text: assin." you ask.
  "He goes by the name Olaf. He's actually an ex-Talon associate but after the fight pits closed down he went back to working as a leg breaker for Mr. Reynolds full time. You familiar with that man?" Tom asks.
  "Vaguely. Some sort of moneylender with connections in high places so the militia doesn't fuck with him. Actually, I think I remember my mother telling me my father's family was in debt to him at one point."
  "They did with the inn. Actually I even worked for the man briefly before I joined the Talons, but that's ancient history. Olaf is a big ass ogre who pretty much retired undefeated during his fighting pit days. He's older of course now, but I don't doubt that he couldn't take care of Jake and scare everyone else into submission. Hell, he probably could scare Jake into submission too. He'd probably even do it for free or at the least very cheap. He really likes hurting people."
  "Sounds good, so what's the catch?"
  "Well obviously Mr. Reynolds isn't going to just let him go wandering off so we'd probably have to pay him and that's what isn't going to be cheap. Plus, knowing Mr. Reynolds he'll have some other weird stipulation. You'll probably find out when you talk with him. Could be anything."
  
  This is sounding complicated already. You almost hesitate to ask about the other one.
  
  "Okay, so what about this other guy. The real assassin?" you ask.
  "You familiar with Sotakians?" Tom asks.
  "Just stories of them being lizard people that live in the swamps and fight with elves all the time."
  "Well, the old boss, Edmond actually acquired an egg and raised a Sotakian from a hatchling. Trained him to be a very literal cold-blooded assassin bodyguard. We all just called him Scales, but he never really had a proper name. He was very loyal too until he had some unknown disagreement with Edmond and just took off. Ed never told anyone to go get him either. Just said to let it go."
  "That doesn't sound very useful if he disappeared to parts unknown."
  "Oh he didn't go far. He actually lives in the Klyton sewers. Abandoned part granted, but he's actually part of the reason why the militia doesn't patrol down there that much and only in certain areas. Ol' Scales isn't very welcoming to intruders to his home."
  "Well how's this lizard going to be of any help then?"
  "Most of the time when Scales got a little obstinate Edmond showed him the broken egg that he hatched from. Not sure why it worked. Maybe it was a reminder that Edmond was the one who helped hatch him or something. Still have the broken egg just in case, you know? Maybe if someone approached him with the broken egg, Scales might be willing to listen to that person. Dunno, who would have the balls to go risk it though."
  "That vicious huh?"
  "Let's just say, Olaf USED to have an equally bad ass barbarian buddy by the name of Silence. Silence didn't like it when he lost a staring contest to Scales and things got violent. Olaf and Silence were best friends and Olaf didn't even ATTEMPT to attack Scales when he ripped out Silence's throat in five seconds. He just left the room and I can't be certain, but I think he might have even cried. Of course nobody was going to ask. Olaf certainly brutalized folks more than average in the fighting pits over the next few days after that though."
  
  So those are your choices and they both sound shitty. Honestly, you wish you could just take care of Jake yourself, but Tom is probably right about the fact that something like that isn't really your specialty, but talking to others and trying to convince them to do what you want is apparently a newer one you've acquired or at least one you've been thrust into.
  
  > hire Olaf
  If Scales is killing people just for trespassing, you don't fancy your chances. At least with this ogre you're not going to get killed just for showing up. (You hope)
  
  Along with giving you the location of where Jake is supposed to be currently camped out, Tom gives you the directions to Mr. Reynolds place, though you've passed it a few times before during your stretch here in Klyton so you know where it is. From what you've heard, Mr. Reynolds hasn't changed his location in decades and he wasn't young when your grandfather (And later father) owed him money. While you've also heard he looks human, there are rumors that he isn't or he's at least cheating the aging process somehow.
  
  You aren't really interested in all that though; you just hope you won't have to pay some outrageous price for Olaf's services.
  
  You bid Tom goodbye and head on out to Mr. Reynolds' place which is a simple walk to one of the more rundown areas of Klyton.
  
  When you enter his simple place of business, you see a well dressed man with a goatee standing just inside the entrance flipping a knife into the air and catching it by the handle every time. He begins staring at you, but never stops flipping and catching his knife.
  
  You look to your right and see a large humanoid in an oversized chair, arms folded and snoring heavily. You wonder if this must be Olaf. He's certainly big and ugly enough to be an ogre, though in this state he almost looks peaceful rather than the menacing brute you heard about.
  
  "Ah, a customer! Well don't just stand there looking at my employees, come forward and let me see what I can do for you." A voice calls out from across the room.
  
  You see who could only be Mr. Reynolds. He's even better dressed than the employee flipping the knife. As you approach he doesn't look any older than his mid forties. Who know though and that's not why you're here.
  
  He smiles when you get to his desk.
  
  "Somehow. Somehow I KNEW you were going to come in here one day. You look like your father around the same time we did business. How is he anyway?" he asks.
  
  You don't even ask how he knows who you are.
  
  "He's uh...good I guess. Doctor now." You respond.
  "Good for him. Glad to hear things ultimately worked out after our business was concluded. And they say loans are a bad thing. So what can I do for you today? I assume it can't be for money as I know you're quite the skilled thief around town. I must say the Crimson Talons must be doing better nowadays. Pity you have that fool Tom in charge, but then these things are never permanent are they?" Mr. Reynolds says.
  "I guess not. Look I was told that you might be willing to let Olaf do some work for the Talons."
  "Hmm, must be pretty serious if you're looking for an ogre to take care of this work and not doing it yourself. What's this all about exactly?"
  
  You didn't really expect him to pry, but you feel like he's probably not even going to entertain the idea unless you tell him everything about the plan. So you tell him and he listens intently. Meanwhile Olaf is still snoozing and the other man is continuing to watch you.
  
  "Well that's certainly an interesting plan you got there and I can only assume the initial set up of it was equally as interesting. I just don't think I can loan you Olaf though. Sorry." Mr. Reynolds says.
  "What? We can pay your price. I mean as you said we're doing a lot better now." You say.
  "And I believe you, but I don't feel comfortable putting one of my employees at risk like that. He could very well die."
  "I was told Olaf was a champion pit fighter and this would be easy for him."
  "Of course he was a champion. Decades ago. Look at him, that beautiful white mane and beard he has isn't just for show, it denotes age! He's old and not the young killing machine he used to be. Oh sure he's good for intimidating a few deadbeats and even knocking them around a bit, but if I let him go do what you want him to do, he's going to die even if he somehow manages to succeed. And while Olaf wouldn't mind such a proud warrior's death, I happen to be good friends with his wife and she'd be very upset and I can't have that on my conscience."
  "Didn't know female ogres were so sensitive."
  "He's married to a Halfling, but my point is, Olaf isn't going anywhere."
  
  Well you certainly weren't expecting this.
  
  "(Sigh) So there's no way you can help me?" you ask.
  "Ah, now I didn't say that. While I can't loan you Olaf, I can allow you the services of my other employee Henry over there. Henry! Stop playing with your knife and get over here. Got work for you."
  
  Henry slowly walks over to the desk still never taking his eyes off you the whole time. He then takes his knife and stabs it into the desk as hard as he can. This action causes you to step back a bit and you prepare to draw your own weapon until Mr. Reynolds calms everyone down.
  
  "Relax. Relax, nobody is stabbing anyone here. My son is a little excitable at times." Mr. Reynolds says.
  "Your son? This man is your son?" you reply.
  "Sure. Can't you see the resemblance? Meh, I guess he does look a lot more like his mother Wendy. Anyway, not important. What is important is that Henry here has what they call a natural talent. He's been honing it since he was a child, I was so proud when he finally sought me out to join the family business. Now, he might not be as big and strong as ol' Olaf over there, but I guarantee he'll get the job done."
  "I dunno..."
  "Trust me. You came here because I could help you solve your problem. Maybe not the way you thought, but the job WILL get done. I promise."
  "Well since I know your name and reputation mean a lot to you, I'm going to go ahead and believe you, so how much is all this going to cost?"
  "Five hundred gold coins, but since I can tell you're a bit apprehensive about all this, you can pay me after the job is done. If the results aren't to satisfaction, well I'm sure Tom can pay what he feels is an appropriate amount. Now, why don't you tell Henry about the job and what you want done exactly?"
  
  You give Henry the instructions and he listens without saying a word still giving you that icy stare the entire time. While a little unnerving, you can't actually say you're getting pants shitting intimidated. Henry could very well be the badass killer his dad claims, but right now he seems like he's trying too damn hard.
  
  Mr. Reynolds tells you that the job will be done by the end of the week, and you and Tom can return to his office at that time. You leave the office a little concerned about all this, but it's done now.
  
  When you get back you inform Tom, who doesn't seem at all concerned, just a little surprised that it isn't Olaf, but he has confidence in Mr. Reynold's choice of assassin and is sure it will be worth it.
  
  Vaughn and Zalmora are the only other people that know about this plan and while Vaughn is a go with the flow type guy as well, Zalmora still thinks getting rid of Jake in this manner was a bad idea.
  
  Unfortunately, it turns out that she's right.
  
  Instead of being discreet or even just killing Jake and scaring the others into returning to the fold, Henry turned the Bloody Smiles camp into a graveyard. He got the job done, but killing every fucking body wasn't what was wanted.
  
  You complain quite loudly, which doesn't frazzle Mr. Reynolds in the least. Tom attempts to calm you down. When that fails, he tells you to go wait outside and he'll speak to Reynolds in private. Henry glares at you as you leave. As much as you'd like to punch the guy, you know that wouldn't be a smart move considering what he just did.
  
  You wait outside for a long time and eventually Tom exits the building. He says to you that you'll speak when you get back to headquarters. You walk back in silence.
  
  As soon as you enter though he starts scolding you for losing your temper in front of Mr. Reynolds and disrespecting him as head of the organization. You defend why you're getting mad about the situation and don't understand why he isn't since it's fucked up the plans that were supposed to be set in motion. When you find out he paid the five hundred coins anyway you get even angrier.
  
  Various Crimson Talon members stop what they're doing to watch this spectacle.
  
  "You still PAID him?! You paid him for doing a half assed job?! What the fuck?!" you exclaim.
  "You don't know shit kid. Staying on Reynolds' good side is..." Tom starts to say before you're interrupted.
  "No, stop fucking talking! You're a terrible fucking leader and EVERYONE here knows it!"
  "Is that right? I don't see anyone else stepping up to do this fucking job!"
  "Yeah, well maybe that needs to change."
  "So what? You gonna be the one to do that? Pfft. Fuck you kid. You tried to pull that I'm a killer shit when you first met me in that hanging cage. Didn't buy it then and I'm certainly not buying it now."
  "Oh yes, the cage that I rescued your ass from, because nobody here gave a shit! And your leadership is a good example of why nobody does, because you're ultimately a weak leader who is content on coasting and leeching off others."
  
  Tom doesn't say any more he just throws a punch at you. You dodge and follow up with a punch of your own.
  
  The fight isn't stopped, because it's obvious people either want to see a change in leadership or Tom prove that he's still got what it takes to lead the Talons.
  
  Despite the ongoing past criticism of Tom of how he's a weak leader, he's not really a weak man because he dominates the fight for the most part. He's certainly a better fighter than you.
  
  His problem is he still doesn't want it as bad as you.
  
  Though Tom was pissed at you and knew he had to kick your ass, he never had any intention on killing you. All of his blows against you were normal kicks and punches. Never once does he say, pull out a dagger and stab you in the face with it.
  
  Because that's exactly what you do to him.
  
  He screams, wails and flails around the room for a moment before you tackle him back down to the floor.
  
  As he begs for you to stop killing him all you can think of is Klint doing the same thing and you drive your short sword through his chest telling him to shut the fuck up and die the entire time.
  
  When Tom finally stops breathing, you get up and declare yourself the new leader of the Crimson Talons.
  
  "And we're gonna start doing things differently around here."
  
  > Time passes...
  Year 25
  
  "Well, what the hell do these folks expect? If they want outlandish theatrics they can pay out the ass to watch a Klyton Gladiator match where the minimum bets are much higher. At least here we have fights where we'll accept a five copper bet." You say.
  "Yes, but at the arena, people don't have the deal with the bums they've bet on to puke in the middle of the ring and pass out causing the other to win by default." Zalmora says.
  "That happened ONE time." You remark.
  "Well there's also the ongoing smell of the sewers that puts people off."
  "Yeah, well the Klyton council just increased the city's militia numbers recently and stepped up patrols. So keeping business in the sewers is about the safest place to do all this if we want to avoid sudden raids."
  "It might not have been necessary to wallow in the sewers if they had another distraction."
  "So you've said many times in the past, but I think things still worked out with me in charge."
  "We're doing okay I suppose, but I'm still not sure if bum fight gambling and going back to selling Yellow Devil was the way to go about it."
  "Hey we've got whores too."
  "Ah yes, those mostly tie into the Yellow Devil trade. I shudder to think about the hopeless cases that actually pay to fuck YD junkies."
  "Hey not everyone can afford the high priced Klyton brothels. Look, I saw that the only way we were going to survive is to have steady businesses. The Klyton Council are the biggest criminal overlords and nobody says shit because they effectively legalized everything and control the biggest gang to protect their interests. I mean there wasn't really any way to feasibly compete except offer similar things at lower the prices and cater to the lower class."
  
  Zalmora looks at nearby group betting and getting excited over a giant roach race.
  
  "Pretty sure some of these folks are under the lower class." Zalmora replies.
  "Yeah, well a coin's a coin, don't you have a house to break into or something?" you say.
  "Always, but I don't understand why you don't come on these things like you used to."
  "Because I gotta look after shit around here. I just can't drop everything to go rip off a store. I'm not Tom, I don't just sit on my ass doing nothing."
  "I didn't say you were, but you used to be a little more fun at least. Like those first few years when you got here. Remember?" Zalmora says with a bit of a smile.
  "Yeah, well I'm not a damn stupid teenager anymore that gets distracted by a pretty girl that wiggles her ass at me."
  
  Zalmora steps back from you a bit giving a slightly perturbed look.
  
  "Okay Mr. bossman, if you hadn't initially taken my advice in the first place you wouldn't even be in this position." Zal says.
  "OR if I hadn't taken your advice, I might have been in this position a lot sooner. In fact despite you always bringing it up, I'd say not listening to you turned out to be a lot better " you remark.
  "Right, because this is such a great position to be in."
  "I'm in charge ain't I? Y'know what your problem is? You thought you were going to manipulate me into doing whatever you wanted just because you threw a little pussy my way. And now you're bitter that didn't happen. If you really want control of the Talons, you could always challenge me Zal."
  "Oh no, not me! Never would I challenge your insurmountable wisdom boss. Obviously you've got things under control more than little ol' me could ever handle." Zal says with obvious sarcasm in her voice.
  "If you don't want to take over and you don't like how I'm running things, why don't you just leave then? Not like I'm going to try to kill you for leaving."
  "Don't think the thought hasn't crossed my mind. You know why I'm even still in the Talons? Because deep down I'm actually hoping you know what you're doing. So far you're ahead, but I'm just wondering for how long. Edmond was pretty much running things like you are now. Granted you are less of a violent asshole than he was, but I'm seeing the same pattern."
  "I'm not sure what to tell you Zal, I mean we're fucking criminals doing illegal shit. This is sort of way things are done."
  "(Sigh) Yeah, I know...guess I'm just starting to wonder why I ever thought this was fun. I'll leave you to your drugs and whores."
  
  Zalmora walks away.
  
  You sometimes forget that Zal is at least around fifteen years older than you now. She's probably starting to worry about age catching up. Probably didn't see herself mucking about through sewers at this age taking orders from someone a lot younger. Weird, because Vaughn doesn't seem to have a problem with it, but then Vaughn's never been one to make waves.
  
  As you walk back to the Crimson hideout thinking about the future, you have to admit, it isn't as bright as you once thought.
  
  All things considered you are doing well right now, but there just doesn't seem to be any let up on the laws being passed to turn this city into a huge prison camp. Part of that you imagine is due to the rebellion in Holgard. You're certainly glad you didn't decide to go there given what you heard.
  
  At one time, you did toy with the possibility of going "legit" somehow. Like maybe buying an inn and running it. Maybe even the one your family once owned. It would sure be a complete circle if you did that.
  
  Of course it wasn't so much going "legit" as it was the idea of having a place to run your activities without it being in an abandoned building or recently the fucking sewers.
  
  Though that's a riskier endeavor nowadays and would result in needing to re-organize things again. Might be better to stick with your current set up. It isn't perfect, but it's working.
  
  > change up the business again
  Zal's got a bit of a point. This isn't exactly the most glamorous of a position and you could certainly do better than hiding out in these filthy sewers.
  
  You've got more than enough saved and have enough connections that you could easily open up a real business front. You'd just need to keep everything low key and change a few things.
  
  The more you think about it, the more you feel this is the right decision. The next day you gather Zal and Vaughn to discuss this new direction.
  
  "An inn certainly sounds better than the sewers." Vaughn says.
  "Well, we're still probably going to have some of our operations down there, but I figure we can at least start making an attempt to climb out of them. I'm thinking that we probably should stop dealing in Yellow Devil too." You say.
  
  Zamora nods her head.
  
  "I agree. The profits aren't worth the risks on that racket. A lot less sudden body meltdowns and diseased junkie whores lingering around as well." Zal remarks.
  "So what about the location? Are we buying out an existing inn or starting from scratch? We could probably buy back the old place, the Troll's Breath Tavern. Edmond used to run the Talons from there before the militia raided the place and shut it down." Vaughn remarks.
  "Wouldn't it be a little obvious, if the Talons set up there again?" You ask.
  "Nah, they'd never expect the same place twice! Besides, it's called the Clean Mug Tavern now. It's run by two siblings, one of them even comes here to bet on the races and fights sometimes. The place is barely scraping by, so I think they would be receptive to selling it to us for cheap."
  "Instead of buying it outright, I'd suggest just getting the owners to work with us. That way nothing really changes up front, but we don't spend money and we're the ones really running things." Zalmora says.
  
  "Definitely sounds like a better idea, but I know what place you're talking about, and it seems a little on the small side, I was thinking some place bigger like my old family's inn which is still abandoned. We wouldn't have to deal with anyone." You say.
  "Seems like more hassle. You'd still have to buy it from the city which could present some problems. Assuming they didn't ask many questions, you'd still have to fix the place up before we could start using it proper. Wouldn't we need to get an alcohol supplier and hire people as well?" Vaughn remarks.
  "Not really, we know more than enough folks that we could have cheap employees. Some of them are hopeless gamblers with debts in fact, so that's no problem. As for alcohol, we could easily make it ourselves and bypass a supplier. Most folks coming wouldn't be there for the booze anyway, so it isn't like we're going to need hundreds of barrels of the stuff every month. Of course your family's old inn is in a slightly better part of Klyton, so my concern would be the greater likelihood of militia just stumbling in for a drink now and then." Zal remarks.
  
  > buy the old family inn
  It's a risk either way, but you figure owning the business outright at least makes you less concerned about somebody else fucking things up, plus you can fix things up the way you want a lot quicker.
  
  "Guess I got an appointment with city hall or something...is that where I go?" You ask.
  "Yes, I believe there is some sort of department that takes care of all that stuff. We should probably get married first though." Zal remarks.
  
  You and Vaughn both look at Zalmora.
  
  "What?" You ask.
  "If you're married, it might not be as suspicious if you're just handing over bags of money for this property." Zalmora says.
  "I don't understand why they would care. Wouldn't they just be glad to get their money?" you ask.
  "You been in Klyton long bossman?" Zalmora asks sarcastically. "Even before the council had militia crawling all over the city, this place was always a bit wary of non-citizens buying up property. Especially out of the blue. Surely you've already formed a story for all this."
  "Well somewhat, but this seems like extra complexity."
  "Marriage will be good idea, trust me. I've been a citizen of this city since birth. I even own a small place of residence."
  "You do?"
  "Yes, I have for quite sometime. While I know you've been busy playing crime lord, not everyone spends all their life here at the headquarters. What I'm saying though is, with me as your wife, you won't look quite like the suspicious outsider, since despite you living here for years, you still aren't even officially a citizen of this city."
  
  This is all taking you a bit