Chapter 2B: The More Things Change



Year 17

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

The innkeeper takes the silver and gives you a scornful look.

"Bout fucking time! You're always late! And don't think I don't know how you get this!" Trobart says.
"Of course you know how I get this, but it doesn't stop you from taking the money anyway, you mean old bastard." You answer.
"Watch yer, fuckin' tongue! One word from me, and the militia would take your ass in quick!"
"Pfft, yeah right. You call the militia and they'd probably shut this whole place down. You're selling booze without a license in the basement and one of your rooms is being used by an unlicensed whore."
"Fuck you cunt face!" Trobart shouts and stomps off. You just shake your head at the old man's misplaced anger.

You head to your room with no more distractions, and then wearily sit on your shitty straw mattress and count what's left of your ill-gotten loot. Enough to eat for a few days.

Granted this hasn't been the best month, but you swear you thought you'd be doing a lot better than this by now. This city unfortunately though is proving a lot more vigilant than you'd like. You certainly aren't in Teckleville anymore.

What's really not helping is the Crimson Talons running around carelessly committing clumsy burglaries and heists and bringing the militia down even harder on everything.

You're sort of glad you didn't join up with them now, because at this rate, the militia is probably going to track them down and execute the lot of them.

Still, that doesn't solve your current problem.

Part of you wonders if maybe you should just move on from this city, but you really loathe the idea of travelling again and you aren't sure where you'd go. Hessla maybe?

While you're pondering your possible future here, you get a knock on the door.

"Heeeeey youngster! (hic!) You got any spare….coppers fer the faith?"

Great, it's that drunken priest that has a room across from you. You thought the men of Joachim were supposed to be into purity and restraint. If you didn't know any better, you'd think Joachim was the god of alcohol and hopeless drunks based on this guy's behavior and actions.

"No and I told you to stop bothering me Virgil! Don't you have a collection box you can pilfer booze money from?" you shout.
"Yeah…but no…but I got some (hic) news…" Virgil answers.
"Yeah, I already know about Joachim's blessed light. You tried to tell me about it the first time I came here and you nearly threw up on me in the process."
"I did? Geez, sorry son…but this is different! (hic) Some…somebody…"
"Somebody what?"
"Somebody was lookin' fer ya."

Well that peaked your interest.

"Oh?" you answer.
"Yeah…(hic)."
"Hold on." You say and go answer the door.

No sooner have you opened the door when the odor of Virgil hits you full force. You immediately cover your nose and mouth.

"Shit, Virgil. When the hell was the last time you washed? You fucking smell worse than a troll's ass. Granted I've never smelled a troll's ass, but I think it's a safe bet you smell worse than one." You say.
"Guess again. Hahahahahahaha! (hic) So can ya spare a copper?"
"Maybe, so what's all this about someone looking for me?"
"Oh, that. Yeah, this big guy. I mean not like ogre big, but just human big ya know? Old guy too. (hic) I mean not as old as that asshole who own this place, but probably around my age."
"Well that's still fucking old then, aren't you like seventy?"
"Fuck you. I'll have you know I'm in my forties…I think…yeah…"
"Okay, so big guy in his forties was looking for me. What did he want?"

Of course NOW Virgil decides to be uncooperative.

"No! No! Fuck you, I'm not tellin' you shit now. (hic) Who…who…what do you think I am some kinda asshole fer you to abuse? Callin' me seventy fuckin' years old. I oughta kick yer ass in the name of Joachim! Yer lucky I'm a man of faith…(hic)"

At this point Virgil mumbles and stumbles away, bumps into the door to his room and then after a few tries he finally gets it open and slams it behind him.

You suppose you could always ask him again later when he's feeling less feisty. He will have likely forgotten all about your so-called insult later, of course he probably will have forgotten about the guy looking for you too.

You close the door and think on who he could have been talking about. Your dad? Dad's not a big guy though and you honestly doubt if he would bother to come look for you.

Maybe it was Tom from the Crimson Talons? You can't imagine what he'd want to see you directly for though. You'd imagine if he were trying to recruit you again he'd send an underling to invite you to see him. Tom wasn't a huge guy either; of course given that Virgil is on the short and scrawny side, he probably thinks you're a big guy too.

Other than those two, you're drawing a blank. It's a little concerning that some big guy is looking for you though.

You hear another knock on the door.

"Virgil?" you ask.
"No, it's Randi. I got some information that you might want to know." A woman's voice says

Randi is the red headed whore that lives down the hall. Unusual that she'd seek you out, since she's snotty with you at the best of times. You guess it's because you turned down her overly aggressive offer the first time you stepped into this inn.

You answer the door and she's as scuzzy as ever. You feel like you're catching something just by standing this close to her.

"Okay, so what's this information? Because if it's some big guy that was looking for me, I already know because Virgil told me." You say.
"Oh? Well did he tell you what this big guy wanted too?" Randi asks.
"No."
"You'll want to know then."
"…Well?"
"Well what?"
"(Sigh) I know you're not used to hearing this, but spit it out! Tell me what this guy wanted."
"I'm not your fucking secretary. You want to know, you need to pay, ten silvers."
"Ten fucking silvers? You don't charge that much for a blowjob!"
"Yeah well if you want a blowjob, then you can pay half that price, but if you want to know what that guy wanted, it's ten silvers."

While you're wondering who this guy is and why he's looking for you, you're not exactly keen on giving away most of your hard earned money to some whore who you're not even fucking.

"Yeah well go find two dicks to suck then, because you're not getting ten silver from me." You say and shut the door on Randi who shouts some obscenities at you from the hallway.

You'll just remain alert and keep an eye out this guy looking for you. Remain on your guard too, since you still don't know if this man means you harm or not. Hopefully Virgil can tell you something later. You might have to offer a couple coppers, but it's far cry from ten silvers.

For now though you decide to get some sleep after your long night of thievery. As your lids get heavier, you think on where you could ply your trade with a little more ease and a lot more loot. The rich areas are well patrolled, the government district is well patrolled, the merchant district is well patrolled, and the poor areas are…still patrolled and the folks don't have shit.

It suddenly occurs to you that you've never really tried the university district of the city. Might be worth a look, after all it should be filled with stupid rich kids not aware of their surroundings and the Talons don't seem to go running around there, so there might be less heat.

Later…

You wake up midday. After getting yourself ready for today's endeavors, you knock on Virgil's door, but there is no answer. He's either still asleep or he's out collecting donations for Joachim. Probably the latter considering you didn't contribute to his booze fund.

You leave the Welcome Mat Inn, though a little more cautiously than usual. Nobody seems to be approaching or giving you suspicious looks though. Still, wishing to keep a low profile, you stick to the back streets as much as possible and eventually when you get to the better part of town, you catch a coach for your remaining trip to the university. By the time you arrive, the day is beginning to end, but you soon find that the university is still fairly active.

After a few hours of just scouting and walking around, it's much like you figured. A lot of scholarly types with their noses in books and rich kids that do a lot of partying. The dorms have security, but oddly not as much as one might think.

You find that despite being dressed in your lower class clothing, nobody is really giving you a second glance. It might be due to your youth though; you probably just look like a struggling student. Wasn't like your dad was exactly rich when he attended this place either.

It occurs to you how strange it is to be at the university at all. You never thought you'd ever "attend" your dad's old place of higher learning. You're sure at one time he had hopes you would, but it probably wasn't under these circumstances.

Out of curiosity you pay a visit to the section to where the medical school is located. Seems weird that your father spent so much money and time putting himself through the place while you're here basically casing it.

You're not that well versed in the value of medical supplies and drugs, but you figure the Crimson Talons could be willing to fence whatever you bring. Hell, you probably could just sell the stuff yourself. You know more than enough folks in your area that bitch about not being able to afford shit from the local apothecary, let alone proper medicine.

Of course since this is your first time here, you're still getting used to all the twisting corridors that this university seems to favor. You end up stepping into a class in session a couple times, before stumbling upon an unattended supply room where you pilfer various bottles of pills and liquids.

When you attempt to leave the facility, you go in the direction where you think you came from, but soon find that you made a wrong turn somewhere.

Somehow you manage to find yourself in what you think must be an office area since you see various doors with names on them. (All of them with "Dr." in front) As you're passing one, the door opens and you find yourself face to face with an older woman with gray hair.

"Hey. You here about the job?" the woman asks.
"Huh? What?" you answer.
"I put out several announcements around campus for an escort job. Hmmm….you don't look like a warrior and you're a little young. You one of those students over from the magic college?"
"Um, no actually, I just got lost. I'm trying to find my way out of this place."
"Lost? What were you doing here in the first place?"
"Well my father used to go here and I…"
"Wait a minute…you do you look a little familiar. What's your father's name?"

You tell this woman your father's name and she instantly lights up.

"Hah! I knew it. You look a lot like your father. He was in my microbiology class when I used to teach it. Did very well too. How he doing?" the woman asks.
"Oh he's doing fine uh Miss…umm…" you reply
"Oh I go by Dr. Gossey and nowadays I focus purely on zoology and the biology of the creatures and animals that live in our fascinating world! So are you a student here too and trying to follow in your dad's footsteps?"
"Something like that I suppose. I'm actually just checking out my options right now. You know, to see what I might be interested in."
"Good. Good. Glad to see a young person thinking about their future. Hey, would you consider yourself to be an adventurous spirit?"
"I suppose in some ways I am."
"Well I've got a job that needs doing and I don't have time to do it myself and I'd rather not send my assistant there by herself. You familiar with qweepas?"
"Aren't they some really ugly oversized rats?"
"In simple terms basically, but they're much more than that. They're actually much more intelligent than the average rat. They aren't even native to the continent, but a lot of them over the years have undoubtedly snuck aboard Hessla pirate ships and now they're slowly starting to gain a foothold as a pest on the coast. One can only imagine how far they will have spread in another ten years."
"So what is it that you need exactly?"
"I need someone to go into Hessla or around that area with my assistant and get me some live specimens. About ten should do. Like I said, I'd send my assistant alone, but I know how dangerous Hessla is especially for a single female, so it would be better if someone went with her."
"So, am I just to be there as hired muscle?"
"Yes, though as I noticed before, you don't seem to be a physical type…not to say you aren't well proportioned for a young man your age, it's just I was hoping to get a taker from the gladiator team or someone of similar intimidating size. I only mentioned this at all to you because for one, I haven't had anyone else come in as strange as that may be. And two I knew your father. I figured it wouldn't be polite to not offer his son a chance to earn some money towards his education goals, whatever they may be. You could even get a jump start on potential class credits."

This is getting a little strange, but you might as well ask.

"So what's this job pay then?" you ask.
"Thirty gold pieces upon completion." Dr. Gossey replies.
"And all I have to do is escort your assistant?"
"Yes, and make sure the qweepa specimens get here alive. Those are very important to my research. My assistant will have everything else required for this job and the trip will essentially be completely paid for."
"Do you need a decision now?"
"Well it would be nice, but I understand if you need to think on it. Hessla isn't a safe place and knowing your father, I'm sure he wanted better for you and you grew up in a protected environment and are probably less familiar with handling folks with a more criminal mentality."

Dr. Gossey's assessment of you nearly makes you laugh.

While this is technically a "real" job, you can't say you aren't totally unopposed to performing it. Thirty gold is certainly better than what you've done in most weeks since your time here and it would give you a chance to go to Hessla for free. Maybe see if things are potentially more lucrative over there.

You don't take the job

While the pay seems okay, this doesn't really seem like your sort of thing. Running around catching rats and escorting some student that lacks common sense on top of it doesn't sound too fun.

"I appreciate the offer, but I don't think this is for me." You say.
"Completely understandable. Well, good luck on whatever it is that you're deciding to go into, and say hello to your father next time you see him." Dr. Gossey says.
"I will." You say and bid her goodbye.

After leaving the medical building you decide to just call it a day at the university. You've had an okay haul today and you think the university will be your stomping grounds now.

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

The next day you start your routine of heading to the university and then after a productive day you make your way back home.

As you're heading home in the middle of the night, you suddenly feel uneasy. Like you're being watched. You look around constantly, but never see anything out of the ordinary. There isn't anyone following you, though you suppose if they are they're really good at staying hidden.

Your thoughts go back to the man who was looking for you a few days ago. You still don't know what that was all about and if this is someone meaning you harm. You're paranoid for the rest of your way home.

You don't change your routine too much other than perhaps taking different ways to get to the university and back home. You still feel uneasy at times, but again nothing happens.

However on one of your more mundane trips to get some food, one of the local food merchants who doesn't normally make much small talk, breaks that habit when you're looking over the fruit cart.

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

Just keeps getting weirder. All you know about the Raggedy Man Inn is that it's in a worse part of Klyton than even you stay at. If this guy is some sort of courier, surely he should know where to find you, especially if this is an urgent message from your family. And you can't begin to know what that might be if true.

Part of you wants to just head to the Raggedy Man Inn to confront this person once and for all, but all of this sounds so damn suspicious that you can't imagine going there would do you any good other than getting caught in a trap.

You keep up your usual caution and after about a week passes, nobody is coming up to tell you that some guy is looking for you anymore. You end up wondering if it was some message from your family after all. In any case, you relax slightly and continue with your usual life.

After a month, the whole thing seems to be forgotten by anyone that spoke to you about it. In fact you aren't even thinking about it as much anymore either. You're mostly thinking about how you're really making a killing at the university.

You come home from another successful night and enter your room…

No sooner have you opened the door, when a hand strongly grips your hand and yanks you inside. You feel a foot trip you and you go plunging face first into the floor and hear the door being shut behind you.

"Now hol…" you start to say before you feel a boot kicking you in the side of the head.

"Stop talking, I don't want to hear your voice. This has to happen." You hear a voice say.

You manage to roll over and see a muscular older man with a beard standing over you with a very large knife.

This is the man that was looking for you.

"Who…" you start to say again before the man descends on top of your body and punches you in the face with his free hand.

"I said shut up! I thought about this. I thought about the pros and cons for a long time. The right and wrong. And ultimately it all comes back to justice." The man says.

You never put it together based on the vague descriptions by other people before, but you know who this man is. He's Klint's father.

"You took away my son and not only did you escape, but I see you merely plying your criminal ways here too. I could have easily told the Klyton militia about you, but no, I want to perform this justice myself. Not just for my son you murdered, but for ALL those you've hurt!"

With those final words, Klint's father begins stabbing the hell out of you repeatedly with his knife. You scream out several times, but he doesn't care. In fact he wants to hear your pleas and begging.

By the time the militia is called to check on the noise, Klint's father stabbed you to death and is covered in your blood. He merely turns his head and says that justice has been served.