From the Ashes: Scorched Foundations (ch. 10) (Patreon)

“Cheese?” The rat before me squeaked, looking up at the morsel of cheese in the palm of my hand. “I love cheese!” The rat declared, the sentiment echoed out in a series of squeaks from all the other rats that I had managed to lure out at the docks. The drydock, at this point of the year, was completely empty. The docks might as well be too. No one wanted to be caught in a winter storm because it would mean certain death.

The lack of activity could be found everywhere. Taverns, inns, brothels, and stores that were normally in full swing with a steady stream of traffic, were either completely empty or operating with a skeleton crew because they had just enough customers to justify staying open. Comfort in winter was determined by how well you did in spring, summer, and fall. That went for the businesses, the people, and, as I learned, the vermin that relied on the breadcrumbs of food left behind by the hustle and bustle.

“Of course. Everyone loves cheese,” I said, lowering the hand and letting the lead rat snatch the crumb of sharp yellow cheddar out of my palm before immediately shoving all of it into his mouth. “It’s good, innit?”

“Delicious! Cheese!” The rat cried and there was a tidal wave of complaints from those that were forced to go without. When I reached into my pack and pulled out a full cheese wheel of sharp cheddar, the sounds that I received from at least a hundred full-grown rats were of religious rapture. The rodents weren’t starving, but they were hungry. The ones that couldn’t make it through the winter were already dead. Much like people, I imagine that they were of the opinion that you couldn’t have too much food.

“This is payment for a job,” I told the rats who looked up at the cheese with longing as they rubbed their hands together, wringing them nervously. “If you work for me, then you’ll be the fattest rats in Denerim!” I told them, lording the cheese wheel over them. At the docks, they got scraps and trash. I’m sure that they occasionally got into someone's pantry, but rations for the winter were closely guarded and rats would be quickly killed.

“I want to be fat! I want the cheese! I want the cheese! Give me the cheese!” I heard from a hundred rats that were all squeaking in excitement. It was difficult to not see them as people at that moment. Really simple people that thought of nothing beyond their next meal. Though, I suppose that also described a fair number of people.

“To get the cheese, you have to do something for me. I want you to go out into the city and find everyone that you can that has a rag like this,” I said, holding up a gray rag, “that has it wrapped around their arm, neck, or leg.” I showed the rats where the rag would be tied around -- the mark of the Raggers. “If you do that, then you’ll get a piece of the cheese. But, if you manage to find where they keep a whole bunch of this…” I said, casting Minor Illusion to make a small pile of bronze, silver, and the optimistic gold, “Then I’ll give you this and you can have it all to yourself!”

The rats lost their collective minds and vacated the drydocks in droves, sprinting out of the building from a thousand different entrances and exits that the rodents made over the decades. While they left, I called out, “And spread the word! Tell every rodent you see!”

My life had certainly taken an odd turn when I was using rats as informants, but Denerim was infested with them. The docks more so than anywhere else, though they were a pretty common sight throughout the rest of the city as well. Enough so that most people didn’t pay them much mind unless they were somewhere they weren’t supposed to be, like the pantry.

Most of the rats would deliver useless information or, worse, they would lie to me to get a meal. They were simple creatures, after all. However, they were clever enough to know a meal ticket when they saw one. If I showed them that I rewarded hard work, honesty, and diligence, while punishing dishonesty, the rats would learn to be truthful. The only downside of using rats would mean I would have to cut a deal with every cat in the city to make sure they didn’t eat my spies. Maybe offering them some milk. Or feeding them the dishonest rats. Something to make them turn a blind eye to my rodent's activities.

I fought off a smirk at the turn my life had taken. I had rat spies throughout the city, and I was worried about how I was going to pay off the cats. Shoving the cheese wheel back into my pack, I slung it over my shoulder and with the same action, I cast Invisibility and Pass Without a Trace upon myself. It was rapidly becoming my favorite combination of spells. Being able to move through the city completely unnoticed had a lot of perks.

Making my way out of the drydock, and through the unusually silent docks, I entered the slums. The buildings were in a state of dilapidation. It always seemed so normal to me until I caught glimpses of the cottages out in the world. They were made out of good wood. Some were even painted. Completely unlike the aging and rotting wood of buildings that had been built ages ago with cheap lumber to start with.

My destination wasn’t far off. The dingy backstreet alley that had marked the Rabbits' territory in the heart of the slums near the alienage had become the base for the Rabbits. Unlike before, it wasn’t being guarded by three elves that were looking to shake anyone down that happened to come by, even if they had already been robbed before they got to them. Instead, I saw three elves guarding the entrance to a two-story building that had a dangerous lean to it.

I dropped my invisibility, revealing myself as I approached from around the corner. The three elves straightened up when they saw me, their faces still had traces of the beating they took before their gang had been forcibly dissolved and they joined up. Black eyes, split lips, bruises -- they were fading fast. “Boss, the others are here,” one informed me.

Nodding, I walked past them. “Good. Get inside before you catch your death,” I told them before I opened the front door to reveal a hovel that was packed to the brim with people. All of them looked in similar states as the guards were.

Not everyone had agreed to be press ganged into the Rabbits. Only one in ten, really. However, even with only one in ten, the Rabbits' numbers had swelled until we numbered thirty. A decently sized gang all things considered. I would have been satisfied with half of that. It wasn’t much compared to some gangs -- the Raggers had fifty. The Hounds had over a hundred and the Blighters reportedly had over three hundred.

The crowd of elves parted for me as I strode through them, all of them giving me curious glances as I took my seat upon a crate. There was a point in time that being the center of attention for thirty elves, even if two of them were Shianni and Soris, would have been a nightmare for me. Now, I just felt focused.

“Who here had their rent increased this winter?” I asked, my tone conversational and the response was immediate. The large shabby room was filled with grumbling, even Shianni nodded along with a dour-looking Soris. “It was in response to a hike in food prices. Not only are the humans locking the gate to the alienage, but now they’re trying to extort every copper they can out of us while keeping us penned in.” That made the grumbling louder.

I leaned on my knees, my expression grave. “And, if anyone fails to pay their dues, come spring when that gate opens again, they are going to drag people out of their homes. Throw them into the streets to die, and put some other sorry lout in the building that you and people like you grew up in. The slumlords think they can get away with it because... Whose going to stop them? The guard?”

I got boos and a lot of rude gestures at that. “You’re right. The guard would be working hand in hand with their thugs as they throw good people out in the streets,” I agreed. It wasn’t far off from the truth. The slumlords were people who owned buildings in the slums -- the land itself was the property of Arl Urien, the Arl of Denerim. Slumlords could purchase a building from him, then with a tithe, they could keep the building and do what they wanted with it. Most offered living space for exuberant rent, forcing people to spend every copper they had to keep a roof over their heads.

The slumlords weren’t officially a gang, but they operated like one. Real estate was a profitable business as far as I could tell. Enough so that merchants and nobles got involved in it. They had enough coin to hire thugs to act in their interest and toss out people that couldn’t pay their rent. While some slumlords were well out of reach, meaning they weren’t even in the city, their agents in the city certainly weren’t.

“I think it's time that these slumlords heard some of our complaints. Maybe come down here to see the conditions that we live in and we can ask them if they would want to live here,” I voiced and there were voices of agreement and hesitation in equal measures. The Rabbits were filled with elves that were willing to break the rules, but targeting slumlords was a big leap from the occasional scrape with humans in back alleys. “Oh? Don’t think we can do it?” I asked, my tone casual as I leaned back and swept my eyes over everyone.

It was Soris that spoke up. “I don’t know if we should. The slumlords have money, Azoth,” he stressed and I nodded.

“That they do,” I agreed with a nod. “I think, with a little gentle persuasion, they can be convinced to lower their rent in the alienage and in the slums. And I think people will be very thankful towards us for it,” I told him why I was considering this at all. Good will. Right now, I had some thugs in my gang, but if I wanted to continue to increase our numbers, then I needed to make people want to join the Rabbits. The elves in the alienage needed to see that we could change things.

“Who are we hitting?” Shianni questioned, all on board with the plan. I gave her a small thankful nod as I straight up and meet the expecting gazes of the Rabbits.

“First and foremost -- Ardan Emmerit,” I gave the first name, naming the fifth-largest slumlord in the alienage. “then Tanya Furden,” I finished, naming the sixth. Everyone above them were people that were out of our reach -- either physically or metaphorically. Between Ardan and Tanya, they controlled about five percent of the alienage and slums. It might sound like a paltry amount, but the largest controlled fifteen percent alone. They had contacts in the guard. Going after them was inherently dangerous.

“They’ll put the alienage to the sword before they lower rent by a copper bit!” I heard an elf shout out and I nodded, fully expecting resistance.

I stood up, rising to my full height. I was still shorter than many, but I also stood taller than most. “The Rabbits,” I told them all as I began to head towards the door, “are going to become the most vicious and violent gang in Denerim. We will be cruel. There will be no line that we won’t cross. Such will be our vengeance that not even Ardan, nor Tanya will be willing to lift so much as a finger in reprisals.”

Coming to a stop at the door, I didn’t turn around as I finished speaking. “If you don’t have that in you, then walk away. No shame in it. But, if you decide to stay the course? Then follow me,” I said, striding out of the building. For a moment, I was the only one walking down the dingy back alley, but after a few long seconds, I heard the door open and people started pouring out. I pulled up my hood, prompting the others to do the same. Some pulled up cloth masks to hide their faces as well.

The Rabbits hid our ears on the job. Normally, it was easy enough to tell a human from an elf based on build, but a poor human in the dead of winter was about as well off as a poor elf in the dead of winter.

I knew where the slumlords lived. Not far from the market square, which was one of the nicest places you could live without being a noble. Where they lived wasn’t exactly a secret when you knew who to ask. Or when you could turn invisible. Or ask their tabby cat about their home. We were the only ones on the street in the late evening, the sky was dark with gray clouds that blotted out the little sun we could get.

The Rabbits snaked through the back streets, leading us out of the slums and around the alienage. The patrols in this part of the city bounced between infrequent and nonexistent. The same couldn’t be said for the market square and the nicer parts of the city. Even in the dead of winter, the guards patrolled the streets to keep thievery down. While I could slip by undetected fairly easily, the same couldn’t be said for thirty elves stalking through the streets.

We rounded a corner that gave us a view of Ardan Emmerit’s manor. It was a rather nice building -- stone walls that were whitewashed, windows that were a mixture of clear glass and stained. There was a five-foot stone wall around the manor property, sharing a border with two other manors that were equally glorious.

A foot patrol of the guard spotted us. I searched their faces, hate burning in my chest at the mere sight of them. I didn’t see the one with a scar on his cheek. But, despite my hate, I threw on a smile as a hand went to a fat coinpurse that I kept at my belt and I hurled it through the air as we approached. As the coinpurse sailed to the lead guard -- a comely human with light brown hair and dark brown hair -- I cast Distort Value on it.

“A round on me,” I said, not changing my pace even as my Rabbits were very nervous at the sight of the guard. The lead guard tested the weight of the bag -- Distort Value would add some extra heft to it. How well it worked completely was determined by what I was using it on and who I was presenting it to. Distort Value could make one silver seem like ten silver just as easily as it could make it seem like a gold sovereign. “Warm yourselves up while me and the lads go window shopping.”

The guard cracked a smile, tucking the coinpurse away, satisfied with the weight. “A round on you then. Window shop away,” the lead guard said, accepting the bribe as naturally as breathing. The guard in Denerim wasn’t really good for much. They only really stepped in when things were getting out of control or to purge the alienage. Beyond that, the guard was useless. People were expected to defend themselves and their property in Denerim and, failing that, they were expected to pay people to do it for them.

Such as the guard. It was a good living, I imagine -- A decent monthly wage, but with all the bribe money you could collect, you would be making good money. You only had to do it for a handful of years and then you could go out and buy a farm somewhere or open up a shop.

“Shems,” Shianni muttered under her breath as our groups walked past one another, exchanging a few heated glares, but beyond that, they let us go by unmolested.

“There are going to be four guards on the property,” I said, reaching into my pocket as I approached the gate. I pulled out a stone copy of the key that was made with Mold Earth. Sliding it into the keyhole, I turned it and the lock slid open. My gaze flickered to the tabby cat that appeared in the window of the manor, the one that had shown me where the key was for a bit of fish. “Five servants. No elves. Ardan Emmerit will likely be found in his office on the top floor, corner room. I want five of you to sneak around the back and cut off that exit.”

Soris nodded as we approached the front door, “R-right.” Soris lead five Rabbits to circle around the back.

“Are we seriously doing this?” I heard Shianni breath and I spared her a glance from over my shoulder.

“Yes. We are,” I said before I slid another key into the front door and opened it wide. The manor was warm. Very much so. The floor was so clean that you could eat off of it, tapestries hung on the walls, and the building was well lit. I stepped back, offering a bow, and gestured for the Rabbits to come pouring in.

They did. Despite the hesitation that they felt, every single one of them were angry. Angry enough that they lashed out however they could, regardless of how ineffective it was. They strode into the building with shouts and cries, causing a panic to stir. Shianni lingered outside with me, looking a bit sickened when she heard screaming coming from inside.

“Bring back Ardan. Rough him up a bit, but make sure he’s in one piece when he arrives at the base,” I told her, making Shianni’s expression tighten before she nodded, entering the building to prevent the Rabbits from going out of control. It would be a test of sorts. I’ve known Shianni for most of my life, even if we hadn’t been as close as I had been with Kallian. She and Soris were going to be my right and left hands in the city and I needed to know that they could handle that responsibility.

After she disappeared upstairs, I entered the building. The tabby cat leapt off the windowsill, narrowing her eyes at me, and prompted me to head into the kitchens. The door opened to reveal the servants, all five of them. All human, all pretty. As soon as the door opened, they bared their weapons -- knives, cooking pans, and pots.

“‘Ello, don’t mind me,” I said, giving the women a wide berth before I spotted what was meant to be Ardan’s supper. A healthy-looking trout on a bed of greens. Taking it, I ignored the looks that I got when I set the plate on the ground so the tabby cat could feast upon the fish. Giving her a few scratches behind the ear, I stood up. A cat wouldn’t hesitate to sell out their home for a good meal, I learned.

Looking at the women, I saw that they were all terrified. The one with the knife was trembling so badly that she had to use both hands to steady it. The one wielding a large pot looked like she was about to step forward and brain me with it. “Stay here until we leave. You’re welcome to everything in the manor once we leave. Call it backpay,” I said, striding towards the door.

There was good reason why I was willing to go after the slumlords as my opening move. I watched the buildings, both from outside and within. You heard a lot when people thought no one was there. Such as Ardan’s habit of sleeping with the servants, but if they refused, he would ‘forget’ to pay them for a week and then ask again.

There were some quiet mutterings at that, but when I closed the door behind me, I knew that they would be fine. They were loose ends, just ones that didn’t need to be tied off. They would take everything that wasn’t nailed down, and in doing so, made it extremely unlikely that they would step forward to the guard about this because it could mean giving up what they stole. Self-interest was a powerful motivator to turn a blind eye. It was something that I hated, but I was willing to use it to advance my plans.

“Let go of me! Do you know who I am? I’ll see you all hang for this!” I heard Ardan shout at the top of his lungs as he was being dragged down the stairs. His nose was broken, a cut at the bridge of his nose leaking blood. His eyes were wild and afraid, his graying hair devilish and untamed. He was wearing a fine garb -- even his casual wear was embroidered with gold thread and his boots cost more than most elves saw in a year.

“Gag him,” I instructed and Shianni shoved a sock in his mouth before tying it in with a strip of cloth. “Take him back. Be stealthy about it,” I told Shianni, who nodded. The rest of the Rabbits were looting the manor, stuffing their pockets with everything that they could. “Those that ran out of room -- go back with her. We’ll bring you something from the other houses,” I said, patting Ardan on the cheek as I passed him by.

His office was the most luxurious part of the building. The walls were lined with books, there were ornate ornaments on the shelves and on engraved wood. The chairs were upturned, and there were books on the floor. A portrait of Ardan with a mabari hound named Scout was crooked, but not removed. Taking it off the wall, I took a letter opener and slid it in the gap between two stones and used that to pop the fake stone out. In doing so, I revealed a strongbox hidden in a secret compartment.

Taking it, I opened it to see what I expected. A small pouch of coin filled with fifteen gold sovereigns and a lot of rolled-up scrolls. Popping one open, I unfurled it to see that it was a deed to a building in the alienage. Another revealed a building in the market square. Another was a tavern by the docks. Each was marked and signed by Arl Urien. Satisfied, I closed the lockbox and put it into my bag of holding.

With that secure, the Rabbits left the manor richer than most of us had ever thought possible. There were smiles abound as I closed the door and gate behind us. Soris seemed to be walking with his shoulders squared and his chest puffed out, his pockets bulging with loot.

Tanya Furden lived in a similarly lavish manor, if noticeably smaller. She, in comparison, only had a single servant and two bodyguards to maintain security around the manor. It was a small poodle dog that betrayed her for a bit of cheese, revealing the manor's secrets. The Rabbits got in, and this time, it was Soris that captured a thrashing Tanya that had to be knocked unconscious to get her to stop. The house was looted -- I gained the deeds and an additional four sovereigns.

Tanya, it seemed, preferred to spend her wealth on buying more property or businesses. In theory, she was rich, but she just spent the money as fast as she made it.

The two were brought back to the dingy alley without anyone being the wiser. Or if they did notice, they were wise enough to look away. I stepped into the hovel that served as our base and was greeted with celebrating, everyone comparing loot -- some snagged precious rings, others had pearl necklaces, one girl elf grabbed every gown that she could carry, while others even had jewels.

Ardan and Tanya knelt in front of the crate and I spared the two of them a glance. Ardan was older, in his late forties to early fifties. Graying hair, a face full of wrinkles, and he glared at me indignantly as blood drenched his short gray goatee. Tanya, on the other hand, was a young woman in her late twenties, a fine gown made of warm furs. Short dirty brown hair, dark blue eyes -- attractive, just not in the way that Captain Isabela had been attractive. She was perfectly still, her eyes slowly moving around as she took in her situation.

I took a seat on the crate in front of them and made a show of looking at their ledgers. I knew my numbers well enough. Enough to not get cheated, but I had never dealt with sums of money that were written down in the ledgers. Each page marked a month of profits against the costs of business -- materials, pay, even bribes and to who were marked as expenses. Profits came from a variety of places, mostly through land ownership.

Ardan’s books portrayed how he had been slowly increasing the rent in his buildings over the past three years. Every couple of months, the price of rent went up four or five copper. Not an extreme amount, just an amount that quickly added up until some of his tenants were forced to pay in silver to stay in their homes.

Tanya’s books confirmed what I thought -- as fast as gold reached her pockets, it was reinvested. Her ownership was a bit more diversified than owning buildings in the slums -- she owned a brothel at the docks, a tavern in market square, and a few farms near Amaranthine. Pig farms. Either Amaranthine really loved pork, or she was collecting a fee from the gangs of the city to feed the bodies to the pigs. At least that was my guess. Not a bad idea, really.

“Alright, settle down all of you,” I said, closing the books and my decision was made. “You did good and you were rewarded for it, yeah?” I asked, earning a resounding yes. I smiled and it grew when Ardan began to thrash in his bindings when I took out the lockbox from my pack, taking out the letters and tossing the gold in there. “This here is the treasury for the Rabbits. This here fund is going to let us move up because money makes the world go round! This fund is for everyone. It's to buy you food. Clothes for your young ones. To cover costs if you take an injury.”

I could see that everyone was guarding their newfound wealth, not willing to relinquish it for anything. I continued, “This time was for free, but going forward, there will be a fifteen percent kickup to the treasury from all income you make on the job. As a show of good faith -- I found eighteen sovereigns on this jaunt of ours. They’re all going into the treasury,” I said, sprinkling them into the box.

There were expressions of amazement from the Rabbits as most of them saw gold for the first time. Tanya narrowed her eyes but Ardan howled curses through a gag. Closing the box, I swept my gaze over all of them. “Does that sound fair to you?” I asked them and it was Shianni and Soris that spoke for them.

“Yeah, it sounds fair to me,” Shianni spoke up, earning a supporting nod from Soris. I would need someone to take care of the books for me. Someone good with numbers and who could keep a good eye on how the money flowed. “But, if you don’t mind me askin’... why are they here?”

“I’m glad you asked, Shianni,” I said, leaning back and there was a slow, deadly smile that tugged at my cheeks. “These two have an opportunity before them. You see, Denerim isn't kind to elves.” There were a few laughs at that and more mutters of agreement. “Elves, by law, are not allowed to own property inside Denerim by order of Arl Urien Kendell, as it has been by his father and his father before him, and if what I hear about his son, it will be true for Arl Urien’s son too.”

My gaze shifted to Ardan and Tanya. I could see their minds racing, considering their options. “Meaning that we need a human face to our businesses. We will own our own homes, but for the humans to accept that, it has to be a human that makes the deal for any further business,” I told the two humans on their knees in the hovel. I didn’t like it. It rubbed me wrong in all the wrong ways, but short of adopting a human personality and acting as two people at once… it was just simpler to find a human that we could turn into the face of our business.

Easier said than done. Arl Urien, despite all that I felt about him, was an effective administrator by all accounts. When it came to major landowners, he tended to be hands-on to prevent them from spiraling out of control and to make sure they were paying the proper amount of taxes. So, we needed a human to make the deals with him. Possibly several so his suspicions aren’t roused when one human slumlord starts buying up all the property in the alienage.

I couldn’t do it. Even if I could make myself look human -- if I sat across from Arl Urien, the man that approved the purges on the alienage, who locked down the alienage in the hopes to keep food prices low… I would kill him. I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.

“Well? What do you two say?” I asked, looking between them, my gaze going half-lidded while my deadly smile lingered. “Oh, you’re gagged. Shianni, would you please ungag the prisoners?” I requested and while Shianni got Tanya, Soris ungagged Ardan.

“You’re a damn fool if you think I would do anything for you! I’ll have you flayed to the bone, knife ear! Untie me at once! Do so, and I won’t have the alienage purged down to the last elven babe!” Ardan snarled at me, his face a dark red. He wasn’t afraid of me. Any of us.

Because he believed with all of his heart we would be too afraid to do anything to him.

Tanya, on the other hand, was quiet as a mouse. She gave Ardan a sharp look, as if telling him to shut up. Instead, the human man continued. “I will have my property returned! When I speak to the Arl about this, you all will be in for a reckoning!” He shouted the words with such force, such confidence… I saw the room. Despite the good cheer of the riches that they all now had, the words struck home.

A purge on the alienage was an ever-present threat. It was the sword that hung over all of our heads. Our families -- our parents, spouses, and children. Our friends. The idea that the people we loved could be killed for our actions paralyzed elves and made us accept every abuse hurled our way because, as terrible as it was, it was better than seeing your family hanging from a tree so mutilated you couldn’t recognize them.

I stood up, towering over Ardan. He squared his shoulders, looking up at me defiantly right up until I kicked him in the face. He went down hard, his nose weeping blood as he grunted. “How dare-” he started, only to be cut off when I started kicking him. I stomped on his ribs, kicking him in the face, and when he curled into a ball, I stomped down hard on his ankle with all of my strength and weight. I heard it snap and he started to scream.

In a way, I was almost glad that my family was dead. Because if they could see me in this moment, smiling as I broke a human’s leg, and stomping down again to break it further, they would hate me. They’d be horrified. They’d be sick.

Then again, I don’t think I’d be this far gone if I had anyone left.

I stomped on his leg again and again and again, shattering it beyond the point healing could mend. If he was lucky, he would be able to keep the bottom half of his leg. However, he wasn’t lucky. I would make sure of that. “I told you all -- the Rabbits are going to be vicious. We will be cruel. So terrible we shall be, whenever a human goes to raise a hand to an elf… no matter how angry, or drunk, or foolish -- they will think of us and our terrible vengeance. And they will lower that fist.”

Ardan wept in agony, and he sobbed when I grabbed him by the hair and dragged him into the center of the room. I dropped him in a heap and looked at everyone in the room -- the wide-eyed stares that I was getting. There was even fear in their gazes. Durian looked like he was about to puke. “This is your initiation. All of you,” I told them, pointing down at Ardan.

“Kill him.”

I turned and walked back to the crate and took a seat, everyone looking down at Ardan. He was delirious with pain and he wept and begged. His begging was pitiful and weak, but the building was so silent that everyone could hear it clearly. Some glanced at me, then at Ardan, everything becoming painfully real for them at that moment.

We were not a cut purse gang. We weren’t a crew that would give people a few slaps when they came down the wrong alley. We would be cruel. We would be brutal. No matter how harsh and cruel other gangs could be, we would be worse. We would be worse.

It was Shianni that broke the spell that fell upon the Rabbits. She stepped forward, glaring down at Ardan with an ugly snarl on her face. She kicked him once in the ribs with a cry of long-buried frustration and anger. Ardan grunted, but even before Shianni kicked him again, Soris joined in and the spell broke. Blows rained down upon the human, his pained cries were silenced by curses and shouting from the elves that unleashed their suppressed feelings. Every time that they had been forced to swallow abuse heaped upon them, they unleashed that upon Ardan.

Tanya was afraid, looking straight ahead as she realized that we were willing to kill her. I looked at her, and hesitantly, she met my gaze. “I’ll… do it,” she spoke, her tone laced with fear. I didn’t believe her for a moment.

“Fear is a funny thing,” I told her, my voice cold as the room was filled with the sound of the Rabbits unleashing their hate. “You’ll say anything to make the scary thing go away. I bet you all the money here in this lockbox that you’d run straight to the guard and tell them all about the knife ears that have gone mad.”

Tanya was shaking her head, “No. No, I won’t.”

“The fear you’re feeling right now? It’s going to fade. May not be today. Might not be tomorrow. But, eventually, and soon, you will forget how afraid you were in this moment. When you do, you will start plotting. Don’t worry. I don’t blame you. I mean… s’not like I can throw stones there, right?” I said, my smile growing ever so slightly until it could be mistaken for kind. “You see, I know that because I know that fear you’re feeling. However, I also know a much greater fear that will prevent you from acting upon those desires. It’s a lesson I learned well from you humans.”

Tanya looked like she didn’t understand what I was saying, but there was a horrid ripping sound behind her. One of the Rabbits tore off Ardan’s arm and were waving above their head and despite being splattered with blood, the Rabbits cheered.

“I’m telling you, I won’t say anything to anyone. About anything. I’ll… I’ll do whatever you want-”

“You have a son,” I interjected and I saw how that made Tanya freeze, the blood draining from her face and she seemed to choke on her own breath. “You silenced the pregnancy and birth up pretty well to avoid ruining your marriage prospects, but you walk by the street he lives on just to catch glimpses at him. His name is Rowan. He has a clubbed foot. He comes last in every race,” I spoke, my voice low and even, uncaring of the carnage happening behind her back.

She was shaking her head as I continued, “Poor boy. Poor boy if the race mattered. Do you know what I mean, Tanya Furden?” I asked, the threat clear in my tone.

“Why?” Tanya questioned, a sob in her throat. “How- he’s just a little boy! How could you be so cruel?”

“Because one of me sisters was his age when she was murdered and hung from a tree,” I answered and Tanya flinched as if I struck her. “The same fate that will befall your little boy if you breach our agreement. You will be given Ardan’s property. I shall arrange the sale to you. You will lower the rent of all buildings in the alienage by half. Likewise, your properties are now me properties and I shall give you a third of the profits from me properties income. Do you agree to this deal?”

“You’re evil,” Tanya breathed. I don’t know what galled at her more -- the threat to her son, or the fact that I would be taking two thirds of the profit. With her increase in property, which would nearly double, her income would more or less stay the same. “The void take you!”

I reached out, pressing a finger to her chin, and forced her to look over her shoulder to see that the Rabbits had delimbed Ardan. Her jaw dropped at the sight and instead of the deathly pale, she seemed to go green. “Oh, Maker, help me…” She breathed.

“I’m not sure if you noticed, but I’m a lot closer at hand than the Maker,” I told her in a low whisper. “Do you agree?” I repeated and I saw the defeat in her eyes. The same kind of defeat that almost every elf had in the alienage. The look of a dog that had been beaten to the point that it can’t even bite back.

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” Tanya muttered, tears welling in her eyes. She nodded all the same.

“No,” I agreed, “You really don’t.”