Private Tales No Law, No Order

[Naghi]

Alliria
The Shallows

Things were quiet, though that was nothing new, they often were on this side of Alliria. The Merchant Council liked to pretend that the city was something of a haven for anyone and everyone. They said that they were xenophobic like Vel Anir or broken like Elbion.

That everyone and anyone was allowed.

It was a lie of course.

A clever one, but still a lie. Alliria was open to people with coin, and no one else. The walls that kept out undesirables were a mark of that more so than anything else. A part of him couldn't blame them, looking at the other side of the coin, the one that had been face down in the dirt was never a pleasant prospect.

At least it kept the guards away. "Load that quickly."

Kellen said as he motioned to the three men who were unloading the small long-boat. Each crate was filled with Firepeppers from the West, small 'fruits' that burned the mouth.

Quite popular in Elbion, they would fetch a good price.

"Then get back to the shop." In the city, where the guards would be watching again.

 

[Suze]

Suze sat where she always was-- behind the front door behind a mahogany carved desk. The red hair she wore today was long with subtle waves, her skin creamy and freckled. A new face, a new day. And here the customers thought the owner of the shop couldn't hold a secretary.

She glanced up from a pile of files, her brown eyes warm pools of light as the works trudged their way back home. She smiled warmly, eyes already trailing over their heads for the one behind them.

"Welcome back, boys," she cooed, standing from her seat to go take Kellen's coat off his shoulders.

 

[Naghi]

Kellen allowed the cloth to slip from him, motioning to usher the others inside. "The City Guard is out tonight."

They were in the middle city now, where they had set up their shop a few months ago. The Shallows had been good to them, but in order to sell half the goods they bought they'd needed a better...clientele to sell to. It was good, but also far more dangerous.

The Guard tended to keep a better eye around this place.

"We'll have to be careful." He mused. "I suspect someone will notice these missing from the docks."

Perhaps it would be best to simply resell these to another smuggler.

 

[Suze]

"The backroom floor boards?" She offered, folding his coat over her arm and shutting the door with a tight snap behind them. The lock clicked into place, the curtain briskly pulled down. Efficient to a tea. She grabbed the lantern and started towards the back, holding open doors for the men to walk through.

 

[Naghi]

He nodded.

The peppers would have to be moved quickly, but for now at least they could hide them in a place that even when searched wouldn't be found.

It was almost routine now.

The City Guard made a habit of searching most shops within the Inner-City, never throwing around accusations but instead simply hinting at problems within the quarter. He doubted they were truly specifically suspected, but one could never be too careful with these things.

"Anything around here tonight?" Kellen asked Suze as he motioned for the others to head to the backroom.

 

[Suze]

"Nothing but a traveler looking for directions to rai square," she reported, neatly hanging up his coat. Others stepped out back. Her gaze flickered to the empty door. She took the smallest step forward, uttering in a soft tone. "And a man crooked nose asking about the origin of those Renback supplies from last week."

 

[Naghi]

He frowned for a second. "Inspector?"

They were all over Alliria now, customs inspectors poking their noses into whatever corner they could find. Three weeks ago Kellen had warded one off with a small bribe, though the man had not taken it lightly.

A threat had to be dealt out.

It was not entirely outside of their wheelhouse. They were not large enough yet to actually murder anyone, but a threat? A threat was well enough. If they killed the wrong person now it could very well be them who ended up dead and not anyone else, the City Guard did not look well upon those who messed with their own.

They needed more clout.

 

[Suze]

She gave a delicate shrug, very demure in this form. "Sure was asking the right of questions for it. I followed all the way to Brigs square. He turned right towards Withs before I lost him." Towards the right district, too.

"I told him nothing," she reassured, moving away to go straighten up the file on her desk. "These came for you. Last month's numbers were sent out by carrier this morning. Have I missed anything?" She asked, glancing up.

 

[Naghi]

He glanced at the files, his mind still occupied with the Inspector. Whether or not he was one, anyway. A frown touched his lips. "Can you identify him?"

Kellen asked the question, already knowing the answer.

Suze had a remarkable memory when it came to faces. There was a reason for that of course, and not one often brought up among them.

The others loaded the Fire Peppers into the hiding spot, shifting the heavy weight of the crates and moving them beneath the floorboards.

"We'll have to find him." He mused. "Ask some questions."

 

[Suze]

By the time he would look up, he would find a man standing before him. Crooked nose. Bushy brows. Pitch black eyes and a stubbled jaw.

Black veins faded along the scalp line, the man panting softly in unexpressed pain. "Somethin' like this I'd recken'."

Impressive, considering the actual cost it took to replicate them. Best not ask her how she went about getting a drop of the man's blood. Even the voice replicated his, her vocal cords actually changed.

 

[Naghi]

A nod tilted his head. Kellen hadn't seen the man before, but the reference would come in handy when they went by the custom House.

Though that would have to be a trip for tomorrow. "We'll search for tomorrow."

Inspectors were not quite members of the Watch, but close enough that someone would notice if they went missing. Disappear only for a few hours though? That wasn't as bad.

"That's good eno-" Kellen was interrupted as one of the other men yelled.

"Dear gods! Scared the crap out of me, I'll never get used to that."

In an instant Kellen's head turned, staring daggers at the man who had been clearly frightened by Suze's change in appearance. Before he could retort a knife flew through the air, sinking into the wood behind him.

 

[Suze]

She yelped, the magic dropping in an instant as she scattered into Kellen's side. Blood pooled around her eyes, drops quickly sliding out of her nose as she became unrecognizable for a small spell. It quickly passed, her features reforming back to the red head she had been in all day.

She gave a weak quake, the moments between that magic a very vulnerable span of time for her. "You won't have to get use to it if you're ten feet under ground," she quipped back, her voice smooth as silk. She rubbed away the streams of blood, giving the stain on her hand an annoyed look. A glance at Kellen's shoulder had her uttering a soft curse. She rubbed at a blood drop fervently.

 

[Naghi]

The man quickly pulled away and headed towards the front of the shop, his face red and colored with nothing less than utter terror.

Kellen scowled, but said nothing to him. "We need less fools."

That was the trouble with being a criminal. There were fools and idiots aplenty, and most of them just wanted a bit of coin. None were loyal, none were like Suze.

Their gang was small, only a dozen. Suze was the most reliable, a few others were good, but most were fools.

 

[Suze]

"We need to get this laundered," she muttered back, even a round of spit on her sleeve doing little to relieve him of the stain. She wiped her hands down the front of her dress, uncaring about its state as she tried to get them clean enough not to stain any other part of him. "Take your shirt off, I'll bring it over on my way out tonight."

This face was rather assertive. All the better to beat back those nosy inspectors preening around.

She splashed her hands with the water pitcher, trying them on more parts of her skirt.

 

[Naghi]

Kellen did so, though there was a certain displeasure for him in listening to what he was being told to do. His lips thinned, but he said absolutely nothing.

His eyes floated around the inside of the shop as he did so, tossing the cloth onto a nearby chair as he considered just what their next move would have to be. That inspector was going to nose back around, and questions would have to be asked to make sure he said nothing.

Elsewise it could be a problem.

"And need more people." Kellen grumbled to himself.