Dream bag is gone. You guess Annah broke in the store (along with cracking the safe! Another thing she must have learned) and returned everything.

You just hope Annah doesn't get into any trouble trying to sell that Blue Dream, but then again if she does, she'll probably get out of it.

You look around the shop remembering the good times you had here with Zal, then load your savings into your pack and take the silver whistle Zalmora first gave you and leave the shop for good.

You book passage on a ship, which is leaving for Jicol. You've always heard about opportunities there and you've never been there before. Might as well try some place new.

Before you leave however you make one more visit.

You enter Little Lorenzo's shop. Lorenzo's shop as usual is empty. Even without you as direct competition, he's not doing any better.

The halfling's eyes widen when he sees you. Obviously he thought you weren't coming back. You draw your pistol.

"Wait! We can…"

You fire and hit the Halfling in the head. His body slumps over with unspectacular thud.

"Next time, don't put shit in writing."

You throw the crumpled correspondence between Lorenzo and Flameflower near his body before walking back out.

You time passes...

Chapter 3E: Reunited



Year 30

None of your dealings with gangs has ever been positive which is why its odd that you inadvertently became looked up to one.

Granted it's made up of a bunch of snot nosed teenagers, but they've been trying to emulate you for years since they were snot nosed kids.

The Black Hooks have been unofficially looking to you for guidance ever since you easily caught a couple of them trying to pick your pocket a couple years ago and scolded them for their sloppy technique. Some of them seem to have potential, others just seem like they're just in it to cause trouble and be rebellious. Their "leader" Marco talks a big game and even seems to resent the fact that so many in his gang speak positively of you, but in the scheme of things, he seems like he wants to be like you on some level.

Still, as teenagers are want to do, they don't always listen very well. You certainly didn't.

"Marco, I know you and your little friends are really proud about your recent string of break ins, but you lot still have a lot to learn about stealth. I've told you the story about the Bloody Talons haven't I?" you remark.
"Yes! A million times!" Marco says exasperatedly.
"And you'll hear it a million more until you fuckers get it right or you're going to end up just like the Bloody Talons! More importantly, you're making shit unnecessarily more difficult for the rest of us trying to make a living out here. The more reckless you are, the more the Jicol Watch starts actually cracking down on everyone. We don't need that shit. We got it good here thanks to Jicol tending to worry more about pirates than us land based criminals."
"I think I'd rather be a pirate."
"Pfft, no you wouldn't. You like the IDEA of being a pirate because you hear all about their glorious tales of raping and pillaging whenever they dock here. Trust me, I've dealt with enough pirates for them to tell me some of their stories to know that that life isn't all that glamorous. Most of the time it's a lot of waiting around on a ship fighting off scurvy and other crew members trying to do harm to your fucking asshole by shoving a dick it in. You want to get fucked in the ass?"
"Um, no?"
"You didn't sound so sure about that. Because if that's what you want, I'm pretty sure there are a lot of pirate captains that would like a cabin boy like you."
"No! Fuck no."
"Alright then. In any case, stop immediately breaking windows when you're struggling with a lock. Locks are like women and sometimes you gotta take a little time with them before they open up and give you the goods. It's a pain in the ass, but most of the time it's worth it and you'll feel a better sense of accomplishment. Understand?"
"Yeah, I suppose so."
"So what are you trying to sell this time?"

After doing a little bartering and taking advantage of Marco's lack of knowledge of the value of his stolen goods, you bid him and his buddies goodbye and remind him to remember what you said.

As you make your way back to your humble home, halfway there you get the sense that you're being followed and watched. It isn't he Black Hook either.

"Alright, you lot might as well come out, unless you intend on shooting me from the shadows that you're hiding in."

A single older man steps out from said shadows.

"Nope, just me." He says.
"Who are you?" you ask.
"Oh I go by the same name I have for years now. Sneaks. Though apparently not sneaky enough seeing as you sensed me. Such is the failing of once superior skills with getting old."
"You won't be getting too much older if you keeping following me around, now what do you want?"
"No need for hostility friend, though I suppose it would have been better to just approach you directly. Honestly, I've known about you for a year or so now, but seeing as I do my own fencing like most others like myself around here, never really needed to speak with you before."
"Oh? So do you have something then?"
"Oh no. It's not that. It's more of a concern that…well let's just say the underworld community has."
"Underworld community? First I'm hearing of an organized gang here."
"That's because there isn't one and we're all hoping it stays that way. Nothing good comes from monolithic organizations. I should know I had to directly fight the Ebony Claw Syndicate back in Holgard and ultimately lost."
"Well you'll get no argument from me. I've never been part of a gang and never had any positive experiences with them."
"Interesting. Then one wonders why you're actively encouraging and acting as a mentor of sorts to one."

You nearly chuckle at what Sneaks is getting at.

"The Black Hooks? I mean yeah I guess they're a gang, but they're hardly the Ebony Claw Syndicate. They're mostly a bunch of dumb teenagers." You say.
"Well I'm sure the Syndicate started as a bunch of dumb teenagers too, until someone molded and lead them to be a powerful organization." Sneaks replies.
"I am NOT the leader of the Black Hooks nor do I have any desire to be. That dubious honor belongs to their mildly more intelligent member, Marco. I can't help it if some of them look to me for tips and shit. If anything, my guidance as you call it, is making things better for the rest of us. I just told them to knock it off with their smash and grab routines and other shit that brings the heat down on everyone."
"Yes, I can see that would be a good thing, however I don't think you're looking at the greater picture. You are correct in that they're mostly dumb teenagers and their actions draw more attention. However, I also imagine that they wouldn't last very long. Sooner, rather than later, the Jicol Watch would wipe out most of them and things would be harder for the rest of us for awhile, but eventually the status quo would return since Jicol has always been more concerned with a potential pirate attack rather than anything else."
"Your point?"
"My point is, YOU are teaching them to be better criminals. Basically, more of them are going to survive and even thrive because of you. Not only does this mean more competition for all of us, it also means the Black Hooks are likely to survive as a gang. This organization is going to eventually realize that they outnumber the independent competition and take steps to eliminate said competition, or force them to join. Since some of us aren't likely to go quietly, some of the independents are going to form their OWN gang for protection and before you know it, there's a war going on. As I said, I've read that tale before and it didn't end well."
"So you're telling me who I can or can't associate with?"
"Look, I'm not saying to not continue to do whatever business you have with them. I wouldn't dream of doing something like that. Anyway I said my piece. Do what you want obviously. I'm just suggesting that helping them as much as you have been, might not be in any of our best interests in the long run."
"Duly noted."

With those words, Sneaks nods and takes his leave. You have to admit, he does have somewhat of a point, but on the other hand some of it sounded like a threat with that last bit.

You continue on your way home and then you see a figure near it. The figure isn't even hiding. They're just casually sitting on your front step. Seems you're popular today.

As you approach a little cautiously, the notice the figure is female and a little furry animal pop out from around her then…

"Annah?" you call out.
"I was wondering when you'd get home. I would have let myself in, but who knows what traps you've rigged and I'm not quite as nimble anymore. Besides, wouldn't be polite right?" Annah replies.
"Glad to see you've at last respected my boundaries. Not just for me, but for yourself. That door doesn't even lead inside, come on, I'll take you the real way."
"Oh, a secret way in. Nice, but aren't you concerned about me knowing?"
"Not at this point. Besides, I don't keep anything of actual value in here anyway."
"Of course you don't."

After leading Annah in the real way to your home (with Checkers slowly following behind), she asks you how you've been and what you've been up to. You give a brief answer that you've been doing better since the last time you saw her (physically and mentally) and how it's mostly been back to the standard burglary for you along with some fencing for the Black Hooks.

"Black Hooks huh? They Jicol's version of the Talons?" Annah asks.
"They wish. It's mostly a bunch of teenagers being wild. Though I've been mildly trying to direct them away from what led to the Talons' demise in Klyton." You say.
"That's rather altruistic of you."
"It's more like covering my own ass in the long run so Jicol doesn't turn into another Klyton. However, someone recently told me that I should just let these kids twist in the wind and get themselves killed by the law since it gets rid of a potential greater threat in the future, like the Black Hooks actually becoming competent and powerful united force."
"I can see a logic in both approaches actually. So what were you planning to do?"
"Nothing. I'm going to continue to go about my life and if anyone gets in my face about what I'm doing, I'll deal with it then."
"Sounds like you. Sooo…the Black Hooks the only gang in the city?"
"If you can call them that. Yeah. Everyone else is more or less independent though I'm sure a few work together at times. Nobody really has any turf though as far as places being off limits to others. Not even the Black Hooks are like that, though they do have a location where they all hang out that they probably consider their own."
"Would you say there is a strong disregard for authority here in the underworld community?"
"Isn't there always?"
"Well yes, but I meant it sounds like other than the Black Hooks, nobody is really organized and probably would resist against such a thing."
"Annah, this is an odd line of questioning you're going for…out with it."

Annah looks down a bit, before looking at you again. You have to say, you still aren't used to that eye patch she has.

"Promise you won't get mad?" Annah asks.
"Well that doesn't sound good. (Sigh) Fine. I promise I'll TRY not to get mad." You reply.
"Okay. Well, since we last saw each other, I've been in Holgard and I've sort of had dealings with the Ebony Claw Syndicate."
"Oh for…"
"No, no, it's okay. I'm actually on good terms with them now. Well at least the chapter in Holgard. Apparently the head there Rook. Isn't too pleased with some of the leadership decisions in the Delantium Kingdom and he's been making a few moves of his own. To cut a long story short, I've been working with the Syndicate."
"You joined the fucking Syndicate?!"
"No! I'm more like a hired gun. Literally, most of the time. I…uh…accept a lot of contracts on people."
"…Wow. Okay then. Still, I would have thought the Syndicate would have had people like that on their payroll."
"Eh, that's sort of the problem with the Holgard chapter. It doesn't get much support from the top. It's almost seen as more of a money-making outpost. Enough to keep a presence in, but not important enough to put extra manpower into. This might not be a problem if Holgard didn't suffer shit like civil rebellions and religious faction fights every five years or so. As a result the Syndicate chapter in Holgard has had to make more use of independents than they would like. Though they tend to REALLY want you to join. I've gotten the sales pitch several times. Fortunately I'm good enough at what I do that I've been able to decline and still remain unaligned."
"Seems like a dangerous game you're playing Annah. I mean this is the same organization that…well did THAT to you."
"Same organization, but different people and different circumstances. Besides, I'm not trying to rip them off this time. I'm legitimately doing work for them, which is why I'm here actually."

Annah goes into an explanation that the head of the Syndicate chapter in Holgard, Rook is looking to expand his own power base here on Jicol. Since Annah has done such good work for him in the past he's sent her here to scout the place rather than sending his own people.

She says that her main job is to make a note of all the major players in the city. She says that when she learned you were living here, she figured she could save some of the legwork by directly speaking to you about it.

"So…what then? Is the Syndicate just going to take this entire city over?" you ask.
"Well that's the plan, unless it turns out to be too much trouble, but based on even what little you've told me and what little I've seen, this place seems pretty ripe for a Syndicate takeover. Or at least Rook's takeover." Annah says briefly petting Checkers who is asleep by her feet.
"There's nothing I can do to stop this?"
"Well no, not really. The Syndicate is really looking to branch out here. Nothing that can be done about that unless you're going to try to unite everyone against them, but it would be pretty stupid to try that. The Syndicate pretty much always gets what they want. I should know."
"It still surprises me that you'd be working for them, given what happened. You never did tell me exactly."
"Okay. I get what you mean. But shit happened and I wound up in bed with the Syndicate again. Fortunately it's been in my favor this time. It's sort of an amusing tale, maybe I'll tell you about it when I'm not currently so busy." Annah replies.
"Still never told me about how you managed to get a room in the Klyton university dorms either."
"Heh. Well I'll tell you that story too. I want to tell you everything. I mean…shit…I still miss you, y'know? When I found out you lived here I was looking forward to seeing you again. Last time we parted company you said we'd meet again as we seem to be destined to always do."
"Yeah I remember. Just thought it might be under less complicated circumstances this time."
"I don't think that's how our relationship goes."
"Obviously not."

Annah takes a deep breath and continues.

"The Syndicate is coming, but it probably won't be immediately. In the meantime, I can speak positively about you when I get back to Holgard and you could probably become an associate much like I am. I could even relocate here while we prepare this place and we could work on tasks together like in the old days. Lots of coin to be made and we both know how much you like that." Annah says.

While you wouldn't mind such a thing under normal circumstances, you really aren't keen on Annah's Syndicate involvement.

You fully help Annah

Annah's ultimately always done what she's wanted to do so trying to talk her out of this is probably pointless. However, you know you want Annah back in your life since you've missed her, so you'll help her completely in her task. That's from the emotional standpoint.

From a pragmatic standpoint, it sounds like the Syndicate is coming whether Annah works for them or not. As dangerous as it might be to get involved with the Syndicate, you do see the benefit potential and with Annah around at least you won't necessarily have to change your life around too much or possibly relocate again.

You give Annah a rundown on every underworld contact you have of relative importance, along with the strength and numbers of the Black Hooks. You then also give Annah an approximate guess on the strength of the Jicol Watch and how effective they are.

"Would you say they're susceptible to working with the Syndicate? The Holgard Watch has never been too much of a problem in that regard." Annah says.
"Well, the Jicol Watch isn't adverse to a bribe here and there, but the Mayor of Jicol tends to pay them well enough for them to not to make a habit of it." You say.
"Mayor of Jicol? Anything like the Governor of Hessla?"
"He's ten times more reclusive. Apparently most haven't seen him in decades. About the only descriptions that exist are that the Mayor is male and human, but who knows? In any case, while this place is no stranger to corruption, it still adheres to law and order fairly strongly. Not Klyton level, but that's probably due to more emphasis on their fleet rather than land force which is thankfully smaller."
"I see. Anything else?"
"Not really. So…you going to go assassinate them all now?"
"Heh. Well, based on everything you've told me, doesn't seem like I need to bother. I suppose I could anyway. You said you spoke to someone called Sneaks that used to belong to the Thieves Guild in Holgard recently? I bet Rook would want to someone like that taken care of. Maybe the leader of the Black Hooks as well just to keep that group from getting too organized."

You think for a moment.

"Well, how about something to make your job a lot easier. I'll invite most of the more well known rogues to a gathering and get them all in one location. I'll say it's something that's going to affect everyone and that it's really important. Shouldn't be too hard, Sneaks already came to me saying a lot of the independents are bitching about the Black Hooks so they'll probably be willing to speak especially if I'm seemingly alone." You say.
"Well that would simplify things. Um, don't you do business with most of them? Isn't this going to affect that?"
"Probably for the better since they're more competition than anything else. I don't give a shit about any of them. Especially if they're already complaining about how I interact with the Black Hooks. Speaking of which let's leave Marco and the rest out of this. The Black Hooks can ultimately be incorporated into the Syndicate, I can help in that regard."
"Hm. Well if you say you can do it, then that sounds fine to me. You know them better than I do. It certainly would go a long way to have a force here that's already asset to the Syndicate."
"Okay, I guess I'll start setting all this up tomorrow."
"Very well. So um, you don't mind me staying here while we take care of all this do you?"
"Of course not. I only got the one bed though."
"Well good, you know how I always like you to cuddle with me after sex anyway."
"Hm, I was going to build up a bit more to it, but glad to see you're on board with that."
"Pfft, its probably the main reason I came to speak with you in the first place. Well that and to see if we still had a chance together. I know these circumstances aren't the most ideal, but when have things ever been normal for us? There's so much time that we've missed together. I just really want to make it work this time."
"So do I."

Annah immediately goes to kiss you.

"Then let's get started." She says and continues to kiss you while trying to strip off her clothing.

You proceed to rekindle the old flames.

Next day…

"Hey, wake up. I know I'd love for you to sleep next to me naked all day, but sadly we've got some business to take care of." Annah says while nudging you awake, meanwhile you feel something wet on your hand, which is hanging over the side of the bed causing you to pull it away.
"Ah! Something…oh it's Checkers. She was licking my hand." You say.
"She likes you, though it's probably hard for you to believe."
"Well the furry beast has assisted in saving my life a few times, so not that hard I suppose. Okay, well I'm up. Guess I'll get started on that thing. Thinking I'll hold the meeting just outside Jicol. There's a small clearing that's been used sometimes for such things."

You proceed to get dressed and then give Annah a kiss before you leave.

You seek out every rogue you know that could potentially be trouble in the future and explain that Sneaks recently spoke to you and after sleeping on it a bit you decided that everyone is right and the Black Hooks have to go, but you can't do it alone and you want to have a meeting to coordinate an attack.

Surprisingly everyone you speak to is receptive to this idea and agrees to come to this meeting. Granted you have a fairly "honest" reputation and nobody really likes the Black Hooks, but you thought you were going to have a few suspicious folks hesitate. Even Sneaks is glad to hear you listened to him.

"Somehow I knew you were a man of reason." Sneaks says.
"Yeah, well apologies for being stand offish yesterday, I just…well I have an aversion to advice sometimes." You remark.
"Hm, well it's a common trait in our line of work. Think nothing of it. Still, do you think we need to completely wipe out the Black Hooks?"
"Well yeah, I mean isn't this what you wanted yesterday?"
"I said I would like to see them gone, though not necessarily killed. I mean I thought about some of the stuff you said as well yesterday and you were right that they're just a bunch of dumb teenagers in the scheme of things. No way to just scare them or even perhaps just kill the leader?"
"No half measures on this I'm afraid. The Black Hooks have enough confidence now that it isn't completely tied up in just Marco. Besides, you know how gangs work. You kill the leader, and another one just pops up and could even be worse. No, as ruthless as this may be, it's going to be necessary."
"True. Oh well. Better them than us in the future. Okay, I'll be there at the meeting tonight. The quicker we get this grim business over with, the better."

Having done your part, you return home where you find Annah looking around.

"Oh there you are, you talk to everyone you needed to?" Annah remarks.
"Yeah, can't believe I convinced everyone." You answer.
"Well you can be charming without trying sometimes."
"Weird, always thought my sister was the one who had that trait."
"Oh she did, however it probably seemed like she was better at it since she naturally has a more outgoing personality. Plus she had the advantage that most, if not all your marks tended to be old horny guys that liked pretty young girls."
"Hm, guess I never thought about it that way before. Anyway, are you prepared? There's probably more of them coming than I thought."
"How many?"
"Counting Sneaks. Nine total."
"Shit, I'll probably kill six of them before they realize what's going on. You'll be assisting right?"
"Of course."
"Yeah, we got this then. Well we got a lot of time to spare, let's go spend it in bed again."
"And you say I'm the charming one."

After another round of intimacy, Annah asks you for directions to this clearing so she can get there ahead of time before anyone else. You give her the directions and then you also tell to be careful since its not like the jungles are exactly free of unfriendly wildlife.

You then prepare your own firearms. You might not have the fancy ones Annah has or have her skill, but you're bringing enough pistols to hopefully kill someone before they can kill you or escape.

You then make your way to the clearing. When you get there, you find that everyone is there already. Several of them are clearly armed with firearms of their own, with muskets and blunderbusses being openly held. Apparently there was some caution.

"See? Told you he was going to come alone." One of them says.
"Yeah, that's why you came here an hour in advance just to make sure there weren't any Black Hooks hiding out to ambush us." Another adds.
"Hm, I see trust is in short supply around here." You remark.
"You can't be that surprised. Hell you're betraying your Black Hook buddies. I mean what are the rest of us supposed to think?" a third remarks with a chuckle.
"Okay gentlemen, I think all of our minds are a bit more at ease now. I apologize to our friend who organized this meeting, but I think under the circumstances, he should understand our caution." Sneaks remarks.
"Of course I do, I mean I certainly didn't come without weapons. For all I knew you lot were going to murder me out here." You say.

"Still could." One rogue says, stepping forward a bit.
"True. But now I know which one to aim for first before I go." You say.
"Hah, he's gotcha there." Another laughs.
"But anyway, I didn't call you all here for a pissing contest. I called you all here because there's an important matter that needs taking care of and contrary to popular belief I'm not buddies with the Black Hooks."
"So you said to me earlier today, so what's this plan of yours to wipe them out and how can we help?" Sneaks ask.

You walk around a bit to get into a better location that you'll be able to take cover quickly before answering. You aren't sure where Annah is, but if you know her as well as you know you do, she's not far away and probably already in position.

"Well you didn't let me finish Sneaks. I'm not betraying the Black Hooks either and you all can help me by not putting up a fight." You say and draw one of your pistols.
"Shit!" Sneaks shouts and tries to get out of the clearing.

Before anyone can get off a shot, Annah has opened fire and killed six of them. just like she said she would. You get one that tries to run at you with a dagger. The one with the blunderbuss fires wildly into the direction where he thinks the other shots are coming from and then you shoot him in the back.

You look around and find that Sneaks is gone. You assume he's heading back to the city though you're just guessing though since it's fairly dark. You're also concerned about Annah, since that one with the blunderbuss did fire into the jungle and it's possible he hit her.

"Annah! Annah! Where are you? Are you alright?" you shout, then you hear a gunshot in the near distance, followed by a yelp.

You run towards the noise and find Sneaks lying in the grass clutching his chest, that has a bloody hole in it. Annah stands nearby calmly reloading her pistol.

"There you are. See, told you no problem. Wish this old asshole hadn't ran though, hate having to run nowadays. Well it's more of a quick limp, but I can get around fast if I really need to." Annah says.
"Thank the gods, you're alive." You say.

Meanwhile Sneaks utters a few curses at you in between his dying breaths.

"Well, I can't argue with all that Sneaks, but think of it this way. At least it wasn't the Black Hooks or even some insignificant dick that killed you. The Syndicate finally caught up with you." You say which then causes a brief look of surprise in Sneaks' eyes before you use your last flintlock to shoot him in the head.

"So that was that Sneaks guy you told me about huh? Guess I'll mention to Rook that a long escaped enemy has been dealt with though I'm sure the Syndicate has so many enemies on their shit list, this one won't matter too much. Still, I'm sure it'll be looked upon as favorably." Annah says.
"So what's the plan now?" you ask.
"Well, I return to Holgard with all the information you provided along with what we did tonight. Then I'll try to get back here as soon as possible and we can take it from there."
"Are you so sure Rook will send you back here?"
"Pretty sure he'll want me here to assist in getting the Syndicate set up here. In any case I'm still an independent assassin, not official Ebony Claw Syndicate so if he's got ideas to have me do something else, I don't have any obligation to do it and I'll be coming back here anyway."
"Hm, well I guess you know this guy better than I do. Just be careful. I still don't really like this situation with the Syndicate, but you can count on my support whatever you decide to do."
"And that's why I'm returning no matter what."

Annah kisses you and the pair of you return to Jicol and then home. Annah wants to get back to you as soon as possible so she leaves for Holgard on a ship the next day. She says she'd like to leave Checkers with you since she's getting old and doesn't really like to travel as much anymore. You agree, though partially because at least the beast is sort of still like having part of Annah around.

The whole time, you can't help but think back to Zalmora and how she left you believing she'd be back after accomplishing her task. And you've got even longer to worry about something happening this time.

There's nothing for it however, except get back to work, which you begin to immerse yourself in. You start off by playing a more active role in the Black Hooks "guidance."

You explain to Marco that things are going to start changing around Jicol eventually and they'll need to be better than they are now. Granted you're always telling them that, but you really emphasize the point. You suggest that they start getting into the protection racket. You also expand your own endeavors to lending coin and using the Black Hooks as the occasional enforcers for those that don't pay up.

Funny that Sneaks and the rest were worried about what the Black Hooks were going to become and your possible role in it and it turned out they were right all along.

However the concerns of the dead don't matter now, and with nobody really in the way to stop you from organizing a moldable bunch of teenagers, you effectively become Jicol's new crime boss. Other independents either stay out of your way, seek to curry favor or just leave.

Months pass and as they do, your concern for Annah grows and you start to get a little more ruthless in your actions. You know you're partially preparing the Black Hooks to be incorporated by the Syndicate as part of Annah's plan, but if she doesn't return, you swear you're going to take the lot of them with you on a ship to Holgard to extract vengeance on the Syndicate.

Then one day you get a knock on your door. Checkers, who has normally been on the quiet side since Annah left you with her, starts getting very excited. You answer the door cautiously and…

"Surprise! You miss me?" Annah says.

Normally you'd be overjoyed to see her given how much worry you've had, but Annah has yet another new physical change. A great big belly.

You stare in disbelief.

"Oh, don't worry. This is definitely your work." Annah says rubbing her belly.
"It better damn well be." You answer.

After sorting practical things out, you two surprisingly decide to get married since it seems like the thing to do now. It's not a big affair, but it's respectful. Marco is your best man for the lack of anyone else around; he's overly honored by the position and hopes your first child is a masculine one.

As strange as this whirlwind is, your thoughts return to the rest of your family. You can't help but wonder what they'd think of all this.

You doubt if you'll ever get a response back, but you write a letter to your mother and father a week after the wedding and explain without too much detail that you've gotten married to Annah and are having a family of your own. You tell them you hope that they are doing well and if they ever see your sister to tell her that you hope she is well also.

You time passes...

Year 32

"So yeah, they're going to start rebuilding that old Fel temple in the jungle and turning it into a headquarters soon." Marco tells you.
"So Annah told me." You answer.
"All the Black Hooks might soon be incorporated into the Syndicate proper as well, rather than just as associates. I don't think we would have been considered as quickly without you and your wife's input."
"Good. You guys certainly deserve it, after all the hard work you've put in."
"Um yeah, so are you going to join the Syndicate too?"
"Me? I dunno. Been pretty preoccupied what with the family and all."
"Yeah, yeah I know, but um…well its just if you don't become a full member, I'll probably have more authority than you in certain matters. I mean I don't think it'll come to this, but they could even have me take over this major operation here."

You smile a bit.

"Is that right? Who said this?" you ask.
"Nathan, the Syndicate leader here." Marco says.
"Of course he did."
"I mean I wouldn't want to do it of course, but I mean order are orders. I mean you know how I really respect everything you've done and shit."
"Don't worry about it Marco, because I'm not. You do what you gotta do and worry about your own future."
"Um, okay boss."

Marco leaves your shop and shake your head at Marco's almost apologetic warning. The boy would probably hesitate if he actually ever had to go against you. Long enough for you to get the advantage anyway, but you doubt if it would ever come to that.

The Syndicate has mostly been happy with what you've been doing, though they do bring up the fact that you really should become a full member. You think Annah already would have, if not for you dragging your feet on the issue.

You aren't sure why you are since you're practically ECS at this point. You suppose there's just a part of you that doesn't want to have that final binding agreement since if you do; it really would be for life.

You suppose the choice might have been easier had you not just had one baby, but twins with Annah. That really complicated everything. (Especially when after they were born, the resemblance to you was unmistakable, so there was no getting out of it)

Annah at first seemed fine to take a step back from her "job" to be a mother, and she still doesn't mind it, but over time she's been getting antsy. You think it started soon after Checkers died of old age last year. She's been going on about wanting to get back into things.

In fact when you return home, you find Annah waiting up for you in the front room. This can't be good.

"We need to talk. And I mean talk without raising our voices because I just got Emma and Evan to sleep." Annah says.
"Okay…" you respond.
"I need to get back to work."
"Well I said you could help me at my shop, bring the kids along and keep them in the back and…"
"No. Maybe you're content to sit around and letting your Black Hook kids do your legwork, but I want to be more active than that. Shit, you used to be more active too once."
"Well its not like with the Syndicate around I can just go breaking into homes anymore, not that I need to. Besides, as you said, I got the Black Hooks doing shit for me."
"Yeah that's another thing. I know a lot of them look up to you like some weird surrogate father figure, but those teenagers are not your children and as loyal as you believe them to be, the Syndicate's influence is only going to grow and eventually they might not be as reliable as you think they are. Besides, YOU now have real children you need to think about."
"So what are you getting at exactly Annah?"
"We need to make some really big fucking changes in our lives or we're going to be fucked over by the Syndicate."
"I might remind you that being all hooked up with the Syndicate was your idea in the first place."
"Yeah, because I see it as an opportunity for both of us. Especially now."
"An opportunity to be indebted to a powerful merciless organization that will punish you severely if you fuck up? I mean I'm really not seeing it as a beneficial thing."

Annah rubs her temples with some exasperation before continuing.

"You're REALLY not seeing the benefits we have if we fully commit." Annah says.
"Then why don't you explain it to me slowly because I know you've tried before and I still just don't get it." You reply.
"Rook said this whole operation could be ours."
"Oh yes, your buddy in Holgard. That's why he sent that Nathan guy to oversee things."
"He only sent Nathan because neither one of us are proper ECS members! Of course he's still going to give preferential treatment to an actual member no matter how much he might like us."
"He might like you, but I'm guessing that stopped when you showed up last time pregnant. And as for me he doesn't know me so I doubt if he gives a shit."
"Okay first off, pretty sure Rook likes men. He's got some friend called Bolt he's really close with. I dunno. In any case as I said before, I did many assassin jobs for him in the past successfully so I've always had his respect. When I told him just in passing about Sneaks, the guy nearly broke into song and dance. I mean he REALLY hated that guy apparently. His only complaint is that he didn't get to kill Sneaks himself. I mean just based on THAT deed alone he was ready to hand operations of Jicol over to me. But I've explained that before."
"Sorry, but I just don't have as much trust in this Rook as you do okay? I mean I hardly believe he's going to just hand Jicol over to us…or rather you for nothing."
"Well of course not for nothing, obviously money would have to be kicked up to him, but shit we're already doing that now to Nathan. I mean if we're going to be in this position, we might as well have a whole island to run."
"Yeah well I don't think Nathan's going to just step aside."
"Well that's why we kill him and take over."

You give a brief chuckle in disbelief.

"So wait, not only are you suggesting that we join the Syndicate fully, but that we also kill one of its leaders? How the hell does that work?"
"Very easily. Its not like Rook particularly likes Nathan. He only sent him because I never fully committed. Ultimately Rook isn't going to care if Nathan dies via an accident. If we get rid of him and those most loyal to him, then boom. We got control of this entire island and all we have to do is send coin back to Rook every once in awhile."
"You do realize that it's not going to be just be a simple matter of shooting Nathan right? The guy is all wrapped up in that Fel shadow magic shit. And I still don't see how we can just get away with killing him. I mean I know the Syndicate is ruthless and people get executed for fucking up all the time, but if murdering your immediate superior was so commonly accepted the organization wouldn't last very long."
"And you're right, but again Nathan really isn't favored and we've got the benefit of being far enough away that we can sort of operate differently around here."
"Oh right, all of this is supposed to be Rook's private money making operation so he can gain more power and influence with the Syndicate to shake up the organization or something. Still not keen on being part of that big scheme either. Add the whole increase in Fel worship and it all just seems pretty risky."
"Our whole lives have been risky. I mean every time you broke into a home and stole something you were taking a risk. Every day you spend being a criminal is risky. We don't live nice safe lifestyle in case you hadn't noticed."
"Yeah, I get that, but there's still a fucking limit."

Annah reaches out to you. You know she's really trying to convince you now.

"You say that if we commit that we're running a high risk. You might be right. However, I'd propose that if we don't, we'll run an even higher risk. I mean maybe I've never really said this before, but you've got more potential than you ever give yourself credit for. I mean look what you did with the Black Hooks. If it wasn't for the Syndicate you'd be kingpin of Jicol. Hell, you were for a while. I know you partly did everything because this was my idea, but there's a part of you that still had the desire."
"Maybe…"
"However, I get that you've always had concerns about all this. And I know we've gone back and forth about this a few time before. So, I think if you're not willing to make that next step, then we need to do something that I believe you've probably thought about many times."
"Which is?"
"We relocate. I don't know where though, I assume you've had some thoughts on that matter."
"Well you're not wrong about relocating. Though unfortunately I don't have a good idea of where. Preferably a place without any Syndicate influence, though Hessla and Klyton are sort of out of the question in that regard for other reasons. Maybe some place farther north, I'm just not as familiar with many of the settlements that way though. I know they tend to be smaller. Probably more dwarves."
"Hm. Not exactly ideal."
"I know. That's one of the reasons why I haven't really mentioned it to you. I mean I don't really want to have to start all over again either. I've done it about three times already. And right now, even with the Syndicate looming over us, this has probably been the best set up I've had. I just can't ignore that threat though, even if I do see the logic and benefits in your plan."

You and Annah are silent for a moment and then she speaks again.

"Well, I just want you to know, whatever you decide, I'll follow your lead. I was serious when I said that I want us to work this time. So if that means if we stay here or go north, or if I get back to what I want to do or I have to continue playing full time mom, then that's what I'll do." Annah says.

That's quite the sacrifice for Annah who has traditionally always done her own thing. Granted she's changed a lot since being a teenager, but still sort of a switch considering she started this conversation with the desire of wanting to be more active in the business both of you have chosen.

You join the Syndicate

Maybe Annah's right. Maybe you need to just take a risk here. This is the life you've chosen and it's always been full of risk. High stakes mean high reward and Annah seems confident that you can pull this off.

"Okay Annah, we'll join the Syndicate. I still have my concerns about this idea, but I believe in you and that's good enough." You say.

Annah smiles and hugs you.

"This is going to work, and we'll be set, you'll see." Annah says.
"So what do we do exactly?" you ask.
"We'll have to go down to the Syndicate headquarters, that ruined Fel temple they're currently cleaning up. And from there I assume Nathan will walk us through the formalities of the oath, then a tattoo and then that'll be it."
"Really? We don't get beat up or something first?"
"This isn't the Bloody Talons. I mean the Syndicate does ask for people to prove themselves first, but given I've always had the favor of Rook and everything we've done for the Syndicate, I'd say we've more than proven ourselves."
"Hm, maybe you have, but not sure if that's extended to me. Besides, I don't think Nathan's never been the friendliest so I wouldn't be surprised if he wants some sort of extra proving not just for me, but you as well."
"Even if he does, it can't be too outlandish. And if it is, well I suppose we could just kill him first and explain it to Rook afterwards."
"Yeah, I'm still concerned about that part of the plan as well. Aren't those Fel users supposed to be really quick due to their magic?"
"They can be, but Nathan's probably not highly skilled in it. Not to say we shouldn't still get the drop on him, but it's not impossible for us to kill him."
"So when are we doing that?"
"When we get the opportunity. The sooner the better. Preferably after we're officially in the Syndicate, but like I said, if shit happens, then it happens."
"Well shit's definitely going to happen one way or another."

You and Annah make plans to meet with Nathan soon, though the first concern is who is going to look after Emma and Evan while you're both away for this. The only options you can come up with are the Black Hooks have a few mothers that work as nannies.

You wind up with the least objectionable and competent one and hire her. Annah mentions she wished she'd known about this before, as she wouldn't have had to play stay at home mom quite as much.

The next thing happens is Annah goes to see Nathan by herself figuring that she'll be able to best approach this. You're a little nervous about her heading to the temple by herself, but she soon returns stating that Nathan was surprisingly very open to the idea.

"What seriously? I thought he didn't care for either of us." You say.
"If he didn't, he's either hiding it pretty well now or gotten over it. Said that he even recently received a message from Rook asking if he managed to convince us to properly join yet. He said he's glad we're joining since it makes dealing with us a lot easier since he hates dealing with associates and he can now send a message back to Rook to get him off his back about it."
"Hm, I dunno. Marco mentioned that Nathan's been talking shit about us, or me at least."
"Well I'm not saying we place complete trust in the guy, just that he's not giving extra grief about us joining. Said we can come to the temple tomorrow to get everything sorted out. After that, then we can move on to the next step."
"I don't think we should go to the temple together."
"What?"
"I don't think we should go to the temple to together. For all we know Nathan might be planning to kill us too. If we go there together then it's going to be really easy for him. I'll go tomorrow by myself."
"If what you're saying is true, then I'd stand a better chance against him by myself."
"Maybe so, but I'm not taking that risk with you…I mean I know you're different, but I let Zalmora go off by herself once and she never came back. At least this way, I'll just get killed and you can escape if I don't return."
"If you don't return, I hope you realize I wouldn't run, I'd be trying to avenge you immediately."
"Well then you'll at least have the advantage of being free to do so then."

Annah says she understands the logic in your plan, though asks you again if this is what you want to do. You reply that it is and the next day, you head out of Jicol and to the Fel temple where Nathan is waiting for you.

When you arrive, you're met by Syndicate members, who obviously don't care too much for you and pat you down for weapons before allowing you to go see Nathan who is surprised only to see you.

"Where's Annah?" Nathan asks.
"Unfortunately maternal issues called. She said she apologizes and that she'd be in tomorrow." You reply which obviously causes a look of annoyance on Nathan's face.
"Fucking hell, SHE'S the one that saw me about this shit and now she blows me off? I'm doing you both a fucking favor here!"
"We understand that and again you have our apologies."
"Apologies doesn't make up for my fucking time! She better damn well realize that whether she shit out kids or not is irrelevant to Syndicate business! I mean this isn't just an insult to the Syndicate, it's an insult to fucking Fel! We're in HIS HOUSE!"
"Well I can make the appropriate sacrifices to him, if…"
"Appropriate sacrifices, pfft. You're no believer, whatever you offered would mean shit to him!"

This is more of the Nathan you expected and you start to wonder if you're going to get out of this alive. However Nathan instead throws up his hands.

"Fine, whatever. Your wife is Rook's favorite assassin and really wants her in the organization. Far be it from me to piss him off, so tell her to come in tomorrow. In any case, let's get you sorted out now."

Nathan goes through a surprisingly brief oath that you're supposed to repeat. He mentions that usually the oath is a bit longer, but since you're partially being accepted due to Annah and that you're seen more as a mid level Syndicate supervisor of grunts with no signs of being dedicated to Fel, Nathan feels the basic oath is enough.

With the oath finished Nathan calls for one of his people to give you a Syndicate tattoo. Since you don't particularly want it to show in public, you get it on your back, which ends up taking much longer than the oath did. (And a lot more painful)

After getting the tattoo, Nathan apathetically mentions you're now in the Syndicate and dismisses you with some comment about how you need to get the Black Hooks more organized since a lot of them aren't going to make it into becoming full members in their current state.

You return back home at night.

"Glad to see you're finally back. I was starting to have my own concerns that you were right after all." Annah replies.
"Well he wasn't pleased that you weren't there. Went on about his time being wasted, though he acted about how I expected him to which actually put me a little more at ease after I realized he wasn't going to kill me right then and there. Fortunately he seems to be more concerned with Rook's approval of you, so he seemed more resigned than anything else." You say.
"Connection in high places helps."
"Anyway, the tattoo took the longest time, and he'll be expecting you tomorrow. I imagine your oath might be a little longer than mine though."

You show your tattoo to Annah, who says she'll probably get hers on her arm seeing as her back is all scarred up and a tat probably wouldn't look as good.

The next day, Annah goes to the temple and you take Evan and Emma with you to your shop. It's a chore looking after them and focusing on business, but after one of the Black Hook's nanny mothers shows up, things are a little easier.

You continue with your work as normal for most of the day. When night falls you don't think too much about it since you figure the process is taking longer for Annah. You finish up your duties and lock up thinking you'll be glad when you get rid of Nathan so you won't have to be concerned with him anymore.

When you get home, you expect to be met by a nanny telling you she's just put the twins to bed or apologizing for failing in the task. Or even better you'd find that Annah has returned.

Instead, as soon as you enter your own home, you feel burning lead slamming into you, causing you to fall to the floor clutching your chest.

"What the fuck are you doing?! Nathan wanted him alive you asshole!" a voice shouts.
"Oh shit, I heard the door open and I got nervous!" another voice says.
"Fuck. Well hopefully the two brats are good enough to torture his wife with. Unger is already on his way to the temple with them. Come on let's get the fuck out of here and leave this fucker to die."

You grasp at one the Syndicate member's legs as they run out the door, but a swift kick soon gets them free. In these last moments you can only assume that Nathan planned a double cross all along. Probably just altered his plans when the pair of you didn't show up together yesterday.

You wheeze and cough blood while cursing yourself for taking this foolish risk and can only hope that Annah gets out of this herself because your role in this world is done.