Erice sighed at that. “Then I nominate myself as the first member of the council. As second in command to the Sunbiters, I learned how to run things effectively. If I can’t go back, then I must move forward.”
Tadmin grimaced. He hadn’t realized that she would ask for a position of power. With the recent circumstances of her conscription, there was little reason to believe that she wasn’t after revenge. But then again, Valkhorn had been the one to rally the soldiers to fight against her people. Maybe her anger died with Valkhorn? He was unsure.
“Very well!” Tadmin shouted, raising his hands high. “Let us cast a vote for Erice!” Only time would tell whether she would be an ally or an enemy. The worst case scenario would be that she sought revenge after only the original members of the attack, an attack at which Tadmin would convince her that he had not participated in. It had been rather dark during the raid, after all.
The vote was quick enough and Erice was confirmed. One after another, men and women with expertise and skill came forth and were nominated. By the end of the evening, the Endless Legion had elected six warriors to lead them in their future. And of course, the masses thought that it was more than fair to give Tadmin a seat on the council as well. After all, it had been his idea.
Finding Samuel Goldenwine wasn’t as easy as a Tadmin had believed. Normally, Valkhorn would meet with him in the late evening, once a week under a bridge in the Golden District. Tadmin had staked out every night this week, yet Samuel was nowhere to be found. Asking around did little to help him locate the man either. Promise of a secret facility where Samuel resided turned out to be nothing more than a rumor, the secret room at the end of an alley was just an empty space, full of dust and mice.
With their new guild structure in place, there was little to do but wait for a new order of crystals. The old crystals had lost most of their power, for reasons Tadmin was unsure of. Valkhorn had promised he would get a new order, but was killed, most likely by a rival guild, before he had a chance to place the order. Perhaps Samuel had been murdered as well. That would not be good for Tadmin, not one bit. He had staked his entire authority on the fact that he’d be able to get the Endless Legion their crystals. Without magic, the guild would have little authority in the city.
The Mermaid District was the last place for Tadmin to search for the day. He had interviewed countless men and women, owners of taverns and pubs, in the hopes of catching some hint of Samuel’s whereabouts. Little turned up. This place would most likely be the same.
The afternoon was turning into evening, and the busy streets of the Mermaid District grew even more busy, as nobles set out to court for the evening. Many of the rich and powerful elite of Glimmer would go to the Mermaid District in search of a good time. Fancy restaurants, beautiful art museums with elegant carvings and of course, the famous Singing Mermaid herself, who resided in the small lake in the center of the area, were all attractions to be visited. But like all good attractions, there was great expense involved. Copper and silver were never welcome in the Mermaid District. Gold, and copious amounts of it, was the only currency accepted. And unlike the heavily armed veterans whom Tadmin was now working with, he had little coin to his name. He had already spent a few coins on unsuccessful bribes to clever drunks who were able to feign knowledge until they had the money in their hands, only to then point him in the wrong direction.
Tadmin approached one of the more popular establishments, a tavern by the name of the Friendly Fern. The gold crested windows, the beautiful banners and bright lights inside suggested that this was a place of beauty and class. The sound of violin music gently wafted through the walls, causing some anxiety to well up within Tadmin’s stomach. He was certainly no high society man, having been in the lower class all his life. He would stick out like a sore thumb to these people. Still, Samuel dressed well and was getting rich off of Valkhorn’s gold, perhaps he had migrated to more posh settings.
The doors to the Friendly Fern swung open as Tadmin entered. His discomfort grew tenfold once he saw how everyone was dressed. All the men were wearing fancy overcoats, with gold and silver buttons. The women were in dresses of silk, adorned with jewelry that shined in the light. Tadmin, in his threadbare jacket and patchwork trousers, stuck out a hedge on fire.
Still, no one paid any mind to him. Most were admiring a violinist, who was playing upon the stage. Her eyes were shut as she ran the bow across the strings without hesitation. The music was at both times sad and uplifting. Tadmin had never heard music like that before.
“Sir?” asked a waitress as she approached him. She had several drinks on a tray, drinks that were colors Tadmin had never witnessed in a beverage before. “Are you lost?”
“Uh, no, just need to talk to the barkeep,” Tadmin mumbled, trying to smooth the wrinkles from his shirt.
The waitress pointed to the bar, where several gentlemen were sitting, sipping whiskeys and smoking cigars. “Over there. Uh, this place is…we only accept gold here, sir.”
“Right, right,” Tadmin said, smiling at her. “I’m good for it.”
“Good, welcome to the Friendly Fern!” she said as she walked off to serve a table of nobles their drinks.
Tadmin sighed a little as he walked through the throng of patrons and sat at the bar. This was the kind of place he could get used to. All he needed was to find that damnable Samuel and place the next order. Then, the guild could start taking in jobs, and he could start getting paid. It had been unfortunate that when Valkhorn died, the location to his money vault had died with him. Money was tight, and to be honest, Tadmin would have to do some serious negotiations with Samuel to get the next order.
“What can I do for you?” asked a red-haired gnome as she walked over to his end of the bar. She smiled widely at him, and while the rest of the establishment oozed wealth and garnishment, this woman seemed to lack any such pretense. Even the clothes she wore were second-hand, it seemed.
“I’m Tadmin,” he said, extending his hand to hers. “And I’m looking for someone.”
“Aren’t we all,” she replied, shaking his hand. “But I’m not in the habit of sharing the whereabouts of anyone. At least not in this place. The name’s Sali, by the way.”
“Sali?” Tadmin asked. The name sounded familiar. He looked at her for a moment. “Didn’t…didn’t you used to own another tavern?”
“Ah, an old patron!” Sali said. Her reserved demeanor relaxed a little. “Yes, I own the Forgotten Fern, down in the Golden District.”
“And you work here?”
This elicited a laugh from the short woman. “Oh, no. I own this place.”
“I’ve been to the Forgotten plenty of times,” Tadmin said as he leaned forward. “And there’s no way you made enough money to open up a second place in the Mermaid District.”
“Well, if you must know, a good friend of mine decided to invest in my expansion plan. The craziest thing too…” she trailed off. “But I digress. Who are you looking for?”
“A friend of mine. I’ve not seen him for a while and I’m worrying about his wellbeing.”
“As all bounty hunters and revenged crazed men are,” Sali retorted. She began to pour Tadmin a beer. He wanted to protest, as he had no ways of paying for the beer, but he was quite thirsty. Maybe she still had a soft spot for poor dredges like himself.
“No, I mean him no harm. He’s a man by the name of Samuel Goldenwine. I think he made up the last part of his name, if that helps at all.”
“Never heard of him,” Sali said. Tadmin watched her for a moment but could detect no falsehoods from her. She slid the beer to him. “Have a drink.”
“On the house?” he added, hopefully.
“Sure thing, but don’t make a habit of coming here without gold,” she said. She glanced around and leaned in. “This is the exact same beer I serve in the Golden District,” she whispered with a chuckle. “And these rich assholes are paying me ten times the price. All because I hire some musician and pay a few well-dressed gossips
to talk about how great this place is.”
Tadmin laughed at that. “You have quite the business acumen.”
“That I do,” she said.
As Tadmin reached for his beer, Sali stiffened and her eyes went wide. Tadmin frowned. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
Before she could open up her mouth to speak, Samuel plopped down on the seat next to him. “Sali, my dear! Give me one of those fancy green drinks! Quickly, for I am quite parched!”
Tadmin let out a silent thanks to whatever god was responsible for luck. Tinsi, perhaps? After thanking Tinsi, he turned to look at Samuel. “You are a hard man to find.”
Samuel glanced at him. “Do I know you?”
“Uh, Mr. Tadmin here has been asking about you,” Sali interjected. “He’s been rather anxious to find you.”
Samuel moved his hand into his right coat pocket but stayed cordial with Tadmin. “I should hope this is a pleasant visit and not some ill-fated attempt to harm me? It’s been a rough week and I don’t want to have to kill you where you stand.”
“Oh, no, uh no revenge at all!” Tadmin said, holding both hands up to show his intent was harmless. “I’m with the Endless Legion. Valkhorn was killed by some other guild, it seems. And we still need to place an order with you.”
“Not so loud!” Samuel hissed. He glanced at Sali. “Bring that drink to the back room, if you will.”
“Sure thing,” Sali said. They both exchanged some kind of glance, but Tadmin wasn’t sure what it meant. He wondered if he would have to fight his way out of this place. He didn’t see any kind of security, but for some reason Samuel seemed on edge. This might not end well.
Samuel stood and gestured towards a door behind the bar. Tadmin stood as well and followed after the man. The door swung open revealing stairs leading upwards. “This is where I like to conduct my private affairs,” Samuel said.
“I’m guessing you were the investor in Miss Sali’s business?”
Samuel chuckled. “Oh yes. With all that gold burning a hole in my pockets, I figured it would be better helping some of Glimmer’s better citizens rip off Glimmer’s worst ones.”
“Cheers to that,” Tadmin replied as they walked up the stairs and into an office. There were no windows within the office, no other means of entry or escape. A large oak desk was in the center of the room, and dozens of books lined the shelves behind it.
“Have a seat,” Samuel said, pointing to a chair sitting across from the desk. Unlike the chair Samuel sat in, which was made of leather and looked rather comfortable, this chair was rickety and more akin to a stool than a chair. Still, Tadmin complied. He couldn’t afford to screw this up. “So, about these orders?” Samuel asked.
“Yes, sir!” Tadmin said. “We would like to place another order, for at least 60 crystals of steel skin and strength, once again. If perhaps we could compound both magical effects into these crystals, it would be best.”
Samuel sighed. “I’m sorry to say this…Mr.…”
“Tadmin.”
“Right, Mr. Tadmin, but unfortunately we’ve had some policy changes lately. We’ve gotten reports of your crew smashing into other guilds and destroying them like it’s nothing. Even one of the taverns here was completely obliterated because of your ilk. If I had the chance to see Valkhorn again, before he disappeared, I would have cancelled our arrangement.”
Tadmin’s heart began to sink. This was not good. “Samuel, what we do with our crystals shouldn’t have anything to do with you.”
“But they do,” Samuel said. “We’re trying to keep this operation nice and quiet. If the Magistrate catches wind of what we’re selling, they will track us and shut us down. I have no interest in going to prison for the rest of my life. We sold to you because we didn’t realize you’d have the grace and subtly of a drunken ox. So, my apologies. Unless you need something to save you from a plague, we’re not selling to you.”
“What would it take to convince you otherwise?” Tadmin asked. “Valkhorn’s leadership was…rough and ill-conceived. We’ve since reformed ourselves.”
Samuel shrugged. “It’s nothing personal. My operation is changing. I can’t risk giving weapons of war to you people.”
Tadmin frowned. The only thing keeping his new crew together was the promise of magic. Without that, they would disband or worse, remove him from his position of leadership. Tadmin didn’t have a lot in his life, no family, no money and no career prospects. This was literally all he had, especially considering the fact that he abandoned his sworn post with the Blades. Sure, he was little more than a squire there, but abandoning one’s post was never looked upon fondly by other warriors. Word was sure to spread that he was among the renegades who joined Valkhorn. He might as well leave Glimmer if he couldn’t lock this deal down.
“I’m going to level with you here, Samuel,” Tadmin said, “Everything is riding on securing a deal with you.”
“Is it now?” Samuel asked. He grinned a little. Tadmin could see the position of power was appealing to the man. Perhaps he could work that angle.
“Yes. Our newly founded guild made some foolish decisions, and, in the process, we’ve made enemies out of the rest of this city. Every guild maintains a presence in their own districts and we made the capital mistake of raiding them. Now, with Valkhorn gone, and our magical supplies drained, we have no ability to defend ourselves from retribution.”
Samuel shrugged. “Well, maybe you should disperse. That would save you some headaches.”
Tadmin shook his head vigorously. “And do what? We’re fighters and warriors, man. Listen, you aren’t thinking this through. If you…if you get us what we need, we can work for you.”
“Work for me?”
“Yeah, sure. I mean, you’re going to need people, right? Security to keep your dealings safe, protection in ca- “
“I’m going to stop you right there,” Samuel growled. The casual smile vanished from his face. “Idiots like you and your guild are the reason why we would need security. Before you guys decided to start wrecking everything, business was quiet and safe. We have our own security now. We’re doing just fine, and I don’t need you to come here and try to weasel your way into getting more crystals, just so you can bring more heat on us.”
“Okay, I’m sorry,” Tadmin said, leaning back a little. Apparently, he had struck a nerve. “I’m not going to lie to you. I’m a desperate man, okay? I’ve got nothing left for me if I can’t lock this deal down. Now, I don’t know you and you don’t know me, but…please, I’m begging you, just give me something. Let’s build our trust back up again, please!”
Samuel sighed at that. “I appreciate the humility here, but no. Sorry, but we don’t sell to mercenaries or people who want to get into fights. And regardless of what you tell me, that’s exactly what you plan on doing with our products.”
A burning anger rose up within Tadmin, but he kept his face calm and controlled. Now was not the time for lashing out. Instead, he merely choked back the words of anger and accusations and instead stood to his feet. “I understand. I appreciate your time, Samuel.”
“Of course,” Samuel said as he rose to shake the man’s hand. “Good luck out there.”
“Yeah, you too,” Tadmin mumbled as he left the room, his boots thumping heavily against each step. This was it for him. All of his hopes of running a brand new organization, with magic at their hands and gold in their pockets, was ruined. Valkhorn had burned all good will and now Tadmin was the one to pay for it.
He returned to the bar, which had since cleared out. Only a few of the waitstaff remained, cleaning the place of the libations that were left on the tables.
Sali was at the bar, cleaning a few glasses. She looked up as Tadmin passed by. “Talks go well?” she asked.
Tadmin glanced at her and forced a smile. “As well as could have been expected.”
“So not well then,” she said with a laugh. “Sorry about that. Why don’t you come back sometime later this week and I’ll treat you
to some of the good stuff? It’s nice talking to someone who doesn’t come from money.”
Tadmin slowly nodded, as an idea of desperation and madness burned its way into his mind. Yes, he realized. He would come back later. But not for a drink.
Samuel kicked back and took a long drag from his cigar. Carefully crafted by wizened monks in the far off lands of Ngoa, these cigars cost a whopping 100 gold pieces each. A single box of ten cost a thousand. Sitting on his desk, in his new office, were six boxes. And the best part? Elias insisted that he purchase them.
The new guy was all kinds of smart. While Samuel was a hustler and an entrepreneur, he didn’t have much of a head for bigger picture operations. That’s all Elias could focus on. He spoke endlessly about meetings with important members of the Magistrate, hence the purchase of fine cigars, as well as different ways to expand the operation.
Theft, Murder, and Crystals Page 10