Nogori
TNP’s Greedy Capitalist
The black steed pranced slowly on the muddy road as her rider looked forward towards the village. The air was damp as fog covered the road and the surrounding forests but the distant shapes of a settlement were visible through the murky morning layer. One hand on the reins and another resting on the top of his sheathed blade at his side, he glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was following him and briefly readjusted his loose-fitting hood.
The lonesome duo continued their trek through the gray haze, the road tranquil besides the sound of her hooves sloshing through the wet sludge covering the ground. The closer they got to the small town, the more visible it became; the walls of the small town stood proudly as an assortment of thin and crude makeshift wooden planks forming a poor palisade around the settlement. Connecting the subpar fortifications was a small stone gate with medium sized wooden doors, enough to stall but not enough to keep out. The horse and hooded rider made their way past the gate and into the town-proper, its silence only momentarily broken by the sounds of the occasional sound of wood splitting and hammer striking steel in the blacksmith’s shop; its sharp-eared inhabitants eyeing the rider and his mane suspiciously as he passed by each of them. None of them have tattoos, he thought to himself, curious. He tugged at his hood to make sure it stayed on straight.
After striding unhurriedly by several homes and shops, the rider and horse strutted to the inn at the center of the town. He got off of the saddle and onto the thick slimy ground, grabbing the horse by the reins and leading it over to the wooden stables beside the inn. The mysterious man then hooked the horse up and patted it a few times before grabbing a leather pouch dangling off of the horse’s saddle. He took the leather strings that kept the pouch closed and attached to it onto his belt beside his blade. Stepping slowly, he made his way to the entrance of the inn before taking one final glance over his shoulder and entered inside.
The inside of the establishment was destitute, the large room was filled with an array of empty chairs and seats for nonexistent customers fixed in a vertical manner. Despite the lack of clientele, the inn smelled of baked pastries coming from the kitchen which was sheltered by a large stone wall, the intoxicating scent creeping through the gaps in the doors leading back it past the bar counter. He inhaled sharply to smell the aroma once more, sussur berries, he thought to himself, just like the ones at home. The hardwood floor creaked as he walked across the floor of the inn to the stairs at the far-side from the bar table, they continued their groaning as he made his ascent up them.
Once at its peak, he stared down at the hallway before him, an assortment of doors for the inn’s patrons no doubt, unlikely though that there are many this far out in the country. He walked down the corridor until he stood in front of a large oak door with a narrow slot near the middle of it. Gently, he knocked on the door in the pattern that his group was told to, expecting a timely response but instead heard through the walls and door the sound of arguing voices and a loud sigh as a large person got out of their seat and approached the door and another door inside closing. The slit then opened just enough for one brown eye to peer out observing the hooded man.
The eye winced momentarily, almost as if confused. “Lupus?” the guard asked in a deep and gruff voice.
“It’s me,” Lupus replied, a slight tinge of annoyance in his voice.
“Why the fuck are you wearing a hood?” the guard asked.
“Because it makes me look pretty. So people don’t see my face, you idiot. Now let me in before I break this door down,” Lupus said smugly.
Lupus could hear the sounds of locks churning and bolts loosening on the other side, a large amount by what he could hear. The door then flung open and Lupus walked past the orcish guard and into the suite. On the far wall to the North sat the master bed and a door into another room, the walls were adorned with pelts and mounts of bears, wolves, and deer. The floor being covered with fine carpets with intricate patterns weaved into them, traditionally found in aristocratic Vastan households. In the center of the wall was the fireplace that filled the room with the smell of burning wood. Then finally in the middle of the room, a lonesome short table with an accompanying white polished cedar chair.
The door to the other room opened and out came a short and meaty little elf. He wore bright pastel robes of fine silk embroidered with similar patterns to those found on the carpet, his fat little fingers containing several rings on each, resembling the twine around a sausage in appearance. He waddled slowly over to the table to take his seat in the chair, coughing and making the occasional grunt while doing so. He then finally took his seat, coughing one last time before acknowledging Lupus who stood in front of him.
The elves of Vasthornu were renowned for their beauty and elegance, he thought; it seems there are exceptions though.
“So where is everyone else?” The fat little elf asked with a perplexed look on his face.
“Dead,” Lupus said plainly.
“Dead? What the bloody hell do you mean that they’re dead? There were twenty of you!” The elf said in astonishment.
“Dead, every single one of them. Besides me, of course…you really lucked out in that regard.”
The elf threw his head in his hands in disbelief. “What happened? How does that even happen?”
“Traps, all around the place. You told us the manor was abandoned, it was for the most part. The part you failed to mention was that there were traps surrounding the entire place. Runes unseen in the trees lit up probably around half, the other half died walking into the place, tripwires and poisoned arrows shooting out of the walls.”
“And how is it that you were the only one that survived?”
“I let them go first.”
The elf scoffed at the response. “Do you at least have it?”
“I do.” Lupus said.
“Let me see it, hand it over here.” The elf said extending his stubby little arms out. Lupus untangled the leather pouch from his waist before handing it over to the elf, who was licking his lips greedily in anticipation. Once the pouch was in his vicinity, he snatched it and quickly stuck his fat hands inside. Once feeling the contents of it, his eyes widened in anticipation; he pulled his arm back out and in his palm was a large black crystal, almost appearing to be ebony but its edges much more angular and defined, while less crude and more polished. Lupus knew not what it was but the elf seemed very happy to have it.
The elf stared at the crystal, almost entranced in it, his eyes lost in the darkness inside of it…that was until Lupus coughed loudly to get the little elf’s attention.
“My payment?” Lupus said bluntly.
“Oh yes, I had forgotten about that,” the elf turned his head away to gaze momentarily at a mount on the wall, contemplating what to do next. Lupus looked at the elf’s large bald spot, its surface reflected the fire from the hearth off of it in an almost mirror-like quality. The elf turned his gaze to the large orc standing near the door, “Gor’lach, get our fine guest here the payment, and make it snappy.” He returned his gaze back to the ebon-colored crystal in his hands while Gor’lach walked past them both and into the room that the elf had come from, shutting the door behind him.
Lupus looked at the fire. “I noticed going through this town, none of the people here have any tattoos, what’s the reason for that?”
The elf continued looking at the gem as if he didn’t hear Lupus’ question before his eyes blinked rapidly and his trance was broken.
“This town is communal, full of freemen. Founded by people who wanted to leave the cities to have their own land. Elves don’t enslave each other obviously, no point in doing that whenever there’s plenty of other good labor. But we seldom get foreigners in these parts, too far away from anything to need that many people. Some of the manors nearby though for the fancy folk have them in droves, but these are just your common scum around here, nothing to look at. Besides Gor’lach that is. Isn’t that right you ugly bastard?” He said shouting into the other room with a grin on his face.
Gor’lach opened the door with a chest in hand, walking back to the center of the room and laying it in front of the little elf. He pulled out a rusty red key to unlock it before turning back and standing behind the sitting little elf. The elf opened the metal chest, revealing it to be completely full of glittering gold, silver, and bronze coins. Lupus remained standing anxiously to get his reward, until the little elf pulled towards the bronze coins and grabbed a handful before sitting them on the table.
“Where’s the rest of it?” Lupus asked in anticipation.
“What do you mean?”
“Where’s the rest of my payment? You said we’d at least be getting gold for all of us, with some silver thrown in on top. This is nothing, I could shit more than what that could buy me.”
The elf laughed loudly. “That was if everything went off perfectly, everyone is dead, you moron. You’re not getting the rest of the payment because you showed up, this isn’t for participating. Take your payment and get out, I have other business to attend to.” The elf said, looking back at his precious gem.
“No,” Lupus said bluntly. “I don’t think I will.”
“Oh fuck me, I don’t have the patience for this. Gor’lach,” the elf said looking over his shoulder, “deal with our guest here. He seems unha-“ Lupus swiftly pulled out his blade and slashed the orc in the throat with it, his blood shooting out spraying the elf all over his feint hair and the back of his head, before grabbing his throat and stumbling to the side and crashing onto the ground with a thump. The room was silent now besides the sound of Gor’lach’s throat gurgling and the fire aggressively snapping as the wood shifted inside of it.
Lupus slammed his dagger into the table, meeting the elf’s greedy little gaze with his own. “I…want…my…money.”
“Fine, take your pick,” he said with a defeated look on his face, shifting the metal chest over to Lupus for him to take his reward. Lupus untangled another large pouch off of his waist and picked up the bronze coins before dropping them into it. One handful he took gold, the next he took silver, and then another of gold. With the coins inside jingling, he took his pouch and tied it back to his waist when the elf moved quickly to grab the dagger inserted in the table. Lupus grabbed the elf by his thin hair and the back of his head, slamming his face into the corner of the table before throwing him backwards in his chair.
The elf groaned in pain as blood profusely poured out of his nose. “You broke my fucking nose… oh Gods…it hurts.” He looked at Lupus with disdain as he grabbed his nose to slow the bleeding, “Get out of here, take your reward and leave.”
“With pleasure,” Lupus said, picking up the black crystal that had fallen onto the floor and his coin purse.
“No, you can’t take that, that’s mine,” the elf said, crawling on the floor over to Lupus, grabbing his leg. “You can’t, you took what you wanted, let me keep this, please, take the whole chest for all I care, just leave the Heart.”
“Heart?” Lupus asked curiously. “I’m sure someone would be willing to pay a pretty penny for this in the cities. I think I’ll keep it.”
“No you can’t, I won’t le-“, the elf was cut off as Lupus gave him a swift kick to the ribs. The elf let go and groaned in pain, one hand holding his nose which was continuing to bleed, and the other holding his now bruised ribs.
Lupus took the black crystal and put it into his sack with the rest of his money. He then grabbed another handful of gold and silver each from the chest before putting it away and walking out the room. He slowly made his way out of the kitchen, inhaling once again to smell that intoxicating scent of the baked goods before walking back out to the stables. He unhooked his horse from the stables and got on the saddle, making his way back out of the town. Slowly striding through the path that had led him here.
The lonesome duo continued their trek through the gray haze, the road tranquil besides the sound of her hooves sloshing through the wet sludge covering the ground. The closer they got to the small town, the more visible it became; the walls of the small town stood proudly as an assortment of thin and crude makeshift wooden planks forming a poor palisade around the settlement. Connecting the subpar fortifications was a small stone gate with medium sized wooden doors, enough to stall but not enough to keep out. The horse and hooded rider made their way past the gate and into the town-proper, its silence only momentarily broken by the sounds of the occasional sound of wood splitting and hammer striking steel in the blacksmith’s shop; its sharp-eared inhabitants eyeing the rider and his mane suspiciously as he passed by each of them. None of them have tattoos, he thought to himself, curious. He tugged at his hood to make sure it stayed on straight.
After striding unhurriedly by several homes and shops, the rider and horse strutted to the inn at the center of the town. He got off of the saddle and onto the thick slimy ground, grabbing the horse by the reins and leading it over to the wooden stables beside the inn. The mysterious man then hooked the horse up and patted it a few times before grabbing a leather pouch dangling off of the horse’s saddle. He took the leather strings that kept the pouch closed and attached to it onto his belt beside his blade. Stepping slowly, he made his way to the entrance of the inn before taking one final glance over his shoulder and entered inside.
The inside of the establishment was destitute, the large room was filled with an array of empty chairs and seats for nonexistent customers fixed in a vertical manner. Despite the lack of clientele, the inn smelled of baked pastries coming from the kitchen which was sheltered by a large stone wall, the intoxicating scent creeping through the gaps in the doors leading back it past the bar counter. He inhaled sharply to smell the aroma once more, sussur berries, he thought to himself, just like the ones at home. The hardwood floor creaked as he walked across the floor of the inn to the stairs at the far-side from the bar table, they continued their groaning as he made his ascent up them.
Once at its peak, he stared down at the hallway before him, an assortment of doors for the inn’s patrons no doubt, unlikely though that there are many this far out in the country. He walked down the corridor until he stood in front of a large oak door with a narrow slot near the middle of it. Gently, he knocked on the door in the pattern that his group was told to, expecting a timely response but instead heard through the walls and door the sound of arguing voices and a loud sigh as a large person got out of their seat and approached the door and another door inside closing. The slit then opened just enough for one brown eye to peer out observing the hooded man.
The eye winced momentarily, almost as if confused. “Lupus?” the guard asked in a deep and gruff voice.
“It’s me,” Lupus replied, a slight tinge of annoyance in his voice.
“Why the fuck are you wearing a hood?” the guard asked.
“Because it makes me look pretty. So people don’t see my face, you idiot. Now let me in before I break this door down,” Lupus said smugly.
Lupus could hear the sounds of locks churning and bolts loosening on the other side, a large amount by what he could hear. The door then flung open and Lupus walked past the orcish guard and into the suite. On the far wall to the North sat the master bed and a door into another room, the walls were adorned with pelts and mounts of bears, wolves, and deer. The floor being covered with fine carpets with intricate patterns weaved into them, traditionally found in aristocratic Vastan households. In the center of the wall was the fireplace that filled the room with the smell of burning wood. Then finally in the middle of the room, a lonesome short table with an accompanying white polished cedar chair.
The door to the other room opened and out came a short and meaty little elf. He wore bright pastel robes of fine silk embroidered with similar patterns to those found on the carpet, his fat little fingers containing several rings on each, resembling the twine around a sausage in appearance. He waddled slowly over to the table to take his seat in the chair, coughing and making the occasional grunt while doing so. He then finally took his seat, coughing one last time before acknowledging Lupus who stood in front of him.
The elves of Vasthornu were renowned for their beauty and elegance, he thought; it seems there are exceptions though.
“So where is everyone else?” The fat little elf asked with a perplexed look on his face.
“Dead,” Lupus said plainly.
“Dead? What the bloody hell do you mean that they’re dead? There were twenty of you!” The elf said in astonishment.
“Dead, every single one of them. Besides me, of course…you really lucked out in that regard.”
The elf threw his head in his hands in disbelief. “What happened? How does that even happen?”
“Traps, all around the place. You told us the manor was abandoned, it was for the most part. The part you failed to mention was that there were traps surrounding the entire place. Runes unseen in the trees lit up probably around half, the other half died walking into the place, tripwires and poisoned arrows shooting out of the walls.”
“And how is it that you were the only one that survived?”
“I let them go first.”
The elf scoffed at the response. “Do you at least have it?”
“I do.” Lupus said.
“Let me see it, hand it over here.” The elf said extending his stubby little arms out. Lupus untangled the leather pouch from his waist before handing it over to the elf, who was licking his lips greedily in anticipation. Once the pouch was in his vicinity, he snatched it and quickly stuck his fat hands inside. Once feeling the contents of it, his eyes widened in anticipation; he pulled his arm back out and in his palm was a large black crystal, almost appearing to be ebony but its edges much more angular and defined, while less crude and more polished. Lupus knew not what it was but the elf seemed very happy to have it.
The elf stared at the crystal, almost entranced in it, his eyes lost in the darkness inside of it…that was until Lupus coughed loudly to get the little elf’s attention.
“My payment?” Lupus said bluntly.
“Oh yes, I had forgotten about that,” the elf turned his head away to gaze momentarily at a mount on the wall, contemplating what to do next. Lupus looked at the elf’s large bald spot, its surface reflected the fire from the hearth off of it in an almost mirror-like quality. The elf turned his gaze to the large orc standing near the door, “Gor’lach, get our fine guest here the payment, and make it snappy.” He returned his gaze back to the ebon-colored crystal in his hands while Gor’lach walked past them both and into the room that the elf had come from, shutting the door behind him.
Lupus looked at the fire. “I noticed going through this town, none of the people here have any tattoos, what’s the reason for that?”
The elf continued looking at the gem as if he didn’t hear Lupus’ question before his eyes blinked rapidly and his trance was broken.
“This town is communal, full of freemen. Founded by people who wanted to leave the cities to have their own land. Elves don’t enslave each other obviously, no point in doing that whenever there’s plenty of other good labor. But we seldom get foreigners in these parts, too far away from anything to need that many people. Some of the manors nearby though for the fancy folk have them in droves, but these are just your common scum around here, nothing to look at. Besides Gor’lach that is. Isn’t that right you ugly bastard?” He said shouting into the other room with a grin on his face.
Gor’lach opened the door with a chest in hand, walking back to the center of the room and laying it in front of the little elf. He pulled out a rusty red key to unlock it before turning back and standing behind the sitting little elf. The elf opened the metal chest, revealing it to be completely full of glittering gold, silver, and bronze coins. Lupus remained standing anxiously to get his reward, until the little elf pulled towards the bronze coins and grabbed a handful before sitting them on the table.
“Where’s the rest of it?” Lupus asked in anticipation.
“What do you mean?”
“Where’s the rest of my payment? You said we’d at least be getting gold for all of us, with some silver thrown in on top. This is nothing, I could shit more than what that could buy me.”
The elf laughed loudly. “That was if everything went off perfectly, everyone is dead, you moron. You’re not getting the rest of the payment because you showed up, this isn’t for participating. Take your payment and get out, I have other business to attend to.” The elf said, looking back at his precious gem.
“No,” Lupus said bluntly. “I don’t think I will.”
“Oh fuck me, I don’t have the patience for this. Gor’lach,” the elf said looking over his shoulder, “deal with our guest here. He seems unha-“ Lupus swiftly pulled out his blade and slashed the orc in the throat with it, his blood shooting out spraying the elf all over his feint hair and the back of his head, before grabbing his throat and stumbling to the side and crashing onto the ground with a thump. The room was silent now besides the sound of Gor’lach’s throat gurgling and the fire aggressively snapping as the wood shifted inside of it.
Lupus slammed his dagger into the table, meeting the elf’s greedy little gaze with his own. “I…want…my…money.”
“Fine, take your pick,” he said with a defeated look on his face, shifting the metal chest over to Lupus for him to take his reward. Lupus untangled another large pouch off of his waist and picked up the bronze coins before dropping them into it. One handful he took gold, the next he took silver, and then another of gold. With the coins inside jingling, he took his pouch and tied it back to his waist when the elf moved quickly to grab the dagger inserted in the table. Lupus grabbed the elf by his thin hair and the back of his head, slamming his face into the corner of the table before throwing him backwards in his chair.
The elf groaned in pain as blood profusely poured out of his nose. “You broke my fucking nose… oh Gods…it hurts.” He looked at Lupus with disdain as he grabbed his nose to slow the bleeding, “Get out of here, take your reward and leave.”
“With pleasure,” Lupus said, picking up the black crystal that had fallen onto the floor and his coin purse.
“No, you can’t take that, that’s mine,” the elf said, crawling on the floor over to Lupus, grabbing his leg. “You can’t, you took what you wanted, let me keep this, please, take the whole chest for all I care, just leave the Heart.”
“Heart?” Lupus asked curiously. “I’m sure someone would be willing to pay a pretty penny for this in the cities. I think I’ll keep it.”
“No you can’t, I won’t le-“, the elf was cut off as Lupus gave him a swift kick to the ribs. The elf let go and groaned in pain, one hand holding his nose which was continuing to bleed, and the other holding his now bruised ribs.
Lupus took the black crystal and put it into his sack with the rest of his money. He then grabbed another handful of gold and silver each from the chest before putting it away and walking out the room. He slowly made his way out of the kitchen, inhaling once again to smell that intoxicating scent of the baked goods before walking back out to the stables. He unhooked his horse from the stables and got on the saddle, making his way back out of the town. Slowly striding through the path that had led him here.