Black Gold

[Borgus]

It had been three weeks since their altercation with the Inn keeper. As Borgus suspected the In Keeper tried to get that authorities to get back his rights to the land. If the name on the contract was Borgus or any other member of their little raid party then it might have worked. However However the name on the dotted line was not theirs, but rather a chubby fellow with a wide grin and squint eyes by the name of Fado.  It was never a part of Borgus plan to own the in directly. If he did then it all would be taken from him when ever he was caught for a crime or charged for any reason. Stealing the safe made it look as if the gang was after the gold and the selling of the inn was the owners way of trying to keep from going under. By the end of the day the Inn Keeper looked as if he was trying to pull a dirty con while the true Rat, Fado, was seen as a angle.

"Good job boys", spoke Borgus as he raised a glass in celebration of their plan moving forward. The acolyte looked down at the Inn from above as he and his crew occupied a house standing next to a cliff side. The house was in perfect view of the Inn and Borgus could keep an eye on his cash cow from above.

"How in the world did you get this place", asked cliff as Borgus walked back toward the center of the deck and took a seat around the round table.

"It was a gift", spoke Charlie adding himself into the conversation. The swordsmen was covered in sweet and was not wearing a shirt. Charlie had just come back from the court yard and was in the middle of his training when somebody came up to him with a delivery. Charlie pulled a small painting out of a package and threw it down on the table. "So we are taking orders from noblemen now", he spoke.

"Only when it advances our cause", spoke Borgus as he picked up the painting. He looked at it memorized it. It was the face of a young girl. She was no older than fourteen years of age. If she was not already she was close to marriageable age. "So that is the girl he wanted us to kidnap", spoke Borgus.

"Kidnapping", spoke Cliff. "Now this is a first. I thought you said the kidnapping business was a bust", spoke Cliff.

"I still think so", spoke Borgus. "However this situation requires us to go into it."

"What so you can have a fancy new club house", spoke Big Sam as he walked to the table. He was minding his own business at first, but the sound noble and work caught his attention.

"No", spoke Borgus as he looked up into Big Sam's eyes. "I accepted the deal because it moved us forward along our plan. The house was just a perk", spoke Borgus as he chugged the last of his drink.

"Everybody gather around", shouted Borgus pulling all of the gang into one place. "Listen up. It about time I told you all about the next step in the plan. As you all know our goal is to create a black market at the inn down below and so far we have the building we seek. However you all know I like to keep my organizations legal", spoke Borgus as a evil snicker escaped from his mouth. "However thanks to this foolish war we can not sell weapons in Bern without a permit. Because of Fado", spoke Borgus before he was interrupted by Cliff.

"You mean Fatto", chuckled the big man.

"Fado", spoke Borgus again stressing it. "Because of Fado's reputation as being underhanded. He can't just simply get a permit and start selling. Right now he is being blocked by some good toe shoes Illian from the capital. The only way we are going to get around this is get somebody with some influence to press the matter and push our permit through. I just so happen to know that person. Wales D. Gall", spoke Borgus expecting the others to know that name.  "For all of you who are scratching your heads. He is a very well known nobleman who supports Ilian rule. However in reality he is a dirt bag traitor who works with bandits, brigands, pirates, and revolutionaries in order to increase his own wealth and power. Gall has given his word to aid us, but he needs something in  return. Borgus then pointed toward the painting. He needes this young girl eliminated. She is the only daughter of a very rich nobleman who is very close to dying. His will is set to giver her everything he owns. However if she dies the money will be spread out amongst that old man's relatives. These relatives are in great debut to Gall and with this he will be able to gain back the money he lost and more. So our job is to find her and eliminate her. Any questions", asked Borgus.

[Minerva]

"If you have a name, I can use my noble heritage to help out here. I can easily ask some of my friends to find her for us, and they'll give us her location. Then all we have to do is head in and kill the girl."

Minerva knew plenty of people she could contact. The hard part would be not the finding of the girl, but the killing of the girl. These men were too blunt, too loud, too obvious. They needed an assassin. Someone dirty, who would keep the job quiet and get it done.

"Once we find her, I propose we hire an assassin to kill her off. We don't want to bungle this. A killer who will keep his mouth shut for gold would be a much safer route than all of us trying to rush in and kill her."

[Baako]

Baako like Charlie was well worn from training. He'd been working hard to make up for last time and so far results were slow, but hanging with this gang had given him more experience than he knew what to do with. From the inn to the house ams plots Baako was learning and tasting how the other side lived and he'd be damned if he didn't like it.

Now there were expected to kill some kid, sad really since she seemed about his age and sort of pretty to boot. The mage had suggested her plan to pull some strings using that noble status of hers but Baako wondered if her reputation was still in good standing after the incident at the inn. Well it wasn't his call anyway.

[Borgus]

"hmm", Borgus spoke as he began to rub his chin. Minerva had a point. Trying to do the dirty deed themselves was far too much hassle and if they got caught it would bring way too much heat. They would probably be better off outsourcing the job to someones else and save their own reputation.

"I think, you are right", spoke Borgus to Minerva. His words caught most of the other bandits off guard.

"Wait, what", spoke Cliff. The bandit could not hold his own surprise inside. "Your going to listen to the dame", he spoke in a surprise tone.

"Why not", spoke Big Sam as he gained a grasp on the situation. "Getting ourselves involved in a murder of a noble is far to hot for what we want to accomplish."

"Still heat or not killing a kid like her should be a easy task", spoke Charlie. "I doubt we will need a assassin. All we have to do is move in, kill the guards, and eliminate the target. It will be as easy as eliminating the sheriff and his deputies."

"Don't", spoke Borgus with a pause as he looked up at Charlie. "Don't compare the guards of a noble to a dead beat sheriff in a small mountain village in the middle of nowhere. Her guards will not go down so easily as they did. We won that battle quickly thanks to thier poor training, laziness, and superior strategy. When dealing with her guards two of those factors are already eliminated. The third is up for question. Facing this head on would only get us killed. I would rather spend a few coin and hire a assassin than see our whole plan go up in flames because of a small error", spoke Borgus.

Charlie looked at the bandit for a moment and then backed off. It was clear that there were some problems between him and Borgus about the position of leader, but at the moment he abdicated to Borgus wisdom.

"So", spoke Borgus as he looked at his gang. "Do any of you know any good assassins", he asked.

[Minerva]

"That's the thing. I don't know of any assassins. I mean, they shouldn't be too hard to find, right? We could scrounge around in Lycia or see if there are any contacts... That's the one problem with this plan."

Minerva shook her head in frustration.

"The boss is right, though. Killing a noble pup, especially one who is about to inherit a lot of money, is no easy task. I grew up in that society; we've got not only guards but occasional shadows. Retainers who follow us around, like a chaperon, and will protect us if necessary. We need this to be clean and quiet."

[Baako]

"....I think I know a lady who can help." Yea Baako knew someone, a suspected assassian that he'd tailed once. Well tried to tail, the lady ended up behind him before he even knew what was happening. There was word she worked for the rebels but Baako never bothered to follow up on it. "I've seen her around the ritzier parts of town. She acts like a simple bar maid, but I've heard from some of the others that if you want someone to disappear Shiki is the one to see. Honestly i didn't really believe it, but i've tried to tail her before and the woman is good, definitely better than the average dame. She works at the Mythos across town if you want to see her."

[Borgus]

"Hmm", spoke Borgus as he began to think on Baako's suggestion. He did not like hiring local people, but he did not really know any assassins himself. If they were going to do this they needed to make sure they had little connection to it as possible.

"Very well Baako we will look into your suggestion", spoke Borgus. "However I don't think this kind of operation should be done as a group. I think me, Minerva, and Baako can handle this job. Charlie, Big Sam, and Cliff you all can stay behind and hold down the fort."

"Fine by me", spoke Charlie as he walked off to rest. It was a bit weird that Charlier agreed so easily, but it is probably not best to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"So you are leaving us behind for the dame and the brat", spoke Cliff. "You are highly underestimating our skill, or simply over estimating theirs. Your going to need me and Big Sam. Let us come with you."

"I think not", spoke Big Sam before Borgus and interrupting Cliff. "Me and you both know you are not the best person to take on a stealth mission. You can't even go five minutes without humming your own theme song."

"He has a theme song", spoke Borgus a bit confused.

"Hey that is a medical condition", spoke Cliff.

"A medical condition that will get us all killed. Besides somebody needs to stay back and watch our three thousand coin investment. Am I right", spoke Big Sam as he looked at Borgus.

"Correct", spoke Borgus. "I did not want to take everyone out of base just in case something happened while we were gone. I need somebody here to keep things running."

"Oh I see", spoke Cliff.

"miracle never cease", spoke Big Sam.

"Hey", shouted Cliff in anger. Borgus began to mentally block the two of them out as he turned his attention to Bakko.

"So Baako lead the way", he spoke. "Let see if this woman has what it takes."

[Minerva]

"Anyway. Let's get this moving."

Minerva checked her weapons, straightened her dress, and then got ready to leave. There wasn't much for her to do, all she had to do was follow this kid. Hopefully he knew what he was doing; their bunch trying to quietly kill someone off would be about as stealthy as a parade.

[Baako]

And lead the way he did. It felt good to be hand picked for something, even if it was to find and help kill a little girl. "So how do you want to set this up? I could go in alone to offer her the job, see if she's the real thing. Or did you want to check her yourself?"

The crowd was thick as usual, people hustling about to and fro but Baako had navigated these streets his entire life so getting to the Mythos wouldn't take him long.

[Borgus]

"We go in as a group", spoke Borgus to Baako. "I don't like the idea of sending you in by yourself. Not that I don't trust you to get the job done, but the assassin types tend to be shifty. She would probably slit your throat and steal whatever coin you have on you. With the three of us it would make her... rethink that idea", spoke Borgus as he followed behind the lad.

The hole time they walked Borgus was thinking to himself. He did not like the idea of hiring somebody else to take care of one of their marks. Borgus preferred to be self efficient and did not like relying on others for help. Other people usually have a tendency to not care and do sloppy jobs. Thus why Borgus usually took care of task himself. However there was no way his team could handle this job. Their quirky personalities and bad habits would get in the way. Least of all the fact that they use their real names most of the time. The moment they killed that little noble girl would be the moment all of Bern would know who they were. Then they can kiss their black market plan good bye.

[Minerva]

"This better be a good slitter... Otherwise we'll be in the same boat as if we'd tried it ourselves. Your contact better be good, Baako."

Minerva looked around at the dingy side of town. There were a lot of creeps here, but with Baako and Borgus, she wasn't too worried. They just had to find this assassin and hire her. Then they'd be as good as gold. What a shame they didn't have any better contacts. Professional assassins had to exist. They probably had guilds and everything, too. What a shame they had no means of finding one. She'd have to look into it later.

"Where are we supposed to be heading, anyway, kid? You sure you know where this lady is?"

[Baako]

Baako liked the idea of meeting up together, he never thought that the lady would have killed him but then again maybe she didn't want to risk being made. "Don't underestimate the power of children. Orphans run around town doing loads of things, some honest work, others not so much but we have eyes and ears almost everywhere. The contact's good, i know 'em personally and they ain't the lying type...least not to me."

The Mythos was just up ahead, not the grandest tavern but far from the worst, "Alright, we just need to get a table and see if she's in." Opening the doors Baako and the others would be greeted by the barkeep, a younger man probably in his mid twenties with dark yellow hair, "Welcome, Shiki will be with ya in a bit." The place was pretty empty, a few drunks at the bar with their face in the glass but other than that it was a ghost town. Baako found a table in about half way from the door against the far wall, private enough so that they wouldn't be overhead by passerbyers but not in the deepest corner to arouse suspicion.

Only a few minutes pasted before a woman, maybe around the same age as the barkeep came out. She was a modest thing, not showing off her goods for tips like most wenches, with short brown hair and green eyes. Other than the eyes one would have a hard time picking her out in a crowd, she wasn't even that much taller than Baako, who was still a growing boy.

"What can i get you?" She had a soft voice, the kind of voice that could melt the coldest heart and weaken a mans knees. Baako would take the initiative, he never did tell them the sign so if they spoke it might be a bust, "A friend told me that this place had a Pale Moon special, is that right?" To her credit she didn't even flinch, but there was a sharpness to her eyes that wasn't there before as they flickered from Him to the others and back, "There is, but the price is different. Sadly i was just going on break, why don't we meet upstairs and we can discuss the cost."

She left the table as quickly as she came, whispering into the barkeeps ear who nodded before jerking his thumb to the other side of the bar, "Here to inspect the food huh? Well the stairs are in back, that's where i keep most of the stock, hope the nobles will be satisfied."

Baako turned to his companions a small smile on his face, "Looks like we're in business."

[Borgus]

"Weaklings", spoke Borgus as a couple of thugs scrambled out of their way. All it took was a single stare and they cowered up like roaches and fled. It was a true pity that most of these people did not have a back bone, thought Borgus to himself. He could have expanded his organization them. The more bodies he added to it the more money he had to pay out, however the more people the greater control he had on his territory. With the help of Charlie and Big Sam he had some tough bandit gangs as backers, but what he really needed a gang of his own. Not one of those small groups that call themselves a bandit gang. No Borgus needed goons galore. Still that was another problem to be solved on another mission. This was their current objective, find a assassin and hire somebody to murder a young girl. Sounds easy, but it was a lot harder than one would think. Borgus did not know any assassins personally, thought he has meet a few over his time. Baako however seems to know of one and because of him they are in this part of town. 

Borgus and the gang made their way into a tavern. The quality of the building could be better, but then again if it was better then they would not have been here. It was not long before a woman walked up to the table and asked a question. Borgus was about to speak when Baako took over and set up the meeting using a password. "Good shot Baako", spoke Borgus. "I was going to ask for a Fireman." Without another word Borgus walked behind Baako.

[Minerva]

"Right..."

Following the others up the grungy staircase, Minerva looked warily around. This place was a real dump, that was for sure. The whole joint reeked of stale ale, bad deals, and call girls. What a rubbish heap. The upstairs looked like it was the home of a den of thieves and hustlers. There was a lot of weird in this tavern. A lot of weird.

Sighing, the noble lady kept her comments to herself. No sense in souring the deal when they'd gotten this far. But if there was anything really weird, she'd have to leave. Heck, maybe the place would collapse anyway, it looked that ratty.

[Baako]

They didn't have to wait long, which was good since this place wasn't very pleasant, "So who was it that recommended the special?" Her tone was still light and friendly as she moved around them to sit down. Baako gave pause, he didn't want to out his source, especially if it proved a dead end. Still, he doubted either of his companions would be able to bluff their way out of this, well maybe Minerva but that might not go so well. "I've got my sources and i bet you understand me not wanting to give them up."

Shiki looked them over again, her eyes boring into Baako's with an intensity that the child wasn't used to. Shamefully he looked away first but not before seeing her adopt a smug look, "Alright, then we'll cut the act. Rules are simple. You give a name and coin, then consider it done. You'll see me in a week with news, if not, then consider me dead."