It was late evening at the east entrance to Evershole when a solitary traveler came jogging down the road.
“And here I thought we might have a slow evening. Well, it should not take too long to process one person. I will handle this one. Why don’t you go ahead to the next street.” One of the guards started to approach the traveler. “Okay what is the hurry?”
“Just wanted to get into town before it got too dark.”
“Well, you are in luck; you just made it. So what brings you to Evershoal? Business or pleasure? Have you ever been to the city before? Do you have a place to stay for the night? Is there anything we need to know about your capabilities?”
“Finishing up some unfinished business in the city. I have some friends in the city I am planning on staying with. I am an arcane caster of the 3rd degree, but do not know any spells classified as a type 1 building hazard.”
“That is good, it is such trouble whenever some pyromaniac decides the best place to cast their first fireball is in the middle of a district made up of nothing but wooden buildings. Anything in that backpack I should know about?”
“Nope,” The traveler said as he unslung and opened the backpack, revealing only some half eaten trail rations and a half full waterskin.
“Yep, that looks good, okay you are good to enter Evershoal I hope your visit is enjoyable, and you try to not cut things so close to the end of the day, it would be horrible if some creature of the night attacked you just outside the city.”
“Thank you for the advice, I will keep that in mind” the traveler said as he bowed goodbye to the guards.
After traveling a few blocks, the traveler whispered under his breath. “The more things change the more they stay the same, always in a rush to go home, that they never realized the fake bottom of the backpack or remember to check a list of persons of interest; though I might not be on that list anymore.
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As the traveler passed through the back alleys of Evershoal, keeping to the evening shadows so that he would not be noticed by the various inhabitants of the city; the last thing he wanted was for one of his old acquaintances to realize he was back in the city. Eventually he got to his destination; a storefront just off the main roads that was just a half block away from a bad part of the city, with its windows having been broken in and the insides having been ransacked.“Well, it looks better than what I had expected” The traveler stated as he entered the door, long since picked open. “Yep, looks no better on the inside than what I could see from the outside. Everything of value has already been taken” he said under his breath as he went through the building. “It is kind of strange that nobody has been squatting here, but this should be inconspicuous enough that we might be able to use it as a hideout or safehouse in the coming weeks.”
The traveler started to leave the building he noticed someone had also snuck up to the building. “Probably would be safer to take the back exi-“ he started before he felt his consciousness suddenly fade from what he could only assume was a sleep spell.
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“Well, well, well. Look who we have here. If it isn’t our good friend Mr. Barrows. I would have thought you died somewhere in some ditch, given how you just disappeared one night. It’s a slight comfort to know that I will have the chance to do the deed myself.”
As Quincy began to wake up from his magically induced slumber, he noticed the large man towering over him and the bindings around his limbs.
“Guvnor Alberts, it is always a pleasure. I am sorry about what happened, but something had come up that necessitated me to leave the business unexpectedly.”
“Oh, this is going to be good boys. So, tell me Mr. Barrows; what pitiful excuse will you come up with? You heard a rumor about something you just had to get your hands on and needed to leave without telling anyone; or the guard caught you with something you should not have had and needed to hide down somewhere in the boonies till the heat died down? So, what is it?”
“One of your boys sold a conscience to me.”
“…What?”
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“I was going through the goods from the Mansion Maxwell job. Turns out one of the items was a blessed pendant. I somehow nicked my finger and when the blood fell on it, somehow that was sufficient grounds to form a contract with the angel that blessed it. As its representative on the mortal plane, immediately after I found any thoughts dealing with the trafficking of stolen goods to suddenly be reprehensible along with most other forms of illegal activity. Knowing that it would be impossible for me to explain and needing some time to organize my thoughts on what had happened, along with the fear that I might feel compelled to report to the town guard about any activities I had known to have happened, I left the city before anyone was the wiser. Oh do not worry, I just feel incredible guilt, but my actions are still my own.”
Alberts took a moment to process what he had just heard. “That is quite the tale, not that I really believe it. Do you have any way to prove it?”
“I could cast some magic granted by my patron. But I know that that is not possible, too dangerous for you.”
“Right… Let us put that aside for now. Why are you back?”
“While I was trying to figure out what my next move would be, I joined a group of adventuring fellows who came across a series of odd occurrences that were caused by the plot of a particular organization that is based in the city. And it turns out, having people who you can trust unconditionally without needing to worry getting stabbed in the back, literally or figuratively, or that someone is trying to trick you out of money is a reasonably comfortable experience, though not one I have yet to fully get used to, not do I think I will ever fully, but I digress. I am here because I thought that, assuming my old shop had not been burned down or otherwise reduced to unusable rubble, whether by an unfortunate accident or in vengeance for my disappearance, that my companions and I could use it as a place to hide out while following the trail of the uncovered plot.”
“You do realize that you are a fool in allowing yourself to go soft. Did it not occur that you would be killed if anyone found out you had come to the city?”
“I may have gone soft, but I know how things operate. That is why I have been so frank; I assumed that I was as good as dead already, so as long as it does not endanger those I have gotten close to, I will not hold anything back. So do you have anything else you want to ask, or has this small act of mercy reached its end?”
Alberts took a moment to think about all that was said, before he continued. “Well knowing there was a reason for your disappearance is a small comfort, and I and most of the other movers in the city have been able to make up for our losses already; and the fact that you did not decide to sell the underground out is admirable. As it sounds like you are not intending to enter back into the business, I see no issue in just considering you dead as opposed to making you dead. Though this offer will only extend to my group, and if you intend on operating in the city, you should see if you can make similar agreements with the rest of the groups within the underground. Let us see if your silvered tongue can get you through the rest of this night, I expect it to be a long one for you.” He then motioned with his head to one of the guards standing by the edge of the room, “Knock him out, cut him loose, and toss him out.”
Quincy let the choke hold take him, enjoying what little rest he could get before his next appointment, as if the Guvnor had known he was in town, and that he had been let go; it would not be long until one of the other gangs in the city would come to question him.
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By the time he had finished negotiating for his life with every major group within the underground of Evershoal, it was already mid-day after he had arrived.
“…That went honestly better than I had expected. But I think I need to make my way back to Quillpond and take a nice long rest.”
And then the ex-criminal halfling walked out of the city, feeling like a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders.