Downtown Druid

Book 2 Chapter 66: Spreading to Fill it Like Roots

Dantes walked around the workers, watching as the ground was cleared and they started to mark where the new building would go. With all of the fires, explosions, and deaths in midtown and the docks, he’d been able to buy up the site of the now destroyed Vivacious Vixen, as well as several of the other buildings next to it. Vera walked with him, holding onto his arm as they surveyed the site.

“I just think a glass ceiling and dirt floors in part of the building doesn’t send the right kind of message to clients,” she said as they walked.

“I’m fairly certain voyeurism and getting dirty are two things your clients are very explicitly looking for, Auntie.”

“Yes, but they want the illusion of class and decorum. That’s what helped the Vixen move from being just another whorehouse serving any man that could rub two coppers together into the kind of place that can serve captains, merchants, and officers.”

“It’ll only be in the back part of the building, less than a quarter of the whole structure. I need a place to sleep and do business, Auntie. I’m fine with building my own place separate from yours if that’s what you’d prefer.”

She sighed. “No. The kind of people you bring in will be good for business too. Besides, I want to be able to keep an eye on you.”

“And I want to be able to keep an eye on you as well. So this works out well for both of us.” He paused to pick up a small wildflower by the root that was in the path of a worker with a shovel and tuck it carefully into his pocket. “Did you pass my messages to the girls?”

“Yes. Not all of them are willing to come back, but most will. They appreciate the gold though. Alessa was particularly happy about the offer you made her.”

“Good. I thought she’d like that.”

They walked around the rest of the structure, with Vera making additional comments about what she did and didn’t want for it, and Dantes countering with his own needs. They really didn’t have much to argue about, his own tastes had been half formed by Vera so they tended to get along on most aesthetic decisions.

He stopped at the corner, where Vampa was standing with his arms behind him, watching them.

Dantes gave Vera a hug, and she went to go with Vampa back to his apartment. Dantes had offered to pay for them to have a nice suite nearby, but Vera insisted on waiting to move until the new club was built. Dantes didn’t need to make any guesses as to why. He gave them a wave, and began walking toward midtown.

The men and women on the streets cleared the way as he walked. He could hear hushed words of fear, admiration, and concern whispered in breathless voices. Men averted their eyes, women batted their eyelashes, and street rat kids looked up at him in wonder. Dantes soaked it in. It was even better than it had been when he was in the Pit and had slain and scattered the Elven Kings.

It wasn’t long before he reached the Vile Vagabond, a tavern and Inn near the center of midtown. He pushed open the door, and a hush fell over the bar. The bartender poured him a glass of something strong and brown, and left it at the corner of the bar, where Dantes picked it up wordlessly as he made his way to the closed off common room in the back. He pushed his way inside.

“Good evening boss,” said Jayson as he walked in and began heading toward the chair at the head of the table.

“Evening Jayson, Jayk, Zak,” he eyed the unexpected person in the room. “And Daisy! What a welcome surprise.” He sat in his seat and took a long sip of his drink.

Daisy, who’d been talking to Jayk, walked toward him and sat down, her head and shoulder just barely over the edge of the table as she settled her hook hand against it.

“I wanted to be the first to come and pay my respects. Congratulations on ending Mondego.”

Dantes raised a glass. “Thank you. I appreciate you honoring your part of it.”

She smirked. “Easy to honor a request to do nothing.”

“We’ve already begun absorbing some of Mondego’s lesser holdings, but I’m grateful to have you come to join us willingly.”

She shrugged. “I don’t have ambitions beyond my own piece of things. I don’t mind paying up to someone else for security.”

Dantes smiled, “But?”

“But I wouldn’t mind if your cut was a bit smaller than Mondego’s was. He was…greedy toward the end.”

“The cut will be reduced back to what it was before he started raising them, plus an additional five percent off.”

She smiled and nodded. “More than fair.”

“How would you like it to be ten percent?”

She leaned forward a bit, pulling herself into a half standing position with her hook. “I’m listening.”

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“The dock sharks. They’re already making moves against me.”

“You want me to take care of them?”

“Just one of them. Which do you think is the more productive of the two?”

She scratched her chin. “Fandal.”

“Then kill Grima. Make an example of her. When that’s done we’ll go talk to Fandal.”

“Want me to do her whole family or keep it clean?”

“I’ll leave it up to your judgment.”

She smiled. “Me and my boys will get on it.” She stood up in the chair and held out her real hand.

Dantes held his own out and shook it. “We’re lucky we both lost the same hands or this would be much more difficult to do.”

She chuckled a bit.

“I look forward to working with you Daisy. Let me know if you need some extra bodies to take care of things.”

She smiled back. “Will do.” She walked out of the building with a roach in her coat letting Dantes track her as she walked away.

He took another sip of his drink.

“Jayk, tell me what I need to know.”

Jayk nodded, sitting at the table and unfurling a map of midtown and the docks. “As you said to Daisy, a number of Mondego’s smaller operations have already folded to us. Counterfeiters, some dealers, a few smaller smuggling operations, and a drake-fight pit. With Daisy visibly falling in line we can start to push a few more in our direction with the legitimacy that brings. Especially if she takes care of Grima and we can move Fandal back in our direction.”

“What about Sand? The dwarf that wrangled Mondego’s goons. He was talented, he always managed to find more people willing to die for a bit of gold.”

“We can’t find him. Not sure if he’s gone to ground, got killed, or simply fled the city.”

“Leave him to me,” said Dantes, already sending vermin out to his known haunts as they were speaking.

Jayk nodded. “I think with them we’ll have a good core of what we need.”

“Thanks Jayk.” He paused for a moment. “Get a drink or something. You look tired.”

Jayk opened his mouth to argue, but shut it and nodded, heading for the door.

“Jayson, did you take care of those things I asked for?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I passed the message on to Felix to work on those special room enchantments you wanted and the tailor should be starting on the clothes you ordered. Are you uh, sure that the sizes are right? A lot of what you requested would probably be a little… big on you. Sir.”

Dantes smiled. “Those are for a tall friend of mine that’s short on clothes. Thanks for taking care of that.”

Jacopo stirred in his coat, waking from a long rest that had started earlier in the day. “You are expecting me to wear clothes now?”

“Not all the time, but I felt it may help in the long run.”

Jacopo grumbled and went back to sleep. He’d been up all day engaging in his favorite F with some other rats while Dantes had been going about on other business.

“Any other news?” Dantes asked Jayson.

“Not much that isn’t about you.”

“Well, tell me the news that’s about me then I’ll endure whatever news isn’t.”

“A lot of people are talking about how you killed Mondego. There’s rumors you can teleport, fly, shoot fire from your hands, summon bats, and turn invisible.”

“Well that’s all mostly right.”

Jayson chuckled. “Everyone is also starting to blame any mysterious death or disappearance on you.”

“I can use that. What’s this news that’s not about me?”

“In Uptown there’s been a murder. A magister and her husband. The nobility are really up in arms about it, calling for increased guard patrols.”

Dantes leaned forward in his chair. “What was the Magister’s name?”

Jayson scratched his chin. “I don’t recall, started with an ‘M’ I think. I’ll find out.”

“Do that. Now get out of here and have a drink with Jayk so he doesn’t think we’re in here talking about him.”

Zak was the only one left in the room with him, and he was sitting with his own drink, seemingly content with sitting in the room with his drink in silence.

“Zak?”

Zak looked over to him.

“There’s a pit fighter I know named Vampa. He agreed to train you a bit if you’re interested.”

Zak leaned forward. “The one that does pit fights?”

“Is Vampa a common name?”

Zak stared at him blankly.

“Yes, that one.”

Zak eyed the hilt of his sword. “I’d like that.”

“Good. Meet him in the pit at night in two days. He told me he’d be ready for you then.”

Zak nodded.

“Now go drink with the others. I want a moment alone.”

Zak raised his own glass to him, and walked out of the room.

Dantes finished his drink and leaned back in his chair letting the warmth fill his chest as he placed his feet on the table in front of him. He glanced at the map of midtown and the docks in front of him, imagining his influence spreading to fill it like roots. Midtown would be his, as would the docks. After that? Well he doubted he’d be satisfied when he reached that point.

He closed his eyes and found his mind drifting to Godfrey. It was nagging at him that he hadn’t interfered in his fight with Mondego. He’d told Mondego about his powers, and when to attack Vera, but he clearly hadn’t told him about his gardens or anything else that might give him an edge. Had he been planning for Dantes to win? Or was he simply planning for Mondego to lose?

The door opened. Dantes sighed thinking that one of the former Shadowcats had something for him, but instead he saw a tall and elegant half-orc woman with short dark hair wearing a red gown under a dark black coat.

“Alessa, I wasn’t expecting to see you here. This isn’t exactly the safest place.” He stood to meet her, and took her coat.

“I wanted to find you to talk about your offer.”

“Oh?”

“You want me to sing? In your club?”

Dantes nodded. “Yes. I thought I’d try having some entertainment like some of the clubs in Uptown.”

“And you're not… expecting anything for it? Will I still have to whore there?”

“You don’t have to, but if that’s what you want to do that’s fine as long as Vera gets her cut. I don’t think you’ll really need to with the pay I offered though.”

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him deeply. “Thank you.”

“You’ll be working for me. Just do your best to make music.”

She turned around and locked the door.

“I think I’d like it if you would help me practice my vocals a bit here.”

Dantes smiled. “I’m not sure if the acoustics are quite right in this room, but let’s give it a try.”

…

Gavain,

I know that we didn’t meet on the best of terms, but I felt that we parted on friendly ones. That’s a rare thing with people I’ve arrested. In fact, it’s never happened before. I’ll be blunt. You are a servant of justice, like me. In the process of serving our common master, I followed a series of notes that were delivered to me. They gave me details of crimes, great, small, and easy to shut down. I followed them, arrested many, and felt as if I was doing my job properly for the first time in a long time. Unfortunately, I believe I was misled. The arrests I made were necessary, but I fear I’ve now paved the way for something worse than what I apprehended. In short, I need your help. I know I have no right to ask for it, but I have few others I can turn to. Please let me know if I can count on you.

Respectfully,

Pacha, Guard Sergeant of Rendhold