Chapter 3D1: Nocturnal Ambitions



Year 30

Properly getting with Vera and relocating is the best decision you could have made you think. You definitely feel more at ease and not as stressed out all the time. And more importantly you've finally shaken off the effects of whatever it was that was fucking with your head before.

Still, there always problems that crop up in your line of work. Nothing that can be done to eliminate that.

"These Black Hooks are dumb ass snot nosed kids." You say.
"Perhaps, but you know those type tend to be very eager to prove themselves." Vera says.
"Maybe so, but I'm just not sure I want that lot incorporated into our organization."
"Well the only other option is to wipe them out then, because I think you know from direct experience that two major criminal organizations in one city tends to lead to a whole lot of conflict."
"Hah, I'd hardly call the Black Hooks a major anything. They're a gang of wannabes, but I guess you do have a point and everyone does have to start somewhere. Yeah, probably should try to recruit them now when they're young and moldable. Might be good to have some more local people and bolster our ranks a bit more."
"Okay, so how do you want to do this?"
"Talk to the leader and his lieutenants I guess. Martin is his name?"
"Marco actually."
"Whatever. Have some of our people go to one of their little hangouts to set up a meeting and explain to them if they don't accept the invitation then I'll have my answer of how to deal with them. Now are we certain that they are the only other organization in the city?"
"Yeah, all other criminal activity in the city is mostly by independents and unorganized."
"Okay, well we probably should start gathering them too in time, but we'll deal with the Black Hooks first.

Vera kisses you goodbye to go perform her regular duties and get things rolling on the Black Hooks situation.

A couple days pass and you've finally gotten your answer from the Black Hooks and apparently despite some tough talk by Marco, he's agreed to meet with you, just outside the city.

Given what you know of him and the Black Hooks, they're a gang of youths that engage in a lot of petty crime such as punching old ladies and taking their coin bags. You're also aware that more than a few of them though are getting hooked on Purple Wish so that might play a part in negotiations. Though as far as you're concerned, this isn't going to be much of a negotiation, it's going to be you telling these wannabes if they want to be continue along their path of delinquency, they're going to have to start falling in line.

You naturally get to the meeting a little early and have some of your people hiding nearby in case something happens, but honestly you're not worried. Eventually Marco and three of his people of them arrive. Two of them look a little jittery. Another one is female and given that she's hanging on Marco's arm, it must be his little trashy girlfriend.

Marco gives you the hard stare to which of course you're quite unimpressed by.

"I trust you know who I am." You say.
"Yeah, you run that new gang called the Nocturnal League."
"Oh, we're a lot more than just a gang."
"Okay, whatever. So we're here. What the fuck did you want to talk about?" Marco says.
"Hm, I'll ignore the bluster and chalk it up to nerves."
"Hey! I'm not nervous! There's four of us out here and just one of you!" Marco exclaims, not knowing just how close he is to death at anytime.
"Relax, it wasn't an insult, but tell me Marco, where do you see the Black Hooks in five years?"
"Five years?"
"Yes, that's what I said. Where do you see yourself and your gang in that time? What's the plan? Do you have a plan?"

Marco just looks at you and then at his buddies with a blank expression.

Predictable. Stupid ass teenager doesn't have a plan.

"Well? Come on boy think! I know you lot engages in minor thievery and pointless vandalism. Were you planning on moving into drugs and whores? Get into the Qweepa fights perhaps? Unite all the criminals in the city into your little gang and take over all of Jicol's underworld?"
"Um…"
"Um? Um is not a plan you halfwit. Am I just wasting my time here?"
"Okay! Fuck! I dunno! I mean I guess we want to be pirates."

You shake your head.

"Okay, you lot want to be pirates. Alright, do you own a ship?"
"No."
"You have no ship. Are you saving coin to buy one?"
"Um…"
"I'll take that as a no. Do you know how to sail?"
"No."
"Fucking hell, do any of you losers at least KNOW any fucking pirates?"
"I do!" the girl says.
"Hm, I bet you do." You reply.
"Hey what's that supposed to mean?" Marco asks.
"It means your little girlfriend is the only one here that at least has any connections, and since I'm a gentleman I won't elaborate any further since it's none of my concern anyway. My point is you fuckers have no damn ambition. You lot probably haven't even left this island have you?"

The four of them again look down and at each other.

"I thought so. When I was your age I had already killed several men, left home and was travelling the world!"

Travelling the world might be pushing it, but travelling to Holgard is still more than these little shits have done. At this point you begin lecturing Marco about how their criminal activity is petty and amateur along with bringing unnecessary heat down by the Jicol Watch.

Something about this seems familiar…

"Hey! Get off our fucking asses! What gives you the right to yell at us? You're not our fucking dad!"

And yep, that's what seemed familiar. Shit, you never thought you'd sound like your father, but you guess the old man's personality is there after all. In any case, you hope you're a little more successful than he was in getting some unruly teenagers in line.

"Yeah, I'm not your dad, but here's the thing, I AM in charge. From now on, the Nocturnal League is taking over everything and you can either be part of that, or you can get the hell out of the way. The choice is yours. What you don't want is to be IN our way. Now I'm telling you lot this first because you're closest thing to an organization in this city so you're officially the biggest competition, as laughable as that is. You're also getting the chance to join a REAL one along with better training for all your youthful activity that the law disapproves of. So, you with me or not?"
"So what happens if I say no?" Marco asks.
"You're free to leave. Though I'd suggest that you go get a regular job like a barrel maker or go try to be a cabin boy on a pirate ship and pursue that dream because as I said, the Black Hooks as of now are a thing of the past." You reply.
"So we have no choice."
"Sure you do, just not the one you want. Look, I get that this is going to be the hardest for you since you're in a leadership position and you probably don't like people telling you what to do and all I can say to that is well tough shit. You're either going to have to suck it up or as I said, get the hell out of my way. Now if it'll lessen the sting to your pride, I can say, you may retain some of your leadership role in a limited capacity. I'm going to need help in assimilating the rest of your people and the smoother this goes down, the better off we'll ALL be."

This ultimatum is met with some silence and then the four of them begin whispering amongst themselves. It's actually sort of amusing to you.

Marco turns to you and speaks.

"Fuck you. We're not joining." Marco says.

You just sigh thinking that this was going so well too.

"Oh? And that's what all of you have decided?" you say.
"That's what I'VE decided."
"Funny, because I could have swore I saw you conversing with your friends which signifies to me that maybe you AREN'T the leader you claim if you have to speak with anyone before making a final decision as important as this."
"I AM the leader and I'm not following some asshole that's trying to scare me. I know some shit about you. You only just got here and only have a handful of people. The Black Hooks have WAY more than you. You don't look so tough and if you didn't have that pistol, I'd kick your ass."
"Is that right?"

Well you expected some resistance, but you figured it would be half assed negotiation, not Marco finding the balls to stand up to you.

The simple thing would be to shoot him and get this over with since you're fairly sure the rest are going to fall in line, but you'll make greater point by actually humoring this asshole. Besides, he's annoyed you enough that you'll take some delight in kicking his ass.

"Okay then, but first." You say and whistle for your people to come out of hiding.

Marco and his people look a little surprised which just proves how dumb they really are if they thought you were out here alone.

"Since I'm fairly certain as soon as I'm kicking Marco's ass, he's going to call for help, I want you two to make sure this is indeed a fair fight. Shoot anyone who interferes."
"Wait, how do I know they won't shoot us, if I win?"
"Don't worry, you won't win." You say and hand your pistol over to one of your people.

Marco pulls a knife and begins to look for an opening to which to attack. You just watch him.

"I want you three to pay attention, because what I do to Marco, I'll also do to you if you choose to follow him…well not you. You can have a position in the brothel." You say to Marco's buddies.

Predictably this enrages him and he swings wildly at you with his knife, you easily dodge his clumsy attacks and with a few punches to his face, he's already on the ground.

You then step on his wrist and take the knife from him.

"Too fucking easy."

At this point Marco attempts to punch you in the balls with his other hand, but instead you stomp him in the face. You then proceed to break his arm, he screams in pain and his girlfriend looks away while his buddies look like they've just realized how serious this is.

You point Marco's own knife at his face and he's already crying and begging for his life.

"No! (sob) Please! I don't wanna die! I apologize! I… (sob)" Marco screams.
"Shut up! Shut the fuck up. YOU brought this on yourself. Up until now, you've just been playing, but this is what happens when you make bad fucking choices. There are consequences." you say as you prod the knife into his face so it bleeds.

"However, you're fortunate that today those consequences aren't fatal."

You stand up and step back while Marco's people slowly go see to him.

"You change your mind?"

Marco of course says he does and his people do as well.

"Good, now go back and tell the rest of your gang about the change in leadership. Also assure them that they all stand to make more coin and who knows maybe you lot will actually scrape enough to buy a ship one day. In the meantime Marco, I'm going to be counting on you to make this transition smooth. I don't want to have to straighten out the rest of your gang the way I had to with you, I don't have the fucking time. Understand?"

Marco nods his head and thanks you for not killing him.

"Yes, well I am the nice one. Now get the hell out of here."

Marco and his crew leave as quick as they can and head back to Jicol. After chuckling a bit with your own people and taking your pistol back, you do start to do likewise.

Or at least you try to.

You're not used to stomping about the jungle area outside Jicol and unfortunately you end up getting turned around and lost.

You begin cursing as your two underlings try not to anger you any further by staying silent. As you're still wandering through the jungle you stumble upon a ruined structure. Looks like a temple and by its design it looks like one dedicated to Fel.

Seeing as it's starting to get dark, you half wonder if you shouldn't just take shelter in here for the night and start fresh tomorrow. Not to mention there could be something of value in there.

You get back to Jicol

You need to get back home as soon as possible; you really don't want to be out in the jungle after dark, especially in some ruined temple. Who knows what the hell is living in that thing.

After a big of retracing and thinking, you and your people eventually remember the way back to Jicol and you're breathing a sigh of relief since it truly would have been a silly thing to get yourself lost and killed in the wilderness.

When you get back to Vera she asks what the hell happened since you were gone so long. She nearly called the rest of the League to go attack the Black Hooks. You explain everything.

"You let him live? You sure he's not going to try to get revenge someday?" Vera asks.
"He might, but I'm not particularly worried that he will. Right now he's got proper fear in him and he'll get the rest of the Black Hooks in line with the League. They've been following him this long so they'll listen and in time his influence will be less as we split them up and have them work with other people. I mean yeah I could have shot him, but I think not killing him was the better play in the long run." You say.
"I guess we'll see."

In the months to follow, the Black Hooks do indeed fall in line and you've expanded the League greatly as far as membership is concerned. Of course there's a lot of training involved, but thankfully many of them are quick learners after all. It's also one of the major competitors out of the way and when you get better consolidated you'll be able to move on to the independent folks as well.

You'll soon have this city's entire underworld under the Nocturnal League's control at this pace.

Year 31

"What the fuck, I thought nobody else here was organized!" you exclaim.
"They weren't, but I guess when word got around about what happened with the Black Hooks, the independents formed a loose alliance. They call themselves the Jicol Coalition of Rogues." Vera remarks.
"They can't actually believe they'll win." You say.
"Maybe not, but I believe that they at least think they'll make things harder. Maybe even to the point that you'll give up." Vera remarks.
"Yeah, that's not happening."
"Well that means war then, but I have to remind you, we can't just start stabbing people in the streets. The Jicol Watch isn't as corrupt as the Holgard Watch was, in fact they've been starting to become a pain in the ass and I'm getting concerned that they're going to actually raid our headquarters one day."
"Yeah, I know. It's been a concern of mine too. Now that the League is bigger, we're probably attracting a lot more attention.
"Maybe we need to relocate."
"Well we could do that, but the city is only so big. Eventually we'll have to relocate again. (Sigh) One of the things I didn't think I'd miss is the spacious sewers of Holgard."
"Didn't you say you saw a structure outside the city, in the jungle?"
"Yes after meeting with Marco, when I got lost I found that ruined temple. We didn't explore it really though. Actually always meant to go back to give it a proper look though. I believe it was dedicated to Fel."
"Oh. Well I was going to suggest that we make our base there. I mean regardless of what they do in the city, the Jicol Watch are definitely not going to harass us out there, but I'm not sure if I want to do that if it was a temple dedicated to Fel."
"Hm, that's not a bad idea though. I mean it might it be a bit of a trip and take some work in cleaning up, but having something defensible like that would be a lot better than the current tavern front we're operating out of."
"That sounds fairly labor intensive, not to mention dangerous and I'm still leery about making Fel Temple our base. I was part of the Syndicate and saw some of the shit Rook could do with Fel's divine power. I wouldn't want to piss off a god."
"Yeah I've seen shadow magic as well by EC members and the actual priests, but honestly, I'm more concerned with more corporal trouble than divine right now."
"Again, I suppose it's up to you and I'll support your decision, but I feel like this is also going to take time away from combating the JCR."

For all the issues with this, you're convinced that this is going to be better in the long run.

"We're taking that temple and as for the JCR, there hasn't been any real aggression yet. I mean from what you've said, they aren't really united except in defense against assimilation. Unless they attack, we'll hold off for now, and perhaps in time, we can lure some over without the need for combat. There will be a day of reckoning though."

The month clearing out the ruined temple is a grueling process. It fortunately isn't inhabited by anything worse than some over sized spiders and a shitload of qweepas. You mostly use the ex-Black Hooks to do a lot of the grunt work, even if they grumble a lot. Marco's keeps the louder ones in line, but eventually even he has to complain when it turns out there are a lot of traps in the lower passages of the temple that have killed a few of them.

After a bit of going back and forth of explaining that disarming traps is part of their training, you ultimately give them a break by stepping in and helping out directly.

When you get down to the lower passages, you can sort of see their complaints, considering it's like a maze down here. You nearly trip some of the traps yourself, but thanks to your years of skill, you avoid any injury (and impress some of these ex-Hooks all the more)

What is more interesting to you however is when you stumble upon rooms still filled with a few objects. Mostly vases and such, but you do find some more valuable items as well. Soon you've got a bunch of teenagers arguing over treasure and you have to remind them…

"Not sure what you lot are arguing about, all this shit is going to me first, especially since I was the one who disarmed most of these traps in the first place. In any event we can probably get a good price for most of this stuff and the League could always use more coin in the general treasury." You say.

At this point you tell everyone that they can finally head back to the city to return to their former duties, which they seem relieved about.

You spend the next day just you by yourself in your new future headquarters as you go through the various valuable objects trying to appraise how much you should be able to get for them.

As you're putting a vase aside, you suddenly hear something and you draw your pistol.

"Before you start shooting, it's just me. I see I came just in time to see you giving the children a break." Vera says slowly entering the room.
"Vera? Didn't expect you to come here so soon." You remark.
"Yeah, well I figured I needed to get over my fears if this is going to be our new headquarters. I have to say, it is a lot better than that front we're currently using. I still have my concerns though. Are you really sure we're not pissing off some divine being doing this?"
"I dunno, but I'm guessing if Fel really didn't like it, he would have already killed all of us with shadow monsters by now."
"Not necessarily, he could just do it over time. He is a god after all."
"True, but I remember something you said. We could all die randomly at anytime, but it doesn't necessarily mean there's any curse or greater reason behind it. Just means shit happens."
"I suppose that's true. Still, if we do start seeing shadow monsters, I think we should just get the hell off the island and not look back."
"Works for me. So any information of what's going on with this new coalition of independent rogues? Like maybe who the leader is?
"Nothing new. Still can't figure out who is the leader yet. Then again it's supposed to be a defensive alliance against us, not a proper organization."
"Yeah and that's bullshit. The Thieves' Guild was supposed to be a so called alliance of independent rogues as well and they definitely had a leader. Someone always has to be calling the shots at the top of the pyramid. The fact that we haven't found this person yet indicates to me that they got much more in mind than simple defense. My other concern is the Jicol Watch. While this temple will keep us from getting completely fucked over if they ever come down hard on us, it still doesn't change that all of our businesses could still be fucked in the city."

Vera starts to speak and then stops.

"Seems like you have something to say. Out with it, I think we've gotten to a place in our relationship where we can talk about anything now." You say.
"Well I was just thinking, I over heard some of the Black Hooks saying once that there was an abandoned dock not far from this temple that nobody uses anymore. We could probably fix it up. Strong arm some carpenters and wood workers to do it and get some of our people to do any extra needed labor." Vera says.
"Hmmm, I see where you're going with this. You're saying we wouldn't have to rely on Jicol's docks to trade with pirates, smugglers and some corrupt merchants if shit really went bad for us. Good idea, but I can't imagine the government is going to just let us get away doing that."
"The Jicol's government is fairly hands off at times. Considering they let pirates dock in the city as long as they aren't pillaging or causing trouble, they probably aren't going to care about what we're doing out here. I mean that's why we're setting up a base out here right? In fact, I'd say they'd probably prefer it if those type came over here instead. In time we could probably build up a small trading outpost and move some of our businesses out of Jicol entirely."
"Sounds like you're talking about building a city."
"Maybe nothing so grand as a city, but something like a smaller version of Hessla except with us in charge."
"That's a nice idea, but this all seems pretty damn expensive and keep in mind we still don't even have control over all the criminal activity here."
"Yeah I was thinking about other potential avenues of revenue too and while I know you were against it before, I REALLY think we should go into it now…"

You already know what Vera is suggesting.

"Slave trade." You say.
"Look, I know how you feel about this and back in Holgard it didn't matter as much since it was a bigger city with more options, but here? We're in a perfect position to take advantage of the thriving slave trade in this area." Vera remarks.
"Thriving slave trade? As far as I know there aren't any slave rings in Jicol."
"Exactly! There has never been enough organization to do it right here. We could set up shop and as I said, slaver and pirate ships come here all the time for supplies or rest and he Jicol government doesn't give a shit as long as they aren't trying to pillage the place. If we have our own dock, we could easily start selling slaves without even the hassle of potentially getting shit from the Jicol government."
"So where are we getting these slaves again?"
"Well we are at war with the independents right? I figure we can start with them. We got this big new base now, plenty of places to keep them in chains."

Vera's suggestion solves a few issues you suppose.

Maybe it's due to recently discovering that you murdered several innocent women and blacked it out that's changed things, but for whatever reason engaging in slave trade just doesn't seem to repulse you so much anymore.

If word gets out that you're selling your enemies into slavery that could scare a lot of folks into joining. Getting killed is one thing, but getting turned into a slave might be enough to give some people pause.

"Okay Vera, I can see some advantages for us going into this business and since you've got all the expertise, I'm going to hand this task for you to oversee." you say.
"Great. I'll start letting my pirate contacts know that we're in the slave trade business. Word will spread and I can't wait to get started!"
"Hm, well I guess we better get started on getting all this up and running. I guess I should ask though, what is it with you and the slave trade anyway? Not that I would ever profess to be a Jochim saint, but I can't say I'm going to necessarily enjoy this."
"I dunno, I guess because when I did it before I was really good at it."
"Well you're good at a lot of other things too, but you're not volunteering for a position at a whore house."
"Ha ha. Fortunately for you, I enjoy doing that for free."
"Pfft, not that free. I'm paying half of everything everyday."
"Best coin you'll ever spend. Anyway as I was saying, I wasn't just good, I dare say I was damn near the best. I could talk of some of those so called master slavers from Hessla into a deal in my favor. Always felt a great sense of accomplishment when I took advantage of one of those fat bastards. I think I never got a chance to truly shine though because Elias was a controlling asshole, but with you I know this will be different. Everything is different now that we're finally together."

Without another word, Vera hugs and kisses you lovingly, which then leads to sex. You can't help but think that the whole slave trade subject must turn her on in some way which is another reason for her enthusiasm, but it's hardly surprising given what you know about her. Vera's got some fucked up sexual quirks.

You really know how to pick 'em. You went from a demonkin who tried to turn you away at every opportunity to a woman who practically adores you so much that she gets off on you "raping" her.

Maybe you just weren't meant to have an average girlfriend, let alone an average relationship. Makes sense given that you don't lead an average life either.

However that magical moment of passion in the ruins of a structure dedicated to a deity of shadows, leads to a very average outcome.

Soon…

"WHAT?! How the hell did that happen?!" you exclaim.
"The usual way I suspect." Vera remarks.
"I know that, I just mean…I thought you couldn't get pregnant! Something about your lady innards being barren."
"Well I thought so to, I mean I've had sex tons of other times with other guys before you and then we've had it a lot when we got together and nothing. I can't imagine what changed."
"Well I mean are you sure? I mean your belly isn't big."
"It's still too early for me to start looking like an ogre after feeding time at the halfling trough, but I have been feeling nauseous and peeing a lot more. Also my tits feel tender sometimes."
"Well that explains why you bitched at me so much when went up and suddenly squeezed them a couple days ago."
"I mean just to be really sure I actually saw a physician in Jicol and he pretty much confirmed it."
"Shit, well how much does he charge to solve the problem?"
"What? No! I don't want to get rid of it!"
"What seriously? You want to keep it?"
"Well I admit, I never really saw myself as a mother, but I mean…I dunno…we already got roots in place, we might well have a family."
"But…but what about the slave trade? You said you were going to be in charge of that!"
"And I still will be. Nothing's changed on that front. I'll just have a midwife or some shit nearby. Y'know I think one our people has some experience in that matter. Apparently she was the oldest of fifteen siblings and had to help deliver most of them. Can you imagine? I'm telling you right now, we are NOT having fourteen more of these fuckers."

Right now you're having difficulty even imagining having one! Your mind is going all over the place and you're having a hard time coming to grips with this. You certainly never saw yourself as a father. Should you even be bringing up a kid in this sort of life?

While being a criminal and having a family isn't something new, it rarely works out well as enemies see it as an added potential weakness to pounce on.

Vera can see you're having some problems with this and tries to calm you.

"It's going to be okay you know. I mean so far we've been making a lot of progress with little resistance so far. I mean I know there is the Jicol Coalition of Rogues that needs to be dealt with, but there are already whispers of some of them about to jump ship. If you're worried about me, don't be. I'll be fine to do my job. If anything I'll be safer by being closer to our headquarters since the slave shit is going to just be run from here directly and to the rebuilt docks. I won't even have to travel to Jicol." Vera says.
"I suppose that's true."
"And after I actually have the baby? Again, it's not going to be a problem. Even if we're in the middle of a gang war, I'll strap the little bugger on my back and fight off potential assassins if I have to. My point is, I'm in this with you all the way. Motherhood isn't going to change me drastically."

Well even if you were going to try to talk Vera out of this, you doubt if you'd succeed or at least you doubt you'd succeed without a lot of drama which might very well result in something pretty devastating for everyone.

Not that you were going to though since Vera's words have convinced you that everything will indeed be fine, or at least manageable. You aren't sure what sort of father you're going to make, but you suppose you'll find out.

You end the conversation on a positive note of looking forward to this unexpected upcoming event. You suppose since Vera's going to need extra help, you have more of the ex-Black Hooks help her with getting the docks fixed and ready and tell some of your old veterans to start capturing these Coalition fuckers and bringing them back to the temple in chains.

You also tell them that if the opportunity presents itself and it isn't going to cause a lot of problems, to capture a few pretty ladies as well. You may not be the smooth talker or have the expertise that Vera has, but you know pretty females are always in demand somewhere and they should give Vera a good start on this venture.

All this dwelling on you starting a new family makes you think about your pre-existing one and how they're all doing.

It's strange you suppose, but you get the urge to write to your parents. You don't give them all the details, but you tell them that you're doing okay and that you're finally "settling down" with a family of your own. You also apologize for how events unfolded that caused you to leave in the first place and that you know that they both tried to raise you the best they could and were lucky to have them for parents.

You finish the letter by telling them you love them and if they see sis, that you love her too.

You send the letter off and have no idea if it'll ever actually reach them and even if it does, you probably won't ever get an answer back, but you feel better about making the attempt.

You time passes...

Year 32

"Okay, we're heading out to finish these assholes for good. You stay here and keep things running here as you do." You say.
"Oh sure, keep me at home, to look after the kids while you go out and have fun." Vera says.
"Well, it's important that you know your place as a woman. Speaking of kids, where's Kol?"
"Gertrude is currently looking after him."
"I swear I don't really like you leaving our son with her."
"He's fine and she's been nothing but helpful. I mean hell, she's probably one of the few people I'd trust with him."
"Dangerous to go around trusting the lot we associate with, but something about her bothers me."
"You didn't even know who the hell she was until she was promoted to midwife and babysitter. Which is amazing since she's one of our older members that stuck with us since Holgard."
"Alright, alright, if you trust her then I guess that's good enough for me."
"No it isn't."
"Yeah, probably not, but I don't have time to worry about it right now."
"Why are you even going on this task? You said you had people in Jicol located at the docks to make sure he didn't try to get away and there are more than enough people to attack where the JCR are making their headquarters."
"I want to make sure everything goes right. I can't just sit around barking orders while getting old and fat. That's how crime bosses assassinated. I need to keep in practice and my skills sharp."
"Hm, I suppose that makes sense, but I'd say you're not really in any danger of being perceived as weak by any of our underlings right now."
"And I intend to keep it that way."
"I'd prefer it if you took less risks, besides if anyone was going to challenge your position you'd be dead before you even knew what was going on since I'd just poison your food and the shit would be over with."
"Poison? Really? I would have thought if it was going to be you, you'd probably stab me while in the middle of sex."
"Mm, too risky. Besides, that would just be foreplay not murder."
"Well let's not do that either."
"You're always so reserved. But if you're really insisting on going, be careful and don't lead the charge."

Vera has been overly concerned with your safety ever since she had Kol. You suppose you get why she is now due to you being the father of her child and all, but sometimes it's a bit too much.

"I'll be fine Vera, stop fussing!" you exclaim.
"You sure you're not also going out of revenge?" Vera asks.
"Revenge?"
"Yeah, Revenge tends make people a little reckless and I mean this has been sort of personal since you learned who the leader of JCR is."
"Mm, I mean it certainly was unexpected when I found out. Perhaps less unexpected when he wouldn't even hear me out, but I can't say this is out of revenge. I imagine he would be more motivated by revenge than I would, hence why he stuck around to fight. I'd say if anything I'm more motivated by tying up an old loose end that doesn't come back to bite us in the ass in the future."
"I suppose that makes sense. Okay then, apologies for my fussing as you put it.."

You kiss Vera goodbye and say one more thing before leaving.

"Gotta say though when Sneaks ran away all those years ago, I never expected it was to Jicol."

You head to Jicol to go meet Marco and the rest. Along the way you think about how history is sort of repeating itself here. A larger criminal organization crushing a smaller one. The only difference is you're the leader of the larger one this time.

You have to wonder why Sneaks didn't just take off like he did last time. Unless he really is that pissed at you, which you assume he is, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered with all this and you would have easily taken over long before now.

When you get to the simple home that the JCR was using as a main headquarters, you find that your people are currently arguing with some of the Jicol Watch. Great.

"Keep talking to me like that you little shit, and I'll just run all of your assess in. I still remember you and your gang of hooligans breaking several windows and punching old people in the face a couple years ago!" one of the guards says.
"Yeah well things are different now and YOU don't tell us what to do anymore!" Marco exclaims.

You smack Marco upside the head when you arrive.

"Yeah, but I do. Now shut the fuck up Marco, and what's the problem here?" you ask.
"The problem is, your little crime war was supposed to be kept to a dull fucking roar and for the past couple months you lot have been murdering each other in the streets and scaring the shit out of the civvies! You also got gangs of thugs like these loitering around. Now I know we have an agreement that will keep most of the scum out of this city for good, but the mayor is getting very weary of this conflict and is wondering if he shouldn't just have all parties involved executed." The watchman captain says.
"The same mayor that allows pirates and the like to use his docks? Please, the mayor is no fucking Joachimite saint. We moved all of our shit out of Jicol and now we're doing the job that YOU lot couldn't. We're almost done with finishing off these assholes, we just need to clean out this place and get their leader."
"And we're here to see it gets done thoroughly because this needs to be finished TODAY."

The watchman captain at this point signals to his platoon that all draw their weapons and then turns back to you as if daring you to argue.

"Fine. If you want to help, I'm not going to stop you, but stay out of our way."
"Oh I wouldn't worry about that, because you lot will be taking the lead anyway. Not about to have you bunch sneaking about behind us."

Marco starts to say something, but you stop him.

"But boss…" Marco says.
"Shut up Marco. Alright, let's finish these fuckers for good." You say to your people and motion to enter the place.

No sooner has one of your people stepped into the front door and they nearly get beheaded by a swinging axe trap. Unfortunately, they still get skewered by the spear trap when they ducked and dodged to the left.

You shake your head.

"For fuck's sake people, this place is going to have traps up the ass, keep alert!" you shout.

For at least the next hour, you search the house disarming traps and uncovering secret doors. You don't find anyone though. Meanwhile the Jicol Watch is still standing in the front room getting impatient.

"Well?" the captain remarks.
"Well what?" you answer.
"I thought you said the leader was here and so far this place is empty."
"Yeah well I imagine there's a hidden trapdoor that we haven't uncovered yet. They're probably either hiding underground, or maybe even escaped through a tunnel."
"Underground tunnel? There isn't much they could dig without risking hitting water and flooding said tunnels. In case you didn't realize, we're on a fucking island."
"I'm aware, but that doesn't mean they still didn't do it. Besides all that, the leader has experience with underground dwellings that are half submerged in water."

Before you can have any further discussion, Marco comes back to you.

"Hey boss, we found a trapdoor, looks like it goes down into a cellar. Um, we also lost Orin. Got a bunch of spikes in the face when he opened the trap door."
"Idiot. Anyway, see? I told you there was going to be a trapdoor." You say.
"Hm, well you're still leading the way." The Watchman captain says.

After a few more of your people check out the immediate room below, you descend down the ladder. You give a quick look and see that this room wasn't dug out recently. It was actually part of the original house since it actually has solid walls and a solid floor.

However, to your left, is where you start to see the construction. You examine the entrance of the dug out tunnel in an attempt to detect any traps but find nothing.

Your people go a little further and soon discover that there are tunnels going in several different directions.

"Well, have to hand it to you Sneaks, you didn't just sit on your hands. You literally dug in deep to make it difficult to root the last of you fuckers out." You think to yourself.

Given the extensive amount of tunnels, you're actually surprised he didn't end up flooding Jicol with a misplaced dig like the Watchman captain was talking about.

You briefly go down one of the tunnels and soon find that you're ankle deep in water.

This is going to be a mess hunting Sneaks and whoever else down here. In fact, you're starting to wonder if Vera was right and you shouldn't even bother being here. Especially with the Jicol Watch being involved as well.

You leave

Yeah, fuck this. You start walking down these tunnels and who knows what the hell is in store for you. For all you know Sneaks has traps set to collapse the damn things.

"Marco, we're getting the hell out of here. We're also getting all of our people that we got posted at the docks, I got a better idea." You say.
"What about this Sneaks asshole?" Marco asks.
"Oh, I haven't forgotten about him, but running through this little rat maze he's created isn't in my game plan. The JRC at this point is dead and he's not going to resurrect it in any capacity. Even if he tries, the Jicol Watch is so fed up with all of us, they'll crack down hard on them and we won't have to do shit. No, Sneaks is going to either try to escape off the island OR possibly try to assassinate me eventually. If it's the first one, I have a better idea of how to prevent that. If it's the second, he better hope he gets it right."

You and your people turn back and proceed to climb back up to the ground floor where the Jicol Watchmen are still milling about.

"What are you lot doing? Don't tell me you finished them off already." The Watchman captain remarks.
"No, but I doubt that they're going very far. We'll get the rest of them later." You respond.
"What?! Maybe we weren't clear, but this shit is ending TODAY."
"Okay, well you lot go down there and end it today then. Isn't that why you're here? I never said I was going to stand in your way."

You attempt to leave, but the captain stands in your way. It's obvious now that there were other plans in play here.

"Okay, I see and I get it. You saw an opportunity and you were going to take advantage. Well, that opportunity is gone now, and there are enough of us to make this a problematic fight. Killing me won't bring down the Nocturnal League anyway. My wife is more than able to handle the leadership position and she's not going to spare any expense in getting revenge. Not to mention, regardless of the outcome, I am more than fast enough to take YOU out. You sure you want to do this?"

The captain thinks about going for his own flintlock, while you're confident that you'll take him and at least a couple of his people out before you get mobbed. If you're lucky, your people will move in quick enough that you'll be able to fight your way through the chaos and run your ass out of Jicol. It's not the best odds, but you've been in worse situations.

However, the captain isn't exactly eager to risk his own life this day.

"Get your people out of this city and back to that fucking broken down temple in the jungle you call home. I never want to see you or your kind in this city again. If I do, you'll be executed on sight. The Nocturnal League and whatever other gang of criminal cutthroats that tries to form in Jicol are through here. Understand?" the captain warns.
"Sure. You have your clean law abiding city and that will always be he case. No need to ever worry about the likes of us again." You say sarcastically.

At this point the captain and his people let you pass and you immediately tell Marco and the rest to go contact your other League members milling about at the Jicol docks to go back home. Meanwhile you'll going to speak to some of the pirate contacts you have that might be currently in port.

Not long after you conclude your last remaining business in Jicol, an explosion is heard followed by a loud rumble. Sounds like it's coming from the direction you just came from.

Doesn't take long before people are running and screaming about the city sinking since whatever happened, the streets are being filled with water. You can probably guess what happened though. The Jicol Watch went ahead and fumbled down in Sneaks' rat maze and probably triggered a trap, which collapsed the tunnels just like you figured they would.

It probably also caused enough water to flood everything and rise high enough to start flooding the nearby area as well.

While it probably isn't going to cause the city to sink like how everyone is currently shouting and panicking about, it's certainly going be a lot of damage to repair.

Also a big positive is the fact that in times of disasters, crime usually goes up. You imagine that some of the Jicol Watch is now down quite a few people too, so you predict that the League's forays into Jicol will still go relatively unscathed as long as you keep a low profile.

When you get back home, you explain what happened, though Vera is just pleased to see you and says she's doesn't know why she worried in the first place.

"Well, your words did help rein me in a bit. You were right, no need to take unnecessary chances if I don't need to, hence why I just left." You say.
"Glad to hear it, but what about Sneaks? You think he's dead?"
"Oh I imagine he had an escape plan in all this. We'll catch up to him again sooner or later, I'm not worried. I made preparations."
"Okay then, if you say it's handled then I guess it is."

Two months later...

"Yeah, he's in there boss. Hasn't been too roughed up, like you said." Marco says.
"Okay, good." You say and then enter the room.

Upon entering you see an old defeated looking man in a chair, though not completely broken. Sneaks looks at you without hate, but more with an attitude of "Let's just get this over with already." However, you're not quite done yet.

"I was starting to wonder when you'd ever try to get off the island. There was a bet going on that you would come here to try to assassinate me, but I always knew you'd try to run. It was the smartest play after what happened of course. What took you so long?"
"Well if you hadn't noticed. I'm not just a wanted criminal for being the ex-leader of the JRC, but also for causing severe destruction to Jicol. Was a little difficult raising the coin to bribe my way onto a merchant ship since I knew you probably had all your pirate and smuggler buddies on the look out for me. Even trying to sneak aboard a ship was impossible. Maybe if I had been younger…fucking old age."
"Yeah it sucks."
"I should have known that you had connections everywhere, but I couldn't scrounge a damn living in the half drowned remnants of Jicol anymore. So I took a risk and got captured by a opportunistic merchant rather than a pirate or slaver, the result is the same I suppose."
"If you had been smart, you would have left long before this even happened rather than forming the JRC in the first place. Shit, I didn't even know you were here until that happened. Why'd you bother? You usually always played things smart. Did revenge cloud your judgment?"
"That was part of it I suppose. Imagine my surprise that I found out it was you of all people starting up a new organization here. All my old thoughts of remembering how you and Tanya betrayed all of us…well that made me feel like something needed to be done to stop you. If you had just been some random asshole, I wouldn't have bothered."
"I guess I should be flattered."
"I also really thought we could win. Wasn't like you were the ECS after all."
"True, but you're forgetting that I also brought down the ECS in Holgard."
"So I heard. I gotta admit, when I first met you, I thought you might go far in this profession…but I didn't see you quite as ruthless as all this. I mean maybe you aren't ECS, but you're sure copying their rulebook. What exactly did we DO to you anyway? Weren't we always good to you in the Guild? I mean I know Garrick was an asshole to you about Tanya but was betrayal really necessary? Couldn't you just let her go?"
"At the time, I couldn't. Tried. Couldn't."
"So basically Tanya is your excuse for your actions?"
"No. Tanya's in the past. Has been for a long time. She left me long ago to seek her destiny in hell. This, is all me, though perhaps I am being influenced by another woman in my life, but then I have a son with her, so you could say I'm securing a future with my family."
"Well it certainly is a legacy to be proud of. Slave trading …even that's something I wouldn't have thought you capable of. Then again you already proved to be a traitor without any honor so I guess it isn't too surprising."

At this point you're getting annoyed with Sneak's disappointed routine. Especially when it's meaningless.

"You have no idea of what I'm capable of Sneaks. Honestly, I wouldn't even rank slave trading as the worst thing I've ever done. But since you're pointing the finger and moralizing like a Joachimite priest, let's turn this back on you for a moment. The day before I helped wipe out the Thieves Guild, YOU were gone. You must have already known the shit was going to get hot really quick and you turned tail and fled. You talk about how I betrayed everyone, but what about you? I was only a member for a few years and not even liked by Garrick. Why the fuck would I stay loyal? Tanya? She was a demonkin, you know demons can't be trusted. YOU were supposed to be Garrick's best friend and dedicated to his organization. Where the fuck were YOU?"

Sneaks looks down and doesn't answer.

"Did you even warn anyone that there might be an attack soon? Or did you just pick up your shit and run as fast as you could as soon as you figured it out? In fact aren't YOU the one who said Garrick was a fool for having too much of a moral code?" you say.
"Yes, you're right of course. There is no real honor among rogues. I ran like the preverbal thief in the night to save my own ass, and it was the smartest thing I ever did. I should have done it again as soon as I learned about you being here instead of letting sentimentality of my old friend and wounded pride cloud my judgment."

Sneaks snorts and chuckles.

"Thought that MAYBE I could even get some redemption for at least not dying with my friends years ago. Guess I finally get to make good on that now…unless you're planning on selling me into slavery like you have with so many others."

You draw your pistol as you walk over to Sneaks.

"No. I figure I at least owe you a quick death for old times sake. Not to mention you wrecking Jicol the way you did, you've given me even less to have to worry about since now that place doesn't even have the strong law enforcement numbers it once did, meaning the Nocturnal League's influence on it isn't even gone. Besides, I doubt even Vera would be able to talk a slaver into buying you for much anyway."

You point your pistol right at Sneak's forhead as he looks up at you.

"Any last words?" you ask.
"Just a question. If I hadn't run all those years ago, would you have still killed me during the attack on the Guild?" Sneaks asks.

You pause for a moment. You've gone over this scenario in the past a few times and you already know the answer.

"Yes."
"Hm, I guess this was worth it then."

You shoot Sneaks causing his body to jerk back with enough force that he falls back on his chair to the floor.

Never thought he'd be a loose end you'd have to tie up, but life is always full of surprises. In any case, the JCR is finally finished and with Jicol still trying to rebuild, you're in a stronger position than ever.

Which is good, because you've recently heard news that the Ebony Claw Syndicate has recently retaken it's position back in Holgard by either re-assimilating the "Holgard League" (As your splinter group called itself) or crushing those that opposed the re-assimilation.

You can only imagine that it's just a matter of time before they come sniffing around here eventually. Maybe it won't happen, but better that you be prepared so you don't end up like the Thieves' Guild or the JRC since that would be quite the ironic fate indeed.

You time passes...

Year 33

You've had to deal with many struggles during your life and not all of them of the mundane criminal variety. If that were the case, your life would have probably been a lot simpler.

The worst you believe was whenever you had to deal with magic shit. Specifically that time when you had to deal with the Neroth cultists. You really thought you were dead that night. If it hadn't been for Tanya, you would have.

Hell, you would have been dead without her when you dealt with that bushwacking shadow magic using asshole Bolt as well.

Then there was the time you had to deal with the Joachimites and while Tanya wasn't there for that, you still had some magical assistance of your own to take out Yinin.

The point is, you always at least had a way to deal with magical threats.

This however you have no idea…

"Are you absolutely sure?" you ask.
"Yes. I was sitting there watching Kol playing on the floor with some blocks and stacking them. Then I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me because it looked like he was interacting with the shadows cast by the blocks due to the candle light. Then I realized that's exactly what he was doing." Vera remarks and she holds on to Kol who looks fairly unfazed by any of what you're discussing. He just smiles at you.

You rub your hands on your head.

"I told you making our home in a fucking Fel temple wasn't going to be a good idea." Vera remarks.
"Duly noted, but that's not really helpful right now. What we need to do is go find someone with more magical knowledge than you or I to look at Kol."
"Well who might that be? This island doesn't exactly have a lot of priests or wizard types."
"There's that witch that runs that shop in Jicol."
"Didn't her place get destroyed during the flood? Even if it didn't I'm not sure what some witch could do if Fel cursed our son."

Suddenly a voice speaks causing you both to look toward the entryway of the room.

"Your son hasn't been cursed by Fel, quite the opposite in fact. Your son has actually been blessed by him and he's now displaying the affects." Gertrude says.

If you didn't like Gertrude acting as a "babysitter" on occasion before, the way she's speaking doesn't make you like her any better. You immediately start to move towards her. Meanwhile Gertrude immediately puts her hands up and backs away.

"Boss! I'm not the enemy! Honest!" she quickly says as Vera grabs your shoulder to stop you.
"Very well Gert, but you need to speak quickly NOW." Vera says.

Gertrude breathes a sigh of relief and starts talking.

"Okay, don't get mad, but I thought I saw the signs that your son had the shadow gift a few times before." Gertrude says.
"Wait, you KNEW and didn't fucking tell us?!" you exclaim.
"I wasn't sure! Like your wife, I thought maybe it was just my eyes playing tricks on me or I was overly tired. However a couple days ago something happened that couldn't possibly be the case. I saw Kol making shadows on the wall with his hands. At first it just seemed to be him trying to figure out what was going on and not realizing it was the candlelight causing it, but then the shadows began acting independent of what his hands were doing. Soon they became little figures which he watched and was amused by, and then they disappeared altogether. I would have told you sooner, but…I dunno I was sort of shook up myself about it and I couldn't figure out how to approach it and I kept going over…"
"Alright, alright, fine, Gert. Does anyone else know?" Vera says.
"Not to my knowledge. But again, this isn't a bad thing! This is a good thing! Your son obviously has natural shadow magic ability."
"You seem to know a lot of about this, why is that exactly?" you say once again moving towards Gertrude.
"Well, as I told your wife before, I came from a large family and my one of my younger brothers became a Felian priest. Oscar displayed similar signs of having shadow magic abilities, as he grew older. Bit more of a late bloomer than your son though, but they were still present. He of course went to the temple in Holgard, where they started training him immediately, but I guess he was really showing some talent because he ended up getting transferred to the main temple in the Delantium Kingdom. Haven't really spoken to him since, but I always figured that didn't hurt my own standing in the ECS at the time seeing as the two organizations were allies."
"Okay, that explains a few things, but do you know how this happened exactly? I mean is it just because we're inhabiting a Fel Temple?"
"I don't know. I mean I'm not an expert on the whole will of the gods thing. I imagine it probably is playing a part. When Oscar was born my mom went into labor right in front of the Fel Temple in Holgard, so I assume maybe something similar is going on here. Maybe infants just catch Fel's attention, but as I said, I'm no expert. We'd need to contact a priest of Fel to gain further information on all this stuff. In fact, you're probably going to want to do that anyway since his abilities are probably going to get stronger and he'll need the guidance. Don't really know any Fel priests on this island though." Gertrude says.

You start shaking your head.

"No, I'm not having my son joining a bunch of fanatics." You say.
"Okay, but his powers might become uncontrollable without proper guidance and I think you both know just how dangerous shadow magic can be. He's obviously been chosen by Fel, so I don't think you have choice." Gertrude remarks.
"That's bullshit, there's always a choice."
"Gert, can you excuse us for a moment?" Vera asks.
"Oh. Yeah sure."

Gertrude leaves while Vera goes to put Kol (Who has fallen asleep during all this) in his basket.

"Look Vera, I know you're close with Gertrude and she's been helpful, but I'm NOT inviting religious fanatics here, let alone having my son join them." You say.
"Not sure why you're yelling, considering I agree, but I'm still leery about seeing some witch. I almost feel like we should just try to handle this ourselves." Vera remarks.
"Well, it doesn't hurt to have a non-aligned magic user give their opinion, but if I feel like things are shady there, like her demanding his blood or something, then I'll be walking out of there as well."
"Okay, but I'm still concerned about this."

The next day, you gather up Kol and prepare to head to Jicol. You ask if Vera wants to come, but she says she has a bunch of slaves she needs to sell and besides all that she says if something goes wrong and you are both killed, she'll still be around to take revenge.

Walking through the jungle nowadays is a lot safer nowadays, though that probably can't be said for Jicol. Ever since the city got half flooded, it's been having criminal activity problems, though not really coming from your end of things, since you've practically got your own small town now (Still trying to think of an official name for it).

It's more along the lines of people who lost everything in the disaster are preying upon each other and other citizens in general. Between trying to still keep a strong naval force to ward off pirates and cleaning up after the disaster, Jicol's order attempts have been lack luster. So much for their plans of having a "clean city."

You're not really concerned though since you're still capable of taking care of yourself and three of your people have offered to come with you, which seems wise just in case the desperate think about messing with you. Even the Jicol Watch isn't going to hassle you when they got people killing each other over qweepa meat.

When you get to Jicol, it's looking about as well as it did the last time you bothered to come here. It's a bit of a chore to get to your destination since it's right around where most of the flooding occurred so you have to take a small boat to the area.

One thing that's on the strange side is probably Kol. You were sort of expecting him to make a lot of noise or otherwise be lively during this whole thing, especially since this is his first real trip outside the temple, but he's been fairly quiet. Then again he's thankfully never been a loud child.

Makes you wonder if his quietness also has something to do with Fel. You still haven't seen any of the evidence of shadow magic like your wife or Gertrude have though.

You eventually find the shop you're looking for "Elegant Elixirs." You tell your people to wait outside and you open the door and you're immediately assaulted by the strong smell of herbs and who knows what else. It actually causes you to cough a bit.

"Hm? Who is that? Better not be you Timothy, I told you I wouldn't have that endurance potion ready until tomorrow. The whores will just have to wait…" an old lady says as she comes out from another room.

She sees you and she looks a bit surprised, but not overly so.

"Oh. Well haven't seen you in here before. What brings the head of the Nocturnal League to my humble shop?"
"You know who I am?"
"Doesn't everyone? You're arguably better known than the Mayor of Jicol, ol' whatshisname. Probably more popular at this point too. Surprised you haven't just taken this city over, or what's left of it anyway."
"Eh, I'm good with what I got right now. Anyway, I'm here to see you since you're the closest person I know to a wizard on this island."
"Am I now? Funny, I usually get called a hedge witch at best and a charlatan that sells distilled goblin dung at worst…well I suppose that last bit is true, but I save that for the asshole customers."
"Well as I said, I'm not here for potions, I'm here to see if you can assist me with my son's condition which I doubt if any potion is going to cure and a doctor isn't going to be able to help either."
"Hm, I did notice you carrying a little one on you back. Son huh? Well sit him on the table over there and tell me what's going on then."

You sit Kol on the table and being your tale, while the old witch begins studying him. As you're telling your tale, the witch does some sort of motion with her hands which briefly causes her to turn invisible. She then smiles and tells Kol to make the same hand gesture.

"What are you doing?" You ask.
"Shh, quiet." The witch says.

Kol smiles back and he seems to understand what the witch wants him to do. After a couple of fumbled tries, he repeats the same thing the witch did and sure enough he too very briefly blinks out of existence. Then he laughs about it.

"Well that checks out."
"Shit. That's the first time I've actually seen Kol do any shadow magic stuff. So should I be concerned?"
"About what exactly? Your son just happens to be the lucky few, that has natural magical talent. Just happens to be shadow oriented, though with a little training, he could probably become skilled in other types as well. I imagine some place like the magic university in Delantium would be a good place to send him if he really wants to take advantage of his abilities. Though I suppose the one in Klyton is okay if you want to save money."
"But what about Fel?"
"What about him? Oh you worried that your son is some chosen one or something? Let me tell you about Fel, he's like all the rest of the gods, doesn't really give a shit about any of us except as a source of amusement. You worship him or something?"
"Not really, just wondered if we pissed him off by using his temple for something other than worship."
"Unless you're openly cursing Fel name, I doubt if he's concerned. You would have certainly known by now. I mean I do agree that you probably caught his attention in some manner since your son is definitely skilled. Was he conceived in that temple by any chance?"
"Uh, yeah. The timing is about right. It was odd too since my wife didn't think she was fertile."
"She might not have been, Fel might have seen fit to give her a little help, hence why the boy has powers."

You suddenly get a horrible thought.

"Wait…you saying Fel fucked my wife and this is actually his son?" you ask.
"No! Sheesh, you can't tell that the kid looks like you? My eyesight is shit and even I see the resemblance. I'm saying Fel just provided a little magical or in this case divine assistance as far as the baby process is concerned. Your intimacy caught Fel's attention since it probably was the first time in decades anything like that went on in the place. Why you might ask? Well because it's a little known fact that Fel gets bored very easily and he probably did it just to amuse himself. Seriously, if most of the Felians knew what Fel was REALLY like, that would change the whole damn religion forever. Or maybe some of them do, but don't care since it's convenient to keep the hierarchy structure in place."
"You seem to know a lot about the Felians."
"That's because I used to be one. In fact I was a member of that very temple you're currently using when I was young and foolish. Even had one of those silly names they all like using. Grayhaze. I suppose it was better than my original name at least. Don't ask."
"Wait, before we moved in, hasn't that temple been abandoned for at least over a couple hundred years?"
"Yeah?" Grayhaze says as if you're going to ask her age next.
"Um, never mind. So you're saying Fel isn't going to bother us at all?"

Grayhaze exhales a bit, scratches her brow before answering.

"Well…I wouldn't necessarily say that. However, it's not going to be in the form of shadow demons or anything like that. That's actually not how he works despite what the reputation might be. Now once again, do you two worship Fel or acknowledge him in small some way?"
"As I said, no. My wife didn't even like the idea of making the temple a headquarters."
"Okay, good, then he's not going to fuck with either of you directly through your dreams. Though honestly Fel is more of a voyeur most of the time anyway. It's his minions that do all the heavy lifting so you'll want to avoid them. In fact, I'd say you shouldn't involve ANY Fel worshippers at all in this shit. They'd probably try to take your son away or something. Speaking of your son, now Fel MIGHT take more of a direct interest in him since he is linked to shadow magic, but again it's mostly going be in the form of petty mind games of manipulation. Still, that might be concerning since he's an impressionable child and all."
"Great."
"Could be worse. I mean Fel's an asshole, but at least it's not Neroth right? However, I think I can help you. It's going to cost you though."
"Money's no object."
"Oh well money's certainly nice, but I don't really need any. I do however need ingredients for my potions. Lots of useful stuff out in the jungle, but I don't get out much anymore, especially with this place being half submerged nowadays. I got a garden, but just can't grow certain things in these conditions you know?"
"So you want me to gather plants for you?"
"Well you can send your underlings to do it for all I care, but what I want is a free lifetime supply of alchemy supplies and the like. I know you're a man of means so should be pretty easy for you. Again, I don't care where you get them from, but I'm going to make a list and that's what I want. And when I run out or need something else, I'm going to want you to provide it for free."
"This better be some really good help if you're making all these demands."
"Oh it is, I assure you. I don't get much call for enchantments, probably because nobody bothers to ask, but I got a medallion lying around that I can enchant for your son to wear so when he goes to sleep it should block out any potential mental meddling."

You look at Kol and you look at Grayhaze and you can't help but have more questions.

"What about his magical powers?"
"What about them? I mean he'll continue to have those. That's a separate issue."
"Should he have training so he doesn't accidently blow something up?"
"Well I hope you aren't asking me to train him, I'm far too old and like my free time too much. Honestly, he's probably not going to display too much power until he's a little older than he is right now. However, I suppose I do have an old magic tome I can sell you. I don't need it anymore and I have a few more, but he should probably start off with something simple when it looks like his abilities are getting a bit out of hand. While you may not be magical yourself, you can still assist him. Don't worry, it's in common so you or your wife can at least read the words in it, assuming you're both literate."
"Yes we can read." You say with annoyance. "I'll take the book too."
"Very good. Okay, so our deal for the medallion and a hundred gold for the book. It'll take me some time to enchant the medallion so come back in an hour unless you want to wait."
"Nah, I'll come back, I have to go get the coin anyway. Come on Kol."

You take Kol and head back outside. You wonder where your people are since they're nowhere to be found. Since you know that they know better than to just fuck off while they're supposed to be helping you, you can only imagine one possibility…

"Don't move."

You turn and see Gertrude standing nearby with the people you came with and all of them are pointing flintlocks at you.

"Knew you were untrustworthy." You say.
"Well a good leader tends to have good instincts. If it's any consolation, I really didn't want it to go down this way and it's nothing personal." Gertrude remarks.
"Nothing personal? Not sure if I believe that given that you're pointing a pistol at me."
"Look, I was part of the Ebony Claw and you know how powerful they are. When they dissolved in Holgard I could hardly believe it. When I learned that you had a hand in that to some degree and you stepped in with building the Nocturnal League, I thought that maybe you were definitely a man worth following. I even thought relocating was a good idea than staying in Holgard."
"Is this the part where you tell me why exactly you decided to be a traitorous piece of shit? Because if it is, then hurry up."

Gertrude laughs.

"Traitor? You're calling ME a traitor? What the fuck did you do? You betrayed not only the Thieves Guild, but the Ebony Claw Syndicate as well! All of which I might add is ALL catching up with you. Your old pal that escaped the Guild purge recently opposed you and now the Syndicate has retaken Holgard. How long is it going to be, before THEY decide they want revenge on you as well? Fuck that, I'm making a deal before they send in the assassin squad and murder us all in that temple." Gertrude says.
"You really think the Syndicate is going to just accept you back into its ranks?" you respond.
"I don't see why not actually. I never actually betrayed them, however, your son is going to be a nice bonus. If I take him to my brother, I'm pretty sure I can get him to pull some strings so I don't just get accepted but also a higher position in the Syndicate as well. So you see, this isn't being a traitor, this is improving my situation in life, that's what you did right?"
"The difference is you're not going to live to see the results because if you think I'm going to just hand my son over, you're fucking delusional."
"You put up a fight and you may not be the only casualty. Hand Kol over and I can assure you that your son will most likely have a better life than he would with you. The priests will probably see him as a chosen of Fel or something. Surely you would rather have your son be in his own position of power some day rather than a dead brat at the bottom of the Jicol bay."

You shield Kol from harm

You're not handing Kol over and you sure as hell aren't going to let any harm come to him.

You immediately turn with Kol in your arms and duck down while trying to run back into the store.

And you are not quick enough as two shots go right into your back causing you to fall but somehow you miraculously manage to shift your weight so you don't completely crush Kol in the process, though he's definitely under you and not happy about it because he's crying quite loudly. You almost want to join him given how much pain you're currently in.

"What the fuck are you idiots doing!? You could have hurt the baby! We need him alive!" you hear Gertrude remark
"Sorry Gert." One says.
"Don't be sorry, just fucking get the baby and let's…shit he's not dead!"

You interrupt their little spat by managing to turn over and barely sitting yourself up. You manage to fire off your pistol, killing two of them. Gertrude fires and the last one however manage to hit you again just before your last shots bring them both down as well.

Your body once again falls back to the ground in pain causing you to shout out. Though the pain now is only in your upper body since the lower half has gone numb, you can't even move your legs. Your son cries nearby and you don't think you're surviving this one.

Probably due to the shooting, nobody is around of course. You feel like all the strength is leaving your body and lacking any other ideas, you call out Grayhaze's name in the hopes that maybe she can help you.

You do this for quite some time, but she doesn't arrive, neither does anyone else and you're starting to get sleepy. You try to calm Kol down with an increasingly weaker voice.

Just as you're starting to lose consciousness, Grayhaze comes out of her store. She sees you and shakes her head.

"Shit. I was hoping I was hearing things when I heard my name being called. Especially when not that many know it. I can't do anything for you. Your wounds are too severe and there isn't enough time." Grayhaze says.
"Just…t…ake Kol…conta…ct…Vera…in the…League…"

That's your last request, you can only hope that Grayhaze follows it.