"So, Mister Jazax, I'm told you're rather skilled with explosives."
Jazax nodded briskly, glancing over at the drunken dwarf who had collapsed onto the table beside theirs. He was snoring rather loudly.
"Gonna need some kinda verbal confirmation on that," Revilgaz said as he lifted his cigar to his mouth, "For legal purposes."
"Yeah, I'm real good at makin' stuff explode," Jazax elaborated, and Revilgaz nodded as he lit the cigar.
"That'll do."
Jazax waited tensely for the pirate to speak further, but he didn't.
Jazax had no idea what to expect from Revilgaz, and he hated going in blind like this. He wasn't sure if the goblin would take offense to him looking directly at him, so he stared at the end of the lit cigar instead. Revilgaz followed his gaze to the cigar and perked a greasy black eyebrow. Then, without saying anything about it, he reached into his cigar box. He then held a cigar across the table, offering it to Jazax, who squinted back at him suspiciously. But before he could even voice his concerns, the other goblin chuckled.
"No catch," Revilgaz grinned, his sharp teeth clenching his own cigar in place.
Jazax perked an eyebrow but leaned forward and took the cigar, pausing to let Revilgaz light the end for him, before leaning back in his seat.
"I don't discuss business without a strong drink and a good smoke," Revilgaz said as he sat back as well, puffing steadily at his cigar.
"Eyy, my kinda guy," Jazax said, unable to resist a small nervous grin.
"You lookin' to make a good impression, kid?" Revilgaz asked.
"If I make a good impression, that'll be a first for me," Jazax shrugged, to which Revilgaz just snorted in amusement.
"Alright, alright. Then let's get down to business before I decide I like you. Don't wanna break your losin' streak, after all."
Jazax nodded, sitting up a bit.
"So whaddya want me to blow up?" He asked.
"Whatever I want you to," Revilgaz answered with a noticeable firmness to his tone, despite continuing to casually puff his cigar.
"Uhh, anything specific in mind?" Jazax asked cautiously, to which Revilgaz chuckled.
"I think maybe you might not be understanding the situation," He said, pausing to puff his cigar before elaborating, "This ain't one little job here. I want you on hand. Permanently."
"Wait, huh?" Jazax furrowed his brow, "But, uh, the Cartel… the Trade Prince… I ain't exactly free to change jobs, y'know?"
"Oh don't make no mistake, you're still here on behalf of the Steamwheedle Cartel," Revilgaz reassured him, "Somethin' about 'fostering a better working relationship' between the Blackwater Raiders and the Trade Coalition."
Revilgaz paused again to puff his cigar, leaning his elbows on the table.
"But I don't really care about all that," He continued, waving a hand dismissively over his shoulder, "What I'm interested in is the explosives."
Jazax perked an eyebrow, tacitly urging him to continue.
"Y'see, word is that the Bloodsail Buccaneers have been gearin' up to attack outgoing ships on the way to Ratchet. Passenger ships mostly, with low freight hold."
Jazax nodded as he listened to Revilgaz explain. He didn't know a whole lot about ships, but he knew getting attacked was bad, at least.
"We have a few cannons, but we can't add more unless we sail at half passenger capacity to make up for the displaced weight. And that means lower profits," Revilgaz frowned, "And that's, uh, outta the question."
Jazax nodded again, but paused after a moment. He furrowed his brow, not sure where he was supposed to come in just yet. Sensing the need to explain further, Revilgaz cleared his throat before continuing.
"That's why I'm hiring you to find a way to give the cannons we do have an extra punch, got it? And maybe if you do that good enough, we can find a couple other uses for you around here, too."
"Hmm, well maybe I could improve the gunpowder, but-"
"Great," Revilgaz nodded, cutting him off, "Then it's settled."
"Err, but I dunno if-"
Revilgaz lowered his hands onto the table, rather loudly, giving Jazax a start.
"Look, can you do it or not, kid?"
Jazax furrowed his brow, lowering his own cigar from his mouth as he considering it. It wouldn't be too hard, he supposed. But an indefinite job? That didn't sound ideal…
"Time is money," Revilgaz said as he looked across the table impatiently, making Jazax begin to sweat.
"Yeah, I can do it," Jazax said after a moment, more out of fear of what the pirate would say if he didn't agree.
But as soon as he did, Revilgaz's mood brightened up again and he sat back in his seat with a grin.
"Great. Then meet me on the roof tomorrow morning," Revilgaz said as he stood up from the table, "I'll see to it that you get whatever you need, but it's coming outta your pay."
Jazax looked up at Revilgaz in surprise, blinking curiously. Had nobody thought to inform the pirate about his… rather particular situation?
"Pay…?" He managed to mumble, earning a raised eyebrow from Revilgaz.
"Hey, don't get greedy, kid. We can negotiate your wage later," Revilgaz sniffed, switching his cigar to the other side of his mouth, "First I wanna see what you can do, and if you're worth the investment."
Jazax went to respond but instead yelped as the hot ashes from his own lowered cigar fell against his knee. He looked down, hastily wiping them away. Frowning momentarily at the grey streaks against the rough cloth of his pant leg, he looked back up towards Revilgaz. But the pirate was gone, having already taken his leave.
Jazax leaned forward, resting his chin against his palm, and brought the cigar back to his lips.
"Pay, huh…" He mumbled to himself, thinking about just what that meant.
If he was finally going to start making coin, then he could start saving to pay back his debt. Then he'd finally be a free man, free of the Cartel's control. It was almost overwhelming to consider. He wasn't sure what life would even be like away from the Cartel. He'd have no problem earning money once he was free. After all, he had plenty of marketable skills. He was a great engineer, he'd even started to dabble in Alchemy lately, and he'd picked up plenty of foreign languages over the years. It just came in handy. People were always more willing to work with you if you were speaking their language, after all. He'd even managed to pick up Orcish back during the Second War.
But the more he thought about it, the more he found himself longing for something else. Something more. Because as great as money was, there had always been something Jazax had wanted much more. Even more than explosives! It must've been his oldest wish, as it was certainly the oldest thing he could remember. After all, gold and explosives were pretty easy to obtain.
A family wasn't.