Taking Care of Business

I've never been one to enjoy a nice walk, myself. Chalk it up to the entire town hating me since my youth, making any potentially pleasant stroll into a sordid affair filled with many deathly glares from the downright hostile denizens of Dewhurst. Today, though? Today it feels nice breathing in the sickly air. It's calming and familiar.

There's just two more things I need to wrap up before I can head home and finally start the monumental task of digesting the events of this long, long day. I want it out of the way, as the Guild gets bigger in size and operations I need to get used to stressful days like this without breaking into pieces.

So without any further deliberation I head back to Each and Every Meats.

I casually enter and filter out all the unpleasantness that assails my senses. The buzzing flies, the stink, the foreboding realization that the man behind the counter has ended many a life here, none of that matters right now.

Butcher Bludman makes no change to his unpleasant face as I approach the front desk. I didn't come here for small talk after all, but I can't help raising an eyebrow. "Bludman, have you even moved from this counter since we left?"

"I have not." Bludman blinks one eye, and then the other. He's still completely naked except for the apron, because why wouldn't he be?

I sigh. "Whatever. I'm here to renegotiate the deal, as I feel with our current agreement that I would not be making a fair trade even after you factor in the cost of the pork and the rental fee for the traps."

His cold eyes twitch in surprise, then narrow in anger. I was afraid that this would happen. Not afraid of the Butcher, no, but afraid he would make this far more difficult than it had to be. "We shook on it. You said the wolves would be mine to do with as I please."

"And they will be," I confirm, leaning over the counter to stare unflinchingly back. "For a price."

His anger starts to boil over and he pulls out a bloody cleaver from inside the apron. I'm supposed to feel threatened here, but all I feel is amazement knowing that he stored this thing directly in front of his dick. Gods, the stupidity of this fucking town and its inhabitants.

Bludman raises the cleaver into the air and with all the brute force his impressively muscled arm can muster he slams it into the wooden counter. The power behind this swing is so hard it splinters from the impact and all but chops off a good chunk of it. "WE SHOOK ON IT. THAT MEAN NOTHING TO YOU, ASSHOLE?"

I'm not going to take this.

I slam my fists on the table to mimic his gesture and glare defiantly back at him, gritting my teeth for him to see. "Will you listen for a damn minute and let me explain?!"

As quickly as it comes, the anger on Bludman's face fizzles away. "Out with it, then." He raises an eyebrow, impressed that I didn't care about his more than blatant threat.

I explain the results of our little wolf hunt, how there were well over twenty of the damn things and finally how a last boss of sorts appeared, and how it's easily as big as a large shed. His cold, dead eyes light up with interest at the thought of such a gigantic pile of meat to play with, or sell, or whatever this creepy fuck actually does with his wares. I'm not inclined to ask.

"Alright, fine." The butcher grumbles. "That does kinda change things. How much do you want for 'em?" He squints his eyes and crosses his arms sterly.

"50,000G. Plus an additional 10,000G for delivery. You're strong but I highly doubt you could lug that gigantic wolf corpse all the way through town without cutting it all up first, and I know how badly you like to play with your product. Still, even aside from the big bad wolf we've got over twenty normal wolves that need to be transported to your store. It would take you days to bring them back and they'd be rotten by then, Sam would be able to do it in a few hours." Bludman's annoyance flares up at first after hearing my price, but the more he follows along to my logic the more he acquiesces and starts understanding.

"You think I'm made of money, do ya?" He wants to sound apprehensive in an attempt of bartering a better deal, but I know well enough that my offer is too good for him to pass on.

"I think you WILL be if you make the smart decision here, Bludman." I lay on just enough of the smooth talk to push him off the cliff and he sighs a long, tired sigh.

The butcher thinks long and hard, making the painful silence in the eerie shop all the more evident. "I'll throw in an extra 5,000G if you let me start hunting the catboy again."

"Tempting, Bludman, tempting... but no dice." He really wants to catch that kitty by the tail, doesn't he...?

He hangs his head in shame, knowing that at least it was worth a try. Bludman begins to raise his hand for me to shake once more, but takes it back. "You gonna honor the deal this time?"

I let a bit of my anger slip and I lean even more over the counter, eyes flashing with subdued fury. "You're getting a better deal than I am and you know it. You either agree, or I pay you for the pork and the traps and burn the wolves. Your call."

Immediately his hand shoots back out in desperate agreement. "Alright. I'll have your money for you as soon as the girl brings the last one here."

I smile and return to a more gentlemanly persona, standing up and tightening the strings of my collar like a polished professional. "Good. Before I go, Bludman. Food for thought." As I start walking away from the counter and towards the door, I take a single glance backwards and grin. "Just in case you get any funny ideas, remember that the girl is more than strong enough to ensure the transaction is made. Don't try any funny business, her sword is a lot heavier and sharper than anything you've got in here."

Before I go, he mumbles something under his breath about how I had better be careful playing 'games like these in a town like this'.

With all this nonsense regarding the bloodied butcher out of the way, I exit into the mean streets of Dewhurst once more.

Perhaps Bludman was right and I had indeed been too cocky, but when you've lived your life meekly and suddenly find within you the power to begin stepping on people that treated you like dirt to get what you want, it's hard to resist acting on that newfound thrill.

The butcher is right too, of course. I'll need to be careful about my actions in Dewhurst going forward... even though it's hard not to feel invincible with a pair of powerful, if unrefined girls by my side. Sam has absurd power within but shouldn't ever use it, leaving her just an untrained Great Blader with much stronger than average base strength. While on the other hand, Zutiria is in her own words 'the strongest Black Mage in Karnalle' and it's true that I can't verify that, given what I've seen I don't have much reason to doubt her. It's just that whatever happened to her so long ago did irreparable damage to her psychological state which apparently led to physical damage as well.

Both girls are fountains of power with severe asterisks attached. While I love both girls dearly, I'm hoping any new adventurers the guild picks up will have more normal skill sets... I digress.

I have no idea where Spliffert might be this late in the afternoon so I figured I'd see if he had returned home before I wasted time checking anywhere else. I'd prefer to avoid poking my nose in the types of dives I assume a man like him would typically visit.

Thankfully when I start to approach the steezweed farm, I can see him off in the distance from a good ways away. These eyes of mine do have a lot of perks, I suppose the easiest analogue here would be seeing through the eyes of a hawk? Knowing for sure he's here from so far away saves me a lot of time.