The sewers are good enough for you. If you start trying to set up shop up top, you're just going to bring down the heat eventually.

You've got a good thing going on and nobody fucks with you down here. If worst comes to worst, you're confident that you could easily lose the militia if they actually ever made an effort to patrol down here.

Still, maybe you could figure out a way to make this place somewhat less...well like a sewer. You already have made a base in the best abandoned area you can find though. You suppose you could start manually expanding underground further away from the sewers themselves of course that would be a pretty extensive and expensive undertaking and it isn't like you're familiar with the details of excavation.

Although...

This city used to have a fairly large active miner population once. In fact your family made money serving them at their inn. At some point long after your parents had left the city and the inn closed down, the mining trade dried up completely in Klyton for a variety of reasons resulting in a lot of unemployed miners.

In fact some of the bums in your fights are ex-miners. You wouldn't want to rely on just them though, but surely you could scour the city for other ex-miners down on their luck or working jobs they hate. They probably would work cheap. You suppose if you really needed more you could shell out the money for some outside help, but you'd rather keep the costs as low as possible.

Later when you approach Zal and Vaughn with this idea, they're caught off guard by this plan, but don't seem put off by it. Well Vaughn doesn't at least. Zal of course has her usual concerns.

"Okay, I know that look. Out with it." You say.
"It's just...well do you think this is even feasible?" Zal asks.
"I'm not saying it's not going to take effort, but again this is a long term plan. I mean going up top, trying to set up false businesses and store fronts is just not going to work in Klyton. The place is just too damn repressive, but we all know people still WANT to do illegal shit like whoring, drugs, gambling..."
"Erm, actually all those things are legal in Klyton." Vaughn interrupts.
"(Sigh) You know what the fuck I mean! All that high priced shit is easily accessible for the rich folks, but WE cater to the poor and who needs affordable distraction more than they do?"
"So...wait. Are we defenders of the down trodden now?" Zal asks.
"I didn't say all that, but we ARE providing for them in a way. I mean we can start out by digging ourselves out a proper headquarters where we don't have to be constantly bombarded by the smells of the sewer and has a solid defense, but I'm thinking in time we could just build a whole underground town."

Zalmora and Vaughn look at each other and then you.

"A TOWN?!" They exclaim.
"Well maybe not town in the traditional sense, but a place where we can do our business AND live without even worrying about the Klyton militia raiding the place because we would be so damn entrenched that they wouldn't be able to do shit even if they wanted to. We wouldn't just be the criminal organization that skulks around in the Klyton sewers, we would be a whole separate community...bah maybe I'm not explaining it well, but I envision it in my head!" You say.
"No. No, I get what you mean. I have to say, this is really damn ambitious. I mean I can't say I'm not impressed by your plan...but again I just have my concerns if it's going to be possible...but fuck it, I'm in." Zal says.
"Glad to hear it. So, we're going to need miners and equipment which is the easy part, but we're also going to need a genuine engineer so the whole damn thing doesn't fall on our heads. So anyone know of any?" You remark.
"Yeah, Red Nose Rob." Vaughn remarks.
"Who's that?" You ask.
"One of the bums that participates in the fights."
"There's a bum who used to be an engineer? What the hell happened?"
"He was actually a miner, but he had a natural gift when it came to engineering. Which was good for the company since they just used his talents for creating very sound mine supports and they didn't have to pay for a real one. He probably could have been building new structures in Klyton, but he just didn't have the formal education."
"Interesting. But how do you know so much about him?" You ask.
"He has his lucid moments. Plus, um...we used to...meet up..."
"Ew Vaughn. You fucked a disgusting bum?" Zalmora remarks.
"No! I fucked him when he was strapping miner! Sheesh Zal!"
"Never mind all that, would he be able to do the job?" You ask
"I think so. Probably wouldn't have to pay him much more than we do to fight, but we'd definitely have to dry him out a bit though." Vaughn says.

You start making notes of various ideas as you ask more questions.

"Okay, so we got one potential overseer for this project. You got any more engineer ex-lovers?" You ask.
"Not that I know of boss." Vaughn remarks.
"I think I got a potential suggestion." Zal says.
"Oh? You been fucking engineers too?" You ask.
"Even better. Been fucking dwarves. Grahk Kazek is the one that comes to mind."
"Well that's nice that you're so open minded with your choice of sex partners, but is this dwarf an actual engineer? Contrary to popular belief, I don't think all of them dig big holes in mountains for a living."
"This one does. Or at least he did before he retired. He makes a monthly trip from the Cloudpeake Mountains to Klyton because he REALLY likes the pastries from Stovo's Bakery. Buys up a bunch then goes back home. That's where we met actually."
"Didn't know you had ongoing long distance relationship, Zal." You say.
"Lots you don't know about me, but I wouldn't exactly say Grahk and I are in a relationship, we just had a bit of fun together. In fact I haven't seen him in years. I just know he still goes to that bakery since Stovo has mentioned him a few times when I go in there."
"So would he be interested?"
"He's a dwarf and used to construct tunnel ways in the Cloudpeake Mountains. Fairly certain if we throw enough money at him, he'll be willing to oversee the construction of what we're doing. Besides, I can be pretty persuasive."
"Hmm, don't I know it." You say.

The dwarf sounds good, but he sounds like he's going to be really expensive. At lot more than the bum anyway. Of course the bum might be unreliable. You say you'll think about both as you go ask other Talons if they know anybody.

You don't have much luck though. Your other Talons aren't quite as "worldly" as your top lieutenants. There is one who has a lead though.

"Yeah, I think I might know someone boss. This chick called Madeline. She actually attends Klyton University and she's an engineering student." Camid remarks.
"A student?" You ask.
"Yeah, but she's really fucking smart. Top of her class or some shit. I don't even understand what she's talking about half the time. Of course I'm just staring at her tits most of the time anyway."
"How the hell do you even know her?"
"Oh, she's a little rich girl that likes slumming. Likes to watch the bum fights and get high on Yellow Devil. The usual. Oh and we fuck sometimes."

Of course they do. It would certainly be a strange break in the "theme" if they didn't. The drug bit concerns you though.

"Wait, you say she takes Yellow Devil? How the hell is she not a near drooling idiot yet? I don't need someone melting into a pile of goo in the middle of an important project." You say.
"Don't worry boss. That wouldn't happen." Camid says.
"And how do you know?"
"Because...um...I make sure she doesn't actually get Yellow Devil. I mean she does, but it's a VERY small amount. Almost nothing. The rest of it is cut severely with various common shit I get from the apothecary. She feels good for a little while and feels rebellious and she doesn't get really hurt."
"...You like this girl don't you?" You ask causing Camid to look away a bit.
"(Sigh) It didn't start out that way. First time I saw her, I thought she was so damn pretty that I just wanted a chance to fuck her before she turned into a Yellow Devil mess, so I didn't give her the real shit. But in time...well I dunno shit happened...and I'm probably an idiot..." Camid says trailing off a bit.
"Probably, but fortunately your love sick idiocy has worked in your favor, so do you think she'd help?"
"Oh definitely. She'd feel like she would be a real criminal working for a dangerous organization and all. She'd do it for free too, not like she needs the money."
"Actually she would be a real criminal if she was helping us in this capacity. Good to know about the price. I'll keep her in mind."

Well you got a big decision to make based on your underlings recommendations because unfortunately for you, you haven't been lucky enough to fuck someone with engineering skills.

You grahk Kazek

It's going to be expensive, but if you want this done right, a dwarf would be the way to go with this. Plus Zalmora does tend to have the best suggestions.

"Okay, let's get your dwarf." You say returning to Zalmora with your decision.
"About time you listened to my advice again. You're going to have to give me a month though." Zalmora says.
"Shit, did we just miss his last visit?"
"Oh no, he actually should be making his visit here in a few days, but while I am the persuasive sort I'm going to need the time to do it. By then, he should be pliable enough to listen to you. Also, I should warn you in advance, the man is very professional about his work and a perfectionist so when he speaks to you on what he's going to need, he's not going to be submissive or even polite about it. He's going to be very direct and probably less than respectful. I'm warning you in advance so you don't go killing him because you think he's challenging your authority or whatever."
"Wonderful. (Sigh) Look, this goes both ways. So you let him know this; I'll tolerate some of his shit behind closed doors because he's the expert, but he better not be doing it while I'm in the company of others. Otherwise I'll have to kill him to set an example and I'll draw it out too because I'll be really pissed that I'll have to hire Vaughn's drunk bum to finish the job!"
"I think he'll understand that."
"He better. Well let's go acquire the miners and equipment in the meantime." You say dismissing Vaughn and Zalmora.

Month later…

"Can't be done." Grahk says as he finishes looking at the layout you made.
"Excuse me?" you respond.
"Your layout is shit, your equipment and materials are subpar and I've seen the lot you've acquired as miners. A bunch of drunks, bums, and other miscreants whose good days are behind them, assuming they ever had them to begin with. You're going to have constant problems with potential tunnels collapses and that's the best case scenario."
"Well isn't that why you're here? To make sure that doesn't fucking happen?"
"Yeah, but I'm used to working with superior dwarf equipment and dwarves who also know what the hell they're doing. As far as I can tell I'm the only one here that's competent in this field. You humans literally don't know your asses from a hole in the ground when it comes to this shit. I'd feel safer working with goblins."
"Oh well I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was going to be in the presence of the king of the little beardy shits! Excuse me your highness!"
"Zal, I thought you told me this guy was reasonable." Grahk asks Zal in an unruffled voice.
"He is, most of the time. Boss, will you just calm down for a moment?" Zal asks.
"Calm down? What the fuck for? He just said this shit couldn't be done! And I guess that's it, considering he's the expert and all!" you yell.
"You didn't let me finish my first sentence, you just interrupted and got everything off track. What I was going to say is it can't be done by what you've got here. It CAN be done if I bring in my people and equipment."
"I thought you retired?" Zal asks.
"Me? Nah I just stopped working for Cloudpeake government. I still have a small business on the side that keeps me busy. Can't just lounge about for days on end."
"Great, so now I'm paying for more of you bearded runts and your high priced equipment. And how the hell are we supposed to sneak in hundreds of you lot into the fucking sewers? Even using the secret outside entrance is running a risk of someone noticing that there are a legion of dwarfs carrying digging equipment being seen marching towards the city. Klyton will probably think it's a fucking invasion." You say.
"First of all, there are only twenty dwarves that work for me, but we might as well be a legion compared to a hundred humans. Second of all, I already had it figured out as soon as Zal told me all about your plan." Grahk says.
"Well you want to enlighten the rest of us?"
"Gladly."

Grahk says the Klyton sewers are in terrible condition (Not surprising since they're human made). He says he knows an old acquaintance on the Klyton Council and all he has to do is approach him about doing some work on the sewers for a low price. The Council will accept because they know dwarves do good work and they'll be getting a hell of a deal. In reality, Grahk's crew aren't going to do much except do some cosmetic patchwork to make it look like they're doing more than they actually are. (Which is what a human crew would do anyway, Grahk adds)

This plan of course is a cover for what is really going to go on which is creating your little Crimson Talon hideout.

"Won't they check up on you?" you ask.
"Who those fops on the council? Hardly. They aren't going to give a shit about a bunch of dwarves mucking about in the sewers as long as the job gets done. In fact they'll probably tell the militia to not even patrol the sewers as much because they'll know we're not going to want anyone in the way of our work and we're bringing in our own security." Grahk says.
"You seem very sure of all this and it's quite likely that this attempt to trick the Council and bringing them in is going to result in them sniffing around and it will all end in disaster and our heads on the fucking chopping block."
"(Sigh) I thought I was dealing with the boss of a criminal organization, not the timid rent boy in the brothel. Why the hell are you hooked up with these losers Zal?" Grahk asks Zalmora.

You've had it with the insults; you unsheathe your flintlock pistol and point it at Grahk who doesn't show fear.

"What, so am I supposed to be scared of you now? I've fought trolls in hand to hand combat. I'm not going to be intimidated by the likes of you drawing a pistol on me." Grahk remarks.
"And I don't give a shit if you're scared or not, I'm warning YOU, one more insult. One. And you aren't leaving this room alive." You say.
"You're both pretty princesses, can we stop with the pissing contest?" Zal says.

Grahk looks over at Zal, looks back at you, and puts up his hands and nods.

"Fine. Apologies. Shouldn't have insulted you in your own home, but it was my understanding that you're a man that takes risks. I mean you had the vision for this project and your very career choice involves risk. Besides, you're forgetting that you're not the only one taking a chance here. You don't think I won't suffer consequences if the Klyton Council finds out what I'm really doing? Trust me, I'm going to be making sure things are going very smoothly. All you really have to worry about is coming up with the coins for all this." Grahk says.
"You'll get paid. Don't worry about that. Just do the job." You respond putting away the pistol.
"So we have an agreement?"
"Yes."

And with that deal done, the work begins.

You time passes...

Year 27

You have to admit, despite the close calls, the stress of changing the layout, and the several times you almost wanted to kill Grahk, he came through and this place is a lot better than you could have expected, if much smaller.

This place is less of a "budding underground town" and more of an underground mini-fortress and really maybe that was a more realistic goal anyway. You have sturdy walls, rooms, and a hidden entrance within the sewer with a couple of durable security doors just in case the militia does the find the place. You also have an escape route dug out far enough that you'd be able to getaway long before they broke in.

But that's just your headquarters. There is another secret area where you hold the gambling games, races and fights. Besides it being a better idea to keep the actual activities (and the plebs) away from your main base, Grahk actually said it would be better structural wise to build two separate and smaller hidden locations rather than just one big one which be a lot more costly to maintain and keep from collapsing. So that's what you did.

Still, you decided to keep one business out of both of the new areas. Namely the Yellow Devil creation and distribution. You aren't having any junkies going in either to get their fixes and YD stinks something awful that it would defeat the damn purpose of leaving the sewers if you were creating it in these nice new areas.

Due to all the expenses you had to pay for with the dwarves, you had to go back to the old methods of pulling heists and burglary because the drugs, gambling games and fights weren't enough. Of course that was mostly you, Zal and Vaughn doing those, because you wanted to make sure it was done right.

On the plus side, it's kept you in shape and your skills sharp. It also raises your respect among the rest of the Crimson Talons since they know you're willing to get right in the thick of things and aren't just delegating.

The downside is you're still not exactly rolling in coin and you don't think you've had real rest since this project began and you're always vaguely tired, but then as they say no rest for the wicked.

The other side effect is you've created a minor "crime wave" throughout Klyton to the point where things are getting out of hand for the militia slightly. Besides the ongoing breaking into shops and homes, your increased production of Yellow Devil has created an epidemic of "meltbrains" as they are called. Didn't help that you got the idea from Camid to start cutting the drug to make it less lethal, while still keeping most of it's "positive" effects for the user.

Still causes a lot of irreversible long-term damage that most aren't coming back from, which now probably makes it even worse. Junkies are living long enough to cause real problems hence the crime wave.

You've been extremely fortunate that the authorities have mostly been turning the city upside down and making mass arrests to every petty criminal they can get their hands on, but so far they haven't done much with the sewers. There were a few close calls with some minor patrols, but Grahk's crew has been pretty good in keeping their real activities (and you) secret. Grahk's Council buddy must have an incredible amount of trust in him or maybe he's just corrupt. You have no idea, you've never met him.

Still, Klyton's uncharacteristic lackadaisical alertness on this matter is going to be coming to an end. Grahk is done with the task and will be leaving soon, which means Klyton will probably be stepping up their patrols down here. Not even the rumors of a killer reptile man is going to scare them away. (You question if this Scales is even down here, surely you would have run afoul of him, with all this work the dwarves have been doing)

But the only concern you have right at this moment is the information you've just heard.

"What?! You're leaving?!" you exclaim.
"Figured I should let you know. Despite our differences at times, I respect you enough to not just disappear." Zalmora says.
"Hold on you're going to have to re-explain this again. This is just out of nowhere." You say and take a seat.
"It really isn't. Grahk and I have been seeing each other for quite some time since he got here for this project."
"Yes, I've seen you two speaking with one another every so often. Sometimes it looked a little more than that, but I didn't take you for the running off and getting married sort!"
"What can I say? Grahk made a very good offer."
"Given what comes out of his mouth half the time, he doesn't even like humans."
"Well he likes me and I'm very fond of him. Also, I've realized that this life…well it isn't the one I want any more." Zal says waving her arms in the air and making motions about her surroundings.
"So…what? You're going to go pop out a bunch of bearded babies and be a nice little housewife in some dark underground cavern?"
"I'm already practically living in an underground cavern now! And dwarves and humans can't reproduce with each other…well as far as I know. Besides, he's already got a couple of children from his deceased wife, so that isn't going to be an issue anyway."
"But what are you going to DO with yourself? I mean I'm guessing you're going to go back to the Cloudpeake Mountains. Dwarves aren't known for being all that accepting of outsiders at the best of times. You're not likely to have any friends."
"Yeah, well it isn't like I really have any here either."

You're a little taken aback.

"Wha…? What? What about me and Vaughn? What about all the Talons that respect your abilities?" you say.
"Those are subordinates, not my friends. You're my boss, not my friend. And as for Vaughn…well okay, you're right about him, but he's hardly enough to keep me around here waiting for the inevitable." Zalmora responds.
"And what's that exactly?"
"This whole place is going to raided and all of you are either going to get pinched or killed. Best case scenario, you escape with nothing."
"That's some severe lack of confidence in your soon to be dwarf husband's abilities. Besides, you were originally enthusiastic about this whole project and the potential."
"I know I was at first, but the original goal has changed now hasn't it? Look, maybe everything won't be all doom and gloom and maybe everything does go smoothly, but the fact that I realize is that I'm getting old and I'm enjoying this type of life less and less. I soon learned that on the last heist we did and I nearly got my head blown off by the militia."
"You're hardly old Zal, I mean you're acting like you're ready for the grave."
"If I keep on this way, I soon will be. Look, I've been giving this a lot of thought for quite some time."
"So again, I ask what are you going to do with your time? I mean I really can't envision you as some housewife. You're going to get bored and dissatisfied."
"And how do YOU know that? Maybe I'll find it a great relief not worrying about which shop to rob or whether or not if I'm going to get arrested or killed. And who says I'm not going to find something to do while I'm up there? Grahk owns his own business you know. I'm sure I can help with that in some way."

A moment of silence comes over you and you cease looking at Zalmora. You can't believe you might be losing your best "employee."

It would appear you took it for granted that she'd always be around. Though you did always consider the possibility that she might die in the service of the Crimson Talons just like anyone, but something about this is much different and you don't like this form of parting of the ways. At least not without trying to do something about it.

"What would it take for you to stay?" you ask.
"Nothing. I told you, I've made up my mind about this." Zal says.
"Bullshit. You wouldn't have told me at all, if you didn't want me to make the attempt to at least come up with an offer."
"…I…I don't know where you got that idea from, but I already told you that I came to you about this because I respected you enough to not sneak off in the middle of the night." Zalmora sputters.
"And I'm not buying it. I don't buy that you're ready to settle down and live a boring ordinary life. I mean I've SEEN you get the thrill even during that last heist where you almost got your head blown off. I mean maybe the safe life does have its advantages, and if you were marrying a Delantium prince who was going to shower you with jewels and a royal palace I'd say congrats and just let you go without a fight. Hell, if you said that you LOVED this dwarf I wouldn't stand in the way, but you didn't say that. You just claimed fondness. You're not moving up, you're just trading one life of compromise for another."
"You seem to be very interested in my well being…are you actually jealous? Is this some crush you've been harboring because if it is, I'm going to tell you right now that…"
"No! It's nothing like that. While you don't consider me your friend, I consider you mine, because quite frankly I don't have any either and it's hard enough to have someone trustworthy and reliable in this business as it is. You were the one who gave me all the most important advice that resulted in rebuilding the Crimson Talons to be a viable organization again. And yeah, maybe I didn't listen to all of it, but I do acknowledge that I wouldn't have gotten this far without you and I can't see me getting too much further without you by my side either. I need you."

Now Zalmora is speechless and looks away. You stare at her, but she makes sure to not look in your direction. You know she must be trying to hide obvious signs of being upset.

"Are you alright?" you ask.
"I…I…yes…I'm fine." Zal says and then turns around and quickly wipes one of her eyes.

Zalmora composes herself a bit and then speaks.

"Very well. I do have one request if I'm going to consider staying. We have to stop selling Yellow Devil." Zal says.
"What? But that's what kept us afloat! If we hadn't been selling it, we wouldn't have been able to afford the new headquarters!" you reply.
"Yes, and now that project is over with. We can get by without dealing it. Yellow Devil is going to cause us nothing but trouble in the future. I'm already seeing that, don't you?"
"Well I'll admit, its got its share of problems, but it's the biggest money maker and a lot of the Talons aren't going to be happy about no longer selling it. Specifically Camid."
"Look, this isn't a negotiation. This is my stipulation. I'll leave you to deal with the repercussions as you see fit. Grahk is leaving in a week. You've got three days to tell me your decision, because if you value my friendship as much as you claim and you do decide to stop selling, then I'm going to need the rest of the week to deal with Grahk before he leaves, because I'll be breaking not just his heart but an agreement and you know how serious dwarves are about those."

You stop selling Yellow Devil

This might not be the best of business decisions, but if this is what it's going to take then so be it. There will always be other opportunities, but reliable folks you can count on, not so much.

"Alright, fine. You don't need to wait three days. I'll take care of it now." You say.
"Are you sure? Because don't just make a rash decision in some misguided effort to play white knight. This is your organization, run it how you see fit, I don't need saving."
"(Sigh) I'm not playing white knight. If anything I'm playing black guard by stealing the princess away from her husband to be if we're going to use that comparison. You said to stop selling Yellow Devil is what will keep you around, well I'm willing to make the sacrifice because that's just how much I value your presence here."
"So…I'm a princess eh?" Zal says with a smirk.
"Yes, so go break the squat prince's heart already so we can get back to business."
"Hey, that's still not going to be easy. I do have feelings for Grahk and he feels strongly for me!"
"Yeah, but you don't love him. You still haven't said that you did and I wouldn't believe it at this point anyway, because if you did you wouldn't be willing to drop him like this. You were seeking an easy way out of this life, but this wasn't the way and you would have regretted it."
"Yeah, well…I guess we'll never know now. (Sigh) You're right though, I didn't really love him I suppose. Still going to be difficult."
"Pfft. You want difficult, I'm going to have to convince everyone to be happy that we're out of the drug trade now and taking a loss."
"We all have our burdens to bear. Good luck with yours." Zalmora says and starts to leave, but then walks back over to hug you.

You weren't expecting it, but you return the hug.

"Thank you for your words." Zal says.
"Okay, okay, I think we've done enough bonding and getting our feelings out for today." You say not wishing to get too emotional.

Zal kisses you on the cheek and leaves.

Now you have to just go find Vaughn and discuss what changes are to come and who is going to be the most troublesome over it. Camid is the obvious one, but probably his closest "circle" as well.

Later…

"But we've got this impenetrable hidden headquarters now! Let the militia fumble around here in the sewers looking for us! Even if they do, they aren't going to get in without severe losses!" Camid exclaims.
"And they can take a lot more losses than we can too and if they do get determined enough they WILL get in here. Things are too hot up top right now and we need for them to cool down a bit. Hence why we need to stop selling Yellow Devil. It's causing too many problems. We still got the rest, and we can possibly look into other opportunities or…"
"This is fucking bullshit!" Camid exclaims which is echoed by a few others.
"This isn't up for debate." You say.
"But we are making coin hand over fist! If anything we should be abandoning everything else and just focusing on selling Yellow Devil! In fact I got an idea for a new drug! It's…"
"I don't want to hear it! I made my decision and it's fucking final! What don't you understand?"
"I don't understand why we're being stupid about this! Wasn't the whole point of building this headquarters was to help usher in some new era of the Crimson Talons? Seems like you had us waste a shitload of coin that could have been better spent doing other things."
"Like what for example? You got any ideas Camid? What would have you liked to do instead? You want to run this organization?"

Camid doesn't say it out loud, but he mutters something.

"What? What was that?!" you shout.
"I said no." Camid says.
"That's what I thought…" you start to say before you're interrupted.
"Because I wouldn't want to make Zalmora cry when I it took from her." Camid says which causes laughter by his fellows.

You're silent for a moment as Camid stares at you defiantly. He's doubled down on challenging you and already he's pulling out his sword. You could just shoot him or even tell your loyal Talons to kill him since a lot of them are close enough, but you know that isn't going to solve the problem, if anything it's going to make it worse. You're going to have to beat him in a fair fight.

You draw your own weapon and face Camid in combat. It isn't much of a contest though. While Camid has some above average fighting skills, he hasn't been keeping them sharp like you've been doing. That sort of happens when you have to fight off private night security and dodge militia bullets and arrows on a regular basis.

It takes all of two minutes before you've given Camid a cut on his face, severed part of his sword hand and got your boot on his chest.

"Stop! I yield! I surrender! I surrender! You're the boss!" Camid shouts holding up his good arm begging you for mercy.
"Damn right." You reply.

Then you pull out your flintlock and shoot him in the head.

"Take every fool that was laughing at this asshole's joke about Zal really running things around here and kill them. Think of this as a pay increase for the rest of you." You say.

Your loyalists don't need anymore prodding than that and waste no time in grabbing Camid's cohorts and dragging them off. You turn to Vaughn and tell him to go oversee the rest of this mess and make sure your orders are carried out and how you want all the Yellow Devil labs destroyed and if any junkies come sniffing around kill them too.

Five days later…

Zalmora steps into your office.

"Ah, you're here. Wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow." You say.
"I had to make sure Grahk left with no hard feelings. It would have been very easy for him to cause trouble for us, but…well you know me." Zalmora replies.
"Yes, you're very convincing. Guess he really took it hard huh?"
"You don't even know. Actually I was a little surprised myself, but I think in a way it helped him confirm that humans are the scum of the world though. Makes him a little less contradictory."
"Always nice to have your world views reinforced."
"Don't think he's ever coming back here though. Not even for Stovo's pastries."
"Yeah, well I'm sure there are other Halfling bakers to buy from. It's big world out there."
"Speaking of buying and selling. How did Camid take it about the Yellow Devil distribution?"
"He took it in the head and the rest of the ones that agreed with him are also no longer with us. It's done."
"Hm. I see. Well, I guess everything is settled."
"For now at least. Glad to have you back Zal."
"I'm glad to be back too."

The pair of you smile at each other and get back to Crimson Talon business. With the new changes and Zalmora still at your side, you're fairly confident that the future will at least be productive.

You time passes...

Chapter 3A2: Better Red than Dead



Year 30

"We should expand." You say.
"Can we do that?" Vaughn remarks.
"It's probably not a bad idea. Now that shit here has calmed down to a manageable level in Klyton, we could probably spare a few people to open a new Crimson Talon chapter elsewhere. The problem is we don't have many viable choices." Zalmora says.
"What're you talking about, there's Hessla, Holgard, the entire fucking Delantium Kingdom for starters." You say.
"The Delantium Kingdom is Ebony Claw Syndicate territory, have you forgotten?"
"No, but the kingdom is a big fucking place. Surely they can't control all of the damn underworld there."
"Probably not, but I doubt if potentially stepping on their toes is a great idea for us. Same situation in Holgard. They got a chapter there as well."
"Hasn't that place undergone a couple of rebellions?" Vaughn asks.
"Yeah, but as far as I know the Ebony Claw still has a presence." Zalmora says.
"Alright, alright, I get it. We're not big enough to fuck with the ECS. (Sigh) I know our limitations unfortunately. Okay, so what about Hessla? The Claw doesn't have a presence there." You ask.
"Sure, but the Headsmen control that place for Governor Tolen. I'm not sure if you know much about Hessla other than the typical misconceptions. But the place is just as orderly as Klyton. In some aspects maybe even more so. Yeah, it's a haven for pirates and such, but as a general rule the major crimes take place outside the town. The Headsmen catch you stealing there for example and they chop off both your hands at best." Zalmora says.
"Well there's always risk. I mean we risk the militia here."
"True, but Hessla also has the same problem Klyton does, namely everything is legal except again even more so. I'm not exactly sure what we could do there, in the scheme of things given that most of our profit comes from illegal gambling and stealing shit."
"We could go back to selling Yellow Devil. I mean we wouldn't be selling it here. Just in Hessla." Vaughn remarks.

Zal just stares at Vaughn with mild disapproval.

"What? I'm just contributing here!" Vaughn.
"I'm still not convinced that the drug trade is the way to go, but I'll admit it isn't the worst idea. It wouldn't be shitting where we eat at least. However, Governor Tolen would probably take a cut of anything we make just for operating there." Zal says.
"Sounds like if this Tolen asshole wasn't around we'd be able actually do something in that town." You say.
"Why don't we just kill him like we had Jake killed? I mean that guy you hired seemed pretty damn effective." Vaughn suddenly says which causes a bit of surprise from you and Zal.

Vaughn doesn't often contribute this many serious ideas in these sessions, let alone the really aggressive ones. You can only imagine the Crimson Talon success (and relative safer location) has encouraged him a little bit assertive.

"Not only would I have to deal with that creepy fuck, Mr. Reynolds again, I'm sure he'd want me to pay out the ass or some other price that will have a catch." You say.
"Well, if we are going to expand in Hessla, getting rid of Tolen would solve some major issues. Hessla is sort of a delicate system. Cut off the head and it's going to descend into anarchy…at least for a while. I assume his second in command, but I dunno who that might be. Wouldn't be too hard to find out with some investigation. Tell you what. Before we do anything, why don't I go to Hessla and check out what the situation is like there first?" Zal says.
"Couldn't hurt I suppose. You gonna be okay going there by yourself?"
"I'll be fine. Better if I just go alone. I know how to blend in better and it's been a long time since I was in Hessla. Wouldn't mind updating my knowledge first hand anyway. Might take me about a month to gather what I need to know."
"Okay, but just remember you're not there to sight see."

The three of you agree to this plan and while Zal goes off on her mission, you and Vaughn return to your usual tasks.

A little more than a month passes and just as you start to get a little concerned Zal returns. You actually give her a hug when you see her.

"You thought I wasn't coming back, didn't you?" she asks.
"No, I'm glad to see you is all! Can't one friend hug another? Look, so what did you learn?" you reply.
"More than I expected to."

Zal goes into the situation at Hessla which as she predicted was indeed a delicate one. Governor Tolen does rule the town with an iron fist, but it's barely a secret that his second in command Captain Illam would actually be worse. It's just a good thing for the town that he's at sea most of the time and isn't in charge.

The third person down the chain is a little more hopeful. Zal said she actually managed to speak with a Captain Yan who apparently was wooed by Zal's charms when she tried to recruit her as part of her crew.

After spending a few interesting nights with her, Captain Yan blabbed just about everything. Yan made it pretty clear that she would like Tolen out of the picture entirely and his shake down of anyone that comes through or docks there. She says that he's basically getting rich just sitting on his ass, while all the hard working sailors are paying him for safe harbor.

Captain Yan said if she could she'd make Hessla freer than it claims to be, but she doesn't have the support to attempt a coup of any sort, plus she wouldn't really want to be in charge of a town. Her love of the sea is too great to be stuck in some town.

Zal didn't bring it up that she belonged to the Crimson Talons, but she got the very real distinction that if the Talons came in to help Yan, she'd go through with her plan. Yan certainly has the inside knowledge of the Governor's mansion and such. Plus Yan now seems to have a bit of a crush on Zal.

"What the hell is it with you?" Vaughn asks.
"Hey, I just know how to lay it down like that." Zal remarks.
"Well this is all certainly useful information. If what you're saying is true. We could get rid of this Tolen AND possibly have free reign of the town if this Yan isn't actually going to stick around to govern. What about this Illam guy though?" you ask.
"Don't know. I mean I assume we kill him too. Yan's not an admirer of him either."
"That's a lot of fucking people to kill. I mean this isn't a simple assassination. We're talking a full-scale assault and we can't expect to not take losses ourselves."
"Well nobody said it was going to be easy."
"No…but I think we're going to need help after all." You say with a heavy sigh.
"Wait, so you're going to go to Mr. Reynolds?"
"Hey, I don't necessarily want to, but if I think it would help to have a highly skilled bloodthirsty assassin on our side, I'm not going to just dismiss the possibility."
"Well, it's up to you boss man."

You figure at the very least you can pay him a visit. If you don't like what he says, you can always leave. You'd rather have the extra help if possible.

Zal and Vaughn defer to your decision and the next day you walk into Mr. Reynolds' office.

As soon as you walk in, you see a strange ogrish looking creature, but much shorter than one. In fact if it wasn't for the oversized teeth and general monstrous appearance, you might mistake it for a very muscular dwarf.

You also see Henry, or at least you assume it's Henry. He hasn't changed much since the last time you saw him, though he's sporting a few scars across his face now.

Finally you see Mr. Reynolds and he certainly hasn't changed. Once again he stands up smiling at his desk.

"Well what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit from the head of the infamous Crimson Talons this fine day?" Mr. Reynolds says.
"I might need some people killed." You say.
"Hm, straight to business I see. Okay then, I assume there is some reason why you aren't having your own people taking care of this?"
"Let's just say, I think we might need some help on this one."
"Hm, Sounds serious, you planning on taking out the Klyton Council?" he chortles.
"No, just the Governor of Hessla…well and his second in command."

As you go into a little more you manage to get a genuine look of interest on Mr. Reynolds face.

"Ambitious. Though I'm not sure I can help. You see I mostly deal in matters concerning Klyton. Although…well I'm not sure you'd be interested in that…"

You haven't been here five minutes, and he's already playing mind games...

"Just fucking spit it..." You start to shout, but then you stop and then calm yourself before continuing.

"Mr. Reynolds, with all due respect, I have come here asking for assistance on this matter as I once did in the past. Your son did a marvelous job last time even if... I didn't quite appreciate its thoroughness last time. I am willing to pay your costs if they appear to be reasonable." You say.

Mr. Reynolds listens intently and smiles.

"I'm glad to see that wisdom has come with your age. That's good. Last time our business together was less than cordial. That's okay though, I still got paid. As I said, I would love to help you again in this matter, but I'm afraid due to this being an outside job as it were, the cost is going to be quite high. Not just because of that however, but also because my son Henry takes things a bit more personal than I do. Though I'm sure I can convince him for the right price." Mr. Reynolds says.
"Okay, but what is the price? How much?" you ask.
"Oh no, there won't be any money for this…well okay one thousand gold coins should do it on that front."
"A thousand? Is that all?"
"No. Of course not. You have to leave Klyton."
"Me?"
"Well you and all your little Talon buddies. Basically I want YOU out of this city and set up shop in Hessla which should be wide open after I help you."
"This is ridiculous! My goal is expansion not relocation! Why the hell should I move and why do you want me to anyway?"
"My reasons are my own, but that's my price. Besides, I'm also going to throw in that fine gentleman over there to help."

Mr. Reynolds points over to the ogre looking creature.

"And who is that?" You ask.
"Who is that? Don't you see the family resemblance? This fine gentleman is the late great Olaf's son!" Mr. Reynolds exclaims.
"The late Olaf?"
"Yes, it was a sad day when Olaf passed a few years ago. Died right here in the office in his sleep in fact. He will be missed. But anyway his son Olaf Jr. has been following in his father's large footsteps and I don't mind saying he's been doing a fine job for me and his own mother is very proud of him."

You remember that Mr. Reynolds once said Olaf was married to a halfling. You can't imagine how that birth was even possible let alone how she survived the process. It does however explain Junior's strange appearance by ogre standards. (Or any standards actually)

Mr. Reynolds goes on to assure you that he has more than enough skill to help do the job you require especially since the ogre is unlike his father and has embraced technology. He particularly has a great love of weapons that do damage on a massive scale.

"Really, with both Henry AND Junior working with you, you probably won't suffer any losses at all. Just think, you'll have an entire town at your mercy. Really, what are you losing by leaving Klyton? Despite all your precautions, you still live hiding in the shadows and eking out a lesser existence than you could be. The milita and the Council will always be a problem for you, but at Hessla? YOU could be the law. You're a natural leader obviously. In the right environment you could truly thrive to your full potential."

Flattering words to get you to do what he wants no doubt, but he isn't entirely wrong.

You take the help

"Alright fine, but this is a big thing. We're replacing an entire regime. Your people better be all in on wiping out every fucker that stands against us." You say.
"Oh of that you can be assured." Mr. Reynolds remarks.
"Good, because if I think they're doing anything less than that, I'm going to be less inclined to just pick up and leave here. Also, I need to run this by one of my people so she can go inform the other people that are against Tolen. It would at least help if we had a little coordination in this endeavor."
"Sure, sure. Just return with the payment and let me know when you're ready. Don't take too long though; I do need these fine gentlemen for other jobs. Look forward to working with you again."

You can't say you feel the same, but you feel a little more confident in your chances with Mr. Reynolds' psycho son and his pet ogre half-breed. Now you just have to run this over with Zalmora and try to coordinate.

"We're leaving Klyton?!" Zalmora exclaims.
"Gee boss that seems a bit extreme." Vaughn adds.
"Yeah well that's the decision. We're going all in on this because if we pull it off, we've got an entire town to play around with rather than what we got here. Building an underground complex was a good attempt, but I realize now that in order to be a proper force in this world, we need to be unrestrained. Anyway, this isn't up for debate and we're doing this in a week so Zal, you need to get going back to Hessla and tell all your little pirate friends to get prepared." You explain.
"A week? We might need longer than that to properly plan!"
"Well you've got seven days. Should be more than enough time and whether they're ready or not, we're hitting Hessla and hitting it hard. If they aren't going to be with us, they can stay the fuck out of the way."

Zal and Vaughn are both a bit flabbergasted at your rather extreme approach to all this. You know Zal wants to argue and Vaughn probably even wants to say something, but they can both see how you're not going to budge on this so they just comply.

"Okay, fine. Whether I convince them or not I'll meet you a few miles away from Hessla near the copse of trees off the side of the road. You'll know it when you see it. And I also just want to say I still think this is a bad idea." Zal says before leaving.

Well you knew she'd get in the last word.

You have Vaughn use up some of the treasury to acquire some more gunpowder weapons (and traditional ones as well), meanwhile you take your payment to Mr. Reynolds who tells you that his people will meet you at Hessla as they prefer to travel by themselves.

"Don't worry, they'll be ready by the time you arrive at Hessla." Mr. Reynolds says.

You return to your headquarters and inform Vaughn to gather everyone tonight because you're making your way to Hessla tomorrow.

Later that night when you have all the Talons in your presence, you give a last minute speech about how this is a positive move and it will only be beneficial for the organization in the long run. While most members had already been informed about this new development the same day you accepted Mr. Reynolds' help, most of them are still processing it and naturally some are still unsure of the whole leaving Klyton thing.

"Do you mean we really can't return here ever? Like not even to visit?" someone asks.
"Well, we aren't going to be able to take everything from here in one day and it wouldn't make sense to anyway given that we're going into a full scale battle. So what we're probably going to do when we've settled everything in Hessla, is come back over the course of maybe a week and move all our remaining shit out of here through the escape tunnel. That's it though." You explain.
"But, I mean me mum lives here and she needs me to take care of her." Someone else says.
"Yeah, and I got a wife and kid!" shouts another.
"I don't like Hessla, I've been to there once and all their whores got that weird sea smell. Feels like I'm fucking a mermaid or some shit." replies another.
"This seems like a bad idea boss, I mean I don't want to step out of line, but…"

"ENOUGH! This is what the fucking plan is and it's not up for fucking debate! You got tonight to settle your shit, make arrangements and take whatever you need because tomorrow we're leaving. If you don't fucking like it, then you can get the fuck out right now! We can get along without you AND if I see any of you deserters in Hessla in the future, you're fucking dead!" you shout.

There isn't too much more grumbling or debating after that.

As for you, you don't have much to take. About the only thing you wish you could take is all this shit that you had built. Seems like it was all a damn waste of money now, but what's done it done.

After packing what you need, you get some rest because it's going to be the start of an eventful week tomorrow.

The next day, you take a head count of who is around and see that some of them decided to abandon you which isn't surprising considering you really expected some of them would. You just hope Zal comes through with her pirate friends and Reynolds' psychos for hire are at the top of their game.

You all start to exit through the escape tunnel fully armed and prepared. You almost feel like a military general leading an army.

You just wish you inspired more loyalty and not just because some of your members deserted you, but because as soon as you exit the escape tunnel there's a contingent of Klyton militia waiting for you.

Looks like one of the deserters wasn't taking any chances on you possibly having him killed so he snitched on you.

Musket fire rings out and you and several of your people are shot. You take a hit to the upper part of your leg and you fall the ground shouting in agony. Not far from your body is Vaughn who was lucky enough to get killed immediately with a shot to his head.

The Crimson Talons who weren't killed or otherwise incapacitated desperately attempt to escape either through the wilderness or back through the tunnel. Hardly matters though since the militia is in full force and everywhere.

You're not getting taken in alive though. Even if they bother to heal your leg, you know you're going to just get thrown in one of those hanging cages outside of Klyton at best. At worst they're just going to publicly execute you anyway.

You manage to get off a couple shots with your flintlocks, and even manage to stab one the militiamen in the leg from your prone position, but eventually you catch another musket ball in the chest and soon one of the militia finishes you off with a spear to your throat.