The face of every guy in the bar contracts with a painful expression for feeling with that man. The man moans in pain. He grabs a bottle from the other side of the bar, smashes it and turns towards the half-elf.
Well, s#$#. Faerveren could probably take this guy. But killing him is no real option. With that many spectators.
She decides to wait and evade.
The guy clumsily swings the bottle at her.
"Okay, I'll pay the two silver." Faerveren calls out, while keeping both eyes on the guy with the bottle.
"And where is that?" she inquires.
The thug grabs the drunkard's arm, wrests the bottle from his hand, and drags him out of the tavern.
The other patrons turn to their own conversations again.
Then he comes back to collect.
After receiving the coin he tells "Next time you come to us first or it cost double."
"You'll find us outside. There is always one of us in sight."
Faerveren decides, that this guy is her new person of interest and she'll keep an eye on him until he hands over her two silver to someone.
Persephone closes the books and puts them away on the shelf. She leaves the docks and walks home. There she grabs the wagon and pushes it to the garrison.
She approaches the guard in front of it. "Good evening. I'm here to fetch the corpse of Aghasta Pembrooke."
"Ah, yes." Carl enters the building. A few moments later he comes back out again.
Some time later two other guards come carrying something that looks like a corpse wrapped in sack-cloth. They put it on the cart. "Here it is. You're good to go."
Persephone pushes the cart home and back into her yard. There she opens the cloth and looks at the dead face of her tormentor. A satisfied grin sneaks on her face. After a while, when she has enough of it, she casts her new favorite spell on the corpse and watches it rot away in seconds.
The bones she stores away in a sack where the other bones went too.
That is taken care of too. She goes to bed.
The guy walks here and there, but doesn't deliver any coins anywhere.
The night is long at the docks. But eventually there comes dawn.
Arawyn and Menan awaken in their nice quarters. Arawyn practices her combat moves while Menan prepares his spells. The pair head out to pastures. "I believe we get Dancer back today. I look forward to that. How should we spend our time this day, Menan?"
"With Dancer back, we should reset camp. Then, I would like to visit the docks again. Inquire and make inroads to Marinelli the senior. I have an idea on how to do that."
Lady Adelaide joins Arawyn at the enclosure as Dancer earns the gold for Menan. "That worked faster than I thought." she states.
As Menan plans moving she comments "There is no need to leave already. You can stay as long as you like."
"You are once again far too kind. I could stay here for a good while. If Arawyn has no objection your offer will be graciously accepted. Is there anything we can do for you while we are here?"
"Now that you mention it... I noticed you managed to make my smith less grumpy. I had a talk with him as he's hammering all day, about what he is doing for you and how that works."
"I thought aloud, that such magical tools might be interesting for me too. And he suggested, I might be interested in horseshoes of speed. If you could support him in that?"
You only know Torbin for two days, but there is no way he 'suggested' that.
Menan smiles at the lady. "Interesting idea. I will see what I do to aid him with that."
He heads over to Torbin and tells him of the lady's request.
Torbin rolls his eyes so hard, you believe they could get stuck looking into his own head. "Someday this woman will be my death. She can't hold a sword straight if her life depends on it. i told her when I started here, I could make her tha finest weapons. Not magic. Just good quality. But she didn't care and her man has this useless hand me down thing burdened with gems."
"I told her, what do ya want magic for? I work for ya for years and ye only had me fix tha gate and make horseshoes. Now ye want the horse ta have magic ones?"
"You can put horseshoes of speed on ya horse and call it Artemis, it's still just a horse."
And she said 'Yes do that'. I bet just ta spite me."
"The required spell is beyond my ability to cast. I believe I could read it from a scroll, but I have found little in the way of magical commerce in Adabon."
"I'm still busy with the blade. You go study and learn that spell."
Faerveren is still around at dawn, spying on that guy. As all the ladies disappear from the dock, she undoes her charade in a dark corner before she hides in plain sight at a streed vendor's food outlet.
Fish sandwich for breakfast is definitely an acquired taste, but after a night of ale it's not bad.
As the last ladies are gone and the job is done, the thug and one of his buddies leave the docks.
Faerveren follows them at a distance.
To no one's surprise the guys walk straight to the Marinelli city block, high five with the guys on watch in the passage and walk in.
Mid morning Menan arrives at the office of Marinelli's Warehouse.
Persephone as on all weekdays lately goes to the office working. She asks Gorm what her task for the day will be and starts working.
As Menan arrives at the docks they are busy as ever. Unloading and loading ships takes time and the same three ship as last day. The dock workers are busy carrying stuff around.
At Marinelli's office they are also busy. Besides Persephone and Gorm, there are two more people in the office.
As Menan enters, Gorm gets up to meet him. You can tell by Gorm's reserved expression and lack of greeting that this office sees no customer traffic.
"Quite an impressive business you have going on here. I would like to speak with someone regarding the possibly of increasing that. I am not certain of your operations, so it may not apply." Menan glances around at all of the goings on. "If this is not the best time, I can gladly return when you are not so busy."
"We are always interested in expanding business. What kind of business are you offering?" Gorm inquires.
"It would involve a trade route from an Elven port city. If you are involved in purchasing and reselling, I could arrange for that. If you are simply a warehouse, then I have nothing to add at this time. Menan, Variel of Kyonin, sir. I am new to Abadon. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Call me Gorm. We have all kinds of business models here."
"If you say trade route, you're talking buying and selling stuff from a ship of yours, or do you want us to establish one with another port?"
"And what kind of goods are we talking?"
"I have multiple connections in the port city of Greengold. It is an elven port that is a hub of all sorts. The journey is long so the most likely items would be high end expensive items. The elven craftsmanship alone is spectacular but every race in the region buys and sells there. I have no ship, but adding the route to a cargo ship should not be difficult to accomplish."
"Sounds not bad. I can ask the boss if he is interested in that. But for sure he'd need some more details about what you want to sell and buy here as an ambassador of Kyonin. It makes no sense to import iron from that far land that I can also get from the next harbor in Andoran. Or are the prices that good?"
"Expensive stuff is good, but you can't fill a ship with that. So if there is no ship on the route, that you can send a few expensive items with, it won't work."
"I can ask him with what you told, or you can write a proposal with more details and I present that to him first."
"Agreed on the iron. Speaking of metals, Greengold is a good source for mithral, adamantine, and singing steel. I am unsure of Abadon's demand for such. When you speak with the boss, please inquire as to any items that he has a desire or need for but no good source. The opportunities in that port are endless. One Source 2 frequents two ports near the mouth of the river to Greengold. I could have the Kyonin merchant deliver the goods to those ports if we find something worth importing. Gorm, thank you for your time. I will check back with you in a day or two. Is there a best time of day for you?"
"I don't care. I'm always there. But if the boss agrees to see you, it'd be bad if you're not available. So I suggest you come tomorrow in the morning."
"So be it. See you then." Menan heads back to the manor to locate Arawyn.
Faerveren return to the docks and dawdles the time away at the Blue Marlin. Once she suspects it is time for Persephone to be done with work, she goes outside and sits at the water and uses her mirror to check her eyeliner and keep an eye on the office entrance.
Persephone works inside and outside the office, this time monitoring the loading of the ship. As she gets out of work she enjoys the sun over the sea a bit, before Faerveren approaches her.
Together they walk to The Pig's Whistle to have supper together. "You know, if my stepmother hadn't been such an failure, I could have worked a respectable job with good pay. It would have fed all of us without selling everything in the house. I make more money a day with Marinelli than in a week with the cleaning jobs I did back in the days."
"Sorry for that. But now it's too late. And to get everything back it isn't enough." Faerveren comments. "You need a promotion to middle management."
"Har, die har, har." Persephone replies. "I need a business of my own. Top management so to say."
As they arrive in front of The Pig's Whistle they run into Menan and Arawyn. They are exchanging pleasantries others pass them as suddenly the ground starts moving. Like with an earthquake, but without the houses shaking. Everything happens really fast. First a few cobblestones disappear into the ground opening a rift, then more and more follow, taking Persephone, Faervveren, Menan, Arawyn, a woman with her kid and a man with his cart down into the abyss.
As the dust settles, and the first shock is over you find, that only the abysmal smell remains. The road collapsed into the sewer 20 feet below. And there are ugly, small, big-headed, green creatures with huge maws full of pointy teeth.
Two of them are partly buried under the rubble and might be dead. A lot more start swarming the people that fell down.
The man ends up under his cart, with a bad flesh wound. The woman and the kid are mostly unharmed, but the boy starts screaming when confronted with the creatures.
They start shooting bows at the kid, and one attacks with a knife made of a sick and a glass shard tied together. The boy falls unconscious.
"Ouch." Persephone picks herself up, and facing little, green ulies she casts shield of faith.
Menan casts glitterdust on the goblins.
Faerveren is only shortly surprised and catches herself from the fall. Obviously there are creatures that need stabbing so she starts immediately, as long as they are frozen in shock.
Faerveren outright kills a goblin. Arawyn takes one down too with the skilled use of her rapier. Menan lays glitter over some goblins, which is a vast improvement on the looks. Also it blinds them.
The goblins team up on the kid and Persephone. The kid is dragged away. The woman beats with her basket at the monster shouting at it, but to no avail.
It looks like the goblins are more annoying than dangerous. She takes her mace and starts smashing.
The goblin tries to stab Faerveren for her reckless movement, but fails and dies.
Faerveren sees their amateur attacks, moves into flanking position and keeps stabbing, and to hit especially painful spots.