While all the rest of the ideas seem okay, you really think you need to act quickly on this. It'll be ugly and ruthless, but unfortunately necessary. Since everyone is against Rita's idea though, you decide not to say anything about it and say you're going to have to think everything over later.



When everyone's away you decide to talk to Rita privately.



"Rita, can I speak to you for a moment?"

"I knew this was coming eventually…look you're alright looking and if you do manage to become a doctor then maybe I'll be interested, but until then…"

"What? No! I wanted to speak to you about your plan."

"Oh." Rita says looking a little disappointed that you weren't suggesting what she thought you were.

"Anyway, who did you have in mind to do this deed?"

"Well, I don't know really. I figured you might know, I mean didn't you have Crimson Talon connections or something?"

"Connections? Those were thugs that were going to break my legs if I didn't pay a loanshark on time. I don't have any connections. I mean with all the guys you go out with…"

"Hey! I don't like what you're implying! Contrary to popular belief I'm not some whore like those two half breed sluts you saw fit to hire recently. I'm a lot more selective and I'm certainly not going out with criminal types!"

"Hmmm, if you say so."

"Why don't you just go back to that Reynolds guy? I mean he's sort of a connection right?"

"You must be joking!"

"Not at all, I mean surely for a fee he could lend you that ogre for a little while right?"

"I dunno if it works that way…(Sigh) alright I suppose I could try since I don't have any other contacts."

"Okay. Oh! Here take this." Rita says handing you a small notebook.

"What's this?"

"It's the name of every whore that works for the Flying Griffon and their physical description. I have where some of them live too, but not all of them."



You stare at Rita in disbelief



"What? Eliza's not the only one who can think up spying you know." Rita remarks.

"Yeah, but Eliza's not the one who was stalking the competition out of jealousy either. Nevermind, I guess this will help since I never kept up on who worked there anyway."



The next day after class, you don't go to the inn, but instead head to where you know Mr. Reynold's "office" is. It's not in a good part of the city, but you make it without any problems.



Mr. Reynold's is currently alone and smiles when he sees you.



"Somehow I just knew we'd meet each other again soon, so how much you need this time?"

"I don't need money, I need something else and you're about the only person I can think of who might be able to help."

"Oh? Well this is interesting. What is it?"

"I need that ogre that works for you or whoever that other big guy was."

"Olaf and Silence? They're not freelancing for me anymore sadly. The Crimson Talons have them doing something more directly important for them. I believe they fight at one of those underground gladiator matches now."

"Well, can I get in contact with them some how?"

"Ha ha ha! Well I suppose I could tell you, but I don't think they'd necessarily let you in, I guess you'd have to speak to whoever's in charge and well it would be a big hassle really…what did you need them for anyway?"

"Is it any of your business?"

"Well if Olaf and Silence had still been freelancing for me it would've been, but I guess not now. I'm assuming you need some sort of muscle though, and if that is the case I DO have two new employees that might work out for you. David! Tom! Get in here, we might have some business!"



"Yeah, boss what's up…hey! I know you!" David says looking at you.

"Hey! How's it been? Didn't you go to college?" Tom adds.



Now here's a blast from the past, your two old school buddies all grown up and obviously full blown criminals now. Funny to think back how your life turned out so different…then again maybe not considering you're here to have several women horribly disfigured.



"Well, it seems you gentlemen all know each other, maybe now you're ready to tell us what you need doing?"



You take a deep breath and state what you need done.



"Wow, didn't expect that one." Mr. Reynolds says. David and Tom are also surprised.

"Shit, what the hell did they do to you, cheat on you?" David asks.

"Fuck man, that's some serial killer shit!" Tom adds.

"Look, I don't need them killed! I just need them disfigured so they aren't pretty anymore."

"Yeah, I got that. Okay, so how much you willing to pay?" Mr. Reynolds asks.



You and Mr. Reynolds negotiate a price, which is agreeable, but Tom begins to speak up.



"Uh…I dunno Mr. Reynolds. I don't think I can do this…"

"Tom, stop being a pussy! We're just gonna cut up some bitches and get out, shit ain't that hard." David says

"But I dunno. I just feel weird about doing this. It's not like beating up people who don't pay on time."

"You'll do what I tell you to do! David, you better keep your little sidekick in line before I replace the pair of you!" Mr. Reynolds snaps.



You think back to your old childhood involving your former friends. Tom always was the weakest of you three, but he always went along despite protests. You have no doubt David's capable of committing the act, you just wonder if he's gotten any brighter since then. The last thing you need is for them to fuck this up for you and get all of you in trouble.



Getting the "real professionals" might be tough though. Might even cost more money.

You get Olaf and Silence

You need professionals for this and David and Tom don't qualify. You ask for directions to the underground gladiator matches, but Mr. Reynolds still insists on a bit of money for that information, so you have no choice but to pay him.



After running back and forth to his office and the inn, (And incurring some questions by your mom and staff where you're going) you pay him and he tells you that it's located in a tavern called the Troll's Breath on the edge of the warehouse district. He tells you to that can let the bartender know that he sent you.



You feel like you're going to get mugged around every corner on your way to the place, but fortunately that doesn't happen. You are approached by several prostitutes and offered Cloud Rock a lot though. When you walk in the place, it's filled with a rowdy bunch as you'd expect. You try not to make eye contact and walk straight to the bar.



"Yeah?" the bald bartender asks gruffly.

"Mr. Reynolds sent me because of my interest in games."

"Did he now? Alright, but the next time you see that dick, tell him his time as an independent loanshark are coming to an end soon. He needs to join up with the Crimson Talon or get the fuck outta Kyton. Door's around the back."

"Thanks, oh uh one more thing."

"What!?"

"Is there anyway to speak to Olaf or Silence after their fights?"

"What the hell do you wanna be talkin' to those two idiots for? The pair of them together barely have enough intelligence to put on their own boots."

"It's a business proposition."



At this point the bartender's eye narrow.



"Wait a fucking minute. You're sent here by Reynolds and you wanna talk to Olaf and Silence about a business proposition? This sounds like Reynolds trying weasely shit as usual. Fuck you, they don't freelance anymore. They're pit fighters for the Crimson Talons until I say otherwise! Now get the fuck outta here!"

"Okay, I'll talk with you then, how much do you want for their services temporarily?"

"I said they ain't for fuckin' hire you dumbfuck! If you wanna meet them so bad though, I can oblige and throw your ass in the ring with them!"



At this point the bartender snaps his fingers and two thugs grab your arms ready to carry you off. You make one desperate plea.



"Alright! Alright! I'll hire whomever else you got then! These two guys holding me will do, I just need some people fucked up and I got money to give to whoever will do it!"



The bartender nods and you're released.



"Alright in my office and start talkin' fast. Reg, you're at the bar."



You follow the bartender upstairs to a room that is much nicer than the rest of place. He sits down at a fancy desk and pours himself a drink, but doesn't offer you anything. You look around the office at the various items he has on the wall until you're interrupted.



"Well? Are we just wasting my time here while you admire my office, because the fight pit is another place you can admire from the inside."



You quickly explain everything and your situation and give him the information that Rita wrote down for you. The bartender nods a bit while playing with his ring. When you're done, he speaks.



"Is that it? You wanted to hire two bruisers like that to cut up some barmaids? You're sort of new at this I take it. Those two would've probably raped and broke all their necks right in the middle of the fucking Flying Griffon. Subtlety is not their strong point."

"Okay so do you have someone else in mind?"

"Sure, got a mean ass Sotakan assassin that could easily do the job."

"A Sotakan? One of those lizard people? But they avoid cities." You say.

"That they do, but let's just say I acquired this one from an egg. The great thing about him, is he's completely loyal and doesn't require much. Just does what he's told."

"How's he sneak around though? I mean seems like he'd stick out."

"Hah, those lizard bastards have natural camouflage abilities. As they grow up they adapt to whatever sort of environment they grow up in. Now a regular swamp dwelling Sotakan would stick out, but not my boy. He's lived here in the city his whole life, took him out in the night to get acquainted with the surroundings while he grew up and now he's practically invisible when he wants to be."

"Okay well that's great, but I don't need them killed."

"Heh, maybe not all of them, but a couple may come back to kill you. I think I may have a little more information on the Flying Griffon than your barmaid found out. Frank's an unregistered wizard. Well wizard's giving him a little too much credit perhaps, but he's managed to snag himself a couple of succubae as barmaids."

"What?! He can't summon demons into the city! That's illegal!"

"Oh and I suppose what we're doing is?"

"Alright, but it's not only illegal, but it's a potential danger to the city."

"No, I agree. Demons tend to fuck up business and their chaotic ways are too much of a risk to deal with, but then again I don't have to tell you that."

"So…how do you know all this?"

"Because it's my fucking job to know shit that might interfere with business that's why. I kept wondering why some of my merchant contacts weren't stopping by here anymore. Frank might have some control over his ladies, but I know he can't completely stop their appetites. Rather short sighted of him really, it's not like they're going to be able to stop themselves from completely draining victims forever. They're going to eventually get out of hand and he's going to start having to explain to the Klyton militia why people are always last seen going into his place before mysteriously disappearing. You must've really pissed him off for him to resort to this."

"Yeah, I guess so…so where does that leave us?"



The bartender (who mentions his name is Edmond and is definitely more than just bartender) says that he was keeping an eye on the Flying Griffon and if he lost anymore of his merchant contact to it, he was going to act. He didn't before since as skilled as his lizard is, he's not sure if he can take two succubae by himself, in fact it would be easier to just try and kill Frank. But of course then there would be two unleashed succubae running around in Klyton and nobody really wants that.



Still, if you're willing to pay then Edmond will readily accept your money, and he'll have the mortal barmaids disfigured and the demonic ones killed. He assures you that unlike Mr. Reynolds this will be a straight up agreement and that the Crimson Talons will not seek to extort your inn in some way. Mainly due to all the Klyton militia and adventurers going there it wouldn't be worth the trouble. He doesn't need to risk some do gooder or gung-ho orderly type sniffing around.



Of course you've been overwhelmed by all this information. Part of you wonders if all this is worth it. You could wait it out, Edmond did claim that Frank probably won't be able to control them forever; the problem with this is in the meantime it'll still be cutting into your business.



With this new information you could also report Frank to your militia buddies, though this might be difficult without evidence. Still, you're on good terms with most of the ones that frequent your place and they'll probably investigate.

You hire the assassin

You don't have any proof to give to the militia other than Edmond's information and you can't afford to wait around and hope things get better. You need to act now, so you tell Edmond that you'll pay for the assassin.



"Okay, but this is going to be expensive AND once we do this I don't want to hear any shit about you having second thoughts because you feel guilty. Are you absolutely sure you want to do this? Edmond asks.

"…I'd be lying if I said yes, but this is something that has to be done. You won't get any complaints from me. I just hope your lizard can do the job."

"Well I hope so too, because if not, we're both going to be in for a fight if we have angry succubae after us. I want five hundred gold by tomorrow."

"Five…that's a lot."

"That's fuckin' cheap to hire the best! You're only getting a discount due to the fact that this is something I was thinking about doing anyway! Now if you don't like the price…"

"No, I can get it. When's the job going to be done?"

"Tonight if possible, but I suspect it might take my boy into the wee hours of the morning since he's dealing with other worldly beings and all. If he hasn't done it by the time you come by with the money tomorrow, then he's failed and you can keep half of your money because I'm a nice guy. How's that sound?"

"Erm…good I guess, but I'd rather he succeed."

"I'm sure he will. So is our business done or did you still want to see the fight pits? I'm sure Olaf's eating his competitior right about now."

"Eh, that's okay I should be getting back."

"Suit yourself."



You're able to get a coach back to inn, naturally it's a lot later now and everyone is asking you where you've been. You explain that you forgot to do something at campus for a class, which seems to satisfy as an excuse.



For the remainder of the night, you're preoccupied with your decision. Wondering if it's going to fail or not. You barely get any sleep and the next day at your classes you can barely concentrate. You basically wander the day in a haze until it's time for you to go pay Edmond.



When you enter the Troll's Breath, Edmond points to his office and you follow.



"Told you my boy could do it. Now aren't you glad you made this decision? You got my money?" Edmond asks in a friendly tone.

"Yeah…you mean that's it? It succeeded?"

"Of course it did! I figured you already knew it did given that you're closer to the Flying Griffon and are friends with all those Klyton militia folks…I mean it's pretty big news! Flying Griffon Massacre they're calling it! "



You've been so caught up in your own worry you haven't been paying much attention to outside discussion or events. You feel a sense of relief, but then you question the word…



"Massacre?"

"Yeah the demons are dead and Frank is going to jail. Seems that the militia think he was making human sacrifices to summon up the demons and it all got out of hand."

"Wait, why would they think all that?

"Eh, well apparently my boy had some problems understanding the differences in the terms disfigure and dismember, so he killed those human barmaids in a rather gruesome fashion, but on the bright side it completely puts all the blame on Frank. They figured he or the succubae killed the barmaids and then the succubae tried to rebel against their master he was forced to kill them. Being an unlicensed mage certainly doesn't help him. In any case the heat doesn't even trace back to us as long you don't start acting suspicious around your militia buddies, which I trust you won't."

"Yeah…"



You're a little in shock as the realization that you've just participated in murder. Granted you weren't doing a good thing anyway, but disfiguring is still a lot different than murder. You don't say anything since you promised that you wouldn't whine about having a guilty conscious afterwards.



Edmond takes your money and makes you stay until it is all counted. When it is, he says you can leave.



"Oh one more thing. I hear you're going into medicine. Very useful profession, I could use a competent doctor every once in awhile; gods know that drunk that I currently have on my payroll is barely useful. I hope I can call upon you in the future if I need to."



And there it is, the "catch" for doing business with a criminal. You could kick yourself in the head for actually believing that this was going to be a straight up transaction. He may not be extorting your inn; he's just hanging a "favor" over your head in the future. Somehow that's almost worse.



There's little you can do about it now though, you head back to the inn where your patrons and staff are all talking about what happened at the Flying Griffon. Rita in particular speaks to you about it.



"Sheesh, I didn't know you were going to go to that extreme, but can't say those bitches didn't deserve it. That's what happens when you work with demons right? Who knew Frank was a mage? Well at least we don't have any competition anymore."



Rita's callous talk about the Griffon barmaids makes you angry. In fact all of this was Rita's initial suggestion and while you listened to it, that doesn't mean she shouldn't suffer the negative consequences for it too. You snap and grab Rita by the arm roughly and pull her into the cellar. Flameflower and Sunshine are down there drinking your wine supply.



"Erm…uh…(giggle)" is all Sunshine can utter when getting busted,

"If you two halfbreed bitches don't get upstairs and start doing some actual work for a change you're gonna get some of what Rita's about to get! MOVE!"



You don't need to say it twice, your tone is enough to sober them up and get them moving.



"What the fuck is wrong with you? You better let me go, and what the hell do you mean I'm getting something? You better not be implying what I think you're implying. You so much as start grabbing my tits and I'll scr…"



You don't let Rita finish; you just slam her up against the wall as hard as you can with your hand over her mouth.



"Bitch I wouldn't touch your gold digging fuckhole with a ten pole. You think those girls deserved to die? Oh no, you just felt that they needed to be disfigured; well maybe you need to be mutilated. Take your ass down a few notches."



At this point you grab a nearby candle and start holding it need Rita's face. She pulls away and tears start.



"Oh what's the matter? Don't like being a victim? Well how do you think those girls felt in their final moments?!" you say and throw Rita to the floor.



"I fucking caused that to happen! And guess what? So did you. So if you're not going to feel bad about it, you're at least going to feel bad in other ways. I'm lowering your pay and if you don't like it, tough shit, you can quit. I can get some other shallow whore to do your job, you're not special. And if you're getting some sort of bright ideas about reporting me to the militia or some shit, remember what happened at the Flying Griffon? Well I can make that happen to you too."



You leave on that threatening note, while Rita tries to compose herself. You're a little surprised that Rita's "tough girl" act was broken so easily, you're also surprised at your own actions. The scary part to you is that it was easy and how you feel a lot better now.



You exit the cellar and a few moments later Rita follows. This leads to a few whispers amongst your staff. Everyone assumes that you and Rita must've had some rough sex. Your mother even approaches you about it.



"Far be it from me to interfere with your personal life, but if you're going to insist on having sex with the help, I'd appreciate it if you at least took Rita up to your room and NOT anywhere on the business premises!"

"…okay mom."

"(Sigh) I mean…(Sigh) Rita? You could do so much better! Sure she's pretty, but the girl is a shallow gold digger and not even a very good one! Couldn't you at least picked Eliza? I could've understood that, she's sweet. Or how about a nice girl at your college? You know like one with a bright future ahead of her? (Sigh) I just hope for your sake you didn't get that little tart pregnant!"



You just nod and agree with your mother the whole time. It's better if everyone thinks that you were fucking Rita rather than the truth anyway.



With the Flying Griffon closed down, business picks up and you don't have as many financial worries any longer. You're not out of the woods yet though since now you're in your final stages of your education, which means medical school as well as having to get a job actually working at a hospital. The only problem with that is being an intern doesn't pay all that well and you certainly can't do that AND work at the bar.



Your mother reassures you that you shouldn't worry about it as she'll be able to hire a couple extra people as well as being able to help with the rest of your tuition.



In any case it looks like your days as an innkeeper are over.

You future Prospects

A few years have passed and your medical schooling is complete and you now work at the Klyton hospital as a real doctor. You haven't been able to really enjoy your success though.



Sure, you have your own apartment and you make a decent living to afford the things you want, but you're always waiting for the other shoe to drop and Edmond is going to call in that favor. It's prevented you from even having a serious relationship for fear that whomever you're with could possibly be hurt if things get…complex.



Of course there's also your mother to worry about still, but from what you know she's planning on selling the old inn and moving to Teckleville. Hopefully soon, so it'll at least keep her somewhat out of potential harm.



Ultimately you try to keep yourself busy with work hoping it will keep your mind off things, but it doesn't help. Eventually you do come up with something that does help a bit. Alcohol.



It's amazing that you grew up in a place that sells the stuff and never had a drink until now. You have to say, it's not bad and it seems to calm you a bit when you're feeling anxious. Through this crutch you finally manage to cope.



Well at least until the fateful day does arrive…



One night when you're coming home from the hospital and carriage pulls up next to you.



"Hey doc, I think we have a friend in common." A voice says from the inside of the carriage.

"Let me guess, Edmond. Right?" you reply.

"Correct. I think you know what comes next doc."

"Yeah, I do." You say and get into the carriage.



You sit down on one side while sitting opposite of you is one man dressed in a cheap suit smoking pipe weed. The other one is dressed more casually and openly playing with a dagger. The pipe man lights up and speaks.



"Before we get started, my name's Hans and this is my brother Wallace. Now that that's over with, Edmond is personally in need of your medical services."

"I figured it was something like that. What happened to him?

"Oh what usually happens to our kind in this business. There was a disagreement, some words were exchanged and before you know it, some people get hurt while others aren't so lucky."

"I…see. So I take it we're heading to him right now?"

"Yes. He's a little paranoid about going to hospitals especially with the attempt on his life and all."

"Hey, doesn't he already have a doctor?"

"He did, but unfortunately his over indulgence of the spirits made his skills useless and he was…sent away a long time ago."

"Oh…"



The rest of the trip is mostly in silence. Hans asks a few superficial things about you which you give quick answer to, but your mind is focused more on what you're going to encounter when you get to Edmond. How bad is he going to be? What happens if you can't help him? By the gods you could use a drink right now.



You then think to yourself. "Maybe this is why his old doctor was a drunk."



Eventually you arrive at the Troll's Breath Tavern. When you enter the place it's completely empty save for a few rough looking sorts who look like they're focused on cleaning up the place. You notice broken glass and a few blood spots here and there.



"Is that the doc?" one of them asks Hans.

"Yeah, is Ed still in his office?"

"Yeah, and his pet lizard is guarding him like a fucking dragon. Ed's not letting anyone in there except the doctor."

"Hm, well I guess you better get in there then. Don't worry. You're probably safer than the rest of us right now."



You don't share that sentiment, but you have little choice in the matter. You head to Edmond's office and knock on the door.



"Who the fuck is it? That better be the doc!"

"Yeah, it's me. I'm coming in."



You cautiously enter and see a great deal of blood on the floor. Edmond is clutching on to his left side and his Sotakan assassin is standing close by staring directly at you. A bottle whiskey is also nearby probably being used to dull his pain and as a disinfectant.



"Well, don't just stand there, I gotta fucking hole in my side!"



You quickly inspect the wound and see that Edmond's been shot most likely by a blunderbuss and he's still got fragments of the shot in his body.



"Okay, keep the pressure on it like you've been doing. I can fix this, but I need to act fast and I'm gonna need some stuff from the hospital." You say.

"What?! You mean those idiots didn't have you pick up any supplies?"

"No, they told me to just get into the carriage."

"Fucking morons. It's like they want me to die! Okay look, we got access to some hospital supplies in a warehouse much closer than the hospital. Just tell Reg outside what you need and he'll get them for you. Go, go."



You leave the office and ask for Reg, who comes up immediately.



"What's up? Will he live?"

"Yeah, but I'll need some medical supplies. He said you can get them from one of your warehouses. Now I need…"



Before you can finish Hans interjects.



"Reg, you realize we sold most of those supplies to that bodylegger a few weeks ago? We don't have much left."

"We don't? Well what do we have left?" Reg asks.

"I dunno, I don't have the supply list in front of me now do I? But what if you get there and find that what the doc asked for isn't there? We've wasted valuable time fucking around while the boss bleeds to death! Look why don't we just take the doctor back to the hospital, I'm sure we can get everything there right?"

"Well yeah, but Edmond said…"

"I'm sure Edmond won't mind if disobey his orders if it's going to save his life."



Well this certainly stressful. If the warehouse is lacking supplies, you might not be able to help Edmond. If you go back to the hospital you might take too much time since it's not just the trip back and forth but it's the sneaking around stealing medical supplies.

You tell Reg to get the supplies at the warehouse

You decide it would be best to do this quickly as possible. You're sure that you can improvise if needed.



"Better go to the warehouse, I don't want to leave Edmond in the state he's in any longer than necessary."

"Sounds good, but you're coming with me, it'll go even faster if you're there to point out stuff you need." Reg says.

"Uh… okay." You reply not expecting to leave with Reg.



You and Reg take the carriage and soon you're at the warehouse where a couple of goons let you in.



"Okay, the medical shit is over here, let's get it and go."



You tell Reg to find the obvious things like syringes and bandages while you try to look for the pharmaceuticals. You're having a hard time though and look for a good twenty minutes before Reg gets impatient.



"Come on, what's taking so fucking long?"

"I can't find any antibiotics or anything like that. I need that stuff to make sure he doesn't die of an infection even after I sew him back up. The fact that this place has really bad lighting doesn't make it any easier."

"Look, worry about that later. Grab some of that stuff when you're at work tomorrow and come back here. Right now though the primary concern is stopping the bleeding and getting him patched up! He's tough he's not going to die overnight of some infection."



Not necessarily true, as you've seen it happen before, but there's little you can do about it now. You just hope Edmond's constitution is as good as Reg claims.



Just as you're about to leave a couple of gunshots are heard followed by the death yelps of several men.



"Oh shit! It's a hit!" Reg shouts scrambling for his flintlock pistol, while the sounds of several footsteps enter the building.



You start to panic and look for another exit, but it's hard to see in this darkness, so you fumble around trying to stay hidden. A couple more gunshots are heard followed by the slumping of a couple of bodies.



"Argh shit!!" you hear Reg shout. This is followed by a set of running footsteps and the sound of a sword hitting something. You don't hear Reg anymore.



You creep behind a bunch of boxes hoping that you're not found, but it doesn't work. A hand suddenly grabs you and turns you around.



"There you are doc. I really wish this could've been different, I really do. But it's time for a change in this organization and you're just another casualty of war, nothing personal." Hans says and stabs you repeatedly in the chest until you're no longer breathing.