A year has passed and you’re back in college, though it’s not as much fun as it was when you didn’t need to worry about where your tuition was coming from or having something like a job.

Finding time to study while running the inn is difficult, but fortunately your mother picks up some of the slack when you really need time. You’ve also managed to re-establish some old contacts with people you were “friends” with before your “break”. Most of them are ahead of you and some are getting ready to graduate. While none of them bothered to stay in contact with you (so much for education breaking down class distinctions) a few of them are still willing to help you out by selling you books for cheap or giving you some of their old notes. Every little bit helps.

As for the inn, it’s doing well, but you constantly worry about its future profitability. You’ve got a much broader customer base and even classed the place up a bit, but this isn’t without its drawbacks. Namely the Flying Griffon Inn has stepped up its efforts to get back its customers. This has so far involved an aggressive advertising campaign, hiring a bunch of sexy barmaids and special deals. So far it has helped them a lot and if they continue to succeed, your inn is going to start losing money and you can’t have that. It doesn’t help that your place isn’t in as good of a location as the Flying Griffon

So first things first, you need to figure out how to deal with Flying Griffon and you call a staff meeting in the hopes of getting some other ideas on how to deal with them.

“Why don’t you just hire someone to cut up their slutty barmaids? I mean that’s what’s mainly getting the main draw right? Seems like you could easily solve the problem by getting rid of them.” Rita says. Naturally this doesn’t go over well with the others.

“That’s horrible!” Eliza says

“ What? I didn’t say kill them, they’d still be able to work and shit. They just wouldn’t be pretty anymore.”

“Have you gotten so jealous that you’ve gone completely barmy? By the gods, we’re not doing that, we’re not the Crimson Talons!” Wendy shouts.

As much as disfiguring Flying Griffon’s staff would solve some problems, you hesitate to resort to such measures.

“Maybe we could offer deals to traveling merchants like Flying Griffon does, like they get a discount on their rooms?” your mom suggests.

“Not sure if that’s going to help us a lot, unless we make an addition to the inn. It’s not like our rooms aren’t being used. If we start giving discount to merchants we might attract them, but we might not have enough rooms to accommodate them or we’ll be accommodating them, but won’t be accommodating adventurer types who are paying full price.” Wendy says.

“Well if you’re so knowledgeable Wendy, what’s YOUR solution?” Rita sneers.

“We have a lot of Klyton Milita that come here to drink now don’t we? Why don’t we get some of them to help us? Seems like some very public investigation during heavy business hours would help out a lot and ruin the reputation of Flying Griffon. Hell, maybe they’ll even find something and we’ll really get lucky.”

You take all these suggestions into consideration, but you can’t help notice that Eliza looks like she wants to say something.

“Eliza, do you have a suggestion?”

“Huh? Oh. Um…yes…but I... Just forget it. It’s silly anyway. The rest of your ideas sound better.”

“Eliza, just spit it out!” Wendy demands.

“It’s okay, just tell us.” You say with a lot less intimidation.

“Well okay, but it’s silly. I was going to suggest getting someone on the inside to spy on the place and finding something to use against them. It seems odd that they are managing to attract that much attention with just pretty barmaids when we have our own. I think maybe something else is going on there, like an illegal brothel or something.”

Most of you are surprised that Eliza came up with something so complex.

“Well, that’s a very elaborate plan Eliza, but I think we could accomplish the same thing just by sending in our militia buddies to harass them. Like I said, if they do find anything actually incriminating, then its even better.”

“Yes, of course. That sounds like a more efficient idea.” Eliza says.
> You your Staff (Current status)
Mom: Owner/Cook

Mom’s still around, but it’s mainly to help you out in your effort to put yourself through school. She’s made it quite clear that ever since your father died, she doesn’t really feel the desire to live in Klyton anymore, and would eventually still like to move back to her old home of Teckleville.

Rita: Hostess

Rita’s ego has only gotten bigger since becoming a hostess (You’re still questioning the name of that position) but she’s still popular with most of the male folk and it at least keeps your old miner customer base still around who sometimes find a lot the inn’s changes a bit discomforting. Rita still claims she’s going to live in a mansion one day and is still looking for that “one guy” that’s going to take her away from all this.

This would be more of a concern for you if most guys that were into her weren’t just looking to fuck her a few times and then toss her aside, because if anyone really was interested in more than just her body, they probably wouldn’t put up with her personality for long.

Wendy: Head barmaid

Along with serving food and drinks, Wendy tends to help out with the cooking or running the bar when you or your mother need it, but she always lets everyone know that she has the most thankless job out of everyone. Not entirely true, but you’re reluctant to piss her off any further since she keeps things running smoother. She also balances out Rita’s ego. She always says she’s going to quit, but that’s probably not likely due to her having a couple of children to support.

Eliza: Barmaid

Eliza’s still your model employee; she’s still the quiet one and doesn’t make waves. She’s about the only one that hasn’t mentioned any plans on potentially leaving. Wendy wishes she’d take charge a little more, since it would help her out at times.

Flameflower & Sunshine: Barmaids

These are your newest employees and the pair of them are half-elves which means it’s amazing that they even got jobs considering how full blood elves are notorious for avoiding real work. Still, their human mothers (naturally their elven fathers are absentee dads) seem to want them to learn the value of a copper so here they work. Fortunately Wendy’s a good task master and keeps them from being lazy, but she gets at her wits end at times. Still, the pair of them are pretty and can be good workers when they aren’t goofing off so they do their part for the inn, though Rita obviously doesn’t like either of them since they draw attention away from her.


You get the impression Eliza might be a little too shy for this sort of thing, so Rita seems like a better choice. Rita’s also the most extroverted and will most likely prefer doing this than having to work at the inn.

“Alright Rita, starting tomorrow, you’re working the streets…er so to speak. Don’t think you still won’t be working around here though; I’ll still need you during the late shift. Besides I don’t want you wandering around at night, people might get the wrong idea or something.”

“Fine, as long as it gets me out of this place for a little while I’m game.”

“Okay, also I’d like you to try to throw around some insults about the Flying Griffon Inn while you’re making your sales pitch.”

“Got it.”

The next day, Rita comes in and while she’s always been a pretty girl, she now looks like a succubus that you’ve heard about from old tales. You try to contain your own desire to shamelessly flirt with her.

“By the gods Rita, you’re going to have every guy within this area after you.”

“Meh, wouldn’t be the first time. Okay, I’m off, try not to fantasize about me too much while I’m gone.”

You’re not exactly sure how to take that, but you are wondering how this will play out for you.

Over the course of a few days you definitely see a drastic increase in customers, and not just adventurers either. You’ve got Klyton Milita (who usually just drink at their barracks) coming in and even a few humble storeowners. You’re making a lot more money, but it’s a lot of extra work for the rest of you.

Mr. Reynolds receives sizable amounts of money and he continues to be satisfied with your payments. At this rate you’ll probably be able to get out of debt by the end of the year.

The only major problems are how overworked the rest of you are getting and how arrogant Rita is getting.

Rita states that she should even have to work as a barmaid anymore because it interferes with her “advertising.”

“Advertising? You wiggle your ass at horny men! You’re basically a harlot that doesn’t put out…or is there another reason why everyone comes here?” Wendy accuses.

“Figures that you’d be jealous of my popularity. Face it; I do more around here than ANYONE to keep this place successful, and I deserve some credit for it!” Rita demands.

“Hey we all know Rita, but…”

“But nothing, if you expect me to keep working here, I want a raise and I don’t want to be working as some lowly barmaid anymore! I’m above serving food and drinks!”

“So you basically want to be paid to stand around and look pretty? What the hell kind of job title would we even call that?” you ask.

“I dunno, hostess maybe? Yeah, I’d be the hostess!”

“By the gods, this is ridiculous! You can’t seriously be considering this!” Wendy exclaims.

The only people who are silent in all this are Eliza who is being her usual quiet self, and your mother who just shrugs and says it’s your call since this was mainly your idea. You get the impression she doesn’t care for Rita’s attitude though.
> You put Rita in her place
Rita’s bluffing. Despite her high opinion of herself, she still needs this job.

“Rita, you’re out of line. EVERYONE busts their ass around here and I’m not going to show you some sort of favoritism just because your looks are bringing in more people!”

Rita bickers with the rest of you for a while and after threatening to quit several times during the argument she finally agrees to stay, but you still have to give her a small raise. Nothing pocket breaking, but enough to shut her up and keep Wendy from rebelling in the process.

The next few weeks go as well as can be expected, though Rita’s constant complaining is an ongoing problem. Eventually you learn to tune her out, but one day she’s “tuned out” permanently.

While Rita was still more or less doing her job of bringing in more people, her attitude got a lot worse. This sometimes resulted in her driving away people as opposed to enticing them. This still wouldn’t be so bad considering how many losers are willing to put up with abuse from pretty girls.

The problem was when she eventually pissed off the wrong person and this deranged individual decided to “teach the whore a lesson” and waited for her after work. The gruesome details involved rape, the removal of several of her vital parts and death (Not necessarily in that order).

You can’t say you exactly liked Rita’s personality, but she didn’t deserve that. You even feel partially responsible for putting her in that position in the first place. Your mother tries to assure you that it wasn’t your fault, but it still doesn’t make you feel any better.

You feel even worse when the inn begins to feel the loss. While several regular customers offer their condolences many of the others brought in by Rita in the first place stop coming. You also don’t have Rita to help bring in any new people either. Eliza also quits because she’s so shook up about Rita’s death that she feels it isn’t safe to work at the inn anymore.

You manage to pay off Mr. Reynolds, but it’s just barely again and you’re not optimistic about future payments since he’s hinted that he’s going to need larger payments in the future. It would seem he realizes that you’ve almost paid him off and he wants to keep the money flow a little longer. You’re so disheartened by this, Rita’s death and the other headaches that you’ve had to put up with that you decide maybe it’s time to just give up.

You fought the good fight for as long as you could, but maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. You’re not going to finish this one, which is a familiar theme to you since you dropped out of college. You tell your mother what you think and she seems just as eager to sell the place off too since the past few months have been pretty stressful.

During the remaining week the inn stays open to make a last bit of change before closing for good and selling to the city. Some of the miners seem a little sad by it, but there were so many changes within such a short period of time that most seemed content on finding a new place since the old one wasn’t like how it used to be anymore.

When the inn is sold off, you barely make enough to cover the debt, but at least you and your mother aren’t in any immediate danger now.

Your mother finds work as a cook for a short time, but eventually decides she can’t really stand living in the city without your father anymore. She leaves to go live with your aunt Enora in Teckleville, which is to the east on the outskirts of the Delantium Kingdom.

After a long time of the inn just sitting untended and forgotten due to the council having more pressing matters and red tape, it’s broken into by several homeless people who use it as a place to sleep. The homeless are soon ousted by a local gang who use it as a safe house. Eventually though they cause enough trouble that the Klyton Militia has to take severe action and storm the place, resulting in a small fire.

At this point someone in the council finally notices it, decides that the place isn’t worth salvaging and proposes that it be knocked down to build a medical clinic in its place to try to uplift the area. The motion passes.

As for you, you find a job thanks to your education level, but it isn’t anywhere in the field that you would’ve liked. You’re a clerk in tax office, filing away items, straightening out reports and such. You never really move up and you never make enough money to save away to get ahead either.

You don’t really have a bad life so much as a mind numbingly mundane one. You do have your good days, but ultimately you never really achieve your goals and always have a sense of dissatisfaction with your life.

Sometimes you look back and wonder where you exactly went wrong with the inn and how you could’ve done things differently.

You’ll never know.


You tell him if he wants to spend a few days here that’s fine, but he’s paying like everyone else, either that he can lower the price of his alcohol to cover the cost. Calwin protests saying that he should be put up for free, but you’re unmoved. Eventually he tells you to forget it and tells his lackeys to just carry his booze down to your cellar and he’ll be on his way.

“Glad you stood your ground on that one. Don’t really want his type hanging around anyway.” Your mother says.

The next few days are blessed ones. Some successful adventurers walk in with a whole lot of loot. They rest up in your nice rooms and tip generously. By the end of the week you’ve managed to save bit of money.

While you’re sweeping up the inn early morning, a non-descript man of medium height enters with two bigger figures. One of them is unmistakably an ogre while the other guy is just a tall muscular human. Either one could break you in half.

“Are you are Mr. Reynolds?” you ask, knowing that it has to be him.

“That would be me. I take it you’re the son of my late debtor? I do hope you realize that the debt doesn’t end with him dying…” Mr. Reynolds says

“No, no of course not. I’ve got your payment.”

Mr. Reynolds looks pleased that you’ve handed him a weighty bag of coins.

“Nice. Glad to see we’re getting off on the right foot, kid. Wouldn’t want to have to sic Olaf here on you.” Mr. Reynolds says while patting his ogre goon on the arm. “Be seein’ ya in a few weeks kid.”

As Mr. Reynolds leaves, your mother comes running up from the cellar wondering what’s going on.

“Was that Reynolds? Why didn’t you call me up here?!”

“I had it under control, besides it all went well. We’re saving money, and hopefully those nice rooms we have will pay off still.”

The next few days are uneventful; the miners seem to be enjoying the new Hessla ale though so that’s a relief. They even seem to be talking to you a little more, one of the older miners Aglim, remarks about the adventurers that spent a few nights here awhile back.

“Y’know that’s something I should’ve went into, instead of mining. You travel all over the damn place, killin things and take their shit. Sounds a hell of a lot more fun than spendin’ your time hittin’ the same damn piece of mountain over and over again.”

“They didn’t speak too much to me, but they said they were coming back from the Cloudpeak Mountains. Said they found some old crypt filled with treasure.” You say.

“Yeah, I’ll bet it was some old Dwarven tomb too. For their sake, they better hope the dwarves don’t find out about it. They aren’t too fond of outsiders desecrating their dead like that. Still, there’s been an increase in those types lately in the mountains and a lot of them have been passing back and forth through Klyton. You might want to do some advertising for your inn or something.” Aglim says before walking back to his table with his friends.

He does bring up an interesting point. You obviously have some nice rooms now, why not be a little pro-active and get more of these adventuring types to spend their ill gotten loot here?

You figure the best way to do this is appealing to the lowest common denominator. Sex appeal…

“What?! Son I certainly hope you aren’t suggesting that…”

“NO! I was thinking about someone a lot younger like one of the barmaids.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure if that’s more or less insulting…very well I agree that getting those adventuring type in here would help out a lot. We used to have more, but ever since the Flying Griffon Inn opened up in the merchant district we get less of their business.”

“Do you know anything about this other inn?”

“Not much except it doesn’t really offer anything more than ours, it just happens to be in a better location, what with all the shops around it and all.”

You weren’t aware of this other inn, then again you’ve just been focusing on your immediate problems. Maybe you should actively try to discredit this other inn while you’re advertising. The one thing you need to do is speak to your barmaids about this.

“Huh, well I can tell you right now I’m not parading around the streets trying to seduce passing adventurers like some harlot.” Wendy says.

“I’ll do it, but I’m not sucking anyone’s cock!” Rita exclaims.

“We…we have to suck someone’s cock?” Eliza asks looking a little worried.

“ Argh! Nobody is going to have to suck anyone’s cock!” you yell. “Look I only need one of you to go out on the street, find adventurers and try to entice them into coming to our Inn. I don’t really care how you do it, just try your best, and that will most likely involve you looking as pretty as you can.”

“Oh, well I suppose I could try to do that if I have to.” Eliza says.
> You pick Eliza
Rita’s libel to ask for more money and all sorts of special favors if you give her any more work so you pick Eliza instead. She’s a little younger than Rita and if she fixes herself up a bit more she could easily bit just as attractive as her.

Eliza’s a bit surprised that you even picked her, but accepts. Rita on the other hand is insulted that you didn’t and leaves the table claiming she has to prepare for her rounds. (As if she ever does that!)

“Alright Eliza, starting tomorrow, you’re working the streets…er so to speak. You’ll still be working around here though since I need you during the late shift. Besides I don’t want you wandering around at night, people might get the wrong idea or something.”

“Okay.”

“I’d like you to try to throw around some insults about the Flying Griffon Inn while you’re making your sales pitch.”

“Got it.”

The next day, Eliza comes in and while she’s always been pretty in a subtle way, when you see her all “dolled up” she almost looks like a different girl. You can’t help but to comment on her appearance.

“Wow Eliza, you look really good.”

“Thanks, but I don’t look like a whore do I?”

“Eh, I doubt if anyone’s going to mistake you for a whore, you’re not sleazy looking enough to qualify. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

“I’m really nervous.”

“Relax, like I said you’ll do fine.”

Over the next few weeks, not much happens. Eliza really does try her best, but she’s just not outgoing enough. She also gets a little worried when some lowlifes begin stalking her which distracts her from her job.

Eventually you decide to take Eliza off advertisement duty, she apologizes for failing. You tell her it’s all right, but the reality is, that you’re not getting ahead, you’re just breaking even and that’s not what you’re aiming for if you want to finish paying off the inn’s debt and get your school plans back on track.

Still convinced that you had a good idea, you tell Rita to do it. She agrees, but immediately demands a pay raise and less work in the bar. Her demands are only partially met since you refuse to be pushed around by someone that’s just mad because she’s got a big ego.

Rita does her job grudgingly and for awhile she succeeds in bringing in a few more people, unfortunately The Flying Griffon Inn noticed your attempts of gaining new customers when Eliza was bumbling around. They up the ante and hire their own girl to advertise.

The other girl is slightly classier and manages to attract more people, this of course only pisses Rita off who is already is a borderline explosive case now. Things go from bad to worse when she allows it to interfere with her work at the inn resulting in a few incidents of yelling at patrons.

Things really get bad when the Flying Griffon girl runs into Rita on the street. An argument ensues and an old-fashioned catfight soon follows. You weren’t there of course, but one of your regulars runs in to tell you that Rita got herself arrested when she nearly killed the girl and then smashed a militiaman in the face with a broken bottle.

Rita faces jail time and refuses to speak to you, claiming that you’re to blame for all this anyway. The publicity isn’t the best for the inn and while you’re still breaking even, it’s not because you’re getting a higher-class customers, it’s because you start attracting the lower dregs of society. Eventually even the miners don’t want to drink at the place anymore. Your mother refuses to see the inn become a hang out for criminals and decides to sell the place, and you agree since you’re tired of the headache at this point.

During the remaining week the inn stays open to make a last bit of change before closing for good and selling to the city. Some of the miners seem a little sad by it, but there were so many changes within such a short period of time that most seemed content on finding a new place since the old one wasn’t like how it used to be anymore.

When the inn is sold off, you barely make enough to cover the debt, but at least you and your mother aren’t in any immediate danger now.

Your mother finds work as a cook for a short time, but eventually decides she can’t really stand living in the city without your father anymore. She leaves to go live with your aunt Enora in Teckleville, which is to the east on the outskirts of the Delantium Kingdom.

After a long time of the inn just sitting untended and forgotten due to the council having more pressing matters and red tape, it’s broken into by several homeless people who use it as a place to sleep. The homeless are soon ousted by a local gang who use it as a safe house. Eventually though they cause enough trouble that the Klyton Militia has to take severe action and storm the place, resulting in a small fire.

At this point someone in the council finally notices it, decides that the place isn’t worth salvaging and proposes that it be knocked down to build a medical clinic in its place to try to uplift the area. The motion passes.

As for you, you find a job thanks to your education level, but it isn’t anywhere in the field that you would’ve liked. You’re a clerk in tax office, filing away items, straightening out reports and such. You never really move up and you never make enough money to save away to get ahead either.

You don’t really have a bad life so much as a mind numbingly mundane one. You do have your good days, but ultimately you never really achieve your goals and always have a sense of dissatisfaction with your life.

Sometimes you look back and wonder where you exactly went wrong with the inn and how you could’ve done things differently.

You’ll never know.


You shake your head; you can’t walk away from this. Your mom might be in serious trouble because this loan. Selling the inn might not even be enough to cover it and even if it is, she probably won’t have enough to fall back on.

You aren’t angry with her, but you do feel a little anger towards your dad for getting her in this position (and you indirectly). You realize he still had the best intentions for you, but those don’t really help right now.

“Alright first things first, who is the name of this loanshark?” you ask your mother.

“Mr. Reynolds. He’ll be coming next week to pick up a collection. He’s not a member of the Crimson Talons, but he does have a couple of their goons working for him.”

“The Crimson Talons? Oh geez, this just get better…okay how is this place doing for business?”

“It’s doing about as well as it always has.”

“That won’t be enough, we’ll need to get more people in here, or cut costs somehow.”

“Well your father was going to have more work done on the rooms in the hopes that it would keep adventurers and maybe even merchants to come back whenever they travel through here. I’m not sure if it’s worth it though. Adventures don’t care where they sleep half the time and it’s not always a sure thing that they’re going to live long enough for repeat business. As for merchants, I think this place is a little too blue collar for them most of the time.”

“You said something about getting a new liquor supplier?”

“Yeah, the one here raised their prices, it would actually be cheaper to get the stuff shipped in from Hessla. Your father was supposed to meet with the new potential distributor in a couple days, so I’m not sure how that’s going to go through, if at all.”

“How about the staff?”

“The staff is working on minimum wage as it is, we’ve got three barmaids, Rita, Eliza and Wendy and they’re all disgruntled about their jobs, but they all still work well.. We can barely pay them though, and we might have to fire one of them.

Grim stuff, but you’re determined to see this through. Since the liquor supplier from Hessla won’t arrive in two days you’re just going to focus on what you can do now.

Fixing the rooms is still a good idea to keep potential returning wandering adventurers happy. Spending a little money now could increase potential profits later. Who knows, maybe even a merchant will show up and spread the word that this place isn’t just some place where miners get drunk.

Firing people sounds like it might save you money, but all it’s really going to do is create more work for the rest of you, so you decide to hold off on firing anyone for now.

Your mother doesn’t agree with your idea of fixing the rooms, but seems relieved that you’re not firing anyone.

Things go as normal at the inn. Several of the miners still offer their condolences about your father and are surprised to see that you’re taking up his mantle as it were, but other than that they don’t say to much to you. They probably don’t know what to say since while some of them might know you since you were little, but you’re not really “one of them” in terms of education level. Not to say they’re all a bunch of grunting idiots, but they probably figure you’re used to talking about things of a more cerebral nature. You don’t mind though, after all your main concern is getting your mom out of debt.

Two days pass and the supplier from Hessla arrives. He’s a grungy shady looking individual, but considering he’s from Hessla that’s hardly surprising.

He immediately says his name is Calwin asks for your father at which point you tell him he died recently. Calwin shows no sympathy and merely complains that he’s made a trip up here for no reason. You show a little restraint and call your mother to speak with him, but after five minutes with him she’s ready to throw him out the door for hitting on her, and you’re not exactly thrilled with him either at this point.

“Look folks, if you want good quality alcohol at a low price I’m willing to deal wit ya, but I’m gonna need some incentive for my troubles because y’all seem like a buncha uptight prigs. Now I was invited here by the man who ran this establishment, so you called me here, if my help ain’t wanted, I’ll be on my way…” Calwin says.

While you’re tempted to just have him leave, you decide it would be best to at least see if his stuff is any good.

“Alright prove it. Surely you’ve brought some of your alcohol here so we can test to see if it’s any good.”

“Well I do have some with me, but I can’t just be givin’ this stuff away for free.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be compensated.”

You call attention to the miners in the room and ask them if they’d like to try some new beer, naturally they’re all for it. A few of the miners take their fill of Calwin’s beer and they say that it’s different from what they usually drink, but it’s just as good.

Calwin looks a little put off that they claimed his alcohol is “just as good”, but still maintains that it’s better than what you already have. He states his price, and also mentions that he wants a free room whenever he comes here since he’s apparently got a harpy of a wife at home and he likes to stay away for a couple days before having to go back to Hessla.

Your mother obviously isn’t thrilled with having to deal with him, and in the short time he’s been here; he’s also hit on every one of the barmaids. Granted they’re used to such behavior, he’s particularly revolting. (Plus he’s from Hessla)
> You don't deal with him at all
This guy is a complete creep and going to be nothing but trouble. You’d rather continue paying the Klyton supplier. Calwin grumbles a lot about wasting his time, but leaves without too much trouble.

While your mother agrees with your decision, it doesn’t really help you in the money department and by the end of the week you haven’t saved any money. In fact you’ve barely broken even.

While you’re sweeping up the inn early morning, a non-descript man of medium height enters with two bigger figures. One of them is unmistakably an ogre while the other guy is just a tall muscular human. Either one could break you in half.

“Are you are Mr. Reynolds?” you ask, knowing that it has to be him.

“That would be me. I take it you’re the son of my late debtor? I do hope you realize that the debt doesn’t end with him dying…” Mr. Reynolds says

“No, no of course not. I’ve got some of what my father owed.”

You hand over the most you can under the circumstances, but Mr. Reynolds looks insulted.

“My boy do you take me for an asshole? Your father used to pay me much more than this pittance!”

“It was a rough week…”

“No, no, I don’t give a shit about your excuses, you’ve chosen to take on your father’s debt so you are expected to fucking pay up like he did! (Sigh) Look, since you’re obviously new to this, I’ll let you off with a warning. Olaf.”

Suddenly the ogre steps forward with a smile and punches you the stomach. You temporarily lose the ability to breath and collapse on the floor. When you finally do catch your breath, you promptly vomit.

“That was my warning, let’s hope I don’t need to do it again. Be seeing you again in a few weeks kid. Let’s get out of here.”

As Mr. Reynolds leaves, your mother comes running up from the cellar wondering what’s going on. She helps you up when she sees you.

“Oh no son I can’t let this go on. We’re selling the inn right now!”

“No, no mom, it’s alright, you’ll see. We’re going to make this place profitable and payback the loan and after that we’ll be able to take the next step.”

“Son, I love you, but we’re not getting any further ahead. I mean if this keeps up, I’m stepping in before this place goes to hell so I can actually make money selling it to the city.”

“You won’t get enough for it!”

“Well I’ll get enough to pay off the debt, and if worst comes to worst, I’ll leave Klyton and live with my sister in Teckleville”

“You can’t live with aunt Enora, you always said she’s crazy.”

“She is, but that still doesn’t mean she wouldn’t help me out.”

“Look, we’ve still got time, I know my ideas are going to help us out soon.”

“Well, I hope all your fancy schooling you gained some sort of insight that I’m not privy to. Alright we’ll give it until the next time Mr. Reynolds comes around for payment.”

You agree and start wiping up the floor before customers come in.

The next few days are uneventful. The miners seem to be talking to you a little more, mainly to chew your ear, either telling you how rough their jobs are and how your dad was a good man. You aren’t really listening to anything they say because you’re more preoccupied with the future and trying to figure out how you’re going to get out of debt and more importantly how to avoid getting beat up or worse.

“So what’s you’re problem, Mr. Barkeep?” a miner asks, which none of them has ever done before, so it breaks you out of your trance long enough for you to utter “Huh?”

“I asked what’s troubling you? And don’t tell me nothin’ because for the past few days you’ve been staring off at the walls.” Davin asks. He’s a bit of a loner type, mostly drinks alone, which makes his questioning even stranger.

“Oh nothing.”

“Heh, I told you not to tell me that. Seriously, what’s wrong? Think of it this way, you have to hear most of these idiots tell their stories all the time, now you’ve got someone willing to hear yours.”

True enough, and you don’t see any harm so you tell him everything, your schooling, the inn, the debt, and how you’re worrying about all of it. He nods and listens to all of it, and it isn’t until you’re finished that he finally speaks.

“Could you sell this place and get enough money to pay off the debt?” he asks.

“Well probably…yeah.”

“Then do it.”

“What? I can’t do that!”

“Why not? You’ll be safe and your mother will be safe, isn’t that the main goal?”

“Well yeah, but…”

“But nothing. All your other troubles are secondary when it comes to the survival of your family and yourself, or at least they should be.”

“I can’t just worry about immediate survival Davin, there’s my future to worry about as well.”

“Heh, well you’d better or you won’t have a future to worry about. Look son, I know you want the whole higher education thing. I remember you used to study all the time when you were little, but sometimes you have to be realistic. I mean I had big dreams too once, I thought about becoming an astronomer.”

“Really?”

“Hell yeah, but as I got older I realized that it wasn’t going to happen and I was gonna be a miner just like my dad…and that’s okay.”

“But the inn…”

“It’s just an inn son. There’s tons of them in the city, it’s not like we can’t find another place to drink. You’ve pretty much made it clear you don’t like working here and your mother is more than willing to sell it. You have no real attachments to it, so why put yourself through the hassle? You might not get to be a doctor, but you’ve still got a lot more education than most people, I’m sure you’ll be able to easily find something you’ll like to do more running an inn.”

“I don’t know…”

“Trust me kid, you’ll feel a lot better if you just let this one go.”

And with those words Davin heads to a table to drink by himself, leaving you to ponder your situation.
> You sell the inn
You haven’t got off to a good start and you don’t think it’s really going to get any better. Davin’s words ring true, you aren’t happy running this place and trying to get to your goals by doing it, is either going to get you killed or burned out and miserable.

You immediately go to your mother and tell her how you feel, and she understands, she’s actually a bit relieved that you’ve decided to let her sell it. She tells you to take the rest of the night off and you return to your room where you feel saddened that you won’t get to go back to school, at least not anytime in the near future. Your goals of going into medicine will have to remain just dreams for now and you don’t know what your future holds.

During the remaining week the inn stays open to make a last bit of change before closing for good and selling to the city. Some of the miners seem a little sad by it, but there were so many changes within such a short period of time that most seemed content on finding a new place since the old one wasn’t like how it used to be anymore.

When the inn is sold off, you barely make enough to cover the debt, but at least you and your mother aren’t in any immediate danger now.

Your mother initially was going to find work in the city, but when you express a random desire to leave Klyton altogether, she suggests that you both move in with your aunt Enora in Teckleville. which is to the east on the outskirts of the Delantium Kingdom. You agree eagerly, you’ve never been out of the city and maybe it’s time for a brand new start. You and your mother pack and catch a coach heading west. It feels weird leaving Klyton.

Eventually after a couple days the coach stops in Teckleville. Which is just one of the many small villages on the borders of the Dalantium Kingdom. Probably in time it’ll get absorbed like so many others do, but that’s not really a concern of yours right now.

Your aunt Enora is happy to see you both, and while this whole living with her thing was sprung on her at the last moment it doesn’t seem to bother her. She says there’s plenty of room and you can stay as long as you like.

While the house is certainly nice and you’re happy to live there rather than in the street, it’s sort of on the small side. Teckleville isn’t anything like you’re used to, but it isn’t unwelcome. You just aren’t sure what you’re going to do here.

In time, your mother works at the local tavern where she serves as a cook. It’s not much, but it is something she’s used to doing.

You manage to get a job working as an assistant to the old librarian that works here. Not many use it, so she’s happy to get some company. You aren’t unfond of the job since you get to read a lot of books, some of which you’re a bit surprised to find in a small town like this. The librarian mentions that she tends to get a few of wandering adventurers once in awhile that give books to her that they’ve found in whatever dungeons they’ve been delving into.

“If it isn’t a spell book, they usually sell it for a few coppers. I believe they’d probably just leave the books wherever they found them most of the time, but you know those adventuring types, they’re all a bunch of closet kleptos that absolutely HAVE to take everything that isn’t nailed down.” She says.

For awhile you live at your aunt’s house you manage to save what little money you do make and move out. You briefly think about going to the Delantium Kingdom, but you become attached to Teckleville and stay.

As time goes on you take over as the head librarian, get married and have a family. You live the remainder of your life in Teckleville never regretting your decision and die with sense of fulfillment despite never going back to pursue medicine.

There were times though; you always wondered what would’ve happened had you stayed to run the inn?

You’ll never know.


This guy is a complete creep and going to be nothing but trouble. You’d rather continue paying the Klyton supplier. Calwin grumbles a lot about wasting his time, but leaves without too much trouble.

While your mother agrees with your decision, it doesn’t really help you in the money department and by the end of the week you haven’t saved any money. In fact you’ve barely broken even.

While you’re sweeping up the inn early morning, a non-descript man of medium height enters with two bigger figures. One of them is unmistakably an ogre while the other guy is just a tall muscular human. Either one could break you in half.

“Are you are Mr. Reynolds?” you ask, knowing that it has to be him.

“That would be me. I take it you’re the son of my late debtor? I do hope you realize that the debt doesn’t end with him dying…” Mr. Reynolds says

“No, no of course not. I’ve got some of what my father owed.”

You hand over the most you can under the circumstances, but Mr. Reynolds looks insulted.

“My boy do you take me for an asshole? Your father used to pay me much more than this pittance!”

“It was a rough week…”

“No, no, I don’t give a shit about your excuses, you’ve chosen to take on your father’s debt so you are expected to fucking pay up like he did! (Sigh) Look, since you’re obviously new to this, I’ll let you off with a warning. Olaf.”

Suddenly the ogre steps forward with a smile and punches you the stomach. You temporarily lose the ability to breath and collapse on the floor. When you finally do catch your breath, you promptly vomit.

“That was my warning, let’s hope I don’t need to do it again. Be seeing you again in a few weeks kid. Let’s get out of here.”

As Mr. Reynolds leaves, your mother comes running up from the cellar wondering what’s going on. She helps you up when she sees you.

“Oh no son I can’t let this go on. We’re selling the inn right now!”

“No, no mom, it’s alright, you’ll see. We’re going to make this place profitable and payback the loan and after that we’ll be able to take the next step.”

“Son, I love you, but we’re not getting any further ahead. I mean if this keeps up, I’m stepping in before this place goes to hell so I can actually make money selling it to the city.”

“You won’t get enough for it!”

“Well I’ll get enough to pay off the debt, and if worst comes to worst, I’ll leave Klyton and live with my sister in Teckleville”

“You can’t live with aunt Enora, you always said she’s crazy.”

“She is, but that still doesn’t mean she wouldn’t help me out.”

“Look, we’ve still got time, I know my ideas are going to help us out soon.”

“Well, I hope all your fancy schooling you gained some sort of insight that I’m not privy to. Alright we’ll give it until the next time Mr. Reynolds comes around for payment.”

You agree and start wiping up the floor before customers come in.

The next few days are uneventful. The miners seem to be talking to you a little more, mainly to chew your ear, either telling you how rough their jobs are and how your dad was a good man. You aren’t really listening to anything they say because you’re more preoccupied with the future and trying to figure out how you’re going to get out of debt and more importantly how to avoid getting beat up or worse.

“So what’s you’re problem, Mr. Barkeep?” a miner asks, which none of them has ever done before, so it breaks you out of your trance long enough for you to utter “Huh?”

“I asked what’s troubling you? And don’t tell me nothin’ because for the past few days you’ve been staring off at the walls.” Davin asks. He’s a bit of a loner type, mostly drinks alone, which makes his questioning even stranger.

“Oh nothing.”

“Heh, I told you not to tell me that. Seriously, what’s wrong? Think of it this way, you have to hear most of these idiots tell their stories all the time, now you’ve got someone willing to hear yours.”

True enough, and you don’t see any harm so you tell him everything, your schooling, the inn, the debt, and how you’re worrying about all of it. He nods and listens to all of it, and it isn’t until you’re finished that he finally speaks.

“Could you sell this place and get enough money to pay off the debt?” he asks.

“Well probably…yeah.”

“Then do it.”

“What? I can’t do that!”

“Why not? You’ll be safe and your mother will be safe, isn’t that the main goal?”

“Well yeah, but…”

“But nothing. All your other troubles are secondary when it comes to the survival of your family and yourself, or at least they should be.”

“I can’t just worry about immediate survival Davin, there’s my future to worry about as well.”

“Heh, well you’d better or you won’t have a future to worry about. Look son, I know you want the whole higher education thing. I remember you used to study all the time when you were little, but sometimes you have to be realistic. I mean I had big dreams too once, I thought about becoming an astronomer.”

“Really?”

“Hell yeah, but as I got older I realized that it wasn’t going to happen and I was gonna be a miner just like my dad…and that’s okay.”

“But the inn…”

“It’s just an inn son. There’s tons of them in the city, it’s not like we can’t find another place to drink. You’ve pretty much made it clear you don’t like working here and your mother is more than willing to sell it. You have no real attachments to it, so why put yourself through the hassle? You might not get to be a doctor, but you’ve still got a lot more education than most people, I’m sure you’ll be able to easily find something you’ll like to do more running an inn.”

“I don’t know…”

“Trust me kid, you’ll feel a lot better if you just let this one go.”

And with those words Davin heads to a table to drink by himself, leaving you to ponder your situation.
> You stick with it
He might have a point on some level, but you can’t just give up because some old miner gives his “sagely” advice.

Still, you do have a bit of a dilemma on your hands; you need to think of a long-term way to raise profits. Actually at this point you need a short-term way to raise profits, because Mr. Reynolds will be coming in soon to collect and you doubt if you’re going to have an adequate amount to pay him. That’s going to result in a beating, which will result in your mom stepping in and selling the place.

Lacking any other solution you decide to water down the drinks, in the hopes that people will end up ordering more ale since it’ll take them longer to get drunk.

This solution doesn’t go over well.

That very night you’re already getting comments that the ale doesn’t taste quite as strong, and while this does result in the miners ordering more ale, the miners are used to drinking the Klyton alcohol they normally get and can instantly tell if something’s wrong with it.

By the end of the week, you’re getting loud verbal complaints about the ale, and outright accusations that it tastes like water. Several miners are insulted and leave the inn claiming that they’ve been loyal patrons here for so long and that they don’t need to be treated like this. You attempt to explain, but they shove you out of the way and tell you to go back to your fancy college.

“I wish I could.” You quietly say to yourself.

You aren’t optimistic about the rest of the month. Sure there’s still adventurers and the odd wanderer, but not enough to turn a profit. It’ll be time to pay Mr. Reynolds soon and you’re going to fall short again.

Your mother can’t bare to see you get hurt again and suggests forgetting all about the inn and just taking off with all the remaining money you have and going to live with your crazy aunt Enora.


“You’re selling the inn?!”

“I have to! I can’t run this place myself.”

“Well that’s what you have staff for!”

“Oh son…(sniff) I don’t think you know the entire situation. You haven’t been around as much over the years.”

“Mom, I always meant to visit more, but…”

“No, it’s not that. In fact I’m glad you had fun at college. You at least had some enjoyment. I’m just sorry you won’t get to have any more.”

“Mom, I don’t like where this is going.”

You mom at this point begins cry again until you eventually get her to calm down. What comes next almost makes you cry though.

While your father did indeed save for you, it wasn’t enough to put you through college completely. Costs were higher than he thought and even though business was okay, he had unexpected expenses such as making fixes to the inn and price hikes in his alcohol supplier.

Your father was determined to not pull you out of college though, so he found another way. He borrowed money from a moneylender.

“WHAT?! Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve taken less classes or gotten a part time job at the university!”

“No, he didn’t want you to worry or get distracted.”

“Well I guess that’s good since all that worry can go to this now! By the gods, why didn’t he at least go to a bank to get the loan!?”

“He tried, but didn’t get approved. They wouldn’t even take the inn as collateral. I pleaded with him not to borrow money from criminals, but he claimed it would be fine as long as he opened the tavern earlier, found a cheaper supplier and made a few cuts here and there. And for a while things were running a little smoother, but I could see the stress taking a toll on him. It’s what ultimately killed him. I’m just so sorry that we failed you. We wanted so much better for you. Now I’ll have to sell the inn off to pay off the moneylender and hopefully I’ll be able to find a job as a cook elsewhere.”

You just sit in silence and try to wrap your head around all of this. Your bright future in medicine as you know is gone. You still have quite a bit of education, and you’re fairly certain you could still find a job to support yourself, but it’s going to be hard initially and you probably won’t be satisfied with it. You’re also worried about your mom, what if she can’t find a job? You won’t be able to help her much.

You can only think of one solution.

“Would it help if I ran the inn?” you ask.

“What?” your mother replies.

“Would it help if I helped you run this place. I mean granted I don’t have excessive experience, I have watched you guys do it while I grew up here. I think I can manage the basics. If we managed to keep this place running at least long enough to pay off the loan, maybe then I can save enough to finish my education.”

“I don’t know son, I mean…I would love to see you finish your education, but it’s a lot to take on. Would you have time? I don’t want you getting burned out and suffering a pre-mature heart attack like your father because of the stress!”

“Well, I’m going to have nothing but time now, if I drop out and focus on this place. I think the main concern is getting us out of debt…just how much do you owe?”

“Uh…about ten thousand gold coins.”

You really hoped it would be significantly less than that.

“Okay, well I’m guessing he takes smaller payments to buy you time but then charges more interest with each passage of time. We’ll have to get this place whipped into shape so it’s making enough profit that we’ll be able to pay the entire sum as soon as possible. After that, we’ll have some breathing room.”

Your mom looks apprehensive about all this and then shakes her head claiming she can’t let you shoulder this responsibility especially with the risk of physical danger involved if you anger the moneylender in some way.

She says that you should go on with your life and forget about the inn, she’ll be able to sell it and pay off the debt with no problem. And as for her, she also tells you not to worry about her either, but she hopes that you’ll forgive her and your father for failing in giving you the life you deserve.

It is true you could walk away from all this. You don’t really have any great desire to run the inn. It was just a solution you came up with to help your mom and possibly help yourself. But there’s no guarantee it’s going to work, just like there’s no guarantee that you can’t still achieve your goals on your own.
> You go on your own
You think about it and realize your mom is right. Taking on this responsibility isn’t for you. All you’re mainly concerned about is getting the loan repaid and you’ll probably be able to do that by selling the inn to the city.

The pair of you keep the inn open one last week to make some extra money before closing it down for good. It’s another sad time for the miners who frequent there, because while granted they’ll either find another place to drink or continue to drink at this one under new management, your family has been a familiar sight here. When the inn is sold off, you barely make enough to cover the debt, but at least your mother isn’t in any immediate danger now.

Your mother does find work as a cook for a short time, but eventually decides she can’t really stand living in the city without your father anymore. She leaves to go live with your aunt in one of the small villages to the east on the outskirts of the Delantium Kingdom.

After a long time of the inn just sitting untended and forgotten due to the council having more pressing matters and red tape, it’s broken into by several homeless people who use it as a place to sleep. The homeless are soon ousted by a local gang who use it as a safe house. Eventually though they cause enough trouble that the Klyton Militia has to take severe action and storm the place, resulting in a small fire.

At this point someone in the council finally notices it, decides that the place isn’t worth salvaging and proposes that it be knocked down to build a medical clinic in its place to try to uplift the area. The motion passes.

As for you, you find a job thanks to your education level, but it isn’t anywhere in the field that you would’ve liked. You’re a clerk in a tax office, filing away items, straightening out reports and such. You never really move up and you never make enough money to save away to get ahead either.

You don’t really have a bad life so much as a mind numbingly mundane one. You do have your good days, but ultimately you never really achieve your goals and always have a sense of dissatisfaction with your life.

Sometimes you wonder back, what if you had taken that chance and ran the inn? Would you have had a chance at a better life, or would you have made things worse?

You’ll never know.


“You’re selling the inn?!”

“I have to! I can’t run this place myself.”

“Well that’s what you have staff for!”

“Oh son…(sniff) I don’t think you know the entire situation. You haven’t been around as much over the years.”

“Mom, I always meant to visit more, but…”

“No, it’s not that. In fact I’m glad you had fun at college. You at least had some enjoyment. I’m just sorry you won’t get to have any more.”

“Mom, I don’t like where this is going.”

You mom at this point begins cry again until you eventually get her to calm down. What comes next almost makes you cry though.

While your father did indeed save for you, it wasn’t enough to put you through college completely. Costs were higher than he thought and even though business was okay, he had unexpected expenses such as making fixes to the inn and price hikes in his alcohol supplier.

Your father was determined to not pull you out of college though, so he found another way. He borrowed money from a moneylender.

“WHAT?! Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve taken less classes or gotten a part time job at the university!”

“No, he didn’t want you to worry or get distracted.”

“Well I guess that’s good since all that worry can go to this now! By the gods, why didn’t he at least go to a bank to get the loan!?”

“He tried, but didn’t get approved. They wouldn’t even take the inn as collateral. I pleaded with him not to borrow money from criminals, but he claimed it would be fine as long as he opened the tavern earlier, found a cheaper supplier and made a few cuts here and there. And for a while things were running a little smoother, but I could see the stress taking a toll on him. It’s what ultimately killed him. I’m just so sorry that we failed you. We wanted so much better for you. Now I’ll have to sell the inn off to pay off the moneylender and hopefully I’ll be able to find a job as a cook elsewhere.”

You just sit in silence and try to wrap your head around all of this. Your bright future in medicine as you know is gone. You still have quite a bit of education, and you’re fairly certain you could still find a job to support yourself, but it’s going to be hard initially and you probably won’t be satisfied with it. You’re also worried about your mom, what if she can’t find a job? You won’t be able to help her much.

You can only think of one solution.

“Would it help if I ran the inn?” you ask.

“What?” your mother replies.

“Would it help if I helped you run this place. I mean granted I don’t have excessive experience, I have watched you guys do it while I grew up here. I think I can manage the basics. If we managed to keep this place running at least long enough to pay off the loan, maybe then I can save enough to finish my education.”

“I don’t know son, I mean…I would love to see you finish your education, but it’s a lot to take on. Would you have time? I don’t want you getting burned out and suffering a pre-mature heart attack like your father because of the stress!”

“Well, I’m going to have nothing but time now, if I drop out and focus on this place. I think the main concern is getting us out of debt…just how much do you owe?”

“Uh…about ten thousand gold coins.”

You really hoped it would be significantly less than that.

“Okay, well I’m guessing he takes smaller payments to buy you time but then charges more interest with each passage of time. We’ll have to get this place whipped into shape so it’s making enough profit that we’ll be able to pay the entire sum as soon as possible. After that, we’ll have some breathing room.”

Your mom looks apprehensive about all this and then shakes her head claiming she can’t let you shoulder this responsibility especially with the risk of physical danger involved if you anger the moneylender in some way.

She says that you should go on with your life and forget about the inn, she’ll be able to sell it and pay off the debt with no problem. And as for her, she also tells you not to worry about her either, but she hopes that you’ll forgive her and your father for failing in giving you the life you deserve.

It is true you could walk away from all this. You don’t really have any great desire to run the inn. It was just a solution you came up with to help your mom and possibly help yourself. But there’s no guarantee it’s going to work, just like there’s no guarantee that you can’t still achieve your goals on your own.
> You your staff (Current status)
Mom: Owner/Cook

Mom is still trying to get over dad’s death. At this point she’d rather sell the place and move back to Teckleville where her sister Enora lives.

Rita: Barmaid

Rita’s about your age and started working at the inn a few years before you went off to the university. You remember thinking she was hot when you first saw her and you tried to speak to her a few times to test the waters so to speak, but it was pretty obvious that she didn’t have any sort of interest in you since were more of a bookworm. A bookworm without much money. Not a good combination for getting her affection.

Wendy: Barmaid

Wendy’s been working here since you were in primary school. She’s unofficially the “head barmaid” but the inn has never had that big of a staff to assign fancy titles. Still, she’s the one that gets the others moving faster if it calls for it. As for you, she’s never really paid any major attention mainly because she’s got kids of her own she has to deal with and you never had any reason to talk to her on any meaningful level. She probably was just relieved that you weren’t some “bratty boss’ kid” that she had to put up with along with being a minimum wage slave.

Eliza: Barmaid

Eliza’s a little younger than you. In fact you were already at Klyton University when she started working at the inn. In the past during your visits to the inn, she seemed to be nice to you, but you don’t know much about other than she’s a pretty girl and on the shy side.


Another day home from school…

“I’m telling you Ms. Zelamoyer is a witch, there’s no way she could know what we did unless she read our minds!” David says.

“Yeah maybe she’s even a demon in human disguise!” Tom adds

“Or maybe you two looked guilty as hell and laughed the loudest when she sat on the thumbtacks you put in her seat.” You say. “I told you guys that was a bad idea. I’m surprised she only paddled you and didn’t have you kicked out of the school permanently.”

“Yeah well it didn’t even hurt. My dad beats me harder than that. Though I guess Tom thought it hurt with the way he cried! Hahahaha!” David taunts.

“Shut up David!” Tom exclaims.

“So are you playing Smash Sphere over in the park today?” David asks you.

“I hope so, but my dad’s been on my case about me studying harder. Says he wants me to make something of myself when I grow up.”

“That sucks. My dad is always either at the mines or drinking at your dad’s place. The only time I have to worry about him is when my mom tells him about something I did, then I get a beating. I don’t think I’d survive it if he was always around.” David replies.

“My mom doesn’t beat me, but she’ll yell and throw me into a small dark closet without food if I do something bad.” Tom says.

“Your mom is one scary ass dyke, Tom. My dad said he saw her scare away a mountain troll in the mines once.”

“Shut up David! My mom’s not a dyke!”

“Yes she is! What about that other lady that lives with you then?”

“That’s just mom’s roommate! She needs a place to stay so she helps around the house, like cook dinner or clean up. Mom is at the mines all day, so she can’t do that stuff, so it works out. She’s kind of like a live in maid!”

“Sounds more like a second mom…”

As much as you enjoy Tom’s naïve defense of his lesbian mother and David’s taunting of it, you arrive at the Inn where you say goodbye to your friends and tell them you might see them later.

As soon as you get in, you dad calls you over to the bar.

“So do you have any homework?” he asks.

“Yeah, but it’s not due until next week.”

“Hmm, well if it’s not due until next week it must need a lot of attention, better get started on it.”

“It’s really not that much dad, I can do it over the weekend. I’m going to go out and play smash sphere with David and Tom.”

“Is that what you think? Better cancel that idea. You’re hitting the books, besides I vaguely remember you mentioning you were also going to have test next week too.”

“But dad!”

“Don’t dad me! You’ve been letting your school work slide lately and getting into trouble at school with those two little hoodlums you hang out with.”

“They’re not hoodlums, and I didn’t get into trouble today!”

“You aren’t supposed to be getting into trouble in the first place! Look son, I know you think I’m being hard on you, but this really is for your own good. Your little friends don’t have fathers that give shit about them, I should know because David’s dad is in here all the time and as for Tom, well the less said about his situation the better.”

Doesn’t look like you’re getting out of here today, but you make one last attempt.

“But I really don’t have that much homework, I really can do it quick over the weekend!”

“Well if that is the case, you can help me out here instead.”

“What?”

“One of my barmaids is sick and I’m expecting a full house here tonight due to it being one of the miner’s birthdays today, so you can carry food and drinks.”

You certainly weren’t expecting that.

“What? Can’t mom do it?”

“Your mother is going to have her hands full attempting to cook the giant cloudspeak ram in the kitchen for the celebration, in fact you can start off by helping her chop up the beast.”

As usual your dad has given you no "choice" at all.
> The city of Klyton and the surrounding area (History lesson)
Klyton

This is the city-state where you live. As far as city-state go it’s not a big one yet, your parents are still able to remember when it was still just considered an “ independent large town”, but when you have steady population growth combined with an good location relatively free of major dangers it’s only natural for a community to grow unhindered.

It is primarily run by a small council of elected officials to govern major matters such as defense of the town, administering punishments for crimes or issuing licenses for magic use. While Klyton doesn’t have a major standing army, it does have a strong voluntary militia to fend off a potential attack, though there has never ever been a serious threat to Klyton. Most militia duties are reserved to protecting miners in the mountains or apprehending criminals. The idea of forming a proper military has always been brought up once in awhile, but again due to the lack of real danger to Klyton, and the cost of keeping a standing army has always been put on the backburner.

The Klytonian community has always been a mostly self-sufficient one, but if anything else is needed, most of their trading is done with the port town of Hessla, the Cloudspeak dwarves or even the Delantium Kingdom. Mining is still a major job field and the beginnings of industrialization is starting, (a couple of small factories have already been built) but Klyton doesn’t ignore other fields such as medicine or education.

The city is still primarily made up of humans, but there has been a small creep in other races making their homes there as well over the years, for better or worse.

The surrounding area

To the north, the Cloudspeak Mountains form a natural barrier to any possible marauding barbarian tribes. While the mountains themselves are dangerous, it is rare for monsters to venture very far from them. Klyton worked out an agreement with the small dwarf community that lives there long ago for mining rights. A river originating from the Cloudspeak Mountains runs directly east of Klyton. The dwarves keep to themselves for the most part, but sometimes a few come to the city on business.

To the south is a mixture of forests and swamps and home to an on going battlefield. The elves and sotakan (A race of lizard like people) have been involved in an ongoing tribal war for at least as long Klyton has ever existed and probably even before that. Neither side ever gains the upper hand for very long and the cycle continues. Klytonians don’t exactly know what it’s all about, they just know they’re glad the savages have always kept their little fight confined to their area. Sometimes elves come to the city to trade, but they’re looked down upon as trouble makers and savages. No Sotakans have ever come to the city at all.

The closest human settlement is to the west, a rough port town on the ocean called Hessla. Despite having immediate access to the ocean (or perhaps because of it) it hasn’t grown to a large size like Klyton has. That might be due to several factors. Hesslans have a habit of engaging in piracy other criminal activities involving high levels of violence. There’s floods that occasionally hit the town. But even while teetering on the brink of total anarchy Hessla stays together mainly because a strong leader to prevent that from happening usually always runs it. (Weak Hessla leaders don’t last long) While they have extreme differences in society and some past bad blood, Klyton and Hessla have always maintained a good trading relationship. As far as both are concerned trading with each other is good business regardless of their personal feelings are.

To the east past the Cloudspeak River, exist long stretches of plains, scattered woods and the occasional small village. Past that is the Delantium Kingdom. The occasional merchant from there comes to trade and then leaves, though they usually also act as “emissaries” speaking of all the positive things about the Delantium Kingdom and saying how Klyton would be much better off if it joined it. While the Delantium Kingdom has never shown any signs that it would try to take Klyton by force, this sort of talk still makes most Klytons a little wary, as they value their independence and the thought of having to serve a “king” is not appealing at all.
> Back to the story

Another day home from school…

“I’m telling you Ms. Zelamoyer is a witch, there’s no way she could know what we did unless she read our minds!” David says.

“Yeah maybe she’s even a demon in human disguise!” Tom adds

“Or maybe you two looked guilty as hell and laughed the loudest when she sat on the thumbtacks you put in her seat.” You say. “I told you guys that was a bad idea. I’m surprised she only paddled you and didn’t have you kicked out of the school permanently.”

“Yeah well it didn’t even hurt. My dad beats me harder than that. Though I guess Tom thought it hurt with the way he cried! Hahahaha!” David taunts.

“Shut up David!” Tom exclaims.

“So are you playing Smash Sphere over in the park today?” David asks you.

“I hope so, but my dad’s been on my case about me studying harder. Says he wants me to make something of myself when I grow up.”

“That sucks. My dad is always either at the mines or drinking at your dad’s place. The only time I have to worry about him is when my mom tells him about something I did, then I get a beating. I don’t think I’d survive it if he was always around.” David replies.

“My mom doesn’t beat me, but she’ll yell and throw me into a small dark closet without food if I do something bad.” Tom says.

“Your mom is one scary ass dyke, Tom. My dad said he saw her scare away a mountain troll in the mines once.”

“Shut up David! My mom’s not a dyke!”

“Yes she is! What about that other lady that lives with you then?”

“That’s just mom’s roommate! She needs a place to stay so she helps around the house, like cook dinner or clean up. Mom is at the mines all day, so she can’t do that stuff, so it works out. She’s kind of like a live in maid!”

“Sounds more like a second mom…”

As much as you enjoy Tom’s naïve defense of his lesbian mother and David’s taunting of it, you arrive at the Inn where you say goodbye to your friends and tell them you might see them later.

As soon as you get in, you dad calls you over to the bar.

“So do you have any homework?” he asks.

“Yeah, but it’s not due until next week.”

“Hmm, well if it’s not due until next week it must need a lot of attention, better get started on it.”

“It’s really not that much dad, I can do it over the weekend. I’m going to go out and play smash sphere with David and Tom.”

“Is that what you think? Better cancel that idea. You’re hitting the books, besides I vaguely remember you mentioning you were also going to have test next week too.”

“But dad!”

“Don’t dad me! You’ve been letting your school work slide lately and getting into trouble at school with those two little hoodlums you hang out with.”

“They’re not hoodlums, and I didn’t get into trouble today!”

“You aren’t supposed to be getting into trouble in the first place! Look son, I know you think I’m being hard on you, but this really is for your own good. Your little friends don’t have fathers that give shit about them, I should know because David’s dad is in here all the time and as for Tom, well the less said about his situation the better.”

Doesn’t look like you’re getting out of here today, but you make one last attempt.

“But I really don’t have that much homework, I really can do it quick over the weekend!”

“Well if that is the case, you can help me out here instead.”

“What?”

“One of my barmaids is sick and I’m expecting a full house here tonight due to it being one of the miner’s birthdays today, so you can carry food and drinks.”

You certainly weren’t expecting that.

“What? Can’t mom do it?”

“Your mother is going to have her hands full attempting to cook the giant cloudspeak ram in the kitchen for the celebration, in fact you can start off by helping her chop up the beast.”

As usual your dad has given you no "choice" at all.


You quickly levitate over his blow, blasting him in the side of the head with a fireball. He pivots on his feet with remarkable grace, swinging again as you duck down, before Taj brings his knee up to hit you, but by now you've already quickly moved back to let out a spray of fire. He jabs the war-hammer as you now like a spear in an attempt to stun you, but you move away once more.

"Must we have this dance? Am I undeserving of a quick death?" Taj roars.

He steps towards you, raising the war-hammer once more, before his entire body begins to shudder as a hail of bullets thud into his back. He collapses to his knees, as you notice that the entirety of the Undying Reapers are finished off. Fay and fires a burst of lead into Taj's back. Castus strolls forward, pointing his sword point at Taj's face before gently slapping him with the sword flat, as Goliath clutches a space marine's throat in his hands, strangling the limo body.

"General! Good to see you're alive! Having fun?" Castus says, before kicking Taj in the head. "Ooh, that feels good. Remember me, Tucker? I remember you. You and your boys had a fun habit of organizing gladiator fights so you could kill some poor fuck, some poor gladiator. Look where we are now, shitbag."

"Finish it, Karth! I know you want to! I wiped out your tribe! I killed your..."

You clink your wrists, snapping Taj's neck.

"Goodbye, Taj," you say.

"Karth! Well done," Fay smiles.  "Is Cern...?"

"She's dead."

"Good, no more tinkering. Glad that bitch is dead. Hope she suffered," Goliath grunts.

"We're heading to take out Kyros," Fay explains. "I'd imagine you're all for that."

"Definitely. Let's go," you say.

You follow the group towards Kyros' chambers. Soon, you find yourself entering a massive doorway with huge steel doors, which are wide open. You find yourself at the bottom of a massive stairway.

"Stay back," you say to your companions. "This is a battle of the mind. Your strengths and talent hold no power here."

"I'm not leaving you alone. You can't expect us to sit back and wait," Fay says incredulously.

You clench your hand, lifting her into the air.

"Hey, let me down!" Fay says, kicking and struggling against the invisible bonds.

"See you soon, Fay," you say, forcing Fay to float outside the doorway.

Cain and Castus step outside of the doorway willingly. You flick your wrists, and the massive heavy doors slam closed. You turn, and begin climbing the stairs.

At the top of the staircase, four metal statues stand, forming a circle. One shows a bird man with a staff and ancient tome, cawing and firing a burst of magic out of the staff. The next shows a beautiful... person whose gender you can't tell, despite the fact they're half naked, smiling seductively at you. The next shows a massive, obese monster, covered in bile, boils and other signs of plague, looking to be in the final stages of dozens of different diseases. The final one is a horned beast-man, holding a massive battle-axe and in mid-furious, angered roar. In the middle of the circle kneels Kyros, waiting patiently.

"You took your time," Kyros says softly.

"I did," you say softly.

"Are the others dead? Taj and Cern?"

"They're dead."

"I see," Kyros says, staring at the statues. "I had the whole fucking Galaxy. I had a Gloriana-class battleship in my hands. A fucking Gloriana. Do you know how rare those are? How powerful?! This ship is worth more than a trillion of your pathetic lives!"

Kyros roars, smashing his fists into the statue of Khorne the warrior, adding psychic energy to his attacks until he dents, breaks and eventually sends the statue toppling off it's pedestal.

"I had an army! An Imperial Regiment, all their vehicles, all their firepower, all their might! I had a Khornate war-band, a Nurglite war-band, a Slaaneshi war-band, a Tzeentchian war-band, a fucking space marine chapter, and more!"

Kyros lets out a burst of fire, melting down the legs of the statue of Tzeentch the Sorcerer, turning into burning, molten metal that causes the rest of the statue to collapse and fall off its pedestal.

"I had two, fucking two army of super-soldiers. I had the capabilities to turn millions of recruits into super-soldiers that would've made the space marines look like PD-fucking-F!"

Kyros stands by the bloated statue of Nurgle the Plague-Master, and presses the palms of his hands against it. A wave of rust begins running through the statue, as it begins to rust and crack, before breaking and toppling to the ground, smacking into the metal floor with a hollow thud.

"I had powers that could've made the galaxy tremble! We could've conquered the galaxy! I had you, a powerful ally who could've helped me conquer the galaxy!"

Kyros lets out a powerful, shrieking roar that overwhelms your senses, causing you to stumble backward. The roar causes the legs of Slaanesh the Hedonist to shatter, as the statue tumbles off and smacks into the ground.

"We would've toppled the Imperium of Man and thrown the Emperor off his throne! We could've liberated trillions from the religious persecution, slavery, persecution and fascism that's being inflicted! We could've brought man to a new level! But you weren't willing to make sacrifices! You had to rise up with the rest of the greedy traitors, unwilling to work for the Greater Good! You took everything from me!"

Kyros turns to you, his eyes full of an anger and a hatred unknown to you.

"I lifted you from the dirt! I made you what you are! I gave you everything! You think I'm going to roll over and die?! I'm going to send this entire vessel, my vessel, headfirst into the Warp. I'm going to let this entire ship be taken by daemons. Why not? The only men loyal to me have been slaughtered. I'll let daemons slaughter the lucky ones. The unlucky, which given the strength of your soul will no doubt include you, will pluck the souls of their choice off and let them experience the ravages of the Warp and then to feed on your suffering. First... I'm going to break every bone in your body."

Kyros bursts forward, charging towards you. You raise a wall of fire, but Kyros barrels straight through, smashing into you. You both levitate into the air, your hands wrapped around each other's throats. Kyros knees you in the stomach, before sending you hurtling into the floor. You slam into it, curling up and forming a protective shield around yourself just as your "mentor" unleashes a wave of psychic energy. As soon as the last shudder of energy finishes, you release a burst of electricity that shocks Kyros, who howls in pain. You release a long burst of flames, engulfing him as he howls in pain. Kyros swings a lash of energy that you sidestep, before firing a beam of light that catches him in the chest, knocking him to the floor.

"I'm the superior fighter," you say.

Kyros raises his hands up, which begin to crackle with psychic energy. You feel your head pulse with the currents of the Warp. You grab a chunk of broken metal, instantly funneling heat into it as it begins to grow a bright red. He flings it at Kyros, catching him in the shoulder, sending him to the ground. You fire balls of plasma from your finger tips, which Kyros only barely manages to stop. Kyros begins to attain an otherworldly purple glow, his appearance begins to appear as see-through fading in and out of reality itself.

"I feel the Warp overtaking me! It is a good pain!" Kyros howls.
> You add your powers to submerge the ship in the Warp
Kyros begins to glow, before it begins to be absolved by the purple glow emanating from him, turning into light. A portal begins to form, absorbing Kyros. Seconds later, you see a clawed red hand emerge from the portal, holding a sword of red hot burning steel. You watch as holes begin to be torn in the fabric of reality, as more Warp portals begin to open, powered by the last sacrificial pulse of Kyros' energy and further powered with your own.

"You fool! Daemons are pouring through to this realm, and I'm not leading them because my energy was focused on... Fuck!" Meliodas cries.

A horned cyclops with a rust and bile-encrusted blade steps through, letting out a wet growl. A strange, horse-like creature with a long tongue eagerly jumps through another portal. You watch as an endless horde of daemons begin to appear, coming through the portals, straight into your reality.

They overwhelm you in less than a minute, claws and swords cutting you apart. The rest of the ship lasts longer, taking three hours before the horrible daemons have wiped out the fortunate, and captured the less fortunate to give them... a much less enjoyable fate. Soon, the Gloriana-class Roar of the Vortex is little more than a daemon-filled hellhole. Your last gift to the world is a horrible, daemon-filled vessel drifting through existence. So ends the legacy of Karth.


"I can smell him. He's here," Meliodas says.

You step inside the doorway, looking into a marvelous palace. There's a huge grand staircase, with above it a massive chandelier of candles, the only illumination for the room. Beside it is an obsidian, bejeweled statue of a dragon, emitting a long burst of flames made from a bright red and orange gemstone, sits beside a marble table laden with roast meats, delicate pastries and fancy wines. You spot Amadeus, lying on a large silk couch, wearing an opened red silk hooded robe. On his forehead is a third, closed eye, while his normal eyes are focused on the girl in front of him, on her knees performing fellatio. You momentarily blush, before remembering that you're an insanely powerful psyker and not a fucking child.

"Drake Amadeus, you're coming with me," you say, as Drake lets out a yelp, kicking the girl off him and stumbling back.

"Shit, it's Karst! It's Karst! Get him the fuck away from me!"

You step forward, before seeing a dozen girls emerge from the rooms upstairs, walking towards the grand staircase. They move with insane flexibility. Some behind back and walking with their heads peering out between their legs, before twisting their heads around a hundred and eight degrees. Some on all fours, their legs stretched back around their shoulders to allow them to walk forward at an odd angle. They move with delicate grace, before they each draw a pair of curved knifes, continuing to walk towards you. You see Drake Amadeus scuttle away from the corner of your eye, but it seems you have a bigger threat.

"Ah, Slaaneeshi whores. Make their deaths quick. They'd just enjoy you drawing it out," Meliodas says.
> You fire bolts of Psychic energy
You fire bolts of Psychic energy, but the Troupe easily dodges the blasts, leaping, ducking and jumping. You only manage to catch one, killing her instantly, before the Troupe strikes. Immediately, three of them are upon you. You fly out of the way of one and set the second alight, before the third leaps at you. You back out of their way, avoiding a sword blow, before you're stabbed through the back, and you collapse to your knees, before a blow takes your head off.


You walk down the hallways alongside your four Chaos Marine guards. You head towards the war room, where Kyros is planning the first strike against the Imperium, taking over a Hive World, to secure a huge population that can be recruited from to bolster Kyros' forces ten times. You hum a tune, some old Uwais war chant that you find quite catchy. You feel a wave of nausea hit you, and you pause, as you feel a heavy weight lifted off your soul, and your cloudy mind is cleared. Your collar clicks, and falls off you, hitting the ground. Your guards stop, noticing you've stopped.

"Prisoner, why have you s...?" one of the guards asks, before noticing your collar has fallen off.

"Wait..." he starts to say, as the alarm begins to blare.

"Hahaha! Freedom! Freedom!" Meliodas cries.

Then, you strike. The first guard's head snaps around, tearing his head clean off his shoulders. You quickly set the second alight, shielding yourself from the bright blue flames that begin melting through the thick armor as the guard roars. You teleport behind the last two as bolter fire slams into the hallway where you once were. You blow a hole in the chest of one with a blast of psychic energy, before levitating the last one into the air, tossing his bolter across the room.

"No, no, no!" the space marine roars, shaking and trying to grasp at you.

"Kill! Maim! Burn! Break! Smash! Crush! Slaughter!" Meliodas gleefully chants.

You smash the space marine into the ground repeatedly, shattering armor and leaving him as a bloody smear on the ground. You attempt to orientate yourself, trying to picture the path you took from your room to get here, and remembering where the Penthouse is.

"Brother! Is Prisoner Alpha secure?" a radio crackles.

You turn, noticing the radio attached to the first space marine's belt. You pick it up, as the psychic energy around you vibrates as you talk, changing your voice into that of the space marine.

"Imitate his comrade's voice. Use the Warp," Meliodas suggests.

"We were forced to kill him. What's the situation?"

"Good riddance. Our brothers have betrayed us. The One Eyed Crows, the Black Rats, the Shrieking Harpies, all traitors! The 22nd are fighting, but I don't know whether the majority is with Kyros."

"What's the plans?"

"Kyros has us divided between exterminating the traitors and trying to put down the slave revolts that are taking place. The first and second generation super-soldiers are rebelling. Take your unit, and secure the gladiators. If they have the arena secured, they will have a strong defensive position."

"Understood. We'll get it done," you say.

"Send them to their reapers, brother, and ward off your own one," the radio crackles.

"Glory to Kyros," you say. "Praise the Dark Gods!"

"Nice touch," Meliodas says.

The radio finishes, and you clip it to your belt. You float into the air, hovering along the hallways towards the Penthouse. You pass a trio of shotgun-wielding Bloody Claws, rushing towards the cyro-chambers. You fire a jet of flames, engulfing the trio but don't even slow down to watch them die. Soon, you find yourself in the elevator, rising towards the penthouse. You wait patiently, listening to reports come through the radio.

"The entire area's filled with them! They're all traitors. I..."

"Bridge secured, push forward."

"Fall back, fall back, they're not going down!"

"Rage! Kill! Maim! Smash! Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"

"Leading the charge! Secure Elizabeth Staine, and they'll all... shit! AARGH!"

"Damn it! I've been sealed in! Get me out, dammit! They're coming for us!"

The elevator doors open, leaving you faced with five heavy bolters aiming at you.

"It's the Psyker!" someone shouts.

"Time to die, mortals!" Meliodas roars.
> You attempt to reason with them
"Wait!" you shout, preparing for the bolters to fire.

Surprisingly, they don't. Well, time to reason with them.
> You say "Abandon your weapons, or you die!"
There's a brief pause, before the bolters fire. Bullets slam into your boy, one quickly finding your head and blowing it apart.


You grab Olive's hand, and she pulls you to your feet.

"Ah, good job," Castus says. "Second rule: the first rule is bullshit. You know who doesn't trust anyone? Bastards like Kyros who ends up with no loyal friends, no allies, nothing, and then end up alone, with no one. If you want to survive in this world, you need allies."

Castus grabs his sword by the blade, offering it to you. You reach out to grab it, before he swings it and smacks you in the side of the heat, sending you to the ground. Castus offers his hand to you, which you accept. He pulls you up, before kneeing you in the stomach and tossing you to the ground.

"Come on, you're not learning. First rule: trust no one. Don't you listen?"

"I was going my the second rule," you say, groaning.

"Sometimes, the first rule is more important than the second rule," Castus shrugs.

"How the fuck am I supposed to tell the difference between which rule to us?" you ask, annoyed.

"Beats me. When you find out, you'll be the most powerful warlord in history. Until  then, you just go off gut feeling and intellect."

"Seems like a shitty system," you say, as Castus finally lets you stand up.

"Seems like a shitty world you're in. That system is the best I have to offer. Now, rule three: in hand to hand combat, go for the weak spots. The throat, eyes and balls are always good, but when it comes to half these fucks, I'd stick to the eyes, because past that, I don't know what you have left. Observe."

Castus flips his sword so he holds the blade again, wrapping his sleeve around the blade so it doesn't bite into his fingers as much. He steps forward, swinging his sword with insane speed. The pommel slams into your throat before jabbing you in the eyes, leaving you to stumble backwards. You quickly close your legs together before Castus jabs the pommel into your groin, and you collapse backwards with a pained yelp.

"See? Effective," Castus smiles. "Rule four: you can win through many ways. Pain submission, incapacitating them, or simply taking their lives. Judge which can be used to take down your enemies. For instance, in your case, pain is the way forward."

You're growing tired of being hit in the face. As Castus steps forward with his sword raised, you decide you're going to do something to dissuade him from continuing to hit you.
> You teleport out of the way of the blow
You teleport behind Castus, causing him to smash his sword into the ground, Castus grunts in confusion as the force of his blow flying through the air causing him to stumble forward.

"I don't need to learn how to wield a sword, Castus. You've trained all your life with a sword. I never have. Yet look how simply I evade your blows? I could just teleport behind you and break your neck without lifting a finger. I need a sword as much as you need fangs. I've evolved past the need for it," you say, gently poking him in the back. "Dead."

"Fair point, kid," Castus says, smiling. " I like your style. I suppose you're good to go. End of training."

"Terrific," you say. "So, can I leave?"

"Yeah, I'll call your guards here to open the gates and take you off," Castus says, grabbing a walkie-talkie hanging from his belt and speaking into it.

"Yeah, we're finished here," he says. "Oh shit, over."

"Affirmative, out," the voice comes back.

Soon, the gate lifts up as your guards saunter out in their thick power armor.

"Where to next, boys?" you ask.

"Shut it, psyker," one growls, looking at Castus and Olive. "Is it back to the cells for you two?"

"We're happy to practice some more here," Olive says, twirling her gun-axe to stop a surprise attack from Castus. "I mean, if this dumb bastard has done so little practice to think that would take me down, he's go to need a lot more practice."

"Pffh, I'd like to see you take me down," Castus says.

"So be it," your captor growls. "Move it, psyker."

You raise your hands defensively, and allow them to escort you back to your room.


You duck your head, the knife flying just over your head and cluttering to the floor behind you.

"Good catch," Castus says.

You grab the knife, taking a practice stab.

"What do you think?"

"It's a knife," you say simply.

"Yeah, it is. Do you like it? Does it feel good?" Castus says.

"I don't know anything about knives. Maybe," you say.

"Alright, first, we need to talk. Is anyone watching us? Like, are there cameras?"

"No. Well yes, but they're offline," Olive says, resting her head on the butt of her axe-gun. "What is it?"

"A plan is being formed. We're going to escape."

"Escape?" Olive says, musing. "Who's on our side?"

"We have a large amount of people on our side. Elios, Elizabeth and Durge are bringing the weight of their war-bands, as well as most, if not all, of the Guardsmen here. Then there's the Goliaths and the Tribals, both of whom are with us."

"What...?"

"Because I've done this twice before, I best say. We have no plans yet. They're to be decided. We have literally nothing. We just need to check whether you'll join us. Then, we'll get the leaders together to plan our to take over, and what to do with once we've actually done so."

"Huh. Well, I'm in," Castus says.

"What?" Olive asks, surprised.

"Yeah, I'm in," Castus says.

"We don't know the plan, we don't have any assurances that we won't be back-stabbed as soon as we take over, we..."

"Olive, let's be smart here. If we don't rebel, we'll definitely either be killed fighting Kyros' war, killed trying to put down these fuckers' mutiny, or killed fighting another arena battle for these bastard's amusement."

"If we rebel, we'll almost certainly be killed!"

"Almost certainly is way better than definitely. Plus, we'll get to kill a few of Kyros' bastards before we go down."

"Fine, I'm in, but I... we have a few demands," Olive says.

"Go on," you say.

You know the gladiators will be essential to your plans, so you really need to get them, but still, you don't want to devote to many resources to this issue.

"I want instant freedom once we take-over. No more being locked up under the arena. I want my men to have free reign to travel around the ship. I want pay, do the men and women who fight and work for the ship actually get something from it. I want an increase in food rations, and better equipment than the shit we're given. I want actual medical care, on top of this."

"That it?" you ask, annoyed with her large demands.

It'll probably take a serious amount of resources to fulfill her request. You have a few options here.

"What a fucking greedy bitch. This fucker needs a dick, I tell you that," Meliodas complains.
> You convince Olive that Castus is right
"Look, we can't guarantee anything. We don't know what's going to happen. Castus is right, we'd be killed if we don't rebel. Other than a chance, a simple chance, at freedom and life, I don't think we can start making deals for anything more," you say, putting all your energy into weaving an offer made almost entirely of bullshit.

Olive narrows her eyes.

"Fine. But let me tell you this, if I find myself with the shit side of the stick, I'm going to cause a lot of problems."

"You can trust me," you say, as sincerely as possible.

"Fine," Olive says.

Olive extends a hand, which you grip and shake extensively. Castus extends his hand, which you grab, but he twists your arm around, causing you to yelp painfully. He kicks away your foot and sends you to your knee, before bringing his sword up to your throat.

"Dead," he says with a smile.

"Well shit, Castus, what's wrong with you?"

"What? I was just preparing him for fighting. I thought we were supposed to be training him. First lesson, kid: trust no one. Now, get up."

Olive offers you a hand, smiling.