Venture Two - Dragon Poo on Sexwork Avenue
Miranda heard the screams about incoming undead while she was sitting in her office. Lady in chief of her rural brothel these days, she had hoped the calm and profitable life was secured. Minor surprises have to be expected.
Scrambling and moving around her, as customers and employees reacted to the screams in their ways.
Rushing downstairs, she arrived to see the main room of the former tavern in upheaval. Tables were already moved to barricade the windows, her guards with weapons drawn and spell wands ready. In the middle of the main room, where customers were supposed to gladly spend their hard-earned money, two pale humanoids in rags were nailed and pinned to the floor.
All around the less courageous customers and employees were in erratic movement and panicked reactions.
Her sister, Jenna, is in a frantic debate with the rotting corpses.
Jenna announced: You will pay for all the havoc you wreaked, and you will recompense every single customer and client of this night! Do you hear me? You will pay it all.
People around, with a more than magical term like recompense in the ears, found something to prioritize above their fears. Some began staring at the undead duo.
Bumley said: Belt, backside, a small pocket with a pressure knob.
Emin said: Oh, damn you Bumley, godless heathen, now you owe me tenfold. Jeweled dagger, in my right boot.
One of the bouncers moved, spiked cudgel still ready, going for the small pouch on the larger talking corpse. Opening it he showed his hand filled with five gold coins!
The coins, shining in the tavern lights, were like a clerical sanctuary to most bystanders, or so it seemed.
Fear and anger subsided, as business opportunity became the wisdom of the moment.
Jenna said: Pavel, prepare a free round of ale for our dear guests. Now.
Mumbles of appreciation soon followed her command.
Emin said: Me takes dwarven ale.
Bumley said: Oh, I prefer honey wine to ale.
Jenna said: You rotting dolts! You can be happy I recognized your foolish faces before you were beheaded. You pay for those drinks extra, you hear me?
Nailed to the ground still, the smaller talking corpse still tried to sucker punch the larger one, whenever paying became a topic.
Emin said: You owe me, Bumley. Oh, you owe me.
Bumley said: Worry not, Sir Wightbeard, you will be recompensed well!
Miranda said: I see you handled this little surprise with our guests in good graces, Jenna. Thank you so much.
An hour later everything was back to routine.
Bumley and Emin caught up in their negotiations.
Bumley saying: OK, I may have been a bit distracted. We could have taken the back entry or sneaked in through a window. Still, this way we have another problem off our list of threats.
Emin inquired: Oh, and that would be?
Bumley replied: The spell I worked while we did that involuntary meditation on the ground. It would need a ritual effort in stealthy performance when done with traditional means.
Emin asked: And what would this spell be about to make it worth a real artisan dagger and the gems and coins we lost for yer stomping in on Jenna and Miranda?
Bumley sneered: It brought my spies into position, so the clerical divination by Sir Wightbeard would not be turned futile with a local getting the idea later.
Emin said: I would feel much more convinced, if you could hand me some of what you owe me right now.
To that, Bumley replied: Sir Wightbeard, might I bestow upon you this trinket?
Emin spoke: That is no trinket, crypt-elven peasant, it is a platinum-made amulet. Well, better than cheap copper or wood.
The amulet vanished into one of the hidden pockets so popular among rogues and travelers.
Bumley warned Emin: We still have a real necromancer behind us, and a guild of loonies, who made us go against that dark wizard.
Emin contemplated aloud: Me thinks, our former guild was tricked. Made lackey in delivering corpses to be, or worse. Darker worse.
Bumley said: A suspicion not unknown to me. But, we had not cooperated on any special job in the past years.
Emin lectured: Then not the job but ourselves might be that special. If there is a sane motive at all.
Bumley spoke: Arcane magic is nothing but trouble and treachery.
Emin said: So you remember that much wisdom at least.