Downtown Druid

Dantes walked into the Vixen with Jacopo tucked comfortably in one of his new jacket’s pockets. In the entryway, Alessa was leaning sultrily against a wall, her half-lidded orange eyes glancing up at him slowly.

“Oh, Edmond. I thought you were a customer.”

“Well, the day’s not over yet.”

She chuckled, and that turned to a cough.

Dantes politely waited for her to finish. “You alright?”

She nodded. “Just a stubborn cough. It was a bit better after the Priest left, but it always seems to come back.”

“I’ll get you some water from the bar. You’ll lose customers if they hear you cough too much.”

She seemed about to argue, but was forced to stifle another cough instead. Dantes walked into the Vixen proper, passing Decker who was tapping on a particularly boisterous patron’s shoulder. The soft pink and purple curtains had been put back up, and the table that they’d eaten breakfast at that morning removed. There were a few customers, drinking and chatting with the girls who were doing a good job of pretending to be interested in what they had to say. He felt a small pang of empathy for Sera who was pretending to laugh at a young sailor’s ‘bring me my brown pants’ joke, as if she’d never heard it before.

Another sailor was talking to Tieara, who was sitting in his lap.

“Yeah, they locked down everything even close to the Underprison. Heard it from the merchant whose cargo we were loading. No one knows what’s going on, but he swears he saw a giant tree in that direction.”

“Wow, that’s so interesting,” said Tieara, sounding far more bubbly than she had at breakfast.

“Don’t worry though,” said the sailor, “I’ll protect you.”

“I’m sure you will, with those strong arms,” she said, giving his wiry bicep a squeeze.

Dantes stifled a chuckle at that. He’d heard whores be subtle, and he’d heard them be as blatant as Tieara was, and in both cases, the men rarely noticed that they were being manipulated. He anticipated she’d be making good money that day. The information he’d mentioned about the underprison was also interesting. It seemed like the guard was trying to maintain calm about what had happened, but how long would that last with a massive tree growing in that direction? He wondered if Mondego knew yet, and found himself torn about it. He wanted the element of surprise, but he also wanted to make him afraid.

When he reached the bar Zilly was already pouring chilled water into a glass. Dantes nodded at her, and she nodded back. He’d need to be wary of her, her ears seemed keen even for an elf. He walked back and handed the glass to Alessa, who took it gratefully, then he started to walk back toward the bar. Decker stopped him.

“The Madame wants to see you. She was expecting you some time ago.”

Dantes shrugged. “Lost track of time. I’ll eat something, then head up.”

“The Madame insisted. I will have Zilly bring you something.”

Dantes sighed. “Alright, alright.” He’d been of a mind to meet more of the girls, or trying to get Zilly to share a drink with him. He knew objectively he had more practical things to do, but he’d missed women for a long time, and it would probably take him some time to not make trying to get their attention, by coin or by wit, a priority.

Decker nodded, and moved back toward the front door. At least he wasn’t made to escort him all the way up the stairs. Dantes knocked twice when he reached Vera’s door.

“Come in, Ed.”

He smirked. She’d always had that talent. Could recognize anyone from their footsteps. He walked in, and closed the door.

“I believe I’d left word that I’d return at noon, and wanted you to wait for me?”

“You did, and your people faithfully gave me the message.”

“You do know I was only asking for your own safety?”

“I do, but did you expect me to stay inside? I’ve been cooped up for far too long to just sit around.”

“I foolishly believed that remaining in a building full of beautiful women and a soft bed may be enough enticement for you.”

“Almost.”

She sighed and gripped the bridge of her nose with both fingers.

Dantes laughed, and pulled the necklace he’d just bought from Dario from his coat pocket. “Here Auntie. This is for you, as an apology. Don’t worry, I only went to the needle and then to a store here on the docks. I kept my face hidden and did my best not to make a fuss.”

She took the necklace, watching it blink at her a few times, and placed it gently back on the desk. “Your time in the Underprison changed you.”

Danets sat down on the chair across from her. “Really?”

She nodded. “Yes really. Five years ago you would’ve gone straight to midtown and tried to run Mondego through then and there.”

“He’ll get what he deserves, but I don’t want to die in the process.”

She nodded. “I told you I’d tell you what you wanted to hear today.”

He nodded, it was a statement more than a question.

“Your gang… I didn’t know what they’d done to you at first. I would see Mercedes, Danglars, and Mondego sometimes and we’d chat. They even seemed to be grieving you.”

Dantes grimaced at that. “And Gaspard?”

She shook her head. “I saw him once. He tried to trade your name for some free time with the girls, it was after I’d found out what happened so I had him beaten and thrown in the gutter.”

Dantes nodded.

“I found out what they’d done when I never received any letters back from you that I sent through the Consortium. I did some digging and found out that Mondego had paid to have it prevented.”

Dantes clenched his teeth, gripping the arms of his chair, his knuckles turning white. Having him thrown down into the Pit, paying to prevent letters being sent, and paying to make sure he could never leave. The Consortium had made quite a lot of money from Mondego’s hate of him.

“Do you know why? Why they did it? Why they would do what they did?”

She shook her head. “No. I have no idea.”

“Where are they now?”

“Mondego and Mercedes are married. From what I’ve heard they control nearly all the smuggling from the docks into the city. The fingers have taken notice of them.”

Dantes knew that already from his conversations with the Shadow Cats, but having it confirmed didn’t exactly improve his mood. The fingers were the five families that ran the city. Generally they controlled a section of the city, along with having a major controlling interest in some vice, but there was a lot of overlap in what they dealt with. They worked together to control the vast underbelly of the city, allowing smaller gangs to duke it out over the crumbs that remained. To gain their notice was more often a bad thing than a good one.

“How about Danglars?”

“That is a strange one. Did you know he had noble blood?”

“What!?” Dantes nearly rose from his chair.

“Yes. He is the son of a councilwoman’s cousin. They weren’t rich or anything, but they lived in the lowest part of uptown.”

Dantes thought through his interaction with Danglars. He was a degenerate through and through. Gambling, whoring, drugs, he did it all. He could read and write, and he spoke a bit more formally than was normal, but Dantes had never questioned that he was scum, through and through, just like he was.

“Once you were in the prison, he seemed to change remarkably quickly. He traded on his family name, and is now a magister of the lower court.”

Dantes was almost too surprised to be angry for a moment, before he realized that if Danglars had those kinds of connections it was very probable he could’ve gotten Dantes sentenced to forced labor rather than the Pit. They didn’t just throw anyone into the Underprison. It was for murderers, rapists, political enemies, repeat offenders, the worst of the worst. He’d attacked a councilman’s wagon, so that was more than enough to justify him being thrown down there, but five years of forced labor in the camps and fields outside the city, or even being sold to a ship in need of crew, all of that would’ve afforded him more options than the Pit. More freedom, more of a life.

“And, as I mentioned before, last I saw of Gaspard I had him beaten and thrown in the gutter. I think I did hear something about him doing jobs in midtown still, but he hasn’t had the success of the rest of your fellows.”

Dantes sat silently for a few moments. It was a good overview she’d given him. He had the information he needed to get started, but still needed more specifics, and he needed the right tools for the job. Gold would help, as would a new source of favor, and perhaps a new god’s blessing.

There was a knock on the door.

Vera shifted her expression from grave to pleasant, and Dantes adjusted his body language to mirror it.

“Come in Zilly.”

The woman walked in, carrying a plate of hot sliced meat, veggies, and bread. She walked over to them and handed it to Dantes who took it gratefully. The smell of it reminded him immediately of the fact that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

“I was just expecting some cold meat and bread. Thank you.”

She nodded. “Welcome,” and walked out of the room.

Dantes resisted looking at her as she walked away, grabbing a piece of meat and placing it on a slice of bread.

Vera looked at him with an eyebrow raised. “In a whorehouse you pick the one woman with a different profession to have an infatuation with.”

Dantes kept a straight face, swallowing his first bite before speaking. “No idea what you mean auntie.”

“Sure, dear.” She moved to start her kettle and ready some tea as he ate. “There was another reason I wanted to talk to you. I know I said you’d be able to stay free as long as you need, but it turns out I may need you to do some work for me.”

“Oh?” asked Dantes.

“Decker needs to take the afternoons at home to help his father. I want you to act as our bouncer for the first part of the day.”

Dantes laughed. “I’m not exactly as intimidating as Decker.”

Vera nodded. “True, but you’re not exactly welcoming looking either. Decker actually signaled to Sera to tell me that you may be a serious threat when she went to tell me you were here.”

Dantes raised an eyebrow. He was dangerous, but he was also just under two-thirds Decker’s size. Though he was certainly more muscular than he’d been when he went into the Pit, thanks to Merle’s tips. He spared a moment to think of them. He left them all the tools they needed to control the pit, and he hoped he wasn’t the only one to escape, but he’d done all he could at the time. At least that’s what he told himself.

"It's risky for me auntie."

She nodded. "I know, but the city's big and I haven't seen anyone you know around here in quite some time."

He thought about it for moment. It was risky, but he wanted to help out if he could. Didn't want to leave the help she'd given her unreciprocated. He could also post a roach or rat outside to make sure that it wasn't anyone he knew approaching. “I can do the job auntie. As long as I have the nights to myself, and early mornings. Temporarily of course.”

“That’s fine. Decker’s mother would normally take care of his father, but she needed to take extra seasonal work in hopes that they could save enough for a healer.”

“What’s wrong with his dad?”

She shook her head. “Saddest thing, he was crippled by a Kobold of all things. Had four different chairs smashed over his back.”

Dantes swallowed his food, keeping his expression neutral as he remembered Mez telling him about the fight that had gotten him thrown into the Underprison. “Sounds like the kobold was a real bastard.”