Year 27

You have to admit, despite the close calls, the stress of changing the layout, and the several times you almost wanted to kill Grahk, he came through and this place is a lot better than you could have expected, if much smaller.

This place is less of a “budding underground town” and more of an underground mini-fortress and really maybe that was a more realistic goal anyway. You have sturdy walls, rooms, and a hidden entrance within the sewer with a couple of durable security doors just in case the militia does the find the place. You also have an escape route dug out far enough that you’d be able to getaway long before they broke in.

But that’s just your headquarters. There is another secret area where you hold the gambling games, races and fights. Besides it being a better idea to keep the actual activities (and the plebs) away from your main base, Grahk actually said it would be better structural wise to build two separate and smaller hidden locations rather than just one big one which be a lot more costly to maintain and keep from collapsing. So that’s what you did.

Still, you decided to keep one business out of both of the new areas. Namely the Yellow Devil creation and distribution. You aren’t having any junkies going in either to get their fixes and YD stinks something awful that it would defeat the damn purpose of leaving the sewers if you were creating it in these nice new areas.

Due to all the expenses you had to pay for with the dwarves, you had to go back to the old methods of pulling heists and burglary because the drugs, gambling games and fights weren’t enough. Of course that was mostly you, Zal and Vaughn doing those, because you wanted to make sure it was done right.

On the plus side, it’s kept you in shape and your skills sharp. It also raises your respect among the rest of the Crimson Talons since they know you’re willing to get right in the thick of things and aren’t just delegating.

The downside is you’re still not exactly rolling in coin and you don’t think you’ve had real rest since this project began and you’re always vaguely tired, but then as they say no rest for the wicked.

The other side effect is you’ve created a minor “crime wave” throughout Klyton to the point where things are getting out of hand for the militia slightly. Besides the ongoing breaking into shops and homes, your increased production of Yellow Devil has created an epidemic of “meltbrains” as they are called. Didn’t help that you got the idea from Camid to start cutting the drug to make it less lethal, while still keeping most of it’s “positive” effects for the user.

Still causes a lot of irreversible long-term damage that most aren’t coming back from, which now probably makes it even worse. Junkies are living long enough to cause real problems hence the crime wave.

You’ve been extremely fortunate that the authorities have mostly been turning the city upside down and making mass arrests to every petty criminal they can get their hands on, but so far they haven’t done much with the sewers. There were a few close calls with some minor patrols, but Grahk’s crew has been pretty good in keeping their real activities (and you) secret. Grahk’s Council buddy must have an incredible amount of trust in him or maybe he’s just corrupt. You have no idea, you’ve never met him.

Still, Klyton’s uncharacteristic lackadaisical alertness on this matter is going to be coming to an end. Grahk is done with the task and will be leaving soon, which means Klyton will probably be stepping up their patrols down here. Not even the rumors of a killer reptile man is going to scare them away. (You question if this Scales is even down here, surely you would have run afoul of him, with all this work the dwarves have been doing)

But the only concern you have right at this moment is the information you’ve just heard.

“What?! You’re leaving?!” you exclaim.
“Figured I should let you know. Despite our differences at times, I respect you enough to not just disappear.” Zalmora says.
“Hold on you’re going to have to re-explain this again. This is just out of nowhere.” You say and take a seat.
“It really isn’t. Grahk and I have been seeing each other for quite some time since he got here for this project.”
“Yes, I’ve seen you two speaking with one another every so often. Sometimes it looked a little more than that, but I didn’t take you for the running off and getting married sort!”
“What can I say? Grahk made a very good offer.”
“Given what comes out of his mouth half the time, he doesn’t even like humans.”
“Well he likes me and I’m very fond of him. Also, I’ve realized that this life…well it isn’t the one I want any more.” Zal says waving her arms in the air and making motions about her surroundings.
“So…what? You’re going to go pop out a bunch of bearded babies and be a nice little housewife in some dark underground cavern?”
“I’m already practically living in an underground cavern now! And dwarves and humans can’t reproduce with each other…well as far as I know. Besides, he’s already got a couple of children from his deceased wife, so that isn’t going to be an issue anyway.”
“But what are you going to DO with yourself? I mean I’m guessing you’re going to go back to the Cloudpeake Mountains. Dwarves aren’t known for being all that accepting of outsiders at the best of times. You’re not likely to have any friends.”
“Yeah, well it isn’t like I really have any here either.”

You’re a little taken aback.

“Wha…? What? What about me and Vaughn? What about all the Talons that respect your abilities?” you say.
“Those are subordinates, not my friends. You’re my boss, not my friend. And as for Vaughn…well okay, you’re right about him, but he’s hardly enough to keep me around here waiting for the inevitable.” Zalmora responds.
“And what’s that exactly?”
“This whole place is going to raided and all of you are either going to get pinched or killed. Best case scenario, you escape with nothing.”
“That’s some severe lack of confidence in your soon to be dwarf husband’s abilities. Besides, you were originally enthusiastic about this whole project and the potential.”
“I know I was at first, but the original goal has changed now hasn’t it? Look, maybe everything won’t be all doom and gloom and maybe everything does go smoothly, but the fact that I realize is that I’m getting old and I’m enjoying this type of life less and less. I soon learned that on the last heist we did and I nearly got my head blown off by the militia.”
“You’re hardly old Zal, I mean you’re acting like you’re ready for the grave.”
“If I keep on this way, I soon will be. Look, I’ve been giving this a lot of thought for quite some time.”
“So again, I ask what are you going to do with your time? I mean I really can’t envision you as some housewife. You’re going to get bored and dissatisfied.”
“And how do YOU know that? Maybe I’ll find it a great relief not worrying about which shop to rob or whether or not if I’m going to get arrested or killed. And who says I’m not going to find something to do while I’m up there? Grahk owns his own business you know. I’m sure I can help with that in some way.”

A moment of silence comes over you and you cease looking at Zalmora. You can’t believe you might be losing your best “employee.”

It would appear you took it for granted that she’d always be around. Though you did always consider the possibility that she might die in the service of the Crimson Talons just like anyone, but something about this is much different and you don’t like this form of parting of the ways. At least not without trying to do something about it.

“What would it take for you to stay?” you ask.
“Nothing. I told you, I’ve made up my mind about this.” Zal says.
“Bullshit. You wouldn’t have told me at all, if you didn’t want me to make the attempt to at least come up with an offer.”
“…I…I don’t know where you got that idea from, but I already told you that I came to you about this because I respected you enough to not sneak off in the middle of the night.” Zalmora sputters.
“And I’m not buying it. I don’t buy that you’re ready to settle down and live a boring ordinary life. I mean I’ve SEEN you get the thrill even during that last heist where you almost got your head blown off. I mean maybe the safe life does have its advantages, and if you were marrying a Delantium prince who was going to shower you with jewels and a royal palace I’d say congrats and just let you go without a fight. Hell, if you said that you LOVED this dwarf I wouldn’t stand in the way, but you didn’t say that. You just claimed fondness. You’re not moving up, you’re just trading one life of compromise for another.”
“You seem to be very interested in my well being…are you actually jealous? Is this some crush you’ve been harboring because if it is, I’m going to tell you right now that…”
“No! It’s nothing like that. While you don’t consider me your friend, I consider you mine, because quite frankly I don’t have any either and it’s hard enough to have someone trustworthy and reliable in this business as it is. You were the one who gave me all the most important advice that resulted in rebuilding the Crimson Talons to be a viable organization again. And yeah, maybe I didn’t listen to all of it, but I do acknowledge that I wouldn’t have gotten this far without you and I can’t see me getting too much further without you by my side either. I need you.”

Now Zalmora is speechless and looks away. You stare at her, but she makes sure to not look in your direction. You know she must be trying to hide obvious signs of being upset.

“Are you alright?” you ask.
“I…I…yes…I’m fine.” Zal says and then turns around and quickly wipes one of her eyes.

Zalmora composes herself a bit and then speaks.

“Very well. I do have one request if I’m going to consider staying. We have to stop selling Yellow Devil.” Zal says.
“What? But that’s what kept us afloat! If we hadn’t been selling it, we wouldn’t have been able to afford the new headquarters!” you reply.
“Yes, and now that project is over with. We can get by without dealing it. Yellow Devil is going to cause us nothing but trouble in the future. I’m already seeing that, don’t you?”
“Well I’ll admit, its got its share of problems, but it’s the biggest money maker and a lot of the Talons aren’t going to be happy about no longer selling it. Specifically Camid.”
“Look, this isn’t a negotiation. This is my stipulation. I’ll leave you to deal with the repercussions as you see fit. Grahk is leaving in a week. You’ve got three days to tell me your decision, because if you value my friendship as much as you claim and you do decide to stop selling, then I’m going to need the rest of the week to deal with Grahk before he leaves, because I’ll be breaking not just his heart but an agreement and you know how serious dwarves are about those.”
> You let Zalmora go
This is the business you’ve chosen and sometimes that business takes priority over friendship. You appreciate Zalmora and all, but you’re not going to just give up your best moneymaker that is not only going to result in a loss, but also cause discord within the organization.

Not to mention, you are sort of wondering what kind of postion you’ll be putting Zal in, if she has to break up with a dwarf. They aren’t fond of broken promises after all. He could not only make trouble for her, but you as well.

The cons are outweighing the pros.

“You know what, I’m being a selfish asshole. I want you here for my own purposes and I’m trying to talk you out of having a happy life. That’s not what a real friend does, and who the hell am I to question your feelings for the dwarf? Not like I’m an expert on relationships. So I think you should go and leave this life behind. You deserve good things Zal.” You say.

Zal looks at you in silence for a moment.

“Fuck you.” She says and starts to leave, which causes you to immediately try to stop her.
“What?! What did I say? I just wished you well!” you exclaim.
“Yeah, and did you really think I was going to fall for that shit right after your initial speech? I’m not a fucking idiot, thought you knew that by now. You were right about one thing though; you are being a selfish asshole. I ask you for one fucking thing. ONE. And one that will be beneficial in the long run, but do you give it up? No. Obviously you don’t give a fuck like you claim and then you tried that totally transparent it’s not you it’s me shit. Yeah, I’m done. Have a nice life running this place without me boss man.” Zal says and pushes you out of the way.

You briefly think about trying to stop her again, but you think that’s going to result in real violence. You sort of fucked up. You laid it on a bit too heavy, and you probably should have just been straight with her. At least the goodbye wouldn’t have been as bad.

Well there’s nothing for it now. You’ll just have to move on.

Year 28

The militia’s increased activities have put a serious dent in your non-drug related endeavors. People would rather not get caught up in the middle of a war between a violent criminal organization and a violent government organization so the gambling games have dwindled to near nobody and that includes the bum fights too and to be honest most of your bum fighters are Yellow Devil addicts now.

Realizing that now Yellow Devil is the only major money maker, you made your gambling games location into the new Yellow Devil lab since nobody is going to be using it for it’s intended purpose anymore. Your main lab is also be better protected and hidden in this way as well.

Of course recently the name “Yellow Devil” has come into question…

“Yellow Angel?” you ask.
“Yes! I’ve been thinking, we’ve already been changing basic YD so much that it’s not really the same product anymore. It might as well have a new name. Also it sounds a lot nicer don’t you think? I mean what could be better than one of those friendly angels that the Joachim priests talk about? An angel that takes you and flies you up higher than you’ve ever been. Makes it sound a lot more enticing than a devil dragging you down to hell or melting you.” Camid says excitedly.

You have to admit, it’s one of the better ideas he’s had.

“Hmm, yeah. Actually I’ve been wondering if we should start expanding and I’m not talking about just here. I’m talking to other places like Hessla, Holgard or even the Delantium Kingdom. I might send you Vaughn to go get another Crimson Talon chapter started.” You say.
“Me? I dunno boss. I mean I suppose Hessla would be okay, but Holgard and the Delantium Kingdom? Isn’t that Ebony Claw territory?” Vaughn remarks.
“What if it is? The kingdom is a big fucking place. They don’t get to have all of it and who knows what’s going on in Holgard and who’s in charge there. The place keeps having rebellions and revolutions. Seems like the place is up for grabs for anyone.”
“If you say so boss. I feel I should also inform you that the militia has been stepping up patrols in the sewers and starting to go into areas they previously were leaving alone.”
“Yeah, we’re going to be directly dealing with that. I want us to start trapping the patrol locations first. No direct attacks yet, but those might be coming soon.”
“By the gods, we’re actually taking on the militia?” Vaughn asks.
“We are, because that’s the only way we’re going to get them off our backs at this point. We need to make it so bad for them that the costs are going to outweigh the benefits and they’ll be better off going back to busting meltbrains than trying to wipe us out.”
“But taking on the militia is surely going to require all the resources we have. I mean if you send me and a few others to open up another Crimson Talon chapter elsewhere, won’t you be risking getting overwhelmed by the militia?”
“Well that is certainly a risk, but if you’re successful where I send you, that’s extra revenue and support in the long run which will help in fighting off those militia bastards.”

Vaughn looks a little unconvinced, but like the loyal member he’s always been, he just agrees with you. He doesn’t really have a choice anyway.

Your choice is determining where to send him. The Delantium Kingdom might be a bit far for right now. You figure Hessla or Holgard will be good enough. You actually even think about Teckleville, though you aren’t sure if a small town like that would be that ideal.

Also, despite the fact you got run out of there, you still consider it home and you’re a little hesitant to start flooding it with Yellow Angel and recruiting from there. So you immediately dismiss the idea.
> You expand to Hessla
Vaughn is going to be more comfortable going to Hessla and it’s closer so that’s probably the best place to expand.

After supplying Vaughn with a good portion of Yellow Angel, you send him and a couple outright thugs and one of Camid’s “apprentices” on their way to Hessla. You tell him you want someone to send you a report on the situation by the end of the month.

In the meantime you have everyone available to start trapping portions of the sewers and continue business as usual.

One month later

You finally get a report from Vaughn and he tells you that things aren’t going as well as hoped.

Hessla apparently isn’t quite as lawless as imagined It actually does have it’s own security called the Headsmen. They’re fairly vigilant and they report directly to governor Tolen who has complete control over everything that goes on in the town.

What this all means is selling your Yellow Angel there is perfectly fine, in fact it’s even getting popular, but Tolen is taking fifty percent of the profits!

There isn’t much Vaughn can do though, for now he says you can’t expect much profit funneling in from Hessla at this time though he’s looking for potential opportunities. You don’t hold out much hope though given that this is Vaughn and has never excelled in that field.

On the Klyton front things aren’t much better. The militia has suffered some set backs, but it’s clear they aren’t going to give up. Camid has made steps to set up smaller labs not just in the sewers, but even topside in the more run down areas of Klyton. The best way to keep them off balance is to not let them focus too much attention on any one location.

You think your next investment is going to be in more gunpowder weapons.

Year 29

“So what does Vaughn say?” Camid asks.
“He says that he’s finally worked out a better deal with Governor Tolen, but it’s going to require me to be there to hammer out the details.” You say after reading the message scroll.
“Oh. So when are you going?”
“Not sure. As soon as possible given how important this is, but I almost hate to leave since I’ll be concerned about everything that’s going on here without me.”
“Don’t worry about it boss! I can look after things while you’re gone.”
“Hmmm, I’m sure.”

While Camid might be genuinely trying to be helpful, ever since the complete transfer to selling Yellow Angel, he’s been getting puffed up with his own relative importance. A guy like him and ambition are a dangerous combo.

He already seems eager for you to leave, is he planning something?

Still, this is a pretty important meeting and honestly things are probably never going to completely be calm in Klyton. You’re just going to have to have a measure of confidence in Camid that he’ll be able to handle shit and isn’t smart enough to plot anything meaningful against you.

“Alright Camid, you’re up, but we’re going to go over so fucking ground rules of how I expect shit to be run around here in my absence.” You reply.

You spend a good portion of the day going over plans, routines and what to do in certain events. He’s up to speed on most of the stuff, and is at least making the effort to seem completely compliant to your orders.

With some slight apprehension, you pack some of your stuff and leave for Hessla the next day. You wish you could take a carriage to get there quicker, but given the situation with the militia; you’d rather not risk being seen in public around Klyton at all.

Your journey to Hessla doesn’t take too long however and it’s relatively uneventful. Vaughn told you in the message to meet him at the Sensual Siren tavern and he’d be there every day until you showed up.

As you’re asking for directions and walking about the town, you see that Hessla is indeed much different than you imagined. It’s more orderly and many times you see groups of the infamous Headsmen that Governor Tolen employs to keep the peace.

Eventually you reach the Sensual Siren and after looking about the dark tavern, a familiar voice calls over to you.

“Hey Boss! Over here!” Vaughn shouts and waves you over.

It’s been a year since you’ve seen him, but Vaughn look a lot different. He’s shaved his facial hair in a fancier style and is dressed more…”piratey.” You also notice several Headsmen in the tavern who are watching everything going on in the place.

“Well looks like you’ve gone native.” You say sitting down.
“Oh. Yeah all this. I figured I should look more the part around here. It doesn’t hurt.” Vaughn remarks.
“Hey, I don’t care. Dress how you like. So are we going to go see Tolen now? I’m a little anxious to get this meeting over with because I’d rather not have Camid running things for too long while I’m gone.”
“Yeah, I understand. How is everything in Klyton anyway?”
“Same old shit. Trying to stay one step ahead of the militia and still keep everything running.”
“Well I think this new deal I’ve struck with the governor will put an end to some of that hassle.”
“Sounds good, so let’s go see the man.”
“Okay, um these gentlemen will be accompanying us. The governor’s sort of a stickler about security.” Vaughn says pointing to the Headsmen in the tavern.

You look around and see they’re starting gather near you.

“Oh, yeah I figured the governor would have a shit load of his men around at all times. Whatever makes him feel safe I guess, let’s get going.” You say.

You, Vaughn and a small group of Headsmen all leave the tavern. As you head towards the mansion where the governor, Vaughn talks about how well the Crimson Talon chapter here is doing and that there is possibility of extending to a city called Jicol which lies across the sea. He says the place sounds like it’s open territory.

While you’re listening to Vaughn, you start to notice that you’re taking a lot of turns that don’t seem necessary to get to the mansion, which appeared to be a relatively straightforward walk from what you could tell. You look around and you start to feel uneasy as the streets start to get narrow.

No sooner have you start to put your hand by your weapon when Vaughn suddenly shoves you aside and runs forward. It isn’t enough to knock you down, but it’s enough to catch you off balance and the Headsmen have taken advantage by nabbing you.

You struggle to get free, but the Headsmen have firmly got you restrained. Followed by a few punches and kicks, along with taking away all your weapons and you have the distinct impression that you were paranoid about the wrong person betraying you.

You look up and see Vaughn now standing before you with a dagger in hand. He doesn’t look happy, but he isn’t exactly upset about this either.

“Gotta say, didn’t see this coming from you. Guess more than just your style changed.” You say.
“Stand him up.” Vaughn remarks which causes the Headsmen to do just that.

“Better deal huh Vaughn? Was this the governor’s idea, or yours? Probably the governor. You never would have had the balls to think of doing this without help.” You say.
“Shut up.” Vaughn says and approaches you with the dagger.
“What for? I’m going to shut up forever soon. I will say this, at least you’re doing this yourself and looking me in the eye.”

When you say this, Vaughn drops his guard and looks away a bit.

“Heh, I was right, this wasn’t your idea. Fucking pathetic.” You say.

Vaughn then musters up his resolve and shoved the dagger into your stomach. He then pulls it out and stabs you several more times. You never cry out once and you never stop looking at him the whole time despite the fact he tries to advert his gaze downward most of the time. He never says anything else.

Eventually several of your vital organs have been punctured enough and your blood is leaking out of several holes. The Headsmen that were restraining you drop your body and leave it for the street cleaners to dispose of properly.


This is the business you’ve chosen and sometimes that business takes priority over friendship. You appreciate Zalmora and all, but you’re not going to just give up your best moneymaker that is not only going to result in a loss, but also cause discord within the organization.

Not to mention, you are sort of wondering what kind of postion you’ll be putting Zal in, if she has to break up with a dwarf. They aren’t fond of broken promises after all. He could not only make trouble for her, but you as well.

The cons are outweighing the pros.

“You know what, I’m being a selfish asshole. I want you here for my own purposes and I’m trying to talk you out of having a happy life. That’s not what a real friend does, and who the hell am I to question your feelings for the dwarf? Not like I’m an expert on relationships. So I think you should go and leave this life behind. You deserve good things Zal.” You say.

Zal looks at you in silence for a moment.

“Fuck you.” She says and starts to leave, which causes you to immediately try to stop her.
“What?! What did I say? I just wished you well!” you exclaim.
“Yeah, and did you really think I was going to fall for that shit right after your initial speech? I’m not a fucking idiot, thought you knew that by now. You were right about one thing though; you are being a selfish asshole. I ask you for one fucking thing. ONE. And one that will be beneficial in the long run, but do you give it up? No. Obviously you don’t give a fuck like you claim and then you tried that totally transparent it’s not you it’s me shit. Yeah, I’m done. Have a nice life running this place without me boss man.” Zal says and pushes you out of the way.

You briefly think about trying to stop her again, but you think that’s going to result in real violence. You sort of fucked up. You laid it on a bit too heavy, and you probably should have just been straight with her. At least the goodbye wouldn’t have been as bad.

Well there’s nothing for it now. You’ll just have to move on.

Year 28

The militia’s increased activities have put a serious dent in your non-drug related endeavors. People would rather not get caught up in the middle of a war between a violent criminal organization and a violent government organization so the gambling games have dwindled to near nobody and that includes the bum fights too and to be honest most of your bum fighters are Yellow Devil addicts now.

Realizing that now Yellow Devil is the only major money maker, you made your gambling games location into the new Yellow Devil lab since nobody is going to be using it for it’s intended purpose anymore. Your main lab is also be better protected and hidden in this way as well.

Of course recently the name “Yellow Devil” has come into question…

“Yellow Angel?” you ask.
“Yes! I’ve been thinking, we’ve already been changing basic YD so much that it’s not really the same product anymore. It might as well have a new name. Also it sounds a lot nicer don’t you think? I mean what could be better than one of those friendly angels that the Joachim priests talk about? An angel that takes you and flies you up higher than you’ve ever been. Makes it sound a lot more enticing than a devil dragging you down to hell or melting you.” Camid says excitedly.

You have to admit, it’s one of the better ideas he’s had.

“Hmm, yeah. Actually I’ve been wondering if we should start expanding and I’m not talking about just here. I’m talking to other places like Hessla, Holgard or even the Delantium Kingdom. I might send you Vaughn to go get another Crimson Talon chapter started.” You say.
“Me? I dunno boss. I mean I suppose Hessla would be okay, but Holgard and the Delantium Kingdom? Isn’t that Ebony Claw territory?” Vaughn remarks.
“What if it is? The kingdom is a big fucking place. They don’t get to have all of it and who knows what’s going on in Holgard and who’s in charge there. The place keeps having rebellions and revolutions. Seems like the place is up for grabs for anyone.”
“If you say so boss. I feel I should also inform you that the militia has been stepping up patrols in the sewers and starting to go into areas they previously were leaving alone.”
“Yeah, we’re going to be directly dealing with that. I want us to start trapping the patrol locations first. No direct attacks yet, but those might be coming soon.”
“By the gods, we’re actually taking on the militia?” Vaughn asks.
“We are, because that’s the only way we’re going to get them off our backs at this point. We need to make it so bad for them that the costs are going to outweigh the benefits and they’ll be better off going back to busting meltbrains than trying to wipe us out.”
“But taking on the militia is surely going to require all the resources we have. I mean if you send me and a few others to open up another Crimson Talon chapter elsewhere, won’t you be risking getting overwhelmed by the militia?”
“Well that is certainly a risk, but if you’re successful where I send you, that’s extra revenue and support in the long run which will help in fighting off those militia bastards.”

Vaughn looks a little unconvinced, but like the loyal member he’s always been, he just agrees with you. He doesn’t really have a choice anyway.

Your choice is determining where to send him. The Delantium Kingdom might be a bit far for right now. You figure Hessla or Holgard will be good enough. You actually even think about Teckleville, though you aren’t sure if a small town like that would be that ideal.

Also, despite the fact you got run out of there, you still consider it home and you’re a little hesitant to start flooding it with Yellow Angel and recruiting from there. So you immediately dismiss the idea.
> You expand to Holgard
If anything you’ve learned here in Klyton, it’s that it isn’t so much the law and order that makes being a criminal suck, it’s when everything is legalized that makes it suck.

Despite the rebellion problems in Holgard, you know there is always some sort of iron fisted tyrant in charge that puts restrictions on shit. You’ll probably get a better price for Yellow Angel there rather than Hessla where every substance is acceptable and most likely cheap.

While the Ebony Claw is a concern, you can’t quake in fear of them. In fact other than the story Tom told you a long time ago, they have never been a factor in Klyton. Maybe it’s time to see if they live up to their reputation.

After supplying Vaughn with a good portion of Yellow Angel, you send him and a couple outright thugs and one of Camid’s “apprentices” on their way to Holgard. You tell him you want someone to send you a report on the situation by the end of the month.

In the meantime you have everyone available to start trapping portions of the sewers and continue business as usual.

One month later

“Hey boss, news from Vaughn. One of our boys is here.” Dorian tells you.
“Finally. I hope he’s got good news. Send him in.” you say.
“Um, okay, but I should add, he doesn’t look so good. He says there’s some problems”
“Wonderful. Well he can tell me himself, just send him in already.”

As you wait for the messenger. You just ponder what the hell the problems could be. You’re guessing maybe with the ECS. If Vaughn is asking for more help, your answer is going to be you can’t spare it. You’re having a hard enough time with the militia who haven’t let up despite you making things difficult for them.

When the messenger comes in, he’s carrying a box held closely to his chest. You notice he’s not only missing an eye, but he’s also missing a hand. You don’t remember this one’s name, but this was one of the bigger men you sent with Vaughn.

This really doesn’t look good.

“Boss…the Ebony Claws…we got our asses kicked! We’re undone! Everything is lost!” the big man shouts.
“Calm yourself. What the fuck is going on?”
“This! This is going on!” the man shouts and tosses the box on your desk.

You already got a bad feeling about what’s in the box, but you open it anyway. It’s only half surprising that you find Vaughn’s bloody head in it. The ECS also went out of its way to carve its symbol into his forehead.

“Shit!” you shout angrily.
“Boss…” the big man starts to say.
“Besides you is there anyone left?”
“No! They only left me live to…to…”
“Yeah, I know. Send the message. Fuck. I gotta deal with the militia here, but I can’t just let those EC fucks get away with this shit. Argh. Gotta think…”

You start pacing a bit as you think, but the big man still lingers around

“Boss, we gotta get out of here!” he exclaims.
“What the hell are you on about?” you ask.
“The Ebony Claws! They’re coming!”
“Wait, you’re saying the Syndicate is coming here?”
“Yes! We gotta go!”
“While I get that you’ve probably suffered a bit of torture, but you need to find your strength or get the fuck out of my face. If the Claws are coming here, then I’m going to repay every one of the men they killed with ten of theirs. Them coming here is just going to make it easier. Let them fucking come! I’m going to be prepared!”
“No! You don’t understand! They’re coming RIGHT NOW! We…we…told them everything! They know all about the hidden exit tunnel to this place! They only just released me a few moments ago to distract you.”

Your expression drops to one of anger to one of unease, but it doesn’t stop you from pulling out your pistol and shooting the pathetic snitch that just sold you out.

“EVERYONE GET READY, WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!” you shout and walk past the snitch’s body.

Unfortunately it’s already too late. The Ebony Claw Syndicate has already infiltrated the escape tunnel and its members are already inside doing battle with your people, which aren’t many in comparison. The Syndicate apparently decided not to fuck around when considering you a potential threat. It might be flattering if your life wasn’t in grave danger.

After dispatching a couple of the ebony claws, your goal is to leave through the “front door” and hopefully escape to the Yellow Angel lab where you can regroup with Camid, assuming that place hasn’t been invaded as well.

You get to the front door as the last of your Talons struggle against the Claws. As soon as you do, you get a bolt in your forehead. It all happens so fast, you don’t think you even notice the one who shot you even though they had to be directly in front of you at the time.

You just stand there, blink and then fall backwards to the floor as your followers die screaming around you.


The sewers are good enough for you. If you start trying to set up shop up top, you're just going to bring down the heat eventually.

You've got a good thing going on and nobody fucks with you down here. If worst comes to worst, you're confident that you could easily lose the militia if they actually ever made an effort to patrol down here.

Still, maybe you could figure out a way to make this place somewhat less...well like a sewer. You already have made a base in the best abandoned area you can find though. You suppose you could start manually expanding underground further away from the sewers themselves of course that would be a pretty extensive and expensive undertaking and it isn't like you're familiar with the details of excavation.

Although...

This city used to have a fairly large active miner population once. In fact your family made money serving them at their inn. At some point long after your parents had left the city and the inn closed down, the mining trade dried up completely in Klyton for a variety of reasons resulting in a lot of unemployed miners.

In fact some of the bums in your fights are ex-miners. You wouldn't want to rely on just them though, but surely you could scour the city for other ex-miners down on their luck or working jobs they hate. They probably would work cheap. You suppose if you really needed more you could shell out the money for some outside help, but you'd rather keep the costs as low as possible.

Later when you approach Zal and Vaughn with this idea, they're caught off guard by this plan, but don't seem put off by it. Well Vaughn doesn't at least. Zal of course has her usual concerns.

"Okay, I know that look. Out with it." You say.
"It's just...well do you think this is even feasible?" Zal asks.
"I'm not saying it's not going to take effort, but again this is a long term plan. I mean going up top, trying to set up false businesses and store fronts is just not going to work in Klyton. The place is just too damn repressive, but we all know people still WANT to do illegal shit like whoring, drugs, gambling..."
"Erm, actually all those things are legal in Klyton." Vaughn interrupts.
"(Sigh) You know what the fuck I mean! All that high priced shit is easily accessible for the rich folks, but WE cater to the poor and who needs affordable distraction more than they do?"
"So...wait. Are we defenders of the down trodden now?" Zal asks.
"I didn't say all that, but we ARE providing for them in a way. I mean we can start out by digging ourselves out a proper headquarters where we don't have to be constantly bombarded by the smells of the sewer and has a solid defense, but I'm thinking in time we could just build a whole underground town."

Zalmora and Vaughn look at each other and then you.

"A TOWN?!" They exclaim.
"Well maybe not town in the traditional sense, but a place where we can do our business AND live without even worrying about the Klyton militia raiding the place because we would be so damn entrenched that they wouldn't be able to do shit even if they wanted to. We wouldn't just be the criminal organization that skulks around in the Klyton sewers, we would be a whole separate community...bah maybe I'm not explaining it well, but I envision it in my head!" You say.
"No. No, I get what you mean. I have to say, this is really damn ambitious. I mean I can't say I'm not impressed by your plan...but again I just have my concerns if it's going to be possible...but fuck it, I'm in." Zal says.
"Glad to hear it. So, we're going to need miners and equipment which is the easy part, but we're also going to need a genuine engineer so the whole damn thing doesn't fall on our heads. So anyone know of any?" You remark.
"Yeah, Red Nose Rob." Vaughn remarks.
"Who's that?" You ask.
"One of the bums that participates in the fights."
"There's a bum who used to be an engineer? What the hell happened?"
"He was actually a miner, but he had a natural gift when it came to engineering. Which was good for the company since they just used his talents for creating very sound mine supports and they didn't have to pay for a real one. He probably could have been building new structures in Klyton, but he just didn't have the formal education."
"Interesting. But how do you know so much about him?" You ask.
"He has his lucid moments. Plus, um...we used to...meet up..."
"Ew Vaughn. You fucked a disgusting bum?" Zalmora remarks.
"No! I fucked him when he was strapping miner! Sheesh Zal!"
"Never mind all that, would he be able to do the job?" You ask
"I think so. Probably wouldn't have to pay him much more than we do to fight, but we’d definitely have to dry him out a bit though." Vaughn says.

You start making notes of various ideas as you ask more questions.

"Okay, so we got one potential overseer for this project. You got any more engineer ex-lovers?" You ask.
"Not that I know of boss." Vaughn remarks.
"I think I got a potential suggestion." Zal says.
"Oh? You been fucking engineers too?" You ask.
"Even better. Been fucking dwarves. Grahk Kazek is the one that comes to mind."
"Well that's nice that you're so open minded with your choice of sex partners, but is this dwarf an actual engineer? Contrary to popular belief, I don't think all of them dig big holes in mountains for a living."
"This one does. Or at least he did before he retired. He makes a monthly trip from the Cloudpeake Mountains to Klyton because he REALLY likes the pastries from Stovo's Bakery. Buys up a bunch then goes back home. That's where we met actually."
"Didn't know you had ongoing long distance relationship, Zal." You say.
"Lots you don't know about me, but I wouldn't exactly say Grahk and I are in a relationship, we just had a bit of fun together. In fact I haven't seen him in years. I just know he still goes to that bakery since Stovo has mentioned him a few times when I go in there."
"So would he be interested?"
"He's a dwarf and used to construct tunnel ways in the Cloudpeake Mountains. Fairly certain if we throw enough money at him, he'll be willing to oversee the construction of what we're doing. Besides, I can be pretty persuasive."
"Hmm, don't I know it." You say.

The dwarf sounds good, but he sounds like he's going to be really expensive. At lot more than the bum anyway. Of course the bum might be unreliable. You say you'll think about both as you go ask other Talons if they know anybody.

You don't have much luck though. Your other Talons aren't quite as "worldly" as your top lieutenants. There is one who has a lead though.

"Yeah, I think I might know someone boss. This chick called Madeline. She actually attends Klyton University and she's an engineering student." Camid remarks.
"A student?" You ask.
"Yeah, but she's really fucking smart. Top of her class or some shit. I don't even understand what she's talking about half the time. Of course I'm just staring at her tits most of the time anyway.”
"How the hell do you even know her?"
"Oh, she's a little rich girl that likes slumming. Likes to watch the bum fights and get high on Yellow Devil. The usual. Oh and we fuck sometimes."

Of course they do. It would certainly be a strange break in the "theme" if they didn't. The drug bit concerns you though.

"Wait, you say she takes Yellow Devil? How the hell is she not a near drooling idiot yet? I don't need someone melting into a pile of goo in the middle of an important project." You say.
"Don't worry boss. That wouldn't happen." Camid says.
"And how do you know?"
"Because...um...I make sure she doesn't actually get Yellow Devil. I mean she does, but it's a VERY small amount. Almost nothing. The rest of it is cut severely with various common shit I get from the apothecary. She feels good for a little while and feels rebellious and she doesn't get really hurt."
"...You like this girl don't you?" You ask causing Camid to look away a bit.
"(Sigh) It didn't start out that way. First time I saw her, I thought she was so damn pretty that I just wanted a chance to fuck her before she turned into a Yellow Devil mess, so I didn't give her the real shit. But in time...well I dunno shit happened...and I'm probably an idiot..." Camid says trailing off a bit.
"Probably, but fortunately your love sick idiocy has worked in your favor, so do you think she'd help?"
"Oh definitely. She'd feel like she would be a real criminal working for a dangerous organization and all. She'd do it for free too, not like she needs the money."
"Actually she would be a real criminal if she was helping us in this capacity. Good to know about the price. I'll keep her in mind."

Well you got a big decision to make based on your underlings recommendations because unfortunately for you, you haven't been lucky enough to fuck someone with engineering skills.
> You madeline
It might seem to be the less traditional choice of the three, but not having to pay her is a big plus. You just hope she’s actually as intelligent as Camid claims.

You return to Camid with your decision who is incredibly surprised that you listened to him.

“Um…really? I mean great! That’s great boss! She should be coming by tonight.” Camid exclaims.
“She better be as smart as you say. I don’t want to find out she doesn’t know what the fuck she’s doing.” You say.
“No, I promise boss. She’s not just some idiotic rich girl with too much time on her hands.”
“Given that she’s hanging out with the likes of you, I find that hard to believe, but when she comes here tonight, bring her by the office. I’ll make a final decision then.”

Camid nods smiling and walks away with a bit of pep in his step, like you’ve just promoted him or something. Well, it doesn’t take much to make some folks happy.

Also doesn’t take much to upset them either…

“What?! You went with Camid’s rich bitch junkie whore? What the fuck are you thinking?!” Zalmora exclaims when she hears the news.
“I have to agree with Zal on this. We don’t know much about her other than Camid’s praises.” Vaughn adds.
“That’s why I’m going to meet her. If she’s everything Camid claims then we’ll proceed. If not, I can have Camid flogged for wasting my time and we’ll go back to picking one your people.”
“Hm, well I’m certainly going to be asking her some questions.” Zal says.
“No. YOU aren’t going to be doing anything. I’m going to see her alone, without anyone else’s input. The decision will be final and mine only. I know you like to think you’re the one who runs things around here Zal, but you aren’t and you don’t get a say this time. Deal with it.”

Zal purses her lips and gives you an irritated look for a moment, but then she forces a smile and nods.

“You’re the boss.” She says and leaves. Vaughn just wishes you good luck with your meeting with Madeline and follows Zal.

Later, Camid arrives before you with a young red head with an ample chest. She’s dressed “down” presumably to look like she fits in, but its still obvious she is out of place here. Must be Madeline.

“This is the girl I mentioned. Madeline.” Camid says.
“I thought as much. I trust you’ve told her some of what this is all about right?” you say.
“Yeah, boss.”
“Good, less for me to explain then. Thank you Camid, you may leave now.”

Camid looks a bit confused at first since he probably thought he was going to be involved in someway, but after waving him away he gets the message leaving you alone with Madeline.

“So, Camid tells me you’re an engineering student at the top of your class.” You say.
“Yeah…got anything to drink?” Madeline responds while walking and looking around.
“No. I don’t partake. I need a clear head to run this place.” You say.
“Really? Would have thought all you had to do is kick people around.”
“I wish it was that simple. Unfortunately it isn’t. Though speaking of clear heads, I’m a little concerned with yours.”
“Oh? This should be good.” Madeline says with a tone of snark that you decide to ignore for now.
“Yes. My concern is if you’re as intelligent as Camid claims you are, one wonders why the hell you’re hanging around a bunch of criminals. For kicks? Well I can see that I suppose, but Yellow Devil? Come on, surely a girl like you knows the dangers of doing that vile drug.”
“What are you my dad?”
“No, just concerned about how reliable you’re going to be. If you’re genuinely interested in working for us or you’re just being a rebel against your real dad and mildly self-destructive.”

You sit up a bit from your chair and lean in on your desk.

“Convince me.” You say.
“Is this where I have to suck your dick?” Madeline asks in a tone almost implying that she could care less if she actually has to or not.
“By the gods…no girl. There’s no cock sucking involved. I just want to know more about why you’re even interested in doing this.”

Madeline for the first time stops acting so casual about this situation and starts taking it seriously.

She goes on to say she isn’t going to tell you her life story, but she wants to make it clear that while you’re probably right on some level about her finding a thrill in all this, she’s genuinely interested in his project from a scholastic point of view too. Namely helping you build an underground headquarters will give her some “life experience” and real chance to use what she’s learning and has already learned especially since she doesn’t hold out hope that she’s going to get a “real job” after she graduates.

“Why would that be the case? You’re rich aren’t you? Surely you can get some strings pulled and you could work anywhere.” You ask.
“Yeah, if I ask my dad for help and I get too much from him as it is…anyway I might very well get a job, but I’m not actually going to work. You’re probably not aware, but women don’t exactly populate the field and tends to be an old boy’s club. As a result it doesn’t matter how high my grades are, I’m never going to get a project where I’m actually going to be involved in any meaningful way. At best I’d just be kept around so guys stare at my tits all day. If I were a dwarf, it wouldn’t matter what gender I was. (Sigh) Humanity sucks sometimes.”
“Hm. I think I understand your position now. You’re using this opportunity to ply your desired trade. That’s actually a reasonable mindset, if an unconventional way to go about it. I still have a few more concerns, but you can tell me more, just let me get my layout plans of what I’m envisioning.”

Madeline talks a bit more about herself and how she first met Camid in the first place. It was basically a typical “wild night” with some of her other university associates and they came down to the sewers to “live dangerously.” She actually says she didn’t really want to take Yellow Devil in the first place and it was just a stupid dare the first time. She also says that she’s long since known that Camid isn’t giving her the real stuff. In fact she says she’s not even interested in taking it anymore.

From what you can tell, you’re still somewhat correct about her being a little self-destructive. While her self esteem isn’t so low that she’s outright suicidal, there’s definitely enough dissatisfaction in her existence that it’s caused her to not enjoy her life of privilege and instead hang around a violent criminal organization. Probably daddy issues as well given that he’s brought up a couple times and she quickly doesn’t want to talk about him. (Mother is apparently dead) You even try to ask who he is, but she just assures you that he’s not on the Klyton Council if that’s what you were wondering about.

However, she seems to perk up quite a bit when she goes through your lay out plans. She starts changing your original plan quite a bit, but she’s respectful the entire time and explains why for everything.

One thing that she mentions that you didn’t expect is her recommendation for labor.

“Goblins? Seriously?” you ask.
“Yes. Next to dwarves, they’re the next best civilized race that has a natural affinity to digging tunnels and building lasting underground structures and not having them collapse. In fact I read when Klyton had vast amounts of miners, the human union made such a stink to the company about employing goblins because they would work cheaper and longer hours. So there were never any proper goblin miners, at least never for long. Most of them are usually in the poorer areas of Klyton as dung sweepers and such, though I know one on campus as a janitor and I’ve spoken with him several times. We’re almost friends in a weird way. I think if I convince him, he can easily gather up more of his buddies.” Madeline remarks.
“Hm, interesting. Well, I suppose we’ll gather the rest of equipment.”
“Sounds like you’ve got that under control. Um, can I stay here the night and look over these plans and this map of the sewers? I really want to get started on working on designing a new layout and where the best location would be for your headquarters.”
“Um… sure. Don’t you have school though?”
“Don’t have a class for a couple days. I’m good until then.”
“Oh, well I can have a room for you. Can’t do anything about the lingering smell I’m afraid, but then that’s part of why we’re trying to design a place not actually in the damn sewer.”

Madeline thanks you and you see her out the door.

As strange as this arrangement is, you have a positive feeling about it, though you’re still going to remain cautiously optimistic until you actually see some work from her.

In the meantime, you can imagine the comments you’re going to get from Zal about this, but then what else is new?
> You time passes...
Year 26

“Your school girl would go a lot faster if she was a REAL engineer and didn’t have to leave every once in awhile to go attend classes. And why are we building in two different locations again?” Zalmora asks.
“Because Madeline pointed out that it might be better if we didn’t build everything in one place. Said it would be easier to keep the support structurally sound as well if we didn’t build too big. I think it’s coming along fine so far, though the ceilings are a little low. Guess goblins aren’t used to building them high though.” You respond.
“Considering you’re spending as much money as you are for this shit, I certainly hope she’s at least a good lay.” Zal remarks.
“What? I’m not fucking her.” You say.
“Great. So you’re just wasting money for no gain whatsoever.”
“We’re getting our new locations! By the fucking gods, what the hell is your problem today?”
“My problem is we could have had a real professional do this and probably be done by now. This little school bitch doesn’t know what the fuck is doing and we got goblins running around being the obnoxious little green shits they always are.”
“Actually I haven’t had any problem with any of them.”
“Ugh, they’re fucking annoying.”
“Zal, I’m not going to argue about this anymore. Things are going just fine, you’re just finding shit to nitpick about.”
“Have it your way, but here’s one more for the road. If you REALLY aren’t fucking big tits McRed, you better have a little chat with her because I’ve seen how she acts when you speak with each other. Maybe you’re oblivious, but the girl has a serious crush on you.”
“You’re talking nonsense.” You snort.
“I’m serious. You don’t notice how chipper she is when she speaks to you? How she makes these girly giggles over shit you say which isn’t even funny half the time? How she makes every effort to be very close or even touch your arm or hand when you’re around? If the girl was anymore obvious, she’d have her legs wrapped around you.”

Now that you think about it, Zal isn’t wrong on her observations. Madeline’s personality has been a lot more positive since the first time you met her.

Though it makes you wonder…

“Okay, so say maybe she does, what I find interesting is how you’ve been studying our relationship and interaction. Are you jealous?” you say with a chortle.
“Hah! Typical male ego. You wish. But I’ll tell you who IS jealous, Camid.” Zalmora retorts.
“Camid?”
“Yeah, the repulsive guy in charge of Yellow Devil creation and distribution and stinks of Yellow Devil fumes most of the time? There are already rumors going on about you fucking schoolgirl, I can’t imagine Camid is happy about that, still being her boyfriend and all. I’ve seen this happen before and it never ends well. So if you don’t want a knife suddenly in your back, like I said, you better straighten out this misunderstanding…or at least tell a convincing lie.”
“There’s nothing going on with Madeline!”
“Hey, I’m not the one you have to convince. I’ll leave you to it boss man, I mean we all know you’re the one who runs everything here.” Zal says and leaves.

You hate it when she makes sense.

While you had better things to do today, you probably should talk to both of them and do it now just to get it out of the way.

Since you’re not exactly in the mood to breath in Yellow Devil fumes right now, you decide to go see Madeline first who as far as you know is overseeing work on the other location. You might as well check on that while you’re at it.

After an uneventful walk in the sewers, you get to the location. So far it doesn’t look much different than your future headquarters, though the rooms are bigger.

In the biggest of these rooms, you find Madeline ordering about a few goblins in their native language. It’s weird how they don’t mind taking her orders. When they see you, they move even quicker.

Madeline turns and sees you as well. She smiles and immediately walks quickly over to you.

“You’re here! I didn’t expect to see you so soon after the last time you inspected this place. I would have doubled the work time on it!” Madeline beams. You get the impression that she nearly was going to hug you, but stopped herself.
“No, that’s okay. I’d rather you take a little extra time to make sure everything is secure. So is this room going to be where we hold the fighting games?” you say.
“Yes, that was my intention. I think it might need more expansion, and of course we’re going to make it look better than it currently does, but it’s well on its way!”
“Well I can honestly say you are doing a fine job, and best of all, it isn’t costing me a lot. I gotta talk to you about something though.”
“Me too! But first I have to show you this, come with me!”
“Um, okay.”

Madeline walks ahead of you first, but when you aren’t moving fast enough, she actually pulls your hand in an effort to get you to follow faster.

You soon enter a small partially dug out room that has a single lantern lighting it. You don’t see anything out of the ordinary here.

“Madeline, what…” you start to ask, and before you know it, she’s all over you.

After about a couple of minutes of slobbering over each other, Madeline finally comes up for air.

“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do this…” she says and then goes in to try to kiss you again before you stop her.

“Madeline! Hold on! I…can’t…WE can’t do this. I think you’ve gotten the wrong idea!” you exclaim.
“Didn’t seem like it when you had your tongue in my mouth and your hand on my ass a few moments ago.” Madeline says.
“You…you caught me by surprise! I’m only human damn it! Look, you’re obviously a very attractive girl and maybe you’re into me because I’m being supportive in your dreams or something, but we can’t do this.”
“Why not?”
“Well for one thing, you’re Camid’s girlfriend and people are already whispering untrue rumors about us. I mean if you were just some whore, it probably wouldn’t be a big deal because…well whores are a whores and everyone is supposed to be fucking them. But you’re not a whore and you’re in a real relationship with another Crimson Talon. Stealing someone else’s girlfriend is just bad for business. It creates hard feelings and much worse.”
“I don’t understand. You’re dealing drugs, running illegal fights, and other activities but being with someone who would rather be with you is where you draw the line?”
“Well, there’s gotta be a line drawn somewhere. Otherwise this all falls apart. You know, like a support beam for the tunnels you’re building.”
“But you’re the boss, can’t you just do what you want?”
“Well it’s a little more complicated than that. The key to being in charge is also trying not to be hated. And what about Camid? I thought you and he were together.”
“Eh, he was okay at first, but now....well I find him…limited. I’d rather be with you. I like the way I feel when you’re around encouraging me. Camid doesn’t understand anything that I talk about. He just stares at my tits and wants to fuck.”
“How do you know that I’m not doing the same thing?”
“Obviously you aren’t, because if you did, we’d be fucking right now. My point is, I feel like I can at least converse with you about a variety of things. I mean maybe you don’t understand all my technical university speak, but I know you’re at least on my intellectual level.”
“…thanks? I think?”
“Plus…this isn’t just some stupid crush like you probably think it is. You’ve been so nice to me. I think…I think I’m really starting to…”
“Don’t finish that sentence!” you shout.
“Well I can’t help my feelings towards you! Oh I don’t understand why you can’t just kill Camid so we can be together!” Madeline exclaims and then hugs you tightly and trying not to cry.

And that intensified quickly.

“Madeline. (Sigh) Look. You’re experiencing a phase. You don’t seriously want any sort of long term relationship with someone like me. I mean if you think I’m any better than Camid, you’re only thinking that because I find you useful in a capacity that doesn’t involve sex. I’m NOT a nice guy. Just ask anyone. Hell, talk with Zalmora. She’ll be the first one to tell you all my shortcomings.” You say.
“It’s not a phase though…” Madeline says with a quiver in her voice.
“Well if it isn’t, you’re just going to have to get over it anyway. Because WE are not happening. I’m not looking for anyone long term and I don’t want it. It’s not who I am. Apologies.”

Madeline now starts to cry quietly.

“Now if this is just too much for you, I’ll completely understand if you don’t want to work on this project anymore. I can find someone else.” You say.
“(Sniff) No. No…I’ll continue the work. I promised to see this through. I…won’t say anything to Camid either (sniff) I’ll just get over it, like you (sob) said…” Madeline says before crying again.

You haven’t felt nearly this bad since you left Annah back in Teckleville. Still, you feel this is for the best and hopefully Madeline can indeed “get over it” like she claims.

As you leave Madeline to her sadness, you move on to your next unpleasant task and that’s speaking to Camid. You’re not entirely sure how you’re going to tell him though.

After another uneventful walk through the sewers you get to the Yellow Devil Den. For obvious reasons you don’t come here that much, because the place stinks worse than the rest of the sewers and always has junkies hanging around, acting crazy or just slowly melting. Though the melting is a little less now that Camid’s made strides in cutting Yellow Devil with less lethal ingredients and still managed to maintain it’s feel good effects. Still doesn’t make you want to stick around though.

Several Crimson Talons see you and let you in immediately while pushing away any junkies attempting to get in. Doesn’t take you long to find Camid. He’s surprised to see you. Camid and you head to his own little area where the stench of Yellow Devil fumes isn’t burning your nostrils to talk.

You decide to go with a half truth and explain that you’ve been hearing the concerning rumors about you and Madeline and you’re here to dispel them, because it’s not healthy to the organization to have something like that spread around when it isn’t even true in the first place. You explain you have no interest in Madeline other than her work on the project. You even sort of imply you’re actually trying to get back with Zalmora.

Camid seems to react positively to your explanation with no hint of any underlining hostility. He either means it, or he’s subtler than you gave him credit for. Either way, it would seem the matter is closed.

You return to work and later you see Zalmora and Vaughn.

“Well? Did you take care of that business?” Zalmora asks.
“Not that it concerns you, but yes I did. Now let’s move on to other things.” You reply.

The next few days are a little tense and you stay on your guard. You half expect Camid or Madeline to do something crazy, try to kill you, or something that causes problems. None of that happens though.

Weeks pass and while Madeline occasionally gives you a longing glance she never initiates anything. You try to keep your contact short with her. Camid doesn’t act out of the ordinary either when you see him. Neither one mentions their relationship with each other so you assume they’re still together.

Then just when you think everything is settled with this situation, disaster strikes.

“He’s fucking dead?” you exclaim.
“Afraid so boss. Camid was found dead with several large holes in him. Legs, back, chest, head, arms, everywhere.” Vaughn remarks.
“Well what the hell happened?”
“Dunno. Some of the Talons just found him in his room in the den like that. No signs of anyone breaking in or anything.”

Zalmora just looks at you.

“Do I even need to say it?” she asks.
“(Sigh) No. But I’m wondering how she did it exactly. I just don’t see her as a natural killer and Camid wasn’t a push over…wait a minute. Sonofabitch. She used the little green bastards! They follow everything she says. They’re also small and sneaky enough to dig some little passage that only they could get in and then. You said Camid had large holes all over his body. Probably from pick axes.” You say.
“I’m a little lost here, who killed Camid?” Vaughn asks.
“The love of his life, school girl killed him.” Zal says.
“Wait, why?”
“Geez, Vaugh you’re really behind aren’t you? Our glorious leader here turned down her advances a few weeks ago. Surprised the hell out of me too, but messing with another man’s girlfriend isn’t one of the vices he has apparently. It appears though school girl figured out a loop hole and took matters into her own hands.” Zal explains.
“Why couldn’t she have just broke up with Camid?” Vaughn asks.
“Because that still would have caused conflict if the boss got with her. Camid isn’t likely to be the type to just accept seeing someone else with his ex especially so soon and so close. Nope, had to kill him. Only logical play.”

Zal then turns to you.

“Which now I guess means the next step is yours heartbreaker.”
> You talk with Madeline
Well, she did take the initiative and solve the main problem concerning you being together. That’s sort of an admirable trait.

The fact that she got her little goblin friends to do it implies she’s actually a lot more dangerous than you could have imagined. You can’t help but find that a little alluring, if also a little concerning.

You’re also concerned with Madeline’s possible mental stability if she was willing to go to this much trouble to be with you.

You stand up and start to leave.

“Where are you going?” Vaughn asks.
“I’m going to go see Madeline.” You say.
“Well don’t you want back up?”
“Why would he need back up Vaughn? I’m sure he can fuck her perfectly well all by himself.” Zalmora says.
“I’m just going to go talk with her.” You say.
“Sure you are.”

Not wishing to debate it any longer with Zal, you leave and head to where you remember Madeline was supposed to be overseeing today which is the new headquarters being built.

When you arrive you find it strange you don’t see any goblins running around going about their digging and building. In fact it’s completely empty until you find Madeline sitting against the wall. She looks up when you enter the room.

“Hi. I guess you figured it out already.” She says.
“Well, it wasn’t incredibly hard to figure out. Where are all the goblins?” you ask.
“Oh, I sent them to go work at the other location when they told me you were coming to talk. I figured we should be alone.”
“Well that’s…wait. How did they know I was coming to talk? I didn’t even see any of them on the way here.”

Madeline stands up and begins to walk over to you.

“They didn’t just dig a tunnel into the Yellow Devil Den. They’ve dug tunnels all over the sewers. Mostly under them. Made it easier for them to get around without having to walk about in the actual sewers. They may have also dug some tunnels near your old head quarters…you know, you look very peaceful when you sleep…” Madeline says and goes to touch your face, but you stop her by grabbing her wrist.

“You…you’ve been watching me sleep?” you ask.
“Just a few times…are you going to kill me?” Madeline asks.
“Honestly Madeline I don’t know at this point! I mean never mind the fact that you killed one of my more productive members, but your actions are pretty damn batshit insane. You got goblins doing your bidding, you’re stalking and spying on me, you showed no signs of being a killer before and yet you just killed a man who actually DID love you in his limited way. I mean you’re fucking dangerous, how the hell am I supposed to trust someone like that?”
“Because I love you! I did this all for you! I’m doing this ALL for you! I would never hurt you!”

At this point Madeline gloms on to you and unsuccessfully tries not to cry. She’s holding on you like you’re life itself, which is funny considering you just said you weren’t sure if you going to kill her or not.

You honestly are at a bit of a loss. Instinct is screaming at you that this a bad idea, but along with the emotional shit Madeline is laying on you, it doesn’t help that she feels real good against you right now.

She looks up at you with eyes mixed with hope and sadness. There’s probably a tinge of madness in those eyes as well. And from there your face moves in towards hers for the kiss and you shortly after that you finally consummate this relationship.

Well you made your decision with your dick…again.

Though to be honest when you first went to talk to her, your mind was mostly made up anyway, because despite her obvious mental problems, you really can’t resist a pretty girl who is willing to do all that for you. It’s a huge ego boost for one thing.

As far as any actual deeper feelings for Madeline…well you can always try and it isn’t like you don’t have a base to work from.

Afterwards Madeline attempts to cuddle with you and all that other stuff that goes along with having a “proper” girlfriend, but you tell her that while you’d love to spend all day just being naked with her, you both have important shit to do and you have to get back to it.

Eventually you make your way back to headquarters and of course Zal is there. You already know what’s coming.

“Oh you’re finally back, that must have been a very involved discussion.” Zal remarks.
“I don’t even want to hear it.” You say.
“You won’t hear it from me. You’re the boss, you can do what you want obviously. Camid wasn’t exactly popular so it isn’t like this is going to cause the eyebrows of other Talons to rise. Fairly certain most of them would have killed him to fuck schoolgirl as well, if they had the chance…but then SHE was the one that set that up isn’t she? You must be awfully special to her.”
“Okay, Zal.”
“Didn’t think you were the settling down type, but I imagine unconditional obsession wrapped in that package is a bit hard to turn down. Must be nice to be loved so unconditionally.”
“I thought you said you weren’t going to say anything.”
“You’ve been working with me this long and you believed that? Hah, no wonder she got you.”
“I don’t have time for this, and don’t you got some work to do?”
“Yes, yes, I’m going…but before I do…”
“Here we go…”
“This relationship is a really bad idea. And I’m not talking just for the survival of this organization, but your survival in general. This girl is not just obviously dangerous, but she’s manipulative as well. You may like the attention you’re getting from her now, but you might not like it when you realize you don’t want it anymore. And when that day comes, it isn’t going to be good.”
“Well as usual, you can always leave Zalmora. You’re always bitching about what I do or don’t do. As a matter of fact, I’ll make the decision for you since you seem to be unable to. Get the hell out, you’re not a Talon anymore.”
“Get out of here, you don’t mean that…”
“The hell I don’t! Why does it matter if you stay here anyway? I mean you’ve hinted on occasion in the past that you don’t really find this life as appealing anymore. So why not get out? You should be thanking me! I’m giving you a rare opportunity to walk away from a criminal organization and not even asking for anything in return.”

Zalmora at first is shocked that you would say this to her, but then she chuckles.

“Sure, I get it. You’re right, there really isn’t much point in me sticking around now, and maybe it is time for me to move on with my life. Gods know I’ve wasted more of it than probably should have. Anyway, I’m sure school girl will be very helpful in your future endeavors. And I sincerely hope I’m wrong and you and her live happily ever after or how ever that goes.”

Zal then looks down a bit, sighs and then finishes her goodbye.

“Okay, well I’ll just go say goodbye to Vaughn and get the hell out of your way.”

Zal then leaves without another word.

You can’t help but wonder if feelings were running a little deeper than she let on. She probably took it for granted that you wouldn’t ever be involved seriously with someone else. She also took it for granted that you weren’t going to eventually get tired of her shit.

Still, you’d be lying to yourself if you weren’t going to miss her. She kept an eye on details and things organized. Now you’re going to have to do all that shit yourself, because while Vaughn isn’t incompetent, he’s no Zal.

In the meantime, you need to get the Yellow Devil Den running at full capacity again.
> You time passes...
Year 28

Life is good.

Business is going well now thanks to your better locations. More people seem to prefer gambling in an area that smells tolerable for one thing. Madeline also had the goblins build a hidden entrance way topside so folks can now enter directly and not have to muck about through the sewers.

Your new headquarters is also much better than the one you had in the sewers

The only business you left in the sewers was the Yellow Devil Den. Seemed fairly pointless to befoul your new locations with it and it’s users. Better it should stay in the sewers.

Though Madeline actually has told you she has an idea to make a special area for that too since she can easily get the goblin crew to help again. She says she plans to help you out a lot more when she isn’t in school any longer. And graduation for her is coming soon, today in fact.

You never thought you’d ever be visiting where your father went to learn to be a doctor, but you aren’t going to miss Madeline accepting her diploma. You genuinely love her as your relationship has grown. You were a little concerned at first, but you found that while it isn’t perfect, you feel pretty comfortable with her. You even have vivid dreams about her. Almost so real that you aren’t even parted when you sleep. You’ve told her all about your life in Teckleville, and your family. She hopes one day that maybe she can meet them, especially your sister. (You still wonder about all of them from time to time)

While Madeline has talked about her past, she still hasn’t mentioned too much about her family. Not even about her father who you know she isn’t fond of, but you don’t know why exactly. She just mentions she has no contact with her father other than him paying for her education. It’s never a topic she wishes to discuss; she just wants to focus on the future with you, which is fine as far as you’re concerned.

“So how do I look?” you ask.
“Well, you wouldn’t be my type, but you do look dapper in that suit.” Vaughn says.
“I’m crushed. But good, I don’t want to look too out of place at Madeline’s graduation.”
“They grow up so fast huh?” Vaughn snorts.
“Okay, don’t even go there with the dad thing. I’m not even that much older than her. I trust you can look after things here for awhile?”
“Sure boss, no problem.”

You leave Vaughn and head to the surface. You’re not going to walk all the damn way to the university though, so you pay for a horse and buggy to take you there. As you ride, you realize you haven’t really travelled around the city as much since you took control of the Crimson Talons. You’ve mostly been stuck underground most of the time.

When you arrive at the university you don’t have too difficult of a time finding where the ceremony is taking place. The university is very clean and orderly, you briefly imagine your father walking around this place back when he was going here.

Eventually you get to a big open field area with several seats and a stage set up. Others are already seated so you find yourself a chair in the back.

While nobody is staring at you, you still feel a little out of place. You just never thought you’d be at a place of higher learning and attending someone’s graduation ceremony.

As you wait for things to get started, someone sits next to you, when you turn to see who it is, you can’t believe who it is.

“Glad to see you made it to my daughter’s graduation.” Mr. Reynolds says with a smile.
“…you… YOU?! You’re her father?!” you say.
“Yes, and shhh. Don’t make a scene. I’m not here to cause problems.”
“I can’t believe this.”
“I guess she didn’t tell you about me. She never does. (Sigh) Even after all I’ve done for her. Though I suppose if she had talked about me, you would have thought twice about being with her and that would have been a shame…because I know how much you make her happy and she’s going to need that bit of happiness to hang on to where she’s going.”
“What? Where’s she going?”

Mr. Reynolds chuckles a bit.

“She’s going back home of course. Her time here is done, well for now it is anyway.” Mr. Reynolds says.
“What do you mean? Isn’t this city her home?”
“Klyton is just her current place residence, but her real home is…well it’s very different. You might even say it’s a different realm altogether.”

The way Mr. Reynolds smiles at this point makes you completely tense up. You don’t like whatever he’s about to say.

“She’s not human m’boy. Well…not entirely human anyway. She’s a bit of a late bloomer though with her powers, but I love her all the same. Let me ask you something though, has she been appearing in your dreams recently?”
“…yes.” You answer hesitantly.
“Yeah, her mother will probably be coming for her soon.”
“Her mother? I thought her mother was dead.”
“Oh no. I just told her that her mother died in childbirth. Her mother is really a full-blooded succubus. They aren’t known to be maternal until their daughters have already grown up and shown that they’re worthy of their attention. Displayed powers and such. They never much bother with their male children at all though. I should know.”

You have no words.

“Of course most of them just eat their off spring as soon as they give birth to them, but I told that bitch, no daughter of mine was going to be a snack. I’ll admit, I wasn’t the best father probably, but I think between me or being breakfast, well I think I’ll be vindicated once Madeline finds out the truth about herself.” Mr. Reynolds says.
“You don’t think she’ll be even more pissed at you for NOT telling her and it just suddenly being sprung on her like this?” you blurt out.
“…hmmm…y’know I never considered that. Oh well. It isn’t like she’s my only child. My boy Henry starting to show a lot of promise. Can’t wait for him to take over the business someday.”

You almost feel like standing up and shouting Klyton has been infiltrated by demon spawn at this point. However, you’ve got bigger concerns.

“Does Madeline have to return? I mean can’t she resist?” you ask.
“There’s no debate m’boy. She’s going to go. I mean there probably will be an urge to resist at first, but it doesn’t take long before that infernal blood pulls them in and they return to fully embrace their demon powers “
“Always?”
“Well, a few sadly succeed. But I promised her mother long ago that if Madeline ever started to bloom that I would do everything possible to help that process along.”
“But she’s nice! And good!” you say.
“Nice? Good? Ha ha ha ha! That’s a cute. She’s with you, how good can she really be? Plus I know how she killed her old boyfriend with her little goblin influencing powers. Shit, that’s proof right there that’s she’s going to make a fine succubus. She’s already killing boyfriends. Speaking of which, you m’boy have to go.”
“What?”
“You. You have to go. I’m not having my daughter not achieve her rightful destiny by holding on to her misguided love for you. Now, you can stay to see her graduate, but then you need to leave. And I don’t mean just here. You need to leave the city and go some place far away. If you’re dreaming about her, that means she’s already starting to imprint on you. However, she’s probably not strong enough to find you if you the city. By then her mother and maybe even I will have convinced her to embrace her powers.”

You start to say something, but Mr. Reynolds stops you and also grabs your wrist tightly. So tight that it almost feels like he’s going to crush your bones.

“YOU are NOT going to stop this son. Take solace in the fact that you NEVER had a choice.” Mr. Reynolds says in a low firm voice.

Mr. Reynolds is giving off an aura that puts you completely on the edge terror. This isn’t just a normal threat. You’re seeing something new. Something less human, less mortal even. A faint scent also hits your nose, it’s brimstone.

Still despite all this, you do have real feelings for Madeline. Maybe it’s because you left Annah when she was in trouble that you don’t want to do the same thing to Madeline. At the very least, you want to be able to give HER the choice.

“Mr. Reynolds…I love your daughter. I can’t just take off and leave without at least presenting my side to her.” You say, mustering all your courage, which causes a smile from Mr. Reynolds.

“Fair enough, I can respect that, but let me ask you this…are you REALLY willing to go through hell for her son? Now I want you to think VERY carefully before answering. Because IF you are willing to go all in on proving how much you actually do love my daughter, then I need that answer now.”
> Yes
No soon have you said yes, when Mr. Reynolds closed smile becomes a disturbing toothy grin.

“Thank you son. You just made convincing her much easier.” Mr. Reynolds says and then suddenly touches your chest and you feel like your heart has a hot knife going into it. It might as well have because you feel like death is approaching you quickly as your body begins to seize up. You can’t even cry out.

Mr. Reynolds sits you up in your chair and draws attention away from any possible onlookers by sitting you up in your chair so your body just slouches on it without falling. He then makes some out loud comment about you being really tired today and to just rest your eyes a bit if you need to.

As this is all happening you just stare the stage where some old guy is talking at a podium. struggling to keep your eyes open.

As the graduates are called on stage, your mind begins to get foggy and your lids get even heavier. You manage to just barely see Madeline accept her diploma before everything goes black.

You don’t know how long everything is black for, but it’s a long time.

Eventually you wake up.

First thing you notice is you’re stark naked, laying on a bed and it’s incredibly hot. The room you’re in is fairly nice, so you have to be someplace upscale.

When you try to get up however, you find that you can’t move. You’re not being held down by anything either. It’s more of a force holding you down. This doesn’t fill you with confidence that your situation has improved.

As you struggle, the door to the room is suddenly opened and there you see her. Madeline.

But she’s different now. She’s naked as well for one thing and while you’ve seen her in that state many times, you’ve never seen her skin with a red hue before. One might even say crimson color.

She also notice she has little horns protruding from her head. Barely noticeable, but there none the less.

You have a sinking feeling that things just got even worse…

“Hey, you’re finally awake I was hoping you would soon.”
“Madeline…what’s going on?”
“We’re in our new house! Do you like the room? If not, we can always change it up for you.”
“House? Look, your father…”
“Yes, he told me. He told me everything. I always knew you loved me! And now that you’re conscious again, we can have a bit of fun. And I need to have some fun right now.” Madeline says and rushes over to lie next to you in the bed and kisses you. You suddenly feel the force holding you down lifted.

While this would be great any other time, you’re still concerned about you situation.

“Madeline, I REALLY need to know what’s going on.” You say.
“Oh, can we not talk about that right now? You don’t really want to know anyway.” Madeline responds.
“Madeline…please. Tell me what’s going on.”

Madeline almost looks a bit sad when you insist, but she tells you.

“You’re dead baby.” Madeline remarks while stroking your face.
“I’m dead?” you ask.
“And you’re in the infernal realm.”
“I’m in fucking hell?”
“Yes, but it could be worse! I mean you’re with me!”

Madeline realizes that she might need to give you a fuller explanation so she proceeds to do so.

She tells you that her father killed and collected your soul. She says he doesn’t do that often because it requires a lot of energy for him to do so mainly because he’s not a full blood demon, but he felt this was an important occasion.

She then says right after she graduated her mother approached her and how strange that event was. The funnier thing she said though is she didn’t completely disbelieve her mother’s story when she heard it as she always felt like there was something more to her life.

Still, it wasn’t something she wanted to necessarily embrace, so for the next few days it was nothing but arguments with her and her new found demonic mother. Meanwhile her father was preparing your soul to present to her. Madeline still didn’t even know you were dead at this time.

By the time her father showed up, she was ready to run off but then he presented your soul to her. He said he would only give it to her if she embraced her demonic heritage and return home. He then of course told her what you said to him and if it was a choice between disobeying and saving your soul from eternal torment, her choice was easy.

“Shit, I’m sorry.” you say.
“For what?” Madeline says.
“If it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t have come here.”
“Oh…I wouldn’t bet on all that. I may have eventually come here anyway…I mean I was wondering what I was going to do after graduation…hey did you know besides slowly embracing my heritage, they wanted me to help oversee the building of a new pain tower? I’m getting to use what I learned!” Madeline beams.
“And me?”
“Well…you’re here, you’re mine and you’re safe…as long as you stay in this room. But you get to be with me, isn’t that enough?”

You look at Madeline and your eyes gaze all over her naked body, this followed by your hands wandering. Madeline giggles a bit and touches you as well.

“Well, okay here and now. Yeah, that’s definitely enough. But…I’m just wondering what’s going to happen as time goes on. I mean you’re a demon so I assume you’re immortal on some level and I’m dead and here in soul form or whatever it is. I mean this is forever. How long before you get tired of me? Will you eventually discard the last remnants of your humanity and just throw me in a pain tower or something as soon as I anger you in some way? I mean how much time to we really have? Should I prepare myself for the inevitable?”

Madeline’s face gets sad again, it’s obvious she doesn’t want to think about that. Despite the new horns she’s very much still hanging on to most of her human emotions for you. She sits up and starts to sniffle a bit.

“What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to upset her and shorten your relative paradise? Just go with it, stupid!” you think to yourself.

You sit up and caress Madeline’s shoulders and back.

“You’re right. Let’s not worry about it. I said I’d go through hell for you…and well here I am and I love you for saving my soul.” You say and then lean in and turn Madeline’s head to kiss her on the lips.

As Madeline and you embrace, you think about how your actions lead you to this fate.

You might be running on borrowed time, but you might as well enjoy it, because not many are in your privileged position in the infernal realm.

Whatever lies in store for you, your life as a rogue has definitely ended.