5th Day of Ash, 122nd Year of the Age of Steel
It was raining softly in the wide street just outside of Triforge Square where the Weaponmaster and Masagh were walking. He liked the rain. It masked all manner of sins from public view. It meant cloudy skies and empty streets. So what if they were a bit wet at the end of the night. In a pinch he had even been able to pull his hood up and pass living undetected. It was the perfect night for whatever shenanigans Sabrione had planned.
It wasn’t a patrol or delivery night. It wasn’t a sanctioned mission by Lady Emerande Creth. Otherwise more than just her brother would be here. No, this was some sort of favor Sabrione had called in with him for the many he owed her.
The young knight had no issue with its either. He knew she had saved his unlike many times, and trained him enough so that he could do it himself. Why, just the other day she had gifted him a Cardinal Rune for nothing more than the asking. Sabrione deserved an assist if this was how she called it in.
She hadn’t mentioned it, but it was implied this would not be discussed with their mother either.
That alone made Masagh interested.
“Where we going, Sabrione?” Masagh asked, eyeing the street with practiced proficiency. “You can tell me now that we’re away from prying eyes.”
Sabrione grunted. She wore a wide-brimmed hat of black. Rain water ran down the edge and trickled onto the cobbles below in a semi-steady stream. Her burning eyes gazed out at him from below the rim.
“Well, you know how we have that thing with the Goblin King?” Sabrione asked.
“Right, yes. Our only weekly task that actually accomplishes anything tangible. Is that the thing you mean?” Masagh confirmed mockingly.
“Yes, that’s the one. Well not strictly for him. But being Weaponmaster I spend more time on those outings than anyone else. So I get to know the goblins that come to take the cargo.” Sabrione explained further, clearly not in any hurry to get to the point as they left the Triforge Square neighborhood.
They turned north and Sabrione lead the way down the street. No one was out in the rain but they kept their blades hidden beneath their cloaks anyway.
“I got to talking to the officer whose been making deliveries, you know the guy with the bunch of earrings?”
“Yes, I think I recall.” Masagh said, frowning. This was not indicative of a fun evening jaunt. It was leaning more towards ‘end up in a gutter with a knife in your back’.
“Well apparently that human family, the Grims.” Sabrione paused, gesturing superficiously with her hand. As if to indicate the Grims were some small, unimportant family. Masagh knew this to not be the case. The Grims owned Northside. They influenced businesses on almost every street and had politicians in the pocket. They were a dangerous family to get involved with. It was becoming clearer why Sabrione had waited until they were wet away from the Compound to say anything.
“The Grims what?” Masagh asked.
“They’ve been screwing with a few of the fronts the goblins keep for surface goods.” Sabrione said. “There’s some goons that keep coming around, trying to pressure their merchants to come round to sitting in the Grim pocket.”
“We should not start throwing fists at the Grims, Sabrione. That could bring all kinds of attention down on the House…” Masagh was surprised to be the one urging caution for once.
“We aren’t going to hit anything the Grims care about!” Sabrione said quickly. “There are just a few goons who think they are high enough up on the Grims payroll of knuckle draggers that they can start throwing the name around. They aren’t even real muscle for them. Just the goblins can’t come up and take care of it themselves because then Grims will know. We’ve just got to knock them around a bit in an alley or something and make sure they don’t bother anyone else, that’s all.”
Masagh continued to frown into the rain. “Seems like an unneeded risk.”
“We only have the one ally, Masagh. And the more they lose their grasp on topside, the more we suffer too.” Sabrione said with agitation. She must have known it was a reckless favor to agree to, on her part and his.
“Look, I get that this feels good and tactically, yea, we want the Goblins to have a foothold in the Northside… But Sabrione.” He grabbed her arm, stopping her from walking and turning her around. “We screw this up and maybe it rolls down on the Compound and House Creth. We survive by flying under the radar.”
She ground her teeth. The decayed flesh of her jaw bulging with the grip. “Look, I’m going. You don’t have to.” She said finally. “They lose these shops and Grims own the entirety of Northside. We’d have to depend completely on the Mausoleum… that’s not enough.” The Weaponmaster of House Creth stomped off, stepping onto one of the many wide bridges that cross the long and wide bridge to cross the Gash.
Masagh watched her for a moment. Her adamant refusal to budge meant Sabrione thought this would be enough of an issue for them that the risk was worth it. And he had been the one person she trusted with it. He sped up to catch up to his sister. For a few minutes they crossed that huge dark scar on the face of Gel’Grandal. It was a constant reminder of the violence of the past. Masagh turned to her.
“So what’s the plan?”
“They hang around a tavern called Mad Goat Saloon.” Sabrione said, her voice still gruff. “We wait for them to head out and we break a few bones, bang some heads. Then we’re back in the Compound in no time.”
He said nothing. Going with her was enough.
