Private Tales Mutual Advancement

[Uro'mel'lenak]

Uro'mel'lenak felt uncomfortable at the docks. This was where so many of the people of this city congregated to work or to trade, he felt very stifled by the amount of meat walking around him constantly. It was like standing in a pen of another man's herd animals; he was surrounded by food but he couldn't eat any of it.

Still, this was the city he had chosen for himself to grow in power and to exist. The oni knew that he was only as safe as his cover would allow, so he needed to be used to all the people, but a decade here still had not fully dulled his occasional hungerings for something more than chicken, beef, and pork.

He shook the elvish head of his current form slightly to get rid of those thoughts, he didn't want to be distracted today. He was hopefully meeting with a previous associate. Gunnar had worked with/for him in the past, when he had just 'left' his old gang and was starting his new organization. The man was a mercenary, but a good one from what he knew and Uro was hoping he could perhaps offer him a more 'full time' position with the organization, seeing how he was ready to expand and stretch his reach into other facets of the criminal world.

If he wouldn't want to work for the 'elf' that was fine, Uro wasn't in the business of forcing people to work for him, especially if he planned on using them for higher up roles.He'd rather have a loyal fist at his back than a thousand unloyal swords. But perhaps Gunnar knew of others who would be interested as well. Information, especially in this town, was worth more than gold when it came to certain things.

He leaned back on the bench that he was sitting on, and stared out at the ships in the harbor. The salty breeze blew past his face. He imagined there were some beings who enjoyed that sensation. He, was not one of them. Uro had sent a small bag of coins to the mercenary, even though the other had already agreed to the meeting, he just wanted to make sure the sell-sword was given plenty of incentive to keep the meeting with the Oni. Uro didn't like his time to be wasted, and a little money ensuring that was worth it in his opinion.

 

[Gunnar Bergstrom]

He shouldn’t have had so much to drink the night before, he had woken up in an alley, luckily he still had his clothes and his axe but the gold he had gotten from Uro'mel'lenak he had lost, or he had wasted it all on booze, he honestly couldn’t remember. Gunnar’s biggest problem was probably his drinking, his mercenary lifestyle was there to fuel a way to drink away his misery and now he definitely needed some more.

He went to a barrel of water and washed out his armpits a little before smelling them, didn’t smell like death anymore at least. He slapped his face and then dunked his head in there to wake him up. “Alright, time to meet that elf.” He wasn’t a big fan of elves but Uro had shown himself over time to not be a fan of his own kind either, which he could appreciate. Uro was an outlier to him.

It didn’t take him too long to get to the meeting point, he was running a little late but there was no helping that anymore.

“Hey Uro.” He said, seeing him seated on a bench, Gunnar looked like he had a hangover but Uro was probably used to that by now, he still always got the job done and in the end results were what mattered. “I’m running late but you know how things go.” He didn’t give much of an excuse but then again he didn’t really have one.

He gave a look over the water, standing to Uro’s side but not sitting down on the bench. “So what job did you have for me this time?” He asked because Uro usually asked him for more specific jobs that needed an appropriate amount of violence. He didn’t say it out loud, you never knew who was listening in even in a place like this.

He recalled meeting Uro not too long after he arrived to Alliria, he had done a few odd jobs but Uro never posted his jobs so he was approached and since then they had a relation of sorts, though it wasn’t consistent the jobs often paid a lot more than the average mercenary job posting.

All in all he just hoped that Uro didn't mind him being late, the guy was usually quite punctual.

 

[Uro'mel'lenak]

The smell of alcohol increased in the air, announcing Gunnar. Another being may have found the smell hard to stomach, but when Uro didn't mind the smell. He was surrounded by criminals more often than not, and they did enjoy a drink or two. He was even found taking in a small barrel of beer every once in awhile, though he had to be careful who he drank around. Drinking too much could let his guard down and he wasn't about to do that over a fun evening.

The large man sat down next to the 'elf.' In his normal size, Uro was larger than the man, but as it was, Gunnar was a good half a foot taller and a foot or two wider than Uro's elvish form. He wasn't used to feeling small, but it also let him know that Gunnar was a good man to have around.

"Not a problem. I made sure to keep my time open today, knowing how busy you can be." He said with a friendly smile, "And I don't want to keep you long, but I have a proposition for you."

Uro didn't know for sure if the other man was interested in being employed long term. He hoped that by paying the man well in the past, he would be more amenable to signing up long term, he would just have to see.

"I'll get right to it then. As you know from our past dealings, I've been quite successful with my small...organization so far. I've been able to establish a strong foot hold in the Outer City, at least the small district I'm located in now." He paused, turning his eyes back to the large ships in the harbor. "I have decided that now is a good time for expansion though I think, and I am looking for good people to help me do that."

His orange eyes that almost seemed to glow turned back to Gunnar. "And I was hoping I could convince you to join my organization on a more permanent basis." He stopped there, waiting to see how the man would react before continuing.

 

[Gunnar Bergstrom]

He chuckled, seemed like Uro was in a good mood today, but perhaps it was because of their successful dealings in the past that he forgave him his lack of punctuality. He was a good employer, paid well and on time, half up front and half after, and richly. “Glad to hear it, and a proposition huh?” He didn’t seem surprised, though usually he just gave him a job and that was it, a proposition sounded a little more complicated than that.

He listened to the man make his case, seemed like he was expanding his criminal empire, a small empire but still, that’s how they all start. “You sure you want me for that?” He asked, waiting for a moment.

“Even if you only hire me for separate jobs, no one gets info from my employers. Over my dead body.” He spoke simply and concisely regarding this particular matter, usually people wanted to hire him on a more permanent basis because of loyalty, while it is true someone from opposing sides could hire him, if there was a conflict however that could cause more trouble than it was worth he’d just refuse it.

“I don’t do any jobs involving children, and I will do a lot of things but I keep a certain honor that goes with it, I like a certain freedom.” He said with a moment of consideration before adding. “If I keep a certain freedom however then I wouldn’t be opposed working exclusively for you, steady pay wouldn’t be a bad thing.” He said with a shrug. “But you’ll allow me to take the occasional job, like escorting a merchant or something, allows me to travel here and there, nothing that interferes with your business of course.”

Those were his demands really, nothing to do with kids, he’d work exclusively for him apart from the few odds and ends jobs that he’d take for his own enjoyment and freedom. “And then of course we have to talk about pay.” He sat back and gave the elf a once over.

“I get paid a steady wage weekly, no matter what and then you pay me extra for each job.. In turn I’ll work exclusively for you, which will cover me when you have nothing for me to do.”


Uro'mel'lenak

 

[Uro'mel'lenak]

Nodding as he listened to all the man's demands, Uro was quite pleased with what he heard. He was ready to offer a lot, and the man's terms were not unheard of for a human's. He didn't need people who would do anything for him. Well he did, but he didn't need many, and they were not people he would put at the top of his organization. He needed people who knew how to watch themselves from getting into too much trouble that they couldn't get themselves out of.

When he was finished, Uro thought a moment on everything the large man had said. He took a few extra seconds to make it look like he needed to think more than he did. He finally responded in a measured tone. "While I appreciate you being hire-able on a per-job basis, I'm looking for more stability. Hence why I want to hire you on more of a long term contract. I can hire mercs for everything I need, but if I have to make sure each one is trustworthy as I bring them in, it's going to slow down my growth. And I'm not looking to hire you as a soldier. I'm looking for you to train and lead soldiers."

He let a grin appear on his face. "My current forces are...acceptable for the territory we have now. But I need someone to make sure they are better and more numerous if I am to grow comfortably. I don't want brutes as my only line of defense, but people who know how and when to hurt." He looked at the man. "You're clearly a good fighter, and while you'd be fighting I would want you to show others how to be warriors. Between training them you may absolutely take time to yourself. I'm not looking to hold you back if you have places to go. Like you said, I just don't want you to interfere with my business plans, which means my competition hiring you."

Uro shrugged. "As for pay, you'll have what you think that is worth, within reason of course. I don't intend to make enemies by not paying you less than your value, or not paying you what we agree on..." he said, remembering how he killed his employer for breaking their contract "...as long as the contract is upheld of course."

He laughed a bit "As well, you'll be able to hire any lieutenants or fellow warriors you deem helpful as well. As long as you can vouch for them, and you are responsible for them, they may come on board as well."

"Any issues with any of that? If not, you can think on it for a few days. But after that I'll need an answer." He said, not moving from the bench, but seeing what the other man would do.

Gunnar Bergstrom

 

[Gunnar Bergstrom]

The conversation was a negotiation at best, Gunnar knew what he wanted and he desired a certain freedom as well as ability to do as he liked. He knew what Uro did and that the law did not care for his actions. The large Nordenfiir however didn’t care about the small technicalities as long as he got paid and it didn’t involve children, the large man had a strange sense of honour, if he didn’t do it then someone else would.

“You want me to lead?” He quirked a brow at that, Gunnar never knew himself to be a leader of any kind, he was effective and good at whatever needed to be done… When he did it by himself. “I don’t think I’m the kind of guy you want to have as a Leader Uro, but I’ll work for you for the right pay and conditions. I won’t take any work from your opposition, though I may take unrelated jobs every once in a while, outside of Alliria.”

He listened to the man speak of his current situation, territory and forces. Gunnar always felt there was something different about this elf, he didn’t come across as any elf he had ever met. There was a glint in Uro’s eyes when he looked around, as if nearly everyone was but a pawn or cattle, it was difficult to discern sometimes and for the most part he covered it well.

“If you send people to me to train, I will train them, or kill them in the process.. I have no patience for the weak and feeble, I imagine neither do you.” He thought about the situation, in one way it would give him protection and less conflict between jobs but at the same time he’d probably be more of a target by Uro’s competition if they couldn’t hire him.

“As for the pay, well we’ll have to make sure to come to a good agreed amount and set opportunities to renegotiate pay in the future, after all the more I get absorbed in to your organization the more I expect to be paid.” He figured the more he knew, the more integral he was to the inner workings of Uro’s crime group, the more they would want to make sure he was rewarded. “Until such a point when I feel I can give up the Mercenary lifestyle and simply work for the betterment of your organization, if it lasts that long.” Gunnar didn’t think it impossible for this crime organization to grow but that didn’t mean it would.

“I will not go down with the ship however.” He said, his gaze straight upon Uro. “As for hiring other people, perhaps I will as I come across them and I think they’d be useful, but things like that are new to me, I’ve always worked alone.”

 

[Uro'mel'lenak]

Uro listened to everything the large human said. He didn't disagree with anything that Gunnar said. He knew that the man was not a leader, but he was a strong warrior, and the fact was most of Uro's men had never properly learned to hold a sword before. They had learned on the streets of Alliria. That was useful when you have small one on one duels, or little skirmishes between gangs, but he wanted soldiers who would fight like two men. He wanted a small army, something that his competition had in numbers, but not ability.

"All I ask is that you don't kill all of my men. If they're weak, you can use one as an example. Beyond that, just let me know who is not pulling their weight and I'll find someone to replace them." He laughed a little but, but he was also serious. While he felt that the other man was of good judgement, he wanted to be sure Gunnar wouldn't consider all of his inexperienced men weak and the oni suddenly had no one to tell what to do.

"As for the rest of your requests, I don't see problems in any of it. And don't worry about your inexperience" he patted the other man on the back softly, though it may have shown a bit more of his hidden strength than he wanted. "I don't expect you to be a master right off the bat. I just expect that you do what you can as you can. You can grow with the organization, and I'm sure you'll be wonderful." He prided himself on seeing talent, even if it was buried deep. Inspiring that talent was something he was working on however.

"We can figure out the details another day before you officially start. But I take from your tone that you are on board." He said, holding out his hand for the other to shake.

Gunnar Bergstrom