text: [Themes: fantasy, serious]
  
  The hospital is probably a better bet. Besides you can get the higher quality stuff there. You doubt if you'll have that much of a problem getting the supplies too, it isn't an uncommon thing for a few things to go missing here and there.
  
  "We better go back to the hospital, I'd rather be on the safe side."
  
  "Good man, come on we'll take the carriage back to the hospital, my brother will drive it, he knows all the short cuts in this city and isn't squeamish about running over dumb fuckers that get in the way."
  
  "Erm, okay then." You reply.
  
  "Just be quick about this shit, if you take too fucking long and Edmond dies, you three are going to be joining him!" Reg reminds all of you.
  
  You, Hans and Wallace leave the Troll's Breath Tavern and set out for the hospital. On the way there you make a mental note of what to say if anyone at the hospital asks you any questions and where else in the hospital to search just in case you don't find what you need right away.
  
  "Tell me, do you think Edmond is a fair man?" Hans suddenly asks you.
  
  "Huh?"
  
  "I said, do you think Edmond is a fair man? Tis not a hard question."
  
  "Uh, well sure. I mean I had a deal with him in the past and he lived up to it."
  
  "Yeah, I know all about that so called deal. If it were truly a deal, you and me wouldn't be having this conversation. I hope you realize this isn't going to be the last time he calls on you again."
  
  You don't say anything. You were trying not to dwell on the possibility of such depressing matters.
  
  "Look friend, I know you. You'd rather not have to live your life being connected to the underworld, but you were in a tight spot, so you resorted to desperate measures. Sort of like your father no?"
  
  "Yeah...I guess so..." you answer not really thinking of that parallel before.
  
  "Well, I sympathize. Trust me I do. I mean I know what it's like to get so far deep into something that you don't know how you're ever going to get out. Hell, I never intended to be part of the Crimson Talons, but I had to do it not just for my survival but my brother's as well."
  
  You say nothing and wait for Hans to get to the point he's going to make.
  
  "What I'm saying is, you don't NEED to have this hanging over your head forever. You could end it tonight."
  
  "Hold on, if we're talking about what I think we are, you heard Reg, he said if we took too long he'd have us all killed."
  
  "I didn't suggest that. I mean that hospital surely has a bunch of things that shouldn't be used in excessive dosages."
  
  "You want me to kill him? I can't do that, I'd get killed by that Sotakan! If not immediately then certainly soon after he suspected that I had something to do with his death!"
  
  "Well I figured that you'd be a little creative in that area. Perhaps give him something for the pain. Something that creates a plausible tale that the man just died in his sleep. It's not like that lizard is really going to put two and two together. It's not the brightest thing; it's just really good at following orders and killing people. I wouldn't worry about it anyway. The lizard will be taken care of soon. And you needn't worry about anyone else potentially retaliating either, Edmond's never been too popular and what few loyal cronies he has other than the lizard will also be dealt with."
  
  You bury your hands in your head at the thought of all this and how you got here in the first place. If you go through with this, you won't just be an accomplice the murder anymore, but a full blown one. You think about the irony of being a doctor. You're supposed to be keeping people alive not killing them.
  
  "Look, I know this is all a lot to take in, but just think. If you do this, you're free. Free to go about the rest of your life as you see fit. And getting rid of Edmond would be a favor to everyone; he's an evil bastard. Now I'm not saying I'm a saint, but the man is unnecessarily brutal. I'd at least try to put an end to some of the random violence that goes on in the organization and get back to focusing on business. Hell, I've got even a long-term plan of trying to make the organization legit one day. Like I said, I didn't really want this life, but it was survival at the time."
  
  If Hans is trying to identify with you on some level to get you to help him, it's working, because you're starting to seriously consider going through with this plan.
  
  Eventually you get to the hospital and you tell Hans you'll be out as soon as possible. It's the graveyard shift so you don't run into too many people you know that ask questions. In fact nobody really pays too much attention to you at all, but you decide to play it safe and head down to the supply room in the basement to take what you need.
  
  After grabbing a few syringes, disinfectants, bandages and the like, you break the lock of the cabinet with the pharmaceutical supplies. You grab the pain killers immediately, but then you look for something that might help you with the other problem.
  
  "Incitahol? What the hell?" you say to yourself, picking up the small vial. This stuff shouldn't even be mixed in with the regular drugs. It's a powerful experimental concoction! It was supposed to be a "miracle" drug that increased the body's natural healing ability even greater than that of mountain trolls and was first used on dying patients. Unfortunately what the drug really did was the speed up the death process and bring them back as zombies. It was banned by most civilized places and is highly sought out by lazy necromancers who don't have the natural ability to raise hordes of undead.
  
  You'd worry more about finding this if you didn't have your own drama going on right now. In fact this would probably be the perfect thing to take with you. Incitahol doesn't cause pain and quickly puts the patient into a coma and death follows soon after. (And then it's zombie time) You'll have to explain some of this to Hans though so he's prepared.
  
  Part of you wonders if you should really go through with all this though. There's no guarantee that Hans is telling you the truth and you might be just trading one master for another. In fact he might just blame you for everything and have you killed when he takes power.
  
  Of course another way to handle this is to inject this stuff into Edmond and not tell him what's going to happen. Chances are undead Ed might kill everyone nearby. Incitahol does increase the reflexes and strength after death making for a rather lively zombie. The problem is this is a very risky endeavor not to mention severely irresponsible.
  
  > kill Edmond and inform Hans of the plan
  Hans is probably right about Edmond, he's going to keep you around indefinitely. If you help Hans he'll most likely have his hands full trying to root out all the people still loyal to Edmond and solidifying his power base to worry about you.
  
  When you leave the hospital you enter the carriage, which is waiting for you across the street.
  
  "I trust you got everything you need?"
  
  "Yeah, I found something perfect to take care of our problem, but I need to warn you about it first."
  
  "Oh? Well, out with it then." Hans says.
  
  You explain to Hans about the Incitahol and he seems intrigued.
  
  "So this stuff will kill him and then bring him back to life?"
  
  "In a manner of speaking. He'll slowly lapse into a coma and then die. Then he'll come back as a zombie and most likely a very lively and hostile one."
  
  "Interesting. Okay. Good. That lizard will probably be by his side the whole time. When Edmond comes back he'll probably try to attack his lizard who will defend himself and then the rest takes care of itself."
  
  You're glad Hans sounds pleased with this plan, the only thing you have to do now is pull off the deception. Eventually you get back to the tavern where Reg and several other Talon members are waiting.
  
  "What the fuck took you so damn long? Edmond could've died already!"
  
  "Sorry." You reply and head to his office.
  
  You enter the office and the Sotakan assassin is holding a dagger to your throat already.
  
  "Down boy, it's the doc...ugh...what the fuck took you so long? I'm dying over here!"
  
  The Sotakan releases you and you run over to Edmond who is now lying on the floor still clutching his side.
  
  "I'm going to give you this shot first, it'll help as an anti-biotic and to ease the pain. You might start getting sleepy though, do you someplace more comfortable to lay?"
  
  "Yeah, I guess the sofa."
  
  You Help Edmond to the sofa and give him the shot of Incitahol. You then begin sewing him up as quickly as possible. Normally you'd do a better job and extract the shrapnel in his body, but you figure he's going to be dead soon anyway and you need to get out of here before he starts turning.
  
  "There you go. You should be good now, but you'll need to rest and not move too much for a few days."
  
  "(Yawn) Not a problem. I'll probably just take care of business from here for the time being. As long I got my Sotakan whatchin' my back, I'll be fine. Damn, that shit kicks in really quick. I don't feel anything....(Yawn) Glad you could help out doc...be sure to stick around...(Yawn) might have some work for you in the...zzzzzzzzzz..."
  
  You stand away from Edmond, give a nod to the Sotakan and then leave quickly.
  
  "So is he asleep?" Edmond asks walking up to you.
  
  "Yeah, won't be long...hey where's that Reg guy?" you say noticing a difference in some of the personnel hanging around the bar now.
  
  "Don't worry about him, you just take a seat at that table over there. If need anything just let Wallace know."
  
  "But you know what's going to happen and I'm not a fighter. I don't think you'll need me here."
  
  "Don't be so sure. Given what's going to go down, we might still need a doctor soon. Besides having a doctor around in the future might be useful. Sit down, you'll be fine."
  
  You get the impression you don't have any choice in the matter, so you do what Hans says. You curse yourself for believing him. You have indeed traded one master for another.
  
  "Could I have a drink?" you ask Wallace, who looks less than pleased about you barking orders at him, but he gets you a bottle of strong whiskey before going to talk to his brother.
  
  Time passes and as you slowly get more drunk a loud noise is heard from Edmond's office. It's a mixture of hissing, moaning and loud crashing.
  
  "Hah! Sounds like he's (hic!) up!" you slur while taking another drink. At this point Hans, Wallace and several other thugs rush into the office. You hear a bunch of yelling, fighting, and gunshots, but you just continue to drink the whole time.
  
  "Dis is yer fate mr. smart ass doctor, now you gotta (hic!) get yoost to it." You say to your self while looking at the bottle.
  
  "Was it worth it?"
  
  At this point Hans exits Edmond's office looking a bit winded. He's followed by Wallace and one of the other thugs that lived.
  
  "Shit, it's a good thing that lizard had been preoccupied with Edmond. I can say with all honesty he put up a damn good fight even with a couple of bites in him."
  
  "You chopped his head off I (hic!) hope!" you exclaim.
  
  "Yeah, of course I know the stories of the dead infection. Sheesh doc, I think you've had enough for the night." Hans remarks.
  
  "I haven't begun to drink!" you shout and then promptly pass out in the tavern.
  
  While this would be the first time you passed out in the Troll's Breath Tavern, it wouldn't be the last. After this night, your life takes a drastic turn.
  
  Your hospital career begins to take a slow but sure nosedive, though your "career" as a Crimson doc begins to pick up a lot. Hans has a lot more trouble establishing order over the Crimson Talons than he thought he would. You end up doing a lot of after hours surgery. To Hans' credit he pays you well and you get free drinks whenever you can.
  
  Eventually your mother knows something is going on with you, she isn't sure what (and doesn't really want to either), but she knows it isn't good. Having no real reason to stay any longer, she finally sells the inn to the city and moves back to Teckleville. She mentions when you get your life together you can visit her, until that time, stay away.
  
  You never see her again.
  
  From there your life becomes a downward spiral and your drinking increases to cope with your situation. As the years go on, the hospital can't tolerate your sub par work due to a combination of drink and lack of proper sleep. Getting fired is bad enough, but you also lose your license and are lucky not to go to jail for malpractice.
  
  Doesn't really matter to you at this point, you just embrace the whole criminal lifestyle and work for Hans full time. The only problem is, he's getting sick of your sub-par work as well. Your situation becomes very much like the doctor who once worked Edmond.
  
  It doesn't really need to be said that your fate is very similar to his as well.
  
  One night during a poker game you're on a rare winning streak and drinking heavily as usual. Your obnoxious bragging gets on the nerves of several Crimson Talon members who have already been told on several occasions by Hans that your usefulness is soon coming to an end. They decide that tonight is the night.
  
  As you try to stumble your way home in the dark, a crushing blow knocks you to the street followed by several sharp piecing to your body. Fortunately you're so damn drunk that the pain is somewhat nonexistent. You mumble something incoherent and then pass out forever.
  
  Your winnings are taken back and your body sold to a bodylegger for spare parts. (Your liver is useless though)