"I can do basic bookkeeping. I can carry boxes. I can sweep the floor." she says. I can look pretty and play dead. "Maybe other stuff, but I'm fresh out of ideas what else you're doing here."
"Do you have references for your bookkeeping?"
"No, not really. My father was a merchant. I looked over his shoulder when he did it. Revenues, expenditures, accounts. You sum it up and at the end it needs to be balanced. It's no sorcery."
"Good enough for me. I have this list here. Write a copy of it, and then check all the items and the positions in the warehouse. And mark where stuff is located wrongly. I need a complete inventory today. You get a silver a day."
"I can make a silver a day and a warm meal by looking pretty behind the bar of The Pig's Whistle. I want three."
"Two and if you finish it today, I pay you the warm meal at the Blue Marlin." the foreman offers.
"Deal." Persephone replies and starts with the work immediately.
Looking over the list she finds that every entry has an arrival date, an owner, a price/fee, and a place. Some also have a leaving date. All in all, maybe five-, sixhundred items? So it's lots of work.
Menan and Arawyn enter the Whistle in their usual manner. They do not offer to pour and take seats as far away as possible from any others. "This Marinelli. It seems to me the best course of action would be a calculated and unexpected offense that terminates him and as many of his thugs as possible. I speak of a dock fire and mass murder. Anything less would be continual escalated skirmishes. The situation would be resolved just like that. The city watch does not care for him and knows him to be minor trouble. I would most likely be doing the investigation. Or, they could just keep paying the brute. That does not sit well with me."
"I don't know, Menan. This is really not our fight. It could go wrong as most battle plans often do. I have no intentions of hanging from...oh, having my head removed. Perhaps we should continue our journey."
"As you wish, my dear. I owe Persephone the breaking news of her step mother." He raises his mug. "To happier times."
"I am ready for that. Cheers."
After getting an overview of how the list works and how to identify the crates in the warehouse - the number is written with coal on the sides - she starts making a new inventory.
She creates a new list, in order of the items placed in the warehouse, listing only the number, the name and the place, marking the item on the old list as found. The rest of the data can be added later at a desk.
The work isn't too complicated, but it is time consuming. As she is finally done, she has a new list with 367 items that are in the warehouse, 104 items on the old list that are checked out already, and 13 items that are nowhere to find. After ten hours of continuous work it is already evening as she hands the papers over to the foreman.
"Well, good work." he tells going over the list. "Here are your two silver. Come along, your meal waits."
"Name's Finn. What's your's?" Finn inquires. He leads the short way to the Blue Marlin, a wooden building pressed between two warehouses. Two stories high, but only 20 feet wide. Entering through the swinging doors the houses real size becomes clear. It is about sixty feet from the entrance to the bar. And to the right and left of the narrow there a jostling crowd fills the tables.
Finn raises his hand and makes a few signs, before pointing to a table with two vacant seats. Taking one, he pats on the seat besides him "Sit down."
"Percy." Persephone decides for her name. It's close enough for her to react, and different enough to not be immediately recognizable by someone who knows her.
She takes the seat next to Finn. "What's on the menu today?" she asks to avoid an awkward silence.
The Blue Marlin has much more customers than The Pig's Whistle. It is loud and smelly and crowded. Half a dozen women squirrel around, keeping the beer and wine flowing and the food on the table. A sailor with a full mug is a happy and peaceful sailor. They all look like rough folk who wouldn't mind a brawl. And the furniture look like that happens regularly. Within minutes Finn and Percy have a bowl of fish soup, and two mugs with watered wine on the table.
Persephone digs into the soup. An apple the day might keep the doctor a way, but its nutritious value doesn't hold a whole day. Also a full mouth keeps talk at a distance.
And it gave her time to think about an easy exit. But before that there was another thing to be dealt with. "You got more work for me tomorrow?"
"There is always work at the docks. At least dragging crates around. Maybe some more paperwork. Come back early, and I'll see what I got for you."
"That half naked elf witch in the House of Flames... Menan recalls the entire conversation with his near perfect memory. "I did all of the talking. Gave her information in search of such and received nothing in return. I do not trust this one. She is too shady....Could she be the one that caused these deaths? The woman killed her child and said she was controlled by a force. Then, hours before I get the truth she kills herself....This half naked elf witch could be cause of both deaths. But why. She worships naked bodies and revenge. Why would she seek revenge against a destitute woman and her son?" Menan takes another sip of ale.
Arawyn puts her hand on Menan's. She leans in to him covering his face with her hair and scent as she whispers in his ear "You can drop this or I will do it for you." She then leans back in her chair and smiles at him with an expression of naughtiness. "Recall when we got the horses in the Kamelands?"
Menan is jolted back to another reality. He recalls the Kamelands and acquiring the horses. "Forgive me, yes I do. That was quite a wonderful day." He raises his ale "To you, Arawyn. My companion and angel."
After some small talk about the work on the docks Persephone says her goodbye and leaves.
She goes for a short stop at The Pig's Whistle to tell Faerveren how her day went. As she doesn't see her at first, she walks up to the bar and greets Isabella. "Have you seen Faerveren?"
"Not today, no." Isabella replies and offers a mug of ale.
Arawyn makes her way to the bar and asks Persephone to join them at their table. "Menan has some news for you."
Persephone takes her mug and follows Arawyn to the table. "Hi. How's your day been?" She sits down.
"Actually, quite disappointing in some ways. Curious in others. I was set to interrogate your step mother using magic and was denied the opportunity as she took her own life and the truth with her. So frustrating. How was yours?"
"Well, that is an interesting development." Persephone replies trying to look unaffected.
It is only a glint in the eyes that give it away, but inside she is cheering.
"I went to Marinelli's Warehouse and worked there for the day. Did an inventory of the whole damn thing. Now I have calluses on my fingers and my feet hurt from the long day."
"The pay is lousy there too. Better than here, but it's more work too, so..."
"It will be interesting to see what you can learn of this place. I will come up with a proper plan when you gather as much information as possible. I have one now but it is more than necessary if we can gather information and be precise in our offensive. It is important that they not suspect anything from us."
"Not that much yet. I can tell you a lot of things that are stored there. And whom it belongs to. But nothing shady there." Persephone tells. "I have no clue if I will get any deeper into this. Maybe I need to acquire some skills to be trusted with more managerial tasks."
"Infiltration is not a swift game but if we remain his unknown and invisible enemies right up until an offensive we will have a strong advantage."
"Who else is Marinelli extorting funds from via wine or anything else? I shall spend tomorrow with these people."
"We followed the group of thugs once and saw a few more shops where they made deliveries. I could show you." Persephone suggests.
"Offer taken. Where and when should we meet?"
"We started following them from here. As you probably want to do your investigation thing, maybe tomorrow morning when the shops are open?"
"Very well. I will meet you here when the shops open"
And it is evening, and it is morning - a new day. Which is started again by the sounding of the bell of the temple of Abadar.
Menan waits outside the Pig's Whistle for Persephone.
Persephone gets out of bet as the bell tolls, and readies herself for an interesting day. Shield and chainmail might be over the top for this day, so she takes the clothes she got from Pele at the temple. She needs some nicer clothes soon. The mace comes along anyway.
Before leaving she puts the bloody sheets into a bucket with water and soap. The dress goes into the hearth - almost. She can never wear that, but it would make a really nice pillowcase. Silken sheets and silken pillow? For once life is going the right direction. Maybe buy some red dye to turn them pink.
She leaves the house, locks it properly and walks to The Pig's Whistle. "Hello, you've been here all night? I thought you lodged at the Fat Goose? Anyway, shall we start?"
Not waiting for an answer, Persephone leads the way through the old part of town until they stop in front of a nice restaurant. "Here another customer for regular deliveries of fine wine. It's really not bad. Just the price is a scam."
"Do you know the owner? If so, please introduce us. Otherwise I will request a moment."
Faerveren wakes as the doors of Pembrooke Manor are closed and locked. Looking out of the window of the mansard she determines where Persephone probably goes. There are basically only two options. Taking a short look in the mirror she shrugs and after putting on her gear she slips out the window and follows over the roofs.
This city is perfect for this kind of travel. The roofs aren't steep and they either have decorative battlements, or these roofs where the top part is flat-ish and close to the edge it becomes really steep, so vertical windows can be fitted in. Combined with the height of three floors, when walking on the creast one is not seen from the streets. And the houses stand really close along the streets.
Persephone shrugs "I don't know them. Never been in there."
The restaurant has a large colored window at the front which allows only a hazy view inside. Entering through a short archway, you come into a room with many small round tables with chairs for one or two guests. At the back, there are three arches, two with glass, one as another passage, that leads to a nice terrace in front of a walled in garden. Outside are tables too.
As Menan enters a man, well dressed, with a white cloth over his forearm approaches him. "Good morning. A table for one?"
"No sir, I am here to see owner. My name is Menan Variel."]
"What for?"
Menan reacts with a firm expression and then politely says "The topic is not for public consumption."
"I'm the owner, what is it." the man replies impatient
"A matter you would prefer to keep quiet." Menan motions him to where they cannot be overheard. "I understand that the Marinelli boy is extorting your establish and several others. While I have no dog in this fight, myself, I do wish to help rectify the situation. What can you tell me of this family and this young thug? The more I know, the better plan we can come up. There are those who wish to get this under control."
"What are you offering? I have a nice business and I have no problems. So why do you bring up the Marinelli family?"
"I am offering to try to find some way to bring this extortion to an end. The more I know about them, the more appropriate the solution can be. If you have any ideas, that is welcomed."
"I suggests you stay here and have a meal on this Wealday. I suggest brunch. That way you're here long enough for sure. You'll learn all there is to know."
"Table for one?"