Zal's got a bit of a point. This isn't exactly the most glamorous of a position and you could certainly do better than hiding out in these filthy sewers.

You've got more than enough saved and have enough connections that you could easily open up a real business front. You'd just need to keep everything low key and change a few things.

The more you think about it, the more you feel this is the right decision. The next day you gather Zal and Vaughn to discuss this new direction.

"An inn certainly sounds better than the sewers." Vaughn says.
"Well, we're still probably going to have some of our operations down there, but I figure we can at least start making an attempt to climb out of them. I'm thinking that we probably should stop dealing in Yellow Devil too." You say.

Zamora nods her head.

"I agree. The profits aren't worth the risks on that racket. A lot less sudden body meltdowns and diseased junkie whores lingering around as well." Zal remarks.
"So what about the location? Are we buying out an existing inn or starting from scratch? We could probably buy back the old place, the Troll's Breath Tavern. Edmond used to run the Talons from there before the militia raided the place and shut it down." Vaughn remarks.
"Wouldn't it be a little obvious, if the Talons set up there again?" You ask.
"Nah, they'd never expect the same place twice! Besides, it's called the Clean Mug Tavern now. It's run by two siblings, one of them even comes here to bet on the races and fights sometimes. The place is barely scraping by, so I think they would be receptive to selling it to us for cheap."
"Instead of buying it outright, I'd suggest just getting the owners to work with us. That way nothing really changes up front, but we don't spend money and we're the ones really running things." Zalmora says.

"Definitely sounds like a better idea, but I know what place you're talking about, and it seems a little on the small side, I was thinking some place bigger like my old family's inn which is still abandoned. We wouldn't have to deal with anyone." You say.
"Seems like more hassle. You'd still have to buy it from the city which could present some problems. Assuming they didn't ask many questions, you'd still have to fix the place up before we could start using it proper. Wouldn't we need to get an alcohol supplier and hire people as well?" Vaughn remarks.
"Not really, we know more than enough folks that we could have cheap employees. Some of them are hopeless gamblers with debts in fact, so that's no problem. As for alcohol, we could easily make it ourselves and bypass a supplier. Most folks coming wouldn't be there for the booze anyway, so it isn't like we're going to need hundreds of barrels of the stuff every month. Of course your family's old inn is in a slightly better part of Klyton, so my concern would be the greater likelihood of militia just stumbling in for a drink now and then." Zal remarks.

You seize the old Talon tavern

Now that you're rethinking this, the less paper work the better and you are probably going to be better off located in the poorer area of the city too.

"So who is this hopeless gambling case who owns this property exactly?" You ask Vaughn.
"His name's Carl and you probably have seen him, you just didn't know his name. He's a short grubby guy. His face almost looks a little orcish, but he smells worse than one half the time." Vaughn remarks.
"Oh, him? That disgusting little grub owns a tavern? Thought he lived here in the sewers. In fact I was wondering why he wasn't in the ring fighting with the other bums." You say.
"Disgusting is right, the little shit tried to grab my ass once and made a bunch of stupid sexual innuendo. He's lucky I didn't cut his dick off and only stabbed his hand." Zalmora says.
"Hm, well I suppose if he gives us any shit, we know who he's already afraid of. You said he had a sibling, what's the story on that one?"
"Um, dunno much. I think her name's Annie and I do know she swears more than the three of us put together. She came down here to retrieve her brother a couple times and every other word that came out of her mouth was some variation of fuck." Vaughn says.
"Well that's very interesting, but I was wondering if she was likely to give us any shit if we try to muscle in on the tavern. I mean are we going to have to take care of this bitch or not?"
"I dunno, I mean she's got a mouth on her, but she's just a skinny thing and I can't see her giving us any trouble if we seriously threaten her."
"Well, it would seem the goal is clear. I'll go have a talk with these siblings about the facts of life." You say.
"You don't want anyone to come with you?" Zal asks.
"Nah, it'll be fine."
"As you say." Zal says almost implying that you don't know what you're doing.

The next day, you enter the Clean Mug Tavern which can't possible be true given that you feel like you need to jump in a river just by setting foot in the place. Which is saying a lot considering you do most of your business in the fucking sewers.

The floors are sticky with filth and the walls in this dim light don't seem much better. A family of rats scurry past you as you walk further in making you wonder if you've left the sewers at all.

The place is empty save for a few drunks face down on tables. A frowning thin girl with a pale complexion sit behind a bar. It's already apparent she isn't welcoming.

"What the fuck do you want?" She asks.
"Do you greet all your potential customers that way?" You ask.
"Don't fucking like it, you can get the fuck out."
"Yeah, you must be Annie. Where's your slug of a brother?"
"Probably fucking a whore instead of taking care of fucking business as usual. And how do you know my fucking name? Who the fuck are you and what the fuck do you want?"
"I'm your new business partner. Or in your words, I'm your new fucking business partner."

Annie's frown somehow manages to turn even further downward as she just stares at you.

"Alright, before you go on a fuck tirade, I'll try to explain it so simple that you'll understand."

You explain that her and her brother's tavern is now going to be a front for Crimson Talon operations. In exchange you'll fix this place up and make it at least somewhat more appealing. The tavern will be making more money with the influx of people that are sure to come in, but you'll be taking most of the profits of course.

"So wait, you're gonna just fucking come in and take over completely? You get the fucking tavern and all the fucking money? What the fuck do we get?" Annie asks.
"You get your health for one thing. Which I assume would be the most important. However, if it isn't, I would still point out that YOU will most likely still be making more of a profit than you are now with this rat palace. Also, the tavern will still be legally yours. We'll just be using it and basically paying for the place. Now, that should make you feel a little bit better about this non-negotiable deal shouldn't it?"

Annie is silent again for a moment and still frowning. Her eyes look down briefly, which implies she might be thinking about going for whatever weapon she has stashed under there. You still aren't worried, because even if she doesn't see the wisdom of the deal, you're confident that you'll be quick enough to reach over the bar and stab her first.

Fortunately, it doesn't come to that.

"Well, looks like I don't have much of a fucking choice. I imagine even if I killed you, some other fucking asshole would just take your place and probably wouldn't be as fucking understanding as you." Annie says.
"Glad to see you're a woman of forethought. Anyway, I'll be back later and I'll inform you with more details as we get set up. I trust you can tell your brother about this business when he shows up?" You say.
"Yeah, but I can I ask for ONE fucking request?"
"I'll entertain the thought. What is it?"
"Well since I figure I'm already getting fucked, the least you could do is do me proper."

Now you're silent for a moment.

"Um...what exactly are you saying?" You ask, sort of already knowing, but just wanting confirmation.
"I'm fucking saying, if you're already bending me over and horse fucking me in this business endeavor, you could at least do it to me literally as well." Annie says.
"...Are you being serious right now?"
"Of course I'm being fucking serious! You're young, easy on the eyes and I don't get out much. Besides, I know I'm not that fucking ugly."

This is just bizarre. You didn't expect this sort of request. Annie's correct in that she's not ugly, but her stringy greasy looking hair, plain looks, and emaciated appearance aren't exactly traits that come to mind when you're thinking of attractiveness. Though apparently she finds you attractive which is always a nice ego boost.

"Well...um...shit..fuck it. Alright. Not like I got anything better to do." You say.
"The sad thing, is that's the best offer I've had in years." Annie remarks a bit despondently.

Hell, now you feel like you're doing a good deed.

After giving Annie a thrill big enough to cause her to actually stop frowning for a moment, you head back to the sewers where you feel a lot less dirty.

"So how did it go?" Zal asks.
"It went well. We aren't going to get a bunch of problems." You say.
"You talked to them both?"
"Nah, just the sister. The brother was elsewhere. Pretty sure she was the one to deal with anyway though since she's the main one running that place. I satisfied her."
"Satisfied?"
"Erm, I mean dealt with her. She won't be a problem."
"Okay...so are we moving everything there then?"
"Well I imagine the bum fighting will still be held down here, but that tavern is big enough to have gambling games and whores set up. We're really going to have to fix that place up first though, because as it stands now, the place isn't much better than the sewers."
"Damn shame. I remember Tom saying the place was fairly nice back when Edmond ran the Talons out of there."
"It will be again and in time when we get a few more recruits and things are running smoothly we can do the same thing with another place."

With the tavern secured, you take your next steps in this plan.

You time passes...

Year 26

"What?!" You exclaim in disbelief.
"Carl and Annie's mother showed up at the tavern last night and pitched a bitch. I mean she raised holy hell. Literally too. She had a book of Joachim in hand the entire time." Vaughn says.
"So did she do any actual physical damage?" Zalmora asks.
"Not really. She mostly beat the shit out of Carl and Annie, saying she didn't scrimp and save for the tavern just so they could turn it into a den of sin. She then left saying if they didn't take care of this, she would." Vaughn remarks.
"Wait, so do the siblings actually even own this place?" Zalmora asks.
"Apparently it's always been in their mother's name and she did run it briefly before she started having health problems and let her children run it instead. She mostly stayed out of the day to day operations, but every now and then she leaves her home to drop in on her children...and well you know the rest."
"I don't get it. Why would a Joachim fearing woman buy a tavern, let alone let her children run it in the first place?"
"Apparently that's sort of a newer development. The old lady has gotten a bit religious over the past few years. Probably brought on by failing health."

You just put your face in the palms of your hands.

"Why the hell didn't either of you fucking idiots know any of this? And more importantly why didn't you stop the old bitch?" You ask.
"ME? This was all Vaughn's idea and YOU signed off on it! I've barely been involved in it! All you've had me do is seeking out other potential taverns to take over and monitor the bum fights from time to time. I haven't stepped foot in that damn tavern since we first set up shop there! Besides, aren't you regularly fucking that skeletal bitch that runs the place anyway? Figured you pumped her for information along with just pumping her." Zalmora exclaims.
"(Sigh) No. I'm not fucking Annie. That's an ugly rumor that delusional bitch probably started in the first place. I can see I'm going to have to set her ass straight."
"Hm, if you say so." Zal says giving you a look like she doesn't quite believe you.

You knew it was a bad idea to pity fuck Annie a few more times.

In any case, Zal's right in that it's not her fault at all, this is mostly Vaughn's fuck up, but really it's yours as well because you really should have learned all the facts first. You are the one running the Talons after all.

You exhale deeply and get up from your desk.

"What's the old woman's name and where's she live?" You ask.
"Her name's Wendy and she lives in a small house over by the Greenwood park. I think it's like the only house still standing there since most of the others are abandoned." Vaughn says.
"I'll find it." You say.
"Wait, are you going to go over and kill her?" Vaughn asks.
"Well I was going to see if I can find a diplomatic way of dealing with this, but if murdering the old lady is what it takes then so be it."
"Hold on, maybe you should send someone else. I mean maybe I could go take care of this." Zal says.
"No, because as you have already pointed out, this isn't your fault at all and I don't trust Vaughn to not fuck it up, so I'll do it myself."

You head over to Wendy's home, wondering how you're going to handle this. You really don't want to murder an old lady if you can help it, but if that's what it takes then that's what's going to have to happen. Given that she's a follower of Joachim though, you don't hold out much hope that blood isn't going to be shed.

Eventually you get over to Wendy's house and knock on the door. You hear a lot of grumbling as you wait.

"Hold on, hold on, I'm...by Joachim, you haven't aged!" a short old woman exclaims when she opens her door.
"Um, thanks?" You say a bit confused.
"What are you doing here? Are you in the city just for a visit? Where is Eliza? Are you still married to her?"
"Wait, who do you think I am?" You ask.

Wendy mentions your father's name and squints a bit as she looks closer at you.

You realize, this is one of the waitresses at your father's old inn! You remember your mother mentioning working with her in some of her old stories to you and your sister, but then you never did pay much attention to those.

Maybe you can work this in your favor after all.

"No, I'm afraid you've confused me with my father. But my mother and father are still married and well." You say.
"Oh. That's good. They were a nice couple, if a bit slow on the uptake as far as how they really felt about each other. Still, I guess it all worked out, given that you're here. You look a lot like your father. Well come on in and tell me what brings you to my doorstep." Wendy says.

Wendy invites you in and tells you to excuse the mess as she doesn't do much cleaning nowadays. You find a chair to sit in and she does likewise.

"So. What would the son of my old employer want with me?" Wendy asks.
"Well, after working for so many other people, I've sort of come to the conclusion that I'd like to try to work for myself for a change. I was sort of inspired by the old family business and I've done a lot of research on the matter along with asking my parents questions of course. I got quite a bit of money saved up from over the years and I was looking for a place to buy and get a business started. I thought your tavern would be a good place." You say.
"My tavern? You've been there?"
"Oh yes. When I was shopping around for potential places. Your children...Um...Carl and Anika..."
"Annie."
"Yes, Annie said that it was actually yours and if I wanted to buy it, that I should speak with you. They mentioned how you used to work for my father too, so I figured I'd at least make an offer to you first before anyone else."
"...Mmm hmm...but why didn't you just buy your old family inn? I believe it's still abandoned and for sale surprisingly enough."
"Heh, I tried, but apparently the city is planning to knock it down and build something else there. Would have been nice, but I got here a little too late it seems."
"Uh huh...let's cut the bullshit."
"Pardon?"
"You think I was born yesterday? You may be the son of Eliza, but you sure ain't anything like her OR your father. They were decent people. While YOU are a lying criminal scumbag just like my worthless children. It seems a little too fucking convenient that you show up on my doorstep the day after I find out what's going on at my tavern. I'm not really surprised by my son Carl. He's a miserable gambler with a weakness for whores. Annie, however I thought at least had a little more sense. Guess you're really putting it good on her if she's gone along with this shit."
"I assure you, I don't..."
"Don't insult me with more lies. I already saw what was going on at my tavern. In all her hysterics yesterday, I heard Annie babble to me about how she has a handsome man that loves her more than I ever did. I have to imagine that's probably you since you stand out a bit from the rest of the unwashed rabble I saw in that den of inequity. Ungrateful little bitch. Well, whatever charms you think you have ain't gonna work on me, I'm a Joachim fearing woman! Tch. Gotta say I never thought your parents would raise someone so far from the path of righteousness."

The jig is up.

"Yeah, I'm a big disappointment to them, but as you said, let's cut the bullshit and come to some sort of arrangement. How much you want for the tavern?" You ask.
"And why would I sell to a heathen like you?" Wendy retorts.
"Because I already own the place in all but name already. Look, the place was barely making any money to before I showed up and now that you know the truth, you won't want to have any more connection to the place. So I'm making you a generous offer since you're an old family friend to buy it. Two thousand gold pieces. You know that this is the best offer you're going to get and let's be honest, you don't have a choice. What are you going to do? Report us to the militia? We'll be gone...or at least I won't be around and all that's going to happen is the city of Klyton is going to arrest your children and seize the place, leaving you with no steady income whatsoever."

Much like her daughter, Wendy's wrinkled face frowns at you in silence. She doesn't like this, but her silence is a good sign. It means despite her belief in Joachim she's still pragmatic enough to consider your offer.

You just hope she isn't TOO much like her daughter because...

"Five thousand gold pieces for the tavern." Wendy says.
"Five thousand?" You answer
"That's my price. I might be old and not in the best of health, but two thousand isn't going to sustain me until I die. I know a big time crime lord such as yourself probably has that kind of money."
"Five thousand...seems a bit greedy. Isn't that against the will of Joachim?"
"First of all, you don't know shit about his glory, so don't think to say shit to me about it. Second of all, some of that is going to his church so at least some good can come out of this wickedness."
"Ah, I see. Buying your way into the afterlife. Whatever. I don't care, but I'm afraid five thousand is fucking unreasonable."
"And that's still my final offer. You don't like it, well you better go crawl in whatever hole you hide in from the militia because I am NOT going to let you use the place while it's still in my name. So it's five thousand or you're leaving my tavern either peacefully or by the militia. I got nothing to lose. You're in this position because YOU chose a life of wickedness. Deal with the consequences."
"I don't think you realize the position YOU'RE in." You warn.

Wendy starts to smile, followed by a laugh.

"What? You're going to kill me? Pfft. I'm already dying with how my health is going and my three kids are fucking disappoinments. As I said I have nothing to lose and my soul is prepared for Joachim's eternal glory. You won't get away with it anyway, Joachim always finds a way to punish the wicked."

You pay the money

The old bat drives a hard bargain and she's called your bluff. As much as you might try to be some ruthless crime lord, there's still some things you can't bring yourself to do. Murdering an old lady in cold blood is one of them.

"(Sigh) Fine. You got me by the short and curlies. I'll pay your damn price out of respect for all the years of service you gave to my family." You say.
"Yeah, see what that got me. Still, I'm glad to see that you have some sort of morality. Maybe there's still hope for you. Remember it's never too late to turn your soul over to Joachim." Wendy says.
"I'll keep that in mind. I'll be back tomorrow, you just have the deed."

You leave Wendy's house and return to your sewer headquarters. You're starting to wonder if you shouldn't have just bought your family's old inn in the first place. At least it would have been big enough for you to make your home in.

"So how did it go?" Zal asks.
"She's willing to sell, so no murder was necessary." You say.
"Really? Wow, I'm actually impressed that you managed to talk a religious old lady into working with you...or did you just fuck this one into submission too?"

Zalmora starts laughing immediately after her comment. Vaughn stays silent though.

"Fuck you Zal, just fuck you." You say.
"Interesting, that wasn't a denial." Zal remarks with a smirk.
"Hey boss, I just want you to know I'm not judging you if you did. We all have our own carnal desires and I know you seem to like the older ladies. I mean between Annie and Zal..." Vaughn starts to say.
"What the fuck Vaughn, don't put me in the same category as that weathered corpse!" Zal exclaims suddenly getting angry.
"Both of you shut the fuck up, in fact don't the pair of you got some work to do? No wonder things are falling to shit here."

Zal and Vaughn walk off, leaving you alone for the rest of the night.

The next day you go over to Wendy's house and complete the transaction.

"Here you go heathen." Wendy remarks handing you the deed.
"Thanks hypocrite." You answer and start to leave.

Wendy isn't quite finished yet though and she grabs your arm before you leave.

"Hey, I wasn't joking yesterday when I said it isn't too late to seek Joachim's forgiveness. Maybe your wicked deeds are profiting you today, but there is going to come a reckoning someday and you'll have to answer for your evil ways. Out of respect for your parents, I urge YOU to turn from this path before it's too late."

You pull your arm away.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that." You say and walk off.

Eventually you return back to your sewer headquarters and spend some time on inner contemplation.

"(Sigh) I really need to get the hell out of these sewers. I'm the damn head of a budding criminal empire. One of those tavern gambling rooms is getting turned into a new office." You say to yourself.

You time passes...

Year 28

"Yeah, so the Broken Glass owner says he'll comply." Vaughn remarks.
"Excellent. We can add another tavern to our list." You say.
"Did we really need another one?" Zal asks.
"That's a silly question Zal. We can always use more income and taverns provide the best cover."
"I dunno, I just think we're extorting too many businesses within a short period of time. I mean have you forgotten that the Klyton militia is still pretty active?"
"So what're you saying? You want to go back and hide in the shit filled sewers like we were doing? I thought you'd be happy to get out of there completely since you were the main one bitching about it. Look, as long as we keep a low profile we're fine. We've been doing well so far right?"
"Yeah, I'm sure Edmond thought the same thing once."
"Here we go with that. Look Zal, we've been through all this before three years ago. I actually took your advice and you're still not happy, so let me make this easy for you. You're out."

Zal's face is one of surprise. Vaughn is a little surprised as well.

"What? Are you serious?" Zalmora says.
"Yes, I'm fucking serious. I'm sick of your bitching, your sarcasm, your smart ass remarks that attempt to undermine my authority in general. You seem to think because we once shared a bed together that somehow allows you to say anything you want to me. Combine that with the obvious fact that you don't really have the stomach for this business anymore, well there isn't much use for you is there? So with all respect and no ill will, goodbye Zal. You were a valued member of the Crimson Talons while you were part of us, but your services are no longer required."

Zalmora takes your words in silence. She looks at you with a mixture of feelings and you can't quite tell if it's betrayal, anger, sadness or even relief. She just walks over to you and touches your face before leaving.

About a few minutes after she leaves, Vaughn speaks up.

"Come on boss, aren't you going to go after her? You're just mad because you were feeling good about how things are going and in typical Zal fashion she was a bit of a downer. You know that's how she is. I also know Zal and she's just putting on a brave front. She really doesn't want to leave any more than you really want her to leave. It's pretty obvious you value her advice, even if she is difficult at times."

You look over at Vaughn. You've never known him to be that insightful, but he's hitting all the points right now.

You stand up.

"Aw hell...you're right. She probably hasn't gone too far yet. Vaughn can you... What the hell is going on out there?!" You say suddenly hearing a bunch of noise outside the office.

You open up the door and everyone is running around attempting to avoid the horde of Klyton militia piling through the front door. They aren't fucking around either because they're outright shooting or stabbing folks that are only barely resisting. Annie and Carl from what you see have already given up and are kneeling on the floor with their hands behind their heads.

"Oh shit! Vaughn! Help me barricade the door! We gotta get the fuck outta here!" You shout and slam the door shut.

As you and Vaughn push the desk up against the door, you already hear the crashing behind it. From the other side, you hear your name being called out telling you to surrender or face consequences.

"What kind of logic is that? If I surrender, I'm going to face the consequences too. Vaughn, open up the trap door, I'm going to get as much as I can from the safe." You say.

After Vaughn opens up the escape hatch to the sewers, you try to maintain your cool as you fiddle with your safe and unload its contents all the while axes, halberds and bullets are piercing the barricaded door.

"Come on! Leave it! Let's just go!" Vaughn remarks.
"Go on ahead, I'm almost done, I'll be right behind!" You say waving Vaughn away.

You finish packing and are heading towards the escape hatch when the door is finally partially broken. A bullet whizzes by you and into the wall. You whirl around to fire your own flintlock at your assailants. You hit one, but then are shot yourself. It's only in the leg, but given how close you are to an open hatch, you fall back, slip and tumble down it.

You probably would have broken your neck had Vaughn not been in the way to break your fall. Of course you probably surprised the hell out of him as he was climbing down the ladder.

The pair of you land hard on the stone sewer floor with you being right on top of Vaughn.

"Shit...my leg...my fucking leg...Vaughn I might need you to...Vaughn?" You say and slowly move yourself off of him.

You check, and you see his head at an unnatural angle. He's broken his neck.

"Damn it, Vaughn..." You say and then another bullet flies near your head and into the floor.

One of the militia men is firing at you from the top of the hatch. Seeing that Vaughn still has his own pistol holstered, you grab it, point upward and fire. You somehow manage to hit the guy in the face and then you realize the folly of that as you desperately roll out of the way of his falling body.

The militia man's body partially hits Vaughn's and the stone floor. At this point you're just trying to get away which is difficult with one good leg.

With some effort you manage to stand yourself up and hobble away. You already hear several of the militia climbing down the ladder and shouting.

"SHIT!" You shout as your wounded leg gives way due to lack of strength and a slimy stone floor. Falling on your face, you already know you aren't getting away at this rate.

Best case scenario, you get taken in, tried and instead of executing you, they shove you in one of those cages where you first found Tom.

MAYBE if you're lucky you might be able to pick the lock and escape, but you doubt if you'll just have access to your tools. Maybe you could do what Tom managed to do and convince a wanderer to release him...but then again you know how that situation ultimately ended for him.

Actually, if you knew letting him out was going to lead to this end result, you would have left him there. Who knows, maybe he would have even been better off since the other Talons were supposed to get him out eventually.

It's all a very long shot anyway and you've already come to the conclusion that you're not going quietly.

The strange thing in all this is now you're glad you told Zalmora to leave when you did. You hope she managed to evade capture. You think she probably had enough time to run before the militia converged on the place.

You're kneeling on your good leg and leaning up against a wall in an attempt to get back up, when the militia finally catch up to you. You feel a hard blow to your back and you crash to the floor. Several militia surround your prone body.

"We'll get promotions for this!" You hear one exclaim.
"Hope they also have an award for getting wounded in the line of duty." You remark and pull a dagger stabbing him in the foot.

It's all the excuse the militia needs to start running you through repeatedly with their spears and swords and stomping your head into mush. You're a holey bloody mess by the time they're through. It isn't exactly the most pleasant death, but at least it eliminates all the waiting.