Most of the invites sent have been accepted. Invites sent out west are still pending, including a small investigation into an anomaly taking hold in Quintillius. Agent has been ordered to make contact. Glory to the Empire.
-From a message to the Emperor, sent by
Getting information from the broker was pretty easy albeit painful. Getting the cramps because I have no legs is something I'm sure I'll have to deal with plenty in the future. I at least had the future problems with it reduced by having some mermaids craft one from coral. Didn't know coral could be handled like wood here, but only mermaids do this because the coral has to be treated and worked completely submerged and under high pressure.
During my time on land with the thing I also had some gangsters from Serpent's Tail push me places I want to go partially because I find it pretty funny and partially as a power move. Speaking of which my takeover did not go unnoticed as I got plenty of heat for it and was 'throwing the balance of power in disarray' as the governor put it. Its clear he's just a mouthpiece and those using him are scared to death of me because I literally waltzed into a gang's headquarters and just took over the place with minimal resistance.
Other than the gangs, no one else cares because the mermaids are very good business. Being the natural divers that we are, I told Lycha to lend some volunteers to go along with pirates who use more explosives and fewer divers than is good for their wallets. All the jobs being close range and non-violence clauses of course, I will not allow allied non-combatants to endanger themselves.
"What are you looking at? Never went fishing before?" It would be a bit better if people stopped staring. I get it, there is mermaid royalty on Quintillius for the first time in like a thousand years. Get over it, will you?
"I think they are staring at the part where hardened gangsters are pushing around someone in a wheelchair like she's their boss." One of my escorting goons is clearly having fun while doing it too.
"Hardened? I don't pay you guys to be hard while staring at ladies all day!"
"Pay? You don't pay us at all! The council pays us" And from what I heard it's more than they used to get, so despite being led by a Mazurian the gangsters don't care. As a matter of fact I'm pretty sure they are pretty happy that a large part of their resources and strength is out of reach of anyone.
"And who do you think was feeling mighty generous that day? I even killed your old boss quickly!" I say the last part loud enough for bystanders to hear, much to the entertainment of both me and my goons.
"Don't go scaring me customers ma'am, A'm tryna run a business 'ere." The dwarf craftsman we finally arrive at doesn't seem to happy, then again he never seems happy.
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"Bullshit, I ain't scaring me. Besides this is just how I look when I smile." My goons snicker at that knowing full well that my most effective intimidation weapon are my teeth.
"We both know that I wasn't talkin bout yer damn smile lass. I'll just get yer damn order and then ya can buzz off me smithy." The dwarf walks out back and comes back with something large covered in cloth.
I greedily look under the cloth and a smile lights up on my face. I hand the craftsman the rest of the payment and signal to my men.
"What the hell ya gonna do with that things?" The dwarf immediately regrets asking but I answer anyway.
"Why I am gonna test it out on gang rivals of course! I think I'll start with the Broken Stars." As the men turn my wheelchair away the dwarf begins closing shop. My goons gleefully push me back to the main street.
"Where to next boss?"
"You oaf! I just said! Get me to the building that sits across from the Broken Stars headquarters. I heard they are having a meeting at their top floor, and the view that window has is to die for." The duo pushing me try to hold in their laughter.
"I'm fuckin glad I got put on escort duty today! This story is gonna fetch me so many drinks at the bar!"
As we roll into Broken Stars territory some other Serpent Tail troops join us along to cover us while we go. It wasn't planned, but our patrols can recognize a good time when they see it. We don't run into trouble as we look more like a small mercenary band than gangster scum. The greatest enemy yet again proves to be stairs as the men pull my wheelchair up towards the roof of the building. When we get to the top I star unwrapping my gift, an enchanted compound crossbow made from coral and bits of metal.
I quickly spot the window where the Broken Stars should be having their meeting. I tell one of my goons to use their magic thingy and he obliges.
"HEY BOSS, COME LOOK QUICK! THA FUCKIN SERPENTS ARE 'ERE AND THEY BROUGHT THEIR BOSS." My goon shouts harder than should be physically possible using magic, the call for aid gets answered by my test subject as a tough looking woman looks out of the window and the crossbowmen on top of their rooftop finally take notice of us.
It is too late as a crossbow bolt annihilates the brain of one of my bigger competitors and her corpse remains slumped over the window. Before booking it I spot a strange cloaked figure from the meeting make direct eye contact with me. Before I'm carted off I decide to give a quick wink at the figure before leaving.
"Holy shit boss! Why don't ya do this more often?"
"Maybe one day boys, but for now this is drawing too much heat to me. If I went around taking out everyone above me as rapidly as I could, we would get mercs or even the governor on our heads. So when I said I was testing this thing I was serious." The men give a few fake boos as they run as fast as they can back to the port.
"Then what about that weapon boss? That be no normal crossbow I say."
"I know of plenty of better weapons, but how do you think things in the world would go if people had access to weapons that could kill anyone instantly?" The men think for a bit as we slow down before making ugly faces. They may be gangsters from a pirate port, but that does not make them stupid. Even the ones I have taken out so far were simply unprepared if not outright outmatched.
"Make sure to properly dispose of the dwarf. We can't have a man with his knowledge roam free like that."
As we get to the port the men say their goodbyes as if they won't tell the council all about me. They can tell everything they know for all I care, they won't ever get enough information to actually threaten me. After all, information is half the battle.
The other half is violence.