What the hell, it might make for an interesting change of pace.

"I'll take the job." You say.
"You will? Are you sure?" Dr. Gossey asks.
"Yes, and you don't need to worry about me. I'm not unfamiliar with the seedier elements of life."
"Hmm, yes I suppose there is no way of completely distancing yourself from such things. I'm glad you're worldlier than you appear since I fear my assistant is a bit sheltered. Well, I suppose sheltered isn't quite the right word, more like disconnected from reality on these matters. Elana's a good student, but as I said, I fear if she went to Hessla by herself, she'd say something to the wrong person and soon find herself sold into sex slavery or something similar. Anyway, just make sure you get those Qweepas safe and sound here."
"Is there some sort of place that sells them or something in Hessla?"
"I don't know, I just know that they are common enough there to be a problem. Whether that means you buy them or catch them, makes no difference. As I said, that's going to be Elana's primary concern, but obviously if you can help in that matter too, it would be greatly appreciated."
"Okay, so when does this job begin?"
"Well since you agreed to it already, say in three days? You'll meet Elana at the carriage station in the morning. You'll recognize her by her tan skin, long curly brown hair, a large pack for the trip no doubt and she'll probably be a bit too well dressed for the occasion."
"Okay, hope I don't miss her."
"I'll be sure to give her your description as well and insist that she not leave until she finds you."
"Sounds good to me. I'll meet your assistant then."

Dr. Gossey goes on to thank you and exclaim that she's glad you came along when you did and hopes you have a safe and productive trip. She also gives you directions of how to get out of the medical school, since you were lost in the first place.

When you exit the medical school, you decide to call it a night and head home since you figure if you need to get up in the morning in three days, then you're going to have "fix" your internal clock again so you don't over sleep.

When you finally get back to the neighborhood, you revert back your cautious ways until you finally enter the Welcome Mat and your room. You manage to make it without being accosted by any of its denizens this time.

You spend tomorrow mostly "taking the day off." You go get something to eat a few times, but that's about it. You still don't see Virgil, but you do have a vague feeling that someone is watching you every time you leave the damn inn.

On the second day of one these food trips, one of the local food merchants who doesn't normally make much small talk, breaks that habit when you're looking over the fruit cart.

"Hey, some big guy was looking for you yesterday." The merchant remarks.
"So I've heard. Got a better description than that?" you ask.
"Uh, sort of a bushy beard, but the rest of his face was obviously pretty weathered. Shaved head. Probably in his forties or fifties, but still pretty fit. Carried a pack with him, but no weapons. Well at least none out in the open. Said to tell you that he'd carrying an important message for you from your family and that it's very urgent that you meet him at the Raggedy Man Inn."
"Hmmm, and that's it?"
"As far as I know."
"Thanks. I'll just be taking these today." You say and pay the merchant for your food before leaving.

Well that was way more productive than asking Virgil. It's all a little sinister now that you have a little more information though. Why the hell wouldn't a simple courier just meet you at the inn you're staying at? You suppose it's possible he doesn't know, but if he's already spoken to Randi or Virgil, one of them has no doubt blabbed already. At least Randi probably did.

You don't know much about the Raggedy Man inn except it's in an even worse part of Klyton than you already stay at. Klyton might have militia patrols marching all over the place, but they're still lax in certain areas. Makes you a bit wary that a large man wants to meet you there. You can't imagine your father or mother would send someone like that, let alone want him to meet you under HIS conditions. Your sister maybe? Possible you suppose, but you're skeptical.

In any case, you're not meeting this guy unless he comes directly to you and when that happens. You're going to be…

"Heeeeeeey! Youngster! You got some coppers fer the (hic!) faith?" Virgil suddenly says as you step into the Welcome Mat.

He's obviously forgotten his outrage at you. Fortunately he may have even remembered to take your advice about washing last time since he smells half way decent this time.

"Actually I do Virgil, but I need a favor from you." You say.
"Sure…sure! I've always liked ya son! (hic!) You need Joachim's blessin?"
"No, no, nothing like that. I just need you to relay a message. Remember that big guy looking for me?"
"….Oh YEAH! Yeah! I remember him! Hey he was lookin' fer you…yesterday…said he wants you to…" Virgil starts to say before you interrupt.
"Good, good, I want you to tell him, the next time he sees you that I left for Holgard."
"Huh? You're movin?"
"Something like that, but I want you to tell him okay? Don't forget." you say and hand Virgil a few coppers.
"K…well Jochim's blessin' on ya if yer leaving then. You always were one of da (hic!) good ones."

Virgil pats you on the back and then stumbles off.

You return to your room and as an added pre-caution, you put a chair against the door. You have no idea how you're going to get a good night's sleep for tomorrow, but you're going to try…

And you fail.

You get a couple hours in before you wake up and can't go back to sleep. Seeing as you aren't going to get any more sleep, you pack your stuff and decide to leave your room in the middle of night and just head to the carriage station early. You don't really know when Elana is going to show up there anyway, so you might not even have to wait that long.

On your way there, you half think you're being followed the entire time, so you do a lot of back tracking and take side streets until you reach your destination.

You've never been to the carriage station before, but it's mostly empty right now. Still, it's well lit and there are a few militiamen stomping around. You never thought you'd be happy about that!

You find a bench and wait. Soon, you start to get a little sleepy again despite your attempts at still trying to stay awake. You also start to wonder if it wouldn't be better to just stay in Hessla when you get there.

"I oughta just go meet this guy and stab him in the face like I did with Klint…" you mutter to yourself.

Later…

"Hey! Wake up! We have to get a move on! (Sigh) I told Dr. Gossey I didn't need an escort." You hear a voice exclaim while some hands shove your shoulders a few times.

You groggily open your eyes and realize you're in a much more horizontal position from when you first closed your eyes. After getting the blurriness out, you see a finely dressed woman with tan skin and long curly hair before you.

"Elana?" you ask.
"Yes! And you're the escort Dr. Gossey hired I presume. You ARE aren't you? I'd hate to think I just woke up some random sleeping bum." Elana answers.
"Yes, the doctor hired me. How long have I been asleep?"
"How should I know? All I do know is I had to load this carriage up myself. I thought YOU would be helping! Anyway, we have to get going, hurry up!"
"Okay, okay, I'm ready, let's get in the carriage."
"Wait. YOU are not going in the carriage."
"What? Then where the hell am I supposed to be?"
"You ride up top with the driver. I have some studying to do on the way and I don't want you disturbing me. Besides, if you're supposed to keeping an eye out for danger, you'll do it better from there anyway."

It's too damn early in the morning to deal with this, so you decide not to and just go over to the carriage and climb up to where the driver is. He nods and greets you.

"So are we ready to go?" the driver asks you.
"Come on let's go!" Elana shouts from inside the carriage.
"Well you heard the lady." You say.

And with that, you're on your way out of Klyton and on the road to Hessla. Right now though you're just trying to adjust your eyes to all the damn sunlight. It's been awhile since you've been up this early.

You watch the countryside pass by as the horses travel at a good pace. So far no trouble yet. You look behind you and see the supplies on the roof of the carriage and something you didn't notice right behind you and the driver. A blunderbuss.

"Guess that's for when bandits attack?" you ask the driver.
"Huh? Oh that? I suppose so. Honestly though, haven't had any problems in all the years I've driven this route. Still, I keep it loaded just in case." The driver replies.
"Never?"
"Nope. Never even had any problems in Hessla, despite its reputation. A lot of people think its some anarchic pirate paradise, but the place is probably just as orderly as Klyton. The Governor of Hessla has his own personal security force called the Headsmen to patrol the place. They're a lot more draconian than the militia too. Usually they just execute offenders on the spot without trial."
"Really?"
"Sure. I mean yeah without them then the place might be a little more lawless like it was in the past, but nowadays? You're just as safe from getting mugged there as you would in Klyton. Hell, maybe even more so given that Klyton has the Crimson Talons running around."
"Hmm, yeah."

Well this sucks. Already you're finding out that Hessla isn't the place you imagined it was. It's kind of why you took most of your important belongings with you just in case you decided to ditch the job and just stay in Hessla.

"Driver! Slow down! The ride is too bumpy and I can't focus on my reading!" Elana shouts while banging inside the carriage.

A few moments later…

"Driver! Speed up! I'd like to get Hessla sometime this month! And YOU up there, I hope you're doing your job and keeping a look out!"

Then again, Hessla might not be that bad, if you already had a bit of coin to throw around while you assessed the opportunities there. You think that there is probably a good amount of supplies here on the carriage you could sell. Let alone the horses and carriage themselves. The driver doesn't exactly look like a fighter and might even have a few coins to his name.

And most importantly, Elana probably is carrying a purse full of coin for this trip.

Wouldn't take much to just grab the blunderbuss and hijack this whole carriage.

You stick with the job at hand

Tempting, but you might as well stick with it out a little while longer. Oddly part of you doesn't want to dishonor the agreement with Dr. Gossey even if her assistant is a bitch.

Elana doesn't make many more complaints fortunately and when she does it's mostly at the driver anyway, though you can imagine you'll soon be on the receiving end completely.

By the time you reach Hessla, night is starting to fall. Elana orders the carriage to stop and then asks the driver where is the best place to stay in the town. The driver suggests the Cozy Krak Inn. He mentions that it is fairly expensive though that usually means it's never completely filled, but Elana tells him she isn't worried about the price.

The carriage makes its way through Hessla, which is definitely not how you expected it look. You imagined pirates and vagabonds of all types getting into fights and drinking in the streets, but just like the driver said, it isn't actually all that bad.

When you get to the Cozy Krak Inn, you see a large decorated building, which wouldn't be out of place in the richer areas of Klyton. It's actually a little more creative looking since it has a whole sea theme complete with some wall murals of sailors battling a giant squid and the inn sign also being in the shape of a squid.

"Ugh, how gauche. I suppose it will have to do." Elana remarks and gets out of the carriage. You step off from the top.

"I'm going to go in and getting the room, you grab the supplies from the carriage."
"Wait a minute. I'm just supposed to be here for protection. I didn't hear anything about being your porter. Besides, doesn't a place like this usually have someone to do that?"
"Maybe, but I'm telling YOU to do it. I'm not risking having the locals run off with valuable equipment and you're getting paid to protect EVERYTHING, so do your job and look out for the stuff!" Elana remarks and doesn't even give you a chance to retort before she's entered the inn.

You just stand there speechless for a moment.

"Um…there's a cart over there which should help you get it in all one trip." The driver points out in an attempt to be sympathetic to your plight.
"Thanks." You grumble and begin to unload the carriage.

You should have just hijacked it.

After you're done unloading everything, the driver mentions that if you're looking for a place to unwind, the Sultry Siren is a good location. He then bids you good night and takes his leave.

You enter the inn and find that it resembles more of a mansion than any inn you've ever seen. No creaky wooden floors, dim lighting or drunken louts sitting at a nearby bar. You see a desk where Elana is talking with someone and a couple of mean looking men holding poleaxes standing just inside the doorway.

You arrive just in time for Elana to finish bitching at the desk clerk and start bitching at you instead.

She first goes on to complain that there is no lift so she has to walk to her room on the top floor like a commoner. This is even worse news for you since now you have to lug everything up several flights of stairs.

After getting to the room, she complains that it doesn't match anything she's used to in Klyton and goes on about how inferior it is. You almost feel like saying you live in a place run by a cranky old man and how your closest neighbors consist of a drunken priest and a whore.

Trying to make the best of this, you remain upbeat.

"Well, we aren't going to be here long hopefully. Let's just try to get some rest." You say.
"What are you doing?" Elana says.
"I'm just laying down."
"Not on the bed you're not!"
"But there are TWO beds and I'm not going to try anything!"
"Pfft. I'm not worried about that." Elana says and then brandishes a small ornate pistol. Smaller than other ones you've seen actually, but you still don't want to risk getting shot by it and move out of the way when she thoughtlessly points it at you.

"Will you stop waving that thing around?" you say.
"I told Dr. Gossey I didn't need an escort and could take care of myself." Elana remarks.
"Yeah, okay you're not a woman to be messed with, got it. But I don't see why I have to sleep on the floor when there are two beds."
"The floor? You're not sleeping on the floor either. This is MY room. You want a room here, you pay for it yourself!"
"…What? Are you serious? Dr. Gossey said this trip was paid for!"
"Maybe for me, never said anything about you. Your payment is AFTER the job is done. In fact, shouldn't you just be standing guard outside my door?"

You have no words. You just don't. You thought dealing with the lowlifes that hang around the Welcome Mat was a chore, but it still pales in comparison to this. If this wasn't a paying job, there is no way you'd deal with this.

However, since it is, you don't say anything and just grab a chair in the room and exit.

Placing the chair nearby, you sit down and make a mental note about never working a real job ever again. The kicker is, you still have a bunch of over grown rats to acquire. Still, you agreed to this so you continue to make the effort and sit outside like a loser.

Eventually enough time passes and you start feeling tired or at least bored enough that you'd rather be doing something else. You briefly think about finding another place to stay or even going to the Sultry Siren like the driver suggested, but you really don't feel like dealing with the stairs again or spending your money. You then wonder if maybe you shouldn't take this opportunity to break into some of the other rooms.

As you're pondering potential criminal activity, you spot a group of five rough looking men walking down the corridor. They don't look the sort who would stay here.

"Is this the room?" one of them says.
"No, it's further up the hall." Another remarks.
"What? Where that guy in the hood is sitting?"
"Yeah, I believe so."
"What the fuck, Metzger. I thought you said this was an easy one."
"There's just one guy there and he's smaller than all of us. You really think he's going to give us trouble? Metzger says.
"What if he's some highly skilled assassin? I mean he's got a hooded cloak and all…"
"By Dolak's barnacle encrusted balls, if you were any dumber…(Sigh) Just because someone is wearing a hooded cloak don't make them a highly skilled assassin. Besides, assassins kill people not sit outside hallways like guard dogs." Metzger remarks.

At this point these five men are nearby you, yet are still talking like you aren't here. You feel like you should stand up at this point.

"I can't help but notice you lot seem to be talking about me." You say.
"Yeah, and what if we are?" Metzger asks.
"Well, I suppose I might need to show off my assassin skills."
"Hah! You're no assassin and even if you are, you're too damn young to have been at it for very long, let alone skilled enough to take on five of us. My guess is, you're that rich bitch's escort or something. Not sure why she'd take a little thing like you though as a guard. Guess being rich doesn't mean being smart which is evident by the very fact she's staying here."
"What do you mean?"
"Nobody stays at the Cozy Krak Inn, or rather no right thinking Hessla native does, unless they want to be taken as a fucking slave. Fucking clueless visitors." Metzger laughs.

Well this isn't good.

"So you guys are all slavers huh?" you ask.
"Yeah, and since I'm in a generous mood I'm going to LET you walk away from this, because Yrid said you weren't the target." Metzger remarks.
"Who's Yrid?"
"The guy who drove you here. Sheesh, didn't you even bother to ask his name? In fact you weren't even supposed to be here, he said you'd probably be at the Sultry Siren fucking a whore or getting drunk given how much your boss was bitching at you."
"Trust me, I'm starting to think that was a better idea right now."
"Hah, got that right. So, I trust you're stepping aside then…" Metger says and starts advancing with his buddies.

This is a really difficult situation. As much as Elana has been a complete bitch to you, you aren't sure if her getting sold into slavery isn't disproportionate retribution.

You step aside

You don't exactly feel good about this, but then you don't see as you have much choice.

"Alright…I'll step aside." you say.
"Smart boy, now clear off!" Metzger says and pushes you aside before unlocking the door with a key.

You don't stick around as the five of them enter Elana's room. Just as you're about to head down the stairs, you hear a scream followed by something breaking and then some laughter.

You don't want to think about it and make haste out of this "inn." Even when you killed Klint there was at least some justification, but you're seriously wondering what the hell you just allowed to happen.

You head to the Sultry Siren where you proceed to drink. You've never really drank too much before in the past, but given what you just let transpire, you feel like maybe the best thing you can do is block out your thoughts.

"So…are you interested in just the ale or could I recommend one of the lovely sirens in the back?" the barkeep asks after you've had a few.
"Um…I dunno…no. I'm having a bit of weird night and I've got a lot on my mind right now that I'm trying to forget." you say taking another drink.
"Hm, sounds like maybe one of our lovely sirens is exactly what you need."

You don't even hear the barkeep's pitch anymore; your mind is just sort of a hazy blur between your thoughts and the ale. What did you do? What could you do? What are you going to do?

What are you going to do…

"Do you know where I could get some qweepas?" you suddenly ask the barkeep.
"What?" he replies.
"Qweepas. They're these…"
"Yeah I know what they are. Overgrown ugly rats and general pests around town. If you want to know where to get some, you could try Gilo's Gridiron. Well either that or just hang around the docks or leave some food around in a dark place. It isn't like they're that hard to find around here."
"What's Gilo's Gridiron?"
"Oh it's just an eatery run by a Halfling chef. He sells qweepa on a stick. Tastes pretty good from what I hear, but I'd never know because I'm reluctant to eat a damn rat. Still, halflings do have a reputation for making anything taste good, so maybe I should be adventurous some day."
"So is he open now?"
"No, it's too late now, he'll be open in the morning though."
"Do you know of a cheap place to sleep for the night?"
"Um, the Barnacle down the street is pretty cheap. In fact you can just go into their public flop room for free. Wouldn't really advise that though unless you're a light sleeper or completely destitute. The Headsmen might keep relative order around here, but they can't stop every potential crime and you're likely to get robbed there. It's just common sense you know?"
"Yeah, common sense. You really need it to survive in this world." You say and take your last drink before leaving for the Barnacle.

You end up paying a few coppers for one of their better rooms there and get some rest. The next day, you have a bit of a headache, but you try to ignore it. You've still got a job to do.

First thing you do is head over to Gilo's place. Gilo is pretty much a small one-man operation as far as the cooking goes though he's got his son and daughter running around taking orders from customers. You were going to ask Gilo if he has any live qweepas, but the man seems to be too busy to do anything except cook and order his children around. You can sort of see into the kitchen, but there is no way you can enter it without someone seeing you.

You take your leave and walk around to the back of Gilo's to check out the back door and that's when you see his little boy tossing out a bunch of bones in a box. It's a pretty big box (for a Halfling child) and the boy is struggling to carry it.

"Hey kid, you need help with that?" you ask.
"Huh? No, not really. Just dumping out some qweepa bones. We usually keep them in these boxes until we kill 'em." The boy says.
"You catch a lot of them huh?"
"Yeah, but nowadays we sort of just breed them. It's a lot easier than catching them."
"Really?"
"Sure. They get so tame they hardly even bite. It's a good thing people eat so many; otherwise we might get too many. They breed pretty fast."
"So you just got boxes of tame qweepas in there?"
"Yep. Hey look I gotta get back to work or my dad will hide me." The little boy says and goes back inside.

And then you get the idea.

Later in the middle of the night, you return to Gilo's and break into the back door which has such a simple lock it's child's play to you, then again you don't imagine most people would bother breaking into this place.

You stumble about the kitchen for a moment before you hear the squeaking and go over to where you figure the qweepas are being kept.

You grab a box of qweepas who are squeaking their heads off and get out as quickly as you can. You then head to the carriage station where you fortunately don't have to wait long for a carriage to Klyton. You have to share it with some young couple who must have just got married or something because the two are so into each other you think they're going to have sex right in there in the carriage.

Still, at least it makes the trip not boring and they aren't questioning why you're carrying a box full of big rats. (Which you have to keep from escaping every now and then)

By the time you arrive in Klyton, it's midday again. The couple gets off and you pay for a ride to the university. You're just hoping Dr. Gossey is the sort of woman you think she is and will accept the qweepas along with your tale of what happened to her assistant.

Eventually you get to the university and the medical school. Thankfully Dr. Gossey is in her office when you arrive.

"You're back! And so quick! I hear lots of squeaking from that box you're carrying. I trust you got them?" Dr. Gossey says.
"Yep, but I ended up getting more than just ten." You say.

You show Dr. Gossey who looks into the box.

"Ohh, I see. Looks like you got a lot of younger ones…how are they so tame?" Gossey asks putting her finger near one which just sniffs at it.
"The Halfling cook I got them from breeds them for food. They apparently eat them all the time in Hessla." You say.
"Makes sense. Though I suppose a few wild ones would have been interesting to research as well, but tame ones will probably be easier for intelligence testing. I really didn't expect so many. You want one as a pet or something?"
"Um, nah. I'd just like my thirty gold pieces."
"Okay sure. Just put that box over there and I'll get it for you."

While Dr. Gossey goes to get your money, you put the box over on a table and just stare at the qweepas squeaking and going about their trapped lives. You then see some of them biting at one with darker fur which is desperately trying to run away and climb out, but can't due to the attacking qweepas pulling at her.

"Hey! Stop that. I thought you guys were tame." you say and brush away the bullying qweepas along with taking out the qweepa being attacked. The little creature runs up your arm and then perches on your shoulder and nuzzles up against you, almost as a sign that it thanks you for rescuing it.

Dr. Gossey comes back with a pouch full of coins.

"Here you are. Hey, I see one on your shoulder. Did you change your mind?" Gossey asks.
"Yeah I think so." You remark.
"Okay, well I guess that concludes our business then. So, since you were so efficient on this job, could I count on you for others in the future?"
"Maybe. I dunno. Yeah, sure I guess."
"Great! Just remember I post notices all around campus. Just keep an eye out and you can usually find me in my office or in the lab, but um…actually just meet me in the office. The lab is a bit off limits to anyone who isn't facility right now. I feel like I'm forgetting something…oh wait! Where is Elana?"
"Oh, she insisted on staying in Hessla."
"Why? For what purpose?"
"She said she found some new species of crab when she was exploring the shores near Hessla. Said she wanted to do some extra research and get a few to bring back, but she wanted me to bring the qweepas back to you immediately. She wouldn't hear anything else. I'm sure you know how she is."
"Ah, yes she is pretty firm when she wants her way. I can imagine you probably tried your best to talk to her. I suppose Hessla's bad reputation is a bit exaggerated anyway and I'm sure she'll be fine and I'll see her in a few days. At least you brought back the qweepas and that was the most important thing."
"That's what you told me."

With Dr. Gossey's acceptance of your story she bids you goodbye and immediately goes over to look at her new qweepas. You take your leave with your own still on your shoulder.

It's been a long couple of days and right now all you want to do is head back to the Welcome Mat and your room. When you get there, you're immediately accosted by Virgil who is surprisingly less drunk than usual. Must be a slow day.

"Hey! I thought you moved to Holgard!" Virgil says.
"No. Didn't move there." You reply.
"You didn't? But that's what you told me to tell that big guy looking for you."

With all that's gone on, you completely forgot about all that.

"Oh right. Yeah I did. So what happened with that?" you ask.
"What do ya think happened? I told 'im you left for Holgard and he thanked me with some coin and took off. I suppose if you're quick, you might be able to catch him on the road to Holgard." Virgil says.
"Nah, that's okay. I'm sure whatever it was, it wasn't that important and if it was, I'm not going to worry about it. Here you go Virgil." You say and toss him a gold coin which he profusely thanks you for and says how Joachim's blessing is upon you.

You enter your room and collapse on your bed. Your qweepa scurries off your body and onto the bed to sniff around. You watch the creature for a little while and then pet it.

"Well Elana. It might be shitty and run down, but at least you know you aren't going to run into slavers here." You say to your new pet.

You time passes...

Year 21

"Yeah, yeah, here's the rent." You say handing over a few silvers to Trobart.

As usual he grabs the silvers and gives you mean glance.

"I'm getting real tired of your shit! I KNOW you got the money to pay me on fucking time! Telling you right now, you keep pushing me like this, and you'll be out on your thieving ass!"
"I'm sorry. Please don't throw me out of this palace." You say.

Whether Trobart caught your sarcasm or not, he doesn't acknowledge it with more verbal abuse, he just storms off. Sometimes it's just too much fun to mess with him.

Really, you could probably afford to live somewhere better now, but this place is cheap enough that you're reluctant move. Besides if you lived some place more expensive, you wouldn't be able to spend your money on fun things like wine, women and better equipment on occasion.

You head back to your room where Elana comes up to greet you before scampering off again. One thing's for sure. You haven't had any problems with normal rats or other pests with Elana around. She's aggressively territorial and more than willing to make a meal out of them. Even Virgil doesn't knock on the door to bother you as much since she nearly bit his toe off.

You then hear a knock at your door. Well, it doesn't stop him completely.

"Virgil, I think you should know Elana's hungry right now." You say.
"That's nice that your girlfriend is starving, but I'm not Virgil, whoever that is. I'm from you friends in Klyton's most infamous club." You hear a voice answer. Sounds female.
"Crimson Talons?"
"(Sigh) Tell the militia why don't you? You going to let me in or not?"
"That depends…why are you here? Nobody from the Talons has ever sought me out before."
"Yeah, well there's a first time for everything. Look, I'm just here on Tom's orders. I'm not shouting between a door like this. Either open the door, or I'll let him know you aren't interested…"
"Alright, alright, hold on." You say.

You tell Elana to stay and not attack (at least not immediately) and you go to open the door cautiously. Upon opening it, you see a dark longhaired woman who while is certainly older than you is still in fit condition. She's attractive in a trashy sort of way. (Sort of reminds you of an older version of Annah)

While you've been to the Talon's headquarters more than a few times, but other than Tom and a guy named Vaughn who is usually the fence for your stolen items, you can't really say you've ever paid too much attention to most of them (let alone learned their names), so you don't really recognize her. However, with her looks combined with her attire and she definitely looks like the sort that would belong to the Crimson Talons.

The woman walks in without you even inviting her in and takes a look around.

"Wow, some place you have here. I can see why you didn't want to join the Talons when you're obviously doing so well on your own." She says.
"Right, because that abandoned building you all squat in and have to sneak about by going in and out of the shit filled sewers is so much better." You reply.
"Actually, I was paying you a compliment asshole. This place IS better. I mean yeah it's still a dump, but as you said, at least you're not stepping over shit every five minutes on your way here and it's all to yourself."

"…not counting the rats of course." She adds when she sees Elana who is curled up in the corner where you told her to stay.
"Elana's not a rat, she's a qweepa." You say.
"Oh, that's Elana? I thought it was weird I didn't see some strumpet on your bed when I walked in here. Well whatever it is, it's ugly and its teeth are too big." Zalmora says while taking a seat on your bed.
"So are you just here to insult my home and my pet or are you actually going to tell me who you are and why Tom sent you?"
"I told you I wasn't insulting your home. Anyway, I'm Zalmora and Tom wants to see you."
"What for?"
"Well, you'd have to talk with him about the details, but basically he wants you to reconsider joining us."
"Then you've wasted a trip, because as you pointed out I'm doing fine on my own. Besides, didn't several of your members just get arrested by that botched bank job recently?"
"Only two got caught and they weren't arrested because the militia killed them with they were resisting."
"Oh, well that's different then. At the rate you lot are going I don't predict good things for you in the future. You can tell Tom thanks, but no thanks."
"Yeah, he thought you might say that, and honestly if I were in your position I'd probably feel the same way."
"Good, then we understand each other, goodbye…" you say and go to open the door again, but Zalmora doesn't even move, she just stretches out on your bed and makes herself more comfortable.

"Although, I also have to tell you that your cooperation on this matter is in your best interest." She says.
"So, what then? Did Tom send you over here to fuck me in an effort to convince me to join? You seem to be getting quite comfortable on my bed."
"Well I wouldn't put it past him to have that in mind, but if he really wanted to get results in that way, he should have sent the half-elven whores in the gang instead. If I had to guess why he sent me, it's because as much as he's loathed to admit it, I have a decent history of convincing folks. In any case, if you don't join, don't bother coming around with your stolen shit anymore, we won't be fencing it."
"So is that your argument? If I don't join your little group, you aren't going to fence for me anymore? Fine. I'll just take my shit to Fookins the Fat." You exclaim.
"Fookins? You're going to trust that goblin to fence your shit?" Zalmora chuckles.
"Okay fine, I'll just sell it myself."
"While I don't doubt that you could, but I get a vibe from you that you'd rather not want to bother. If you were about that aspect of our game, you would have been doing it long before now."
"Well, you might be right, but obviously you lot aren't giving me a choice."
"Sure we are. Join us and reap the benefits, or don't and suffer the consequences. I guess this would also be a good time to add that if you don't join us you might have a target on your back."

Didn't take long to get to physical threats. You immediately draw your weapon and Elana who was previously at rest, is now alert and prepared to attack on your command. Zalmora doesn't move though, she just continues to look up at the ceiling with her legs crossed. She either doesn't realize the seriousness of her situation, or she's so much of a skilled fighter that she isn't worried.

"You can put that away, I'm not going to kill or even attack you." Zalmora says.
"You just fucking threatened me in my own damn room!" you exclaim.
"Actually I didn't. Tom did and honestly I don't think he's got the balls to follow through on said threats. Other freelancers in the city? Maybe. You? Nah. You rescued him from a cage; he's never going to forget that. He's likely to be pissed and disappointed that you don't join, but he's not going to actively put a contract on your head. He's not like our last boss Edmund."

At this point she sits up and gets off your bed. You're still on your guard, but she keeps her distance.

"Since I can see you're a bit tense right now, I'll leave to let you think it over."

Zal's approach to this is confusing the hell out of you. It almost feels like she's deliberately trying to convince you NOT to join.

"There isn't much to think about. Your words have not swayed me, quite the opposite really. Maybe Tom should have sent those two halfbreed whores to convince me instead." You say.
"Truly? Is a quick tumble all it would have really done to convince you? Well, let's get to it then." Zal says.
"Wait, what, really?" you ask.
"Pfft, no!" Zal laughs. "Look, it's up to you if you want to join. I'm not going over the benefits of joining, because I think you know what those could possibly be AND I think you're smart enough to know you're only going to get out of it, what you put in to it. Like I said, you once rescued Tom from a cage, so you're already in good standing with him. A lot better than most. I'm just giving you a heads up on the downsides of not joining. If you're comfortable with those, then I guess the choice is easy. You know where to find us if you change your mind, but remember ONLY come to us, IF you change your mind."

Zal opens your door and begins to leave, but then stops.

"Just on a personal note, I wouldn't mind seeing you join us. It would be nice to have another skilled rogue around to work with. Your independent actions in the university district aren't completely unknown to me. And who knows, we might just have that tumble after all."

Zal then nods at you with a smile and leaves.

Well she didn't sway you until that last bit. Not the tumble part, (though you certainly wouldn't turn that down) but more of the idea of working with someone else.

You don't think about it too much, but you do sort of miss working with another person. You did it for years with your sister and then Annah for a short time. You're convinced that if tragedy hadn't struck with her, she probably would have gotten better.

Working by yourself has its advantages and over the years you've gotten used to it, but there are more than a few times where it would have helped to have another person by your side. There's also the convenience that you'd be able to have the Talons still fence shit for you and the possibility that you wouldn't have a target on your back, even if Zal says the latter is unlikely.

Still, you really aren't sure about the whole joining the Crimson Talons thing. That's more people than you'd care to work with and you'd have to ultimately answer to someone. Let alone the other concerns you have.

You join the Crimson Talons

If Tom is coming to you, then it's obvious that he needs the help and that means you can go in and negotiate preferential treatment and benefits in exchange for your presence.

What the hell, this might work out in your favor if you know how to play the game.

You immediately leave your room and catch up with Zalmora who hasn't walked too far from the Welcome Mat yet. You tell her you accept the offer and she seems to take satisfaction in that she managed to sway you.

Doesn't take long before you're stomping through the sewers and embracing that unique aroma that only the sewers can provide.

When you get to the Talon hideout, you're noticing a lot more rowdy types. Most of which look more like common thugs that would just mug you in an alley. Looks like the Talons aren't just recruiting the best, they're also recruiting the dregs. Guess they need to recoup their losses somehow.

"Okay, I imagine you want to go speak with Tom by yourself, so here you are." Zalmora remarks leaving you outside his office door.

You finish making your mental notes of what you're going to say and then enter. When you do so, Tom looks up from his desk and stands up to greet you.

"By the gods, you actually showed up." Tom remarks.
"Good thing you sent someone so convincing, otherwise I might not have." You say.
"Yeah, I might actually have to start rethinking my general dislike for her. Especially since she's proving to be one of the better members here nowadays."
"Hm, yes well I still haven't joined yet. I'm just here to stake out my options."
"I imagine you would, but that's perectly reasonable. I certainly didn't expect you to join without a few personal requests. So, take a seat, and let us talk about your future here!"

When the pair of you sit down, Tom goes into his speech. You didn't notice it before, but the man looks a lot wearier from the last time you met with him.

"So, it's no secret that you've been doing okay for yourself by keeping your activities mainly to the university in Klyton." Tom says.
"Well I didn't have much choice given you lot have run over most places and the militia excessively patrols the rest. Between the pair of you, I find that the university is the best place an independent like myself can make a fair living plying my trade." You remark.
"You know I never actually meant to be territorial with you. Other independents sure, but you were different and I have tried to tell my people in the past to leave you be and that there was plenty of room, but I can't keep up on everything they do when they leave my sight."
"No matter. It all worked out."
"Indeed. In fact I briefly thought about expanding some of our activity out there. Never did mainly because we had things pretty good elsewhere and well let's just say professional respect for you."
"Well I appreciate it."
"Of course since you'll be joining us, this changes things a bit. Now I understand if you want that area mostly to yourself, but times are getting a bit lean what with us losing several members and the militia seemingly cracking down everywhere."

You don't like where this is heading.

"Tom, if you start sending that mostly unsubtle rabble up at the university, they're going to be so fucking obvious that the militia WILL become more of an issue there! And if the militia start showing up there in force, that defeats the whole reason why I picked the place to begin with." You say.
"I know. I know. And I completely understand. That's why I want YOU to become, I dunno. A mentor of sorts." Tom says.
"Mentor?"
"Yeah, you could take those you think are the most promising and teach them not to draw attention and rob someone without just smashing them in the face and taking their shit by force."
"What? I'm not teaching a bunch of idiots something they should already know how to do when they joined up! I mean this is YOUR organization, you should be weeding out those who got what it takes and who doesn't."
"Believe me I'd like to, but natural talent is a little lean right now and we need to make up the numbers in eagerness."

Tom rubs his eyes and exhales a bit before continuing.

"Kid, as you might have guessed, the Crimson Talons are in fucking trouble and I need all the help I can get in keeping it together. I dunno if you know him, but one of my brasher members Jake is constantly chomping at the bit to do as much fucking violence as possible whenever he goes out on a job. Honestly his behavior is infectious to the other members at this point."
"If he's that much of a problem, why not just kill him?"
"Because for one thing, he's really good at what he does and is a good earner. Second, he actually keeps the rest of them in line. With him around at least all I have to do is give an order to him and he can make sure everyone else follows it."
"That's pretty dangerous that he has that much power."
"Well I might be more worried if he actually displayed any signs of wanting to be in charge. As far as I can tell, all he ever wants to do is go out and commit crimes and fuck Zalmora. He's not a long term planner and definitely doesn't seem to want the hassle of being in charge and I can't say I blame him with how I feel about it right now."
"If you say so, but I'm still not keen on playing mentor and this definitely isn't what I planned on when Zal talked me into coming here.
"I know. I know. (Sigh) Look, here's the deal. You get to keep everything you steal. You don't have to contribute anything to the general Talon funds. All I want you to contribute is your knowledge and your influence."
"My influence? Not sure if I'm exactly a leader myself."
"Maybe you just haven't been given the proper chance. As I said, I'm getting too fucking old to manage all of this myself. And I don't have anyone really reliable to help. I mean Jake is a guard dog at best. And I'd rather not give any more power to Zalmora than I have to. I know you though. You've got an honor that the others lack and we need some of that around here otherwise this whole organization is going to either fall apart in a few years or we're all going to get nabbed by the militia. With you with us, I think we could at least change direction a bit. And don't just think about the organization's future, but think about your own as well. I mean sure you're doing okay on your own, but with proper resources behind you? You could be doing so much better. Who knows maybe in so many years, YOU could be running this organization."

Tom made a similar argument to you before about joining last time. You weren't sure about it last time and you're still not sure about it this time. However, you get the impression if you don't involve yourself Tom isn't going to be around to lead much longer and who knows what the hell will happen. They might start encroaching your territory and you wouldn't really be able to stop them. In fact they might get so wild that the militia cracks down even worse than it already does.

You really aren't sure if this is a good idea, but you figure you have a bit of experience now under your belt so you can better afford to take a risk and as always you could just disappear if things aren't going well.

"Alright, we'll see how this goes." You say.

You time passes...

Year 22

"And when you're done robbing everyone at the gladiator frat house, you get the fuck outta there. What you don't fucking do is stick around to drink, party and compete in a dick sucking contest!" you exclaim.

Flameflower and Sunshine both roll their eyes in unison.

"It was hardly a competition. I easily beat all the other girls there that night." Flameflower remarks.
"What? I would have beaten you had you not spiked my drink with lotus! My technique was all fucked up thanks to that!" Sunshine says.
"Look, nevermind all that! You wanna go suck dick, go suck it on your own time! But when you're on a job at the university you're on MY time and you will stick to the damn program! Otherwise you can go take your asses back to Jake and continue risking life and limb on whatever crazy heist he attempts to implement."
"Ugh! I dunno why you're getting so mad for, we managed to pick even more pockets by sticking around for the extended festivities. Whatever. You're just like how your uptight dad was."

Flameflower and her sister take their leave of you and then one of them turns her head to look at you briefly and then giggling follows between the pair of them.

"I honestly don't know why I bother with those two." You say.
"Because elves are easy on the eyes, even if they are half breeds." Zal remarks.
"Well it certainly works in their favor at the university. Hard to believe they were ever organized enough to work for my father's inn at one time. That was surprising to learn when they first approached to work with me. Do elves age at all?"
"Not like we do. Those halfbreed bitches are older than me and they still look like fucking teenagers. Oh speaking of unnatural things, I think the magic college is more doable than you thought."
"What? You actually went in there?"
"I told you I was."
"You told me you were thinking about it and I distinctly told you to stay away from that place. Too risky fucking around with potential magic security."
"Have you ever even been there?"
"No."
"Well then what would you even know about it? And for your information, it isn't the magic fortress that you seemed to think it was anyway. I walked in and walked out with this!"

Zalmora reveals a blue gemstone of some sort. It gives off a faint blue glow, but nothing else.

"What…what is that?" you ask.
"I dunno, something magical I imagine. Maybe it provides light so you don't need a torch or lantern." Zal remarks.
"Or maybe it captures souls! How did you even get this?"
"I told you, I walked into the college and wandered around until I found something that caught my eye. Don't worry, I didn't attract any attention, well other than maybe a few love sick apprentices who didn't look like they got out much."
"This wasn't protected or anything?"
"Nope, I just found it in a bowl on a shelf in an empty classroom of some sort. Would have taken more items, but I figured I'd stick to mostly casing the place first. I told you, the place isn't any better protected than any place else it seems. Your ideas that the place is protected by magic traps and living statues are unfounded."
"I'm not convinced and I think you just got lucky."
"Well either way, I'm heading there again in a few days and hauling out more shit. I know a few people that would be more than willing to buy stuff like this."
"And maybe you better not. I'm telling you, this is not a good idea and all its going to do create trouble for all of us. The university is huge, you can easily make a lot of coin without the extra danger of fucking around with magic."

Now Zalmora rolls her eyes.

"Y'know those two halfbreed bitches might be whores in thieves clothing, but at least they're having fun with all this. You know, the only reason why I wanted to be transferred here instead of sticking with Jake is because I thought this might be a nice change of pace to work around a subtler thief. It's one thing to be professional, but by the fucking gods, you've managed to suck out ALL the fun out of this. If it were up to you, you'd still be meekly sneaking around the campus all by yourself and never maximizing the full potential of what is here!" Zalmora says.
"Yeah, and I'd be perfectly fine with that. This was all Tom's idea for me to play mentor, not mine." You remark.
"Hah! I don't need a damn mentor. I've been thieving before you were even thought about! And I don't need your damn permission either to go rob the magic college. Maybe you can intimidate the rest of the unskilled Talons into acting the way you want, but I'm doing what the hell I want."
"Yeah? And I can go report you to Tom and have you transferred back. You're ONLY here because I said it was okay in the first place!"
"Fine. Go tattle on me like a fucking bitch then. Always knew you had a stick up your ass, but I didn't realize you were a snitch too."
"Oh don't give me that snitch shit. Tom's the boss, he told me I had independent jurisdiction here of who was obeying my way of doing things and who wasn't. So if I don't like the way you're doing shit, guess what? You don't get to stay and that's it!"
"I see. You're not a snitch, you're a pretender to the throne."
"What?"
"You're a pretender to the throne. You're acting like you're the boss of the Crimson Talons. The only thing that's stopping you totally is the fact that Tom is officially in charge. But if he's allowing you this much leniency and is basically doing what you say anyway then maybe you need to just cut the pretending and take over completely. I'd certainly be more likely to respect AND listen to your orders if that was the case. But then I always preferred men who take what they want…guess that's why I never minded Jake, even if he is an idiot most of the time. See you around."

Zalmora at this point takes her leave of you.

You've been working with Zalmora directly only for a few months, but now you're starting to see why Tom thinks she's manipulative. She basically just suggested that you go kill him and take over.

For what purpose though you can't say. If she really doesn't like Tom, why doesn't she just do it? Though you suppose keeping her own hands clean and being a puppet master is more her thing. After all if you were in charge, you'd catch the blame if things didn't go well.

You suppose it's an idea to consider, but again even if you wanted the hassle, you're still not really someone that wants to just kill someone without a good reason. Tom's been okay with you too, more than okay actually. He is a bit of a weak leader though. You do sort of wonder how he hasn't caught a knife in the back yet, or the front for that matter.

And Zalmora might be right, might be time to take more risks. The thieves under your "command" listen to you, but the actual respect is probably minimal. It might be worth while to keep your options open to become more of a true leader just in case, you wanted to reconsider being head of the Crimson Talons one day.

You start becoming a leader

Why not? It isn't like you're ever going to get a real job and this is probably the closest thing to "moving up" in your line of work. And it is true, if you became leader of the Crimson Talons, you could shape it how you wanted.

You rush to catch up to Zalmora who hasn't walked too far away yet.

"Zal, hold on." You say.
"Yes?" she answers.
"Look, you've got some good points. Maybe I'm just used to playing things safe because it's traditionally what I've had to do in the past."
"Well I suppose most of the Talons haven't exactly made things easier in this city with all the really reckless behavior that half of them participate in. But there's gotta be a balance right? I think the way you go about things is the direction we should be moving in, just we need to start thinking bigger and quite frankly we're never going to do that with Tom in charge."
"So…what, you suggesting we should kill him then? I don't see why you don't do it since you seem to be really keen on getting rid of him."
"Because I don't want to lead."
"What makes you think I do?"
"Because you're standing here speaking with me and thinking about what I said."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I'm a killer either…look I've only ever killed one person and I only did that because he had just mortally stabbed my girlfriend at the time. It was sort of the heat of the moment and I dunno…I've just never been that motivated to just go murder someone again. Especially someone like Tom who has been more than all right with me."
"Eh…well I guess it's a good thing you aren't as blood thirsty as Jake is. Maybe though you could talk him out of stepping down."
"Not sure if that's going to work, but in any case I don't think even with a promotion by murder is going to spontaneously cause people to follow me. I'm going to need to build more respect and like you said, that means taking a few more risks. So making some bigger scores would help in that area as well. In other words, I'm going to come with you on this job to the magic college."

Zal smiles a bit at your comment.

"So the magic college isn't off limits anymore?" Zal asks.
"It's not off limits to US. I don't want anyone else trying to pilfer from the place until we completely do a thorough casing of the place. Exits, entrances, possible traps or security, valuables, everything. And even then I only want us going in and trying this until some of the others prove themselves capable of being professional enough. I might be becoming a little more flexible on risk taking, but I'm not completely abandoning caution." You say.
"That's sounds reasonable. Okay, so when do we get started?"

You go over the information that Zal has already acquired during her trip to the place. You have no reason to disbelieve her claims that the place isn't as secure as you thought, you just think that maybe there is more than meets the eye. You tell her that you will go in and do your own inspection and then both of you together can go grab everything you can in one big haul.

Using Zal's previous knowledge, you begin your own scouting of the college. She wasn't wrong about magical looking items just laying around in class rooms. In general you attempt to stay out of sight. Maybe Zal was comfortable charming horny apprentices, but you doubt if you're going to get anything other than suspicion. As it turns out it's fairly easy to stay out of sight anyway since the college of magic is relatively empty. Makes sense you guess since there isn't exactly large amounts of wizard types nowadays either.

Your scouting reveals a little more than Zal's attempts. You find a huge storage are area in the basement that contains a shitload of items. Most of it is furniture, though very nice looking furniture, if very dusty. However some of this stuff is literally encrusted with jewels or made of precious metal like silver and gold!

You can't believe it's all just laying around in this place without even a locked door! Granted a solid gold conference table would be pretty damn hard to lift up out of here even by several people, but the smaller items like the various knick knacks you could just take and you could just start prying out the gems on some of these chairs at least.

You wonder why all this valuable stuff is down here; maybe these are all some sort of relics of a more magical era? They don't seem magical though, so you have no idea; you just decide to take a few of the smaller gold vases before leaving.

You start looking around thinking that maybe there is some sort of stone statues looming nearby ready to come to life or something, but you leave this odd storage area without any problems.

You leave the magic college without incident and later reconnect with Zal and explain what you found; she seems pretty enthusiastic about heading there with you together.

Later on that week, the pair of you sneak into the magic college at night. Zal says that since you apparently found a small treasure room of sorts, she wants to go there first. You figured she would so you lead her to where you found it.

When you arrive, her eyes light up.

"I almost thought you were exaggerating. I have to admit this is almost too easy. I guess being a wizard means being too arrogant to know when to lock up your valuables." Zal says.
"I guess so." You remark.
"Well come on, let's start prying out those gems and grabbing the smaller stuff. I think we'll have to be making more than one trip down here."

Zal at this point pulls out her dagger and goes to work on a nearby chair, or throne to be more accurate. You join in by looking for the ornaments that were by the vases you took last time.

You don't get too far along in your looting when you start to get an uneasy feeling. You look over at Zal, but she's still busy prying gemstone.

Then out the corner of your eye you see some figures suddenly appear, you turn around and then catch a bolt of lightning in the chest!

"Yvette! I told you to wait, before attacking!"
"Sorry, when we reappeared I panicked."
"I told you invisibility never lasts long."
"Get that one before she gets away!"

The apprentices and mages of this college apparently weren't completely unaware that strangers were coming and going into their domain. And apparently one of the professors decided that stopping a pair of thieves would be a good training lesson.

Unfortunately for you, Yvette's lightning bolt zapped you really good. The impact threw you into a wall, burned a hole in your body and fried your internal organs. She didn't even mean to kill you; she just didn't know her own power.

Hardly matters, you're still dead and so are all your plans of being the Crimson Talons leader.